Chapter Five
“Thank you for a wonderful evening.”
Julie’s soft voice floated down his spine like a gentle kiss. As they stood at her front door, her big eyes staring up at him, Sam knew he had no right to be perturbed by the fact that she wasn’t inviting him in. He was left wondering if he should kiss her or simply play it off. Like the date was nothing more than a thank-you, as he’d said it would be. He felt awkward, damn it. Hell, he wasn’t a damn teenager anymore.
“You’re welcome.” Not what he wanted to say, but he wasn’t sure of Julie. She had a sharp wit, and she was kind—to everyone. Even their waiter had been enraptured by her. It made Sam wonder if she saw him any differently than a casual acquaintance. Somewhere along the line, he’d decided he wanted to be anything but casual with Julie.
“I hope it was worth the work you’ll have to do on your friend’s car.”
“Well worth it.” Shit, they’d been reduced to small talk.
She sighed and turned around, then pressed her key into the lock. After Julie had the door open, she turned to him. “Look, I don’t know what to do here. My dating days have been pretty limited. I don’t want you to think I’m a prude for not inviting you in, but I don’t want to appear too…easy if I asked you in for a nightcap. And to top it all off, I have no idea if this is still just a thank-you date. So basically I’m a fish out of water here.”
Her rushed speech and the fact she was nervous made Sam feel a shitload better. They were both thrown for a loop, it seemed. “This whole thing is new ground for you, huh?”
“Very new. Like brand-spanking new. So new it’s still sealed in cellophane.”
He chuckled. “How about we leave the decision up to me, then?”
She bit her lip. “What do you mean?”
He planted his fist against the doorjamb and asked, “May I come in for a cup of coffee, Miss Rose?”
Her gaze narrowed. “First, Miss Rose makes me sound like a sad, old woman with thirty cats to keep her company. Second, just coffee?”
“Unless you have lemon merengue pie to go with it.” He tapped her on the nose. “Do you?”
He watched as all the nervousness seemed to evaporate. “No pie, but I do have some chocolate chip cookies.”
“Sounds good to me.” She nodded and smiled finally, much to Sam’s relief, then opened the door. Sam followed her into the condo and shut the door behind him.
After their dinner, which Sam had found to be an exercise in self-control, they’d shared a slow dance on the restaurant’s small dance floor. He’d enjoyed holding her close. Her curves fit him as if made for him. Together they’d walked out to his SUV, hand in hand, without speaking to each other.
The drive back to her place had been quiet. For some reason, Sam hadn’t wanted to say anything to screw it up, like he usually did. Christ, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t dated. He’d dated plenty of pretty women, but none of them had ever had him on his toes quite the way Julie did. The whole night seemed special somehow.
“Not to sound corny, but I am so slipping into something slightly more comfy.” She took off her coat and tossed it onto the couch. “This dress is adorable and these shoes were definitely worth every penny, but I’m in need of something that doesn’t itch and pinch.”
Sam frowned as he watched her finger one of the straps of the dress. “Please tell me you weren’t miserable all night.”
“Not until the end of the evening,” she replied. “I think this dress has a time limit. Wear it too long and it turns into an itchy burlap sack.”
“Well, let me be the first to say that you look great in burlap.” A light blush filled her cheeks, and Sam found it cute as hell.
“Uh, I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time.”
As she left the room, Sam took a moment to shed his coat and take in his surroundings. When he’d picked her up for their date, he’d been too busy taking her in; her furniture could’ve been made out of cardboard for all he’d noticed.
Julie had a nice place, not too girly but definitely warm and inviting. The tan suede couch and recliner were nice, and they went well with the white oak end table and coffee table. None of it appeared particularly lived-in. When she’d said she’d started fresh after her grandmother’s death, she hadn’t been kidding.
Sam spied a framed photo on the coffee table and crossed the room to get a better look. It was a picture of a teenage version of Julie with an older woman. Her grandmother, no doubt. They resembled each other. And it was easy to see the love in her grandmother’s eyes. Then again, who wouldn’t love Julie? She simply had a way of getting under a person’s skin. He started to sit on the couch when he spied a CD on the end table. Curious about her taste in music, Sam picked it up, then grinned as he read the name of the band.
“If you laugh at my Styx, I’m kicking you out.”
He turned around and came to an abrupt halt. She stood on the other side of the room in a pair of black sweats and a gray hoodie big enough to fit three average-sized adults. “Lady,” Sam began singing, doing his best to imitate Styx’s lead singer, Dennis DeYoung, “when you’re with me, I’m smiling.”
She covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle a laugh. “Wow,” she finally managed, “that was…awesome.”
“Yeah, I can’t sing for crap, and we both know it.” He looked her over and winked. “I have to say, you dress up real nice, sweetheart, but this does feel more like the real you.”
She shrugged. “That’s because it is. I only bought the dress and heels tonight.”
“You went shopping for our date?” The notion pleased the shit out of him, and he wasn’t sure why.
She started toward the kitchen. “You implied I couldn’t do classy,” she tossed over her shoulder. “I had to prove you wrong, didn’t I?”
He put the CD back down on the table; then her words hit him. “Wait, when in hell did I say that?”
She headed straight for the coffee pot. “At the diner,” she answered with her back to him. “It was in the way you looked at me in the waitress uniform. Felt like a challenge, that’s all.”
“Julie, look at me.” When she turned around, Sam strode toward her and cupped her cheeks in his palms. “I looked at you then the same way I looked at you the first time I saw you. Like I wanted to know you. Inside and out. You took me by surprise is all, and I don’t do well with surprises.”
She frowned and pulled away. “Should I apologize?”
“No.” He shoved his hands in the front pockets of his pants to keep himself from reaching out and tugging her into his arms. “Just know that I like you in the waitress getup. I like you in the sexy-ass dress and heels too. And I really like you in the oversized sweats. The fact is, I just like you.”
“Oh.” She teased the hem of her sweatshirt and said, “Well, that works out nicely, then.”
“Why is that?”
“Because as it turns out, I like you too.”
He chuckled. “Do you like me enough to share a few of those cookies you mentioned?”
“I made two dozen. More than enough for a decent sugargasm.”
He rubbed his chin, pretending to contemplate the merits of a sugargasm. “Not sure I’ve ever had a sugargasm before. Could prove interesting.”
She dropped the hem, then turned and grabbed the empty glass carafe. “You’ve been terribly deprived, then.”
Sam let his gaze travel over her lush curves. Jesus, even in the oversized sweatpants, her ass made him hard. “Very deprived,” he growled, wishing he could close the distance and grab a handful of her.
As she filled the pot with water, she said, “How about I get the coffee and cookies while you get the fire started?”
Baffled and momentarily dragged out of his sexual musings, Sam peered over his shoulder and looked into the living room beyond. “You have a fireplace?”
“It’s one of those cast-iron fire pits. It’s out on the back patio.” She pointed to a pair of sliding-glass doors. “The wood is already out there.” After she poured the water in the well of the coffeemaker, she replaced the pot and hit the power button. “This is the perfect night for a fire.” She opened a drawer and took out a box of matches. “Here.” She handed them over. “You’ll find the rest of the things you need in a metal cabinet near the door.”
Sam liked the idea of holding Julie tight next to a warm fire, but the temperature had dropped as the evening had worn on. “It’s probably in the high thirties. Sure you won’t get too chilly?”
She looked down at herself, then held her arms out to her sides. “Have you seen this hoodie? It’s ginormous!”
He tucked the matches in his front shirt pocket and murmured, “If it’s a fire under the stars you want, then that’s what you’ll get.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You don’t think it’s silly?”
Damn, hadn’t a man ever taken the time to romance the woman? “Not at all. I’m looking forward to keeping you warm.”
“You’ve been doing that all night long.”
Sam’s eyebrows shot up at the bold confession. Julie slammed a hand over her mouth, and her face turned bright red. “Didn’t intend to say that aloud, did you?” She vehemently shook her head. His chest swelled a little. “If it helps, the feeling is mutual,” he admitted before bending forward and placing a light kiss to her soft lips. Julie went utterly still beneath him. When he angled his head, fitting his mouth to hers, he felt her relax and lean in the slightest bit. Sam kept it quick, managing to barely get a taste of her sweet flavor before he lifted his head. When he walked out to the patio, he looked back and saw her touching her lips with her fingertips. Leaving her standing there sure as hell wasn’t easy.
A few minutes later, Sam had the beginnings of a fire. When he heard the patio door slide open, he stood. “Here, let me.” Sam took the tray laden with their cookies and coffee and placed it on the little glass table in front of the swing.
She laughed. “Sam, I’m a waitress, remember?”
“Doesn’t mean I can’t be a gentleman.” He poured them both a cup of coffee. “Cream or sugar?”
“Neither for me, thanks.” She took the mug and wrapped her delicate fingers around it. Sam imagined her wrapping them around his cock instead.
As they sat down on the cushioned porch swing, Sam took a cautious sip from his own steaming cup. “Mmm, tastes good.”
“Thanks,” she said, settling in next to him. Sam wished like hell he had the right to pull her in closer. “The cookies aren’t too bad either,” Julie admitted. “If I do say so myself.”
“You baked them?” When she nodded, Sam picked one up and took a large bite. “Delicious. Maybe we should fire Eddie and hire you as our cook at the diner.”
“No way. Cooking is for fun, not work. Besides, Eddie does a great job.”
“Speaking of the diner, I hear you’ve been opening for Mom. And Reilly tells me you might have some insight about the financial state of things there.”
“I don’t mind opening. I’m an early riser. When I noticed Wanda was always there, every morning without fail, I offered to do the early shift a few times a week.”
“It doesn’t interfere with your classes?”
She shook her head. “It hasn’t yet.”
When he thought of her going to college, it reminded him of the way she’d been raised. “You said at Thanksgiving that you helped take care of your grandmother. That couldn’t have been easy. Especially at such a young age.”
She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and said, “No, it wasn’t easy, but she and I were close, and I was glad to do it. She was my best friend.”
Sam heard a hint of sadness in her tone, and it bothered him. He wanted to make it all better for her. “Did she go through chemotherapy?”
She took a sip of her coffee, then placed the half-empty cup on the table. “Grandmom never liked to go to the doctors, hated it. Swore they were all quacks.”
“So, by the time they caught the cancer, it was too late,” he surmised.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice soft and far away.
“You miss her, huh?”
“Sometimes, but she was in a lot of pain in the end.” Her voice trembled as she murmured, “I hated seeing her that way.”
He patted her thigh, needing to take away her sadness in some small way. “Well, I don’t know if it helps to hear this, but I think my mom considers you the daughter she never had.”
“Aw, I care about her too.” She shrugged. “I think she needs to hire a full time manager at the diner, though. Of course, I’m not sure she can afford it right now.” Her gaze landed on his, and he could see her worry. “Sam, I’m afraid if something isn’t done, she’ll lose the restaurant.”
He took one last swig of his coffee, then sat his cup next to hers before saying, “I won’t let that happen.”
“Short of declaring bankruptcy, I don’t see how you have a choice,” she muttered.
“I spent a good part of the morning looking everything over, and at first I had the same depressing thought. But I have an idea. I just need to talk to the others first.”
Her eyes widened. “What sort of plan?”
“A remodel. I want to turn the restaurant into a bar and grill.”
“It sounds great, but how will you get the funding? I’m not sure the bank will find that the restaurant is a sound investment.”
“We might not need a lot. I’ve got a little money saved back. Besides, with Vance and me doing the work and the five of us pooling our resources, I think it might be the best way to turn the diner around.”
“Our very own version of Applebees right here in Blackwater?”
“Something like that.” Sam reached out and cupped Julie’s chin, urging her to look at him. “How about we worry about the diner tomorrow?”
“Okay.” She crossed her legs and glanced over at the fire. “I love this time of year.”
Sam couldn’t pass up the chanced to learn a little more about her. “Is it the chillier weather or the holiday season you like?”
“Both.” She plucked at her sweatshirt and admitted, “I do get cold easily, but I love sitting by a warm fire. It reminds me of going to church camp when I was little.”
Sam imagined her as a young girl in pigtails and smiled. “I can see you roasting marshmallows and eating s’mores.”
She rubbed her belly. “Mm, there’s nothing better than s’mores.”
Sam tipped her chin up until he could see her eyes. “Nothing?” he murmured. “Not even gooey chocolate chip cookies with me?”
Julie clenched her eyes tight and let out a heavy breath. “I have a confession to make, Sam.”
“Yeah?”
She opened her eyes and said, “Uh, I’m nervous. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a date, but you could probably tell that already.”
“It’s okay. No pressures or expectations tonight, Julie.” He leaned back into the swing and put his arm around her shoulders. “All you have to do is enjoy the night.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder and looked up at him. “Are you enjoying the evening?”
“I have a pretty woman snuggled up close under the stars. It doesn’t get much better in my book.”
“Maybe we should make a wish. You never know, it might come true.”
He smiled down at her. “I haven’t done that since I was a kid.”
Her eyes twinkled in the firelight as she whispered, “I will if you will.”
“Deal.”
“Close your eyes. It won’t work unless you close your eyes, Sam.”
Sam did as she asked. After he made his wish, he opened them again to see Julie watching him. “Did you make a wish?”
She nodded. “Did you?” she asked in a faraway voice.
“Hmm, yeah. We’ll just have to wait and see if it comes true or not, won’t we?” he said cryptically.
She offered him a sexy grin, one clearly designed to fell a lesser man. “I don’t suppose I can convince you to tell me what you wished for, huh?”
“Nice try, sweetheart.” Julie pouted, and Sam knew he was putty in her hands. God, she was captivating. Sam was desperate to lean down and kiss her. He wanted to undress her and touch every inch of her body with his lips and tongue. “You know that if I told you, then it wouldn’t come true anyway, remember?”
“Yes, I suppose you’re right. Will you let me know if you get your wish at least?”
“I will if you will,” he murmured.
Satisfied, Julie nodded. “Deal.”
Sam stroked the silky length of her dark brown hair. “We could shake on it,” he suggested.
Her eyes lit with mischief. “We could. Sounds a little boring, if you ask me.”
“Or…” He dipped his head and pressed his lips to her soft, warm mouth.
Julie sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck. She moved closer, as if she wanted to spend a good long time sampling him. Damn good plan, Sam thought. He nudged the seam of her lips with his tongue, and her lips parted beneath his. Tongues met in a wild mating dance. She tasted of sweet, warm chocolate, and Sam knew he could easily become a glutton.
He pulled back a few inches. “Earlier you said that I made you hot and bothered.”
“Blurted it out, you mean,” she grumbled as she turned away, presenting him with the perfect view of her neck. Sam kissed her there, just behind her ear. Julie shivered.
Sam’s voice dropped an octave as he admitted, “Either way, I’m glad you said it.”
“Yes, well, I think you’ve managed to turn the heat up a notch.” She cleared her throat. “In case you were curious or anything.”
“Still feels a little chilly to me,” he said as he coasted his lips over her earlobe and nibbled.
“W-we can’t have that,” she whispered, tilting her head to the side and giving him better access to her neck.
Sam caved in to temptation and licked the smooth line of her neck. He could feel the rapid rise and fall of her chest as she pressed her body closer to his. Sam’s cock pulsed with the need to be buried inside her soft p-ssy. Damn, he hadn’t even taken off Julie’s clothes and already he ached for release. Sam was desperate to tear off her sweats, to see the full curves she kept hidden, but he didn’t want to rush her. She’d admitted her inexperience earlier, and Sam knew it would be better if he took the time to coax Julie’s passion to the surface, not demand it.
“I’m out of my element here, Sam,” she softly confessed, confirming his conviction that he needed to take it slow.
Nervous tension creased her brow, but the fingers tugging at his hair spoke of how turned on she was. The very last thing he wanted was for Julie to be shy and reserved. He wanted her to let go of her shyness, to feel free to explore him a little, because he sure as shit planned to explore her.
Sam nudged her face toward his. “Sweetheart?”
“Hmm?” she asked as her pleasure-filled gaze snared his.
“Kiss me,” he urged.
“Good idea.” She leaned into him and barely touched her lips with his.
Unlike the mating of lips before, this kiss was light and fleeting but enough to have Sam’s blood pounding hot. He dipped his head and tasted the V-shaped bit of skin exposed at the front of the hoodie. He licked the warmth he discovered there, enjoying the beat of her pulse pounding out a staccato rhythm beneath his tongue.
Lifting a little, Sam asked, “More?”
He watched her swallow hard, and even that seemed sexy. “It’d be oh so wrong to stop now,” she said, her voice not quite as steady as before.
“Christ, you’re turning me on here.”
She mumbled something unintelligible, but it was her responsiveness that sent a wave of primitive satisfaction through him. He wanted to be the only man with the privilege to hear that particular husky tone of voice from Julie. He brushed his lips across her throat one more time before placing a hand on the back of the swing next to her, caging her in.
Sam ran a hand down her arm, then let his fingers drift over one cotton-covered breast. Through her bra and the thick material of the hoodie, he couldn’t tell if her nipples were hard little points or not, but if her breathing was any indication, she definitely liked his ministrations. As he cupped one full, round breast, shaping and kneading, he heard her beg his name. Sam stopped and looked her over. With her hair all around her shoulders, eyes half-closed with desire and her lips swollen from his kisses, she looked like an offering.
Sam reached down with one hand and cupped her p-ssy through the sweats. “You want to come, sweets?”
“So very badly.” She moaned. “I just might implode if I don’t.”
Sam tsked. “We certainly can’t have that.” He kissed her cheek and breathed in her delicate scent. Sam took her hand in his and pressed it against his cock. “Feel what you do to me, Julie,” he gently ordered.
“Oh, God. You’re so big, so hard.” When she wrapped her fingers around him and squeezed, Sam had to bite back a curse.
He left her fingers to play, then journeyed beneath the hem of her sweatshirt. As he nudged the bra upward and encountered the pillowy softness of her tits, Sam knew he’d never touched anything softer in his life. He pinched one turgid peak, relishing the sounds she made with each of his teasing caresses. As Julie pumped his cock through his slacks, all rational thought scattered. She was a powerful mix of inexperience and aroused woman.
As Sam glided his palm down her ribcage to her belly, he felt her tremble.
“More?” he asked, giving her a chance to call a halt. It would kill him to stop now, but he wouldn’t push her.
“Please, you feel so good,” she breathed out. “So right.” She spread her legs wider in obvious invitation.
“Jesus,” he growled as he reached beneath the elastic of her sweatpants and came into contact with the satin material of her panties. He was curious what color they were, but not curious enough to stop and look. He didn’t want to risk breaking the sensual spell around them.
At last Sam touched her damp curls, and the head of his cock swelled. “Lean back a little for me, sweetheart.”
She hesitated, and Sam could feel her stiffening a little. “Wait, what if someone sees?”
“Our clothes are staying put, I promise.” He flicked her *. “And you do have a privacy fence.”
She glanced around, then bit her lip and slowly surrendered. She leaned back in the swing and gave him better access to her pretty body.
“Mm, yeah, that’s it,” he praised her. When Sam caressed her tiny bud, Julie moaned his name and released his cock. She gripped on to his forearms instead, as if needing the support.
Sam watched her toss her head backward, her fingernails digging into his shirtsleeves. “Don’t stop,” she begged.
“Not a chance,” he murmured as his fingers continued to stroke and play. When he delved his middle finger into her wet opening, letting his thumb slide over her swollen *oris, her moans turned to cries. “Damn, you’re wet. I want a taste of some of that cream, Julie.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Soon, sweetheart.”
Every whimper and shudder drove him higher and higher. Her p-ssy tightened around his finger, and he closed his eyes, reveling in the delicious torture.
“So f*cking hot and tight,” he said, as he pushed two fingers deep. “God, I want my cock here.” He curled his fingers upward, hitting a particularly sensitive spot, emphasizing his point.
“Sam,” she cried as her hips lifted off the seat. His mind went blank, and all his blood traveled to his dick as Julie began bucking wildly beneath him.
“Yeah, f*ck my fingers,” Sam urged as he pushed in and out of her. He moved slow at first, then faster.
“More,” she ground out. “Harder.”
“Anything,” he whispered as he increased the rhythm. When he flicked her * once more, Julie stiffened. Sam slammed his mouth over her hers and drank in her cries as she came all around his fingers. When her spasms subsided, Sam pulled his fingers free. He touched her lips with his fingers wet with her come. “Taste yourself for me.”
Sam couldn’t take his gaze off Julie as she wrapped a hand around his wrist and sucked both his fingers into her mouth, licking them clean. “Ah, damn,” he groaned, “you’re making it so hard to do the right thing here.”
Her green gaze traveled down his body and stopped for a few seconds on his cock. Desire burned bright in her eyes when she looked back up at him. “We could—”
Sam cut her off with a hard kiss. He slid his tongue into her mouth, tasting the tang of her p-ssy juices. When he pulled back, they were both breathing hard. “No, this is just a sample. The appetizer,” he explained. “You’ll have to let me see you again if you want the main entrée.”
Her smile, when it came, was every bit as sexy as the woman herself. “Oh, I so want.”