Wrapped Up in You (Heartbreaker Bay, #8)(37)

Without breaking eye contact, his fingers slid into her hair and he held her gaze for a long beat, until finally she whispered “please.” In the next beat, his mouth closed over hers. She had no idea which of them deepened the kiss after that, only that she heard her own soft moan as a white-hot wave of need rolled through her. When his tongue touched hers, she shivered, pressing closer for more because he tasted amazing and she wanted to taste the rest of him, wanted to taste every single inch of him.

But he slowly pulled back and ran a thumb along her jawline. “I knew you were going to be trouble the very first moment I laid eyes on you.”

“Hello, I’ve been trying to tell you that very thing!”

Snatching her hand in his, he grinned at her, a very sexy, very naughty grin, as if maybe he thought she was the very best kind of trouble, and led her through the alley to his truck.





Chapter 14




Unleash your inner athlete



Kel and Ivy were on the sidewalk in front of the Pacific Pier Building, walking toward his truck when someone called his name. It was a female voice, and one he recognized. In surprise, he turned just in time to catch the soft female form who threw herself into his arms.

“Wow,” Janie said, hugging him tight, smiling up into his face. “It’s a small world! I’m here for a conference. What are you doing in the city?”

“Working,” he said, still stunned to see her. Janie was a middle school librarian he’d dated three years ago for six months. Until she’d dumped him, frustrated at the fact that he always put work ahead of her.

He’d deserved it.

But also . . . she’d been in love with him, and he hadn’t been able to return the feelings. It’d sucked. He returned her hug briefly, but then stepped back.

She was slower to let her arms fall from where she’d flung them around his neck.

“Sorry,” Janie turned to Ivy with an embarrassed smile. “Didn’t mean to interrupt anything. I’m Janie, Kel’s ex.”

Ivy gave a small but genuine smile. “And I’m Ivy. Not his ex.”

At that, Janie grinned at Kel. “She passes the tough-enough test. I like her. You should try harder to keep her than you did me.” She looked at Ivy. “When he won’t give you more than skin deep, just don’t let him tell you it’s work. It’s him.”

Kel grimaced. At the time, he’d cared for Janie, deeply. At least as deeply as he’d been able to, but he was well aware he’d fallen short of expectations. “Janie—”

“Nope,” she said with an easy smile and a shake of her head. “We’re all good. Don’t ruin it now.” And with that, she blew him a kiss and walked off.

Ivy slid him a look. “Sort of brings new meaning to ‘it’s not you, it’s me,’ huh?”

“It was me.”

“I know. Because in my experience, it’s always the guy.”

He snorted and opened the passenger door of his truck for her. “You still want to go out with me?”

“For tonight anyway,” she said.

He slid behind the wheel and felt the weight of her gaze. He turned and faced her. “Let’s hear it.”

“Hear what?”

“Whatever’s on your mind.”

“So you screwed up, huh?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Did you cheat on her?”

“Yes. With my job.”

She looked at him for a few beats. “So . . . we’re both messed up.”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

That made her laugh. “At least we both know it.”

“True,” he said on a smile. He hadn’t had much to smile about in a damn long time, but something about Ivy, hell, everything about Ivy made him feel . . . lighter.

A problem, of course. But not one he had to solve tonight. Not after that kiss. And for sure not before he let her show him that good time she’d promised. “Where to?” he asked.

She gave him directions, but refused to say where they were headed. “Should I be worried?” he asked, amused at her secrecy.

“Do you have any allergies?” she asked. “Are you opposed to heights?”

He slid her a glance and realized she was just teasing him. And he liked it.

“I’ll tell you this much,” she said. “Where we’re headed is one of the first places I ended up when I landed here in San Francisco last year. It was entirely by accident. I was walking around to get my bearings, trying to wrap my head around how much I loved it here. As in instantly loved,” she emphasized, shaking her head with a small smile. “And for someone who’d never stuck anywhere for more than a year, it was more than slightly terrifying. I was so nervous and anxious all the time, but I also knew I wasn’t going anywhere. I’d found home. And early on, late at night, I’d be too restless to sleep. My mind wouldn’t shut up with the onslaught of questions and worries about things like how expensive everything was here, and how I’d possibly manage to make ends meet. So I’d go walking. The first night I did that, it was storming. I was cold and wet and hungry, and . . . I got lost. I ended up at . . . well, you’ll see in a minute.”

Sometimes she doled out little tidbits of herself, little insights that had him horrified for how she’d grown up, but also made him admire her all the more for what she’d made of herself.