Fall for Me (Danvers #3)(4)
Gray smiled at her and stepped forward to introduce himself. Yes, of course his dental work was just as exceptional as his brother’s. What had she expected really, buckteeth? She was extremely grateful when he stepped outside the room with his brother and left her alone with Suzy. I can really see why you would want to get away from that, sis. I mean, the man is just gross. His hair is too perfect and that body, I just hate it when men don’t let themselves go. Where are his love handles? His five-hundred-dollar cologne is sickeningly seductive and that butt, ugh, please. Run while you can, the man is a toad.
Gray walked back into the room at that moment and she was relieved to see that Nick wasn’t with him. After she made arrangements with Gray to come back the following morning, he insisted on walking her out to her car. Ugh, was she going to spend the rest of the evening with the Merimons trailing her down a hallway? When they reached her little red VW Bug, she found herself asking him about Nick. She wanted to clamp her hand over her mouth as soon as his name came out and she could see the surprise and possibly concern in Gray’s eyes. When he told her that Nick was also going to be moving to Myrtle Beach, she felt her heart skip a beat. What was wrong with her? He was way out of her league. Maybe it was just wishful lusting.
* * *
After Suzy was released from the hospital, Beth was a frequent visitor to Gray’s home where Suzy was to stay while she recovered. Suzy had a broken ankle and, since both Suzy and Beth lived on the upper floors of their buildings, Gray had insisted they stay with him. He wanted to keep Suzy close so he could monitor her recovery, and he invited Beth to make herself at home there as well, so she could help keep an eye on Suzy. At Gray’s beautiful beachfront home, she ran into Nick daily and he always had some remark to make. He had taken to calling her “princess” and she felt sure that he was only doing it to mock her. No matter how she snapped at him, it never seemed to hit the mark. He just laughed it off and an hour later he was back to picking on her again. She alternated between drooling over his hard body and wanting to strangle him with the kitchen towel.
Was she imagining the sexual tension that seemed to vibrate between them? Surely, it was only on her part. It had been a long time since she had been with anyone that didn’t require batteries. Maybe it was time to go home, pop open the toy drawer, and release some tension.
Who would ever believe that the poor spinster sister would have one toy, much less a couple? Suzy would fall over in a dead faint if she found out. Not that Beth had any intention of ever talking about sexy toys with her sister. Of course, Suzy would probably be proud of her and present her with a coupon from somewhere like Vibrators-R-Us. Just because she wasn’t having sex didn’t mean she wouldn’t like to. Weren’t women supposed to be in their sexual prime around thirty? If that were true, it might be time to stock a case of Duracells for these hard times.
Before Beth really understood what was happening between them, she had suddenly started changing the way she dressed. She couldn’t bear for Nick to see her in her frumpy wear. She tried to tell herself it was just so she wouldn’t embarrass Suzy at the office, but a part of her knew it was so that Nick would look at her with something other than laughter for once.
One evening they had decided to have a barbecue at the beach house and invite their friends from Danvers. Claire, Jason, Ella, and Declan Stone, the new guy to their group, all attended that night. She had sat beside Nick at the patio table while they had dinner. She was wearing a sundress, a sexy red thong, and a matching bra that she had purchased at Victoria’s Secret that day on a whim. She had to admit that she was feeling just a little naughty with such sexy undergarments. She was usually more of a Sears catalogue type of gal. Nick was wearing a pair of cargo shorts, so every time either of them shifted, their bare legs came into contact. After a while, she was starting to wonder if Nick was making sure that happened a lot more often than it should have.
By the time everyone left for the evening, she was feeling pretty hot and bothered. Had Nick missed a single opportunity to touch her during dinner? No doubt he thought it was pretty funny. Let’s feel the fat girl up and give her the thrill of her life. Sadly, it probably was one of Beth’s bigger thrills, at least in recent history. She was more than a little pissed at him when she stomped into the kitchen with the last of the dinner plates. When she saw him leaning against the counter drinking a beer, she wanted to stomp her feet and throw an honest-to-goodness tantrum. Couldn’t she go anywhere that he wasn’t in her face?
Nick’s mouth curved into a slow grin as he looked at her. “Hey, princess, need some help with that?”
“No, I’ve got it,” Beth snapped. She walked over, dropped the dishes loudly onto the counter beside the dishwasher, and started stacking them inside.
“What’s the problem, princess?”
Beth slammed the last plate in the dishwasher and whirled around to confront him. He looked wary as she opened her mouth to blast him. To both of their surprise, instead of the tirade she had planned, she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down to her while she raised herself on her toes. Just before she locked her mouth onto his, he whispered, “Princess?”
Nick put down his beer with a sexy groan and wrapped his arms around her. Suddenly, his mouth took control of the kiss and his tongue entered her mouth as if he wanted to possess her. She moaned low in her throat, as he grabbed her butt cheeks to pull her closer. She had no idea how long they stood there, but she did know that she had never been kissed as Nick was kissing her. He sucked on her tongue, as if he couldn’t get enough. Every stroke, every sip only made her burn hotter. He rocked his hips against hers in tempo with his tongue tangling with hers. Beth could feel him hard against her stomach and she wantonly rubbed against his length and felt a heady sense of power when he rumbled deep in his throat.