Waiting For Him (9 page)

“Any guy with a pulse would think the same about her and you too.

She didn’t care what any other guy thought about her, she paused. “Steve, too?”

His jaw clinched. “He’s not blind, but he’s also not stupid.”

“Meaning?”

“We’re good friends and have been for years.” He cupped her face and ran his thumb over her cheek. “That makes you off limits.”

Well. That seemed rather territorial. She needed to make sure she understood the dynamics of their friendship. “So even after you and I are finished.”

“Yes!” He scowled at her. “For all eternity, in fact.”

He looked very put out, even though she’d only repeated his own words back to him. But what did she know of male friendships and boundaries?

Nada.

“I understand. So then, do you think you might… That you would…” She couldn’t get her words together so she gestured toward him and then the living room. “With Alexis, I mean?”

“If you’re asking me if I’ll come back here at some later date and start sniffing around her, the answer is no.”

She wasn’t so worried about him sniffing as she was touching, kissing or the like. Anything would be bad especially if she had to witness it. “I don’t mean to nitpick. It’s just that with me living right next door, it would be awkward.” Awful. Humiliating. Heart wrenching.

Stone scrubbed both hands over his face and muffled a laugh. “Listen up, okay? I’d have to be a total dick to do something like that. While I’m not an angel I’m not that lost, either. So don’t worry about it.”

Not worrying would be tough, given Alexis’s draw. She sighed. “I like Alexis a lot you know. She’s been a really good friend and a wonderful landlord. She’s stunning and I see how men get around her and turn all goofy.”

“You know, that’s usually how women are with Steve.” Stone touched her cheek. “But you haven’t been falling apart at the sight of him.”

“Of course not.” She knew Steve was attractive, but with Stone around, who cared? She thought about it and shook her head. “Actually, Steve hasn’t been goofy, either.” Interested, definitely. Attentive, sure. Unlike most men, he came off as confident instead of love struck. “I’ve seen contractors, delivery men, servicemen all act pretty outrageous with her. Even guys driving by stare at her. I know she’s aware of the attention, but she usually ignores it.”

“She’s not ignoring Steve.”

No, she wasn’t. Interesting. “Hm.”

Stone tipped up her chin. “Can you really be that unaware of the attention you get?”

She didn’t get that kind of attention, but she was done talking about Steve and Alexis. “I don’t want to wait, Stone.”

“Yeah, I get that,” he said with gentle amusement. “You’ve been pretty clear.” He ran his fingers through her hair, rubbing it gently, then lifting it to his nose. He lowered his forehead to almost touching hers. “You sure you don’t want to hold off until tomorrow, love? Maybe slow things down a little so we can both get a grip?”

Love? The affectionate way he said that made her want to swoon, but she was smart enough to realize a lot of it had to do with Stone being her first real romantic involvement since her bad breakup and her mother’s death.

“No, I don’t,” she repeated.

He drew two slow breaths. “I’d probably be in better shape without all this teasing.”

“Stone,” she said with an edge of pleading. “Please don’t make me wait.”

His gaze met hers. His eyes narrowed and he nodded. “I hope I survive this.”

Keisha had no idea what he meant by that, and he didn’t give her a chance to ask.

Keeping her tucked close to his side, Stone strode with her to the doorway that led to the living room.

Alexis sat in a chair and Steve on the edge of the couch and they laughed about something.

Stone cleared his throat and they both glanced up.

Steve lifted a brow. “What’s up?”

“I’m going to stick around awhile.”

“Gotcha.” He pushed to his feet. “Then I’ll walk Alexis home.”

“I live right next door,” Alexis said. “I think I can make it on my own.”

“But what fun would that be?” He gave Stone a determined look. “I’ll be back tomorrow to help with the doggy door and to take some measurements for the fence and—”

“Yeah, fine, whatever.” Stone waved that off. “I wasn’t cutting you out.”

Confused by that exchange, Keisha looked at Alexis, but her friend didn’t appear to find anything amiss.

It took only moments for Alexis to gather her purse and say goodbye to the pets. Given that Stone held Keisha close to his side, Alexis merely waved to her. To Stone, she offered, “I can fire up my grill tomorrow, if you think you’ll be here that long.”

Steve answered for him, saying, “I’ll bring the steaks.”

Moments later, they were alone, and Keisha felt such a smoldering rush of excitement she could barely contain herself.

Stone turned her to face him. “Your fence out back isn’t secure enough to leave the dogs out alone.”

“I know.” She planned to work on that while they put in the doggy door.

“Do they sleep with you?”

“Sometimes.” The loss of her mother had changed her in so many ways. Years earlier a dog would have never been in her bed but now she enjoyed the comfort they provided.

“I figured.” He held her upper arms, his thumbs caressing. “You have a spare room?”

She nodded while staring at his incredible mouth, thinking about his kiss, his taste.

She saw his smile and met his gaze.

“You wanna show me where it is?”

“The spare room?”

His smiled widened. “We don’t want the dogs joining us, honey.”

“Oh.” She glanced around and saw that the animals all stood on standby. “I have treats.”

The animals went nuts over that. Keisha rushed to the kitchen and grabbed treats to keep them happy for a while.

Her babies were so content she closed the gate to keep them in the kitchen. “That’s what I do when I have to clean the floors.”

“Works for me.” He took her hand and tugged her down the hall.

With each step, Keisha’s heart beat harder and her breath grew shallow.

His thumb rubbed over her knuckles. “You’re going to have to trust me on this.”

Her body felt tight and achy in key places. “On what?”

In her bedroom, Stone flipped on an overhead light, closed her door and looked around at her neatly made bed. “The second time will better.” He caught the top of her comforter and tossed it to the foot of the bed. His hot gaze landed on her. “Because I don’t know how long I’ll last with the first.”

*****

Stone told himself to slow down, to ease her into things but the second he faced her, she was on him. Arms tight around his neck. Her mouth seeking his. Her belly against his erection.

Damn.

A virgin shouldn’t be so hot, so sexy.

Stone turned her, pinned her to the wall and took over, kissing her so thoroughly that she subsided and gave in. By small degrees, she fell into that slow, deep kiss, her hands now clinging to his shoulders, her breathing harsh. He kept his hips angled to keep her still. If she squirmed against him one more time, he’d lose it.

He held her jaw in one hand and with the other stroked down her waist to her hip. She gave a ripe moan of encouragement.

Stone walked his fingers, inching up the skirt of her dress until the material bunched in his hand. She tried to ease her mouth free, but he turned his head and recaptured the kiss again. He wanted her drugged with pleasure, giving without reserve, but not so anxious.

Cupping the back of her neck to keep her steady, he stroked his tongue into her mouth at the same time he slid his hand into the back of her panties.

Soft, sleek, warm skin…

She jolted, but he crowed in closer, gentling her while exploring those incredible curves. Against her mouth, he whispered, “Okay?”

She moaned again.

He kissed her throat, down to her shoulder where he nudged aside the insubstantial strap of her sundress. “I love your ass, Keisha.” If he wasn’t already strung so tight, he could spend hours on that plump, resilient flesh. “Stand still, okay?”

Stone put a few inches between them and clasped her wrists and brought her hands down to her sides. Her eyes were heavy, and her thick lashes left shadows over her cheeks as she watched him. Lips parted, she drew in shaky breaths and nodded.

In an excruciating tease, Stone caught the straps of her sundress with his pinkies. Slowly he eased both down to her elbows, down, down until the material dragged over her nipples, and exposed her full breasts.

It took him a second to form the words. “Damn, you’re beautiful.”

He grazed her left nipple, and she shivered in excitement. “I’m rushing things, sorry but I can’t…” He shook his head bent down, drawing that tightly budded nipple into his hot mouth.

Keisha’s back arched and she sank her fingers into his hair, holding him close. On tiptoe, she offered herself up to him, but that wasn’t enough. He gripped her bottom and lifted her more, holding her suspended like that while he sucked on her.

“Stone…”

Throbbing, rigid with need, he switched to her other breast. Keisha squirmed, her heat against his abdomen. With every pulse beat of time her breathing became more ragged.

“Oh, God!”

No way. He released her nipple to look up her and saw everything she felt in her expressive face. Close to release, eyes closed and head back, she panted through parted lips.

A rush of heat slammed over him. He reached behind her, found a zipper on the dress and, lacking all finesse, wrestled it down. For half a minute he struggled with tangled arms and straps and then, finally, pushed it down and over lush hips. It fell to the floor, a soft cotton puddle of color that emphasized the brown hues of her bare skin.

“Damn.” He soaked in the sight of her wearing no more than a miniscule scrap of white lace. “Nice panties.” He pressed a hand to his erection, but there’d be no containing his lust, not now with her standing there almost naked and so incredibly perfect.

Keisha’s hands flatted against the wall behind her and she drew on leg close, bent at the knee in an unconsciously seductive pose. She turned her head the side and her hair fell forward to half cover her face. Her nipples were wet and tight from his mouth, her belly sucked in, her skin flushed.

Standing there like that, shy even while on the edge of release, she was the most stunning woman he’d ever seen.

“Don’t move, love. Stay just like that.” Stone reached back and grabbed fistfuls of his T-shirt to strip it over his head.

She peeked at him, breathing faster, attention rapt.

He kicked off his shoes, shoved his jeans down and took off his socks at the same time.

Keisha’s gaze dropped fast to his dark, tented boxers, but he didn’t dare remove those yet or he’d never survive. He fished his wallet from his jeans pocket, quickly located two condoms and put them on her nightstand. He kicked the jeans aside.

He gazed at her again. “You nervous?”

“No.” She met his eyes with a heat of her own. “Not with you.”

He braced his hands on the wall at either side of her head. “I’m on the ragged edge here, honey.” He tried to draw on last reserves, but he had none. He put his forehead to hers. “I don’t want to rush you but…”

“Shh.” Tentatively, she touched his chest, stroking through his chest hair, up over a shoulder, down his side. “Do you know how you look?”

“Like a really horny guy? Yeah, I know.” He put his nose to temple and breathed in her warmed scent. It wasn’t enough, not even close. He kissed her cheek, nipple her earlobe, opened his mouth on her throat.

If he could just hold it together long enough to get her caught up again.

Her small hand gripped him through his boxers, sending his breath to hiss out in a rush of sensation. “Keisha.”

“I want to take off my panties.”

“Yeah, okay.” He panted. “You gotta turn me loose first, love.” It took everything he had to life her hand away from him, then he forced himself to step back. “Go on.”

She blushed, either with embarrassment or excitement, he couldn’t tell.

He tortured himself by watching as she put her thumbs in the narrow waistband, bent at the waist and straightened again.

Naked.

His heart rapped so hard into his ribs, it almost hurt.

“Your turn,” she said.

Without taking his gaze off her body, he shoved his boxers away and reached for her. “Come here.” He pulled her close and took her mouth while touching her everywhere, over her breasts, down her narrow back, and over her amazing backside.

Keisha tried to reciprocate, but Stone tumbled her into the bed and pinned her hands down. She whimpered in protest. Stone kept on kissing her while locking her wrists together with one hand.

With the other, he explored her sweet little body, over her breasts, her ribs, the slight rise of her belly.

She twisted her mouth free. “Not fair.”