Lovell, Cooper - Tessa's Highlander (Siren Publishing Classic) (3 page)

After pouring her favorite lavender bubble bath into the hot water, she slipped off her clothes and stepped into the tub. Leaning back, wine glass in hand, she luxuriated in the bubbles and warmth that submerged her up to her chin. Grabbing the remote that lay on the shelf next to the tub, she turned on the fireplace. A fireplace in every room was her biggest luxury, and she never took it for granted.

She realized she was so frustrated she wanted to cry, frustration being the emotion that brought her to tears faster than any other, but knew that would have been completely silly. Oh, sure, when she opened her door this morning, for some bizarre reason, she had seen her entire future in the carpenter’s beautiful eyes. She’d never had anything resembling a real relationship—she’d never really wanted one. Maybe it was because she’d always been so preoccupied with writing. In high school, she spent her time jotting down stories in every spare moment. That habit continued when she attended Brown, where she had managed to complete her first manuscript that eventually got published. Then, once out of college, writing became a profession and subsequently an obsession. There’s nothing like an obsession and the pursuit of higher education to occupy your mind and your time.

She’d had two boyfriends in college, both relatively short-term and both utterly forgettable. The first had clumsily taken her virginity, and the second was the last lover she’d had. Neither of them left a lasting impression on her sexually or emotionally. Since then, she’d dated occasionally, but no one really interested her enough to make her want to spend time she could otherwise use writing, reading, riding, shopping, or just staring into space. And all this time, she’d been fine with that, never even gave it a second thought, until this morning.

The minute she’d opened the door she’d actually felt a physical pull toward him. But apparently, the only thing the man felt for her was revulsion. He could barely manage civility toward her. Hell, he wouldn’t even look at her, despite several attempts on her part to draw a friendly reaction from him. Now, she found herself unable to take her mind off him, surly disposition and all.

Fingers tinkling on the surface of the water, flicking and making shapes out of the bubbles, Tessa wondered how it would feel to run her fingers through and grab a handful of Gavan’s chocolate-colored hair. How prickly and ticklish his stubble would be on her lips as she placed light kisses all over his tan face and settled her lips on his, opening her mouth to feel his tongue rub against hers. The biggest mystery, she thought with a smile curving on her lips as her fingers slid down and located her already-swollen clit, is just how much man is behind the fly of those jeans? That morning, she had feasted her eyes on a pretty unbelievable bulge, and he couldn’t have been hard, so how much would there be once he was full and ready to enter her? He was such a big, strapping man. She just knew that if he wrapped his arms around her, she could completely disappear from the world and feel utterly protected from anything. So it seemed logical that big man meant big, um, parts, right?

Drawing circles around her clit with one hand, she slid the index and middle finger of her other hand in and out of her pussy as she pictured herself on her knees behind Gavan, gently but firmly taking bites and nibbles out of his luscious ass. Then, he would turn around, his heavy cock bobbing in front of her. While fucking and stroking herself, she pictured herself wrapping both of her petite hands around his shaft and slowly stroking the silken skin. As she imagined herself leaning forward to lick the pearly drop already on the head of his cock and look upward to gaze into his sweet, amber-colored eyes, she felt her cunt begin to spasm, and water sloshed over the rim of the tub as she shook with her release. She laid her head back against the rim and let the afterglow of her orgasm envelop her.

* * * *

With the hot spray of the shower hitting him in the face, Gavan reflected on the day. He knew that he had overdone it with the aloof act, bordering on rude, but it was a gut reaction. It was a defense mechanism that kicked in out of habit. When Bonnie, his high school sweetheart, left him standing at the altar, having run off with one of his supposed closest friends, he swore to himself that she would be the last woman who would ever hurt him. She’d been a wild child, and he’d mistakenly thought he could settle her down by marrying her. He learned after the fact that he was the only person who hadn’t known that she’d never been faithful to him. Being branded a complete fool at the age of twenty was a tough pill to swallow. Hell, over ten years later, he still hadn’t completely recovered. Once in a while, the pain resurfaced just as sharp as it was when it first happened. He’d gotten over her long ago, but that didn’t do anything to diminish the hurt and embarrassment. Since then, he scratched the itch with female companionship when necessary, but that was the extent of it. He’d never even come close to developing the slightest feeling for any one of them. That was the best way to do it. No feelings, no commitments, no pain.

Never again.

Then Tessa opened her front door.

Somehow, he’d managed to keep his mind on the road while driving home. He wasn’t sure
how
he did it, but he did. He wasn’t sure how he’d managed to keep his mind off her cute-as-hell smile and the seven freckles right across the bridge of her nose. Or her dark gray eyes that made him think of the sky just before the rain lets loose from the clouds above. Her rich, light olive complexion never crossed his mind. Definitely didn’t think about tangling his hands in her mane of blonde-brown hair that had a tousled, just-rolled-out-of-bed look. It was even better that while driving home he didn’t think about her breasts that, despite being under a bulky sweater, were full enough to be appreciated. He guessed they were easily a handful, quite sizeable considering her tiny frame. And oh, that compact little body with the sweetest little heart-shaped ass. Didn’t waste a second pondering the surge of possessiveness that raged through him at the thought of how he could completely encircle her tiny body in his arms and make her his own. Aye, he didn’t give any of that a second, third, or even fourth thought.

Automatically, his hands glided down his abdomen to grab his cock, large and rock hard. He let out a hiss as his right hand wrapped around it and began to pump slowly up and down.

How tiny and vulnerable she would feel as he lifted her into his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist…

His right thumb rolled over and over the bulbous head of his dick as his left hand took hold at the base.

…first taking her right nipple into his mouth to suck it, sliding his tongue back and forth across the tip of it until she moaned…

Both hands pumped up and down in unison.

…then he would capture her left nipple and subject it to the same treatment, once again eliciting a moan from her sweet lips…

Up and down, up and down while his hips rocked forward and back, the hot water sluicing down his chest and stomach.

…thrusting his cock forward and up so that he could slowly lower her until he was buried within her tight, hot sheath to the hilt, then push in and out and in and out of her until both of them were panting and wildly reaching for release…

Up and down his hands
pistoned
, his hips thrusting forward and up.

…and they exploded together, the muscles in her cunt milking the cum out of him until stars burst in his vision.

One last stroke, his hips jerked and his cum spewed upward into the spray of the shower. He rested his head on the cool tile wall of the shower and stood panting, wondering what in the world he was going to do about Tessa Danvers.

Chapter Three

“Baby love! You ready to hit the road?” Alex called, letting himself in. “It’s a great day to run. Nice and crisp, just the way you like it.”

Tessa yelled down from the top of the stairs, “Be there in a sec. Help yourself to some juice or something.”

He was gulping down his second glass of pomegranate juice as Tessa rounded the corner saying, “I was thinking we’d jog the park, then wander around town. We haven’t done that in forever.”

Alex nodded. “Whatever you want, babe. I’m back from Europe and I’m all yours,” he said as he hugged her and planted a kiss on her cheek.

“Let’s get going,” he said, picking up her bag and pulling her by the hand out the door as she struggled to grab her purse and keys on her way past the hall table, her laughter echoing behind her.

* * * *

Gavan swore out loud as the car drove away. He had been pulling lumber from the back of his truck when the sleek, red Jag screeched to a halt in the driveway. A tall, elegant man emerged from the vehicle dressed in what Gavan assumed was workout gear, tight, shiny running pants, emphasizing his lean, muscular legs, tight shirt in some kind of technologically advanced fabric, and running shoes. His dark blond hair with impeccable highlights was cut and styled to perfection. With far too much confidence, the man opened the door and walked into the house without so much as a knock.

Gavan followed, supplies in hand, in time to hear the exchange between the man and Tessa. The ease and familiarity with which they spoke to one another grated on Gavan’s nerves. Who was this slick-looking bastard who used such endearing nicknames when speaking to her? She beamed at the sight of him, accepted his embrace and kiss, and reciprocated with enthusiasm. And now she was gone, spending the entire day, from the sound of it, with him.

“Ah. Good. No distractions today,” he muttered to the empty house. It was a pathetic lie and he knew it.

A week had passed since he’d rung her doorbell for the first time, and he was expending a great deal of energy to maintain his stony disposition. There was no denying it, every aspect of the woman appealed to him.

She’d made several attempts during the first few days to break the ice with him, so to speak. Each day, there were offers of coffee, home baked snacks, and lunch. Of course, he declined. Frequently, he caught her watching him intensely, and when he did, she’d ask intelligent questions about the project. Other times, she tried to engage him in discussions about his work in general and other projects he’d done. Obviously unsatisfied with his consistently terse responses, she brought up their common ground, Jaime. Still, her questions were met with nods, single syllables, or silence. Her tireless and inventive efforts to engage him were intriguing, though, and he was tempted to put his tools down and talk with her for hours.

But even more intriguing than her sweet attempts at friendship were her temper explosions. She had a hair-trigger temper that was a force to be reckoned with and that made his blood run hot. When she became frustrated with his behavior, her gray eyes darkened like a fierce storm rolling in from the sea. She usually spat a single put-down at him then stomped away, murmuring to herself a list of creative insults that could, at times, make a sailor blush.

She was maddeningly adorable to him, and he could feel his guard beginning to slip.

* * * *

“Who is that luscious hunk of man doing your renovations, and why did I not know about him? I would have worn something more attractive than running gear and sneakers.”

“Oh, he’s doing the work on my house instead of Jaime. He
is
sort of walking perfection, isn’t he?” Tessa grinned. “He’s a horrible grump, though. Downright rude, actually. But, Jaime says he’s the best.”

Alex turned to her. “The best at what, exactly?”

Tessa punched him in the arm. “Alex! You’re terrible!”

Alex laughed and said lasciviously, “Yes. Yes I am. But if it turns out by some miracle that he’s gay, I’ve got some wood he can work with.”

Following their run, Alex and Tessa walked around downtown, ducking in and out of the unique little shops, stopping for lunch at their favorite pub that featured a tiny little bar area with a fireplace you could literally stand in when there wasn’t a roaring fire. They’d been best friends since kindergarten, and she had missed him more than she realized while he was in Europe on business. He was the only person she’d trusted to read the outrageous storylines that began to pour out of her in high school. He was always completely honest.

“
Ooooo
! That last scene was sick, sweetie.” She’d ask if she should eliminate it and he’d reply, “Don’t you dare! It was hot as hell!”

Enjoying mugs of hot cider by the fire, Alex regaled her with details of his trip. By the time their
french
onion soup arrived, talk of Europe was over and she was filling him in on the progress of her book and the upcoming photo shoot. It was over dessert that he began needling her about her love life, or lack thereof.