Winter Solstice (2 page)

Her polite stranger stirred some cream into his cup. “I just realized I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Destiny. Destiny Walker.”

“I like that, your name.”

“Thank you.”

Her cheeks heated, her pulse fluttering. She felt like a schoolgirl with her first crush, but she couldn’t help her response to him. He was too good-looking. Still, that didn’t explain why his approval pleased her the way it did. Glancing away, she concentrated for a moment on straightening her silverware until it lined up evenly on her white paper napkin, trying to ignore the pulse of need between her thighs.

Beautiful man. Beautiful, wide shoulders. What would he look like under his dark gray shirt?

“I’m Reece Kellan.”

He pulled her hand into his, gave it a small shake, and again she felt that strangely familiar rush of warmth along with the sting of pleasure. And something else…what was it? She could swear she saw herself mirrored in his eyes. Must be a trick of the light, the rain.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Destiny. Very nice. Although…have we met before? I don’t mean that as a line. But I have this odd feeling.” He shook his head. “Never mind. You’re going to think I’m crazy. I’m not, I promise you.”

When he smiled she felt it in the pit of her stomach before it spread lower. She’d been so distracted by his blue eyes earlier she’d failed to notice his lush mouth. A man shouldn’t have lips that full, that kissable. And the tiny scar at one corner…that small imperfection in his otherwise perfect face only made him sexier.

She curled her hands around her cup to warm them, and maybe to keep herself from reaching out and running her fingers over that plush lower lip. She could imagine the silken feel of his mouth beneath her fingertips, the wet tip of his tongue…

Stop it. Talk to him like a normal person.

She cleared her throat, crossed her thighs beneath the table. It didn’t help, the seam of her jeans pressing on the aching need there. “So, where are you from, Reece?”

“I live a few blocks from here.”

“No, I meant your accent.”

“Do I have an accent?”

He grinned, a dimple creasing one cheek, and Destiny felt it like a shock to her system. His too-blue eyes gleamed with amusement, that beautiful gaze surging through her as though he’d reached out and stroked her skin, making her sex pulse, her blood hum with heat.

What in the world was wrong with her?

She took a moment to pull in a breath. “Well, you’re not from around here, and I doubt that brogue is from Texas. I’m assuming it’s either Irish or Scottish.”

“A little bit of both, actually. I was raised in Ireland, then went to university in Edinburgh. But I’ve been here for nine years. I was pretty certain I sounded like a native Californian by now.”

“Almost.” She grinned at him. She couldn’t help it. His smile was warm, and his friendly banter put her at ease despite the raging desire she was finding harder and harder to ignore
.
And the accent coming out of that mouth, a little bit of the exotic, made her think again about touching him, pressing her fingertips to his lips until he sucked them into his mouth.

Her sex went warm, wet.

Pull yourself together Destiny. He’s just another guy.

But it didn’t feel like it, with every nerve in her body on full alert simply sitting there making small talk with him.

She didn’t want to talk anymore. She wanted to take him home, to strip him down, to touch him.

To fuck him.

When had she become this impulsive?

He pulled his glasses out of his shirt pocket somewhere and grabbed a menu. “Are you hungry?” he asked her, sliding the glasses onto his face.

She had another image of Superman as Clark Kent and wondered if his naked body would be as powerful as it looked beneath his shirt and jeans. She would love to find out.
Now.
A small quiver ran down her spine, arrowing deep into her belly.

“Um, maybe. What looks good?”

Reece raised his gaze to hers and held it there for a long moment. A corner of his mouth quirked. He shook his head a little and glanced back at the menu. “How about cherry pie?”

Had she imagined the look he’d given her? A look that danced with the same heat that roared through her, and distracted her so she could barely keep track of what they were talking about.

“Pie?”

“It’s very American, you know.”

He was definitely flirting with her. And she was liking it. Loving it.

“Is it? Well, then I suppose we’ll have to have some.”

She lifted her cup with a shaking hand and sipped her coffee, letting the smooth heat of it slide down her throat. She licked a drop off her lip and watched him follow the motion with his gaze.

Oh yes, there was some heavy chemistry going on, and it wasn’t one-sided.

Their gazes locked. She recognized the heat there, naked heat. She wanted to feel the scorch of it on her skin. Wanted to feel
him
all over.

Forget pie. Forget everything.

She wanted to take this man home with her, do every wicked thing to his body she had ever imagined. She didn’t want to think about why he felt so oddly familiar. Didn’t want to think about the fact that they’d just met. It didn’t seem to matter with him. All that mattered was the driving need to touch him, taste his skin, feel him pushing inside her. She had to clench her hands to keep from reaching out toward him. And as that thought passed through her mind, Reece lifted his hand, moved it toward her, paused before brushing a stray curl from her cheek.

Confusion in his eyes, his dark brows drawn together.

“Destiny…this is so strange. You’re certain we’ve never met? But no, I’d have remembered you. Still…you’re familiar to me. And so beautiful.”

His hand was resting on her cheek, and she felt a surge of emotion she didn’t understand along with the desire shimmering over her skin like liquid fire.

She shook her head. She couldn’t think.

“And your name is Destiny,” he said, his voice a low murmur. “Hard to believe, this whole thing. But yes, maybe destiny, after all.”

Chapter Two

“What’ll you have?”

The nasal tone of the waitress broke through the haze of desire, and Reece turned to the woman to order the pie. Destiny took a moment to collect herself. What was she thinking? She’d just met this man. But her whole body sang with lust, every pulsing note about sex. Hard and fast and primal. His cock pushing into her, her sex wet, clenching. His hips pistoning, driving deep, deeper…

She drew in a long breath and tried to swallow the moan that nearly escaped.

“Only one piece, I think,” Reece said. “We’ll share it. And plenty of whipped cream.”

Whipped cream
.

Oh yes, pure sex, this man. He seemed nice, too, a rarity in Los Angeles, where every other guy she’d dated since moving there had turned out to be an actor. They were all incredibly self-involved, and not one had shown the least sign of gallantry. Reece seemed different from all of them. In fact, he seemed altogether too good to be true. Too handsome, too kind. Lord help her if he was an actor.

Better to know now, before she did something she’d regret. Although she was fairly certain she wouldn’t regret anything with him.

“What do you do, Reece?”

“I’m in the tech industry.”

He removed his glasses and tucked them away. She had to suppress a sigh. That Superman thing again. She ran one finger around the edge of her coffee cup.

Reece’s gaze drifted toward her finger for a moment, and he licked his lips before he continued. “I write software. Have my own company, actually. And you?”

“I’m a clinical psychologist.”

“Does that mean you spend your days in a lab wearing a white coat?

“I have a private practice, actually.”

“Ah, too bad. I rather liked the image of you in a lab coat.” That lush mouth of his quirked in a grin, his dimple flashing.

Her cheeks warmed and she squeezed her thighs tighter, pleasure a small, scalding thrum between them. An image formed in her mind, Reece undressing her, pulling white cotton from her shoulders, baring her breasts, her nipples hard, ready…

She watched as he lifted his cup and took a sip of his coffee. He had great hands. Large, strong looking. Something about the way they were built, the way the flesh lay over bone and muscle, made her want to touch them. To feel them on her body.

Reece leaned forward, and she caught his scent, fresh and clean with just a hint of something earthy.

Nice.

“I like you, Destiny Walker.”

Reaching across the table, he traced his fingers over the back of her hand. A small whisper of pleasure followed the path of his touch and spread, settling in the damp vee between her thighs, almost as though he’d touched her there. She shifted in her seat, trying to ease the ache, but it was growing worse by the moment.

The pie arrived, and he withdrew his hand.

“You first,” he offered.

Yes, a gentleman. She liked that. But she really couldn’t eat. Not with him sitting across from her, making her system hum with a nearly unbearable need.

“I’m not very hungry. You go ahead.”

“You have to have some, it looks too good not to eat. Here, try a bite.”

He speared a small piece and lifted his fork to her lips. She took it into her mouth. Sweet and tart at the same time—delicious. Juice dripped over her lip, and before she could raise her napkin he reached out and wiped it away with his thumb. Her body simmered at his touch, and her tongue darted out of its own accord to taste the heat he left behind. And as she watched him he put his thumb to his lips and licked the juice off.

Her sex went hot and soaking wet all at once, her whole body melting. She wanted that mouth on her. Anywhere. Everywhere.

God.

She had to stop thinking like this. Like a hormone-driven teenager. She was someone who tended to be sensible about things, logical. But the moment she’d met Reece Kellan, logic had gone out the window.

Even his name running through her mind made her hot.

Just keep talking. Try to act like a normal person. You cannot fuck him here on the table.

“Tell me, how did you end up with your own software company, Reece?”

“I started at a big Silicon Valley firm and quickly discovered I didn’t like the whole corporate thing. I think it’s cultural. Where I was raised people are more relaxed in their day-to-day lives. Friendlier. There, it seemed like everyone would do whatever they could to advance the corporate ladder. No matter who they hurt on the way up.” He glanced away.

Ah, something deeper there. She was trained to read people’s body language, and it was clear some story lay behind that evasive glance. But she hardly knew him well enough to press the issue.

Instead she changed the subject. “Tell me how you ended up in the States.”

He paused, took a bite of the pie, and lick a bit of whipped cream from the tip of his fork before answering. Again, she felt that lancing heat in her sex as his tongue darted out.

Yes, his mouth on my skin… No. Focus.

“That’s a sad story, and one I don’t tell often. But I’ll tell you. I came here to marry an American girl.”

“What happened?” she asked quietly, curious, but hesitant to pry where she might not be welcome.

He shrugged, making her notice again the breadth of his shoulders, the way the rounded muscle lay beneath his sweater. “I married the wrong woman. We worked in the same industry. For the same company, in fact. She was smart, ambitious. Too ambitious. She chose her career over our marriage.” He shrugged again. “That’s when I decided to get out and moved down here. That was almost three years ago.”

“Why L.A.?”

“I like the weather. And I can write software from anywhere on the planet, as long as I have my laptop. What about you? Why did you become a psychologist?”

“I’m nosy about people, I guess.”

He laughed, a deep, husky sound that made her think of sex. Everything about him made her think of sex.

“I’m serious,” she went on. “I’ve always been curious about what makes people tick. It’s fascinating. And I like to figure things out, figure people out.”

“I suppose you have me figured out already?” He forked another bite of pie, the cherries glistening red before they disappeared between his lips.

His mouth would be all sugary sweetness if he kissed her now.

She cleared her throat. “Maybe a little. I think we’re both people who like to figure things out, analyze, find a solution.”

“Sure, you’re right there.” His dark blue gaze steadied on hers once more and his voice lowered. “I’d like to find out what else we have in common.”

She was burning all over, heat and need and a craving she couldn’t describe, even to herself. She’d like to find out, too. And not only in bed, although her body wouldn’t let her forget the intense chemistry buzzing between them for a moment. But she liked this man. Felt comfortable with him in a way she never had with a man she was attracted to. Attraction usually made her edgy, defensive. But being with Reece, wanting him, felt natural, even this overwhelming lust. For once, she didn’t want to analyze things too closely. He made her feel good in every way, and she just wanted to feel it for a while.

They talked then, while the rain continued to cascade in a steady downpour outside. They talked about everything—movies, literature, art, travel, all of the things that interested her and which seemed to interest him, as well. He made her laugh, with his accent and his relaxed, humorous take on life. She found herself wishing she were a bit more like him, had that attitude of easy acceptance. And the whole time her body yearned for him. She found herself leaning into the table, her ribs pressed into the hard edge, her legs crossing and uncrossing until her pussy ached so hard with need she could barely stand it.

She had no idea how much time had passed when the waitress interrupted them by slapping their check on the table.

“Sorry, but we’re only open until five.”

Reece reached for his wallet, scowled at Destiny when she pulled some cash from her purse.

“Call me old-fashioned, but I couldn’t possibly let you pay.”

Her Nana would have called him a gentleman. She would have liked him. And there was Nana, popping into her head again. She put her money away. They both stood.

“Well, I guess this means—”

Reece interrupted her. “I don’t want our afternoon to end.”

“I don’t either.”

He grasped her hand, turned it palm up, and laid a gentle kiss in the center. His lips were burning hot against her skin, and she had an odd flash of…what? A darkened room, a big bed, a lamp casting amber light over bare skin. Pleasure lancing into her body as he pushed into her, filling her, the scent of his skin all around her, the sharp scent of sex. Her legs wobbled.

“Let me make dinner for you.” His voice was low, rich.

“I…”

“I know. I wouldn’t normally presume to ask a woman to my house the very day I’ve met her, and truthfully, I’m a terrible cook, but this…feels different. I can’t stand to see you go. Say you’ll come with me. Say yes.”

It wasn’t like her to be this spontaneous. She’d slept with a fair number of men, but never so quickly. She felt safe with Reece, and there was that strange sense of familiarity about him. Maybe it was some sort of wishful thinking on her part because she’d been feeling lonely lately, with the holidays coming. Or maybe it was simply the taut pull of attraction. She couldn’t explain it, the intensity of it. But she was tired of questioning her motives. Maybe, for once, she would loosen up and go where her instincts led her, rather than trying to rationalize everything.

“Yes. I’ll come with you. Yes.”

They ran the three blocks through the downpour with folded newspapers over their heads. They were both soaked to the skin by the time they reached Reece’s house, a small, low-built Mediterranean style surrounded by a stucco wall. He opened the cast-iron gate and they slipped inside, passing through a terra cotta tiled courtyard edged in ornamental grasses and enormous pots overflowing with rosemary. A blooming bougainvillea climbed one wall, its coral-colored blossoms making a bright carpet on the ground. Destiny loved the place immediately.

Reece guided her up a few steps to a pair of French doors and led her inside.

“Wait here. I’ll get towels.”

He disappeared through an archway to their left, leaving her in the tiled foyer. The living room lay beyond another archway. An expanse of dark gleaming hardwood showed in the dimming light filtering through another pair of French doors that appeared to lead to a garden at the back of the house. The furnishings were heavy, masculine pieces with ethnic accents here and there: a Balinese mask, Moroccan rugs, Mexican pottery. She melted inside looking at it all. This place looked like her dream house come to life. One she could well afford, but refused to buy just for herself. Instead, she’d furnished her apartment with similar pieces she’d found at import stores and on some of her travels. How odd that he should be interested in the same sort of things.

Reece returned with a large, cream-colored towel. Wrapping it around her shoulders, he rubbed her arms with the soft terry cloth.

She warmed immediately, despite the fact that she’d been shivering only moments before. The second he touched her, every tender spot on her body heated as though a furnace had been lit deep inside her.

God, she needed his hands on her skin.

As though reading her mind, he dropped the towel. She looked up, into those endlessly deep blue eyes, and saw naked desire there. He burned as she did. She could feel it. Could almost feel the press of his big body even though he was several inches away.

“Reece…”

“I know.”

He leaned in, closer, until his mouth closed over hers. His lips were warm, so warm and sweet. And when he parted them and drove his tongue into her mouth, pleasure drove in with it, lancing deep into her body. A long shudder went through her, and her legs went weak. But he held her tight, crushed against him. She could feel every taut muscle in his body, his heart hammering in his chest, pounding against her breasts, making her nipples harden.

He deepened the kiss, and she closed her eyes. Again that flood of images in her mind: the bed, the softly diffused golden light, and somehow she knew his bedroom would look just like that.

But his hands roaming her body distracted her. He was kissing her hard, their mouths fused together, tongues twining. Primal. Animalistic. He gave her no time to think about it as he pushed her up hard against the door.

She could feel the planes of his chest, and God, his erection pressing into her thigh, big, warm, pulsing. She’d never wanted anything so desperately in her life.

He tore his mouth from hers, bent over her neck and left a trail of kisses, burning her flesh.

“Reece, I have to…let me…” She was panting as she fumbled to undo the buttons of his shirt.

“Here, darlin’.” In moments he slipped his shirt from his shoulders and she took in the smooth expanse of his wide, muscled chest.

Yes, Superman indeed.

His skin was a light gold, as though he’d recently been in the sun. His nipples were brown and hard, with a bit of dark hair sprinkled between and around them. When she ran her fingers over the tips, he groaned.

He pulled her sweater off in an instant and then very quickly her bra. He stood back for a moment, watching her, exploring her bare flesh with his eyes. Her nipples went harder beneath his searching gaze.

“Ah, beautiful,” he murmured, his accent thicker, his tone reverent. “You look like… I don’t know. But I know your body, as though I’ve touched you before. Maybe I have, if only in my dreams. Ah, but this is no dream.”

“Touch me, Reece.”

Then he was on her, his big hands cupping her breasts. She arched, pushing into him, into the pleasure of his touch, his smooth, dry palms. When he thumbed her nipples she gasped, the sensation shooting straight to her sex, making her ache.

It was even better when he snaked one hand down and cupped her mound through her jeans. Almost too much. She was trembling with need.

She could not get the misty image of the bed out of her mind.
His
bed. Their naked bodies pressed together. Reece fucking her…