He folded his arms over his chest. “I’d like to get to know you better. Pretty please, have dinner with me?” As if sensing her indecision, he moved in for the kill. “You know I’m new in town. Take pity on an outsider. I don’t know the good from the bad around here. Do you want me to end up with food poisoning?”
A tense silence followed. She really wanted to say yes. How long had it been since she’d wanted to spend time with a man? “I suppose I could always deal with the bills tomorrow.”
“Good,” he whispered, “Now, about that room…”
Summer snapped back to reality. “Right this way.” Rooms she could handle. It was the devastatingly handsome Gage Knight she wasn’t so sure about.
Chapter Three
Gage plugged in his computer and booted it up, then stripped out of his clothes and stepped into the shower. As his muscles relaxed under the pounding jets, his thoughts unerringly went back to Summer.
He soaped himself up and let his mind stray into forbidden territory. Summer had a body made for long hours of loving. Instinctively, he knew they’d fit together perfectly. The flare of her hips and that ass. Gage could only guess at the shape, but he was real good a filling in the gaps. He ached to knead and stroke the ample globes.
Then he remembered her husband.
Christ, two years was a long drought. He couldn’t conceive of it. His mind screamed at him to stay away. She wasn’t the type to play around. That knowledge should’ve made his desire dry up. Knowing a woman was the type to get serious usually had him steering a wide path. If he were a gentleman, he wouldn’t consider touching her. But Summer wasn’t just any woman. His cock hardened when Gage thought of all the possibilities, all the things he wanted to do to her, the pleasures he could give her.
Gage reached down and took his cock in his fist, the need to take the edge off paramount in his mind. As he stroked the hard flesh, he imagined her naked, her large breasts so gloriously bared for him, her smoothly rounded hips cushioning him. He’d fit himself between her silky thighs and delve right into paradise. He could almost hear her shout his name. The thought of bringing her to climax sent him careening out of control.
Gage tossed back his head and closed his eyes, the water cascading down, his mind wrapped up in thoughts of Summer. He squeezed his hard length, imagining the warm clutch of her cunt. He pumped faster, harder. When his mind pulled up an image of Summer in the turquoise bathing suit, tits all but bursting out of the scooped neckline, he exploded. His hot come shot all over his fist, but in his mind he saw his milky seed coating those magnificent swells of flesh.
A few minutes later, Gage realized the water was beginning to cool. He sighed and wished like hell he was inside Summer’s sweet, voluptuous body. He rinsed and turned off the shower, his thoughts swirling with ideas. He’d only just met her, but he’d not be letting her squirm away anytime soon. One way or another, he’d have to show her that her grieving period was over. It was time to start living again.
Suddenly his stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten anything since he’d grabbed coffee and a danish at the gas station hours ago. He quickly dressed, snatched up the room key and went in search of the delectable Summer Chase.
As the hostess led the way through the crowded restaurant, Summer turned back to Gage and whispered, “I really can’t think of a better beach restaurant. Their crab cakes are fantastic.”
When they reached their table, Gage held her chair for her and murmured, “I trust your expert judgment, sweetheart.”
They were seated in the covered rear garden terrace. Summer’s heart beat erratically, nearly drowning out the simple romantic beauty of the moment. It’d been so long since she’d enjoyed a meal with a member of the opposite sex in any kind of romantic way.
Though Summer had guy friends, friendship couldn’t replace her need for intimacy. Tender touches and warm kisses—she hadn’t realized how much she missed those things until Gage had shown up at her door. Sparks had flown. Being with him, even in such an innocent way as having dinner, caused Summer’s juices to stir.
“So, Summer, do you come to this restaurant often?”
“I wish, but no, I’m usually too busy.”
He leaned across the table. “You should never be too busy for fun.”
Man, he was sexy. Summer’s mind blanked as she gazed at him. In the muted light, his smooth, tan head shone. She’d never known how sexy a bald man could be until Gage. She had the urge to run her fingers over his scalp. His five o’clock shadow only added to his dark, masculine appeal. If she were bold like Tory, she’d reach out and stroke his firm jaw. Too bad she wasn’t. He was so damn good-looking, and she really wanted to touch him. All over. For hours.
“Summer?”
“Oh, yes, I think you’re exactly right,” she breathed out. Lordy, even when she’d married Seth she hadn’t been this excited. That thought gave her a momentary pang of guilt. Thinking of Seth and looking at Gage, she knew it was way past time for her to move on with her life. She’d been stagnant too long.
Seth would have never wanted her to pine away for him forever, living in the past and shoving the future further and further beyond her reach. He’d want her to move on, get through the grieving and get to the living.
With just a hint of an ornery smile playing at the corners of Gage’s lips, Summer had a feeling he was the sort of man who lived life to its fullest. Even his profession was exciting. A private eye. Scandal and intrigue. Action and danger. Yep, definitely more exciting than running a B&B. What would it be like to make love to the roguish man? He was like a juicy steak sitting on the edge of the table, and she was the puppy dying to sink her teeth into the scrumptious feast. So close. All she had to do was reach out and she’d have him in her voracious mouth.
“Hey, Summer, care to share?”
“Share?”
“You looked pretty far off there for a second.”
She waved his words away. “It doesn’t matter. Tell me, what made you choose Cape May for your vacation?”
He picked up his fork and started back on his pan-seared cod. “My aunt made it sound pretty appealing.” The fork stopped halfway to his mouth. His lips curved upward as he said, “So far, she was right on the money.”