Wrapped Up in You Read online

  Brandon had cleaned up.

  And then bounced.

  He’d promised he’d stay only one night and he’d kept that promise. And at the thought, she felt both relieved and inexplicably sad.

  Chapter 19

  Just one more. Okay, two more. Three.

  Ivy dragged herself to kickboxing class, where, not surprisingly, she got her ass handed to her by Tina.

  “Your head’s not in the game,” Tina yelled.

  True story.

  Class had started with a warm-up and would end with a cooldown, but in between were several rounds of high intensity intervals. That’s where they were at the moment, with Haley on one side and Sadie on the other, the three of them seriously lagging.

  “Ladies,” Tina called out. “When the going gets tough, ask yourself—what would Tina do? And then get your damn head in the game.”

  Haley, who’d had a few more dates with Dee and was looking happier than any of them had ever seen her, whimpered. “This is what I get for being a sex fiend. I’m too tired to get my head in the game.”

  Sadie bent over at her knees to suck in air. “I’m . . . going to have to tell Caleb . . . that we can’t do it on the nights . . . I’ve got kickboxing class the next morning.”

  “Ladies!” Tina called out. “If you can’t do it all night long and then handle this class the next morning, then I’m doing something wrong. Let’s start over, from the top. One-two punch, jab, cross, and front kick. And . . . repeat!”

  They all groaned and got to work.

  Life at the taco truck that day was insanely busy, but thanks to Jenny’s help, everything ran smoothly. The rain held off until Ivy had just started to walk home. In two blocks, she was soaking wet and frozen solid thanks to once again forgetting her umbrella.

  Halfway home, Kel called.

  “Hey, Trouble. How was your day?”

  She found herself smiling for absolutely no reason. “Long.”

  “Yeah? You got enough left in you for dinner?”

  She paused. Not because she didn’t want to see him. She wanted that quite shockingly badly. “I’m wet, which means I’ll have to change. And once I take off my bra, I won’t want to go anywhere.”

  His voice lowered to a sexy timbre. “Even better.”

  She laughed. “Okay, so you’re definitely a guy.”

  “Thought I proved that last night.”

  “Did you?” she asked innocently. “That was hours and hours ago and I’m not sure I can remember.”

  He paused. “You’re flirting with me.”

  “Am I?”

  “New plan,” he said.

  “What’s that?”

  “Leave your panties off too.”

  Suddenly she wasn’t cold anymore. In fact, she was downright toasty hot as she disconnected and stared at her phone, pulse racing.

  A flash of lightning had her quickly entering her building, and as she began to climb the three flights of stairs, she fantasized about all the things they might do to each other . . .

  In the hallway in front of her door she stopped, and dripping a puddle around her feet, she took the extra beat to study her lock. Yes, she was flustered as hell, and also quite turned on. But she wasn’t stupid.

  The tape was not in place. Instead, it hung off the jamb about an inch from the floor. But for the life of her, she couldn’t remember if she’d taken the time to set it before she’d left that morning.

  Which meant she had no idea if someone—Brandon—had helped himself inside. Holding her breath, she unlocked the door and nudged it open with her foot, carefully peering in just as thunder boomed dramatically. But storms had never scared her.

  People scared her.

  One of the good things about living in two hundred and fifty square feet was that she could see her entire place in a single sweeping glance.

  It was empty.

  Still, she stayed on guard as she stepped inside and shut and locked the door behind her. Everything seemed exactly as she’d left it and she let out a long breath.

  For the first time in his entire life, Brandon had really done what he’d promised and left. She tossed her purse to the couch and began to strip on her way to the bathroom and the hot shower she’d been dreaming about all day long. She was soaked to the bone and her clothes were stuck to her wet body. As she pulled them off, they hit the floor with a thunk.

  She was at the bathroom door when her phone rang. It was Kel. “I miss you,” he said in greeting.

  She felt a ridiculously goofy smile curve her mouth. “Prove it.”

  “I’m outside your door with dinner.”

  She grabbed a small throw from the back of the couch. Wrapping herself up, she opened the door a crack, letting just part of her face show. “What’s for dinner?”

  His gaze slid southbound from her face. “You.”

  Liking that answer a lot more than she should, she stepped back enough to let him in, watching him shut and lock the door behind him. “Is your brother still here?” he asked.

  “Nope, and if past habits are anything to go by, I won’t see him again for a few years.”

  Nodding, he turned and took in the sight of her from head to toe.

  “I’m still wet,” she said softly.

  His eyes darkened. “Are you?”

  She shivered, and not from cold this time. Outside, the rain pummeled the roof and slashed at the windows. Inside, she was nearly overheating.

  “Come here, Ivy,” he murmured, setting the bag in his hand down and reaching for her. “I’m . . . starving.”

  Laughing, she held him off with a hand to the chest, which had her throw slipping a little bit, giving a quick free peep show that had him stepping into her and wrapping her up in his arms.

  “And what if I’m . . . starving?” she asked.

  Lightly tugging her wet hair so that she tipped up her face, he kissed her. A soft hello at first, which quickly turned into something else entirely. “Tell me now if you meant for food,” he said huskily.

  “I didn’t mean for food,” she said and tugged him to the couch.

  He sank into the cushions, pulling her to stand between his spread thighs. And then, holding her gaze in his, he unwrapped her from the throw like he was unwrapping a most precious gift.

  When the throw hit the floor, he let out a low groan at the sight of her. “You take my breath,” he murmured in that voice that removed the knees from her legs. Cupping her bare ass in his hands, he urged her a little closer, taking his hot, wet, talented mouth on a tour. When he added his wickedly clever and diabolical fingers, she gasped and spread her legs to give him better access, which he took in such an erotic, sensual measure that she gasped again. “My legs . . . I can’t stand.”

  His mouth busy at her breast, he tugged her so that she fell into him, arranging her so that she was straddling him, the inside of her thighs hugged up to the outside of his. And when he spread his wide, hers went with them.

  “Please,” she whispered, rocking into him, not even sure what she was asking. “Oh, please . . .”

  Luckily he seemed to be able to read her mind because he pulled a condom from his pocket and handed it to her while he unbuttoned and unzipped and freed his essentials.

  And goodness, his essentials.

  She knew he liked slow and thorough to the point of torture, but she needed him now, so she rolled on the condom, rose up on her knees, and sank down over him.

  His hands went to her hips, his fingers digging as his head went back, his eyes closing as he swore roughly beneath his breath. She knew exactly what he was feeling, because she was feeling it too, and it was so delicious, so . . . perfect, she needed more. So she began to move, wrenching some more low, reverent swearing from deep in his throat.

  “You feel so good, Ivy. Too good. You’ve got to slow down or it’ll be over before—”

  She didn’t slow down. She couldn’t help it. There was something unbelievably erotic about being completely nude while he was sti