Lucky Baby (Crescent Cove 11)

“When are we going to talk about it?”

“After the barn is done?” Never? Please?

Couldn’t we just enjoy it for what it was? I didn’t want to think about how good it was between us. I had so much more to worry about right now.

At the top of the stairs, Lucky shouldered open the door, then dragged me through it and up onto my toes before he closed his mouth over mine. He tasted of beer and sunshine. The feeling of overwhelm slid right on into want.

I’d thought the first time was a fluke. It would be so much easier if it was. An itch to be scratched and then we could just move on. That was how it usually was when I finally let myself get naked with someone. Once the initial flash happened, the glow soon burned out like a cheap candle.

Nothing was the usual with Lucky.

I sighed into the kiss. He knew just what to do now. At first, forceful and hot, then sleepy soft. Keeping me off balance until I shut off my brain.

I looped an arm around his shoulders. His hair dripped over my arm, the wild frazzled curls just as delicious as his talented tongue. He crushed me closer, deepening the kiss until I really didn’t care about keeping it just about business.

As if I’d ever had a chance.

He twisted his fingers into the bottom of my T-shirt, dragging it up and over my head, then his mouth was back on mine.

“I’d strip you down, but you’d probably knock me out with that smell,” I said between kisses.

He laughed into my mouth. “Niceties are nonexistent with you, Ruby.”

I shrugged.

His gaze dipped down to the Batman logo bra. “That’s hotter than it should be.”

I grinned. “I like big bad boys. Guess that works for you.” I tapped a nail along his chest. “You take a shower and maybe I’ll let you take off the bra too.” I slid away from him. “I’ll make us some food.”

“Damn, I do like watching you walk away.”

I tossed a smirk over my shoulder and gave my walk a bit more of a sway.

He growled something under his breath and headed for a hallway that I presumed included a shower.

I found my shirt and slipped it back on. I might’ve been comfortable with my body, but I needed to cool things down with him. Showing off a half yard of skin was probably a little too much to keep things businesslike.

Ha, as if.

I distracted myself by looking around his space. The layout of the house reminded me of my dad’s place. An older house with small rooms and lots of wood paneling. A half wall cut up the room between living space and galley kitchen.

His place was a maze of half done projects. A gorgeous corner unit was half stained. The details on the drawers drew me in to take a closer look.

It was definitely no cheap prefab kit from a box store. I ran my hand over the wood. It wasn’t my medium, but I could tell it was solid art in furniture form. Hell, August Beck might have some competition if Lucky let people know he could do this kind of work.

Another handmade bench was in a similar state of finish. This one was stained, but he seemed to be working on another treatment other than a simple varnish. Maybe apoxy. Hmm. Interesting choice.

I crouched and noticed he’d put different woods together in a pattern that reminded me of a beach. Like something I’d seen on social media. He seemed to take kernels of ideas from viral videos and put his own spin on them.

I lifted the tarp on another piece. It was nosy as hell, but I couldn’t resist. This one was a bit more farmhouse style. It looked like something I’d find in a foyer for shoes and kids crap. Three intricate knobs in classy versions of Marvel logos were screwed into the tall backboard. The bottom had a lid set into the storage as if he wasn’t done measuring something.

I wanted it.

The need was sharp enough that I flipped the tarp back down and headed for the kitchen. Every time I thought I had Lucky Roberts figured out, he proved me wrong.

I opened the fridge and sure enough, there were a dozen eggs, tabasco, and generic brand butter. The veggie drawer was about as questionable as the pizza in my fridge the other day.

Slamming that drawer, I snagged the eggs, butter, and tabasco, dumping them on the small counter. He had an air fryer, toaster, and a blender jammed into the small space.