Kyle leaned back in his seat in the sporty little roadster and studied the woman driving the car. The more he was with her, the more he wanted her. The last thing he’d expected when he’d been forced into what he thought of as social purgatory was to be met so enthusiastically by a woman so desirable, so hot he was instantly aroused. When she’d jumped into his arms, plastered herself against his body, and kissed him like she meant serious business, he’d responded without his brain even being engaged. He’d almost forgotten his first assumption that his parents, especially his mother, had set the whole thing up.
She was, in fact, delightful. If he could forget his irritation at being set up, playing along with her little game was going to be fun, unexpected spice for a trip he’d been dreading and a business situation he wanted nothing to do with. He anticipated long days and longer nights with Pepper, until he had to leave. Despite the fact that they were supposed to be engaged, she understood when he left, the charade was over. It would be up to her to figure out what story to tell people.
When it came time for him to leave, he’d go along with whatever story she chose to tell, head back to Dallas as fast as he could, and tell his father the bed-and-breakfast business was a dead end. Meanwhile, he’d enjoy a nice, uncomplicated situation with a woman who had made his groin tighten and his blood heat with just one hot kiss. All in all, he was feeling a lot better about losing so much time out of his schedule. Engrossed in his introspection, he totally missed the fact that Pepper was talking to him.
“Kyle? Are you with me? What do you think?”
“What?” Okay, she’d been talking to him and he’d been wondering how soon they could move beyond the hot kiss. He raked his fingers through his hair. “Sorry. I was enjoying the scenery, and I guess I got lost in it.”
Which, he had to admit with some reluctance would be easy to do. Again he had the thought that Bayview could easily have doubled as a movie set, a tourist town that had been created by set designers. The main drag was lined with shops of every type, painted in the bright pastels people associated with the South, especially Florida. The gaily decorated touristy ones were mixed in with things like a pharmacy, a shoe repair place, and a cleaners. The businesses on the right were definitely water oriented: surfboard shops, water skis, fishing equipment, and, at the end of the street, a large marina. The boats not bobbing in the water in their slips were out on the bay, skimming the surface, propelled by their sails or powerful engines.
But nothing captured his attention as much as the woman next to him. The cotton slacks she wore stretched across her thighs as she drove, tempting him with the firm flesh beneath them he’d felt when she’d wrapped them around him earlier. The navy-blue polo shirt with the Hibiscus House logo fell softly against her firm breasts, mounds his hands itched to cup and mold and knead. Even through the layers of shirt and bra, the hard points of her nipples made themselves known. Was she as turned on as he was?
Damn! Not since he was a horny teenager had he been so tempted to take a woman to some secluded place, undress her bit by bit, and make love to every inch of her gorgeous body. He wanted to run his tongue over her skin, knowing it would taste so sweet. To pull those nipples into his mouth and graze them with his teeth. To bury his face between her thighs and lick the silken flesh cradled there, lapping at it and tracing his tongue over every pink wet inch.
Damn!
As surreptitiously as he could, he shifted position on the seat and tugged at his jeans, suddenly tight against his growing arousal. He wondered what people would think if he had to walk around like this the entire time he was here? He was pretty sure Pepper hadn’t been offering him unrestricted access to her charms when she cooked up this plot, but, of course, anything could happen.
He realized with a start the car had stopped. When he glanced through the windshield, he discovered, shocked, they were parked in a small public lot where the street curved to the left. Beyond the lot was what he presumed was a public beach and an open view of Hibiscus Bay.
“I can only assume you are struck dumb by the quaint beauty of our little village,” Pepper said, her words edged with laughter. “That’s why you haven’t said a thing for the past ten minutes, right? Not even to answer my questions?”
Kyle hoped his face wasn’t red. He’d been unforgivably rude, but how could he tell her he was mesmerized by her sensual beauty and couldn’t think of anything except getting her naked and being inside her wet heat? He climbed out of the car, adjusting his jeans again before turning to her with what he hoped was a natural grin on his face.
“Actually, it was your beauty I was admiring.” He winked at her.
“Flattery is not required.” A faint blush crept up her cheeks.
Didn’t people pay her compliments? Were all the men in this town blind?
“It’s not flattery,” he assured her. “It’s the truth.” He took her hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do. “Let’s take a walk along here and you can tell me all about Bayview. And give all the folks who I’m sure have heard about your fiancé a chance to gawk at me.”
She laughed, and the tension he’d seen in her body eased a fraction.
“Okay. Good. You’re right.” She tugged him along. “Come on. Let’s wander until lunchtime. Be forewarned. You may run screaming from here before the tour is over. I love it, but Bayview isn’t for everyone.”
Some perverse urge inside him had him holding onto her hand as they strolled along the wooden walkway from the beach back to the sidewalk. Even when they stopped in each of the little shops, he never let go except when he had to shake someone else’s hand in greeting. He couldn’t begin to say why. Holding hands signified an attachment that usually sent him screaming into the night. It smacked of attachment, the word that gave him chills.
He was so out of his element, but he tried to take careful note of everything as they wandered from store to store. His experience with small towns was very limited. He’d always been addicted to a metropolitan environment. That was why he’d been so successful developing sites for Montgomery Hotels.
But if his parents were dead set on buying this place, he wanted to see what it had to recommend itself as a destination stop. Tourists wanted kitschy places to shop, restaurants with good food and atmosphere, activities to entertain them. Everywhere he walked, every place he looked, that seemed to be the case. In his mind, he was already laying out the marketing tools and drawing up a plan. This might not be his cup of tea, but there were definite possibilities to consider.
He still had the unreal feeling he’d walked onto a movie set, all of it so stereotypical. He’d have to pay close attention to every detail while he was here because he couldn’t for the life of him imagine why his parents thought this would be a lucrative deal for them. Starting a new division with B&Bs…. Well, there had to be a hundred other spots to choose from. Smaller cities, for example.
Then a thought struck him. Maybe his parents were thinking about retiring here. No, not possible. He couldn’t imagine them outside the busy world of Dallas. Of course, stranger things had happened. At least one good thing had come from this trip. He could spend his time here as the fiancé of the very sexy, very smart Pepper Thornton. An unexpected bonus.
Their little walking tour was certainly an exercise in…something. Everyone in Bayview seemed to know Pepper, which was good for business. On the other hand, they all seemed to be all up in her business, giving him the third degree that he supposed was common in small towns like this. Knowing this whole thing was a charade, he felt a twinge of conscience now and then. He was impressed with the way Pepper handled it all with grace and humor and made their escape whenever the questions got too personal or irritating.
“Well, that was interesting.” They were back out on the sidewalk after the last stop and quiz session.
“This afternoon, I’ll show you the residential area,” Pepper told him. “I think I’ve subjected you to enough third degree for the moment. I can’t believe you didn’t pop someone in the nose.”
He cupped her chin, stroking her jawline with his thumb, unable to keep himself from touching her. And what was that all about? “See, now, that wouldn’t have made a good impression on my fiancée’s friends, right?”
Pepper shook her head. “How did I get so lucky with you? I throw myself and this whole thing at you out of the blue and you play right along with it.”
God, he wanted to kiss her right here on the street. “How many men get to have a beautiful woman show up out of the blue and throw herself at him?”
“Literally, I might add.” She giggled. “I can’t believe I had the nerve to do that. It’s just that—”
“That your family’s been driving you nuts,” he guessed.
“How’d you know?”
“Mine has a tendency to do the same thing.” Tendency? his inner self asked. More like obsession.
“We’ll have to compare families,” she teased. “But right now, I could use some lunch. How about you?”
He chuckled. “I can always eat. What do you suggest?”
“I’d say the new restaurant over there by the marina, except that’s where my folks want to take us to dinner.”
And that rang a bell with him. “Weren’t you supposed to call your mother about that?”
She frowned. “Yes, damn it.”
“Damn it?”
“In spades.” She dug her phone out of her purse and read the screen. “Ten missed calls.” She shook her head. “I had it on mute so it wouldn’t go off while we were in the shops. Mama’s probably gonna kill me. This thing’s probably been vibrating itself into an orgasm.”
Kyle stared at her then burst out laughing.
Pepper stared at him. “What? Didn’t you ever hear a lady use the word orgasm?”
He shook his head. “Pepper, you are one unique woman. You’d better make your call, though.”
“I know. Listen, before I do, please know I am sorry to subject you to this.” She shook her head. “You know there’ll be a third degree and all kinds of questions about your intentions. I just wish I had a way to get us out of this. I told you. You’ll probably run screaming into the night before it’s over.”
“I can handle it.”
“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She sighed. “You’re already doing me a huge favor. I don’t want to impose too much on your good nature.”
“I think my good nature can take it. Make your call.”
It was interesting, listening to her end of the conversation. He could tell it was an effort for her to keep her voice calm, and she constantly raked her fingers through her hair in frustration. He’d like to rake his fingers through that soft, auburn hair. He wondered if her curls covering her mound were as dark, or maybe darker. And soft. Would they be soft to the touch?
Jesus, Montgomery. Get your head out of her pants.
He was already having trouble controlling an erection that didn’t want to die. And he was right out here on the main drag where everyone could see him. Nice impression to make on her friends and acquaintances. This whole trip was beginning to take on a surreal look.
“That’s that.” Pepper stuffed her phone back in her purse. “We’re on for eight o’clock. Sorry.”
“No problem. All parents like to meet the intended.”
He was only glad his own folks weren’t here to see what was going on. They’d have the venue booked and the invitations printed before it was time to go to bed.
“You like to eat late?” he asked.
“Out of necessity. I do wine and cheese at Hibiscus House at five. Then I need time to straighten things up, make sure everyone’s taken care of for the evening, and get myself cleaned up and dressed.”
The image of Pepper Thornton in the shower, naked, water streaming down her lush, sleek body filled his mind. He’d love to be in there with her, spreading soapy bubbles over her perfect breasts, down the soft flesh of her tummy, and into the core of her between her legs.
Damn!
He was going to be perpetually hard if he kept this up. What killed him was he’d just met the woman. He’d dated plenty of females but never had this instant lust for any of them. Oh, they always played the little game of temptation, each of them knowing exactly how the evening would end. But this? This was way out of his wheelhouse. He couldn’t remember a time he stood on a public street, having sexual fantasies about the woman he was with.
“Kyle?”
Pepper’s voice again broke into his thoughts. Man, he was really losing it here.
“Right here.”
“Are you sure?” She frowned. “You keep drifting off someplace. Listen, I know this is way more than you expected, to say the least. If you want to back out, no problem. I totally understand.”
She nibbled on her full lower lip, something he’d like to be doing himself.
“Are you kidding? Who’d turn down the chance to be engaged to a gorgeous woman, even if it’s only pretend?”
“I keep telling you, flattery isn’t required.”
He put his finger beneath her chin and tilted it up.
“And I keep telling you it isn’t flattery.” He couldn’t resist the urge. He lowered his head and brushed his mouth against hers, the light touch so electric he was sure the air around them sizzled.
For a moment, Pepper stood there, the kiss connecting them. Then she jerked back with a sudden movement.
“You know we just gave half the town food for gossip for the next week.” Her lips curved in a tremulous grin.
“In that case, I need to distract myself with lunch. Lead on. And you can tell me all about why none of the men in this town are smart enough to want you for their own.”
“That’s not the problem,” she told him. “I don’t want any of them.”
“Okay. This I have to hear.”