Take Me I'm Yours (Coffee House Chronicles) (5 page)

“This is the guy
you’re with?” Ethan asked. His face had paled with shock, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“
Yes, it is,” she said smoothly and gave him a haughty look down her nose. He could kiss her for that.

Her voice never wavered with her lie, but Graeme’s heart hammered hard in his chest.
Surely she could feel it beneath her fingertips. Ethan’s jaw clenched, the muscles flexing with his agitation. He glanced between the two before pointing at Marion.

“
This isn’t over yet, Marion,” Ethan said. “I still want you and not for sex. Like him.” He thumbed toward Graeme.

The two of them watched as Ethan
stalked down the street. Marion released his hand, much to his disappointment, and stepped back, running a hand through her long hair.

“What an asshole!” she
shouted at Ethan’s disappearing form. He didn’t turn back, but there was no way Ethan didn’t hear her. Marion turned back to him and huffed, disturbing her bangs. “Sorry about that, Graeme.”

“About what?” Using him as her pretend lover? Like that
really hurt his feelings.

“I shouldn’t have misled Ethan to think you and I were…” Her words trailed off and she bit her lip. A blush colored her high cheekbones
.

“It’s all right,” he said quickly. Oh, how he wanted to reach for her, to hold her in his arms and kiss those lovely pink cheekbones.
It was time to put his idea of having fun at Ethan’s expensive into motion. “What if…” He reached for her hand, slipping her fingers between his. “What if we let him think that?”

Her eyes widened and then a slow smile spread across her face. “But…that would be wrong
.”

He held her hand against his chest, feeling the warmth again of her skin and cracked a broad smile. “If pretending you’re my girl is wrong, then I don’t want to be right.”

Marion giggled and pulled away, slapping him playfully on the arm. “Oh, Graeme. You’re so funny.” She stepped back, closer to the door to the bookstore. “I’ve…missed you.”

Perhaps there was something more to this than friendship. Or perhaps he was reading between non-existent lines. Whatever the case, he wasn’t going to let her go so easily.

“Seriously, Marion. What do you say we have a little fun?”

“I don’t know.”

He shrugged. “Okay. Maybe you’ll let me know if you change your mind.” He’d give her an out and not pressure her. He turned, started to leave, knowing what a dangerous game that would be. He didn’t want to play with her affections or have her
think
that’s what he was doing. He wanted her of her own free will.

“Graeme,” she called and he turned back giving her a questioning look. “You don’t really use women. Do you?”

The
ah-ha
moment. Clearly, what Ethan said made somewhat of an impact on her.
The bastard.
Well, then. He would set the record straight. “No, Marion. I don’t.”

He took a step toward her, as if he had to prove he wasn’t that kind of man. That he wasn’t the kind of man who disposed of women as easily as disposing a paper coffee cup. Her gaze never left his, her soft brown eyes wide as he came close. He could smell her perfume on the wind, hear the flutter of her breath as he neared
.

He reached for her, sweeping
his hand through her hair before resting it on her neck and leaning in. Her lips parted in anticipation and he knew she wouldn’t stop him.

His mouth landed on hers, gently tasting the sweet recess of her mouth. She leaned against him, one hand on his chest and he could hear her inhale. Their lips touched, softly, as they kissed each other for the first time. She yielded to him easily, her mouth only slightly parted. He dipped his tongue inside, sweeping the length of her bottom lip.

Graeme didn’t linger there. He released her as quickly as he had taken hold of her, his hand still resting on her neck as he gazed down at her.

“There,” he said, his voice barely audible.
“I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited to do that.”

He flashed his best winning smile. He could see the pulse beating quickly
in her delicate throat. His thumb swept over it, paused on the wild flutter against his skin. So…his kiss had affected her too.

She stared at him a long moment, as if deciding what her next move should be. Maybe she had been struck mute by his admission he’d always wanted to kiss her and wondered what he meant by it. He wanted to tell her he’d been in love with her for a long while, silently suffering as Ethan screwed around on her. Wishing he could tell her the truth about him and want
ing to be the one she came home to. The one she loved.

But he couldn’t say any of that and he knew it.

Feeling like an idiot, Graeme dropped his hand, stepping away from her and shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

“I shouldn’t have done that, Marion. I’m sorry.”

She bit her lip and blinked. Her silence nearly drove him mad, throwing him into damage control.

“I hope we can at least be friends,” he offered. If he couldn’t have her in his bed, it was better than not having her at all in his life. He lost her once, he didn’t want to lose her again.

“Graeme, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”

His heart suddenly tripped in his chest. He never expected her to ask him to dinner and his brain completely shut down.
It was his turn to be struck mute.

“Maybe we can catch up on the
last six months of our lives,” she continued. “Unless you’re busy?”

“I’m not busy and I’d like that. Very much,” he said. He resisted the urge to grin like a fool.

She reached into her purse for a pen and piece of paper. “Great.” She scrawled something on the paper then handed it to him. “Why don’t you come by about seven?”

“Sure.”

And with that she was gone. Nothing more than a whisper in the wind. When she was finally out of his sight, he glanced down at the paper in his hand. She had given him her home address and her telephone number.

He wondered then if she wanted him to pick her up for dinner out or…stay i
n. He’d be prepared either way.

Chapter Four

Marion swore she could still feel Graeme’s lips on hers. Her heart fluttered at the memory as she walked down the street toward her car. He had tasted faintly of mint and coffee, a flavor somewhat interesting, though not displeasing. And she loved the way his mouth brushed hers in that tentative gentle kiss.

Running her tongue over her still-tingling lips, she
tried to conjure back that whisper of a touch. As she contemplated the way his lips brushed hers, she wished it had been a deep soul-searing kiss. The kind of devastating kiss that could rock her off her axis. And she couldn’t help but wonder what such a kiss would feel like with Graeme.

Graeme
.
She had known him for so long and it had never occurred to her to think of him romantically. But now she couldn’t
stop
thinking of him that way. With that one little kiss, he had awakened the sleeping woman inside her. Her curiosity made her want more from him.

I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited to do that.

His words flooded back to her and she pressed her hand against her abdomen to still the butterflies. Did that mean what she thought it did? How long had he wanted to do that? Months? Years?

She had to find out. She had to know.
It was exactly why she had blurted out the invitation to dinner.

Usually
, she thought things through before being impulsive. But this time, she allowed her emotions to rule her. She had never asked a man out and now there was no going back.

She opened her car door and slid inside. Her stomach cramped and s
omething told her this would not be an ordinary let’s-just-be-friends dinner. She
did
want to catch up on the last few months of their lives. And she
did
want to spend time with Graeme. And, okay, she wanted to see him naked. On top of her.

Marion blushed as she stuck the key in the ignition. What was wrong with her?
One little kiss and now she wanted him naked on top of her. It was as though she’d been turned into some wanton hussy.

Maybe
there was something intoxicating about blowing off Ethan.

Or maybe
she really liked Graeme.

Her mind raced with possibilities. She wanted Graeme all to herself.
She didn’t want to share his attention with a server. No distractions. They’d wasted enough time waiting for each other and she wanted him all to herself. No going out on the town. No bar hoping. Just a nice home cooked meal and a bottle of wine.

And possibilities.

Now she had to figure out what to cook. A culinary whiz she was not. But Delilah was. And Delilah could help her decide what to wear. Both were equally important and both had to be a little spicy and a little sexy.

But Marion hadn’t the first clue how to seduce a man. Correction, how to seduce Graeme. Friends—bah! Forget that. She wanted Graeme in all his glory. However, she didn’t want to come off as pathetic and needy. Nor did she want to seem desperate.

In the
stifling heat of the car, sweat rolling down her back, she rummaged in her bag for her cell. She snatched it and dialed. Delilah Storm to the rescue.

“Hey! What’s up?”

Marion grinned at her friend’s answer. “Hey, Del. I need some help. I’m having a friend over for dinner tonight and—”

“Wait.
What kind of friend? Guy friend?”

Marion hesitated. “Yes. Guy friend.”

“Guy friend as in ‘Strictly Platonic Friend’. Or friend as in ‘Let’s Get Naked and Have Fun Friend’. Just so I’m clear.” Only Delilah could come up with that.

“Um…”
Could Marion be that transparent? And how could Delilah glean that from her one use of the word
friend
. She had only said that for lack of anything better to use.

“Okay, since it’s the latter—”

“I never said that!”

“You paused, Mar. You paused. I can totally tell when you have
an I-want-to-get-naked-crush on someone.”

“How can you tell that in a two
-point-three second conversation?”

“Trust me. I can. It’s your tone of voice.”

“Well, I don’t want to get naked with him,” Marion protested, even though she knew she wanted to get naked. “He’s a friend. That’s all. Nothing else. A friend.”

“Uh huh.
Sure, he is. You keep telling yourself that and I’ll pretend I don’t hear you. Now, I’d suggest you wear a skirt, thigh-high stockings and the highest heels you have—”

“Delilah,” Marion groaned. “I swear he’s not that kind of guy. He’s a nice guy.”
True, Graeme was a nice guy but she secretly hoped there was a bad boy underneath.

“
Mar, there are two kinds of men in this world. Nice men who want to get you naked and not-so-nice men who want to get you naked.”

“
Graeme isn’t like that.”

“All men are like that and um,
Graeme
?” She could hear the recognition in her friend’s voice. “The same Graeme who was best man to the Scumbag Who Shall Remain Nameless?”

“Right. That one.”

Delilah heaved a heavy sigh. Marion could picture her exasperation. It made her smile. “Why are you calling me then?” she asked.

Suddenly her reason for calling seemed ridiculous. She
tried to decide how to ask her friend the silly questions cluttering her brain. What
was
she doing with Graeme? She would have thought he couldn’t want her in a million years, but after that kiss he laid on her, maybe she thought wrong.

He was good-looking and sweet and…Ethan’s former best friend.
Could there potentially be bad blood between them? Could Ethan really cause problems with her and Graeme? Not that she would even consider getting back with Ethan. Not even if he begged. Not even if he crawled to her on his hands and knees over broken glass, stark naked in front of the Pope himself and asked her back.

“Hello, Marion?”

“Oh, right. I, uh—”

“Oh, girl. You need an intervention. I’m on my way.”

“But I’m not home!” she protested again.

“Then I’ll meet you there in twenty.”

* * * * *

When t
he doorbell rang, Marion whisked open the door. She had to quickly get out of the way as Delilah stormed by her, leaving a trail of spicy perfume that was her signature scent. As usual, she was dressed to perfection even in a pair of faded blue jeans and a bohemian tunic. Without a greeting, she headed straight for her bedroom.

“Not even a hello?”
Marion gaped after her and finally swung the door shut.