Real Men Don't Break Hearts(31)

He started hosing the dirt off when Porkchop next door began his usual yapping. Through a small gap in the fence he saw the pooch’s rabid eye as the dog went crazy. He thought about directing his hose at the gap, and the idea made him chuckle before Mrs. Bennett’s sourpuss face appeared over the fence, instantly muting his amusement.

“You shouldn’t tease Porkchop,” she grumbled. “You’re a grown man, not a child.” She cradled the animal in her billowing arms, both of them glowering at him.

“Hey, if you want I can give Porkchop a bath now I’ve got my hose out. Water’s nice and cold.”

Mrs. Bennett gasped and clutched her dog tighter. “You wouldn’t dare!” She craned her neck over the fence. “What are you doing, anyway? What is that thing, some kind of statue?”

He shrugged and returned his attention to his hosing. “Something like that.”

“That looks like… It’s a tail. Oh, it’s a horse’s tail.” Her jowls quivered accusingly. “It was you! You defaced the colonel’s horse all those years ago. You wicked boy.”

Jeez, she made him sound like a character out of Oliver Twist. “Yes, Mrs. Bennett,” he said with a patient sigh. “I stole it, and now I’m cleaning it up and returning it.”

“I should have known it was you. You were always up to no good. Your brother let you run wild. He was no good at disciplining you.”

Nate scowled, as he always did when the old lady criticized his dead brother. “I suppose you think he should have taken the strap to me,” he couldn’t help snarling. “Like my stepdad did.”

She gaped at him. “The strap? No, no, I don’t believe in hitting children. Never did.”

She didn’t? That was something he’d never expected from the old dragon. Maybe she wasn’t so bad after all.

“My husband, he liked using the strap,” she blurted out.

He stared at her. He’d never seen Mrs. Bennett’s husband or heard him mentioned. When he’d moved in with Robbie, Mrs. Bennett had already been on her own.

Her brow compressed into furrows. “He used to hit me.”

“Oh.” Christ, what was he supposed to say now? “Did you…?”

“He left a long time ago. Good riddance to bad rubbish.”

Nate switched off the hose. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” He’d always assumed she was a widow. Now he realized she had good reason to be a curmudgeon.

He took a step toward her, but she waved him off. “You’d better finish that cleaning and get that tail down to the council quick smart or I’ll tell them about you. We got enough trouble with vandals around here as it is.” She lumbered off before he could say anything else.

…

“How was your Tupperware party last Friday?”

“My… Oh!” Just in time, Ally came to her wits. “It was great, fantastic.”

Nate rested his shoulder against the doorframe of the stock room. She’d been rearranging some boxes when he’d suddenly appeared a moment ago, and her heart was still knocking against her ribs. She’d thought the door jingle had merely heralded a last-minute shopper, not the man she’d been trying not to think about all day.

“Funny,” Nate said. “You don’t look like a Tupperware girl to me.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“Mmm, I probably would.”

So much for asserting her independence. She’d had a dull night without Nate, and she’d spent almost an entire weekend fretting over him. He hadn’t rung at all on Saturday, and now it was Sunday afternoon, and she was about to close up shop and go over to Jess’s place like she usually did. But his unexpected visit had her blood fizzing and her nerves tingling, and all she could think about was how much she’d missed him.

She tilted up her chin. “So why are you here? To check out my Tupperware?”

“Ally, it’s not your Tupperware I want to check out.”

The glint in his eyes made her breathing falter. Why did he have to look so gorgeous? Her fingers itched to glide over his tanned forearms, to grip him by his broad shoulders, to toy with the buttons of his shirt before sliding round the back of his neck and lowering his head to hers. She spun away to shuffle some stuff around on the shelves, barely aware of what she was doing. As his footsteps drew nearer, her heart rate ratcheted up.

“I’ve never been in here before.” His warm breath feathered her nape.

She shivered in anticipation. “It’s just a boring old stockroom.”

He rested a hand on either side of her on the shelf and blew a gentle kiss on the back of her neck. A tremor snaked down her legs. He had her trapped, but she didn’t want to be anywhere else.

“Boring?” He nibbled softly on her flesh and she gasped in delight. “Well, we’ll have to do something about that.”

His lips and tongue went to work on her nape and earlobes, turning her into a boneless, quivering heap of helpless desire, so when he finally turned her to face him, she was more than ready for his scorching kiss. He devoured her mouth, his body hard and urgent against hers. The torrent was more than she could withstand, and soon her knees were buckling. Only when he hitched her up onto a shelf did she resurface for a moment.

“What—what are you doing?” she mumbled, still dazed from his blistering kisses.

His hand was under her skirt, hot and sure, kneading her thigh. “What do you think I’m doing?”

“Are you m-mad?” she panted. “Someone could come in at any minute.”

His fingers inched higher. “Well, we’d better be quick then,” he said, amused, between placing ardent kisses down the column of her throat.

He was breathing hard, and the length of his body was pressed up against her so she could feel every inch of him. He was ready to take her, and after two days of abstinence she was wild for him. But here? In the stockroom? Where anyone could stumble across them in the act? She should have been put off, but instead the notion sent a fresh charge of lust through her.

She reached for his waistband. “Not too quick, okay? I want to enjoy this.”

He paused, eyes widening as if he hadn’t expected her to go for it, and then he grinned. “Sweetheart, I’ll make sure you enjoy every second.”

He was as good as his word. Their fast and furious coupling was more than enjoyable, it was a complete thrill ride. She didn’t care who saw or heard them. All that mattered was Nate and the indescribable sensations surging through her body.

Afterward, he cupped her face and planted an extra kiss on her lips before he stood back, tucked in his shirt, and stretched his arms out wide, a satisfied grin plastered on his face.

“Not such a boring stockroom after all.” Picking up her underwear, he handed them to her with a flourish. “You might be needing these, m’lady.”

She scrambled into them, her sense of propriety thundering back. “I can’t believe we did that. Anyone could have come in while we were at it. Anyone! Mr. Cummings, or my nana…”

“Don’t worry. I locked the front door and flipped the sign when I came in.”

She stared at him. “You did? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I would have, but you seemed to find the idea of being caught quite arousing. I didn’t realize you were a closet exhibitionist. Next time we’ll have to do it in Clifton Gardens.”

Scowling, she aimed a punch at his upper arm. “It’s not funny.”

“Yes it is, and sexy, too. Very sexy.” He slipped his arms around her waist. “What are you doing for the rest of the day? Going to another Tupperware party?”

“I usually spend Sunday afternoons with Jess and Brian and my nana.”

“I see.” His expression grew reserved as he cocked his head to one side. “Do they know about me?”

Her cheeks smarted. “Jess guessed, so I had to tell her…”

“And she doesn’t approve, and neither would your grandmother.”

His tone troubled her. She pushed his arms away and put some distance between them. “Look, I’m not bothered by anyone’s disapproval. It’s nobody’s business if I want to…to—”

“Ruin yourself with me?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“But that’s what your family thinks.” He stood glowering, arms akimbo. “They all think I’m just using you for sex, that I’m taking advantage of you.”

His words pierced her, and without thinking, she snapped back, “Well, it’s not my fault if that’s your reputation.”

The line of his wide shoulders stiffened. “You know me better than to judge me by my past reputation, Ally.”

Shame twisted her gut. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I know you’re not the same guy you used to be, but when we started this we agreed it was just sex, and I don’t want to complicate things by dragging my family into it. They don’t approve, but that has nothing to do with…us. That’s something separate, private.”

He turned and nudged his toe against a stack of boxes. “I guess you’re right.”

Something was still vexing him. Was he really bothered by what her family thought of him? That wasn’t the Nate she was used to. His self-confidence bordered on arrogance, but perhaps that was how it had been in the past, not how he was now…