Salted Caramel: Sexy Standalone Romance Read online

  I picked up the scone, took a bite and glanced down at the napkin. Another embroidered sentiment. I wondered if she had an entire collection of them.

  “No need for wise words. Looked like the first napkin worked.”

  I reread the pink stitching three times. It was as if the napkin was talking directly to me. I thought back to the first sentiment about following my heart to a happy ending. I shook my head. It was all too weird to wrap my mind around.

  I’d shower and head downstairs to see just what to do about my car and a ride home. With any luck, Julia would be available. I couldn’t really call David since we were on the outs. I was standing firm in my decision to stay that way. I quickly allowed myself an extremely satisfying daydream where David pulled up in his pretentious sports car only to see me kissing the beefy tattooed hunk of a man I’d just spent the night with. Beck was everything opposite of David, which, of course, was why I found him so darn appealing.

  I walked into the bathroom and started the shower. Even though the house was at least a century old, the bathroom amenities, including the big, glass shower were all modern. I pulled off the pajamas and stepped inside the shower stall. A wide showerhead poured water down on my head like a warm spring rainstorm. Even the soap Coco provided was a rich, lavender scented slice of heaven.

  My face was under the water when I heard the bathroom door shut. I wiped my eyes and squinted through the steam and the condensation on the glass. There was only one person who could fit the large silhouette moving toward the shower.

  The soap slipped from my hands and circled around my feet. I bent down to pick it up. Air rushed into the shower, cooling my naked bottom.

  “Huh, it’s as if you read my mind, sweetheart.”

  I straightened with a shocked gasp. Again, the soap jumped from my fingers like a slippery fish. Beck caught it mid air and squeezed his fingers around it. “You’re right. It would be much more fun to lather up first.”

  Beck shut the glass door, nearly filling the stall with his oversized frame. He stepped beneath the water with me and lifted my chin for a kiss. “You don’t mind if I join, do you?”

  I shook my head, rendered speechless by the mere thought of an erotic shower session with him.

  While keeping his deep brown gaze on me, he turned the bar of soap in his hand and worked up a lather. He placed the soap on the tray and pressed the pillow of lather against my breast. His hands smoothed through the creamy soap, running them along my breasts, sides and bottom as he kissed me. Water poured over us, trickling between our lips as we kissed. My body warmed even more every place he touched.

  He moved closer. His erection pushed against my belly, begging for some attention. I moved my hand down and wrapped my fingers around him. Beck groaned in appreciation against my mouth.

  We were wrapped in a warm, floral scented steam. It felt almost as if nothing else existed outside of the shower. It was just the two of us, completely naked and wanting each other again just as we had through the night. I was still feeling the sweet, achy tenderness of the long night, and yet, I was feeling completely aroused as if it was the first time.

  I pulled my mouth from his and smiled up at him. I had never been with a man like Beck. I wasn’t about to miss one opportunity to explore. My body reacted before my mind had settled on it. I sank down to my knees. Warm, soapy water circled my legs and dripped down my face and back as I closed my fingers around his cock. It felt thick and hot in my hand.

  I pressed my mouth against the tip and ran my tongue around it, teasing out the salty liquid. Beck’s large fingers tangled in my hair as he held my head in front of him. I ran my tongue along the long shaft. His deep growl echoed off the bathroom tile as he moved his hips toward me, wanting me to take more of him into my mouth. Giving him pleasure made my pussy tingle with heat.

  I moved my mouth over his cock and ran my tongue around it as I pushed him deeper into my throat. I cupped his balls with my hand and slid my lips along his erection, taking in more of him each time. His cock seemed to thicken and grow harder between my lips.

  “Em, no more. Your mouth is too fucking perfect. I want to finish inside of you.” His tone was gruff, commanding.

  I slid my tongue along him for one last tantalizing moment. He reached down impatiently and lifted me to my feet. The hot steam was cooling and coating everything with a thick condensation.

  His dark eyes had an intense, fiery gaze as he spun me around. He reached down, took hold of my wrists and pressed my hands against the tile wall of the shower. He pulled my hips so that my ass jutted out toward him.

  “I can promise you I’m clean, Emmie. But just say the word, and I will walk out of here now. I will probably throw my fist into a wall on my way out, but just say the word—”

  “I’m covered with birth control. It’s all right. I believe you.”

  My hands stuttered down the tile as he pushed my feet wider. He was far less gentle than the night before, but then I’d pushed him farther than usual with my mouth, a wicked notion that made me absurdly excited. I’d never felt confident that I knew what I was doing with oral sex, but with the way he was handling me and his plea to take me right there against the wall, it seemed I’d been doing something right.

  Before I could take a proper breath beneath the downpour of water cascading over my naked body, he was inside of me. A primal sounding growl echoed off the tile.

  I braced myself hard against the tile wall and met each of his thrusts. Each movement pushed the breath from me. His cock moved deeper each time, reaching the very core of me. The movements were fast and slightly unhinged. I had a hard time catching my breath. My head spun, and it seemed that the bathroom lights were doing a dance above my head. Every time he filled me, he reached a deeper pocket of pleasure but his movements were too powerful. I couldn’t keep up.

  “Come for me, baby,” he grunted. “I won’t finish until you do.”

  My arms trembled under the strain of holding myself up and bracing against his blows.

  “It’s too much,” I sighed in exhaustion. “I need—”

  He dropped one hand and moved it down between my legs, where he found my sweet spot, my tender clit. With a skillful touch, he coaxed me closer to climax while not letting up on anything. He still pushed deep and hard into me, knocking short cries of pleasure from me with each thrust.

  “Hold firm, Emmie. Keep this beautiful ass right where it is.” I had no idea what was happening. He kept one hand tucked between my legs while he moved the other back along my bottom. Before I could sense what was happening, his finger drew down between my ass cheeks and he pushed his finger inside the tight, puckered opening. I tightened against it at first.

  “Relax, baby, and move with it.” His deep voice was just soothing enough, and I followed his command. He was invading every part of me. That thought made my body shiver with sensations I’d never felt before. My legs trembled and my pussy tightened around his cock in pulsating waves.

  My orgasm seemed to be all Beck needed to reach his own climax. His cock surged inside of me as his hot seed spilled.

  The water was turning lukewarm. Beck’s big hand reached past me to turn the handle. I was still holding the wall for support as the steam slowly disintegrated to cool beads of moisture on the tile, glass and chrome.

  Beck turned me around and pulled me into his arms. “You are something else, Emmie.”

  Chapter 14

  Best shower of my life behind me, I was now ever more reluctant to cut short my weekend diversion. Beck had gone to his room to get dressed. Coco’s knock followed minutes later as I combed my wet hair.

  She popped her head inside. Her cheeks were young and smooth like a teenager’s. She’d tied a colorful scarf around her head, once again a fashion statement that made me miss my mom. I was determined to call her the moment I returned hom
e. I might even tell her about my night at the Silk Stocking Inn. She’d probably squeal with glee that I’d done something out of the ordinary and against the rules of proper society.

  “How about peanut butter and banana? I’ve got some yummy crusty sourdough to smear it on,” Coco started in as if we were already in the middle of a conversation.

  “Oh, thank you, but I have to see to my car. Then I—” I cleared my throat and hoped the blush wasn’t too noticeable. “Beck promised to give me a ride on his motorcycle.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “Of course you do,” I said with a laugh. I was no longer astonished by her clairvoyant talents. The entire place seemed to have a magical aura that was like no other place I’d ever been.

  “The sandwiches are for the picnic. Beckett mentioned that he was going to take you on a ride, and I suggested you ride up to the lake. That’s where the picnic needs come in. I’ll make things that will keep well in a backpack.”

  “Oh, that sounds wonderful. Was Beck all right with that? I thought he was just planning on a quick ride. I didn’t want to take up too much of his time.”

  Coco raised a dark, smooth brow at me, another Mom gesture. “Too much of his time?” She laughed, but I had no idea why. “He’s looking forward to it.”

  “But I need to take care of my car.”

  “Already taken care of. I had it towed to the mechanic’s. He’ll have it ready for you first thing Monday morning.”

  “Monday? But I was planning to head home.”

  “Emmie, it’s fine. If you need to let someone know where you are, you can use my laptop. I’m afraid the phone service at the inn is sporadic at best.”

  I thought about who might be missing me. Other than Julia, there really wasn’t anyone who might wonder why I hadn’t made it home. And that was only because Julia lived in the same apartment, and it had been my turn to do the dishes.

  “Thank you, but I won’t need the laptop. If the room is vacant, I’d like to rent the room for another night.”

  She waved her hand. “Yes, the room is vacant and yours if you want it. No rent. I’ll go get that picnic prepared.”

  Something occurred to me as she turned to walk out.

  “Coco.”

  She looked back at me. “Yes?”

  “What lake? We’re not far from the city, where I live. There aren’t any nearby lakes.”

  “Sure there is. Crystal Lake is just a few miles north of here.”

  With that she spun around and walked out.

  I stared at the four paneled door. How on earth did I not know about a local lake? Just another question that I was sure would never be answered. For now, I was fine with that. I had bigger things to think about. I was going on a lakeside picnic with the hottest damn man on the planet, and I was getting there on the back of a motorcycle. Maybe following my heart to happiness had been the pearl of wisdom I needed to change my life. I must have read a dozen philosophy books in college looking for the truth in life and all I’d really needed to read was an embroidered, linen napkin.

  Chapter 15

  Just seconds after Coco had left, she’d returned with a new outfit, a pair of khaki shorts and a pink sleeveless tank for a warm day at the lake. She’d even given me suntan lotion and a band to tie up my hair for the motorcycle ride. I pulled on the ankle boots from the night before and marveled, once again, at how perfectly everything fit. I grabbed my sunglasses from my purse, about the only item of use I had brought with me, and stuck them on my head.

  I was positively giddy by the time I hopped down the stairs to the entryway.

  Beck was putting our food in the side pouches on his bike. He glanced up in his opaque black shades when he heard me shut the front door. He laughed. “You look like a kid coming down the stairs to the Christmas tree.”

  “I feel like one. The last time I was this excited was when my grandmother and I traveled on a bus to California to spend the day at Disneyland.” I grinned down at the motorcycle. It was a chrome and black beauty, and while I didn’t know much about bikes, this one looked fun . . . and fast. “This will be way better than Space Mountain, and I’ll bet I won’t walk off of it with a sore neck.”

  “Nope, and she’s all ready for you. I only have the one helmet.” He handed his black helmet to me. “I’ll have to adjust the straps.”

  “No, please. I wouldn’t feel right wearing it. Are we going far? Coco mentioned some lake?”

  “We’ll just be traveling along a quiet, back road. We’ll leave the helmet here, and I’ll go slow.”

  “No you won’t. Please.”

  “All right, Ms. Knieval, climb on and we’ll ride. I’ll try to make it at least as cool as Space Mountain.”

  He looked exactly right on the motorcycle, and the thunderous roar of the motor as he started up the bike, sounded exactly right too. There was nothing quiet or tame or conventional about Beck.

  I pulled my sunglasses down over my eyes and held his shoulders as I threw my leg over the seat and sat down behind him. I wrapped my arms around him. His hard stomach muscles rippled beneath my hands as he turned the bike and headed down the long driveway.

  I rested my chin on his shoulder and watched the road get closer. I couldn’t hold back a squeal as we rolled downhill.

  His hard stomach twitched with a laugh. “I haven’t even taken it out of first gear yet, Em.”

  “I know. That was just an anticipation squeal.” I squeezed my arms around him to get my mouth closer to his ear. “You know, like last night just before you—well, you remember. You were there.”

  “I sure as hell was.”

  I squeezed him harder, loving the excuse to hang on to him like he was mine. He stopped at the bottom of the driveway and looked both directions. Before taking off, he looked back over his shoulder at me. “Hold on there, wild one. We’re about to blast off.”

  ***

  The asphalt and thick green landscape rolled past in a blur. I stayed close to Beck. He wasn’t the type of man I ever wanted to be just near. I wanted to be close, really close. Something about him made me feel safe and wanted. Appreciated. I’d never felt any of those things with David or any of my other questionable man choices, for that matter. The ironic thing about that was if you lined my past boyfriends up in a room and stuck Beck in the middle of them all, he’d be the last one anyone would pick out as the guy who would make you feel safe and appreciated. Yet, he had, far more than any of the other silly, dull men I’d wasted time with.

  A cool pine scent muddled the fresh breeze as the evergreens slowly grew taller with each curve we passed. The bike was too loud to have a decent conversation while riding, so I talked more with body language, hugging him tighter, kissing the back of his neck, pressing my face against his back, just to let him know how much fun I was having.

  Just as Coco had promised, an azure blue lake suddenly appeared through the trees. I never traveled much past the city, or the library, for that matter, and I never would have imagined such a bucolic, lush landscape just a few miles north of town. I was almost not convinced it was real . . . any of it. Including the incredible man.

  Beck slowed the bike and turned off the highway along an unpaved road. My bottom slipped sideways as the bike tottered along on the uneven path.

  He glanced back, the lines of a grin edging his mouth. “Sorry about that. It’s a little rough.”

  “That’s all right. Gives me an excuse to hold you tighter.” I squeezed my arms around his hard waist.

  “I’m all for tighter.” He steered the bike to a shady piece of flat land and parked it. “It’s just a short hike down to the water.”

  I climbed off. My legs wobbled before I got them securely beneath me.

  Beck caught my moment of instability. “Whoa there, little cowboy, guess you’ve never r
idden a hog before.”

  “I haven’t, which you could no doubt tell by the intermittent bursts of joy as we zoomed along. But I think the wobble in my legs is more due to another activity than riding a hog.” I winked at him and realized I’d never flirted so much with anyone as I had with him.

  He climbed off the bike and rose up to full height, a sight that always stole my breath. As if he read my thoughts, he pulled me into his big, powerful arms. “Is that right? Guess we need to work on building a little stamina then, because I’m not nearly finished with those activities.”

  “Good thing,” I smiled up at him. “Because I hear practice makes perfect.”

  “Yeah? And here I was thinking we were pretty damn close to perfect already.”

  I laughed. “And if we’re done talking in this nebulous form of sexy doublespeak, then I think we should walk down to the lake.”

  “See, that’s why I like being with a bookish woman. Not many women make the word ‘nebulous’ sound so fucking hot. And I don’t even know what the hell it means.”

  I opened my mouth to explain, but he pressed his finger against my lips.

  “Don’t ruin the dirty meaning I’m gathering in my mind with the real definition. Just let me enjoy the vision of you and me doing nebulous things together. Preferably naked.”

  “What kind of librarian would I be to ruin an erotic fantasy with definitions?” I hopped up on my toes and threw my arms around his neck and kissed him.

  Beck stopped to pull a bag out of his saddle pack.

  “My mouth is watering for one of Coco’s sandwiches,” I said as we headed to the narrow trail leading down to the water. “Not sure what she puts into her food or into everything she does, but I’m pretty sure it has something to do with magic.”

  “Coco is hard to explain, that’s for damn sure. But sometimes, when something is awesome, you just don’t try to figure it out.”