good news was that she had stopped crying. The bad was that she looked at him and their gazes locked, and suddenly it was hard to breathe. One moment they were staring at each other, the next he was kissing her. And she was kissing him back!
She opened her mouth and he didn’t hesitate to accept the invitation. Their tongues dueled and breathing escalated. He threaded his fingers into her hair as their bodies strained even closer. She could feel that he wanted her and she wanted him, too.
“Leo...” There was no mistaking the pleading in her voice.
“Are you sure?” His eyes darkened with intensity as he searched her gaze. “Maybe this isn’t—”
“Don’t say it.”
Right this second she didn’t feel sad or lonely and holding on to that bubble of painlessness was vital. For as long as it lasted, she wanted passion to cancel out the grief. She didn’t want to think about anything but this. She tugged him closer to the booth and her butt bumped up against the table. Leo lifted her onto it but there was still a question in his eyes.
“Yes,” was the single word she said.
That was all he wanted to hear. As she leaned back onto the table, he slid the hem of her black dress up and hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties. Quickly he slipped them down her thighs, over her knees, letting them fall down her legs until she kicked them off.
And then he was inside of her, filling her completely. There was no room for thinking; all she could do was feel and take what he offered. He moved slowly, thrusting in and out until she wrapped her legs around his hips to draw him in deeper. One more push and the knot of tension in her belly dissolved as pleasure roared through her. When her shuddering stopped, he thrust one more time and then went still, groaning with the power of his own release.
Tess lay there with her eyes closed. She could feel Leo standing between her legs, palms flat on the table. The only sound in the room was their mingled breathing slowly returning to normal. She didn’t want to move. She didn’t want to talk. She just wanted to hold on to the haze of pleasure and forgetfulness he’d given her.
“Tess?”
And the glow was gone. She opened her eyes and let him take her hands to help her sit up. He smoothed her dress over her thighs and bent to pick up her panties from the wooden floor.
He held them out. “I don’t know what to say.”
It was the first time she’d ever seen him less than cocky and self-assured. That was a surprise. “Just don’t say you’re sorry.”
“Should I be?”
“No.”
“Are you?” he asked. “Sorry about it?”
“It never happened.” She so didn’t want to talk about this. “You were never here. I don’t want to hear about it. We will never speak of this again. And I don’t want to ever hear anyone else talk about it. Is that clear?”
“With women nothing is ever clear,” he said.
“Then let me point out that I’m not crying anymore.” A vision of what she must look like flashed through her mind because she had ugly-cried. Snot and tears and sobs, oh my. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“At least you weren’t alone.”
“It would have been so much better if I was.” Oh, dear God, what had she done?
“So you do regret it.” His mouth pulled tight for a moment.
“No. It never happened.”
“Or do you regret that it was me?”
She didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Although he didn’t seem to extend that courtesy to the plethora of women he took up with and threw away like used tissues. Still, he’d been considerate enough to pay his respects to her grandfather. Pat had always told her to be nice to Leo. He’s not a bad guy. Tess could pull it together just this once. After all, there was nothing like hot, unexpected sex to take your mind off grief.
“Leo, it’s just that you and I are like oil and water.”
“A minute ago we mixed just fine,” he said, the cockiness back in all its glory.
“Nothing happened,” she reminded him. But heat crept into her cheeks and if there was a God in heaven, Leo couldn’t see it in the dim light. Suddenly she was exhausted and her eyes felt puffy and sore from crying. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to be alone.”
“Whatever you want.” For a second it looked as if he would say more, but then didn’t. He straightened his clothes and went to the front door, steps away. After opening it he said, “See you, Tess.”
“When hell freezes over,” she whispered, locking the dead bolt behind him.
* * *
Six weeks later Leo was surprised when Tess called and asked him to stop by the bar. Where “it” had never happened. He was on his way there now and very curious about what was on her mind. After the night of Pat’s funeral, he’d avoided The Pub, respecting Tess’s wishes. But he missed the place, missed the older man who’d been more like a father to him than his own.
She wouldn’t talk about whatever it was on the phone but he figured she wanted to discuss investing in her business. Not long before he died, Pat had told him it was in trouble and the best hope of saving it for Tess was to take on a partner. He’d heard what she said when he left after the memorial and figured hell must have frozen over. Her call came out of the blue and the only reason she would speak to him was finances.
He pulled his car into the nearly empty lot outside The Pub. The only other vehicle was a small, fuel-efficient one that had a few years on it. Probably Tess’s. Anticipation hummed through him and adrenaline started to flow. Not unlike the way he used to feel before a hockey game.
After parking, he turned off the car and exited. “Let’s see what the lady has to say.”
He walked to the door, where the Closed sign was displayed. Peeking inside, he saw Tess behind the old-fashioned wooden bar with a brass foot rail. She was wiping everything down.
Leo would have to be a moron to miss the fact that she didn’t like him very much. Other than his ex-wife, who was a lying bitch, Tess was the only woman who’d given him the cold shoulder. Maybe he couldn’t get her off his mind because she was a challenge. Without hockey to consume his competitive nature, he was channeling it to her.
That was as good an explanation as any because she wasn’t his type. She was pretty enough, but not the kind of woman who gave men whiplash turning to stare. But there was something fresh and appealing about her brown hair and eyes, something friendly and inviting. For everyone but him. Until that night he’d never made a move on her. Why waste time on a woman who showed no sign of ever warming up when an abundance of ladies lined up to be photographed on his arm?
Except she did warm up to him that night. She could pretend it never happened, but he had the scorch marks to prove her wrong.
Time to get his head on straight and talk business.
