Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

O h crap, what did she do?

Slept with her sex god of a fiancé that's what. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem for most people, but there was nothing normal about this whole… thing she and Del were doing.

Was her heart pounding this loud because of the physical activity she'd just enjoyed or because of the person who just gave her the most amazing orgasm of her life? The frantic organ felt like it was about to burst right out of her chest with all its manic thumping.

Her inner self was having a bit of a panic attack. Good thing she kept it cool as a cucumber on the outside.

"I'll be right back." His lips pressed a soft kiss to the back of her neck. "Feel free to continue freaking out about all this while I'm gone."

Okay, so maybe not as cool as she thought. Del rose from the bed, heading to the bathroom. Once he closed the door, she grabbed one of her pillows and held it to her face, letting out the frantic screech she'd been holding in since the moment she came down from her post-orgasmic high. What they'd just done had been a mistake of colossal proportions, but she knew if she went back she'd do it all over again because, damn!

Who knew Del had moves like that? Her thighs still trembled—along with other, more intimate body parts. Had she ever been so fully sated after sex? No, at least, not that she could ever remember. Sex had always been fun and pleasant for her. She didn't always get to where she was going, and she'd sure as heck never had an orgasm as powerful and all-consuming as the one—ones, multiple —Del had given her.

What did it all mean?

The sound of the bathroom door opening had her flinging the pillow away. Del grinned as it landed on the end of the bed with a soft plop.

"Doing okay?"

Oh damn, he was still naked. She couldn't think when he stood there all sexy and bare and hard. She needed another minute to get a hold of his head— her head! She needed to figure this thing out not—oh, never mind. She couldn't even reason with herself at the moment. Not with six feet of leanly sculpted heavenly orgasm-giving goodness standing only feet away.

"My turn." Without further explanation she bounded off the bed and ran past him into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Rude? A little bit, but she couldn't even handle talking right now, let alone being polite.

A soft chuckle sounded from the other side of the door. "You take your time, Sassy. I'll just go make some coffee."

"And put some clothes on!" Shoot, she hadn't meant to say that. It revealed her weakness. Something Del would, no doubt, use against her. He said nothing, but she heard a laugh from outside the bathroom before his footsteps walked away.

Slumping against the door, she smacked her head on the hard wood a few times, trying to knock the sense back into herself. No luck. She'd lost her head, done something amazing but stupid, and now she'd just have to face the repercussions. Whatever they may be.

Turning on the shower, she handled her morning business while she waited for the water to heat. Once the spray reached a comfortable temperature, she stepped inside. The hot jets pounded her shoulders. She let the water wash away her worries, the tense muscles un-bunching under the pressure. Finally, she came to the conclusion that what was done was done and fretting about it did no good. After all, they were both consenting adults. They could handle this situation maturely.

Hopefully.

She finished her shower, towel drying her hair and stepping into a fresh pair of jeans and a soft, cotton T-shirt. The delicious aroma of freshly brewed coffee hit her nose as she left her bedroom and headed down the hall into the kitchen. Del stood at her stove, chest bare, but bottom half covered in his jeans, thank goodness. She wasn't above admitting a naked Del made her forget everything.

"Coffee smells good."

"I have a cup all ready for you on the table, cream and sugar."

He knew how she took her coffee? Her heart melted a bit. Stupid heart.

"Breakfast will be ready soon."

"You're making breakfast?" Color her surprised. She'd never had a man make her a meal before. Not one of her exes ever cooked.

"Nothing fancy." He shrugged. "Just some scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. I also cut you up some fruit. I know you like to start the day with something sweet."

She paused on her way to the table. He took care of her when she got sick last night, gave her multiple mind-blowing orgasms this morning, fixed her coffee the way she liked, made her breakfast, and remembered she liked fruit in the mornings. The tiny bit of melting turned into a full out puddle. Dammit! How was she supposed to keep her fake fiancé at a distance when he kept being so darn sweet?

"Thank you." She sat at the table, picking up her coffee mug without thought and taking a sip. Mmm. He even made great coffee.

"Here you go." He set a plate piled high with food in front of her, then placed another at the opposite end of the table and took a seat.

She glanced at the mountain of food before her and laughed. "I think you seriously overestimated how much I can eat."

"Or maybe I'm just trying to stock up your energy reserve for later." He winked.

"Del, I think we should talk about what happened this morning."

The happy smile disappeared from his face, fork full of fluffy scrambled eggs pausing on the way to his mouth. "You're not going to say something stupid like ‘it was a mistake' are you? Because I don't think the fingernail impressions you left on my back would agree with that statement."

Her face heated. "No."

"No what?"

"It wasn't a mistake."

He smiled, shoving the bite of food into his mouth and nodding. "Good."

"But I do think we need to discuss what this means for our…situation."

"Why does it have to mean anything?"

"Beg pardon?"

He took a bite of toast, thinking through his words carefully before he spoke "We're both adults and unattached. Why can't we keep enjoying what we're doing? The whole town thinks we're engaged anyway. This just adds another layer of validity to our plan. Like a fiancés-with-benefits type thing."

"Don't real fiancés already get benefits?"

"Yes, but as you've pointed out, many times, we aren't real. It's all just pretend."

"Except the sex?" She didn't know why she was pushing on this, but she couldn't stop herself.

"Well, yeah. The sex is real, but that doesn't mean it has to complicate things."

"So, we can just, what? Make it casual? Sex for fun?"

He grinned, tearing off a piece of bacon with his teeth. "Now you're getting it."

Yeah, she got it all right. So why didn't she like it? Del was right. Nothing about their relationship was real. Why did she have this clawing pain in her chest? Why was she so angry he wasn't taking the physical aspect of their relationship more seriously? Wasn't this what she wanted? No strings sex? She thought so. Perhaps this funk she felt came from the oddness of the whole thing.

She'd never had sex outside of a long-term relationship before. This could be a new experience. Something fun and outrageous. Marrying your best friend's little brother just to fulfill a codicil in a will was outrageous enough, why not add casual sex in the mix?

She decided to change the subject before her brain exploded from overthinking. "Tell me more about your restaurant plans."

"It's going to be great. I have the whole thing planned out. We'll stick to lunch and dinner hours but keep it more casual than The Pine so people can come for an everyday type meal. Plus, we'll be serving drinks with Jack's liquor so it will stimulate the distillery."

Del smiled, not his flirty panty dropping grin, but a genuine happy smile. It looked good on him. She ate the delicious breakfast he prepared while listening to his plans. It seemed like a great idea. The restaurant sounded fun, family friendly, but also a great date night place. Kismet could use another eatery, especially one that catered to the everyday meal. She loved watching Del's face light up as he explained his ideas for menus and special cocktails. She had no idea the man had such a passion hidden inside his fun-guy exterior.

"Wow. It sound's like you've thought of everything."

"Thanks. I've been working on it for over a year."

"You have?"

Broad, bare shoulders shrugged. "It was my senior project last year."

His eyes widened as if he couldn't believe he'd let that slip.

"Senior project?"

"Um, yeah." He grabbed his coffee, staring intently at the contents of the mug as he answered. "I started taking some classes at Metro a couple years ago to finish my BA. Mostly online, but I drove into Denver for a few also. Finished up this past spring."

"Delta." She stared at him, jaw dropping in astonishment. "That's amazing."

Taking a sip of his coffee, he placed the mug on the table and grimaced. "Not really. Finishing a bachelor's degree at twenty-nine? Hardly anything amazing about that. Most people have a master's by that age."

No, they didn't. She didn't have a master's and she was thirty-one. It killed her to see him belittle his accomplishments. Reaching across the table, she grasped his hand. "Does your family know?"

"That I went back to school?" He shook his head. "No. What would be the point?"

Seriously? "They'd be proud of you, Del."

"No. They think I'm a screw-off. A jokester. Good for nothing but slinging drinks."

She squeezed his hand, heart breaking a little. "They don't think that."

"Yeah, they do. And they're right to."

"No, they're not. You don't give yourself enough credit."

Curious eyes stared at her as he raised a brow. "Oh, really?"

"Yes, really. You're smart and caring and a hard worker." She could tell by the doubt in his eyes he didn't believe her. "Everyone has a different path in life. Some walk a straight road and others take a few detours."

"You read that on an inspiration poster, didn't you."

"I'm serious, Del," she growled, trying to pull her hand away, but he held her tight, refusing to let go. His teasing disappeared, expression turning serious.

"I know, and thanks, for your belief in me. It means a lot."

She shook her head at the stubbornness of the Jackson family. "They'd be proud of you, Del, just like I am."

"I suppose I should have told them I was going back to school, but…" He sighed, one hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. "I guess I didn't want them to know until I actually finished something. Had the degree, ya know? And then when I had it…didn't seem like anything to make a fuss over. I just graduated with a BA. I didn't cure cancer or anything."

He was embarrassed. She knew him and the entire Jackson family well enough to see that Del felt his accomplishment wasn't anything to be celebrated in his overachieving family. It hurt her heart to see him dismiss his achievements because he was afraid his family wouldn't be proud. She knew they would.

"You're a good man."

"Good?" He gave a dramatic sigh. "I've been downgraded. Just this morning I believe the term you used was Sex God. Isn't that right, Sassy?" He winked, eyes heating with lust.

And just like that his teasing smile came back. Guess they were done with the deep feelings part of the morning. Just as well. After being intimate in bed, the last thing her heart needed was to be emotionally intimate with this man.

She shook her head with a little laugh. "It's only been an hour. Surely you're not still up for it?"

His gaze pointed down, and when she leaned over to look she saw he was indeed up for it. Her body shivered with anticipation. Usually she was good for weeks off one orgasm, but with Del it seemed she couldn't get enough. The cat was already out of the bag, so there was no sense in trying to fit it back in. Besides, they'd discussed keeping things casual and it did add a sense of realness to their marriage lie. What could be the harm in indulging themselves?

My heart.

No. She could not think like that. She would not fall for Del, no matter how sweet or caring or sexy the guy was.

"What do you say, Cassie?" Del brought their joined hands up to his mouth, brushing his lips across her knuckles. "You in?"

Yes, please. Her body trembled at the feel of those warm lips against her skin. She remembered how they felt on other, more private places and her cheeks heated with a flush.

"I say we better get more condoms because we only have three left."

His grin widened into a full out smile as he stood and pulled her up into his arms. "Then we better make good use of the ones we have and hit up the store later."

As he bent, mouth descending on hers, the small voice inside her head screamed she was making a huge mistake, but she blocked it out. At the moment she didn't care if having sex with Del led to trouble later. Right now, all she wanted was the hot press of his body against hers, the surging rush of pleasure he elicited with just a touch, the absolute rapture she felt when they joined.

"Come on, sweetheart," he whispered in her ear, lifting her into his arms and heading down the hall toward her bedroom. "Let's see if I can make you scream again."

"I did not scream." Her indignant tone came out as more of a breathy whisper because Del was doing marvelous things with his tongue against her neck and, oh hell, she totally did scream.

"Whatever you say, Sassy," he chuckled.

She said yes. Yes, to Del. Yes, to the real sex and fake marriage. And yes, to finally taking something for herself.