SLOW PLAY (7-Stud Club #4) - Christie Ridgway Page 0,66

not bad.”

I want to take care of you…for as long as you’ll let me.

She stepped out of the sunflowers and he froze, taking in that beautiful, battered face. Scabs, not blood, and she bore a blue bruise under one eye. This is what a heart attack feels like, he thought, his chest constricting, oxygen caught in his lungs.

Still, he couldn’t help but move toward her. She met him halfway, and they went into each other’s arms. Their mouths met.

She was going to leave, his good sense reminded him.

But not yet, the rest of him said. Not quite yet.

Let it ride.

Chapter Fourteen

Harper’s flushed, naked body twisted under Mad’s big hands, and she moaned as he caressed her everywhere. His mouth traced the line of her jaw then trailed down her neck, causing her to shiver and quake. “Harper,” he murmured. “You smell so good.” His teeth took a small nip and she jerked, pleasure flashing over her. “You taste even better.”

Her fingers slid into his smooth hair as he latched onto one of her nipples. His tongue laved the crest, causing it to bud into a tight, needy point. She dug her nails into his scalp. “More,” she moaned. “Harder.”

The edge of his teeth made her hips lift high and one of his hands pressed her back to the mattress, his palm a delicious, heavy weight on her mons. She gasped as his middle finger slid between the layers of flesh there, then gently teased from her clit to the entrance that ached for him. Her hips lifted again, and he made an appreciative sound low in his throat.

“Mad,” she whispered. “Never stop this.”

He lifted his head. “I won’t.” His gaze on her face, his lips lowered to kiss the hard tip of her nipple.

So good. She shivered again as he moved to the other breast, kissing and sucking there too.

“Mad,” she moaned. “Never let me go.”

Behind her, a horn honked.

Harper started, coming aware of her surroundings. Behind the wheel of her car. At the one stop light before the downtown blocks of Sawyer Beach. It had gone green now, and the truck behind her was encouraging her to press the gas pedal instead of the brake.

She did so, then pulled into the drugstore parking lot. Her errand took mere minutes, then she was heading back to her vehicle. Her gaze caught on the coffee place. Harry’s.

Sophie.

Harper decided to make a quick stop for a chat with the barista.

The breakfast rush appeared to be over and the lunch rush not yet begun, so she only had to wait for one customer before she could greet the barista and order a coffee.

“Hey, there.” Sophie smiled. “You look a little fuzzy around the edges, girlfriend. And you have a love bite.”

Harper’s hand flew up to her neck. She hadn’t noticed. “Didn’t we used to call them hickeys?”

“When we didn’t know how love hurts,” the other woman said, turning to make the drink. “What are you up to this fine day?”

“Did you hear about the crime ring that Mad broke up?” He’d told her in the garden, while she was still in his arms, still tingling from his kiss.

Sophie passed the to-go cup over. “Of course. No one gets out of here without leaving behind some local tittle-tattle.”

Harper smiled at that. “Well, that piece of tittle-tattle means that I’m wrapping up a few things and then heading back to Las Vegas.”

“Oh.” Sophie made a face. “It’s been so fun being friends again.”

“It has. Which means you must come visit me in Sin City.”

The barista brightened. “I’d like—” Her gaze shifted over Harper’s shoulder and a big smile overtook her face. She used her whole arm to wave.

Harper glance around and saw Hart Sawyer striding along the sidewalk, delivering a much more subdued wave at Sophie in return.

“Nice fake,” Harper told the other woman. “Are you going to be okay?”

“About Hart?”

She nodded.

“In more of that tittle-tattle that gets dropped here, it was Hart’s cousin we saw with him at the food hall.”

“Oh…good?”

“Right. And he’s still miserable.” She lifted both arms, winning boxer-style. “Yay!”

Miserable was the barista’s expression. “That’s it,” Harper said. “We’re getting you to my place ASAP. Nothing can improve your mood like a magic show. We’ll take you to the one where it’s a guy that’s cut in half.”

That roused a laugh out of the other woman and they made tentative plans. When a couple more customers came in, Harper was on her way again. Back at the house, she marched upstairs and