Darkest Caress (3 page)

“Sorry to call so early. Did I wake you?”

“No, it’s okay. I was already up.” Somehow she didn’t mind
him
calling so early. Not when his voice did such wicked things to her body.

“Sleep well?”

“Fine,” she lied. “You?”

“No, actually.”

His dry tone lit her curiosity. “I’m sorry to hear that. Were you stressing about the property? No one else has seen it yet, so you’ve still got time to put in an offer before the listing goes up.”

He gave a short laugh. “It wasn’t that. Listen, have you eaten yet?”

“No, I’m still in bed.” And now she couldn’t stop thinking about rolling around on it with him. Naked.

A taut silence filled the line for a moment. She thought she heard him suck in a deep breath. “Can you meet me at the house again? I’d like to take another look. I’ll bring us some breakfast.”

She sat up straight. Was he going to put in an offer already? Her heart beat faster. The commission on that property would pay off her line of credit and most if not all of her mortgage. “Sure, what time?”

“Can you be there in forty-five minutes?”

“Sure.”

“Perfect. Any food you hate?”

“No—where are you coming from, anyway? I can grab us something.”

“Downtown. And I’ll take care of it.” The way he said it made her body even hotter. As though the “it” he referred to was the insistent pressure building between her thighs.

Let me ease you.

A moan built in her throat at the thought of him doing just that. Liv closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She could
not
think about him that way. God, how was she going to look the man in the eye when she saw him? “See you in a bit,” she managed.

“Yes, you will.”

The words caused another flare of arousal, but the instant he disconnected she felt an emotional crash. A disturbing sense of loneliness filled her.

“Okay, you’re way overtired,” she muttered.

No way was she making it to the gym this morning. She texted Catherine to say she couldn’t make it and received the expected response less than a minute later.

Oh no, you don’t. I’m already on my way over.

Well, she was in for it now.

Liv set her phone down and crossed to the bathroom, the unrelieved sexual tension in her body setting her teeth on edge. Since when did her body get so hot and bothered? She didn’t appreciate her lack of control over it.

When the shower was warm enough for her to tolerate, she got in and scrubbed herself down roughly to desensitize her skin. It seemed to work because the worst of the throbbing subsided. She leaned her forehead against the slick wall with a sigh of relief then got out and toweled off.

After quickly dressing in a pale yellow sundress that showed off her summer tan, she wound her hair into a careless knot on the top of her head then grabbed her briefcase and purse. When she got to the door, her best friend Catherine was just marching up the walkway. She was clad in her usual Saturday morning battle gear of yoga pants and workout top, her wavy chestnut brown hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail.

Catherine scowled when she saw her, her dark gaze taking in Liv’s appearance as she continued up the path. “Seriously? You missed Wednesday morning, too, and now you’re going to make me go by myself again today?”

Liv waved her inside for a second while she grabbed a light sweater. “I’m really sorry,” she answered, shutting the door behind them, “but I have another showing right now on the big property I told you about.”

“I thought you showed it last night.”

“I did. The guy who looked at it called this morning and wants to see the place again.”

Catherine’s disgruntled expression softened. “Sounds serious, if he wants to see it again so soon.”

“Not sure, but I hope so.”

Her friend gave a sly grin. “Bet the commission on that place would be sweet.”

“God, you have no idea. And Cath, you should see this guy.”

“Hot?”

“So much more than hot. He’s total alpha male sex appeal.”

Catherine’s eyes widened. “Wow, coming from you, that’s quite a compliment. Is he single? Maybe I should come with you.”

“He’s single, but you’ll just have to take my word on how hot he is, because I have to run. Do a mile for me on the treadmill, okay? I’ll make it up to you next week, I promise.” Liv gave her a quick hug.

Catherine bussed her cheek with a kiss. “Not likely,” she said, heading out the door.” And skipping out on me’s gonna cost you a bottle of my favorite red wine plus full disclosure about this meeting. I want to hear all about this guy and whether or not you get the sale.”

“Okay, that’s fair.” After locking the door behind them she stood next to her car, waved as Catherine pulled away.

The ten-minute drive to the property was uneventful except for the beginnings of another headache building at the base of her skull. It always happened like this—once they started they came in clusters and the whole cycle took a few days to go away. But lately they’d been worse.

She rolled her head around a couple of times to ease the muscles in her neck, silently cursing Aaron Moore. Apparently her body didn’t like the man any more than the rest of her did.

When she turned into the French country mansion’s driveway, her mood lifted. The house was as beautiful as ever, and Daegan’s black Porsche was already parked under the porte-cochère, looking like it belonged there. A ripple of excitement stole through her. It surprised her how much she was looking forward to seeing him again.

He wasn’t waiting for her at the front door. She walked around the side of the house to the back lawn and froze when she found him standing with his back to her at the cliff’s edge. His dark hair gleamed in the sun as he stared out at the calm water below, the muscles across his shoulders and back evident under his sapphire dress shirt.

She drew a sharp breath and caught a faint whiff of his scent carried on the breeze: cinnamon and cloves with a touch of citrus. Her heart started a painful thump against her ribs, a flare of heat hitting her between the legs.

Before she could move, he turned his head and saw her. She couldn’t see his eyes beneath the dark wraparound sunglasses, but she knew without a doubt he was looking at her. She couldn’t move. Her muscles refused to obey as he came toward her, his long legs eating up the distance between them.

“Morning,” he said, closing the gap.

“Hi,” she answered breathlessly. Had she ever been this attracted to a man? Her body was going haywire. And she didn’t even know him.

Daegan’s hard expression softened as he smiled and removed his shades. The result took her breath away. She felt the impact of those pale blue eyes right into her center. Her body was hot and cold at the same time. Her core squeezed, dampened, assaulting her with memories of the naughty dreams she’d had about him.

Stop it. Stop it right now.

Liv held out a hand, determined to act like a professional no matter if the man made her body go crazy. “Welcome back.”

“It’s good to be back,” he said, grasping her hand in a gentle grip.

Her stomach did a pleasurable flip, like she was plunging down the first drop of a rollercoaster. The pressure between her legs intensified. She snatched her hand back, set her palms against the small of her back. Okay, no more touching him. No matter how much she wanted to.

“I left the food in my car,” he said, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets. The move emphasized the roped muscles in his forearms.

She could feel a blush working its way up her neck.
Stop staring.
“Sounds good, thank you.” Leading him back to their cars, she was acutely aware of him behind her. Her skin tingled, the hair on her nape prickling. Was he checking out her butt? “So,” she began as they reached the front of the house, “are there any questions you have about the place?”

He stepped up close beside her, gave another smile that made her heart flutter before looking up at the stonework above them. “What kind of stone is this, anyway?”

“Baltic limestone.”

His head snapped around, eyes filled with shock. “What?”

“Baltic limestone,” she repeated, wondering why he looked so surprised. She was good at her job, made sure she knew the details on a property like this. “As in, the Baltic Sea. Up near places like Lithuania, Latvia and Eston—”

“I know the Baltic States.”

“Oh, have you traveled there?”

He nodded, still gazing at the house, a hint of awe in his expression. “Many times.”

He seemed fascinated by the stone, walking over to place a hand on the exterior wall. His palm slid over the hand-chiseled surface, almost like a caress.

Her body heated another hundred degrees as she imagined that hand smoothing over her naked skin the same way, like it had in her dreams.

Liv blew out a breath. What the hell was wrong with her today? “See all the fossils in it? Sometimes there are specks of amber in it too. It’s pretty when the sun shines on it. And the limestone for all the trim came from Ireland.”

He looked up at the milled windowsill above him, smiled wider. “Of course it did,” he murmured.

She didn’t know what he meant by that, but he seemed pleased and that was all that mattered. “Are you from there?”

“Born there, yes. Didn’t realize I still had an accent.”

“It’s faint, but beautiful,” she assured him. And oh, the things it did to her inside. “Want to go in now and look at the rooms again?”

He faced her, letting his hand drop away from the stone. She noticed his fingers lingered on it a moment, as though he didn’t want to stop touching it. Lucky stone.

“Think we could eat in the kitchen? I’d like to see it with the morning light streaming through the windows.”

She shrugged. “Why not?”

While he got a couple bags from his Porsche, she unlocked the heavy front door and disarmed the security system. Daegan came up behind her to set a hand on the small of her back as she stepped across the threshold, and the feel of it created a curl of heat in the pit of her belly. The delectable scent of cinnamon drifted up, twining with his spicy scent. “Oh, God,” she moaned. “Cinnamon buns?”

“With fresh strawberries and cappuccinos.”

“I love all those things.”

“Lucky guess,” he said with a mysterious grin.

She was supposed to be leading him to the kitchen, but it felt more like he was escorting her. An almost protective vibe radiated from him, and she realized she liked it. If he decided not to put in an offer it would be nice if he’d stay while she showed Aaron around the place later on, because then she wouldn’t have to find someone else to come with her. She could ask Catherine to come along, but though Daegan was a near stranger, his size and air of command made her feel safe.

Daegan pulled out her chair and seated her before taking his place across the antique marble table set in the breakfast nook. The show of manners seemed as natural to him as breathing, giving her the impression he hadn’t done it just to impress her. She let her eyes rove over the beautiful but hard planes of his face while he unpacked the food, for a moment giving into the urge to imagine what it would be like to curl her fingers into his thick hair, pull him close for a kiss.

In the midst of filling a plate he looked up, his gaze locking with hers. “Hungry?”

“Yes. Starved.” And not just for food. Her pulse thudded in her throat.

“That makes two of us,” he said, sliding a paper plate toward her.

An arc of pure sexual electricity passed between them, so strong she had to swallow and force her gaze away. “Thank you for picking up breakfast.”

“It’s the least I could do after dragging you out of bed first thing in the morning.”

“That’s okay. I’m usually an early riser.”
Just not when I’ve been having erotic dreams about you.
Eating a ripe red berry, she watched him cut a neat square of cinnamon roll with his plastic knife and fork. “So, I assume you asked me here because you’re interested in the property?”

His mouth twitched in a quick smile at her directness. “I am. I was thinking of putting in an offer.”

Already? “That’s—”

“I don’t have a lot of time, though.”

“Oh, well the listing hasn’t officially gone up yet, so you’ve definitely got some time. But there is someone else coming to see the place tonight.”

He frowned, giving her the impression he didn’t like the idea. “Who?”

“Someone who found out…” Her voice trailed off as a thought suddenly occurred to her. How
did
Aaron know the place was for sale? Her boss wouldn’t have told him if he’d called to ask. Maybe Aaron knew she’d shown the house last night because he’d seen her here.

Maybe he’d followed her after Melissa’s music lesson and she hadn’t noticed.

A shiver of alarm snaked up her spine. She rubbed her fingers over her forehead, her head beginning to pound.

“Another headache?”

She nodded. “It’s not too bad. Not like last night.”

“Do you get them often?” A note of concern touched his voice.

More and more often, it seemed. “No, I’m fine.” She didn’t need to bore him with her medical history.

A warm hand cupped her cheek. She froze, jerked her gaze up to his. Daegan searched her eyes intently for a moment then brushed her hands away from her forehead to stroke his fingertips across it.

The pain eased immediately, going from a dull pounding to a faint discomfort, but his touch sent what felt like tiny sparks showering over her skin. Surreal.

He pulled away, leaving warmth in the wake of his fingers. “Better?”

Liv stared at him in shock. Twice now he’d touched her face and the headache had eased. It wasn’t her mind playing tricks on her. “It’s gone. How did you do that?”

“Magic.” His secretive smile made something deep inside her abdomen flutter. Her nipples peaked tight and the petals of her sex swelled. She wanted to kiss him so badly she had to dig her fingers into her thighs to keep from grabbing him.

Jesus
.