Worth Waiting For (5 page)

“Thanks, and thank
you for letting me stay the night.”

She nodded and walked
out toward the kitchen.

By the time she’d
poured the drink and headed into the spare room, Brock was in bed. She walked
over to him. As she handed him the glass their fingertips brushed one another’s.
A jolt of electricity seared through her body. Was it the storm or did she find
him simply irresistible?

Another flash of lightning
lit up the room and once again Kate could see the outline of his cock through
the sheet draped over his body. She remembered it erect and pushing into her
belly. If she was that kind of woman, she’d take off her nightie, lift up that
top sheet, and slide in next to him where she’d insist he make love to her.
But I’m not that sort of woman.
“I’ll
let you get some rest, and if you need anything, the bathroom’s right next door.
My bedroom is across the hallway.”
And
why have I told him that?
Wishful thinking maybe.

“Great
and thanks.
You’re an angel.”

***

Brock woke up the
following morning to discover the sun peeking through the gap in the drapes. It
streaked across his face, causing him to squint and wonder where he was. He
focused on his surroundings. There was a painting of guess what, a boat, on the
wall opposite, a mirror above a dressing table….
Now I remember.
He’d spent the night in Kate’s spare room. He felt
a hell of a lot better than he had six hours ago.

Last night.
His thoughts went back to
his gracious hostess, and he was able to better appreciate the sexual appeal
she’d exhibited the night before. Her body had been soft, ideal for cuddling.
Her boobs had pressed into his chest. He imagined they would be perfect for
touching and kissing.

The icing on the cake
was when she’d brought him the ginger ale and stood in that nightwear next to
the bed. The lightning created the perfect backdrop. He’d seen her nipples
straining against the flimsy material. He didn’t think the room was cold so he’d
assumed she was turned on, hopefully by him. His gaze had drifted down her body
to the dark shadow at the apex of her thighs. How he’d love to let his fingers
get lost in those sable curls. He’d go treasure-hunting to find first her clit and
then her pussy, which he guessed was hot, wet, tight….

Shit, he was making
himself sweaty just recalling the fantastic view. His cock sat up on his belly.
The last thing he wanted to do was jerk off in her place. He hadn’t needed to do
that in quite some time. Maybe he should get up and take a shower to cool
himself off. He got out of bed and pulled on his shorts in case he ran into
Kate. He didn’t want his nakedness embarrassing her…again.

He opened the door
and stepped into the hallway. Kate’s door wasn’t closed all the way. He
wondered if she was up and about yet. He tiptoed over to take a look and peeped
into the small opening between the door and frame.

Brock stepped back
quickly. Holy shit, she was…she was obviously experiencing the same problem as
him.

He peeked again.

She was flat on top
of the bed with her legs spread, nightwear hitched around her waist, going to
work on herself.

He closed his eyes.
I shouldn’t be looking but I need to…have
to.

Brock had never seen
a woman masturbate in real life before and for fuck’s sake, it turned him on
more than he would have ever imagined. He watched as her hand moved down
through the curls and folds.

Was she working on
her clit or the inside of her pussy? From this angle it was hard to tell, but
he got more excited the longer he stood there. How ironic, the night before he’d
been in this same spot, watching her cry.
I really am a nosy neighbor.
And now a voyeur, too.

She groaned and
started to fidget. She spread her legs some more before arching her back. She
was getting close to climaxing.

Oh baby, let me come in there and finish the job for you.

Her hand moved with
greater speed as she groaned louder.

Brock placed his hand
down inside the front his shorts and held his cock, feeling a bead of pre-cum
on it as she moaned some more and then threw her head back in ecstasy.

Kate rested her arms at
the sides of the bed once her orgasm had subsided, looking very content and
pleased with
herself
.

Brock wanted her, and
he was going to have her. In fact, the next time she climaxed, he’d be the one
taking her there.

But for now he had to
get to the bathroom, close the door and yeah, pleasure himself—or he’d go
insane.

***

Had she heard the
floorboards outside her door creak? Shit, in her need for instant gratification
she hadn’t considered that Brock might be wandering in the hallway. Masturbating
had been a spur-of-the-moment decision and the door needed sanding down which
she hadn’t got around to, so it didn’t shut all the way.

 
Who am I kidding? Masturbating
wasn’t a rash decision at all.
She’d wanted to do
it since the minute she’d fallen on top of Brock but had resisted the urge. She
was a woman without a man, so what could she expect? How long had she been
without sex? She’d lost count of the days, and she was horny as hell. That was
normal. No, that wasn’t quite true either. She’d seen lots of men in shorts
walk by the restaurant, walk into the restaurant since David had left, and she
hadn’t wanted to fuck a single one of them.

Brock turned her on,
and he’d brought out something in her that she’d never known existed.

She looked toward the
door.
Shit, what if he saw me touching myself?
Nah, nothing to worry about.
He’s probably still fast
asleep
.

Kate sat up when she
heard water running in the bathroom.
He’s
up and about.
Last night he’d caught her crying. Today, there was a possibly
he’d discovered her masturbating.
What
must he think of me?
Surely, that I’m
a loony woman with very unbalanced hormones.

She got up, pulled on
her dressing gown, and decided to go downstairs to make herself, and yes Brock,
some coffee. That was, if he drank coffee. She didn’t know that much about him.

As she walked by the
bathroom, she could hear him groaning in there. Was he ill again? She put her
ear to the door. Nope, the sound he was making today was a different sort to
the type of moan he’d made last night on the boat. Kate rested her forehead against
the door.

He was jerking off.
Was it because of her? Had he worked himself up over her like she had over him?

It seemed self-pleasuring
was catching this morning.

Chapter Four

Brock had the sneaky
feeling that Kate had been outside the bathroom door while he’d been masturbating.
He’d heard a few floorboards creaking like someone was approaching, but then
nothing, as if the person had stood outside the door for a while.

It had been a dumb
thing to do in someone else’s bathroom, but his cock was rock hard and he
needed some release or he’d be walking around with a strange limp for the rest
of the day. He left his hair wet, pulled on his jeans, and decided to go
barefoot to find Kate.

Something smelled
great and his nose told him it originated from somewhere downstairs. He was
starving. Unbelievable as that was considering he’d felt so sick less than
eight hours ago.

He made his way
toward the wonderful aroma of bacon and coffee. There at the stove stood Kate
in a yellow T-shirt, navy blue shorts, and white flip flops. Her toenails were
painted a deep pink shade, and boy, they were sexy little tootsies.

He almost wanted to
whistle. Those legs, tanned, long—phew, if he didn’t stop admiring them he’d
have to go back to the bathroom again.

Kate must have sensed
he was standing behind her, because she turned and smiled. “I’m cooking some
bacon and eggs if you’re hungry.”

“I’m famished.”

“Sit down and help
yourself to coffee. And if you don’t like that I have tea around here
someplace.”

“Coffee’s fine.” He
pulled out a chair and sat.

Kate walked to the
table with a platter housing thick slices of bacon, fluffy scrambled eggs, and
a heap of whole wheat toast. “You sleep okay?” she asked. She sat down and put
a serving of bacon and eggs on her plate before sliding the platter toward him.

“Pretty
good, considering I felt so shitty.”

“Yeah, that was quite
the storm.
At least the electricity’s back on.”

“All I have to do is
fix the leak in my boat.”

“You know anything
about that sort of thing?”

He shook his head as
he took another slice of bacon. When had a simple thing like a slice of bacon
begun to taste so good?

With the help of half
a slice of toast, she scooped some scrambled eggs on her fork. “So you from
around here?” she asked before popping them into her mouth.

“
Boston
.”

“What brought you
here to
Maine
?
You lose your job like loads of other people?” She poured more coffee for
herself as she waited for his answer.

“Sort of, but I
wanted a change of pace. I wanted to try something different in my life.”

“So you bought a boat,
but you don’t know anything about fixing them.”

“Guess I’ve thrown
myself in the deep end but I’ll learn.”

“Yep, we all have to
learn by doing hands-on stuff. My husband—ex-husband—and I knew nothing about
the restaurant business when we bought this place a few years ago.”

Brock looked around
and remembered how nice the actual restaurant was, with its dark oak paneling,
sconce lights, white linen tablecloths, and to top it off, a lovely view of the
harbor. “Looks like it’s doing okay,” he observed.

“Okay isn’t good
enough in the food industry.”

“So are you running
it all by yourself?”

Kate nodded.
“Whether I like it or not.”

“Then I take my hat
off to you.”

“Guess it’s true what
they say about not being able to change the hand you’re dealt, just how you
play it.”

“What happened
between you and your husband…if you don’t mind me asking?”

She didn’t say
anything at first.

He was sure she was
about to tell him to mind her own business, but instead she finished her
coffee, put the mug down, and answered him without hesitation.

“If you were from
around these parts you’d know the answer to that. It’s the gossip of the harbor,
so if you’re going to be part of the community you might as well hear it from
me. He decided the lady who sold us our bakery items was a better catch than
me. Of course, she did keep pushing her free samples on him so I guess he
finally took her up on the offer.”

Brock smiled. He
liked her sense of humor. Well, at least she was seeing the funny side of
something that must have hurt like hell. He’d always loved a woman who could
see something upbeat, even in tragedy.

He leaned back in his
chair and took a sip of coffee. Damn, that tasted better than average. Either
this bakery saleswoman who seemed perfect was hiding some serious character
flaws, or the ex was stupid, blind, and a world-class idiot. “Ouch.”

“Yeah,
big ouch.
Needless to say I’ve canceled the
restaurant’s account with the bakery, which is a shame because the whole wheat
rolls were to die for.”

This time he laughed
along with her. Brock liked his neighbor a lot already. She made him smile, and
made a killer breakfast, too. He’d make sure he kept on her good side. No loud
noises or parties to all hours of the morning.
That’s right—not meant to be doing that stuff for six months anyway.

“Well, I guess I
should get these things cleared up and then get ready for when my staff arrives.”

Brock finished the
last of his coffee. “Here, let me help you get these dishes and flatware to the
sink. Then I’d better get back to the boat and check that leak.”

They both walked over
to the other side of the kitchen and turned to look at one another. He wanted
to kiss her so badly but didn’t dare.
Me
, Mr. Just Go for It
is now suddenly Mr. Self-Control.
However, they were neighbors, seemed to
get on really well, and he didn’t want to ruin things with the awkwardness of
an unwanted smooch. “Thanks again for the room and the meal,” he said.
Shit, kissing her is getting more tempting
by the second.

“Anytime.
After all, that’s what neighbors are for.”