Chapter Four
Daphne
Oh my God! The first few days of having Caldwell in my house were literally painful. I never knew that my nipples could get hard so fast and stay that way whenever he was near me—close enough to rub up against him like a cat in heat. I had never had the urge to mate like an animal, bent over, and swiftly taken from behind. I admit to thinking about enticing him with my goods and trying to get his attention, wiggling my ass in front of him while standing still or walking. He either wasn’t interested or was very good at being professional.
I guess I should’ve been happy that he wasn’t some slick operator making rude comments…but a little innocent grope might be enjoyable. I was loving our interactions and conversations every day and I made a point to be home when he came to work. Unfortunately, a few days didn’t pan out and I had to give him a key to my home along with the alarm code. More importantly, I was sad that I had missed him and hated when he finished working for the day.
Some of the best days were when Caldwell needed my input and the best day was when he asked me if I wanted to help decide on a paint color for my library. Not only did I pick out the color when I went with him to buy it, but I talked him into letting me paint. He probably didn’t want me in the way. He was such a nice guy though and didn’t protest.
It was all good until I got a little daring and climbed up on a ladder to work on my custom bookcase while he rolled paint on the walls. Word of advice, don’t watch the way your fellow, handsome painter’s arm muscles flex as they move the pole up and down. And don’t even think about how their butt looks perfect when they lean over and reapply paint to their roller. But if you are going to fall off a ladder, be thankful that you have two big strong arms ready to catch you.
“Holy shit!” I heard before my paintbrush went crashing toward the floor with me following its direction. Then close to my ear, his voice was alarmingly husky, deep…and unbelievably sexy as he asked, “Are you okay? I gotcha.”
My heart was beating like a tribal drum and I was finding it hard to breathe while I attempted to think straight.
Don’t press your lips against his just because you have your arms around his neck and you are being cradled to his firm chest.
I couldn’t have perfected my clumsy move any better even if I had tried. How was he so quick to catch me? Why was he still holding me and why was I not trying to squirm out of his arms that held me so tight? All I know is that my mind was running wild imagining a whole scenario:
“You have dazzling eyes.” That was my innocent comment.
“You have kissable lips.” My whole body tingled at his words that were only in my head.
“Why don’t you prove it?” Definitely not innocent on my part.
Just like that, I envisioned his mouth crushing mine, exploring my mouth with a hunger that I welcomed with opened lips and shut eyes. Yes, I could see it all unfolding in front of me…but it ended too soon…
“I’m going to set you down.”
I guess that was the cue that told me to open my eyes, leave my fantasy behind, and disengage my hands from around his neck.
Sadly, my feet hit the floor and the warmth of his body disappeared, leaving me wishing that I had been brave enough to initiate a kiss.
“Daphne.” My name sounded so amazing coming from him.
“Yes.” My reply might have sounded a little bit too breathy, but I had hopes of him saying my name in a more intimate way.
“You have paint in your hair and down your back.” His hand skimmed the back of my head and down my spine, making me wish that it was over my bare skin. I could only imagine what it would feel like as just my naughty thoughts were causing my skin to form goosebumps all over.
“And you have it in the front of your hair.” I reached up, touching him with my fingertips, and then showed him the paint on my fingers.
“You better go rinse off,” he said with a smile, reaching up to move his hair back in place, paint and all.
I nearly laughed at the way it stuck, but I stilled my laughter, biting my lip while filthier, yummy thoughts raced like wildfire through my brain.
“You too. I have a big shower.” I don’t know what came over me, again, but I crooked my finger at him in a come-hither motion, and walked backwards toward my room.
“That is a huge shower,” he agreed without taking a step.
“Built for at least two,” I called out, hoping he would take my hint. Still not thinking or caring, I stripped off my top—ruined thanks to my lack of grace on a ladder. I should not have been wearing it to paint in the first place…and let it fall away from my body. “Oops,” tumbled from my lips before I turned the corner away from his view, unzipped my shorts and let them fall on the hexagon teal and black tile on the floor. No panties, I turned and stepped inside of the stall to adjust the water.
I had no idea if he would drop his clothes and join me or not, I simply was not using my logical thinking skills at all…nor reality.
Damn! If only it was really happening. If only I wasn’t alone in my shower stall, washing the paint from my hair all by my lonesome, without big strong hands tugging it and capturing my mouth.
However, that was not to be since no one came to join me and, in fact, he was gone by the time I walked back into the room we had been working in, deliciously together. Only a note remained in the cleaned up room, hooked to the infamous ladder.
STAY OFF!
I will return tomorrow at my regular time.
Snatching the note off the ladder, I proceeded to my kitchen, pulled out a wine glass from the cupboard, and a bottle of chardonnay from the refrigerator. It might have only been three o’clock but like the saying goes, it was five o’clock somewhere and I was ready to join those people in a drink. Luckily, I didn’t have to drink alone since my phone rang at precisely the same time as I took my first sip.
“Madison, you will never believe what happened today.” My best friend had been listening to me for days, but she was really in for a shocker. “I pray that I did not pucker my lips and moan when I was in his arms… or loudly in the shower.”
“Woah there! Back up and start from the beginning…sounds like you’re leaving a lot of your story out and I want full details… Pouring a glass of wine now to join you and getting comfortable.”
She knew me well enough to know that I was dangling a wine glass in one hand while talking to her. I imagined her tying up her long, wavy black hair into a messy bun, kicking off her shoes, and exchanging her contacts for a pair of dark-rimmed glasses that hid her brilliant turquoise eyes. I’d seen her in unwind-mode a number of times to know her routine.
Madison and I met at a self-help event…or inspirational…motivational event. We sat right next to each other and giggled through the ridiculous words a male speaker was jabbering on about. In fact, we were both asked to leave and did so, gladly—making our way to a bar in the lobby of the hotel. We became instant white wine sisters, clinking glasses and spilling our life stories which included why we were attending the event. The literary world was something we both hoped to conquer or at least break into, but were too afraid or overwhelmed by the process. I wanted to write a book that was pretty much an artsy coffee table style book which could also be used as a textbook for an art history class. Madison wanted to be a literary PR agent—she loved to read, had no desire to write, and possessed a lot of insight, mixed with great opinions about what she read.
Seemed like we were destined to meet; a writer and an agent both in need of a little push. And once we had sealed our bond over a few glasses of wine and carefully selected our next speaker, we found exactly what we needed while listening to Riesling Roubaix. Of course we picked her strictly for her wine name, but she was an excellent selection with her positive attitude about the glass is always half full. No, that was not part of her speech but it would be fitting with a wine for a first name. She is actually known by many as the Ice Cream Lady since she gets everyone thinking about their favorite ice cream, obtaining it, and beyond. Sounds silly, but she was brilliant enough that we both purchased her book and have used it as a guideline of sorts—mine is written in all over the place and pages are earmarked. I often thank the book for my successes in life and for bringing me Madison in a roundabout way.
Our perfect friendship was exactly what I needed as I was diving into new territory; really liking a man and feeling that our connection was headed toward big things.
Ha! Big things! I was sure that Caldwell had a really big thing. I didn’t want to blow things with him…my choice of words, perhaps, needed to be changed up a bit. He seemed like someone I would like in my life forever—I just had to figure out how and in what way.
I hoped that chatting about Caldwell with Madison would help me.