A girl, a guy, a set of handcuff... What more could happily ever after possibly need?
Anything and Everything, Book 2
Luke Hamilton's requirements for the perfect woman are straightforward: live, work and play in his beloved hometown-and get along with his mother. Dr. Kat Dayton's got it all. And Luke's noticed. It's obvious to him that his long-time friend belongs with him, especially after the world-rocking kiss she lays on him at his birthday party.While Kat can't deny she's imagined a kiss like that - and more - for years, she's less convinced they're destined for happily ever after. Still, Luke figures that's nothing a friendly kidnapping and a three-day road trip won't fix.
Kat would love to let Luke in, but if he discovers the truth - that committee meetings bore her to tears and she'd rather have a root-canal than go to another potluck - his white-picket-fence dreams will be crushed.
Being stuck in an RV with Luke should be three days of flirtatious fun, but for Kat it's heavenly hell. The close confines and good old-fashioned lust are making a mockery of her perfect-woman facade, and if he finds out about the mistake that might cost her job - and force her to leave town for good - it'll take more than a sexy pair of handcuffs to keep him close.
Warning: Contains a man who's willing to do anything for the perfect woman, an RV and surprise road-trip to help him prove it, and a woman who's wondering just what the hell she's gotten into.
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Copyright © 2012 Erin Nicholas
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication
Luke didn’t see her or hear her approach, but he smelled her. And he didn’t care why Kat was behind him when she got that close.
He opened his mouth to tell her he knew she was there but suddenly her arms came around his neck and something covered his eyes. Instinctively, his body stiffened before her hot whisper touched the skin on the back of his neck.
“Hold still.”
He smiled in spite of having no idea what she was doing. “Kat, are you actually blindfolding me?” he asked as he felt the cloth over his eyes tighten slightly.
“You knew it was me?”
“Of course. I know your body spray.” He felt her surprise in the way she suddenly froze.
“Oh.” She cleared her throat.
That made him grin. “Now what?” He was up for anything involving Kat, frankly. He’d been on his way to find her. He was also smiling for the first time in almost two months.
Because ten minutes ago, his best friend had given him his birthday present—Marc had told him that Kat had feelings for him.
It was like sunshine had broken through a dark, cold day.
Sappy perhaps, but that’s how he felt.
Two months ago he’d watched her with another man at Marc and Sabrina’s wedding and had wanted to put his fist through the wall. Kat made the first move. Everyone—every male anyway—knew that. If she wanted someone, she let them know. Not only had she not given Luke any indication that she felt more than friendship for him, but she’d brought another guy to the wedding that would have been the perfect place to turn their relationship into more. If she’d wanted that.
He could admit the whole situation had made him into an antisocial ass over the past months. But tonight things were going to change. Marc had said the magic words—Kat wanted him.
And now she was blindfolding him.
Yep, this had the makings of the best birthday ever. And he wasn’t talking about cake and confetti.
“You have to leave the blindfold on, okay?”
Taking it off hadn’t even occurred to him. “No problem.”
“Really?” Again with the surprise.
“A hot girl and a blindfold? I’d be an idiot if I wanted to take it off.”
He heard her chuckle softly. “Thanks. So you’re good with this?”
“Very good.” It could only be better if she were the one in the blindfold. All kinds of images were racing through his mind as it was.
“Come on.” She took his hand and they started forward.
The Camelot, his restaurant and dream come true, was the place he spent most of his time and he knew every inch. He even managed to keep from stubbing his toe on the wingback chair near the arched doorway that led into the short hallway of offices.
After they’d stepped into his office, he heard the door shut and the lock click.
“A hot girl in black leather, a blindfold, a private office with a locked door on my birthday. My expectations are rising every minute.”
“Black leather isn’t all that uncommon for me,” Kat pointed out.
“True. But the rest… Well, it’s understandable that I would be expecting more than something like—oh, I don’t know—a set of DVDs for instance.”
There was a stunned moment of silence and he imagined she was staring at him in shock. No, she was probably frowning.
“How did you know?” she finally asked.
He chuckled. “A good guess. I hope it’s Burn Notice.” It was their favorite show. They discussed the current episode every week.
And he would love the DVDs. Just like he’d loved the first three seasons of House, another favorite, she’d given him last year and the boxed set of Seinfeld the year before that.
He liked to think she gave him their favorite TV shows to prove that she was paying attention to what he liked because she cared. But this was Kat Dayton. If Kat wanted or felt something, everyone knew it. Instead, she had to come up with an annual gift for a friend. Period.
“You think you’re pretty smart, huh?” she finally asked.
“Sorry,” he said with a shrug. “I know how much you hate being predictable.”
She really did. She wore black all the time, preferred tight, fitted clothes, loved boots and had a number of piercings. She also used dramatic eye makeup and body paint and her short dark hair was styled and colored differently almost every day.
“I might still have a few surprises left.”
He felt her move in closer and heard her rustling in her bag.
“I can’t wait.”
“Not nervous at all?” she asked.
“Definitely not what I’m feeling.” He was feeling…intrigued. Excited. Amused. Optimistic.
She had feelings for him and he had her undivided attention. There were only a few ways—a few very specific ways—this could get better.
It was common knowledge that when one sense was removed the others became stronger. He felt like he was completely tuned in to every move she made. There was a soft metallic clink and the air around him grew warmer as she leaned in.
“Were you predicting this?”
He felt her hands slide down his left arm to his hand and he took in a deep lungful of vanilla. Then he felt cold metal around his wrist followed by a click.
No way.
“Handcuffs?” he asked. He lifted his arm and found his left wrist connected to the arm of the chair.
“Handcuffs.” She still leaned close. “So, if you have different expectations of a birthday involving a blindfold, how do you feel about one with handcuffs?”
He grinned. “Kat Dayton wants me at her mercy? I’m liking it a lot.”
“I’m…flattered.” That had sounded more like a question.
He chuckled. “Being the first guy you handcuff? Me too.”
There was a pause and he felt her straighten away from him. “How do you know you’re the first guy I’ve handcuffed?”
“I’ve heard about your strip poker games, your skinny-dipping…somebody would have definitely been talking about being handcuffed.”
“I played strip poker one time with Greg Matthews and skinny-dipped one time with Travis Nelson. Here I thought I was dating gentlemen.”
“You did not. You’ve known these guys since third grade,” Luke said with a grin.
She blew out a breath. “Well, you know that both of them likely did some embellishing. You probably shouldn’t base your expectations on what Greg and Travis said.”
“You’re right. I should definitely find out for myself.” Even without exaggeration he knew that a few minutes with Kat, skinny-dipping or otherwise, would be better than a whole season of Burn Notice.
“Find out?”
“What a great kisser you are.”
He heard her little intake of air. Okay, so maybe he had some surprises for her too.
“You want to…” She cleared her throat. “Did you just say you want to kiss me?”
He chuckled at that. He’d kissed her once in college and he hadn’t been able to completely forget it. Even though he’d tried when it became clear that she didn’t want to do anything more about it. He wanted to kiss her again. Tonight. Now.
“Definitely. And you have to give me what I want—it’s my birthday.”
He held his breath, waiting for her to laugh, or say you’ve got to be kidding me, or something similar.
“They say the memory is the first thing to go as we age,” she said softly.
He heard the hurt in her tone and reached instinctively with his free hand, snagging her fingers as she tried to move away. “I remember the kiss, Kat. Vividly and often. I’m just teasing you.”
There was an excruciatingly long pause. He’d told the truth. He thought about that kiss. A lot. More and more all the time. Like the more she kissed other guys. Like he’d seen her doing at Marc’s wedding…
He loosened the hold he had on the arm of the chair and forced himself to relax. She wasn’t kissing anyone else tonight. He had to focus here. There wasn’t another guy with her tonight. He didn’t need to worry about being an ass to a guy he’d known his whole life, like he had at the wedding. All the guy had done was agree to be Kat’s date to the wedding. He really hadn’t deserved Luke’s glares or refusal to engage in conversation or the beer down the leg of his pants.
Anyway, she wasn’t kissing anyone else tonight.
Finally he heard her pull in a slight breath just before she asked, “Does Marc still have his appendix?”
He frowned. What the hell did that mean? “I’m, um, sure he does.”
“Okay, good.”
She pulled free of his hold but just as he was grabbing blindly, she leaned in and put a hand on each arm of the chair.
That was better.
“You ready?” she asked, her breath on his cheek.
“Is anyone ever really ready for you?” he asked.
“Aw, you say the sweetest things.” Then she touched her lips to his.
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