Fool for Love (25 page)

“This is insane.”

Caving, he rolled out of bed and pulled on jeans and a wrinkled T-shirt.

Ten minutes later he’d crossed Sugar Creek and pulled into Daisy’s driveway. Using a spare key, he let himself inside and, without turning on any lights, quietly moved into the kitchen at the opposite end of the house, away from the stairway that led to the upstairs bedrooms. He felt like he was back in high school, sneaking in late and trying to filch a beer from the fridge on top of it all. Only he wasn’t here for the beer.

Slaking his wet hair from his face, he rolled back tense shoulders, then palmed his phone and pulled up his newest contact.

“Hello?”

Her voice was hushed and husky and tripped every sensual wire in his body. “Sorry to wake you, Chloe.”

“I wasn’t sleeping. Too much on my mind.”

“I know the feeling.”

“What’s wrong? Is it Daisy?” she asked in a worried whisper. “The medications?”

“No. It’s me.”
I’m crazy about you.
“I need to speak with you.”

“Okay.”

“In person. Come downstairs. Meet me in the kitchen.”

“
Daisy’s
kitchen?”

“Try not to wake her.” He signed off, thumbed the phone to vibrate, then slipped it in his pocket. Whatever reservations he’d had about Chloe had muddied and waned over the last few days. Desire trumped suspicion and apparently rational thinking. Otherwise he would’ve tempered this incessant yearning with a cold shower or a stiff drink instead of driving across town in the middle of the night like an obsessed lunatic.

Before he could second-guess his actions, Chloe sailed into the moonlit kitchen, a vision of innocent beauty in her short pink robe and silky pink bottoms, her dark hair pulled back from her sweet face in a loose, lopsided ponytail.

Oh yeah.
Instant hard-on.

“What is it?” she whispered, looking him up and down as if she expected broken bones or a bloody wound. “What’s wrong?”

“It can’t wait until I get back from Florida.”

“What can’t wait?”

He grasped her wrist and pulled her against his body. Their gazes locked and a split second later they launched into a frenzied kiss. A tangle of limbs as they each shifted, vying for control. A jolt of sensations as they touched and claimed. Sampling, savoring.

She matched his fervor, her hands moving up and under his damp tee, smoothing over his abs, then around to his back.

He pushed open her robe, palmed her ass through her silky pajamas. He lifted and her legs instantly wrapped around him, her pelvis grinding against his arousal as they kissed each other senseless.

A kiss. He’d come for a kiss. A scorching kiss that would brand his senses, staying with him over the next two days, satisfying him enough until he could return and seduce her properly. Except in the midst of this white-hot kiss he couldn’t think beyond his dick. He knew she’d fried his good senses when he laid her back on the kitchen table, his fingers loosening the drawstring at her waist.

She palmed his shoulders, caught her breath. “Not here.”

“The guest room.” Across the house, but downstairs. Behind locked doors.

“What if the floor creaks? What if the
bed
creaks?”

At least she was thinking along the same lines. He swept her off the table, his brain shorting when she locked her arms around his neck and nailed him with another mind-blowing kiss. The more she gave, the more he wanted.

Next thing he knew he’d carried her through a side door from the kitchen into the garage. “Feeling adventurous?”

“Living in the moment.”

Between the dark and the various stacked boxes, somehow he managed to make it to the Cadillac without tripping. Outside thunder boomed and rain pelted the metal garage door—not exactly soulful jazz but mood-setting ambiance all the same. Intense. Primal. He opened the back door without bonking Chloe’s head on the car and suddenly they were in the backseat making out like two horny teenagers.

“This is so wrong,” she rasped as she pulled his T-shirt over his head.

“Not as wrong as the kitchen table.”

“Right.”

He pushed up her silky cami and brushed his lips over her taut belly while cupping her firm breasts. Her soft moans driving him toward the edge of carnal bliss. Squeezing and plucking her pebbled nipples, he kissed and licked his way up her smooth, creamy skin, his dick throbbing when he tongued and sucked her erect, rosy tips.

He was halfway to heaven when bright light flooded the interior of the car, jolting him like a bucket of cold water. With a muttered curse, he shifted to shield Chloe, certain they were no longer alone.

“Show yourselves or I’ll shoot!”

Devlin dropped his forehead to Chloe’s. “Gram.”

“She owns a gun?”

“Not that I know of. But to be on the safe side…” He pushed himself up enough to look out the rear side window at the silver-haired woman wearing moose pajamas and wielding a baseball bat. “It’s me, Gram.”

The woman marched forward and peered in.

Chloe, who’d managed to pull down her top, blushed and smiled. “Hi.”

“You should be ashamed, Devlin Monroe!” Daisy blasted. “You couldn’t take her to a ritzy hotel?” With that she turned away, shut off the light, and slammed the door.

After a stunned moment, they both laughed.

“A bit of a mood killer,” Chloe said.

“Not a bad thing,” Devlin said. He smoothed his thumb over her cheek, still aroused but thoughtful. “She’s right. You deserve better.” He kissed her then, a sweet, soulful kiss.
This
he would carry with him to Florida. “When I get back,” he said, “we’re going to pursue this.”

“Okay.”

“No argument?”

She smiled up at him and his damned heart skipped. “No argument.”

TWENTY-FOUR

Chloe woke up to the sound of Devlin’s voice. It didn’t matter that it was over the phone. She was still in bed, still basking in the aftermath of their late-night rendezvous. Still gloriously and wondrously under his spell. The fact that he’d called from the airport proved she hadn’t dreamed the entire episode.

“Get any sleep?” he asked.

“Not much. You?”

“Hard to sleep when my mind’s full of you.”

She closed her eyes, reveling in the sexy sentiment even as she doubted his sincerity. “Use that line a lot, do you?”

“Never.”

White-hot desire blazed through her body. His voice, so sexy. His words, so romantic. She snuggled deeper beneath her blankets, resisting the urge to touch herself.
Ever had phone sex?
she wanted to ask. She suppressed an embarrassed giggle. “This is crazy.”

“What?”

“I feel like…”

“Tell me.”

“I feel like I’m in high school. A teenager dealing with her first major crush. All those intensely wonderful and insane sensations. Logically, I know it’s a case of textbook infatuation. Accelerated heart rate. Weak-kneed adoration.”

“Sounds like something out of
Cosmo.
”

“I definitely read it somewhere. Intense yearnings,” she continued. “Obsessive sexual fantasies.”

“If I weren’t about to board, I’d ask you to elaborate on that fantasy aspect.”

Her mouth quirked. “Anyway, you see my point.”

“Actually, I do.”

“Frustrating.”

“Yet stimulating.”

“Can we not talk about stimulation?”

He laughed, knocking her further off balance before jostling her with a dose of reality. “Seen Daisy yet this morning?”

“Not yet. I’m sort of dreading it. Knowing her, she’ll ask for details regarding our backseat tumble.”

“Fortunately, or not, depending on your viewpoint, the details are tame.”

“Yes, but if I tell her we didn’t get beyond, uh, second base, I worry she’ll lecture me on how to get
home.
”

“Gram talks that frankly to you about sex?”

“Pretty much.”

“That’s awkward.”

“To say the least.”

“I’m sorry I lost control last night, Chloe.”

“I’m not. It was exciting.
You’re
exciting.”

“Tell that to my friends and family. They think I’m boring as hell.”

“I don’t know about boring as much as uptight.” She grinned, remembering how Monica had described him as having a stick up his ass. “You’ve been lovingly described as a workaholic and control freak.”

“Lovingly, huh?”

“Impressive if you ask me. People adore you even though you tick them off.”

“It’s a gift,” he joked.

But she sensed he wasn’t really laughing. Chloe snuggled under the covers, the phone pressed to her ear, wishing Devlin were here beside her. Amazing how much their relationship had changed between yesterday and this morning. “Good luck with your dad,” she said. “Hopefully he’s more reasonable than mine and once you talk face-to-face about your renovation plans he’ll honor your wishes.”

“At the very least we’ll strike a compromise. Maybe you should try that route with your dad.”

“He’d have to be talking to me to strike a compromise,” she said, trying not to feel bitter and failing. “I’ve left two messages since our last blowout and he’s yet to return my calls.”

“You could follow my lead. Fly out and resolve things in person.”

“You don’t know my dad. Once I was home he’d do everything in his power to dictate my future. He’s convinced I can’t take care of myself and now that Ryan’s out of the picture…”

“So he’s a good man, but controlling.”

Like Ryan. Like you.
That thought pricked a hole in her pretty pink bubble. “Can we not talk about this?”

“So what are your plans for the day?”

She pushed up to her elbows and peered out the window. No rain, but no clear blue skies either. “I was supposed to meet Nash this morning for a hot-air balloon ride, which you probably knew, but he called last night soon after the Cupcake Lovers meeting and canceled due to the crummy weather.”

“Can’t say I’m sorry.”

Something in his voice.
She raised a brow. “Because you’re jealous about me keeping company with your cousin or because you were worried about us navigating stormy skies?”

“Both.”

His honesty boosted her dreamy mood. Smiling, she decided not to mention she’d planned on taking Daisy along for the ride, knowing it would only rattle his chains. Selfishly Chloe wanted to cling to this knee-melting flirtation for as long as possible. “For what it’s worth, I’m not attracted to Nash. Or Luke,” she added, assuming, because this family talked about
everything,
that Devlin also knew she was meeting up with his brother tomorrow.

“Good to know,” he said with a smile in his voice. “Although they’ll have a hard time believing it.”

She laughed at that. “They are indeed … confident in their charms.”

“That’s a nice way of putting it.” He paused as a woman’s voice shrilled over a loudspeaker.

Chloe sighed. “Your flight?”

“Boarding now,” Devlin confirmed. “I’ll call you if I learn anything about Gram’s meds.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Have a nice weekend, Chloe.”

She closed her eyes and imagined his handsome face, his heart-pounding kisses. “Have a safe and productive trip.”
And hurry back.

She’d barely disconnected when a loud knock startled her into a sitting position. “Yes?”

Daisy blew into the room dressed in a long-sleeved grey pullover, denim overalls tucked into bright pink rubber rain boots. “Get dressed, kitten. Family emergency.”

Her heart pounded as she threw off her blankets. It couldn’t be Devlin. Then … “Who? What?”

“Rocky. Tree crashed into her utility shed. The shed collapsed, burying all her sports equipment. Luke rallied the troops. We’re all meeting at the Red Clover. It’s wet and muddy out there. Dress accordingly. Not that we’ll be doing any of the heavy work, still.”

Chloe scrambled out of bed and rooted through her drawers. “Does Devlin know?” Surely not or he would’ve said something.

“That boy’s got enough on his mind. Besides”—she glanced at her watch—“he’s in the air by now.”

Or at least close to it. Chloe wondered if she should text him, then thought better of it. Daisy was right. He had enough on his mind and, since he was already in Burlington and soon headed for Florida, there wasn’t much he could do aside from worry. Instead, she’d just pitch in and do whatever she could in his place.

Daisy turned on her neon-pink soles. “Meet you downstairs in ten.”

Chloe threw on jeans, a worn tee, and high-top sneakers. She scrubbed her face and teeth, brushed her hair into a high ponytail, and, two minutes later, was sitting alongside Daisy in the Caddy. Shoving erotic thoughts of last night’s liaison from her mind, she hit the garage door remote and keyed the ignition.

Daisy buckled up and, after a teasing glance at the backseat, grinned at Chloe and snickered. “Guess you won’t be needing Big Al, after all.”

*   *   *

Rocky ignored the pounding at her brain, pulled her pillow over her head, and willed the day to go away. At some point she’d have to deal with her collapsed shed. Not wanting to impose on family, she’d have to hire help. She’d also have to buy a new shed. Just now she couldn’t bear thinking about the impending cost, so she shut it all out. She’d deal in an hour or so. After the groggy effects of two Tylenol PMs, too little sleep, and too much anxiety had worn off.

Unfortunately, someone yanked her pillow away. Temples throbbing, she squinted at the obnoxious daylight and an unwanted guest. “I thought I told you to leave,” she rasped, voice hoarse from lack of sleep.

“Rise and shine,” Jayce said, looking infuriatingly refreshed. “Luke coordinated a friends and family rescue team. They’re on their way.”

It took a second to absorb his words. When they sank in, she sprang out of bed and rushed toward her private bathroom. It was that or punch him. “I suppose you called Dev, too!” she blasted as she splashed cold water on her face. “It’s why he coerced you into staying here, right? To keep an eye on me and to take charge if things went wrong. As if I can’t take care of myself, which I can! What’s he going to do when you go back to Brooklyn? Hire a babysitter?”