House of Payne 1 Payne Stacy Gail

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come to mind when she thought of the Metro Club. Erotic, sensual and break-the-table orgasmic, but
not boring.
That, however, was something Claire didn t have to know.
The pale winter sun was almost gone by the time Becks was able to close up her apartment. Together
with Claire and a bundled-up Mia, they walked to the end of the block and their favorite restaurant on
the corner, Chuy s. It was a true hole-in-the-wall diner with a Mexican flare, and since they were
regulars, they got to choose their own table. Grabbing a booth by the garishly painted window
beneath the buzzing neon OPEN sign, Claire excused herself to change Mia again, and to no doubt put
another call in to her husband Thomas, who was running late. Becks held down the fort while their
drink orders arrived water and cold bottles of Corona with a side dish of lime when her phone s
text chimed. One glace at the identity had her pulse zooming into orbit.
S. Payne.
Hey, where r u?
In the relative privacy of the booth, she put a hand to her thudding chest before she opened the
keyboard to type. It was ridiculous to react like a ditzy high school girl she knew that logically. But
logic had nothing to do with her when it came to all things Payne. At dinner w/ friends. We just got
here, now waiting for 1 more to show. What s up?
She saw he was texting from the moment she posted. So you haven t eaten yet, right? Where
r u, exactly?
Exactly? My, my, aren t we nosy. She looked around with a faint grin before she thumb-
typed. At Chuy s, abt 100 yds from my loft, toward Eugenie St. Sitting in a booth all alone,
waiting for Claire s hubs to arrive. How s that for accurate?
PERFECT. Have u eaten yet?
Sheesh. Now he was taking nosiness to a new level. No, just got here and ordered cold
Coronas for everyone. Then, to be a smartass, she added something more before hitting Send.
Why? Want one?
Yeah, sounds great. Be there in a minute. Or less.
What? She stared at the screen and realized belatedly that she hadn t activated the voice
recognition feature. By the time she snapped out of it and began to type, another text appeared.
Look out ur window :)
Automatically she did so, only to have her jaw unhinge so completely it probably should have
banged on the table. Climbing out of a limousine and dressed to kill was Payne, grinning wickedly at
her obvious surprise. With a quick word to the driver, Payne headed for the door while unbuttoning
his coat.
Holy crap, he was really there.
I hope you won t be mad at me for barging in on your evening out with friends, he said by
way of greeting, then leaned over to give her a quick, thorough kiss that wasn t just a greeting. It was
a vow to push her up against a secluded, out-of-the-way wall at the next possible opportunity and do
dirty, dirty things to her. God love a man who knew how to kiss a woman the right way. But if you
are, you can always tell me to leave. No hard feelings, I swear.
Oh, wasn t he a funny man. Kissing her into a stupor, then inviting her to act like she wouldn t
sell a kidney to get him to stay. I wouldn t want to be rude.
That s sweet of you, Becks. Shedding his coat, he draped it over the back of the booth and
slid in next to her. It was a miracle she didn t spontaneously combust from the friction of this thigh
against hers. Everything about you is sweet. And I ve got a raging sweet tooth.
Streamers of exhilaration shot through her like fireworks. If you re asking for some sugar,
there s not much I can do to accommodate you at the moment.
Oh, no? A wicked light filled his eyes, and he squeezed her knee under the table. You
mean Chuy s wouldn t appreciate the way we like to do private dining?
I doubt it. Since the mere memory of being filled again and again by his powerful thrusts
made the intimate flesh between her legs tingle with a rush of unadulterated lust, she tried to focus on
banal small talk. Your timing s perfect, popping up out of nowhere like that. I take it you were in the
neighborhood?
If by that you mean on your doorstep, yeah. He draped an arm along the back of the booth
and let his fingers idly play with the ends of her hair. Scout made sure I paid for playing hooky
yesterday by packing my schedule today. I ve been on the run since eight this morning and wasn t able
to stop long enough to call you.
Uh-oh, is something wrong?
He looked at her though she had slipped into ancient Sanskrit. I just wanted to hear your
voice.
I just wanted to hear your voice. Becks froze in her mental tracks, stunned by a few words
that somehow were the most important and impactful she d ever received. They echoed in her ears
before settling in her soul to lie there, glowing with an all-encompassing warmth. It was probably
stupid, her reaction, and he wouldn t even remember saying those words twenty-four hours from now.
But she would.
In her lonely world, those words were more precious than gold.
If you had called, you wouldn t have heard anything except the techs pulling out half the wall
at my place to install the new intercom. She rested her hand on his thigh and drank in his body heat,
loving the way his muscles flexed in automatic response to her touch. Thank you, by the way. Buying
a new security system for the whole building was incredibly generous of you.
It needed an upgrade, especially since your landlord mentioned he was pretty much the only
gatekeeper for your entire building. A frown darkened his face before he leaned in to his mouth
against her temple. Did you know that sweet old guy offered to let me stroll right on in when I
mentioned I was a friend of yours? I could have been anyone, and he was ready to hold the door open
for me.
Mr. Janek recognized who you were, Payne. In his estimation, the possibility of your being a
professional ax murderer was low.
Still, I feel better now that the new system s in place.
So do I, so thank you. She settled back against the curve of his shoulder and smiled up at
him. And thank you for wanting to hear my voice. I wanted to hear your voice too. Leaving her hand
on his thigh, she reached across with her other one to touch his lean, scruff-roughened cheek. And I
wanted to see your face. Warmth threatened to boil over into scorching heat as she stretched her
neck up to kiss him. And taste your mouth.
Becks. Jesus, baby. The hand behind her shifted so that his palm cradled her head, and the
tautness of his fingers conveyed a tension she could suddenly feel in the leg beneath her palm. What
do you say we get out of here? Your place is looking real good to me right about now.
Not yet. Stuffing her own impatience down along with the need to move her hand to the
now-noticeable bulge in his crotch, she glanced up just as a large basket of tortilla chips appeared
and Claire emerged from the restroom, bouncing Mia on her hip. Soon.
Chapter Ten
Payne figured it must be a bad sign when a man had to consciously remind himself that no one had
ever died from the discomfort of a stiff dick.
The two hours spent over beers and dinner with Becks and her friends were both the best of
the day and the longest. Thomas, once he d arrived, was as laid back as Claire was hyper, a mellow
hum to his wife s bouncy enthusiasm. Their kid was cute too, though he had to admit he couldn t
remember a time when dinner conversation had centered so naturally on the mysteries of a three-
month-old s diaper contents. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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