PreHeat (Fire & Ice) Read online

  “It was my pleasure. The food has been well worth it. I'm going to miss these home cooked meals.” Okay, so I might have dropped off a batch of cheese enchiladas and a pot of gumbo, on my way to work the other day, but I had made them for posts, and it wasn't like I could eat it all. And it made me feel good knowing that he was going to enjoy eating it. So sue me. I couldn't help the flush of pleasure his words brought me, though, so I turned back to my salad.

  “So I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me?”

  It took a second to process what he was saying, but almost immediately my heart started pounding. Had he been thinking the same things as I had? “Go out?”

  “Yeah, you know, to dinner or something.”

  Oh crap. I hadn't been expecting this, but even though I knew I would turn him down, a sliver of excitement was trying to blast through my automatic refusal. Still, I tried to formulate a gentle way to say it without hurting his feelings. “Um. Well, I work most nights.”

  “I know. I was thinking maybe next Monday. I'm finished with your site and I know Mondays are your off days. I thought that instead of you having to cook we could go out. Then, maybe we could catch a movie or whatever.”

  It didn't sound like more than a friendly outing, one like I'd had countless times with Cheryl. “Just you and me?” When he nodded I decided to ask, just to be clear. “You mean a date?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  He was asking me out. It was good and bad in equal measure. The truth was that I would actually have enjoyed spending another evening with him without the excuse of the website, and if he was as anyone else, I'd have agreed. Unfortunately, he was Carter, and that made things impossible. “I don't know, Carter. That would be kind of weird, you know?” That was the mother of all understatements.

  “Why would it be weird? We've known each other for years. We've been spending every Monday evening together for three weeks and there hasn't been any awkwardness.”

  “That's not the same as a date. You're Cheryl's brother. That is making things awkward. Plus, I'm too old for you.”

  “You're not too old for me Justine, that's ridiculous. We're not in high school. We're both adults. I really like you.”

  “Carter, don't take this the wrong way, but you're too young for me.” There. I said it, but seeing his expression go from excited to gloomy made me feel like a soul crusher. I don't know what imp on my shoulder made me speak, but I heard myself blurting, “I really like you, too, though.”

  “Alright, let's take age out of the equation for a minute. We like each other and we know we get along. What harm could there be in going out for a friendly date and seeing where things might go from there?”

  “What about Cheryl?” I had to point out the obvious.

  “What about her?”

  I wanted to shout “Duh, she'd flip out,” but instead I tried to be reasonable. “Don't be dense. She would not be cool with it.” Not only that, but I couldn't imagine facing Cheryl's parents, Sharon and Robert, if they ever found out I had gone on a date with their son. They probably wouldn't say anything to my face, but the weirdness would be there forevermore. I busied myself by pulling out the pot pies. It gave me a much needed break of eye contact. “I'm sorry, Carter.”

  His eyes seemed to dull, though they were still a vivid and gorgeous green. Dammit. Why did I have to find him so appealing? He was smart and polite, sweet to Lucy, and freakishly hot.

  “What if we stayed in? I'll even cook for you.”

  It was like a switch flipped in my head. Why the heck not give it an evening? If nothing came of it, so be it, but spending time in his company was certainly no hardship. I had been looking forward to tonight all week, mainly because I knew I'd be seeing him. I could at least admit that to myself.

  “I'll cook.” I felt a blush creeping up.

  “Great.”

  “Okay, next Monday we can have some dinner and take it from there. Now, I have to finish the salad.” I turned away from him and back to my bowl of greens to give myself a chance to calm down. I suddenly felt shy, which was stupid. I was an adult woman, and I had just been asked out by an attractive man. There were only good things that could come out of this. I just needed to keep telling myself that.

  ***

  I leaned back in my bathtub and let out my breath in a whoosh. Carter had just left after our first kind of official date. I'd had such a good time it was almost criminal. He had helped me make asparagus risotto, which I took copious pictures of during the entire process, and then we had played a truncated game of Monopoly. I had decided to quit when it was obvious that I was going to lose, but luckily, he was a good sport about it and we ended up polishing off a bottle of Chardonnay and kissing on the couch.

  Oh. My. God. That man could pack a wallop with his mouth. I put my fingers to my lips because just thinking about it was causing them to tingle. Even more shiver inducing was the knowledge that he wanted to see me again. I was relieved because the more time I spent with him the more I liked him. I was trying hard not to think of him as Cheryl's brother, but as just a man. But he wasn't just any man, he was Carter. What was I doing? How could this possibly end well? I couldn't even call Cheryl to tell her about my awesome night. That alone should tell me that this wasn't cool, but I didn't care. I had just had a fantastic evening. This was going to have to be something that was between Carter and me, only. It almost felt a little bit dirty, this clandestine meeting tonight and our upcoming date, and it only made things more exciting.

  ***

  “How’s my favorite chef tonight?” Carter’s voice gave me the same jolt it did every night when he called me.

  “Tired. About to go to bed,” I told him as I booted up my laptop and settled under the covers.

  “I’m picturing you in a tight halter top and some Daisy Dukes. How close am I?”

  I laughed. He couldn’t be more wrong. “Sorry. Baggy tee shirt and men’s flannel boxers from Target.”

  “Nope. I’m not going to let you ruin my fantasy, and because you tried, your top just got even skimpier. You should quit while you’re ahead.”

  “Pervert.”

  “You can’t even imagine.”

  I clicked on my site, my new favorite ritual. “Ooh! I got four comments on the shrimp gumbo,” I told him excitedly. He had set me up so that new posts would go up automatically a couple times a week.

  “Yeah, I saw that. You also got 116 views after it went up. Good job.”

  I felt myself glow under the compliment. “Thanks. What are you doing?”

  “Channel surfing. Before that I made a grilled cheese. I’ve been trying to take it easy tonight, I went to the driving range with Dad and I think I strained my shoulder.”

  “What did your dad say about it?”

  “I didn’t tell him. He was already wiping the floor with me.”

  “That’s so stupid. He’s a doctor. That’s the first thing I would have done.” Boys. Suddenly, another thought hit me. “Do you want to cancel tomorrow?”

  “What? No, of course not.” I felt a rush of relief that he wasn’t looking to break our plans. We were going to stand on the bridge and watch the bats fly out right before dark. It was kind of a touristy thing, but it was still super cool to see. I didn’t like it quite so much when the same bats were practically dive bombing me in the back yard, however.

  He let out a loud yawn. I forgot he had to get up early for work.

  “I’ll let you get to sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Sweet dreams.” Oh yeah, I’d be having some of those. I hung up my phone and leaned back onto my pillows. Talking with Carter had been the highlight of my nights for the last six days. We hadn't been able to see each other at all since our schedules were completely at odds and I actually missed him. Our nightly conversations had been great. I'd been able to get to know him without the pressure I usually felt during the early stages of a new relationship. I'd found myself enjoying his sense of humor and his intelligent insights o
n everything from why he drove an American truck to his thoughts on organic gardening. I liked him

  Last night our conversation had gotten a bit racy and we'd been right on the cusp of having phone sex when he switched the topic to my website. Just Add Heat was doing okay for a site only two weeks old, but it didn't have much of a following and I was still disappointed that I wasn't an overnight sensation. Carter had suggested doing more video demonstrations instead of photographic ones, and what he said made sense, but I barely had the time to take care of the things I was doing now, and adding another item on my to-do list didn't seem like a wise idea, but I was going to give it some serious thought.

  I looked at my bedside clock—it was tomorrow! Only a few more hours and I'd be able to see him in person. I turned off my lamp and closed my eyes with a huge smile on my face. I wasn't going to worry about a thing; not my over-scheduled life, my shrinking bank balance, and definitely not any doubts I still harbored about going out with Carter.

  ***

  I was nervous as Carter's truck pulled into the lot of the restaurant. It was an establishment long known for its wonderful sunset views over the lake, and really, it was a beautiful thing to see. I guess it could be romantic, but I had never been there on a date before, I'd only come for drinks on the deck a handful of times since it was a bit of a distance from my house. It was already packed with people, though, so maybe Carter had chosen this place to make me feel more comfortable. If that was his intention, it wasn't working. No matter what venue he would have chosen, I'd still have these “new relationship” jitters, even though we’d seen each other yesterday. Tonight was our first “datey” outing.

  When we were seated under an umbrella to ward off most of the early evening sun I took a deep breath. We had spent hours on the phone this past week, so there wasn't much of that first date “So, what do you like to do in your free time?” questioning to get through. I was able to skip right ahead.

  “How's the 5k artwork coming?” His firm was currently designing the campaign for a charity race to benefit the Children’s Hospital.

  “It's coming. I think I'll be through with my part this week. I had to scrap the logo that I was working on this morning and start fresh. It seemed like too much of a downer for this. Too serious. I'm trying to hit the right tone that won't make people feel like crying.” He thanked the waitress who brought out our drinks, a dark microbrew beer for him and an appletini for me. He waited until she walked away before asking, “What's on your blog agenda this week?”

  “I made spiced beef tips this afternoon and blackened chicken this morning. I was going to ask if you wanted to take them home with you tonight. I'm not into beef, and I ate some of the chicken in a sandwich for lunch.”

  “Uh, yes,” he said as if that should be obvious to me.

  “Good. How's your beer?”

  “It's beer. I'm going to stick to this one since I'm driving, but by all means, have as many of those as you want.”

  “Are you trying to get me drunk?”

  He leaned forward and spoke in a conspiratorial tone, “Only if it will work.”

  The way I had been feeling, he certainly didn't need to grease the wheels to get some action. “I don't need to get drunk for that.” His brows went up as my meaning sunk in.

  “How hungry are you?”

  “I've got plenty of food at home.” Omigod. I couldn't believe the words were coming out of my mouth. I was only a step away from propositioning him.

  He turned to get the waitress' attention and mouthed “check” when she caught his eye. Now I had done it. I wasn't sure what I had been hoping for, but I wasn't expecting that he would take me up on going straight back to the house when we'd just gotten our drinks. I reached up and chugged some of my appletini, which was delicious, and Carter handed the girl a twenty and told her to keep the change. He left his beer mostly untouched as he waited for me to finish. I suddenly lost my bravado of a minute before, and took a tiny sip of my cocktail to slow things down. Oh hell, what was I waiting for? I wanted this, had been waiting for it all week.

  “I'm finished.” I pushed my glass forward even though there were still a few sips left. I didn't care. I knew what I was doing. I stood up and picked up my purse. “Ready?”

  Instead of answering, he got up and came around the table, putting his hand at the small of my back. I felt a shiver race up my spine at the light contact. Holy smokes. We walked back to his truck in silence and I waited while he opened my door and helped me inside. His truck wasn't one of those really high ones, but I had chosen to wear a denim miniskirt, and I knew he got a good look as I stepped up to the seat. Since that was the point of the skirt in the first place I just smiled to myself as he walked around and got in.

  “We didn't even see the sunset.” I wasn't complaining, but that was the entire point of coming to this place.

  “We'll come back.”

  “Okay.” I was excited to think he was already planning something for us to do in the future. I knew it was kind of twisted; I had tried to talk myself out of coming out with him a couple of times this week, even if only half-heartedly. In fact, I was finding it harder to come up with the reasons that I had originally thought were insurmountable, namely our age difference, which I hadn't given much thought to. The “issue” of him being Cheryl's brother was only an issue when I found myself wanting to tell her about Carter in an “I'm interested in this great guy” kind of way. That I couldn't share this with her sucked, but I couldn't help my own insecurities about it.

  The drive back to my house seemed to take only half of the time it took to get to the restaurant, but that could be because I was reflecting on my choice of underwear—white cotton panties and a matching bra that I had put on instead of trying to sex it up with scratchy lace that I thought would make me look like I was trying too hard. Maybe I'd have time to change when we got home. I wasn't wearing granny panties, but they were definitely not the kind of panties that made men drool. By the looks Carter had been throwing me on the drive, though, it probably wouldn't matter what kind of underwear I had on. If I was reading the signals right, they were about to come off pretty soon. I pressed my legs together as he rounded the corner of my street and I saw my house come into view.

  He pulled in behind my car and cut the engine as I hopped out and grabbed my keys out of my purse. We made it to the front door in seconds and I had barely turned the knob before he pushed me in and shut the door behind us. Lucy ran up, but I tuned her out as Carter pressed me against the door, leaning over to capture my lips with his mouth in a short kiss.

  “There. That's out of the way.”

  I gave him a questioning look as he took a step backwards and into the living room. “Huh?” Surely he didn't think that a tiny peck on the lips was going to do.

  “I’ve been waiting to kiss you, but when I picked you up it didn't seem like the right time. I just wanted to make sure that the first kiss of the night happened separate from anything else.”

  I smiled and thought back to a little over an hour ago when he arrived. I had been a little nervous and probably spent too much time talking. I had wanted a kiss, though. “Do you want something to eat?” I walked past him and into the kitchen to put down my bag.

  “Not right this second, no.”

  I turned around and stepped closer where I was rewarded with the scent of him. It sent my senses reeling and I pressed my face against his chest and took a deep breath. He must have been exuding pheromones out of every pore, because my body seemed to go on alert and I lifted my face to his and let my lips wander from one corner of his mouth to the other. In a second he had wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against him, opening his mouth slightly and teasing me with his tongue. I could feel the bulge of him on my stomach, and I moved against him, eliciting a moan in response as he deepened our kiss. His hands moved to cup the sides of my face and my mouth opened at the same moment my eyes closed.

  I felt lost in him, his firm lips and his hot tongue we
re working in tandem to make my insides quiver as my mind started to blank out everything but him. I was aching for him. My body was moving on its own, my hands drifted along his sides and up the hard muscles of his back, all while his mouth worked its magic.

  By the time I felt his hands on the bare skin below my skirt I was ready to explode. He walked us back a step to set me on the stool in front of the island and stepped between my legs. I wanted to continue kissing him, but my attention was now focused on his hands as he moved up towards ground zero. I felt like I was about to jump off of the seat any second, but that feeling quieted somewhat when he bent his head to my neck, laying kisses from below my ear down to the top of my shoulder.

  I couldn't concentrate on one feeling in particular, everything seemed to be swirling together. I grabbed on to his shoulders before wrapping my arms around his neck. His hair smelled clean and felt silky as it slid against my face. I moved my fingers through it and was gratified by the way he seemed to move his head closer to me.

  When his hand moved on my leg all I could concentrate on was the scrape of his fingertips against me. A shudder rolled through my body when he grazed the fabric of my panties. I knew I must be wet, and I was long past ready for him, but he took his time, moving back and forth over the cloth. Because of the way he was leaning over me, I couldn't do much, so I pushed him back slightly, just enough to leave a space between us, and reached for the snap of his jeans. I couldn't wait anymore, I was burning up. He straightened and I stood up on slightly shaky legs.

  I got a sudden attack of nerves as soon as we were separated. Not enough to stop things in their tracks, but enough to make me feel self-conscious. My hand was still on his jeans and it took me a second to move my fingers enough to work them loose. The zipper was up, but I was able to work my fingers against the inch of bare skin before I hit the elastic of his boxers. His muscles quaked as I moved lower. At that gratifying reaction I used my other hand to maneuver the zipper down, giving myself plenty of room to work. Even as I pulled his boxers down and over him, he was easing my skirt up until it was at my hips. In a swift movement that I hadn't been anticipating, he turned me around and pressed himself against my backside. The soft denim of his pants brushed against the backs of my thighs, but when he pushed me forward against the island, all I could feel was him against my still covered butt.