His Kind of Wonderful (Sugar Bay #2) (9 page)

The folded inspirational note remained inside her back pocket. She’d carried it around all day like a talisman.

She took a deep breath and launched her pitch.

“Joe, I’ve got problems.”

He raised an eyebrow at her opening but before he could launch into her list of problems, she clarified.

“I mean I need a favor.”

“Seems fair, considering our situation.”

“But you haven’t heard it yet.”

“Can’t be too bad.” He stopped, picked up a shell and tucked it into his pocket. The sun was low and they were the only ones left on the beach. “What do you need?”

“You know I’m not a child, right?”

“Totally aware of the fact, Dani.” He looked puzzled. “What’s up?”

“I’m on birth control.”

“That’s good to know but I’m not sure why you’re telling me. Wait. Does Derek know about this?”

“No. So don’t go tattling.”

He stopped walking and waited for her to continue. His crossed armed stance was intimidating but she forged ahead.

“I wanted to let you know about the birth control so you won’t worry about me getting pregnant.”

“Whoa. Stop right there. What are you talking about?”

“My research.”

“What research?”

“On sexual attraction.”

“Come again.”

“I hope to.” By the face he made, she realized she’d said that out loud and blushed.

His ears were red and he cleared his throat. “I meant, repeat that. I
must
have been mistaken.”

“Nope. You weren’t. I plan to engage in intensive sexual exploration for the sake of my writing.”

“For your doctoral dissertation?” He looked ready to paddle her bottom.

She didn’t reply, not ready to tell anyone about her romance novels yet.

“What’s your dissertation about Dani?”

“Never mind. This is awkward. I’ve changed my mind.”

“Good. Because that sounded too risqué for a dissertation.”

“No. I didn’t change my mind about the need for research. I just changed my mind about asking for
your
help.”

“Son of a bitch. Are you serious?”

“Don’t worry about it anymore. It has nothing to do with you.”

“Fuck that shit. Tell me now, what are you planning?”

“You can’t tell Derek. He’ll scare off any potential experts.”

Joe scoffed. “As well he should.”

“I mean it, Joe.”

He shrugged. “I’m not promising shit.”

She paused.

“Spill Dani. We can stand here forever. I’ve got time.”

“I’m searching for someone to have sex with.”

His eyes widened.

“Not necessarily regular sex but
extraordinary
sex. I’m looking for an expert in the field. I’m interested in verifying the emotions during foreplay, during the culmination of the act and, of course, the afterglow. That’s what I’m looking for—more concrete information than what I currently have.”

The color on Joe’s face had increased throughout her explanation and had turned an alarming shade of red.

“Wait. And you wanted me as your expert ‘consultant’?”

“Something like that.”

Joe stormed off, kicked up some sand, came back to glare at her then stormed off again and kicked up more sand, all while muttering under his breath. Words like “stubborn”, “doomed” and lots of “fuck” met her ears.

“But you don’t have to worry about it anymore.” She raised her voice to get his attention. “I’ve changed my mind.”

“Like hell you will.” He stopped inches away and glared down at her. Though the light was low, she could see fire in his eyes. “If you think for one moment, I will let Professor Pervert touch you, you’re delusional.”

“Hey! That’s not nice.”

“Well, the position you’ve put me in isn’t nice either.”

“I told you not to worry about it.”

He gave her a look meant to silence her. “Was Professor Pervert on your list of candidates?”

She glanced at Joe from under her lashes and caught the tight set of his jaw. The rhythmic ticking fascinated her. Tick. Tick. Tick. “Maybe.” Not really but she didn’t want to admit she’d been so focused on getting Joe’s agreement she hadn’t thought of anyone else she’d rather experiment with. His anger at the possibility of them having sex stopped her from telling him the truth. She’d have to find another expert she wouldn’t mind swapping body fluids with.

“What are you thinking about so hard? I can see your mind working in overdrive.”

“Nothing.”

“Liar.”

“It’s okay, Joe. You don’t have to worry about. And I promise not to approach Professor Higgins.”

“Damn right you’re not.” He sighed with a look of doom. “
I’ll
do it.”

He was seriously pissing her off. “Don’t do me any favors.”

He glared at her.

She glared back. “I mean it. You look like I’m asking you to belly crawl through the sewer so
I retract the offer
.”

“Only if you scrap the whole idea.”

Her jaw ached from the effort of clamping it shut. She didn’t reply.

He scoffed. “Didn’t think so. You’re too damn stubborn to do that.”

She saw red but he went on unconcerned with her death glare.

“So look.
I will help
you out. It’s only fair since you’re helping me.”

Her eyes stung.
Was the thought of them having sex so abhorrent to him?

“I’m not sure if you’re the right guy for the job.”

He gave her a heavy lidded look as if the very thought of him not being able to please a woman was laughable. “It’s either me, or I go straight to Derek and you can deal with him.” He said with his arms folded over his chest. He lowered his face until their noses almost touched. “Take it or leave it.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. The thought of drop kicking him to Mexico ran through her mind but he was too damn big. “Fine.”

“Good choice.”

“We’ll discuss terms later. I’m leaving.”

“Not staying for dinner, then?”

“I’ve lost my appetite.”

“And your mind too, apparently,” he muttered.

She stormed off and cursed her stupidity because instead of being her most brilliant plan, she’d entered into an agreement that was laden with the potential to blow up in her face.

Yep, it was official—this was the stupidest idea she’d ever come up with. No more coffee and late night brain storming sessions for her.

***

Joe watched Dani storm up the beach, kicking sand left and right. The little minx would be the death of him. He’d promised Derek he’d distract her enough to stay away from the professor yet not get too close.

He was fucked.

She wanted him to be her sexual consultant.

Totally fucked.

How was he to help her
and
stay in control? The strategy he’d decided upon this morning was shot to hell. That whole bit about not touching her, yeah—wasn’t going to happen now.

He was toast.

Derek would kill him or Dani would when he eventually expired from lust. He couldn’t touch her because of his friendship with Derek yet he had to touch her in order to fulfill his part of the deal with Dani.

Toast.

He’d had a hard enough time staying away from her prior to this agreement and certainly had spent hours in the boxing ring to release his frustrations, but now—what the hell was he going to do?

Damn Lisa for starting this whole mess in the first place. And damn him for coming up with the asinine plan of a pretend relationship.

It was supposed to be easy. No harm. No foul. Just a little bit of pretending so he could protect George.

How had it morphed into a potential minefield?

He couldn’t completely regret the plan though. Dani wouldn’t have approached
him
to be her expert consultant. She’d have passed him over for Professor Perv. That whole thought made his skin tighten, made him want to punch something.

He stalked back to his cottage and grabbed his keys.

The gym where he trained was a short ride away and he needed to release some tension. Since his favorite option in releasing tension—good old-fashioned fucking—was off the table at present, to the gym it was.

The wind whipped around him as he drove his Jeep. He loved the feeling of being free because for so long, he’d felt constrained. When he was a kid he’d assumed escaping from Sugar Bay would make him happy but it hadn’t. He’d left town as soon as he could on a soccer scholarship but lost it his first semester. Instead of returning home, he’d joined the Marines where he’d befriended Derek. After the Marines, he’d settled in a resort town in Washington State and took up firefighting. It seemed natural since he’d grown up looking up to George.

Since Derek lived in Seattle, a short distance away from Joe, they’d remained close. But then three years ago, Aunt Eugenia had called and he’d come home. After years of avoiding Sugar Bay and the memories the town held, his return had been anticlimactic. The feelings he’d associated with the town hadn’t appeared. The assholes he’d remembered had moved away while new residents had moved in.

Although the town had the same landmarks and street names, Sugar Bay was somehow different. He’d recognized a few families that had remained but they no longer associated him with the town scandal or at least—they were smart enough not to mention it.

He wasn’t rich, but he no longer wore the cast offs of others. He’d gotten a job at the Sugar Bay Fire Department and was seen as a local hero. The town hall he’d avoided because it had been the main hangout for the snooty set had been renovated and used as the community center where he gave demonstrations on life safety. The Gimbert Prep School outside of town remained a popular resource for international students with a boatload of money and the desire to move to America. The local private college remained an important staple to the town. There was even a booming art scene with an annual festival that drew all sorts of creative energy. Because the tourist needed to be fed, restaurants had sprung up. Each strove to outdo the other and once a well-known travel channel personality had done a piece on the town, business had boomed.

All the old hurts he’d held inside had mellowed and he was proud to make Sugar Bay his home.

That’s why this business with Lisa bothered him so much. George had been a young man when Joe’s dad had been killed. There were no blood ties between them but George had watched out for Joe and kept an eye on him especially when Joe went through the wild teenage years. It had been George who’d hauled Joe’s sorry ass home to Aunt Eugenia when he let the rich assholes’ taunts get to him. It had been George to discourage him from using his fists in anger and frustration. George had been the one who encouraged him to join the military after his brief stint in college. George had been the one who’d talked to him about the dangers of promiscuous sex. He’d done such a good job that Joe had developed a healthy fear of sexually transmitted diseases, which had corralled his crazy hormonal impulses a bit, or at least made him a generous supporter of the condom industry.

Lisa was a crazy bitch while George was an awesome guy. Why he hooked up with Lisa was beyond Joe. Maybe he stayed with her because of Collin, Joe didn’t know. But what he did know was that he didn’t want to be a part of hurting George at all. The man had been a father figure when he didn’t have to be.

Joe would do anything for George.

If it meant he had to walk this tight rope between helping Derek and helping Dani when the two objectives inherently clashed, he would do it.

If it would result in Lisa finally taking the hint and stopping her foolish chase of him, he would. He didn’t want the old gossip coming back to life. Gossip, whether true or false, often took on a life of its own—especially in a small town.

Although the town accepted him now, he knew there were some that hadn’t quite forgotten, who’d looked at him and wondered if he were like his father—weak, partial to alcohol and the company of married women. Sure, he liked women and they liked him but unlike his father, he sure as hell steered clear of married women.

It would bother him if George believed the worst of him. He couldn’t let him down the way he’d let his aunt down. His stomach churned—a familiar feeling he’d associated with his guilt.

She’d loved him too and he’d broken her heart.

“Hand me the ratchet wrench, will you?”

Dani put the tool in his palm and he went back to work on Thelma’s air conditioning unit while she made another note in her notebook.

“I’ve come up with a few topics I’d like to cover during our research.”

A loaded silence came from under the Thelma’s hood and Dani sighed. Joe had come over for dinner and had brought parts to fix Thelma. Since Dylan and the girls were present, there had been no awkwardness between them.

Now they were alone. Dylan and the girls were in the backyard playing on the play set. He’d yet to string ten words to her beyond tool requests.

“I can ask someone else if it bothers you so much.”

“No.” Joe’s bark was quick. “I said I would help.”

“Don’t sound so excited about it then,” Dani muttered under her breath.

Joe lifted his head from under the hood and hit her with a look so hot so was surprised she didn’t burn. “Dani, trust me when I tell you, if I were any more excited, you couldn’t handle it. As it is, you’d better brace yourself.”

This time he let her see the hunger she’d long assumed had been a figment of her imagination. His gaze roamed the length of her body. Like a physical touch, his gaze stroked her from head to toe.

She gulped, feeling hot and bothered. If he could make her feel this way with only his eyes, what could he do with his hands, or his mouth, or his tongue?

She put that down in her notes. He went back under the hood.

“I’m afraid to ask but what’s on that list of yours?”

She exhaled. “Topics I feel we need to cover so I can’ properly understand the stages of sex. So far, I have sensual massage, finger fucking, oral sex—“

Joe banged his head under the hood. “Shit.”

“You okay?”

“Never better. What else?”

“Where was I?” She cleared her throat. “Okay. I think we should try a variety of positions for intercourse—“