Winters' Thaw Read online

  She expected him to move quickly, to take her mouth a bit roughly as set by the tone of the moment. He did neither. She was about to open her eyes to see what he was waiting for when she felt the first gentle brush of his mouth on hers. Then another. His lips were soft, sweet, hinting at the underlying taste of Kevin Springer.

  Elizabeth wanted more.

  She leaned forward at the next contact and sure enough he lingered, deepening the kiss, giving her more of what she craved but not nearly enough.

  Why wasn’t he giving it his all?

  Edie’s voice carried across the internet. C’mon girl, what do you need? A billboard invitation?

  No but apparently he did. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer and slanted her mouth over his, swiping her tongue across his closed lips.

  His body jolted and he finally kissed her as she craved, accepting her tongue to duel with his. When she retreated he followed with a groan, pressing her back against the wall.

  Oh. My. God. This man knew how to kiss and she’d bet he knew what to do with his penis. No, his cock. Kevin Springer had a cock and she was going to get to know it up close and personal.

  Just not standing in the hallway of a bar.

  She flattened her palms on the warm leather covering his chest and gave a small push at solid muscle. He instantly backed up a step, breathing hard.

  “Jesus.” He steadied himself with one arm against the wall behind her. “That was off the freakin’ chart. So, where have you been all my life, what’s your sign and can I take you home after the show tonight?”

  Oh, he was too good to be true! She reached up and traced her fingers along his jaw, then fed the urge to do the same down the muscles of his arms. His covered arms. Dammit, tanks and cropped shirts were in style back in the eighties. Why couldn’t he have been wearing one of those?

  He stood still, watching her face, his eyelids heavy with lust.

  She hated to disappoint them both. “I can’t tonight. Sara was bringing me over to meet James during your break because I have to go. It’s Friday but it’s late and I have to work in the morning.”

  “You free next weekend?”

  “I don’t date.” She brought her hands back up to those broad shoulders and let one fingernail play up and down the side of his neck. His nostrils flared. “But I would love to have fun for a while. Are you interested?”

  He looked stunned for a moment but rallied quickly. “Could you define ‘fun’? I’m debating whether it even matters but I’m not going to find myself tied up in some S&M dungeon, am I?”

  “What? No!” What had she missed out on in the past twenty years if that’s the first thought that came to his mind? Tying him up had its appeal but in an S&M dungeon?

  Step aside Elle, it’s time for straightforward Elizabeth to make an appearance.

  “Look, let’s be upfront with each other.” Elizabeth took a deep breath and went for broke. “I’m a few years past a divorce and it’s been awhile for me. I’m not looking for anything lasting or kinky. I just want to feel good for however long that lasts and you seem like a safe bet. Are you interested?”

  “Hmm.” He frowned as though mulling it over. “Let me see if I have this straight. An incredibly hot woman who damn well knows how to kiss wants to know if I’m interested in having sex with her, no strings, no drama, for as long as we’re both hot for each other? Gee, I dunno. It is asking a lot. How about another kiss to sway the vote?”

  She barely held back a sigh of relief. ”Wouldn’t that be bribery?”

  He shook his head. “Simple coercion.”

  “Okay then.” She leaned forward and kissed him again and was just as happy when he took over and pressed her back against the wall. His entire body followed and there was no mistaking his arousal.

  He was the one who pulled away, still breathing hard. “Next Friday night?”

  It took a few seconds for Elizabeth’s brain to process what he was asking. The man could kiss! She nodded. “I have next weekend off.”

  She heard him release his breath. “It’ll be a long week,” he murmured, moving in close again. “I’ll need a little more coercion to get me through.”

  He didn’t wait for her this time. Within seconds she was completely lost in the taste and feel of his mouth, his tongue, the hard muscular body under her fingertips.

  “Break’s over, Kevin.”

  It was Sara. Elizabeth would have jumped back if there were anywhere to go but she was up against the wall and Kevin didn’t move. He turned his head toward the end of the hall but kept his back to Sara.

  Oh, right. It wasn’t his back he was trying to hide. Elizabeth felt like a teenager caught making out with the cutest guy in school and it felt wonderful.

  “I’ll be right there,” he said to Sara.

  Her friend gave her an apologetic shrug and indicated to meet up with her before leaving.

  “I don’t think I’m her favorite person right now,” Kevin admitted.

  “Don’t worry about it. I have to go too,” Elizabeth said, regretting it more than ever as she took one more look into those green eyes. “Let me get your info and you should know that my name is Elizabeth. But I like that you call me Elle. It makes it easier to be, well, free if that makes any sense.”

  He nodded. “It’s no different from me getting up on stage and playing rock star for a couple of hours. There’s no gig next weekend, by the way.”

  “Too bad. I think Elle really goes for the groupie thing and, dude, abalone shell bolo ties are the coolest thing, like, ever.”

  He didn’t miss a beat. “Radical! Great outfit, by the way, and the band really appreciates the effort. You ladies must have had fun finding this stuff.”

  Ouch. She laughed to hide her wince. “Yeah, something like that.”

  A few minutes later he was up on stage playing rock star and she was on her way out the door. She wasn’t alone. Sara followed her and as soon as they were in the quiet, cool night air outside the club, the other woman said what was on her mind. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the age issue as Elizabeth expected.

  “Please be careful with Kevin. He’s a good guy but he’s not into any kind of commitment. I know it’s none of my business but I don’t want to see you get hurt and I don’t want it to get weird between us at work.”

  Elizabeth was touched and amazed by this young woman who had both the confidence and caring necessary to speak her mind and she deserved the same in return. There were women Elizabeth’s age who weren’t that mature yet.

  “You and James seem right for each other but not everyone gets it right the first time, Sara. I’m one of those who got it wrong and the last thing I want at the moment is an emotional commitment with a man. I have an entire collection of baggage that comes with getting it wrong for almost twenty years and someone like Kevin is exactly what I need to help me reduce it. Does that make sense? Because if it doesn’t, I won’t see him. I don’t want it to get weird between us either.”

  Sara was quiet for a moment. “No drunken phone calls in the middle of the night?”

  “Not from me,” Elizabeth clarified.

  Sara’s smile slowly grew. “Touché. That was pretty sexist of me to assume you’d be the one hurt. Go get some sleep. The schedule said you’re in the OR with Dr. Frass, Chief of Ass and he’s been on the warpath lately. Tomorrow won’t be fun.”

  “Great. Whoever told him the Chief of Proctology had to actually be an asshole should be shot. Beats being in the OR with Dr. Ramos any day though. At least the Chief of Ass believes in deodorant.”

  It was nice to end the evening on a laugh. It was great to have a friend who understood the subtleties of working in a hospital but it was even greater to have a friend outside the cougar blog who wasn’t going to judge her.

  Elizabeth was still feeling good when she made it home and logged on to her group for a quick post.

  Hey, tonight started out pretty dismal but I ended up having a great time. Not only did I meet a
perfect guy for the challenge, I discovered a coworker has serious friend potential. I’m honestly not sure which one excites me more but I do know which one you all want to hear about! His name is Kevin and he’s about six-foot-one and full of muscle. Okay, now I have that song by those guys from Australia in my head. No, he doesn’t come from the land down under but you can tell it really was 80s night at the bar! He has wavy, light brown hair that falls below his collar and the deepest, dark green eyes I’ve ever seen.

  He calls me Elle. At first it made me wonder if I would be better off pretending to be someone else but it got a little weird so I came clean. He can still call me Elle though.

  Oh and did I mention that he kisses like a dream? LOL! We’re supposed to go out next Friday night but I’m going to save time and make something to eat here. Better yet, we’ll do takeout.

  Elizabeth

  Chapter Three

  Kevin sat back in his chair, staring at the latest return email from Elizabeth Winters.

  If you don’t mind, I’d rather eat at my place. Can we do takeout?

  Elle

  Hot damn! He deleted his first response asking if clothing was optional and then his second one, which began as a letter to Penthouse Forum. Third time was a charm and it was all he could do not to wave his fist in the air and shout with excitement when her snail mail address came sailing back a few minutes later. Office cubicles didn’t offer a lot of privacy.

  He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he was this excited about a date. Yeah, it wasn’t usually a foregone conclusion that the night would end, or in this case begin between the sheets but it was more than that. Elle intrigued him. They’d been emailing back and forth since they’d met and he hadn’t been able to get her off his mind. She was smart, funny and damn sexy. Now that he knew how Friday night was going to roll, he was hard and aching. Again, not a great accessory for an office cubicle.

  God help him, it was only Wednesday.

  Wait, Wednesday? Well there was an instant killjoy. Shit. Not only was it Wednesday, it was the sixteenth, his dad’s birthday. He debated putting off the obligatory call until later that night but that would mean calling the house instead of his dad’s office.

  Only his dad wasn’t in the office today. Kevin left a message on voicemail and considered his options before dialing again. If his dad had taken the day off, he and Esther were probably out somewhere and Kevin could get away with leaving a message asking him to call.

  She answered on the third ring. Ten minutes and a dozen complaints later she finally took a breath.

  He jumped at the opportunity to end the hell. “Esther, I’m calling from work. Is my dad there?”

  “No. He said he wanted to play golf today even though he knows I don’t play. Now I’ll have to put in the effort and cook tonight instead of going out because I just know he’ll be too tired. If only the phone would stop ringing. You know, I don’t get this many calls on my birthday.”

  Ooh, double whammy. Esther was on fire today. “Please tell him I called. I have to get back to work now. Bye.”

  He flipped his phone shut and gave himself a minute to let the negativity roll off his back. He’d asked his dad once what he saw in Esther that made him marry her a year after Kevin’s mom had died. Even at the age of thirteen, he’d understood when the answer had been, “She’s nothing like your mom.” Yeah, his mom had been full of love and laughter, not complaints and bitterness. He’d tried for his dad’s sake, tried as both a kid and as an adult but there was no room and no kindness for anyone in Esther’s universe but herself.

  Every once in awhile he wondered if his dad regretted marrying her and swore his own wife would be full of love and laughter, not self-centered drama.

  Beware the drama queen.

  He turned to his computer screen, determined to get back to work. Elle’s email with her address was still up and he couldn’t help wondering if she’d dispatch Esther as quickly and easily as she had Glenda. Her confidence that night and in her emails was a total turn-on. Christ, what would she be like in bed?

  Whoa! Best not to think about that until he got home.

  James poked his head around his cubicle and asked if he were free for lunch. Kevin had just taken an unplanned break but what the hell. He wasn’t getting any work done anyway.

  “Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll be ready,” he said to James, hoping he wouldn’t need longer to be able to stand.

  * * * * *

  Elizabeth had made a tactical error. Kevin wasn’t due for another hour and she was completely ready. The condo was clean and she’d showered, shaved, put on her new dark lavender lacy underwear set and placed condoms on the nightstand. There were even local delivery menus on the coffee table. She’d washed three different-sized vases in case he brought flowers and had left the wine she’d bought unopened in case he brought a bottle.

  Did men still bring flowers or wine to a woman? Even if they did, would he, since it wasn’t a real date?

  Wow. She started laughing at herself right as the phone rang and that’s when she blew it again. She didn’t look to see who was calling before she picked up.

  “I’m going to be late with the girls’ tuition, so you’ll have to cover.”

  “Excuse me?” There’d been no greeting, no warning, no apology. Just Phil being an asshole.

  “I. Can’t. Pay. By. The end. Of. The month.” He spoke slowly, derision in every word.

  “Well, Phil. That’s. Just. Tough shit,” she responded in kind. “It’s your turn and you have a week and a half to come up with the money.”

  She was met with dead silence, another ploy to make her cave. Right. Heck, she preferred the silence and considered hanging up but that wouldn’t do the girls any good.

  He broke first, his tone a bit more cordial. “I didn’t want to have to tell you this but it’s for a medical reason.”

  Elizabeth couldn’t resist. “Oh? Did Tanya pop a boob?”

  “Actually, yes, one is leaking. Look, I just need you to cover this one and I’ll take the next two. Between what I have to pay you and my living expenses, I don’t have any choice. Do you think I wanted to make this call?”

  Oh, he was a real piece of work. She hadn’t asked for alimony. The money he paid her was child support and one hundred percent went toward the girls’ college expenses. He made a decent living and there was only one reason he was having trouble making ends meet. His barely legal wife took a lot of upkeep.

  Wait. Come to think of it, he also had decent health insurance.

  “Why isn’t insurance picking this up?” she asked.

  “It is.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  He sighed, irritated again. “They’re only paying to repair the leak. If they have to do the surgery anyway, we’re going for an upgrade.”

  The seconds ticked by in silence as Elizabeth absorbed what he was saying.

  Phil would have been wise to keep his mouth shut at that point but he knew he’d lost and in true asshole form, he was going to make it hurt. “Don’t let your jealousy override what’s best for our daughters. Bigger tits wouldn’t hurt but they wouldn’t help you in the sex department.”

  Son of a bitch! “Tuition is due in ten days, Phil. I doubt a judge would support your reason for delinquency any more than I will.” She hung up but the damage was done.

  There was only one place to go for a reset in such a short amount of time. She sent up a quick prayer that someone was around as she logged on to the Tempt the Cougar site.

  Phil called and like an idiot I picked up the phone before I realized it was him. I swear he must have radar. Ding! Elizabeth is planning to have sex and as always, it’s up to me to make sure she doesn’t enjoy it. Let’s see, which cut is best for the occasion…let’s go with a mix of boobs and overall performance this time. You want to know what he said? Drumroll, please…

  “Bigger tits wouldn’t hurt but they wouldn’t help you in the sex department.”

 
Okay, I know he’s an asshole. I know he’s just saying these things to get to me but I’ve only had sex with one other guy. It was before Phil and it wasn’t great either. It just kind of…was, like with Phil.

  Shit. Kevin is due here in forty-five minutes. Do I really have what it takes to satisfy a man, let alone a hot younger man?

  Forty-four minutes to detox from the ex…

  Elizabeth

  A watched pot took longer to boil and watched emails tended to poof, so Elizabeth forced herself to walk away from the computer for five whole minutes. The first stop was at the full-length mirror on the back of her closet door.

  There was nothing wrong with what she saw. She wasn’t vain but she wasn’t ugly. She wasn’t what she would call stunning either but she could still hold her own. Her shoulder-length brown hair had body and she’d added golden highlights when it was time to start covering some gray. That brought out the topaz in her brown eyes, which she considered her best feature. Good genes and careful makeup application took care of any major wrinkles, though the crow’s feet and lines on her forehead were certainly more pronounced when she smiled or laughed.

  Her body had held up well on the surface too. She knew how to dress to accentuate her long waist and hide those few extra pounds at her hips and thighs. For tonight she had chosen a fitted bronze blouse with buttons down the front over casual black slacks that zipped up the side. She was barefoot and jewelry free.

  None of that was the problem.

  Would she be as attractive in the nude, especially to a younger man? Had Kevin ever slept with a woman who’d had children? Whose breasts displayed the aftereffects of nursing and gravity?

  As a nurse consistently exposed to the frailties of life, Elizabeth firmly believed one needed to be grateful for and take care of the body one was given. She’d started out her married life looking forward to having children with a loving a man who would consider the resulting stretch marks and gravity changes as part of the journey.

  Unfortunately, she hadn’t married such a man.

  She’d thought so at first. Even in the beginning their sex life hadn’t been everything she’d hoped for but it was enough. Looking back now she could recognize those first subtle digs for what they were. Nothing she did was quite right and required corrective “tutoring” from him. Once she gave birth to their second child, Phil barely touched her. Between the demands of two kids under the age of three, the house, plus her nursing career, she’d been too busy to care.