Page 30 of Moonshine and Magnolias (Just Add Peaches #1)

She cleared her throat and gave him a glance out of the corner of her eye but when he faced her, her normal, confident vibe had been stolen by insecurity.

She captured her hair in a ponytail again and he mourned the loss of the tresses flowing over her shoulders.

“I’m nervous about having the wedding in such a short time.

You and Jordan and Sebastien will all help, but weddings are a big deal.

Brandi already got a temporary chef, though.

He’ll be in tomorrow so Aunt Eulalee can make sure he can cook. ”

“Everything will be fine.” The words sounded hollow, insincere even to himself. Nothing would be fine once he told her the truth.

“Here’s hoping.” She closed her laptop.

“This desk.” Rob tapped the solid wood between them. Wendy could never loathe him more than he loathed himself at this moment. But he’d lead her to something beneficial to her as well. “A lot of furniture from this time frame had hidden drawers or compartments. Has anyone ever uncovered any? ”

“Really?” She looked at the Chippendale with interest. “I never searched for any. Maybe Aunt Eulalee knows.”

“If she doesn’t, let me know. They’re not that hard to find, if you know how to look.”

She ran her hands over the top. “Okay, thanks. I should get going.”

“Don’t leave.” His voice was gruff with his suppressed needs and he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. One more kiss. One more kiss to keep in his memory and then he’d tell her the truth.

She paused in the act of lining up the loose pages, then lay them down on her closed computer. A second later, she launched herself at him.

He stood up to catch her, her lithe body making contact with his from toes to lips. He walked her backward to the desk and shifted so her legs were between his and he groaned at the contact.

It was more than the kiss he had hoped for. Her breasts flattened against his chest and he ran his hands down her back, over her shorts to cup her ass and press her against his quickly-growing erection. God, she felt so good.

He had to tell her now.

He gathered her hair and closely watched her eyes, their faces inches apart. “There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

“No, you don’t.” She rocked back and forth over his pelvis, the friction causing him to strain even more against his jeans.

He groaned as his head fell back, and he let the sensation take him. In his mind, she was riding him, hard, naked, her bare breasts grazing his equally bare chest. He reached up with one hand and held her neck still while he devoured her with a hunger he had never felt before.

But he still had to tell her.

Keeping his hand in place and not breaking contact with her luscious lips, he stepped back. When she tried to scoot up, he held her hips.

“We don’t have to stop,” she panted. “I’m on the pill.”

“That’s not it.” He took a deep breath .

“Hal told me,” she blurted. Her cheeks turned pink and she leaned in to kiss him again.

“What did you say?” Rob held her shoulders away from him as air roared through his head. They couldn’t be talking about the same thing. And if so, what was the penalty for fratricide in Georgia? Because Rob was going to kill his brother. “Hal told you? He told you?”

“Yes,” she said, then grazed his jaw with her fingertips. His skin pebbled.

If she was still in his arms, then she must be okay with it. “I’d be spitting mad if I were you right about now.”

“Silly boy. Why would I be mad?” She freed the first few buttons of his shirt and trailed her fingernails down his chest. “It’s not something you’re in charge of. I want to help.”

She was helping him lose his mind. He gripped the back of her neck and kissed her. She nibbled his bottom lip and his libido roared past his conscience. If she didn’t stop, he’d take her on the floor right there.

“My room,” she mumbled against him. She reached between his legs and gave his already aching cock a gentle squeeze. “Don’t say no, Rob.”

***

Time stopped while Wendy waited for Rob’s answer. Would he feel too exposed, too vulnerable, to let himself take a chance? Because she was. Exposed. Vulnerable. Taking a chance. It made her stomach churn, but just a little. Like it was letting her know she was out of order, but would deal later.

“I don’t think we can get there fast enough,” he muttered.

His words sent an unexpected shiver through her and she lowered her head, her lips hovering just over his. His breath came hot and sweet on her mouth. “Then what are we still doing here?” she asked.

He chuckled deep in his throat and wrapped his hands tighter around her. When he stood up, she glided down his muscled body, breathing in his woodsy scent. “Follow me,” she whispered .

She led him through the dining room and kitchen to the back stairs and unlocked the third floor hallway to get to her room.

Once outside, she paused. Was she really ready for this?

She had never opened this part of her life to a man before.

Her room was still decorated with pictures of her high school friends and posters of sports figures, and her bed was smaller than a peanut.

“Open the damn door before I strip you naked in the hallway.” Rob’s voice was thick with lust.

She’d done it the right way. Now she was ready to do it her way.

She entered her room, anxious for Rob to get inside, and closed the door behind him. And in the low light of her bedside lamp, her mind completely blanked.

It had been so long since she had a chance to revel in a man’s touch, to find something new and hot and exciting to explore.

What if she didn’t meet his standards or wasn’t able to keep him…

interested? This was a lot of pressure. Or what if her encounters over the years, solely for the purpose of release, had stolen her ability to read her man and pleasure him?

Achieving orgasm could be difficult. In fact, it had gotten to the point where…

She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. Maybe being with Rob wasn’t such a good idea.

But then he cradled her head in his hands, his fingers making gentle strokes from her forehead to the nape of her neck while he took his time in a deep, slow kiss that clouded her mind so she lost her ability to rationalize.

“God, I want you.” Rob’s whisper was rough in her ear and he kissed the spot just below it, the scruff on his jaw adding to the feeling. He drew the lobe into his mouth and nibbled on her sensitive flesh. Darts of pleasure spread over her as his warm breath heated her body.

She bit back a groan, scared to reveal how his touch affected her. Scared to reveal anything.

He placed a trail of kisses on the column of her throat, nuzzling along the way, until he reached her other ear and swirled his tongue inside.

Each touch brought a surge of sensation on her skin.

Her legs weakened and she clutched at his shoulders so she wouldn’t fall.

His hands stroked down the length of her back, holding her against his body, while he continued to nibble on her neck.

A low moan escaped her throat and her head fell back, giving him more area to explore.

He pressed her against the wall, leaving her trapped and able only to concentrate on the deliciousness of his hot mouth and his grazing teeth and the gentle pulsing movement of his body against hers. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured.

The words sent a chill where she had been so heated just a moment before.

No one had ever been with her because she was beautiful.

She put a hand between their bodies and he stepped back, keeping one hand on the wall over her head.

His breathing coming in short, ragged pants. “Don’t say that. I’m not.”

He traced the line of her jaw with one strong finger, his gaze boring into hers with the intensity of a burning flame. “You are.”

She shook her head at his conventional bedroom conversation and fought the unexpected tears that she refused to acknowledge or let flow. “You don’t have to lie to get me into bed, Rob. We’re already here.”

The fire in his eyes banked and he stepped away from her. “Is that what you think I’m doing?”

Her body protested his distance but she only shrugged and pulled at the end of her ponytail. “Look, it’s no big deal. I’m here and I want to be with you. You don’t need to feed me compliments.”

He grazed her knuckles with his lips, the day’s growth of beard scraping her skin. “Like telling you you’re beautiful.”

Her throat tightened at his casual agreement. “Right.”

He skimmed his fingers through her hair. “Or that I’ve dreamed of yanking out that damn ponytail and holding fistfuls of your hair since you walked into the kitchen my first day here.”

Had he really thought that? His feather-light touch elicited a bolt of sexual hunger inside her. “T-t-that, too. ”

He brought a handful of the brown locks to his nose and inhaled. “Or telling you the peach scent following you around makes me think of feasting on your sweet, luscious body?”

She didn’t answer this time, she couldn’t, only stayed against the wall and shook her head.

He leaned forward so there was only a mere slip of space between their mouths and she breathed him in.

Her body responded to his hands stroking her hair, to the tremors his touch sent to her nipples, to the seductive words on his lips.

Her hips began moving against him on their own. Out of her control.

“You taste even better than you smell.”

His mouth crushed down on hers, licking, nibbling. Tasting. Tasting all of her with his tongue stroking in rhythmic time. His hands cupped her jaw and tilted up her head to delve even deeper. She held on to his wrists while he continued the heated onslaught.

She pulsed with need, but he didn’t stop the kisses he rained on her lips, her ears, her sensitive neck. Her breasts ached to be touched but his hands stayed firmly on her head, stroking, still stroking her scalp, long strokes with his clever fingers that had her melting.