He pulled out of her and she handed him a tissue for the condom. “I’ll throw this out later,” he said, with a wink as he stuffed it into a trash bag in the car. “By the way, you look beautiful all the time, and you look especially beautiful when you come,” he whispered. He ran his fingers softly through her hair, as she rested against his chest, looking thoroughly sated.
She shivered at his touch. “I do?”
“You do. Gorgeous and sexy and unbelievably hot and I love knowing I did that to you.”
“You bring out this crazy side of me,” she said, with an almost embarrassed grin.
He brushed his thumb across her lips. “It’s not crazy. It’s part of you. And I’m glad you share it with me,” he whispered tenderly, then kissed her throat. She stretched her neck, giving him more access to work his way up to her ear, as he buzzed his lips against her skin. “And I’m going to show you the other sides of me,” he said.
“Hmmm,” she said in a dreamy, after-sex voice.
“Is that a yes to a dinner date at the end of the week?”
“I don’t know what it is. All I know is I like this side of you a heck of a lot,” she said, then looped her arms around his neck. Soon, she was brushing soft, sweet kisses against his jawline, and they felt a little bit like the start of real affection, not just lust. She slid off him and readjusted her clothes and he buttoned up his jeans.
She reached for the book of poetry he’d bought her. “Want to hear my favorite poem?”
“I would love to,” he said, and then listened carefully as she read him a sonnet.
She turned to him when she was done, her eyes wide and brimming with hopefulness, as if she truly wanted him to like the words. “What do you think?”
“I’m not going to claim it makes a hell of a lot of sense to me, but I think Shakespeare had a way with words, and I like listening to you read it. Now, want to play Mad Libs with me?”
She laughed and nodded, then stretched her legs across him.
“Here’s the thing,” he said. “You need to use your fancy lyrical words, okay?”
She saluted him. “I’m up for it.”
They played Mad Libs in the front seat of his car, combining Shakespeare with silliness, as he made her laugh, and she made him smile, until he needed to return to work. He’d been hoping to have a night off—go to the gym, play hoops with some of the guys from the firehouse. But that wasn’t an option—the bar project was taking longer than he’d expected, and he had no one else to call on to shoulder some of the load.
“I should go. That back section of the bar isn’t going to build itself,” he said, trying to keep the frustration that nagged at him at bay.
“You think it’ll be done soon?” she asked.
“Why? You hoping to have me out of your hair and not run into me in the back of the bar?” he said, making light of the situation.
She pushed back on his shoulder gently with her hand, not giving in to his attempts. “No. Because you sounded annoyed that you have to work tonight. Are you?”
He shrugged because the truth was he didn’t really want to start talking about work. He just wanted to finish the damn job for Becker. Last thing he needed was to have his friend ticked off at how long it was taking. If he had to stay up all night he would. He’d gotten a call earlier in the day about building a new sundeck onto a house in the hills. He was going to have to find time to squeeze that in too. “Nah, it’s not a big deal,” he said, waving off her concerns.
“Smith,” she said gently, fixing him a serious stare. “Do you need help with it?”
“You offering to take up a hammer and nails? Maybe get a little construction belt? You’d look mighty hot in some work boots, cut-off shorts, and a little tool belt around your waist.”
She rolled her eyes. “You always make light of things.”
He didn’t have an answer, because she was right.
“But seriously,” she said, persisting. “You’re going to wear yourself out. You should hire help.”
“I’m fine. I can do it myself. I’ve got it under control,” he said, because he didn’t want to talk about work or the things that weighed on him, so he did what she asked him to do—focus on sex.
“Hey, since you seem to like me for my body, what would you say to another round tonight? I can come by after I finish up my work tonight?”
“Now you’re getting the hang of our deal,” she said as she ran a hand across his thigh.
“Darlin’, I got the hang of our deal when you were screaming my name at the top of your lungs.”
She blushed, but grinned wickedly and moved in for another kiss, erasing all thoughts of business and work and the way he’d have to spend his evening. None of that mattered because he’d have more of her at the end of the night. But the next day, he’d need to start focusing on winning not just her body, but her heart. He had seven days to woo her.
Chapter Seven
Smith rested his elbow on the rolled-down window of his truck as he returned to the fire station. He’d been to the grocery store, picking up food for the next shift, and had about thirty minutes left before quitting time. It had been a long twenty-four hours with a handful of car accidents to tend to. No major injuries, though, and he was grateful for that.
His mind rolled back to Jamie once more, returning to the bookstore and truck encounter earlier in the week, as well as the last few nights they’d spent enjoying each other’s bodies. She’d stopped by his house every night he wasn’t working, and those were the best parts of the day—the moments with her, alone in his bedroom, in the living room, even the kitchen counter, as they drove each other to new heights of pleasure. All the images were burned brilliantly in his brain. But he couldn’t rest on their chemistry. He needed to plan a fantastic date for Jamie. To show her he could give her more than just pleasure. That he was the man she could trust and depend on, like she wanted and needed.