Summer Lovin'

Summer Lovin' -- Part 2

Chapter 2

Luke twisted the cap off the beer. Boy was he ready to kick back for a while. He tilted his head and let the cold brew hit his throat. He shouldn't have stayed in the sun so long, but he hadn't been able to tear himself away from enjoying his temporary neighbor. Now he just needed to figure out the best way to introduce himself—

The doorbell rang, startling him. "What the hell?"

He never had anyone stop by without calling first. And in this day and age, there weren't very many door-to-door salespeople.

He headed for the door, remembering at the last minute he didn't have a shirt on. What did it matter? He yanked the door open, doing his best to look stern and forbidding. Whoever was trying to sell him something would get the hint. Fast.

"Oh! I'm sorry," a soft voice said. "Did I interrupt—"

Her face, eye level with his chest, turned such a deep shade of red, he almost didn't realize at first who she was.

Then it hit him, nearly knocking the breath from his lungs. The beauty from next door. His two-week stand, in the flesh, on his doorstep. And he'd just scared the crap out of her.

"No, no, you're fine," he said in a rush. "I'm sorry. Do you want to come in?" He motioned for her to enter, but it was the hand holding the beer bottle. "Uh, I could get you one, if you'd like."

"I might need it," he thought she muttered, but she didn't move except to clutch the furball puppy closer.

She was even sexier up close, with her sunglasses shoved up on her head, her hair tumbling around her shoulders. He could smell something tropical on her skin and it made him ache in some very inconvenient places.

Luckily she was looking up at him, so she couldn't see the effect she had on him, but her big blue eyes made his reaction go up a notch or fifteen. He turned, stepping slightly behind the door to hide the blatant evidence the best he could. He didn't want this fling to be over before it even started. And she definitely looked nervous, even though she was the one moving things along.

It felt like he'd won some cosmic lottery or something.

"Why don't you come in?" he said. "It's hot out there, and I've got the a/c going."

"Okay," she finally said. "I won't be long though."

Luke kept his disappointment in check. Usually women couldn't get to him fast enough, not that he had any time for them lately. It was something he planned to change, and soon.

She walked past him, and a coconut scent followed her, mingling with the sunshine smell in her hair. It instantly reminded him of summers he'd spent here at the beach house, and freedom, and having fun, something he hadn't had too much of recently. He glanced down, to see just how much his groin was giving away as he skipped down memory lane, and that's when he saw her bare feet.

With the sexy hot pink polish on her toes.

He nearly groaned. The puppy barked, pulling Luke's thoughts away from the bedroom and back into his entryway.

"Stop it," she said, frowning at the puppy. "You've gotten us in enough trouble already."

"Him?" Luke asked. "He's too cute to be trouble."

Something close to guilt flickered in her eyes. "You may change your mind about that in a minute," she said.

"Let's sit down," Luke suggested, "and you can tell me just what this little guy is guilty of."

She hesitated and then sat down on the nearest chair, a white wicker thing with flowered cushions that was a perfect backdrop for her. She glanced down at the little dog tucked in her arms. "Well, he's a devil hound, one of Satan's minions," she said.