She laughed. “I’ll let her know. Good night, Cole.”
“’Night, Stevie.”
He disconnected without further delay.
She looked at the silent phone. “Hurry home,” she said.
* * *
The aroma of spices and peppers greeted Cole when he walked into the house early Friday evening. Stevie had ordered him not to eat at the airport. Judging by the scents and the clues on the kitchen counter, she’d prepared Tex-Mex. His stomach was already growling in response. She wasn’t in the kitchen, so he moved toward the doorway to find her.
Dusty appeared and meowed in welcome. Setting down his bag, he bent to greet her, then picked up his bag again and headed for the doorway. He found Stevie in the bedroom, fluffing her hair at the mirror, seemingly unaware he was home yet. Was she primping for his arrival? The possibility pleased him, for some reason. Not that she needed enhancement. She wore something blue and floaty over black leggings with black slippers. Nearly the same color as her eyes, her blouse draped appealingly over her full bust and fell loosely to her hips, almost but not quite concealing the little bulge at her middle.
She looked beautiful.
Sensing his presence, she turned to look his way. Her face lit up, her brilliant blue eyes glowing with pleasure. “Cole! You’re home.”
She launched herself at him and he dropped his bag with a laugh to catch her. His lips found hers in a kiss that made him all but forget his hunger for food.
As he’d expected, it felt damned good to be welcomed home this way, he thought as Dusty wound around their ankles. He never wanted to go back to always returning to a dark, quiet house.
Yet he, better than most people, knew how capricious life could be, how quickly circumstances could change. His arms tightened reflexively around Stevie, as if he could keep her safe and satisfied simply by holding her close.
Chapter Eight
“Anyway, we finally got the materials for Pepper’s backsplash, and the plumber finally got the pipes in the right place. Honestly, that man can be so dense sometimes. Now that that job is moving along, the Blankenship remodel is about to make me pull my hair out. If Mindy changes her mind one more time about where she wants her refrigerator, I’m going to give her deposit back and tell her to draw up her own plans. Or tell her good luck finding someone to help her make a decision that comes with a guarantee of one hundred percent long-term satisfaction, which is more than I can seem to do for a woman who changes her vision of what she wants every morning when she wakes up. Heck, she changes her mind half a dozen times before lunch every day! Honestly, Cole, sometimes I wonder—”
He cleared his throat to break into the animated monologue. “Excuse me, Stevie, I’m paying attention to what you’re saying, but is there any more of that salsa?”
She was startled into momentary silence before bursting into a peal of rueful laughter. “Poor Cole. I’ve been talking your ears off, haven’t I? I guess I had a lot of words saved up for you. Yes, there’s more salsa in the fridge. I’ll—”
“Sit,” he said when she started to rise. “I’ll get it. Go on with what you were saying. Do you think you’ll ever be able to please Mrs. Blankenship?”
“I’m sure I will. Maybe. With luck.”
After returning to the table, he leaned down to brush a kiss at the corner of her mouth, his lips warm and spicy against her skin. She all but shivered in response to his touch. It seemed like more than a mere few days since she’d felt it.
He gave her shoulder a little squeeze before releasing her to take his seat. “I like hearing your stories. And knowing that maybe you missed me a little while I was away.”
“More than a little.” She hoped her smile looked natural. “Like that old song says, I’ve grown accustomed to your face.”
He laughed, and as always the sound pleased her. “I’m glad.” He dipped a tortilla chip into the spicy homemade salsa. “I’ve gotten pretty accustomed to yours, too. So, what’s the next step with Mrs. Blankenship?”
As far as romantic exchanges went, that one had hardly been the most lyrical she’d ever participated in. Yet still she’d taken it to heart. Which only showed how little it took to please her when it came to Cole. What, exactly, did that say about her growing feelings for him? And how could she tell if he felt the same when he kept his emotions so very well concealed behind that sexy, unrevealing smile?
A couple hours later she watched with a thrill of anticipation as he emerged from the master bathroom and into the bedroom where she waited for him. She’d turned off the overhead light, leaving the room lit only by the lamp on the nightstand. Cole’s bare chest gleamed in that soft glow as he approached the bed wearing only boxer shorts. His broad shoulders and firm muscles were outlined by shadows, and his dark eyes glittered like polished onyx as he studied her with a smile.
He turned out the light before climbing in beside her, plunging the room into darkness but leaving that image of him very clear in her mind. She folded herself into his eager arms, her mouth meeting his in a kiss that clearly established how much she’d missed him in their bed as well as at their dinner table. And though Cole wasn’t one to express himself with words, he was breathtakingly efficient at conveying with his hands and lips how pleased he was to be back.
He trailed a string of openmouthed kisses from her mouth to her temple, from the soft indention behind her ear to the pulsing hollow of her throat. His big, warm hand cupped her left breast through her thin nightgown, his thumb rotating lazily over the nipple. She arched in reaction.
“Too sensitive?” he asked in a low rumble, lifting his thumb.
Catching his hand, she pressed it down again. “Feels good,” she murmured, tangling her smooth legs with his longer, hair-roughened limbs.
He lowered his head, tugging the deep neckline of the gown out of the way so his mouth could find that achingly distended nub. With exquisite tenderness, he caressed it with his lips and with strokes of his tongue drew it into his mouth, then released it and soothed it with a rub of his closed mouth before he turned his attention to its jealous twin. His hand slid down her side, appreciatively shaping her changing form before finding the hem of her gown and slipping beneath it to stroke the heated depths he discovered there.
She gasped and plunged her hands into his hair. His thick, springy, beautiful hair. She held his head at her breasts, parted her legs to allow him full access to her secrets, lifted herself against him in a way that made it very clear how much she wanted him. She’d never been shy about her sexuality, but Cole had a talent for taking her to heights of sensation she’d never imagined, and she was impatient to find out just how high they could climb together.