Words, which were her world. A world he didn’t belong in. Most likely never would.
But these lessons and the painting were a good excuse to see her again.
He had that. Even if only for a little while.
But still... He wasn’t ready for this night to end.
Not yet.
Chapter Nine
As Chelle reached for the handle to the glass sliding door, the strings of lights went out, bathing them in darkness, causing her to pause and her skin to tingle. An arm snaked around her waist and the bottle was removed from her trembling fingers.
Everything on and in her began to pulse like the bass at a live rock concert while standing in front of one of the large speakers.
The elastic band was pulled from her hair and the second the strands fell loose, Shawn’s nose was buried in them.
He said nothing, but the tightening of that solid arm and the press of his very solid erection into the small of her back said it all.
He didn’t want to keep their relationship to only their deal. He wanted more.
He wanted her.
Her blood surged through her veins as he nuzzled her neck and then her ear.
Disappointment licked at her briefly when he pulled away, but only long enough to turn her. The arm securing her no longer pressed against her belly, it was replaced by the hard length of his cock.
With a finger under her chin, he tipped up her face and dropped his until his lips were only a whisper away from hers. “Say yes.”
They didn’t have a lot of time. Not before her girls came home. She was afraid of her daughters catching them in a compromising position.
She was also afraid of what would happen if she gave him that yes.
She wanted to. She did. But she hadn’t said yes to anyone in a long time.
She had always been content with her own company. Unfortunately, every time she’d been on a date over the years, she compared the man she was with to Brendan.
Was it fair? No. And though she tried, she couldn’t stop from doing it anyway.
Admittedly, Shawn was different from any man she’d dated before. This situation was also very different. It wasn’t a date. Neither held any expectations, right?
That was why dating was difficult. Too many expectations to meet. Too much time spent analyzing everything the other person said, trying to uncover who they really were deep inside versus what they were showing on the surface.
None of that applied here.
No pressure existed, either.
They could just be.
Together.
For the moments they had.
Simple.
Uncomplicated.
But he needed to agree to that first. For her daughters’ sake. No matter what, they always came first. Her wants and needs were a distant second.
Since he had never answered earlier, she asked, “Do we have a deal with the barter?”
“Yeah.” It was more of a guttural grunt than an answer.
“No expectations beyond that?”
“None,” he murmured without hesitation.
She hoped that was true. Because anything else beyond the barter could be messy, as she mentioned before.
Her life might be boring and predictable, but it was neat right now. Keeping it that way provided a steady home for her girls. They’d lived with enough turmoil right after their father was killed.
Afterward, she had struggled for a while to get their lives back in balance and, once she achieved it, she didn’t want anything to upset it again. Once her girls were out on their own and settled, she’d have plenty of time to put herself first.
Even so, she could give herself this moment.
Just this one.
“Not here.”
He closed the slight gap and his lips swept lightly across hers. Just a whisper of a kiss. He pulled away before she lost her head and encouraged him to take it deeper. They were standing right in front of double glass sliding doors leading into the kitchen.
That wouldn’t be smart.
But then, how smart was it for her to say yes to this man. A quiet, mysterious man she only just met and hardly knew anything about.
Just because she felt some connection with him, didn’t mean they should take the connection further. From an easy companionship while working together to intimacy.
Truth be told, she missed it, the intimacy with another being. The sharing of touch, words, and sexual desire. Of having another person turn her on by doing the simplest of actions.
No expectations, Chelle. Simply allow yourself a moment to forget everything and lose yourself in someone who desires you. The evidence of desire being hard to miss.
“Where?” he asked roughly when she didn’t say anything further and didn’t move, either.
Where?
Where could they go and remain undetected? To share a secret moment?
Not in the house. Not in her bedroom. Not in the garage since Maddie parked her car in there.
Maybe behind the shed that sat along the left side of the yard against the fence. They could duck behind it like a couple of teenagers. Out of direct view of the house and in a dark corner of her yard. They would hear the girls long before the girls would see them.