Dangerous Curves Ahead: A Perfect Fit Novel (16 page)

She knew why he was here. The man was a fixer, a caretaker, a protector by nature. If she ever met his mother she would have to thank her for raising such a nice boy. But Ellis felt his presence in her store was more than just being there for her. He seemed to like being there. He seemed to like discussing numbers and merchandise. He seemed like he was in his element. She could have kicked him out long ago. She could have assured him that Cherri and Belinda would help her clean up her store but part of Ellis felt like Mike needed to be here.

It made her wonder if maybe he was more attached to that little flower shop in Buffalo than he let on.

“I can see smoke coming out of your ears.” Mike climbed off the ladder and came to stand before her. “Stop thinking so hard. You’re making my head hurt.”

“I’ve got a lot on my mind,” she answered.

Mike pulled her close and slid his hands down her back. “You want to talk about it?”

“No.” She rested her head on his shoulder, unable to describe how surreal it felt to actually have him to lean on. Four years ago she had written him off as a self-centered asshole. Now every moment they were together he was proving to her he was not.

“Want to talk about the proposed tax hike for the upcoming year?”

“What?” She looked up at him. His eyes were twinkling. It made her smile. She looped her arms around his neck and reached up to kiss him.

But before her lips touched his, the bell over the door sounded and a harried brunette came rushing in. “Oh, Ellis. It was awful!”

“Karen, what was awful?” Ellis looked at her very good customer’s red blotchy face. “What happened?”

“I can’t find a wedding dress.” She collapsed against Ellis’s chest and wept. “I lost thirty-five pounds and I still don’t fit into any of the dresses. I went to six stores. Two of them didn’t carry any dresses over a size twelve and the stores that did carry my size … Everything looked like something my grandma would wear. My wedding is in less than a month. What am I going to do?”

“Oh Karen, I’m so sorry.” Ellis knew how she felt. When she was in high school she couldn’t find a prom dress that fit her unconventional body. She, too, had gone to many stores and ended up empty-handed and sobbing into her pillow. That was when Ellis learned to sew. If there wasn’t a dress for her to buy, she would make one.

“I couldn’t think of anyplace else to go. Do you know of a bridal salon that would help me?”

Ellis gently removed the weeping bride from her chest and squeezed her shoulders. “Take a deep breath, babe. I can’t think of any places off the top of my head but we are going to put our heads together and come up with a solution. Because you need to look hot on your wedding day.”

“Forget about hot. I just don’t want to be naked!”

“We could try the city. There’s always the Internet. We could search the Internet for a dress and then I could alter it for you.”

She took out the pad of paper that she kept behind the register and studied Karen. “Tell me how you envisioned yourself looking on your wedding day. Forget about size. Forget about what you think a fat girl should wear and tell me how you dream of looking.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Do you want to be a sexy, pinup bride? Do you want to feel like a goddess, or a princess, or do you want to be simple and chic?”

Karen sniffed. “I’ve always loved the way Grace Kelly looked on her wedding day. Maybe like that?”

“Ah.” Ellis smiled. “Good choice. Now we have something to go on.” She started to sketch a basic outline. “So you like lace. The long sleeves looked good on Grace but you don’t want to copy her. You want to be original. Cap sleeves, I think. And lace over satin.” She sketched furiously, getting lost in the design. “Empire waist, beading here. A-line.”

“Ellis…” Karen sighed.

The sound of her name pulled Ellis’s attention from her sketch and back to her customer. “What do you think of this dress? Do you like it?”

“I don’t like. I adore it. Forget about trying to find that on the Internet. You have got to make it for me.”

“What? I’ve never made a wedding dress before. You can’t trust me with something so huge.”

“But I do. Please, Ellis. You’re my last hope.”

Ellis stared openmouthed at Karen for a moment. Could she really do it? Did she have the time? The talent? What if she sucked at it? The thought of letting Karen down on her wedding day was almost too much to bear. But then she locked eyes with Mike, who reached out and gave her hand a comforting squeeze. She wasn’t sure why that made it better, but it gave her the strength to nod.

“I’ll do it.”

“You will?” Karen screamed and hugged Ellis so hard she could barely breathe. “My budget is five thousand. Can you do it for that?”

Ellis nearly swooned at the amount. Five thousand dollars would not only keep her afloat but help her out tremendously. It was just that she didn’t think she could take that much money from Karen. “I could do it for less than that. Like half that.”

“No, Ellis.” Karen shook her. “You are designing and hand-making a gown that I was going to spend five thousand dollars on at a store. You deserve every penny. In fact I wish I could pay you more.”

“But Karen…”

“It’s settled. I can’t wait to tell my mom. When do you want me for my first fitting?”

“Um … Tomorrow? Ten o’clock?”

“Great! I’ll see you then.”

Karen floated out of the store, leaving Mike and Ellis alone again.

“You were very good with her, Elle.” Mike backed Ellis against the register and brushed his nose against her cheek. “This is what you are meant to be doing.”

Was it, though? It felt right. She felt more competent making dresses than she ever did practicing the law. “I’ve never made a wedding dress before, Mike. What if I suck at it?”

“You won’t.” He buried his nose in her neck and inhaled her scent. “I don’t know anything about clothes but I know you do good work.”

Suddenly all the emotions of the past two days hit her. Her face throbbed. Her head ached. Jack kept bugging her. She was worried about everything and Mike was there being sweet to her again. She wasn’t sure she could take it. Her vision went blurry. “Why are you being so nice to me? I don’t know how to handle it.”

“It’s okay if you want to cry.” He pulled away a little and gazed down at her. “You’ve had a rough couple of days.”

It was as if she needed permission to cry. She let the first few tears fall as he gathered her close, smoothing his big hands down her back.

“Oh, stop crying, you big baby,” he said into her hair.

Ellis laughed as she stood on tiptoes to bring her mouth to his. “Thank you. I’m glad you were here today,” she told him again.

“You’re welcome.” He cupped her face in his hands and gave her a long deep kiss. She felt him everywhere this time. Her nipples tightened. Her breath grew shorter. She throbbed in places she thought were long dead.

He broke away slowly, stroking the tendrils of hair off her face. “You’re tired. I think you should go home and rest.”

She nodded. She was tired and she did want to go home but she didn’t want to go home alone.

Chapter Eleven

Things I Would Sell My Mother to Have …

1. A lifetime supply of Lindt milk chocolate.

2. The Rock, aka Dwayne Johnson, smeared in said chocolate (yummy).

3. A big plastic sheet for my bed. (I’m a messy eater.)

“I should feed you. Come home with me and I’ll find something for us to eat.”

Mike looked at Ellis for a very long moment, his eyes settling on her lips. He stared so long she grew afraid of his answer. They both knew what it would mean if he came home with her. They both knew that things between them would irrevocably change.

“I would like that.” He stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers before he pulled away. “I’ll follow you home.”

*   *   *

Ellis took the direct route home this time, Mike following her in his vintage black Mercedes. She tried not to think about what was to come. She tried not to think about him as the anticipation filled her body. It had been so long for her, so long since she felt desire or desirable. Jack had taken that away from her. He’d robbed her of her joy in sex, of her confidence, of her pride. His words came rushing back.

Do you have any idea what it’s like to sleep with somebody like you?

Ellis shook her head as she pulled into her little driveway. She was going to put Jack out of her head for good. He had no place there anymore.

She stepped out of her car just as Mike shut his off. They said nothing to each other as she let them inside but she could feel the heat of his gaze on her back. She felt his need as much as she felt her own.

They stopped in her living room. She turned to face him, wanting to say something to him, something meaningful, something profound, but her mind turned to mush as his eyes raked over her body.

“Are—are you hungry?” she managed to say.

“Yes.”

He grabbed her arm and pulled her into his hard body as his mouth slammed down on hers. This kiss was different: There was no finesse, no slowness, no time spared. It was hot, needy, and deep. It was all-consuming and before she could process the silky feel of his tongue on hers, cool air brushed across her bottom. He peeled her shorts off, his hands reaching inside her panties to cup her behind, to push her against his very hard erection. She rubbed against him, her mind going blank, her body taking over. He let out a visceral groan.

First his shirt came off, revealing a chest too perfect for words, then her panties slid to the floor and pooled around her ankles. She was almost naked, just a few more pieces of clothing to go before he saw all of her. Insecurity, her old friend, filled her. She had never had sex in broad daylight before and never in her extremely bright living room. With Jack it had been in the dark and under covers. With Mike it was all so different. She would be exposed.

He dragged his lips from hers long enough to remove her tank top. “Undress me,” he ordered.

She did what he asked, her hands going to the fly of his shorts. They shook as she unbuttoned, unzipped, and freed him from his pants. It was beautiful, big, smooth, and as dark as the rest of him. She wanted to kiss it, to run her tongue over it and taste him but her knees were too wobbly to bend. Instead she took him lightly in her hand and ran her thumb across the tip, smearing that little drop of liquid over him. His body jerked violently and she backed away, afraid she had done something wrong.

“Oh honey, I’m sorry,” he whispered, gathering her close. “Your hands feel too good.” He led her to the couch where he sat on the arm and she stood facing him. “Let’s slow down a little.”

He reached up to unhook her bra, leaving Ellis completely naked in front of a man for the first time in her adult life. As her nipples were exposed to the air they painfully stiffened, begging to be touched. Mike said nothing. He did nothing, only stared for a moment. Then his hands and eyes began to slowly travel her body as her mind calculated all her imperfections. They slid over too-wide hips and around to her slightly rounded belly, then down to her fleshy behind and over her thighs. All he did was rub her skin with his slightly rough hands and stare at her with such intensity that it caused tears to come to her eyes.

“What’s wrong, baby?” His gaze was full of concern. “You’re shaking.”

“The way you look at me … You don’t think I’m ugly?”

“God no.” He cupped her face in his hands and brought her mouth to his, kissing her, slowly sucking her tongue into his mouth as if it belonged there. “You’re beautiful, so beautiful.”

The way he said it, the way he looked at her and touched her, made her believe it. Mike Edwards wanted her, and the knowledge of it made liquid pool between her thighs.

“We fit.” He linked his fingers through hers as he placed his head between her breasts, his lips fluttering against her pounding heart. He cupped her breasts in his hands, squeezed them, tested their weight, lifted them to his mouth to kiss her aching nipples. Her breath shortened as he took one into his mouth. He suckled, she moaned. He pulled deeper with his wet lips and she arched her back, trying to bring herself even closer to him.

“Mike, please.” She begged, for what she did not know. She just knew she wanted to be closer to him. “More.”

He touched her between her legs, finding her dripping wet. “Ellis. You’re ready for me.” He trailed his fingers along her cleft, slid them up to her clit, and lightly rubbed. She fell apart, coming so hard her knees buckled. Mike caught her before she fell and lowered her onto the couch. He hovered over her, a slight smile forming on his beautiful lips.

“Oh don’t look so pleased with yourself.”

His slight smile bloomed into a full one. “Can’t help it.”

He kissed down her throat, licking, tasting her skin while he lifted his fingers to her hair to remove the band that confined it. His hard body felt heavenly as it settled on top of hers, and for a moment she was content with just holding him. But soon, simple touch alone wasn’t enough and she wrapped her legs around his hips, causing their inflamed parts to brush against each other.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” he told her.

“What a way to go.” She lifted her head off the couch, needing to be kissed. He obliged, nipping at her bottom lip, sucking it in, licking inside her mouth. She started to rub against him, feeling his member slide against her swollen lips.

He abruptly broke their kiss. “I’m sorry, Ellie. I can’t wait any longer.”

“Who was asking you to?”

He gave her a quick, wicked grin before he slowly slid into her. It had been so long and Mike was so big. She stretched to accommodate his girth, feeling him at her womb. An insuppressible moan escaped her lips. He paused for a moment, his blue eyes boring into her. This was new for her, the connection, this tenderness. It felt like a first time.

He thrust slowly, his eyes never leaving her face. He studied her every expression, stroked to accommodate her needs. Sex wasn’t supposed to be like this. It wasn’t supposed to be this … this … good. She kissed his Adam’s apple, unable to tolerate even one part of her body not touching his. He thrust over and over, each time a little harder. The orgasm came so quick and strong her entire body convulsed, her toes curled.