Taken With You (16 page)

If they had been inside, though, all bets would have been off after that kiss. When a simple touching of lips felt that way, it was hard not to imagine how good sex with the man would feel. A sense of inevitability and anticipation washed over her. She had no doubt it was going to happen. A short, enjoyable detour on the road to her true destination.

“Am I dribbling coffee?”

Jerked away from those very pleasant thoughts, she frowned. “What?”

“You’re staring at my mouth.”

“Sorry. Just lost in thought.”

That delicious mouth curved into a suggestive smile. “Nice thoughts?”

She was saved from having to respond to that by Liz’s arrival with their plates. Whether it was the fresh air or the calories her body was burning through being all revved up for the man across from her, Hailey was starving. She dumped ketchup on her scrambled eggs, ignoring Matt’s grimace, and dug in.

After a few bites of his breakfast, he took a sip of his coffee and then smiled at her. “The food in this town totally makes up for having a crazy neighbor.”

She laughed. “Hey, not every woman will crawl through a doggy door in her pajamas. You’re lucky to live next door to me.”

“It has its moments.” He winked, then cut into his steak. “So tell me how you came to be a librarian.”

“When I was a kid, I loved books, but I always wished our library was more fun. I should be embarrassed to admit it, but I spent a lot of time daydreaming about how I’d run the library if it was mine.”

“My sisters practically lived at the library when we were young. My dad wasn’t as big on reading as an activity for boys, so I used to sneak their library books into my room and read them.”

She held up her hand. “Don’t even get me started on gender bias and reading. I could rant for hours.”

“Since you obviously went away to college, how did you end up back at the Whitford library?”

Between bites, Hailey told him about college and how getting her degree had coincided with the previous librarian’s retirement. “Not only was I finally going to be a librarian, but it was
my
library. Basically, it was a dream come true. Except for the paperwork.”

“They never warn you about the paperwork.”

They lingered over breakfast and coffee for so long, Hailey was surprised when Liz asked her if the library was closed. “You only have a half hour, you know.”

“That’s not enough time to go home and come back, is it?” Matt gave her a sheepish look. “I’m sorry. Do you have your keys? I can just drop you off unless you need something at home. Otherwise, I think the town will survive you being a few minutes late.”

Hailey thought about it for a moment. Her keys were in her pocket and there was no reason she couldn’t wear what she had on. Since it was only her, the dress code at the library tended to be rather casual, anyway. “I could go right to the library. And I can find somebody to give me a ride home.”

“I’ll pick you up. Five, right?”

“Yeah. You don’t have to, though. I can find a ride.”

“I want to.” He pulled cash out of his wallet to cover the bill and tip, then waved away the money she pulled from her back pocket.

When they pulled into the library parking lot, he left the truck running, but he still got out to open her door. “I’ll be back at five to get you.”

“I had a good time. It’ll be a long day, but I’m glad you asked me to go.”

“Me, too.” He kissed her goodbye, keeping it quick. “I’ll see you later.”

They gave her five minutes to get settled, and then a text message from Tori popped over a caller ID screen telling her Paige was calling. She closed the text from Tori and answered Paige’s call. “Was I even out the door before Liz called you this time?”

“I doubt it. Tell me.”

“I’m busy right now.”

“No, you’re not. Did you spend the night with him? I mean, why else would you be out having breakfast with him, right?”

“I did not spend the night with him. At four-thirty we went out in the woods to watch a moose and her twin calves at a marsh.”

Paige laughed. “Sure, I believe that.”

“It’s true. And after we left the woods, we went to breakfast and then he dropped me off at the library.”

“That’s it?” Her friend sounded deflated. “You were moose watching?”

“Well, and kissing.”

“I knew it. Good kissing?”

“Very good kissing.” Kissing she’d be thinking about all day now.

“When are you going to see him again?” Paige asked, and then she made quiet shushing sounds Hailey assumed were intended for Sarah, who she could hear starting to fuss in the background.

“Well, aside from the fact I live next door to him and will probably see him every day for the foreseeable future, he has to pick me up after work because he dropped me off.”

Sarah was working up to a full screech now. “Damn. Poor thing doesn’t feel so hot today and she won’t let me put her down. But I’m going to call you tomorrow and I want to hear everything.”

“Okay. I can have him drop me off at your house if you need a break, you know.”

“Thank you, but Rose just pulled in the driveway and Mitch will be home later tonight. You have fun, if you know what I mean.”

“Funny. Try to get some rest.”

After the phone call, she pulled up the text from Tori.
I told you so.

Hailey rolled her eyes.
You told me I’d have breakfast with Matt?

The door opened and a few older women walked in. They were forming a crocheting club and intended to make granny square blankets to raise money for the town’s Santa Fund. They’d asked to meet at the library, where there were no husbands or chores demanding their attention, and she’d welcomed them. One of the women had even renewed her library card, which had expired in 1976.

Her phone buzzed, but she waited until she had the ladies settled before she gave it her attention.

Smart-ass. Did you spend the night?

No. Early morning date. Breakfast.

Who has early morning dates?

It was a valid question.
Game wardens, I guess. We watched moose.

There was a long pause before Tori’s reply came back.
Is this a prank?

Nope.

Put a sign on the door you’re closing for lunch one day this week.

She’d known that was coming. Tori worked at home, but she claimed she worked best on a second shift schedule. So she didn’t mind working mornings and she could do lunch dates, but she was usually unavailable from early afternoon until hours most of them considered past their bedtimes.

Maybe. I’ll let you know.

With Paige and Tori satisfied, Hailey turned her attention to work and willed the clock to move. It did, but slowly, until finally she could turn off the lights and close the door.

His truck was in the parking lot, just as he’d said it would be. Once she’d secured the library doors and unlocked the night drop box, he got out of the truck and opened the passenger door for her.

“How’d it go?”

“Slow day today.” She climbed up onto the seat. “Except the rush to get details about our breakfast together. But that died out fairly early. They probably got bored and made up their own stories.”

He shook his head and closed her door. Once he was buckled in his own seat, he put the truck in reverse. “Does it bother you that everybody’s talking about you today?”

She laughed. “Not particularly. I’ve lived here my entire life. This isn’t the first time I’ve been the subject of conversation. What did you do today?”

“Maintenance stuff. Cleaned my weapons. Changed the oil in my quad and stuff like that. Laundry, which is my least favorite thing to do.”

Once they were parked in his driveway, he turned to face her. “I’ve got chicken and gravy in the slow cooker. If you want to come in for dinner, I can cook up some white rice to put it on.”

Hailey suspected if she went inside with Matt, they were going to do more than eat dinner. The kiss had been the end of denying there was serious chemistry between them, and if she didn’t put distance back between them, they were going to end up in bed together.

But, remembering back to the unfortunate horny monkey analogy, there was no reason she couldn’t climb this tree, and then climb down and find another.

“Hailey?”

“Sounds good. I’d love to.”

TWELVE

H
AILEY
HAD
BEEN
in Matt’s kitchen, of course, but she hadn’t seen the rest of the house. Because they went in through the front door, she found herself in the living room. It was sparsely decorated, not counting the shelving unit bearing what looked like the entire electronics section of a department store and a huge television.

A large brown leather couch dominated the room, with one end obviously belonging to Bear. The leather was pretty beat up and scratched, and the cushion had an indentation that would match a curled up black Lab.

There were still boxes here and there, so obviously he wasn’t done unpacking. Hopefully some of the stuff in the boxes was meant to be hung on the walls because they were totally bare. She didn’t like a lot of clutter, but his house was still lacking some personal touches.

They said hello to Bear, of course. Even though Matt had been home most of the day, he was greeted as if it had been days since the dog last saw him. Then it was Hailey’s turn to get the same treatment before he took off into the backyard.

Matt stepped up behind her, his arms wrapping around her waist. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

“I stamped the wrong return date in about a dozen books because my mind was on our date and I forgot to change it.”

“I liked kissing you.” His breath was hot against the back of her neck and Hailey knew he was doing it deliberately. “I want to kiss you again.”

He did, pressing his lips to the sweet spot his breath had warmed. She shuddered, her hands sliding over his forearms. With her back to him, there was nothing she could do but surrender to the sensation of his light kisses over her skin.

When he ran his tongue from the base of her neck up almost to her hairline, she moaned and leaned backward so her body was pressed against his. She could feel his erection through their jeans and she rocked back against it.

“Pretty frisky for a first date,” she murmured.

“Mmm. Technically, this might be our second date. And if you count our walk in the woods and the OHRV safety class, this could be our fourth date.” He pulled back a little. “I feel like I’ve wanted you for a long time, but we can slow down.”

She gripped his arms, preventing him from backing up too far. Being rescued in the wilderness probably didn’t count as a date, but he was right about one thing. This thing between them had been building since they met. “I think fourth dates are a good time for frisky.”

The chime sounded, and Bear wandered into the living room. While it didn’t kill the mood, he was definitely a distraction.

“Come upstairs with me,” he murmured against her neck.

She nodded, and he took her hand to lead her toward the stairs. Nerves danced in her stomach, but there was no way she was backing out now. She wanted this man—had wanted him for a while if she was honest with herself—and she was going to have him.

“Stay,” Matt told Bear, who jumped up on the couch and lay down.

He guided her into his room and kicked the door closed behind him. His mouth came down on hers hard, all the hunger that had been building between them evident in his kiss. She raked her fingernails over his back before grabbing the hem of his T-shirt and lifting it.

He broke off the kiss long enough for her to pull the shirt over his head, and then his lips were on hers. His tongue slid over hers and he backed her up against the door. The kiss grew more demanding as her hands ran over his abs and up his back.

“I have wanted you so badly,” he said against her mouth.

Her top went next and he pulled down the cups of her bra to expose her breasts to his gaze and to his touch. Bending his head, he ran his tongue over her nipples before sucking hard enough so she gasped. The door was hard against her back and she had nowhere to go as he lavished attention on her neck and breasts.

When her knees went weak, he went back to kissing her mouth and turned her toward the bed. She undid the button and zipper of her jeans, then did the same for his. Her sneakers, she kicked off, and then he was pushing her backward onto his bed.

His hand slid between her legs, the heel pressing against her through denim, and she arched her hips. He increased the pressure while leaning forward to kiss his way from her stomach to her mouth, stopping to swirl his tongue around her nipples.

She wanted more so she shoved the waist of her jeans down, urging him to take them off.

Matt stood and did just that, peeling her jeans and underwear off and tossing them aside, followed by her socks. She felt slightly self-conscious as he stared at her, his gaze roving over her body, but there was so much heat in his eyes, it passed quickly.

He dropped his jeans and boxer briefs, stepping out of them, and then he reached down to pull off his socks. When he joined her on the bed, his naked body sliding over hers, she sighed and wrapped her arms around him.

There were more kisses and she lost herself in the way his mouth claimed hers—possessive and demanding without being punishing or aggressive. She’d never experienced kisses like them before and she couldn’t get enough.

He explored all of her, his hands and mouth roving over her as if looking for more places as sensitive as the back of her neck. The hollow at the base of her throat. The palm of her hand. Behind her knees. When he found a spot that made her squirm, he was merciless. Licking and gentle bites drove her almost out of her mind, until she reached down and pulled him back up.

He grinned at her, his hand sliding over her stomach and dipping between her legs. “What’s the matter?”

She barely had enough breath to answer him. “You’re killing me.”

“I can’t help it. You’re delicious and I want to make it last.”