“Kelsey, you always feel so damn good.” His mouth covered her breast and one hand grabbed her butt.
“So you’re not bored yet?” She ran her hands through his silky hair, holding him against her chest, recalling their first conversation about marriage.
“Not even close.” The words resounded from deep inside just before he thrust himself inside her with a playful growl.
God, he’d missed her, and that scared him. He opened his eyes so he could watch her ride him. His heart beat hard against his ribs at the sight of her flushed skin and wild hair. Sitting upright, he forced her to wrap her legs around his waist so they could sit chest to chest.
He loved the way her hands felt on his back and in his hair. Loved the way her plush lips wet his neck and shoulder. Loved the way her supple body melded with his while her silky hair brushed against his skin. Best of all, he loved the way she somehow warmed him from the inside out.
With each mewl and whimper she uttered, he grew harder and hotter. And when she finally called out his real name again, he about lost his mind. Flipping her over, he pushed her hands above her head on the bed and drove into her over and over until they were both panting and breathless and completely spent.
Eventually, he fell to one side and pulled her up along his chest, hugging her close. “It’s good to be home.”
He thought he heard a small gasp, but then she teased him. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were lonely in Denver.”
“I was lonely in Denver.” He peered down at her, but she kept her face hidden, so all he could see was a tangle of golden hair fanned out on his body.
She lightheartedly pinched him. “Oh, stop acting like a man who just returned from a monastery. We both know that’s not true.”
Yet it was. He hadn’t been with another woman since he started up his little affair with Kelsey, and that realization surprised him. He gripped her chin and tilted her face up to meet his gaze, considering confessing the truth, when her doorbell rang.
She snapped her head toward the bedroom door, eyes wide with anxiety. “Who the heck could that be?”
“Don’t answer it.” Trip kept his hold on her waist. He didn’t want anything or anyone to intrude on their time together this afternoon.
The bell rang a second time.
“Stay here!” She pushed off the bed and grabbed her robe.
He waited, listening to her talk to someone through the intercom. A minute later, he heard her open the door, thank someone, and then say good-bye before closing the door.
Curiosity took over, so he grabbed his underwear and entered the living room. Kelsey had her back to him, so she didn’t hear him coming. She was concentrating on reading the card that had been delivered with a bouquet of pink roses.
Every muscle in his body stiffened. Who the hell was sending her flowers? What the hell had she been doing while he’d been dealing with his dad in Denver? She sure hadn’t mentioned anyone else during any of their recent conversations.
He reached around her and snatched the card from her hand, which read: Dinner next Friday? Say yes—Cary.
“What kind of a girly name is Cary?” Blindsided, Trip flung the card onto the counter before corralling his jealousy.
“It’s a private joke.” She scowled and returned the card to its plastic holder. “I told him he reminded me of Cary Grant.”
Trip laughed, feigning a nonchalance he didn’t feel. “And he took it as a compliment?”
She slapped his shoulder. “It was a compliment.”
Being an old-fashioned, highbrow pretender was a compliment? Is that the kind of guy she thought could make her happy?
“Who is this guy, and why is he sending you roses?” Trip affected a carefree tone, although his fingers itched to knock over the vase or throw it against the wall. “Do I know him?”
Kelsey stared at him for a moment, apparently weighing her options. “You know what? According to your tips, I shouldn’t talk about this with anyone. I doubt you know him, anyway. He’s a new client. I found him a condo this week.”
“Those tips don’t apply to me, Kelsey.” He sighed when she winced at the bark in his voice.
“Oh yes, I think they do apply. Especially to you.” Her fingers brushed the tips of the flowers and her brows knitted. “Maybe this is good timing, actually. When you texted, I’d planned to end the sexual part of our friendship, but then you surprised me with the gift and . . . well, I got carried away.”