Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

H utton

My phone vibrates on the kitchen counter for the hundredth time this afternoon. I ignore it like I did every time before. By the time the sun went down, the roads weren't yet cleared and we successfully tired ourselves out before Henry even hinted at slowing down. Not even a carb-heavy pasta dinner made his eyelids droop. Thankfully, Rae, being more youthful than this forty-year-old, volunteered to show him how to make sugar cookies. No one burned themselves or dropped from a sugar overdose. At least two dozen cookies are sitting out on the counter, fully cooled off and ready for icing before bedtime.

"Are you ever going to get that? I think this Dom person might send out a search party soon." Rae lifts her gaze from where she's getting the icing ready. Henry neighs in the living room, lost in his imaginary world playing horses.

"Dom can fuck off," I mutter, feeling guilty for not answering my agent, but also feeling a bit stubborn about wanting just a few days to get lost in something not related to my career. After twenty years of constant song writing, recording, touring, and appearing at all the events, I think I'm owed a few days off.

Rae laughs and puts down the bag of icing. "Wow. I didn't know you had it in you."

"What? To ignore my agent?" Her smile is intoxicating. Not a swipe of makeup and she's still prettier than any woman in Hollywood. Seeing her so patient with my son is making me forget we practically just met. She fits in so nicely with us that it feels like I've known her longer.

Rae shakes her head and the little wisps of hair around her face go flying. She looks like an angel with the doe eyes and light blonde hair. Until you get to the full-sleeve tattoos of skulls, flowers, and rolling sunsets. Then she just looks so hot you want to get up close and personal with her to find out what percentage of her is angel versus outlaw.

"No! I've never heard you drop an f-bomb." She saunters a little closer with a grin on her face, stopping between my feet as I lean back against the kitchen counter. "Didn't think my good ol' country boy had it in him to curse."

She's teasing me, but the possessive way she phrased it has testosterone coursing through my veins. I want to make her say it again, emphasis on "my."

I reach out and pull on her sweater, making the wide V-neck top of it gape away from her body. With this view from above, I can see the tops of a lacy black bra. "There's a few other things this good ol' country boy would like to do," I offer in a low voice, enjoying the way her eyes light up and her teeth bite down on her lower lip.

"You know," she begins with an eyebrow waggle, making me think the outlaw is definitely a higher percentage than the angel. "Now that the power's back on, Henry can sleep in the guest room."

I like where this is going. "And where would I sleep?" I tug harder and she falls into me, her palms pressing into my chest.

"Anywhere you'd like." Her smile is straight sin and I have zero worries about landing on anyone's naughty list this season. Not when I have very few days left before the real world comes crashing in and I leave Snowhaven behind forever.

"Sugar nookies!" Henry shouts, barreling into the kitchen and prompting us to jump away from each other.

Rae's cheeks stay pink, even as she busies herself handing Henry a tube of frosting and adjusting a chair so he can reach the counters. I stay where I am, trying to get myself back under control. Rae leans down and ruffles Henry's hair, showing him how to squeeze the tube and cautioning him to be gentle. My son's a handful, I know this, but I love his energy, his excitement, his enthusiasm to see the world. I can imagine it's not easy to deal with a little boy with that much energy when he's not yours and yet Rae doesn't complain. Doesn't even seem to mind when he roughhouses with her like he does me.

"I messed up!" Henry bawls, slapping down the tube of icing. His lower lip starts to tremble.

I step forward, but Rae is already comforting him, sliding an arm around his shoulders. "It's okay, Henry. We all mess up. Have you heard of the phrase happy accident ?"

He stares up at her, forgetting about the tears that were threatening to spill out of his eyes. She continues, expertly swiping up the icing that spilled over onto the counter while she speaks.

"There was this man who painted canvases on television. Can you imagine people watching you paint?" She laughs. "So much pressure to get it right and make it pretty. He'd make mistakes, of course, because everyone does. He would just look at the camera and smile, calling it a happy accident. He'd go back to painting and somehow make the mistake look like part of the design." She pats his back and hands him the icing tube again. "Sometimes accidents lead to an amazing result. Don't be afraid to mess up."

He grins up at her and then gets busy applying more icing to the cookies, his little tongue trapped between his lips in concentration. I stare at Rae's profile and wonder how I ran into her. One might call our meeting the other night a happy accident. I want to know more about her, listen to her stories and wisdom. Hell, I really want to watch her paint. Something tells me she'd be even sexier in her element, paint splattered all over her and ideas dancing in her brain.

I want to stay.

It's not even a complete thought before I latch on to it with a fervor that should scare me. I watch her and Henry decorating sugar nookies and all I want to do is stay in this little kitchen in Snowhaven, Idaho.

"You going to help, cowboy, or just watch?"

I look up to see Rae smiling at me, a tube of green icing extended in my direction. I take it and step forward, joining the cookie-decorating activity until Henry's eyes droop and he lets me carry him to bed in the guest room.

When Henry's soft snores fill the room, I tiptoe out and shut the door, heading for Rae's bedroom with hope her earlier invitation hasn't been rescinded. I wouldn't blame her a bit if she claimed to be tired and needed some rest. Five-year-olds will do that to a person. A thousand thoughts run through my head as I stalk down the hallway lined with a few of Rae's paintings and I clear them all. This doesn't have to mean anything and it doesn't have to extend beyond this quick trip to Idaho. I've been feeling restless lately, and while a woman's not the answer to life's questions, indulging in something that feels good can't hurt either.

The door's open and Rae's got her back to me, pulling down the blue-and-white quilt on her bed. Her dark blue jeans are painted onto her legs, highlighting every curve that pressed against me the last two nights, torturing me. The sexy sweater, this one in a deep forest green, as pretty as it is, needs to go. I clear my throat and she whirls around.

"I was going to take a quick shower now that the water had a chance to heat again." She hooks a thumb, pointing at her adjoining bathroom.

"Need a shower partner?" I haven't showered in two days. "I'm particularly good with shampooing hair."

She grins and waves me in as she heads to the bathroom. As soon as I clear the doorway in the tiny space, she reaches around me and closes the door, locking it. The shower is a simple white subway tile with a sliding glass door over a bathtub. The counters are gleaming white-and-gray granite, the fixtures all looking new.

"I, uh, renovated the bathroom myself last year. Took forever." She rolls her pretty brown eyes. "Remind me never to take up tiling again."

I grin and reach for her, laying my hands on her hips and pulling her close. While I've ridden a few horses in my day, and even try my hand at herding some cows on occasion just to say I still got it, I've never had the inclination to renovate my own house. This pint-sized woman surprises me.

"I'm impressed, sugar," I drawl, imagining her in a tool belt and nothing else.

She slides her hands up my chest, around my neck, and into my hair. "Don't be too impressed. Had to call a plumber to come fix the sink I screwed up. And given my ex-husband is the only plumber in town, it was extra humiliating."

I wince. "If you're going to bring up your ex-husband, how about we talk about that hall pass list you had. Was I the only one on it?"

I dip my head, bringing our lips within centimeters of each other. Her eyelids flutter but I don't get any closer. For some reason I need to hear her admit that she's as into this as I am.

Her fingers tighten in my hair and her eyes take on a gleam. "Not only were you the only one on it, I never made a hall pass list again. Far as the universe knows, you're my only wish."

That does it. Not even Santa landing his sled on the roof right now could pull me away from this woman. I slam my lips on hers and it quickly turns into something desperate. Spending all day with my son as a tiny cock blocker has fanned the flames of attraction between us. Rae opens, meeting me thrust for thrust, our tongues exploring and giving as much as they take.

I back her up until she clangs against the shower door. I break away just long enough to reach down and strip that offending sweater over her head. It hits the floor somewhere behind me and her bra isn't far behind. As pretty as the lacy number is, it's the woman underneath I want to get to. She's not well endowed or enhanced through plastic surgery like every woman I've ever dated since my music hit it big. She's fucking perfect. Her dusky-pink nipples pucker up so pretty, practically begging for my mouth. Rae's fingers tighten to the point of pain in my hair as I dip my head and suck the first tight bud into my mouth. I flick it with my tongue, loving the way she lets out a sexy moan. I cup her flesh and move to the other side to give it equal attention.

Rae lets go of my hair to grab at my shirt, tugging at the material until my mouth is forced off her breast and she rips the damn thing over my head with little regard to my ears. I grin, taking in the pink marks on her skin from my hands and mouth, along with the crazed look in her eyes. Instead of diving back in, I work on the button of her jeans, slowing things down. I want to enjoy every single second with this woman. I hold her gaze as I lower the zipper, the sound of the teeth disengaging echoing off the tile walls. She tilts her head back and reaches up to take the band out of her hair, letting it tumble down her back in a blonde cascade of waves.

"You're fuckin' beautiful," I whisper, my voice low and reverent. Her waist dips in slightly before flaring over hips I expose as I push the jeans down her thighs. I squat down to complete the job, her hands resting on my shoulders for balance as she steps out of the jeans. I look up at her, taking in the curves I've gotten a glimpse of only through clothes.

It's when my gaze finds the giant cartoon Santa pictured on the front of her red underwear that the moment is broken. I grin from ear to ear, reading the slogan above his head, Naughty is the New Nice . My ex-wife wouldn't have been caught dead in underwear like that, preferring the lacy kind that cost a million dollars.

"I love the underwear, sugar," I drawl, getting to my feet.

Rae smiles, not looking at all embarrassed about her underwear choice. "Some of the old ladies in town make these underwear and sell them as a fundraiser. Gotta support a fellow artist, you know?"

My hands grip her hips, then trace over her waist to cup her breasts and then sweep higher to cup her jawline. "I'd like to support my local artist too."

Her grin turns saucy as we tease each other. "If you mean me, I'm happy to receive the support. Just tell me where you'd like me, Mr. Calder."

My chest rumbles, hearing her call me that. Rae's playful, fun, wise beyond her years, patient…and so fucking hot we might have to make this a cold shower so I can hold out. I let go and reach around her to slide the shower door open and crank the faucet. I turn back and shuck off my jeans and boxers in one fluid motion.

Her gaze immediately drops to the erection I've been trying to hide for two days now. She licks her lips and I groan, turning to step into the shower.

"Get in here, sugar, so I can make good on my shampooing claims."

Rae steps in, completely naked and I get my first look at her. I spin us both around and put her under the spray that's only lukewarm right now. She yelps, but doesn't jump out. I push the water and hair out of her eyes and grab what I hope is the shampoo bottle from a small shelf built into the tile wall. She lets me shampoo her hair, leaning into my chest and tipping her head back as the water warms. Her skin is velvety soft and slippery as the water rains down on her. My erection is not getting the memo that I want to get her clean before he gets involved. He pokes her repeatedly and there's not a damn thing I can do about it.

As I rinse the shampoo out, Rae slides a soapy hand around my dick and strokes me from base to tip. I see stars and a grunt slips out. Her eyes flick open and she grins, insanely proud to take the upper hand.

I forget the water and lean down to kiss her. "What position did you see yourself in when taking advantage of your hall pass?" I ask against her lips.

She strokes me again and I feel an urgent need to move this along before she finishes me off and I need a good half hour before I can even think of making it good for her.

"I didn't really have a position in mind," she admits. "I just wanted you to make me feel good."

I dip my head. "I can do that." I lift her up and she wraps her legs around my waist as I lean her against the wall. I line us up and freeze.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

I want to beat my head against this shower wall. "No condom," I manage to say through clenched teeth. I haven't slept with a woman in awhile. All that stopped when I got married and barely started again after our quickie divorce. I haven't exactly been trusting of any woman since Holly. Rae's fingers slide through my wet hair and she tugs on the strands until I look at her.

"Got one in my bag." She shoots me a wink.

Fuck, this woman is amazing. A goddamn treasure. I set her down on her feet and spin to open the door to retrieve the bag she left on the floor. I rip open the package and quickly slide it on before coming back to the bathroom and hoisting her back up.

"Let's make a bet," I say, feeling genuinely happy for the first time in a long while. "I'll make you scream my name before the hot water runs out."

Rae's eyes practically twinkle. "What are we betting?"

"A Christmas present. Has to be handmade."

"You're on, cowboy."

I sink into her warm heat in one forceful stroke, my knees threatening to buckle at how good she feels wrapped tightly around me. "Nope, I'm in ," I quip to myself, thinking that would make one hell of a song lyric.