His Kind of Wonderful (Sugar Bay #2) (15 page)

Derek nodded dumbly and dropped his end of the cooler before scrambling to his wife’s side.

Joe frantically juggled the burden so it wouldn’t land on his toe. “A little warning next time!”

“Sorry,” Derek said with a grunt, without looking back.

“If he liked it any more, I’d need to shield my eyes.” Dani muttered and stepped around the couple while Derek whispered in
Anabelle’s ear. From the low
chuckle Anabelle released, Derek’s plans for the morning had changed.

“Joe, you and Dani can go ahead without us. I just remembered a project I need to finish and Anabelle’s going to assist on it.”

“So, you’re not going to the beach with us?”

“Nah. We’re good, right?” Derek’s stared pointedly between Joe and Dani as if Joe needed the reminder.

He sighed. “Yeah. We’re good.” His friend had put his faith on Joe’s sorry ass and he wouldn’t let him down.

“Excellent. Come on Anabelle, let’s go pack.”

Anabelle’s face was pink but she let her husband hustle her into the cottage. Minutes later, the duo had their belongings packed and were seated in Anabelle’s little white Prius.

“Be good.” Derek said before he backed out the drive. His rush sent crushed shells spraying behind him.

“My brother is a horn dog.” Dani said, standing next to him while they waved the couple off. “I don’t know who he thinks he’s fooling. But on the positive side, I might get a nephew or another niece out of his ‘project’.”

At last the dust settled and all was silent except for the gulf behind them.

“So,” Dani said, facing him with an impish grin on her face. “Alone at last.”

He groaned.
Damn Derek and his trust in Joe
.

She took a step forward and almost brushed against him. He backpedaled and bumped into the front door. Reaching behind him, he felt for the doorknob.

“Where are you going, Joe?”

She reached for him and he grabbed her wrist.

“You promised.”

“Yes. About that.”

“You’re not reneging are you?” She pulled back with a hand on her hip.

“No. But since you’re living here temporarily and in light of your brother’s trust in me, we need to set up some ground rules.”

She looked at him, suspicion apparent. “Go on.”

“While we’re here together, we should go along with business as usual during the day. No experimentation. But after dinner, we can spend an hour or so on your research.”

“One hour?”

“Too much?”

“No! I think we should sleep together. I’d like to get a feel for a man’s habits.”

He recoiled from the thought of that torture. “No,” he replied quickly.

She sent him a narrow eyed look.

“That won’t work. We both need sleep to function properly and I’m told I snore like a hemi.” Her eyes widened at that lie but he went on in a desperate attempt to save his sanity. “How about the hours after dinner to bedtime? That’s plenty of time for whatever topic you want to go over.”

She studied him without speaking and the furrow on her forehead made him want to smooth it away but he kept his best game face on. If she knew how much power she had over him, he’d be a goner. It was best to limit her access. He knew sleep would be elusive in the first place but he had his sanity to think of—and of course, the welfare of his balls.

“Don’t forget—there won’t be any intercourse.”

She gave him a doubtful look. Frankly, he doubted his willpower as well, but he had to give it his best attempt. His honor was at stake.

“None? I thought you’d change your mind after last night.” She sent him a hot look from under her lashes. “I know I’m open to revising our original agreement.”

“Nope.” He shook his head. He wanted to think he’d done it in a firm authoritative manner and not frantically like an in-over-his-head lunatic. “Absolutely no intercourse.”

“By no intercourse, do you mean Clinton’s definition of no intercourse?”

“I mean no insert tab A into slot B.”

“Does that mean tab A can be inserted in slot C or D?” she shot back.

She was going to kill him.
He opened his mouth then closed it for lack of a response.

She grinned. “Just kidding. Slot D is closed for business. Slot D is an exit only.” She winked and stepped closer. Her scent wrapped around him and sweat trickled down his back. “But I’d love for you to utilize slot C.”

He gulped.
Have mercy.
“I don’t think that will be a good idea.” He was a dead man. If Derek ever found out about their little experiment, he’d kill Joe. That is, if Dani didn’t kill Joe first with lust. “Deal?”

She sighed. “Deal.” Dani turned the knob he’d been holding onto for dear life and grinned. The fact that she looked like she was up to something didn’t bode well for him.

“So I’ll see you later, then?” He was proud his voice didn’t squeak like a prepubescent kid.

“Yep.”

He exhaled, glad the confrontation was over and he’d held firm. A small victory but he’d take it. “You can use any room in the house. I’ll be in the garage workshop so don’t go in there. It’s dirty, messy and has lots of fragile items. I’d prefer you didn’t go in there.”

“Don’t worry.” She shook her head at him. “I won’t invade your man cave. Everyone’s entitled to their little secrets.”

She let herself in his cottage and sashayed off as if completely unconcerned he was a sweaty, horny mess.

Chapter Ten

Dani nestled in the swinging bed on the back deck. She’d arranged the pillows to situate herself for a better workflow. Periodically she checked facts using her many open reference books spread around her, but for the most part, she tapped away steadily on her MacBook Air and enjoyed the gulf breeze. Every one in a while she scribbled questions in her notebook to research later. The day crept by while she made progress on her current novel set once again in Scotland. She had a fondness for the Scottish hero but had a new idea for a Viking hero next.

She was curious about Joe’s secret man cave. Even though she’d acted blasé about his studio earlier, a part of her wanted to storm the locked doors and see what the great secrecy was about. When she’d gone for a walk to stretch her legs, she’d heard music as she’d passed the doors but not much else.

After her failed attempt at reconnaissance, she’d wasted a couple of hours on social media and an online word game she played for the sake of ‘keeping her mind limber’. Once she’d buried her phone under the pillow, she started making better progress. She saw Joe once when she’d been deep into her word count and he’d dropped off a sandwich and chips for her lunch. But beyond that, they each stayed in their designated territory.

At last the sun began its descent towards the horizon and the sky turned shades of pink and orange. Anticipation made her heart race and her body hum.

She knew Joe worked on Monday so she felt a need to maximize her research this weekend just in case he had a change of heart. The bachelor auction was next weekend so her nights were limited. After the auction, things would return to normal and Joe would no longer need her to play pretend.

Her stomach grumbled. The loud sound startled her so she went to the kitchen for reconnaissance. Unfortunately, she wasn’t adept at the culinary arts except for her expert use of the microwave oven. A survey of the refrigerator contents showed a distinct lack of frozen foods. She couldn’t decide if that was a plus or a negative sign. On the plus side, it meant Joe could cook from scratch. On the negative side, it meant, Dani would starve without Joe around unless she went grocery shopping.

“You hungry?”

Dani jumped at the sound of Joe’s voice behind her. She closed the refrigerator door and faced him.

“Getting there.”

He nodded and went to the sink to wash his hands.

“Are you done with whatever you’re doing in your secret man cave?”

He shrugged. “I found a stopping point.”

Dani was rabidly curious but as the youngest, she’d hated the nosiness of her siblings so she forced herself to let go of her questions.

“What do you feel like eating?”

“I’m easy.” He gave her a look and she grinned. “I’m talking about food preferences.”

He grunted. “Better be.” He opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a Ziploc bag of marinated meat, a couple of potatoes and a pouch of broccoli.

“How can I help?”

“Well, I don’t know. Didn’t you warn me you weren’t a good cook?” He deposited the broccoli in a steamer.

“You never know. I’ve been watching some cooking shows lately. I might surprise you.” He gave her the potatoes and a tall pot. She filled the pot with water and added a little salt.

“Should I be worried?”

“Maybe. But since you’re supervising, it might be palatable.” She washed the potatoes and began cutting them into smaller pieces.

Joe grunted. “What’s your cooking resume like?”

“I made soup once.”

“From scratch? That’s impressive.” He checked the grill. It was hot so she assumed he’d turned it on earlier.

“Yeah. No.” She watched him arrange the steaks on the rack.

“Why not?”

“In the middle of my inspired attempt at vegetable soup, I realized I was missing half the ingredients.”

“That’s not good.” His eyes crinkled at the corners and she got distracted at the golden highlights in his eyes. “So what did you do?”

“I had just finished a Russian documentary and thought Borsch soup would be exotic.” She made a face at her stupidity. “Since we had a can of beets, I switched gears.”

Joe stopped grilling. “So how’d that go?”

“Let’s just say, the color was really pretty. It was reddish pink—a gorgeous presentation, if I do say so myself.”

“Uh huh, but how did it taste?”

“I’m getting there.” She checked the boiling water and dumped the cut potatoes in.

“Beg your pardon.”

She nodded. “I’d set the table up with our holiday dishes and called everyone to dinner. Keep in mind, I was ten, Derek was twelve and Dylan was seventeen. Our dad was there that night and since it was seldom he didn’t work a double shift, it was a special night.”

Joe nodded. Derek must have mentioned their dad was a phantom during their childhood—always working or off with a woman. In essence they’d raised one another.

“Yeah, well, Derek took one sip of my special soup and spewed pink liquid all over the place.”

Joe barked with laughter. “Didn’t taste good?”

“I might have mismeasured the black pepper when the soup had still been a vegetable soup.”

“Yikes.”

“Derek told me, straight up, it sucked but he was such a punk back then, I ignored him. But when I saw my dad and Dylan try to eat and saw their eyes water, I knew it was a disaster.”

“Poor Dani.” Joe grinned and it did funny things to her belly. She wished he wouldn’t do that. She knew this whole thing was a game. It had worked out that she was here as a convenience for him. It could easily have been someone else and not Dani.

“Yeah. Complete failure.” He chuckled and she smiled at his enjoyment of her embarrassment. As an adult she could laugh about it but at the time, it had been devastating. She’d run off to sob in her room until Dylan came in to console her. Later Derek had told her it hadn’t been half bad once he’d gotten used to the spiciness.

She grinned.

Family was good.

Memories were good.

But then she remembered Joe was an only child and now, alone. While she had nosy but loving siblings, he had no one. She understood why Derek’s friendship meant so much to him and why he’d set up so many rules. She felt bad for putting him in an awkward position but she couldn’t imagine anyone else she’d rather experiment with.

She would just make sure Derek never finds out.

Dani stirred the potatoes, deep in thought.

“Hey. You okay?”

She nodded and Joe stared at her as if he knew what she’d been thinking. Night had closed in and with it a sense of intimacy enveloped them.

Dani wondered how she’d get through dinner.

***

Dani sat on the guest bed and went over her notes. Fresh from her shower, she wasn’t sure what to do next. Thoughts of the upcoming night had dominated her mind for so long. Now that the time had arrived, she felt uncertain.

Should she initiate or would he come to her? She took a bracing breath. The shower was still running so she had a few minutes to get her thoughts in order.

Dinner had been a quiet affair. The steak had been perfect and she hadn’t destroyed the loaded mashed potatoes. But still, she’d been unable to finish her meal, a fact that would have raised concern from her siblings who were well aware of her large appetite. Conversation had been minimal. Each distracted, presumably, by the upcoming night. Dani knew that was her reasons but maybe Joe had other things on his mind. They’d cleaned the dinner mess in silence. While he finished the dishes, he’d suggested she take the shower first. Dani had bolted, needing no further encouragement.

The rumble of the shower stopped and Dani’s imagination took off. She pictured his tall, lean body exiting the shower. Water droplets would track a path down his chest, along his chiseled abs, and down the happy trial that led to his groin.

She fanned her hot face and looked down at her notes. Oral sex was circled in red a few times. She knew he was happy to give her orgasms. Last night had been phenomenal but she was curious about a man’s body and read any material she could find on the subject.

She needed to change his mind. The experts at Cosmo stated men were visual creatures. She looked down at her nightgown. Black and slippery, it was the sexiest thing she owned. While she wasn’t as well endowed as Anabelle up top, Joe seemed to like her legs and the nightgown exposed plenty of skin. Her hope was that he’d change his mind about consummation. She wanted pleasure for them both.

A knock rapped on the door, startling her. Her heart pounded so hard it seemed like it would be visible from the outside.

“Dani?” Joe called through the door. His voice was muffled.

“I’m coming.” She ran her fingers through her hair one last time before opening the door. Joe filled the space, smelling like soap and toothpaste. He stood before her and stroked his jaw. His face looked freshly shaven. An image of last night and his scruff against her delicate skin flashed in her mind. Her nipples hardened.