Everything You've Got: Anything & Everything, Book 2 (11 page)

“Just so we’re on the same page—you’re mad at me because…?” He trailed off hoping she’d fill in the blank because he really didn’t know.

“I’m mad at myself.”

Okay. Now he was really confused. “Why are you mad at yourself?”

“I just won the lottery, but I cheated,” she said, watching him intently. “Now I’m trying to decide if I can fully enjoy the winnings knowing that I didn’t get them honestly.”

He had no idea what she was talking about.

“Kat, I—”

“Could you?” she asked. “Could you enjoy having everything you ever wanted if you’d gotten it dishonestly?”

“I would…” It was a good question. One he had to think about. He leaned back against the counter. “Maybe for a while. But I think the truth would get to me eventually.”

She tipped back another shot. “What if it was the only way to ever have what you wanted? There was no way in hell it would have happened otherwise?”

He felt like there was something really important right in front of him but he couldn’t grasp it. “I guess I’d have to think that maybe I just shouldn’t have it then.”

She took a deep breath, then let it out in a
whoosh
. She nodded, poured another shot and drank. “I guess then you’d want to really live it up and enjoy it before your morals got to you, huh?”

He shrugged. “As long as you don’t think you’d feel guilty about the stuff you did or bought or whatever before your conscience kicked in.”

She seemed to be thinking about that, turning the tequila bottle in her hand, sloshing the liquid against the sides. “I’m thinking that even if I felt guilty later it might be worth it.”

“I’d be sure I made it something big then.”

She looked him up and down and he shifted as his body responded to her perusal.

His brain might be struggling to figure out what was going on under the surface here, but his body didn’t care.

“I think you’ve got something there,” she said.

He wanted to get deeper into this—whatever the hell it was.

“Tell me more about this lottery.”

She shook her head. “Can’t.” Then she took another shot.

“Why?”

“Because there are things about me you don’t know.” She frowned, as if she hadn’t meant to say that.

Now this was getting interesting. He moved to the table and slid into the chair across from her. “There are things about you that I know that you don’t know I know.”

She frowned harder as she tried to follow that with tequila in her bloodstream. “You do?”

“You always pay for the appetizers and dessert when you have dinner with friends.”

Kat narrowed her eyes at him. “So?”

“You get the ones they want even though you don’t like them. And I think that’s sexy.”

“You find chicken wings and mozzarella sticks sexy?” she asked.

“You like mozzarella sticks. You order the chicken wings and chips and hot salsa because everyone else likes them, but you don’t like things that spicy.”

She was staring at him. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve been paying attention.” He liked surprising her. He gave her a slow smile.

She narrowed her eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Showing you what I do know about you.” He had never been oblivious to her. She’d always been this hot, funny, sweet woman he took for granted. He was done with that. Right now. “I know I don’t know everything there is to know about what makes you tick, but I want to. Starting on this trip.”

She just watched him.

“What’s the best vacation you’ve ever been on?”

She blinked at him. “I think we should just have sex.”

Okay, well he wasn’t necessarily against that idea, but she was a little tipsy. “Why is that?”

“It’s easier than the talking. And I’m sure it will go well. The talking is a real crapshoot at this point.”

He smiled and, for the moment anyway, ignored her suggestion. “How do you feel about your mom?”

“My mom’s great. Let’s have sex.”

“What do you do to relax?”

She sighed. “Can we at least play strip-get-to-know-you-better? It’s much more efficient since we’re both going to end up naked tonight anyway.”

“How would that go exactly?” Though any mention of her stripping made everything in him pulse with need.

“Every time one of us answers a question, the other one has to take something off.”

He grinned. “That’s a hell of an idea.”

“I know.” She finally gave him a grin too. A goofy, little-bit-drunk grin. “I’m going to do something big before my conscience sobers up.”

Something niggled at
his
conscience with that. “Do I need to know what you’re talking about before we do this?”

She shook her head. “Absolutely not.”

He hesitated. “What’s the capital of Croatia?”

She stared at him. “Croatia?”

“It’s one of the countries that used to be Yugoslavia.”

“Okay. But I have no idea what its capital is.”

“Because you’re drunk?”

“Because I’ve never known the capital of Croatia.”

She didn’t seem drunk, capital of Croatia or not. “Okay, let’s do this.”

“Take your shirt off.”

Luke cocked an eyebrow. “Sorry?”

“I want you to take your shirt off.”

“I want you to take your shirt off too.”

“But I didn’t ask you a question,” she said.

Fine. He’d play. He watched her as he unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged out of it.

She frowned when she saw the white T-shirt he wore underneath his dress shirt, and Luke barely bit back a grin.

He also took the shot of tequila she poured. Shuddering as he swallowed. He regarded her carefully, planning his strategy. He wanted to know her, wanted to show her he was serious, but he didn’t want to be predictable. A woman like Kat would get bored with predictable.

“Do you ever have nightmares?”

“I did years ago. Not often, but once in awhile. Not now.”

“What were they?”

“That’s another question. You’re going to have to take something off first.”

He kicked his shoes off.

She rolled her eyes. “You know that’s only prolonging things, right? For the guy who wants to jump way ahead, that’s an interesting move.”

“Take your shirt off,” he said.

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“Take your shirt off.”

“I didn’t—” Then she clearly remembered using a question mark. She narrowed her eyes. “That might be cheating.”

“Too bad there are no referees. Need another drink?” he slid the shot glass toward her.

Eyes narrowed further, she shook her head. “I’m fine.”

She grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it off, tossing it on top of his on the floor.

Not that he watched it land. His attention was firmly on the woman across from him. The pale pink bra she wore was modest, covering everything it was supposed to cover, but he suddenly felt like there was less oxygen in the room. Her skin still showed light tan lines from her bathing suit that summer and he wanted to trace those marks. With his tongue.

He looked up to find her watching him watch her.

“The answer to your question,” he said, “is yes, I know it’s only prolonging things. But as quickly as I’d like some of this to go between us, making love to you is something I’m going to want to spend a lot of time on.”

Heat flickered between them and she had to take a deep breath. He knew because he was carefully watching her face instead of staring at her breasts. With their very hard nipples pushing against the soft satin.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Now my next question. Where would you like me to kiss you first?”

His words hung, seemingly suspended in the air between them. She stared at him, then slowly smiled. “Glad to know the Q and A is over.”

“Who said that?”

“I did. The answer to your question is left nipple.”

He should have expected something like that but he still almost swallowed his tongue. He didn’t hesitate even long enough to pull in a full breath. She must have seen something in his eyes as he stood and rounded the table because she tried to scoot back in her chair. Of course, she didn’t get far.

Reaching down he pulled up on the lever that reclined the chair and pushed her back. She stared up at him. “I—
Holy—,”
she groaned as he went down on one knee, leaned in and took a nipple into his mouth through her bra.

Her other hand came up to cup the back of his head. He sucked, ran his tongue over the firmness and then sucked again.

God, she felt good. He wanted to have every inch of her against his tongue.

“Tell me what you are most proud of,” he said roughly against her breast.

She let her air out on a groan. “We’re really going to keep
talking
?”

“This is strip-get-to-know-you. We haven’t finished stripping.”

She sighed and Luke prepared for a smart-ass, sarcastic comment.

“The fact that I am completely, one hundred percent in charge of my life. I don’t let other people influence what I do, how I think or how I feel about things.”

It took him a moment to process the fact that she’d actually answered.

“That’s really—” he started.

“I don’t need your commentary on my answers.”

She was so difficult. But worth it. “What do I take off?”

“Shirt.”

He stripped his T-shirt off.

Her gaze roamed over him hungrily and he felt his skin heat several degrees.

“Do you like spaghetti?” she asked, not taking her eyes off his chest and abs.

“Yes. Which you know. This is supposed to be about learning things we don’t already know,” he chided.

“This is supposed to be about getting naked.”

It wasn’t supposed to be
just
about that but with the feel of her nipple still imprinted on his tongue he wasn’t going to argue. “Take your bra off.”

She arched her back as she reached for the hooks. The clasp gave and the pink satin fell away.

She was perfect.

The perfect size, the perfect shape, the perfect nipple color. Strangely, he hadn’t realized that he had preferences in those things. But she was it.

He lifted his gaze to her face.

“Tell me about something you regret.”

She moaned again, this time clearly in frustration. “Are you frickin’ kidding me?”

“If you answer without arguing, it’s all the sooner you get to tell me what to do next.” He rested his hand on her tummy, running his palm back and forth over the silky skin.

“It’s gonna involve your hand up under my skirt,” she said.

“No more stripping?”

“If I can get your hand in my panties I don’t care if the panties are on or off.”

He grinned. He really liked her. And he wasn’t about to argue about who was supposed to be stripping and when. His hand was going to be up Kat’s skirt. “I can live with that. Answer the question.”

She sighed. “Fine. I regret telling Jennifer Owens what I really thought of her.”

Luke knew Jennifer. She and her very wealthy husband lived on the West Coast somewhere. “What did you really think?”

Kat’s eyes opened. “I believe that’s another question and your hand hasn’t moved a bit.”

He chuckled softly and gladly put his hand on her knee, then slid it up under her skirt. “Better?”

“Gettin’ there,” she said.

He slid higher, her skin growing warmer as he moved. She shifted her thighs apart and Luke felt his erection press against the back of his fly. “How am I doing?”

“You’re about three inches from getting any answer to any question ever,” she said breathlessly.

He watched her face as his fingers found the satin of her panties, as his middle finger slipped under the elastic edge, and then brushed soft curls and hot, wet woman.

“And now?” he asked huskily.

“Just a little more.” She arched her hips toward his hand and the pad of his finger found her clit. “
There
.”

He slid over it, then circled and pressed.

Kat’s head dropped back against the chair and she said, “I thought she was the biggest bitch I’ve ever met.”

Luke smiled. And stopped his finger.

She looked at him. “What are you doing? I answered.”

“I have another question.”

“Of course you do.”

He slid his palm down over the front of her panties, over her mound.

She was hot and she pressed up against his hand as a long breath escaped from her lips.

“Just take your pants off,” she groaned.

Her breathlessness made him smile. “Nope. You have to ask a question before I strip.”

She glared at him. “I can’t think of a question. I’m a pile of sexual frustration right now.”