She tipped her head back to look at him. “Yes, but no sex, remember?”

“Are you really gonna hold me to that?” Tell feathered his thumb over the pulse point in her neck. “I haven’t touched you all week. It’s makin’ me crazy. I’ve been thinkin’ about the wild, raunchy, kinky things I wanna do to you.”

“Then another night will allow you to add to those fantasies, won’t it?”

He groaned. “It might kill me.”

Georgia laughed softly. “You’ll survive. We’ll find something else to keep us occupied.”

“Like what?”

“You could teach me how to play poker.” She held up her hand. “Not strip poker.”

“Spoilsport.”

“Or we could watch a movie. Heckle bad TV shows.”

“Would that include makin’ out on the couch and letting me at least cop a feel?” Tell waggled his eyebrows with such exaggeration she giggled.

“You’re such a guy.”

“And I can prove it. Three or four times at least.” Then he blew in her ear and felt her shiver from head to toe. “Am I changing your mind, sweetness?”

She shook her head. “As much as I love slipping between the sheets with you, I just like being with you. You make me laugh. You’re easy to talk to. And you don’t treat me like a dumb cheerleader.”

“Who the hell ever said that to you?”

“Lots of people. Not just kids at school. I heard someone say it was a good thing I was a pretty girl because I’d never get by on my brains.” She smiled sadly. “One time Smitty made that kinda crack around RJ. My brother clocked Smitty so hard he broke Smitty’s glasses. So you’re not the only one with self-doubts, Tell. As much as I’d like to pretend I overcame it, some of those attitudes and comments have stuck with me.”

“Why is it we have a better memory for the bad things that are said?”

She shrugged. “Maybe because it makes us appreciate it more when someone says something nice?”

He smooched her nose. “You’re so smart.”

The sweet-smelling scent of woman roused him.

Handy that she wasn’t wearing panties.

Tell squinted at the clock. Four thirty. He had to start chores in another hour anyway, so he may as well use this time to his advantage.

Georgia slept on her side, curled into a ball.

He slipped his fingers beneath the hem of the T-shirt she’d borrowed, finding her warm, soft skin. When his hands began the thorough ascent of her spine, her back bowed and she made a humming sound. A sound which traveled straight to his dick.

“Georgia,” he whispered, breathing in the heady scent of her hair.

“Mmm?”

“It’s morning. Do you know what that means?”

“We went to bed too late?” she murmured sleepily.

“No.” His mouth found the shell of her ear and he followed it with his tongue. “It means I can make love to you since night is over.”

She half-rolled into him, tangling their legs and rubbing her smooth, muscular calf over his. “But I’m tired.”

“I’ll wake you up.” He kissed the corners of her eyes. Her temples. The edges of her smile. “I want you like this. Warm and sweet and barely awake in my bed.”

“M’kay.” She rose up enough to ditch the shirt. “You always have such great ideas.” Then she rolled onto her back, keeping her arms above her head and her eyes closed.

Tell nuzzled the outside curves of her tits, inhaling the fragrance of her skin first thing in the morning. The underswell tasted tangy—of her sweat and sleep. He sucked a tiny love bruise on the upper curve, then he focused his attention on her nipples. Sucking. Licking. Biting. Pinching. Pleasing himself with her body and turning her into a squirmy, sighing mass.

His fingers trailed over her slit, finding her core hot and wet. He swirled those digits into the sweet cream.

“Someone’s awake now,” he murmured and tapped her hip. “Turn over.”

“Someone likes to take me from behind,” she murmured back as she rolled onto her belly.

He made a place between her legs and hiked up her hips. His hands roamed over her arms, her strong back, her hips and her ass. Goddamn she had the finest ass. He scattered kisses down her torso. Tracking the line of her spine from her shoulders down, pressing openmouthed kisses in the dimples of her ass. He rubbed his morning whiskers on her cheeks, then traced the crack to her tailbone, loving the hitch in her breath when his tongue dipped down to circle her anus.

Then he caged her body beneath his and aligned his cock. His need to rut on her nearly overtook him as he slid home. But he paused just to breathe, just to absorb this perfect union of bodies as he made love to her. Savoring her every moan. Savoring every connection of his hard flesh into the softness of hers.

All at once he ramped up the tempo. Pounding into her. Going primal at the visual of his big, rough hands gripping her ass cheeks. His rigid cock disappearing into her wet and welcoming cunt.

Georgia pushed her hips back, taking every slamming thrust.

He could go for hours in the morning, so a quick rise to orgasm caught him off guard. He released a soft snarl as jets of hot come shot out of his dick. White spots, black dots all danced behind his eyelids, and he kept up the rapid rhythm until he felt dizzy and realized he’d been holding his breath.

That’s when he also realized he hadn’t worn a condom.

Falling onto his hands, he sucked in air and didn’t bother to try and stay the trembling in his limbs. “Dammit, Georgia, I’m sorry. I forgot a condom.”

“It’s okay. I’m on the pill, so we’re protected.”

“Thank God.”

He pushed back to his knees and gently rolled her over, knowing she hadn’t come yet. Running his palms up the outside of her legs, he stopped to span the sexy curve of her hips. Then he moved his hands up her belly, molding her compact ribcage, squeezing those plump tits and cupping her slim shoulders. “So perfectly beautiful. Everywhere.”

“I’m not dreaming?”

“No. But bein’ able to touch you like this, anytime I want? Is a dream come true for me.”

Georgia wreathed her arms around his neck. “Are you always such a sweet talker at the butt crack of dawn?”

“I could learn to be. If we did this every morning to start the day out right.” He shoved his cock in deep on the first stroke.

“Yes.” She arched. “I love that you’re still hard. Even after you come.”

“You do it to me. I can’t get enough of you.”

“Good. Because I’m so close. Don’t slow down.” She moaned when he angled his pelvis, brushing over her clit.

Tell buried his face in her throat. “It’s there, baby. I can feel your pussy tightening around my cock.” He panted as he rammed into her hard, bottoming out with each thrust. “Take it.”

Georgia’s body arched so much he could only see the tip of her chin as she unraveled. Her nails were digging into his ass so deeply he knew he’d bear gouges on his butt cheeks.

That’s when he fused his mouth to hers and lost himself in the taste of her kiss. That’s when Tell knew he’d do anything to keep her.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Hello, walk of shame.

With her mother in the house.

But worth it. So worth it.

Georgia tiptoed up the stairs, noticing the door to the guest bedroom was closed. She stripped and crawled between the sheets, drifting to sleep with a smile on her face.

She woke up three hours later and brewed a pot of coffee to chase away her lethargy. Tempting to laze in the sun like a contented cat today. But since she hadn’t spent time with her mother yesterday, she wanted to do something fun today.

Fun. Tell McKay was definitely rubbing off on her.

As she crossed the foyer to get the newspaper, she heard a loud thump in the guest bedroom. She glanced at the clock. Strange that her early-bird mother wasn’t up at nine o’clock. Maybe she was sick.

Georgia scaled the stairs, pausing outside the door. She heard more thumps. “Mom? Are you all right?” She opened the door and froze upon seeing her father’s bare back and naked butt bouncing as he nailed her mother from behind.

“Omigod! What are you doing?” As if it wasn’t obvious.

Her mother shrieked and her parents collapsed on the bed, her father valiantly yanking the covers over them.

That was the last thing Georgia had ever expected to see. Or wanted to see, quite frankly.

“Georgia, it’s—”

“None of my business and I’m…” Running like hell. She slammed the door, racing downstairs and outside.

The sky was blue, the grass was green, the sun was yellow. Nope, she hadn’t somehow wandered into another dimension.

Good. God. She’d walked in on her parents having sex. Her divorced parents. Robert and Irina Hotchkiss hated each other. Didn’t they?

There’d be hell to pay if she lost her deposit because her amorous parents—for the love of God—had put dents in the Sheetrock from the headboard banging into the wall.

How long had this been going on? And what did it mean?

Georgia had no idea how long she sat curled up in the swing, random thoughts bouncing in her head. She jumped when the screen door creaked.

“Georgia?”

“There’s coffee in the kitchen.”

“Look, about what you—”

She held up her hand. “I don’t ever wanna talk about it. Ever. Or think about it. Ever. I’m sorta hoping the sun will fry my retinas and burn out the images no child should ever see.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” her mother chided. “It’s not the first time your father and I have had sex since we divorced.”

“Omigod, Mom. I don’t need to know that!”

“What? That I still like sex? Or that I still like sex with Robert—”

“Stop talking! Stop talking right now.” Georgia stuck her fingers in her ears and said, “La la la I can’t hear you,” just in case her mother kept blathering on.