Plus, he was really good at kissing.

He traced her bottom lip with the tip of his tongue and then nipped hard enough to make her gasp. That’s when he barged right into her mouth and turned her knees to jelly.

And clearly, she needed to work as hard as he was working, so she hummed and sucked his tongue. He arched into her body, holding her tighter. She lost herself in him, in the way his hands felt on her body. In his taste as it filled her up and rendered her useless to think about anything else but his mouth on hers.

Out there, it was just the two of them. The stars overhead, the sound of the water, the breeze, Paddy and Natalie, and it was perfect, so she didn’t fight it.

That kiss slid into another and another until her head spun, and she clung to him, taking it in, savoring every moment until he finally broke away, though his arms remained around her.

“Yeah. So that was f**king awesome.”

She laughed as she tried to catch her breath.

“Do you want to go for a swim?”

“I didn’t bring a bathing suit.” Also, she sure as heck wasn’t going to wear some cast-off suit from another chick he brought out there.

“There’s no one around. You don’t need a suit.”

The sexual invitation in his voice wrapped around her, caressing, teasing.

“It’s been a really hot day. I’ve got fluffy towels and a shower here to rinse the river off if you want.”

He pulled his shirt off like a challenge.

“Live a little dangerously.”

He unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, easing them down, and she wasn’t surprised in the least that he didn’t have any underwear on. Or that he was really interested in that swim.

He followed her gaze to his c**k and looked back with a grin. “Yeah, well. You’re sort of irresistible. But I promise it’s just an invitation to swim. Not that I really don’t want to f**k you, because I do. But we’ll take it at your pace.”

He popped a cushion from a nearby couch free, revealing a stack of neatly folded towels. He pulled two out. “What do you say?”

She needed to say no. Needed to say she had work in the morning and should really go home.

But she found herself saying, “You go in first.”

With a grin, he jumped from the deck into the water with a splash. “I’ll even keep my back turned until you get in.”

She unbuttoned her dress, slid from it, her bra and panties, folded them and put them out of splash range and took a running jump from the boat into the river.

CHAPTER SIX

“SO, IT WENT GOOD, huh?” Tuesday paused to examine a pair of hand-beaded slippers. They’d headed to a craft fair in Portland and had sucked down coffee and sang along to the radio on the way.

“It was... Yeah, it was good. He made me dinner and wooed me a little.”

It had been a few days since the date, but she and Tuesday had barely connected between work and other stuff, so this was the first time they’d been able to talk about it all.

Tuesday put the slippers down, and they moved on, this time it was Natalie who paused to look at a framed photograph that had been hand-tinted. “Wow, this is fantastic.” She turned to Tuesday. “This would look perfect in the front hallway, don’t you think?”

Tuesday nodded, and Natalie bought it, tucking it carefully into the rolling cart she brought to fairs, green markets and swap meets.

“Did you sleep with him?”

Natalie snorted. “You’re so shy.”

“Whatever. Did you?”

Natalie shook her head. “Nope. We did get naked, but it was to swim. And it was dark so I saw some—well, okay a lot—when he just stripped off and jumped in.” A smile came unbidden, and because it was Tuesday, Natalie gave in. “Everything is how I left it last. We kissed a lot. He felt me up. But we got out, and I dried off and got dressed and so did he, and he brought me home.”

“Ugh. Lame. You said his c**k was still nice and sturdy, so what’s the story?”

Natalie laughed. “Sturdy?”

“Like a farm work truck, I’d imagine.”

This made Natalie laugh so hard they had to stop so she could get her breath. “You’re so broken and wrong, Tuesday. Thank goodness for you. We didn’t because I wasn’t ready.”

“Ready? You’ve already f**ked him. What’s the holdup? It’s not like you’re a virgin.”

“You should get laid yourself, since you’re so invested in what I’m doing. Jeez.”

“Mine are better,” Tuesday said in an undertone as they left the jewelry stall they’d stopped at.

“Duh.” This particular craft market had a wait list, and Tuesday was on it. Hopefully soon she’d be able to get a stall at some point.

Tuesday waved a hand. “Anyway, you like sex. He’s gorgeous. Why aren’t you ready?”

“I needed a little time and he gave it to me. That said a lot. We talked. We flirted. We kissed. It’s all good. The pace works. If he was only after me to f**k me, he won’t come around again.” Just as he had been concerned about people after him for his celebrity, she needed him to want more than sex from her.

“Ah. I get it. I guess that’s fair. If he passes your test and calls to ask you out again, will you go?”

Natalie couldn’t afford to lie to herself, and Tuesday would know it, anyway, and call her out. So she went with blunt. “Yeah, definitely. I like him. He’s funny and obviously talented. Plus he cooks.”