Turn It Up (10 page)

“It’s as red-neck as I could get on short notice.”

She laughed. “I don’t know that we need the sun umbrella up, but it looks great. And the food? When did you have time to do this?”

He’d set the table, including candles and flowers. The bread was on the table already, the rest of the meal in the picnic cooler to the side. “Magic.”

Then he pulled out a chair, and she smiled sweetly, kissing his cheek lightly before letting him seat her.

The sex between them might be a given, but he wanted to seduce her into so much more than insert tab A into slot B. In his mind, this wasn’t about her getting pregnant; it was about becoming a family, and every chance he got, he was going to lay the foundation for that. Whatever reservations she had, he was confident enough for them both.

He lit the candles and reached for the food. Memory making, beginning now.

Chapter Nine

The wine was crisp, the pasta perfect. He’d gone out of his way and everything on the table was delicious, but it was the man at her side who commanded her attention. Tasha leaned back in her chair and examined him closely, his eyes and face animated as he shared an anecdote about one of the Turner camping trips. It was somewhere between an adventure camp and a horror story, and it wasn’t so much the information he shared that made her smile, but the way he shared it.

Wholeheartedly. With all-out enthusiasm. Delight and love for his family shining through in every word. The thought of him turning that same energy on their own child thrilled her to death.

The man himself wasn’t bad either.

The dark tinge in his hair hid most of the red highlights except when the candlelight danced over them. In his sister, the red color of the family was more noticeable. In Max, it gave a distinguished air to his neat trim, a bit of an extra shine that made her think of regal kings sitting in state on their thrones.

His biceps pressed the fabric of his dark button-down shirt taut, stretched over shoulders wide and strong. For a guy who filled his days with computer programming, she wasn’t sure where he’d found the muscles.

“Are you working out?” she asked.

He took a sip of wine. “I wondered where you’d gone. You thinking about my body, are you?”

Tasha felt a blush race up her cheeks, but there was no denying it. Her earlier decision sprang to mind—this was allowed to be fun as well as a means to an end. She deliberately eyed him, daring to let her attraction show. “There’s a lot to be admired.”

Max reached for her fingers, linking their hands together. She thrilled at the sensual tingle that raced over her skin. “I do weights and I’ve been running. I also play tennis with my cousins and uncles when I have time.”

“I didn’t know you played tennis.”

“I’m not a superstar, but I can return a few volleys. You play?”

She chuckled. “A little. I’d prefer to swim for a workout, or go for a run.”

He trickled a finger up her arm. “We could try to run together. I know that doesn’t always work, trying to match paces. But since you’ve got a fairly sedentary job as well, it might be good for us to get into some routines.”

Oh, her favorite thing.
Not
. She made a face. “My downfall. Sticking to a routine isn’t easy.”

He adjusted his chair, moving closer to her side, and her heartbeat picked up. They’d been having a nice, calm conversation. What was he up to?

“You ready for some dessert?” He leaned over and stole a kiss before taking her plate and stacking it with his.

The brush of his lips teased, building the desire for more. “Depends. What’s for dessert?”

He stared at her mouth for a second, then rose and cleared away the dishes. He vanished down the back hall for a moment before returning with two small containers. “I’m tempted to say you’re for dessert, but I know you have a sweet tooth. Tonight, you get to indulge.”

He cracked open one container, and she smelled the chocolate even before she spotted the dark brown sauce. “I’m supposed to be—”

“Eating healthy. I know. It’s healthy. I won’t tell you what’s it in, but the recipe said it’s got a third of the calories of a regular chocolate fondue, and there’s no caffeine—don’t ask me how. Enjoy.”

The second container popped open to reveal slices of fruit. Max stabbed a strawberry onto his fork, swirled it in the dip then popped it into his mouth with a grin. “Hmmm. Of course, if you don’t want any…?”

She had her fork in play before he could take another bite, her own strawberry dipped and in her mouth in a flash. She might be watching what she ate, but she was no fool.

Heavenly flavor danced over her taste buds and she moaned with delight. “Holy cow, this is amazing.”

“You like?”

She leaned back in her chair and licked the chocolate off her lips, savoring every bit. “It’s incredible. I’ve never had something that’s healthy taste this good. You’re a genius, Max.”

“So I’ve been told.”

In a flash, the temperature in the room flared from comfortable to heat-wave range. In spite of the tantalizing flavor tangoing with her taste buds, all her awareness was on him. Maxwell’s gaze ate her up. The focused attention made her tingle—her skin, her breasts, her sex. He didn’t play any of the erotic food games she’d read about. Didn’t feed her, or twirl chocolate over her skin and lick it off. He might as well have, considering how excited she grew. Under his intent stare, she became much more aware of the sensual attraction between them. Every time she put the fork in her mouth, he responded—a moan or a small body movement—as if he was jealous of the tines as she licked them clean. Every time she swallowed, he swallowed in time with her. Something warned her the intimate connection growing between them was building to explosive levels.

Max enjoyed his own dessert, twirling the fork to gather the perfect amount of dip. The drive to have him drop the fork and twirl his fingers on her body instead increased. When he reached out and wiped a bit of chocolate from the corner of her mouth, she captured his finger. Her tongue wrapped around the digit, sweeping it clean, teasing it in small circles. Then she suckled lightly, thrilling when his pupils dilated. His brown eyes changed almost fully to black.

He pulled his hand away with a slight pop and a shudder shook him. When he spoke, the lust in his voice ratcheted up her desire another notch.

“I want you. No interruptions, no regrets.”

She couldn’t answer for a second, his need enveloping her like a cloud. It was past time for this. Reality reared its head for a moment. “I’m not trying to be funny, but…on the table?”

Max held out his hand to lead her to another part of the house. “I’m smarter than that…”

There was too much sexual tension between them to laugh when she saw he’d brought a mattress into the house. It lay on the floor of what would be the master bedroom. He’d piled it with soft quilts and pillows, and arranged a wild array of tea-light candles on boxes all along the perimeter of the room. He must have lit them before serving dessert. Tasha released her fingers from his and turned, intending to thank him for the thoughtfulness, but the patient man she’d had by her side all through the meal had vanished.

He kissed her madly, clutching her close. Biting her lips, nibbling on her neck and below her ear. She clung to him, fighting for balance. After kissing her breathless, he stripped off her top and bra, then stepped back.

Standing there, half-naked before him, the flickering candlelight dancing on her skin as his gaze raced over her made her suddenly uncertain. She wasn’t sure what to do with her hands. She was no shy girl to cover herself, but the longer he stood there, staring, the more self-conscious she became.

Why the hell had she thought her thirty-four-year-old body would be enough to make this work?

“Max, is everything okay?”

He shook his head. “I can’t believe we’re here and this is happening.” He laughed. “I can’t believe someone isn’t going to phone, or walk in, or do something to stop us.”

Her insecurities vanished. He was as involved as she was, and just as nervous, it seemed. She lifted her chin and paced toward him, closing the distance. The floor was cold under her bare feet, the unfinished boards of the plywood rough and itchy as she reached for him.

“It’s real. And no one will interrupt us.”

She undid the top buttons of his shirt and leaned in to kiss his chest. He hauled her against him instead of letting her finish undressing him, the fabric of his jeans and shirt a high-texture contrast with her bare skin. Somehow between the kissing and the touching, he not only stripped off his clothes, he had them on the mattress with his naked body pressed over hers intimately.

Oh yes, this was worth waiting for, all her frustrations washed away by the pleasure of the contact. Tasha opened her legs wider, letting his hips fall between her thighs. Their tongues tangled, brushing rough sweeps against each other. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to have him use that talented tongue on her body, or get straight to the good stuff.

He took control again, cupping both her breasts in his hands and pressing them together so he could suck and lap the tips until the electric sensation shooting into her core made her squirm.

She didn’t want any more foreplay. Dinner had been enough. Heck, the past week had been enough, or maybe it was all the years leading up to this moment.

“Now, Max. I want you.”

He rose, kissing his way along her collarbone, nibbling under her ear. She was ready to poke him, to tell him to hurry up, when she realized his shaft nudged her sex, slipping between the slick folds. Another slow rock, and another, rumbles of pleasure escaping his throat.

Then he lifted up on his elbows and looked her fully in the eyes as he pressed into her core.

They both groaned, Tasha from the stretching, the width of his shaft more than she’d had for a long time. Max held still, buried to the root in her body. He squeezed his eyes together and made the most hilarious face.

“You okay?” She ran her fingers through his hair and rocked her hips slightly.

“Don’t move, or I’m going to lose it. Oh my God, you feel fucking fantastic around me.”

Delight bubbled up inside her, along with a hint of mischief. “Like don’t do this?”

She squeezed her inner muscles as hard as she could, reveling in the fullness. He cursed lightly and grimaced. “Witch. I mean it, I’ve never been in a woman bare before and no one warned me how good this would feel.”

Tasha laughed. Her genius had obviously missed one line of study. “You’ll survive. Now move, I need you to move.”

Pleasure streaked his face as he pulled out slowly, then surged back in. The sensation of heat spread outward, each thrust drawing her climax closer and closer. Max reached down and pressed her right leg farther to the side. The angle of his penetration changed as he made contact with her clit, and she was the one to hiss in reaction.

The sounds of their bodies moving together echoed strangely off the unfinished walls, louder and more feral than usual. Wet noises, the grunts and groans that escaped their lips. The gasp of pleasure she made when he caught one of her nipples in his teeth and bit lightly on the tip. She was getting close when he froze, his cock jerking within her, heat expanding between them. He moaned her name with his release, and even having been denied her own orgasm, she couldn’t help but smile.

She’d made him happy, and the thought of all those active swimmers on the loose—well, she didn’t need to climax for them to work.

He lowered himself on top of her, kissing her face and sighing in her ear as he lay still for a minute. “Damn. Sorry, I was a little excited.”

Tasha laughed lightly as she ran her fingers through his hair. Her body hovered on the edge of release, but she still wasn’t too disappointed. “It’s okay. I think the simultaneous climax thing takes practice.”

Max shook his head. “Practice? I’m all for that. But in the meantime…”

He took her lips in a searing kiss before rising and giving her a sexier-than-sin smile. Then he made his way down her body, nibbling and kissing as he went. By the time he’d reached her sex she was back up to borderline ecstasy, ready to roll over the line with the slightest provocation. His tongue on her clit was more than enough, pleasure breaking in her core with a steady pulse. Tasha let the orgasm wash over her, taking away the tension of the past days, letting even her obsession with what this could be starting slip aside for a moment.

It’s about making a baby.

But it wasn’t. So she didn’t protest when he returned up her level and rolled over, taking her with him. His cock nestled against her body, her torso draped over him.

“Give me a minute, and we’ll start again.”

Long slow strokes with his hands over her back followed as he kissed her, and she didn’t mind a bit he’d been fast out of the gate. He scratched lightly, then rubbed small circles. A lazy sensation somewhere between pleasure and relaxation floated over her. The sexual tension faded slightly, at least until he cupped her ass and started playing. When he slid a finger along her cheek folds, a corresponding spark flared in her sex.

His touch was hot. Hotter than she’d expected, and she’d expected a lot. He lowered his hands to her hips and shifted her, and it was clear his erection was a lot bigger than she remembered it to be.

Ah, the energy of the young. “Damn that was quick.”

“What can I say?” He suckled on her earlobe for a moment. “I’ve got a great motivator.”

She was impressed, especially when she wiggled herself up to a sitting position and there was no doubt he was primed again.

He grinned. “Cocked and fully loaded.”

“Cocky, you mean.” Tasha lifted her hips and took him in, moving slow enough to appreciate every inch of the firmness piercing her body. He reached up and helped lift her a few times before he got distracted. Both hands deserted her hips to enfold her breasts, their heavy weight making them sway as she moved in an easy rhythm.

Max growled, a sexy, needy sound, deep in his chest. “I’m gonna admit that I like these very much. You’ve got a great ass, Tasha, but your breasts have given me the dirtiest dreams for the longest time.”