Page 7 of Perfectly Matched: Harbor Falls Romance Collection

Suzie sensed Brad’s presence before she heard his footsteps shuffling in the damp grass. She knew it was him. Who else would it be? She silenced her sniffles and sucked in a steadying breath and willed herself not to look his way. If she didn’t give him the time of day, perhaps he would give up and go away.

Not likely. She was pretty much a captive audience here.

Just don’t look his way. Don’t give in. Stand your ground, Suzie.

“Suzie-Q?”

He stood beside her chair as he spoke his nickname for her. His low voice rippled over her like the waves lapping at the dock. The sound was a little unsettling since it came to her with a edge of concern and what she perceived to be caring. Suzie stared straight ahead at the lake.

Don’t. Look. At. Him.

But that was impossible. Brad moved around the chair and crouched directly in front of her, blocking her view of the lake. He gazed into her face. She glared passed his right shoulder.

“Suzette. You have to talk to me.”

She opened her mouth. No. Don’t. Talk. Then snapped it shut again.

He fidgeted but remained steadfast.

“I know you are mad.”

“Ha!” Shit.

“But let me explain,”

he continued.

“And it is okay if you are mad because, well, hey, let’s face it, a lot of things have happened in the last twenty-four hours and I’m sure you’re pretty confused and upset and….”

She glared.

“You have a lot of nerve, Brad Matthews, coming back here and talking to me like this. You have a helluva lot of nerve. I do not want to talk to you about this. Now. Later. Ever. Go away.”

Suzie watched his face fall and his head lower. His dark hair shimmered against the moonlight. Was he staring at her bright red toenails? That felt way too sexy for her liking at the moment. She curled her toes up under her feet.

Might as well get this over with. She cleared her throat and punched his shoulder. Brad jerked his head up.

“Do you realize what you did tonight? You nailed the coffin on my business, Brad. My blood-sweat-and-tears, my hard fought and won existence, the rest of my life.”

She straightened in the chair.

“My only life. Do you understand that? This….”

she slapped a hand on the wooden chair.

“is my life. All I have. Did you not think about what your super-mega-freaking honker of a hotel is going to do to me? What in the hell were you thinking?”

Her voice rose.

“And to think, you said you came back here because you wanted me. Because you wanted us to get back together. What was I thinking? I was even starting to consider the possibilities, but now… I hope you realize that you’ve killed any chance of that, Mister.”

He took in a deep breath while still looking at her toes—which caused heat to rise in her cheeks and was rather unnerving—then he reached for her ankles, clasped his long and strong fingers around them, and jerked. In a flash, he pulled her completely off the Adirondack chair and toppled backwards.

She fell on top of him.

They rolled.

He laughed.

She spewed a number of obscenities.

Finally, they landed in a heap against the hull of an old dry-docked boat. Suzie, unfortunately, was firmly pinned beneath Brad—a position she didn’t want to be in at the moment.

“Ouch! Get off me.”

“Hold still,”

he told her.

“Get off me, Brad.”

She pushed.

“Give me a second your leg is wrapped around mine.”

“I’ve lost my flip-flop, dammit!”

She twisted and batted at his chest.

“Stop pushing.”

“What the hell do you think you were doing? I think you broke my neck.”

“Hell. I did not break your neck. Would you quit squirming?”

Brad groaned but didn’t move one iota.

“I want up now!”

Damn him. She could tell by the way the moonlight backlit the smirk on his face that he had no intention of moving.

Damn. Him.

She whacked at his bicep.

“I’m not kidding, Brad. This isn’t one bit funny. Let me up!”

Brad grasped her wrists and pinned her hands back to the ground, at ear level.

“Not until you listen to me.”

Shaking her head, she returned.

“I don’t need to listen to you. I want up. I want to go into my house. I want you to leave.”

He shook his head.

“Not a chance, sweetheart. You are going to hear me out.”

“Like hell I will.”

“Suzette.”

“Quit with the Suzette and Suzie-Q, Brad. I don’t like it.”

He chuckled.

“Yes, you do, honey. You always did.”

He swiped a strand of hair out of her eye. Suzie stifled the tremble that wanted to race up through her chest at his touch.

She sighed and softened her voice.

“Quit changing the subject. I mean it. Let me up now.”

He didn’t. He looked at her. And the way he looked at her, all dreamy-eyed and everything—she wanted to melt. Gosh-darn full moon. Why in the hell was the man so god-awful delicious?

She turned her head to the side.

Brad grasped her chin in his fingers and gently moved her face back toward his. His warm touch was firm and downright magical. In the next instant, his mouth lowered to capture hers.

“Suzette…”

he whispered.

Don’t kiss him.

Oh. Hell’s bells.

She’d forgotten how soft and firm his lips could be, all at the same time. How they tasted of spice and musk. Strong and smooth. Hot and wet and….

Tantalizing and painful.

Oh….

He nibbled softly at first, his fingers stroking her chin. He relaxed more fully against her and dammit, she felt herself letting go.

Putty. Butter.

Goner. Yup.

He moaned and pressed his lips over the corners of her mouth. His fingers tangled in her hair. Her body arched upward, and her hands moved to that thick crown of wild hair on his head.

Damn him. Damn him to hell and back.

****

In one swift movement, Brad stood and scooped Suzie into his arms and headed for the back door of the house. One thought kept running through his head. Now or never. She laced her fingers around his neck and held on tight and didn’t try to deck him. Good sign.

“What do you think you are doing?”

she whispered.

He ducked to capture her mouth again. Walking and kissing simultaneously were not his forte, but he managed to shut her up and shuffle along to get her into the house where she couldn’t easily escape. Hell, that sounded rather predatory, but he was feeling a little possessive and well, Alpha. He should rein that back in but while she was not protesting, he was going to take advantage of reducing the space between the chair she’d curled herself up into and the house.

Christ, but she felt good in his arms, his mouth nibbling at hers. He loved the way she sucked and drew his lower lip inside her mouth. Stumbling a little, he broke the kiss with a quick exhale, then righted himself and shifted her firmly in his arms.

“You’re going to kill us before we get there.”

“Not a chance,”

he whispered against her mouth, tracing her puffy, sexy and sweet lips with his tongue.

“Not a damn chance.”

Breathless, he took the steps to the back porch two at a time.

“Put me down. I can walk.”

“No sweetheart. I’m not letting you go.”

He fumbled with the door handle and bumped it open with his hip, moved swiftly through the doorway and then slammed it shut with a kick. Traveling through the kitchen on a blur, he barely registered rushing through her bedroom, followed by falling solidly, completely, and finally into the middle of her king-sized bed.

With her beneath him.

And she didn’t protest, lying there looking up at him. Waiting.

Thank God for small miracles.

Man, she felt good. The heat of her chest seared through his thin t-shirt.

She tugged at that shirt and whispered, “Hurry.”

“Hell yes.”

He straddled her hips, ripped the shirt off his head and tossed it aside. Her hands covered his as he reached for his belt.

Brad drank in every soft feature of her face. Sweet Suzette. His Suzette. Back in his arms. In her bed. Could life get any better?

A thin niggle of doubt tugged at him. Making love with her wouldn’t solve anything, would it? Perhaps they should talk first….

She yanked at his buckle.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes,”

she breathed.

“Yes, Brad. Now.”

Her fingers fumbled with the buckle in hot pursuit. Deft hands played over his belt, his fly, sliding under the waistband of his jeans.

He groaned. In seconds he’d rolled off and pushed his jeans to his ankles. He struggled momentarily with the boots and socks but, with her help, hastily kicked them away. His attention focused on her, he slowly started to unbutton her shirt.

In a flash she switched momentum and pushed him onto his back. She was over him, straddling him, kissing him. Raising up, she stared down and stripped the ponytail holder from her hair, strawberry locks spilling over her shoulders. Her gaze never left his. The moonlight filtered from the lakeside windows of her room, perfectly illuminating her features.

The look on her face was, well, priceless. She really was his.

Her fingers moved over the buttons of her knit shirt and within seconds, she had jerked the garment over her head and tossed it aside. She popped the fly on her jeans and leisurely lowered the zipper. He caught a glimpse of silky, lace pink panties and his libido soared. With a flick of her wrist, she snapped at the back of her matching bra and her ample breasts tumbled out.

“My God, you are beautiful,”

he whispered.

“Come here.”

She leaned closer and he cupped one of her full breasts. Damn, how he’d missed fondling them. They were the most beautiful and delicate mounds of flesh he’d ever seen in his life. Full. Pink. Firm. Ripe.

His.

Heaving a contented sigh, he smoothed both hands around her back to hold her and settled one delectable dusky nipple between his lips. Suzie let out a soft moan and melted into him. Sweet Jesus. She was his. She felt so wonderful in his mouth. Like, it was why she had breasts, for him.

He moved from that breast to the other.

“Equal time,”

he rasped.

“Um, yes.”

His hands played across her back, relishing in the satin feel of her ivory skin. He dipped under the waistband of her jeans to cup her round buttocks.

“Get rid of these.”

He broke away and flipped her over onto her back.

“Gladly.”

With one whoosh he finished undressing her.

****

Suzie sighed. God, how she had missed him. Had missed this. How could she have forgotten, and pushed aside, all the wonderful feelings Brad had stirred within her all those months ago? How he woke her from the dead, mundane sleep she’d been in with Cliff for so long, and held her captive with every touch of his fingers and lips?

Brad’s hands skillfully moved over her body. With every stroke she sprang alive. With each groan she wanted more. To hell with everything else. The town, the lodge, the fact that she was confused as hell. This—this intimate moment with Brad—she needed now. The rest she’d just have to worry about later.

For now, all she wanted was to feel.

Besides, people need sex. Right? She’d read that recently in a women’s magazine. It had something to do with hormones. Was it testosterone? Sex was important for that. And she’d been deprived lately, so it was okay.

Stop thinking, Suzie. Just feel.

He stripped away the last of her clothing and lay over her.

“I need your skin next to mine.”

“Yes,”

she whispered.

She loved how he made her feel. How her body responded to his touch. How her inner vixen retorted to his urgent groans.

“I love…”

His voice raspy, he searched her face.

“I love how you look. How you feel. How you…look.”

“You’re driving me crazy,”

she whispered.

“Good. Be crazy with me. Because I’m crazy about you, Suzie.”

Anticipatory spirals of pleasure sprinted through her body. Brad urged her to lie back. Relax. His mouth covered hers.

“I love…you…”

he breathed against her lips.

Suzie floated into a haze of never-ending pleasure.

Tension built inside her like an out-of-control freight train. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, imprisoning him against her…her little love slave. What? She giggled to herself. Where did that come from in this dizzy and spiraling out of control brain of hers?

Love slave. Ha!

Her younger man. Her boy toy. Damn, she was turned on.

“God, Brad. I want you. Please, Mr. Love Slave, please take me…”

A deep throaty chuckle escaped him. She heard it, but soon dismissed it, because all thought abruptly ceased. Pleasure took its place.