She trudged up the steps of the porch and wondered what her brothers would think of Major Kyle Waters. Despite Becca’s warning and her own unwillingness to get involved, Olivia couldn’t stop the tingle of excitement that struck her the minute she walked through the door.
She smelled something that made her mouth water and looked beyond the foyer into the small, cozy kitchen. She stared in amazement at the intimate seating for two at the table, at the candlelight and bottle of wine chilling on the counter.
“You’re right on time,” Kyle said from behind the stove. He grinned, and her heart beat double-time.
“Am I interrupting anything?” She stared cautiously from him to the table.
Please let him say yes. Let me get the hell out of here before I forget all the reasons I shouldn’t get involved with him.
“No. This is for you. Call it an apology for last night. Besides, it’ll make my suggestion easier to swallow on a full stomach.”
Hearing him say “swallow” sent her mind straight to the gutter, and she prayed he couldn’t read the blush staining her cheeks. Honestly, she was turning into a carbon copy of Maria.
“You really didn’t have to do this,” she protested, secretly amazed the man could cook.
He shrugged, his powerful biceps bunching as he withdrew a baking sheet from the oven. “I wanted to.” He gave her a look she couldn’t decipher. Then he set the tray he held down and walked to her.
“I hope you’re hungry,” he said in a soft voice and led her to the table. He held a chair out for her and waited until she sat. She turned to find him leaning down, his breath fanning her face. He stared at her lips and licked his own. “Because I’m starving.”
Kyle watched Olivia eat, pleased she had no problems appeasing her appetite in front of him. It used to irritate him the way Becca toyed with her food, especially when he’d gone to the trouble of preparing it.
Olivia glanced up at him and flushed. “Sorry, it’s just that it was a long day, and I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
“You work around food all day. How can you not eat?”
She shrugged and snagged another forkful of steak. “I get busy. My mind was on other things today.”
Silence held as they ate, and Kyle wondered what she thought about the previous night, after some time and space away from him.
To break the silence and persuade Olivia to relax the tension visible in her taut frame, he asked her about work. “So how is it you’re home so late? I know it’s your shop, but do you really work from opening to closing?”
“No. We don’t close until nine. I open the shop around five thirty for morning preparations. My friend Maria helps, then Emma shows around three. She’s my afternoon employee. Sometimes she and John work together until closing unless she’s got band rehearsal, like she did today. That’s when Tina comes in, as extra help.”
“So you normally leave at six?” He wanted to ask if she’d been avoiding him but didn’t think he’d like her answer.
“Yeah. I would have been here earlier, but I had a bunch of paperwork waiting for me.”
He let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. Good. She hadn’t deliberately avoided him. His questioning seemed to have worked. She looked more at ease, her face brightening as she talked about her job.
He studied her hair bound in a thick ponytail. The style exposed her delicate ears and slender neck. She had soft, creamy skin that tasted as good as it looked. All too easily he remembered last night, and he had to focus to stifle the heat that burned through him.
“So, Olivia, about the lease arrangements,” he began.
“It’s okay, Kyle. I’ll have my things out of here by the end of the week.”
He studied her, pleased to see she looked no happier than him at news of leaving. “That may be a bit premature.”
She glanced up, her whiskey-brown eyes questioning.
“I think we can work things out if you’re agreeable to the solution I came up with.”
She set down her fork and waited, and he mentally crossed his fingers.
“What I propose is that you continue to live here until your lease is up. You intended to stay until at least February, right?”
She nodded, her gaze wary.
“It’s not your fault Becca was such a…” He paused and ended with, “misleading person.”
Her lips quirked. “That’s a nice way of putting it.”
He grinned. “Tact is something I’ve been practicing. But my point is you shouldn’t suffer for Becca’s lies. There are two rooms in this house. Most of my stuff is in the other bedroom, and they’re mostly things I don’t use. I’ve been meaning to put them in a storage facility, to clean out that room for either a study or spare bedroom anyway. You’re giving me the perfect opportunity to stop procrastinating.”
She looked undecided. “Well—”
“Look. I feel really bad about last night. Not bad about
all
of it, only the part where I scared you.” He grinned wolfishly, turning on the charm.
She blushed, a becoming shade of rose that made her look extremely kissable.
“I promise not to put my hands on you unless you want them there.”
“An arrogant thing to say, don’t you think?”
“Maybe, maybe not.” Her lips fascinated him. He wanted to feel them all over him, on his mouth, his belly, his cock... Then she licked her lips, and he was so aroused he could have poked through the damn table with his hard-on. “You are so pretty,” he admitted, hoping he didn’t sound like a sap.
He thought he saw a mirrored hunger in her expression before she blinked it away and took a deep, even breath. She murmured her thanks for the compliment and took a long drink of water. To his satisfaction, her hand trembled around the glass when she set it back down.
“Come on, Olivia. I think you and I could be great roommates.” He couldn’t help the innuendo that laced his tone, too much in lust to control his tongue.
To his surprise and pleasure, she laughed at him. “Convince me, Romeo. What’s so great about a man, and a Marine at that, as a roommate?”
“I’m neat, I cook, and I don’t snore.”
She chuckled, and he continued on a more serious note.
“I’ll respect your privacy, and you’ll be safe here. Trust me, no one will mess with you while I’m around.” The thought of anyone harming Olivia made him see red.
“I really wasn’t looking forward to moving,” she said slowly. “It’s very nice of you to offer to let me ride out the lease. I’d like to stay.” She paused and blushed a deeper pink. “But about last night. That kind of thing can’t happen again.”
It can, and it will
. “I understand.” He changed the subject, not wanting to scare her into changing her mind.
For the remainder of the meal, they made small talk that put them both at ease. To Kyle’s surprise, he felt as though he could tell Olivia anything. She listened to him, and for the first time in a long time, Kyle found himself having fun with a woman. He truly enjoyed her company. Her mind intrigued him as much as her body did, increasing his desire to know
all
of her. He knew he wouldn’t last much longer without tasting her again.
Once they finished dinner, he stood and cleared their plates. He returned to the table and pulled her chair out to help her stand. Instead of backing off to give her space, Kyle moved closer, so that her breasts brushed his chest. She froze, her lips parting on a breath.
“The kind of thing that can’t happen again. You mean something like this. I shouldn’t do
this
again.” He leaned down to skim his lips over her mouth. He moved slowly, giving her the chance to say no. She didn’t. “I definitely shouldn’t touch you like this.” He brought his arms around her waist, drawing her deeper into his embrace.
“No, you shouldn’t,” she said on a breath, her eyes wide as they stared up into his. She licked her lips in invitation, and he lowered his head once more.
No holds barred, this woman belonged to him.
Olivia groaned.
Oh hell
. He’d shared his home and his food and now offered to make good on a promise his ex-girlfriend had given? He cooked like a gourmet and kissed better than her fantasies. And the muscles under her fingers begged to be stroked.
Thoughts fled as his lips devoured hers. She moaned, unable to stop the desperate gasp for sanity. He tasted sweeter than honey, a drugging combination of sex and tenderness that made her want to consume him.
He deepened the kiss, searching and teasing her mouth with his tongue, until all Olivia felt was raw, overpowering need.
She rubbed against him, excited to feel his erection burning against her stomach. He was hard, his shaft like iron, but he made no move to overwhelm her with his desire. Instead, he held back, allowing her to set the pace.
She gasped when his lips left her mouth to trail down her throat, and she groaned when he sucked at the pulse point in her neck. “I didn’t want to do this so soon.” Arching into his searing mouth, she tried to reassure him she wasn’t as easy as she seemed. “I don’t do this.”
“You’ll do it with me,” his voice rumbled. “The sooner the better.”
When he pulled back, she saw the intensity burning in his eyes, their color so dark they looked black.
“Olivia,” he rasped as she rubbed against his erection again. “If you don’t want this, tell me now. I’m fast getting to the point of no return.”
His breathing was labored, his body jerky whenever she pressed him. He closed his eyes and remained still, and Olivia couldn’t wait another minute. To hell with caution and a five-year plan. Tonight she would cater to her fantasies. For a year she’d been dreaming about this—
him
. That Kyle seemed as genuinely caring as he was sexy tipped her over the edge.
“Let’s try out that bed again,” she whispered against his lips.
He didn’t give her a moment to reconsider. Hefting her over one shoulder in a fireman’s carry, he raced up the stairs.
“Kyle!” she protested on a laugh.
Then she was in his arms, being lowered to her feet next to the bed, and all laughter ceased.
“Take off your clothes, Olivia,” he urged in a harsh whisper. He backed away to give her some space and watched her like a hawk. “Take them off slowly, for me.”
Olivia already felt like a massive bundle of nerves, but the clear desire in Kyle’s eyes empowered her. He whipped off his shirt, and she stared wide-eyed at the bounty before her.
Biting her lip to keep from blurting how much she wanted him right now, she slowly unbuttoned her shirt and let it fall. His gaze fastened on her breasts, and her nipples hardened, needing his touch.
“More,” he uttered in a hoarse voice as he removed his shoes and jeans, leaving on only a short pair of white boxer briefs to tease.
She swallowed audibly. “You are so... built. God, Kyle. You’re gorgeous.” She stared in wonder at his body. His arms and chest were corded with muscle, strength abundant in his powerful body tense with need. Her eyes traveled lower, over his taut thighs and sculpted calves, and then returned to that part of him that dazzled her. “And so big,” she added bluntly, breathlessly anticipating the huge bulge straining his Jockeys.
He laughed at her candor and teased the band of his underwear. “Honey, you have no idea how much I want to see the rest of you. Gorgeous doesn’t come close to your figure.”
For once Olivia felt grateful for the generous breasts and flared hips that gave her a true hourglass shape. She’d always longed for a slimmer frame, like Maria’s. But now, with Kyle looking at her like a starving man, she took pride in her figure.
She removed her jeans and toyed with the front clasp of her bra. Fingering her lacy panties, she teased, “Why don’t you take these off?”
He licked his lips and nodded, saying nothing. Every step he took toward her made her vibrate with desire. Something about Kyle Waters triggered a violent need within her, one she’d never before experienced.
Rough fingers grazed the undersides of her breasts as he deftly undid the front clasp, baring her flesh. The minute his smooth chest brushed her breasts, heat sparked through her veins, centering between her legs with visceral awareness.
“I want to fuck you so much.” He ran his fingers over her nipples. “I’ve been a walking hard-on all day,” he admitted as he slid the material over her arms to the floor then stared down at her.
He cupped her breasts like he had last night, rubbing the globes with his callused palms. “You’re so soft, so sweet,” he murmured, his hands full. His fingers eased over her nipples, pinching and pulling until she was panting, squirming to get closer.
“Tell me you want this.” He lowered his mouth to engulf one nipple.
“
Kyle.
” She clutched his head, aware his touch exceeded her fantasies. “I want you.” She pulled his head up so that their gazes met. “I want
all
of you. But I have to know you’re safe.”
“Olivia?”
“I’m, well, I take birth control, and I haven’t dated in a long time. I’m healthy. How about you?” A roundabout way of asking if he was clean. She wanted him like crazy, but Olivia wasn’t stupid. Embarrassed at having to bring up the subject, but not stupid.
His expression cleared, and his eyes brightened. “
Right
. Well, I haven’t been with anyone in more than nine months. Since before my last physical, in fact. I’m clean, honey. And I want to come inside you like you can’t believe.” He paused. “You’re positive it’s okay?”
“It’s okay,” she said softly and caressed the back of his neck, on fire to have him.
He groaned and returned his attention to her body, caressing her nipples with his mouth and his long, skilled fingers. “Tell me you want me to fuck you,” he ordered and sucked at her other breast, pulling so hard her she nearly came.
She moaned and clutched his shoulders, his back, anything she could reach. His frank talk increased her excitement, and even as she said it, she grew wetter with renewed arousal. “I want you to fuck me.” She grabbed his hand and forced it to her panties. “Feel how wet I am.”
He needed no further goading and slid his hand beneath her underwear, guiding his finger between her folds deep into her sex.