The Hot Line (23 page)
“Oh,” she said, her stomach fluttering with joy. “Continue.”
He grinned. “Sweetheart, you’re that girl. I’ve wanted you since the first time I set eyes on you.”
She angled her head and saw the play of emotions crossing his face. “Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“You weren’t ready.”
Heart racing, she took a moment to mull that over. He was right. After her divorce she’d closed her heart off, never believing she’d find fairy tale love and “happily ever after” again. She touched his cheek, realizing that he’d left the ball in her court, letting her come to him when she was ready to advance their relationship to the next stage.
“You’re right. I probably would have run the other way.”
He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. Her whole body came alive. She melted into him, reveling in the sensations he aroused in her.
“So this dessert you’re making—it’s for me,” she said. It was a statement, not a question. She drew a shuddering breath, her heart soaring, everything in her reaching out to him.
“That’s right. For when you were ready to come to me.”
“I am ready, Brady.” Truthfully, she’d never been more ready in her life.
Brady palmed her cheek and she soaked in his warmth, his love. Need flickered across his face. “The wait nearly killed me, sweetheart. But now that you’re here, get used to it because I’m never letting you go. I plan on keeping you here with me and catering to your every whim, your every desire, day and night.”
“Brady.” Her lips parted, welcoming him into her body and her heart.
“Yes, sweetheart,” he whispered in a voice full of emotion.
When she caught the inflection in his tone, she glanced into his soulful hazel eyes. Her body quaked as heat rushed through her. Every nerve ending in her body came alive and screamed for attention. Fire rushed through her bloodstream and gained her full attention. She moaned deep in her throat, needing Brady to douse the flames inside her.
His eyes darkened with desire when he recognized the passion rising in her.
“Can we start now? In the bedroom? I need to feel you inside me.”
“My pleasure.” His hand moved to the small of her back. “Come with me.”
When she noticed he was guiding her into the kitchen and not his bedroom—or his shower—she asked, “Where are we going?”
“First, I have a present for you.”
“You do?”
“Cassie and Nick called to tell me you were on your way. They also told me about Lucien’s offer.” His sexy grin broadened as he hugged her. “Congratulations, Megan. I knew you could do this.” Then he stepped back and handed her an automatic jar opener. “No great chef should be without the ability to open screw caps.”
She threw her head back and laughed out loud. “Brady, this is the nicest present anyone has ever given me.”
As her heart filled with love, she eyed the whipped cream on the kitchen table. “About that dessert.” She moved past Brady, dipped her finger into it, and let it spill on her dress. “Oops, I’m all messy again.”
As Brady’s warm chuckle wrapped around her, so did his arms. “Maybe we should get showered.”
She smiled. “I think you might need to soap me all over.”
He pulled her in tighter and whispered, “My pleasure.”
She jabbed his chest. “Oh, and don’t think I’ve forgotten about the private dance you owe me.”
He laughed. “I’ll dance for you every day if that’s what you want.”
“Oh, I want.”
With that, Brady closed his mouth over hers. As Megan kissed him with all the love inside her, she realized that she’d finally found her “happily ever after” with her very own fairy tale prince—or rather her very own fairy tale firefighter.
W
ith the Caribbean sun beating down on her bikini-clad body, Cassie shaded her eyes and turned in her lounge chair to face her husband. Although they were now three days into their honeymoon, this was the first time they’d left the cabana and ventured onto the beach. Cassie gave a long, satisfied sigh. “It sure is hot out here,” she said.
Nick’s hand snaked out and grasped hers. He caressed her palm with the pad of his thumb. “You’re scalding, babe. Want to take a swim?”
She shrugged easily, in no hurry to do anything. “Maybe in a minute. I’m too lazy to move.” As Cassie lay there radiating contentment, she took a moment to reminisce about all the prewedding activities and how wonderful it was to have had her best friends around. She was so pleased to know that in the near future they’d all be taking up permanent residence in Chicago, close to her. “So what do you think, Nick? Should we go into the business?”
Nick scoffed and shook his head. “No, thanks. I’ve done enough matchmaking to last a lifetime.”
Cassie chuckled. “You really were fantastic. Telling Mitch to keep his distance from Sara was brilliant, especially knowing it would only entice him all the more.”
“You liked that, did you?”
“Yeah, I especially liked how you acted all surprised and distraught when you caught Sara and Nick kissing back at the house. You could have won an Oscar for that performance.”
“And here I thought all those high school drama classes were a waste of time.” He squeezed her hand tighter and said, “I must say, it was also brilliant on your part to tell Dean he couldn’t come back for Jenna’s fashion show.”
She furrowed her brow. “You know, even though he’s an intuitive guy completing his psychology thesis, it sure was easy to pull a little reverse psychology on him.”
Nick laughed. “Yeah, Dean and Jenna were made for each other, but in Dean’s case, love really was blind. He needed someone to open his eyes.”
Cassie moistened her dry lips. “Once he saw her in the lingerie, I knew he was in it for the long haul. Fortunately we had Megan conspiring with us. Tying Jenna’s bustier too tight was the perfect setup for her to call the Hot Line.”
“You know, I’m sorry Kate Saunders came down with food poisoning but it couldn’t have worked out better for Dean and Jenna.” Nick took a long pull from his water bottle and handed it to Cassie.
She took a sip and said, “Speaking of food poisoning, we really were in a bind there for a moment with the wedding banquet. But talk about sheer luck that Megan and Brady were there to bail us out. And honestly, things really couldn’t have worked out better career-wise and relationship-wise for Megan.”
Nick shook his head in agreement. “After I told Brady about Megan’s ex, like you wanted me to, he was determined to convince her he was nothing like him. So helping Megan with the banquet preparations gave him the opportunity to prove himself to her.”
“And Megan the opportunity to see all men aren’t assholes wanting to be catered to like her ex,” Cassie added.
After a long moment of silence, Cassie said, “Honestly, I think we should go into the business in our spare time.”
Nick pulled a face. “Babe, you know I love you like mad and would do anything for you, but please don’t ever ask me to play Cupid again.” When Nick’s eyes locked on hers, he gave her a wicked grin full of sensual promises. “Besides, I have better uses for my spare time.”
Cassie wiped the moisture from her brow and let her gaze rake over the amazing man who completed her in every way possible. Her body caught fire and she knew it had nothing to do with the hot Caribbean sun.
“Nick, I’m burning up.”
He arched a brow and gestured toward the water. “Ready for that swim?”
She nodded toward the cabana behind her and gave him a sultry smile. “Actually, the cool water won’t help with these kinds of flames.”
His eyes darkened and his voice deepened. “You’re insatiable, babe. Just the way I like you.” He stood and pulled her to her feet.
She bumped into him and felt his erection. She bit back a moan. “You make me this way.”
His hands raced over her body, burning her to her core. “Good, because every night for the rest of our lives, I plan on extinguishing your every little fire.”
Cassie stepped away from his arms and gave an enticing shake to her backside as she made her way toward the cabana. She could hear a low growl catch in Nick’s throat.
In her most sultry voice she said, “Nick.”
“Yeah.” She could hear the hungry desire in his tone.
“Are you coming?” She tossed a glance back over her shoulder in time to see him adjust his bathing suit.
He gave her his signature smart-ass grin. “I believe I just might be.”