Slow Burn - a Novel: The Elite (21 page)

“You’re hired!” Carly said, smiling up at me before taking a second hit.

I chuckled. “For which part? The massage?”

She rolled her eyes. “No…well…maybe.”

“If Aaron kicks my ass to the curb, I’ll give you a call. But I’ll warn you, I’m not cheap.”

She laughed and continued to sip off the drink as though she couldn’t get enough. A customer came in and Carly took charge again, but I stayed for another hour and a half to help her get through the morning rush. When ten o’clock came, the shop was pretty quiet, with just a few people lingering over the coffee they’d ordered that morning.

“How’s Alesha? Happy to have Lady back?”

Carly smiled. “Yeah. Thanks for taking care of her for me. I can come by later and pick up the rest of her supplies if you want.”

I shook my head. “I’ll bring it by later. Don’t worry about that.”

She gave me a pointed glance. “What if I
wanted
to come by?”

Every cell went on red alert. This was not a drill! I slid closer to her as we leaned against the back counter near the espresso machine. “In that case…let’s close up early,” I teased.

Carly laughed. “I was thinking more like six o’clock.”

“That works for me.”

She grinned at me, her eyes dancing with mischief.
Damn it she was sexy like that.
“Well of course it does. Like you were gonna turn me down.”

“Good point.”

* * * *

It was nearly impossible to pull myself away from Carly, but I’d promised Aaron I’d put in some hours in the afternoon since he was gone at the auction and the days until the air show were rapidly depleting. I worked on the F-4 for four hours total, but I probably got only two hours’ worth of progress done because my mind refused to stop wandering back to an ever growing list of fantasies revolving around Carly. Alone at my house. For as long as we wanted.

And I knew I was going to want a long, long time.

Spending the majority of the morning together was just what we needed to get back on even footing. The questions and doubts that had ravaged my mind the night before after the phone call were eased back into silence and while I was sure if I sat and obsessed about it, I could dig up new questions. I was too distracted by the many different things I wanted to do with…and to…Carly once I got her all to myself for a night.

One night.

When five thirty rolled around, I raced home and hopped in the shower to get cleaned up so I didn’t smell like grease and metal. I rubbed one out in the shower, thinking about Carly’s lush curves and what they would look like without anything covering them up. I knew as soon as she walked into my house, I’d be horny as hell again, but by releasing a little pressure, I could take my time with her and not pounce like a wild animal that had spent too much time in a cage.

Even though we’d only known each other a short while, my mind was filled with fantasies, drowning out any other woman I saw, or had known. I was consumed by Carly—and had been since the first time I’d seen her.

She hadn’t crept up on me, she’d gone off like a firework.

And I couldn’t wait to make her see fireworks later that night.

Carly

“Are you sure you don’t need anything? Now’s your chance,” I reminded Alesha as she lounged on the couch with Lady sleeping on her chest. “I’m going out with friends for a while tonight.”

I hated lying to her, but she was upset enough that I didn’t want anything to set her off. I was fairly certain she was over the whole Nick thing, especially after we’d all gone to the boardwalk carnival together, but I wasn’t going to risk stirring up drama right before going over to Nick’s for the night. Especially if things headed the way I was anticipating…I didn’t want Alesha anywhere near my thoughts while I was with him.

“I’m all right, Carly. You don’t have to worry so much about me…”

“Oh, really?” I crossed my arms and pursed my lips at her.

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean! I’m not going to do anything stupid right now. I’ve been eating, drinking tons of water, and I’m obviously not going to sneak out and go party.”

I dropped my arms and skeptical gaze. Alesha had been wracked with guilt over the nights she’d sneaked out to go drinking as soon as the doctor had told her she was pregnant. She disclosed the incidents and both her doctor and Gemma had assured her that the baby would be fine, but that she obviously couldn’t continue to drink or smoke anything.

“I know you’re not.” I pushed off the chair beside the couch she was occupying.

“Where
are
you going? I can’t even remember the last time you dressed like that,” Alesha said, eying me from her place on the couch.

I glanced down at my outfit, a pair of skin tight dark wash jeans, high heels that gave me a four-inch boost, and a glittery silver tank top that was cut low with a black lace camisole underneath that gave the appearance of a black bra showing. “It’s been a while, I guess, but it’s not like I could wear this to the shop!”

Alesha laughed and stuffed some popcorn into her mouth from the bag on the floor beside her. “You’d probably rake in more tip money if you did.”

I rolled my eyes. “I highly doubt that…”

“You should see some of the old guys checking you out,” she argued, smirking. “You think they’re there for the scones, but they’re really hoping for a slice of something else, if ya catch my drift.”

My mouth dropped open. “What? Who?”

Alesha cackled and Lady jerked awake and immediately started to wag her tail, eager to join in the fun. Alesha stroked her head. “Mr. Williams likes to watch you steam milk.”

“You’ve got to be joking!” I laughed. Mr. Williams was pushing seventy.

“I’m not! You do this little jiggle dance thing when you steam milk and I’m obviously not the only one to notice.”

“Oh my God! I
dance
?”

“Uh huh,” Alesha said, still laughing as she chowed down another handful of popcorn. “Little bit.”

“Good grief. Well, I’ll have you know that I’m not going out with Mr. Williams tonight!”

Alesha roared and Lady jumped down and started eating popcorn out of the bag, her fuzzy little rear end sticking out of the bag. Alesha stopped laughing and pulled the bag away from the puppy who came out with the buttery kernels stuck to her face.

“Maybe Lady is the perfect practice baby after all,” I joked as Alesha swiped at the puppy’s face. “All right, well I’m off. Call me if you need anything, but only if it’s a true emergency, okay, Leash? I don’t want phone calls for pickle ice cream or some shit.”

Alesha rolled her eyes as she settled back onto the couch, guarding her snack from the even more amped up dog. “Got it. Unless there’s blood, I wait till you get home.”

“Exactly!” I blew her a kiss and headed out the door.

I walked down the drive, listening to the confident click of my heels and felt myself transforming into an entirely different version of myself. Sexy, sassy, in control Carly.

Nick had texted me his address earlier in the day. It was easy to find considering Holiday Cove only had half a dozen roads running through it. I parked in front of the house and reapplied a layer of pink lip balm before getting out of the car. It took concentrated effort to keep my cool saunter going as I neared the front door. I couldn’t wait to see Nick again, but I was terrified at the same time. My stomach swirled with anticipation and anxiety. Nick wasn’t like a one nighter, or some random guy from a bar that would make for a fun weekend, he was someone who I could see myself with.

God, that’s terrifying
.

I drew in a breath and rang the doorbell.

Nick answered within half a minute and when he pulled the door open, all of my nerves flashed through me like an explosion as I realized that we were really all alone, with nothing, and no one to stop us from taking things as far as we wanted them to go.

Nick smiled at me, his eyes dropping from my head to the pointed tip of my heels and back up again, not missing an inch. “Damn.”

I laughed softly. “Have you looked in the mirror? You look pretty hot, yourself.”

He looked better than
hot
. He looked downright fucking edible.

His usual coveralls had been replaced by jeans that were obviously well loved, and fit his lean body like a glove. I couldn’t wait for him to turn around so I could get the view of his perfect ass. He’d paired the jeans with a long sleeve baseball t-shirt with navy blue sleeves and a tight fit across his chest. The style of shirt accentuated his broad shoulders and strong arms and made me all kinds of flustered as I stepped into his home. His hair was cut short, but spiked up in the front where it had grown a little longer, as though he’d gone a while without a cut.

“You hungry?”

I smiled, suppressing a comment about wanting to get a taste of him. Too soon, Carly.

“Sure. Whatcha got?”

He led the way through the house. It had come furnished and looked pretty standard based on the homes in the area. Everything was nice, clean, uncluttered, but there wasn’t anything to really give the home character. It was more like a hotel room. Bland art on the walls. Neutral colors. And no personal details like pictures or knick-knacks. As Nick swung into the kitchen, I ran my hand down the textured wallpaper in the attached dining room and leaned against the wall, watching him rummage through the fridge.

Admiring the view.

“I picked up cheese and crackers and there’s some fruit in here.”

“Works for me. I’m not fancy,” I teased. “What about beer?”

Nick laughed. “Always.”

He straightened, holding two bottles by the neck in one hand and a cheese sampler platter branded by the local market in the other. I took the beers and crossed to the kitchen. “Opener?”

“Drawer by the sink,” he said over his shoulder.

I opened the beers and returned the opener in the drawer while Nick worked to lay out the table with the snacks. “How was the rest of the day?”

“Standard.” I set his beer on the table. He nodded his thanks and took a swig.

“How’s your sister?”

I shrugged. “She’s all right. Still a little in shock over the whole thing. It doesn’t help that the baby daddy and her aren’t together.”

“Certainly doesn’t make the break up easier to swallow,” Nick added. “Here, sit. Do you need anything else?”

I marveled at him as he waited for my response. “Are you always this sweet to dates?”

He gave a half smile. “Only the ones I really like.”

I laughed at his honest answer. “I don’t need anything, so come sit with me. Actually, let’s take this outside. It’s nice out for another hour or so.”

“Good point,” he said, gathering the tray.

We situated ourselves on the back deck and munched through the cheese and crackers with our beers as the sun dipped lower and lower over the ocean. It was hard to focus on the conversation when Nick was sitting a foot away from me, and our hands kept brushing together as we reached for things at the same time. All of it was making the sparks inside me heat up until they were on the verge of bursting into a full blown fire. I wanted Nick. It wasn’t a secret. He’s been the star of my dreams and the obsession of my daylight musings. Every time I saw him, my heart jumped in my chest and my stomach surged with excitement. I couldn’t get the hot kisses we’d shared off my mind, and I was eager to bank away some new, even hotter memories together.

When the sun set, the conversation lulled and we stared out over the beach, our hands resting together on the small table between us. “Come on,” Nick said, standing from his seat, his hand still linked with mine.

I let him pull me from the chair. “Where are we going?” I asked, smiling because I had a good feeling I already knew the answer.

“Somewhere where I can have you the way I want to. The way that I need to.”

I shivered at the dark and hungry look in his eyes as they roved over me again. I bit my lower lip to contain the drool, and nodded.

Nick led the way upstairs to the loft space where the master bedroom was located. It was the same as the rest of the house. Impersonal but pretty. A large, beech wood king size bed dominated the room with polished wood, crisp white linens, and double the amount of pillows a normal person would have.

“Do you have a maid?” I asked, wrinkling my nose as I looked at the tightly made bed.

Nick chuckled. “No, I just spent a lot of years doing hospital corners. A made bed is kinda a non-negotiable.”

I laughed. “Well then be glad we’re here and not at my place.”

I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d stopped to make my bed other than when the sheets were fresh from the dryer. And even then it never looked halfway as polished as Nick’s job.

I took a slow step into him and ran my fingertips up the front of his shirt, pressing into the firm muscles that lay concealed beneath it. “One question though…how do you feel about messing it all up?”

He flashed a half-cocked grin and before I could react, he swept me up off the floor as though I weighed nothing, and tossed me onto the bed. I laughed as I landed. “I’m looking forward to making a mess of it with you.”

“That’s very, very good news,” I purred, my voice low and throaty. I propped myself up on my elbows and watched as he crossed the room to the dresser that matched the bed. He lit a trio of candles with a lighter that had been tucked in the top drawer and then killed the overhead light, leaving the room in a soft, intimate glow between the candlelight and the moonlight streaming in through the slats of the wooden shutters on the window.

Normally, I would have objected, preferring the dark when participating in activities that required nudity, but with Nick, that was the last thing on my mind. I not only wanted to see every inch of him, but I wanted him to see me too. He made me feel beautiful and sexy—even on my off days where my jeans felt too tight.

As he came back to the bed, he paused to take me in as I lay back against the pillows. “Damn, baby, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted to get you here.”

“Plotting since the beginning, huh?” I said teasingly.

“Absolutely,” he said, smiling at me. He lowered onto the bed and dragged me against him. With a wisp of his fingers, he smoothed my hair away from my face before cupping the side of my face and bringing my lips to his. The kiss started gentle and soft, but quickly grew more urgent as we melted together. I pressed into him, loving the contrast between my soft body and his hard, firm…very firm in some places…body.