Chapter Seven
“Oh!” Emmi stepped back, glancing around the room. “The generators should kick on…”
And there they went. The lights flickered a couple of times, but then stayed on. Her mother came into the room from down the hall.
“Well, that’s that. It’s cold sandwiches or meals that don’t need heating up for the next few days.”
“We’ll finish the decorations for you so you can consult with the Lewis and Dani.”
Her mother shot her a grateful look. “Thank you, Emmi. That’s very considerate. But are you sure I haven’t left you two with too much work for one day?”
“We don’t have anything else to do. Go on.” The fact that her mother didn’t take the segue Emmi had given her to suggest she cuddle up somewhere private in the house with Digger proved how distracted she was by the power outage.
After her mother left the room, Digger tried to pull Emmi into his arms, but she moved away. “Let’s get this done. She’ll be anxious until the storm is over and the electricity is back on. I don’t want to give her one more thing to worry about.”
“The fucking decorations can wait. You were just about to let me kiss you.” Digger grabbed her and pulled her close, cupping her face with one hand.
“Digger, for God’s sake! Let me go.” Except that’s not what she wanted. Not at all.
“Look me straight in the eyes, tell me you don’t want to kiss me again, and I’ll let you go.”
She opened her mouth but no words came out, because the simple truth was that she did want to kiss him again. And much more than that. “Why do you have to be so damn condescending?”
“I’m not trying to be. Merely holding up the truth for you, Emmi.”
“Your truth.”
“Yours, too.” He bent his head and clamped his mouth on hers, sending shockwaves of desire racing through her. Digger was so damn sexy this way! Assertive, blunt, forcing her to admit her needs and desires. Because she sure as shit wasn’t facing them on her own.
She wrapped her arms around his muscled torso and moved her lips over his, loving the sensation of wild abandonment it created. Her clit throbbed and her pussy was soaked by the time he slid his tongue into her open mouth. She moved closer, rubbing against the rock-hard bulge in his jeans. He moaned before releasing the kiss to trail his lips down her neck.
“Emmi, don’t tease me.”
“I’m not teasing.”
Digger slid his left hand down her back and rested it on her ass cheek. Emmi wrapped her arms tighter around his torso and pushed closer, kissing his chest through the sweater. He planted tiny kisses along her jaw line. “If you’re not teasing, we should go up to your room.”
She wiggled out of his grasp and took a couple of steps back, trying to get her breathing and her thoughts under control. “One thing you need to understand if we do. This is just sex.”
“Okay.”
“Really? ‘Cause you haven’t been talking like that would be okay.”
“I’ll take whatever you can give me.”
“I’m not going to change my mind just because we fuck. Digger, I don’t want to lead you on.”
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out for a few seconds. “Understood.” She’d been absolutely certain he was about to say something entirely different.
“I’m not kidding, Digger. This is all I can give you.”
“I know that.”
Footsteps had Emmi rolling her eyes. She must be out of her fucking mind. There was no privacy in this damn house. Her mother walked into the room again. “Eddie is driving me next door. Mrs. Nichols is alone in the house, and her power is out, too. She called me just now, panicked.”
The Nichols were their neighbors, and their house was a ten-minute walk in dry weather.
“Why is she alone?” asked Emmi. Mr. Nichols had been in and out of the hospital several times in the past few months.
“Mr. Nichols tried to drive into the city this morning to get some work done before it snowed too hard, and now he’s stuck in heavy traffic. He’s all right, though. His phone is charged, and he said he’s going to get a hotel room until the roads clear. But she’s a wreck over it. I’m going to go and sit with her until we know he’s safely in a hotel. Your father is in his office, and the rest of the staff are here. Will you be okay?”
“Yes,” said Emmi, resisting the urge to smile. “We’ll be fine. Tell Mrs. Nichols my thoughts are with her and her husband.”
After she left, Emmi walked over to the windows and watched the snow. Was having sex with Digger another huge mistake? She didn’t believe for one second that he was okay with sex only. He walked up behind her and put his arms around her, sending fresh desire racing through her body.
But was that because she missed sex, or were her feelings for him stronger than she understood? Why was everything so damn confusing?
“The snow is beautiful,” he said.
“Yes. It is.”
He’d always wanted her, but he’d never been this obvious or vocal about it while she’d been with Sam. That said a lot about him. It was respectful for the relationship she’d had, even if he sided with her parents that Sam had never been good enough for her.
And that was part of why this was so damn confusing. Underneath that rough exterior, and aside from what he did for a living, lurked a true gentleman. A very patient gentleman, who would now do anything to have her.
“Let’s go watch it from your room.”
Emmi turned in his arms and gazed into his handsome face. “Why did you change your mind?”
“About what?”
“About what you want from me?”
He sighed out loud and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I didn’t change my mind. I want you so fucking badly that I’ll take what you’re willing to give.”
“In the hopes I change my mind about you.”
“Yeah. Okay?” He was pissed off now. “Is that so damn wrong?”
“It’s not fair to either of us.”
“I disagree. We’re filling a need we both have. Let’s see where it takes us.”
“It’s not taking us anywhere, Digger.”
They locked gazes, but this time, she couldn’t read the expression in his eyes. A question she’d wondered about earlier popped into her head, so she asked it. “Why haven’t you ever brought over a girlfriend? Have you dated anyone seriously? Why haven’t we heard about someone special in your life, in all these years?”
He shook his head and let out a sound that was half laugh, half snort. “Emmi, the only woman I’ve ever been remotely interested in, beyond casual sex, is you.”
Jesus. “So all this time you’ve simply been waiting around for me to be free?”
“Yes.”
The magnitude of that tiny word hit her right in the gut. “What if I’d married Sam?”
“You never would have married Sam.”
Ouch. The fact he was right didn’t take the sting out of his statement. “How the hell do you know?”
“Because your father would never have let it happen, for starters. And even if he had, I knew the second I met Sam he’d never marry you.”
Her pulse raced. How had he so easily seen that when she hadn’t? All those years… “Why is that?”
“Because he’s a little boy who never grew up. He has no clue what he gave up in you. And by the time he comes back with his tail tucked between his legs, begging for a second chance, it’ll be too late.”
“He’s following his dreams.”
“Bullshit. He doesn’t have what it takes to make it. Are you really going to tell me you think differently?”
“I wouldn’t know. The music industry today isn’t what it used to be. It’s all about marketing, and whether you can amass a following on iTunes or YouTube.”
“He’ll be back home by summer. But by then, you’ll realize what a waste he is and we’ll be together.”
Even though Emmi sighed, his confidence was seductive. Or maybe it was just her hormones talking, because she wasn’t sure they’d make it to her room if they didn’t leave right now. She couldn’t fight it any longer. “All right. As long as you understand this is just sex.”
“I understand.”
“Then let’s go.”
His hand was warm in hers as they made their way up the stairs. Emmi tried not to overthink, but it was difficult. She’d never felt this way around him. At least, she’d never let herself feel this way. Digger was a good-looking guy, and very sexy. But she’d never gone there in her mind because she’d been with Sam.
It was liberating to do so now. Maybe this was exactly what she needed, even if it wasn’t entirely what he wanted? She certainly wasn’t getting over Sam on her own, and she wanted to. She needed to. It was time to accept what he’d done to her and move on. Everything Digger had said downstairs was true, and she knew it.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Digger pushed her up against it and pinned her arms overhead, holding her wrists in strong hands. He kissed her like he might never have the chance to again. Emmi moaned loudly and shoved her tongue into his mouth, while her pussy grew wetter still.
Every nerve ending in her body was alive. They would never make it to the bed, and she didn’t even give a shit. She wanted him inside her, right fucking now.