Up All Night (3 page)

Damn. And wow.

He turned and held out the bag
emblazoned with the name of an upmarket local grocery store.

“What is it?”

“Well, since I knew you would refuse
replacement clothes, I figured you wouldn’t refuse this. My way of apologizing
for this afternoon.”

She eyed the bag and narrowed her
eyes. “I told you to forget it.”

“Couldn’t forget it.” He waited
until she looked up at him. “Or you.”

God. Her treacherous stomach would
be the death of her. Beneath his steady gaze, her face heated. “Are you coming
on to me?”

“Yeah.”

Her face burned some more. “You’re
wasting your time.”

He shrugged. “My time to waste. Are
you going to take this, or do you want me to stand here all night?”

When he jiggled the bag, she took it
from him. It weighed a ton and she put it down before peeking inside. Something
lovely fluttered around her heart. “Oh, that’s really kind of you.”

Unable to resist, she dropped to her
knees and delved into the bag’s contents. Doggie treats, cat nip, chew toys,
squeaky balls, and rawhide bones. “My guys will love these.” When she’d
finished rummaging in the bag she stood and looked at Marco. “Thank you.”

“Welcome.”

Since it seemed crass not to ask,
Beth took a breath. “Would you like coffee?”

“I’d prefer you come have a drink
with me, but coffee works.”

“By the way. How’s your head?”

He raised his eyebrows as if taking
a moment to work out what she was talking about, then touched his hand to his
crown. “Fine. No problem.”

“Did you get it checked out?”

“No need. All my faculties appear to
be in working order.” His gaze travelled slowly down her body, then equally
slowly back up again. “I can see what I want to see well enough.”

Beth tried to ignore the predatory
way his eyes gleamed and the resulting hitch in her stomach. “Like I said,
you’re wasting your time.” To distract herself, she went over to the drinks
machine and keyed in her code. “Milk and sugar?”

“Black. Thanks.”

As the machine whirred, Beth kept
her eyes on the dark liquid filling the cardboard cup. What would it hurt if
she had a drink with him? There weren’t that many men who would think to do
something nice like he had for the animals. Most would have bought her flowers,
chocolates, lingerie, or something equally obvious. But not him. That had to
say something about the man.

She picked up the first coffee and
handed it to him. “If I say yes to the drink, are there strings attached?”

“None that you’d notice.”

She picked up her own coffee, and
thought how most men would have flat out denied the strings. But not him. “I’m
still on shift.”

“Your shift ended at nine, or so
your lovely assistant told me.”

God. She was going to wring Carrie’s
interfering little neck. Or kiss her to Christmas. “I rarely stick to the
clock.” She glanced down at her clothing. “I’m not exactly dressed for drinks
either.”

“You look fine to me.” And because
he didn’t look as if he was merely throwing her a line, her resistance levels
plummeted a few more inches.

“Hmm.”

“Since you’re running out of
excuses, wouldn’t it be easier to let me buy you that drink? That way you’d put
my mind to rest for ruining your clothes and acting like a jerk this
afternoon.”

She let out a breath and with it the
last little tug of resistance. “Okay, but I really would like to change. I’m
along the lane, so I’ll only be a few minutes. You can wait here.”

“I’ll walk you home. I can hang just
as well outside your place as here.”

“Fine.”

Beth slipped her hands in the
pockets of her jacket as they walked along the scarcely lit lane that edged the
Center’s boundary. Minutes later, when they arrived at the tiny cottage that
formed one of three tithed to the land, Beth pulled out her keys and opened the
door.

She stepped over the threshold,
aware he remained on the step. She glanced back over her shoulder as she wiped
her boots. “You can come in. Can I get you something while you wait?”

As she had done, he wiped his boots
on the doormat. “I’m okay.” He glanced around the room. “Nice place.”

Beth slipped off her jacket and hung
it on the hook behind the front door. “It’s small, but it suits me. Sometimes I
wish for a hallway, but at least it’s easy to clean.”

Marco nodded as he perused the room.

Beth wished she’d taken time to tidy
before leaving for her shift instead of spending the morning in her tiny back
yard putting the finishing touches to her patio. She was proud that she’d
re-laid the area herself and while she’d recycled the old slabs, the area was
now weed free and ready for the small outside table and chairs she’d promised
herself.

“This you?”

Marco pointed to the photo of Beth
with her left arm slung companionably around her sister’s shoulder. It was one
of the last pictures of them together before Beth had told Deena she never
wanted to lay eyes on her again.

An emptiness filled her chest, but
since Marco was looking at her with a questioning expression, Beth stopped her
thoughts from taking their trip down agony lane. “Me and my sister. She’s six
years younger than me.”

“Do you see each other often?”

Beth shook her head. “We’re not
particularly close anymore.”

“Family stuff?”

“Something like that. Do you have
family?”

His eyes warmed as his mouth hitched
at the corner. “I’m the youngest of four. Two brothers, one sister. Apart from
the odd squabble, I’ve been spared the sibling angst. My mother would crack our
heads together if any of us stepped out of line. She’s a scary woman. We don’t
mess with her.”

Beth smiled. “You’re close to your
parents?”

“Yeah. My mother needs to be
constantly reminded I’m no longer fifteen, but the old man is pretty easy
going. How about yours?”

“My mother lives in
Australia
with my stepfather. My own father died when I was ten.”

“Stinks.”

“Yes, it does. Anyway, make yourself
at home. I’ll just be a minute.”

Upstairs, Beth went into the bedroom
and stripped off her jeans and sweatshirt. She pondered the wisdom of locking
the bathroom door. For all she knew he could be some maniac who went around
picking up women before murdering them in their own homes. He seemed okay, but
she didn’t know him beyond a very instant and powerful attraction. Plus, he’d
made it clear that he wouldn’t be averse to getting up close and very personal.

Yet, he’d brought treats and
presents for the animals. He wanted to buy her a drink to make up for spraying
her with paint. These were hardly the actions of a man with homicidal
tendencies.

Nevertheless, Beth turned the lock.

Pulling on navy linen slacks and
tucking a white shirt into the waistband, she realized that with all the heavy
manual work she’d been doing on the yard and the extra shifts she’d pulled at
the Center, she’d lost a few pounds. The effects weren’t displeasing. She
turned her back to the mirror, glancing over her shoulder to check out her new,
firmer backside. Satisfied, she slipped her hair from her ponytail and brushed
out the length so it fell across her shoulders.

She thought of Marco’s hair, several
inches shorter than hers. The way it touched his shirt collar, all that thick
black silky length of it, made a little shiver run down her spine.

The shiver morphed into an uneasy
panic when she came down the stairs to find him sprawled on her sofa, long legs
stretched out, one arm along the back of the sofa as he read her morning
newspaper. He looked so darned at home, it was both a thrill and a worry. She
rarely invited anyone back, if you didn’t count her colleagues from the Center.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about seeing a gorgeous specimen of manhood
filling the small space like he belonged there.

He looked up, almost doing a double
take as Beth came to stand in front of the sofa.

 
“I’m ready.”

“So I see.” His gaze slipped down
her body, lingering at her breasts before returning to capture her eyes. “It’d
take most women a few hours to look like that.”

Her face heated a little at the
unexpected compliment. “It’s nothing. Shall we go?”

He uncurled his long length from the
sofa and caught her arm before she could race for the door. His fingers curled
firmly around her wrist. “First I have to drink you in a little. Come here.”

Oh, hell. How come just his fingers
around her wrist made her pulse skip, her heart race? “You said no strings that
I’d notice. I’m noticing.”

“So am I.” He tugged her until she
was up against him. “I’m interested, Beth. Something tells me you are, too. So
what are we waiting for?”

She wanted to deny it, but it was
hard when her heart was hammering against his chest. “I’m interested, but it
doesn’t mean I’m prepared to do anything about it.”

Another little tug on the wrist and
she was even closer against him. “Maybe you’d best have a rethink.” He released
her wrist, placed his hands on her hips and held her there when she tried to
step back.

 
“I could ask you to leave.”

He grinned, madly sexy. “But you
won’t.”

No. she wouldn’t. “This is moving a
little fast for me.”

“We can slow it down a pace.” He
leaned down until his mouth was a whisper from hers. “Or we can keep it moving
right along and hope you catch up. Your choice.”

Because it was her choice, and his
body felt hard, masculine, and amazing against hers, Beth tilted her head and
brought her mouth to his.

His lips were warm and full, his
touch inviting. She’d expected something more demanding, but he let her set the
tone. When her head began to swim and her knees trembled, she eased back.

Looking up into his chocolate eyes,
she saw a fire which belied his gentle manner. “I’m not entirely sure which choice
I just made.” Beth wasn’t in any hurry to move away from him, so she slid her
hands up his arms. “But I think it leans more to the
move it right along
option.”

His arms came around her, pushing
her breasts up hard against his chest. She felt the press of his erection
against her stomach and felt the dampness between her legs.

“Music to my ears.”

Panic mingled with excitement as he
ran his hands down her back and cupped her ass, tilting her hips up to cushion
his hard length. “I don’t intend letting this go anywhere tonight.”

He gave her a steady look and she
braced herself for the full effect of his no doubt persuasive skills. “I’ve got
the taste of you now, which means it’s hard not to push a little.” He touched
his lips to hers. “Just a little.”

She sank into his kiss, accepting
that any amount of resistance was futile against his sensual expertise. She let
him take the kiss deeper and her fingers itched to slide up to his shoulders,
to sink into all that black silky hair, but she kept her hands on his arms.

When his tongue touched hers she
lost the ability to think, to reason, and simply kissed him back. He kept one
hand on her ass and let the other slide up her back, around her ribcage, until
he could cup her breast.

As his thumb slid over her taut
nipple, she moaned into his mouth, and it was her own reaction that kicked her
brain back in gear.
Too fast
, she
thought headily.
Too damn fast
. “That
was more than a little.”

His hooded dark eyes shone with
seduction. “Depends on your perspective.”

Beth couldn’t argue with that. One
more second and she’d have let him divest her of her underwear. “I’m thirsty.”

He grinned. “I’m hungry.”

She eased right out of his arms and
smoothed down her shirt, painfully aware her hardened nipples would betray any
smart remark she made right then about how he was forcing the issue. About how
she didn’t want to be in his arms, feel his touch, taste his lips. If anything
else, she had always been honest with herself and with other people.

Beth had always valued honesty and
integrity. Perhaps even more so now, despite what had happened to her. It was a
pity her sister hadn’t shared the same values.

Before memories could push for
attention, Beth folded her arms across her chest. “While I’m attracted to you,”
she stepped back as he stepped forward, reaching for her again, “it’s a policy
of mine not to have sex with someone I’ve known barely six hours.”

He slipped his hands into his
pockets and arched those straight black eyebrows. “It’s more like eight, but
let’s not split hairs.”

She thought he was irritated, but
then he grinned. He had the sexiest grin. All those lovely white teeth against
his olive skin, the heavy slash of brows perfectly framing the twinkle in
dangerously dark eyes. She grinned back.