Although sometimes he felt like he needed them even more.
By Thursday night, he couldn't stand it any longer and asked her if he could take her out again. She told him she needed to think about it, and he wasn't sure he managed a full breath all the way through until Friday night, when he brought Jeremy home from work again...
...and she finally said yes.
Will couldn't remember a time he'd ever been happier, or more relieved, in his life.
Now, with Mrs. Taylor watching Jeremy at home, Will had Harper sitting beside him in his '57 Chevy. Though she was still too quiet, he was content just to be with her. To let her delicious scent wash over him, cleanse him, make him new.
Of course, when he saw an overlook along Skyline Boulevard with a great view, he couldn't resist pushing for more. Because he couldn't resist her. She was gorgeous in the moonlight. Stars sparkled in her eyes, and the full moon made her skin glow. There was no wind deflector in the mammoth Chevy and her hair was a mass of sexy tangles.
"Let's park," he said after he'd stopped the car, tugging her gently over to his side of the bench seat.
Thankfully she didn't tense up, but he remained on tenterhooks waiting for it to happen. Waiting for her to pull back. Because they hadn't talked about what had happened last Thursday. He'd wanted to give her time to process, and to forgive. But should he have pushed a little harder to make sure there weren't any lingering mistakes that he still needed to make right?
He'd never been afraid of pushing anyone before. But with Harper, everything was different.
Because he was terrified of losing her.
"Harper." He wanted so badly to reach for her. "Are we good again? Like before? Or are you still upset with me for overstepping my bounds with your brother?"
She looked a little surprised by his question, as if she hadn't expected him to come right out and ask. But also, relieved.
Had she been wanting to clear the air, too?
"To be honest," she said slowly, "those first couple of days, I didn't know exactly how I was feeling. Still a little mad. Still a little guilty. But more and more, as Jeremy came home happier every day, I was able to see just how right you were. He needed this change, needed to get out of that grocery store. I wish I'd been able to see it--"
"You're the best sister in the world. You do so much for him. You can't beat yourself up about this."
"But I did." She took a deep breath. "And now...now I think I'm finally ready to let it go." She looked him in the eyes and held his gaze. "And I'm finally ready to let go again, too."
She reached for his hand, and the act felt huge. Bigger even than a kiss might have.
"Being with you, being wild and free for a little while--it made me happy, Will. Whereas when I was holding you at bay this week?" She frowned. "I wasn't as happy anymore. Wasn't as free." She threaded her fingers through his. "I'm ready to be free again. Ready to fly fast with you, if you still want me."
"If I still want you?" He didn't even try to keep the incredulous tone from his voice. "All I do all day long, all night long, is want you, Harper."
The smile she gave him was so beautiful, it nearly knocked his heart from his chest. "I want you, too, Will. Just that badly. Only..."
"Anything you want, anything you need, just tell me what it is and I'll make it happen." This was the first real, meaningful relationship he'd ever had with a woman. Whatever Harper needed, he'd give it to her, come hell or high water.
She bit her lip, then let the damp flesh go to say, "You can't make what I want happen tonight, Will. Only I can. Every time we're together, I completely lose control. But you're always so steady. I need to know..." She paused for a moment as if she was deciding whether to finish her sentence or not, and he held his breath until she said, "Tonight I need to know if I can make you as crazy as you make me."
"Crazier, Harper. A thousand times over."
"Let me see it." She leaned forward and whispered against his lips, "I need to see it."
"I'm yours." He now knew that he had been from the first moment he'd set eyes on her. "All yours."
She looked up at him in surprise, as though she hadn't actually expected him to agree to give up his control tonight. And she was right that there was almost no one he would consider doing that with. But she was different. She was special. And he trusted her in a way he didn't trust anyone else.
"Come closer," she said softly.
He immediately moved across the seat. When Harper straddled him, her dress billowing down around them, he couldn't remember ever being happier. She'd forgiven him and she wanted to make love with him until he lost his mind.
Was there a luckier guy on the planet?
Summer was just around the corner and a warm breeze rippled through her hair. Stars lit up the sky around her as he thought, I want you, Harper. I want you like I've never wanted anyone else. I want you more than I can remember ever wanting anyone or anything before in my life.
He opened his mouth to say the words, but she stole them away. Cupping his face, she kissed him as if she were making love to his mouth, licking him, taking his tongue. Her whole body got into the kiss, swaying and moving on his, her breasts caressing him, her legs tightening along his thighs.
He'd always been the one in control, not just with her, but with all women. He'd always set the pace and the tone, decided where the night began and ended. Even when Harper had kissed him in the garage, he'd taken over, pushing her down on the hood, using his mouth on her because he'd been desperate to taste her. To have her.
Yet now that she was the one controlling his reins, she wasn't rushed. Not at all. Even though he could hardly remember his own name.
"You taste so good," she murmured against his lips. "I wonder how you taste all over." She leaned back to work the buttons of his shirt. When his chest was naked to her touch, and she ran her fingers down his skin, he actually felt a quiver deep in his gut. A part of him worried that she'd want to strip his shirt away completely, and that she'd finally see his tattoo, but even that worry could hardly take hold when she was touching him like this, kissing him like this.
"You have such a magnificent chest." Curling her body, she bent to his nipple. She licked him, sucked him, then bit down lightly. "You like this as much as I do, don't you?" She hummed with pleasure against his chest, the vibrations sending shockwaves through him.
"God, yes, I like it." His voice was hoarse, his hands flexing on her hips, pulling her tighter against him. "You make me crazy."
"Good. Because you make me crazy, too."
When he lost control and went to kiss her, she laughed as she pushed against him. "No, no, no. Tonight, it's my turn to have you."
He understood that she was turning the tables, taking charge the way he had that morning in her house. The way he always did. Who would have guessed that the turnaround would set him on fire like this?
"I'm yours," he said again, something he'd never told another person, but which felt impossibly right with her. "For whatever you want."
She slid farther back so that she could trail kisses down his abdomen. He remembered doing the same to her, her skin smooth and sweet against his lips. He was hard, aching, and only just barely resisting the urge to toss her into the backseat.
The night air was still warm, but his skin was hotter. The sound of an occasional car on the road was far off and muted. They were in a world of their own, and his heart was pounding in his ears as she ran her hand over the rock-hard length of him.
"Holy hell." The words shot out on his exhalation.
"Remember when you said you intended to taste me...and that I was going to taste you, too?" She pushed her hand inside the denim of his jeans and wrapped her fingers around him.
"I remember." The words came out a little choked.
"Do you still think we should make good on all those intentions?"
His Adam's apple slid along his throat. He felt like a teenager who had finally managed to make out with the untouchable girl he
'd been lusting after. Breathless. Desperate. "Yes."
God, yes.
She touched her lips to his, licked him until he opened for her. But instead of kissing him, she whispered, "Good, because I've decided I want to taste you. All of you."
"Please," he said. He couldn't even come up with a quip or a word of sexy banter.
Each time with Harper was new.
And every time it meant more.
*
Harper had felt out of control with Will so many times. Every time. Tonight, she'd thought the final piece of putting everything back together inside of her would be to turn the tables on him. Yet even as she led their lovemaking tonight, she still felt his power coursing through her body, everywhere she touched him, everywhere he touched her.
By the time she sank down to taste him, she realized that it didn't matter anymore who was in control. All that mattered was the joy--and the pleasure--she felt whenever she was with him.
She used her hands, lips, mouth, tongue on him. He was a savory treat. Better than chocolate. Better than ice cream. She loved the feel of him, the heady scent of his skin, the quake and shiver of his rock hard flesh as she took him deep.
"Harper." He growled her name, and then, a heartbeat later, she was on her back against the leather seat as he came over her. "Need. You. Now." Each word was separate, gasped, harsh. She heard the tear of a condom, felt him between her legs.
When he flipped up her dress and tugged her panties aside, she was just as desperate as he was, miles beyond ready as he pulled her leg high up on his hip and drove into her.
Oh God...being taken hard and fast by Will in the front seat of his car was better than anything she'd ever felt in her life.
"Kiss me, Harper. Please."
He was a dark shadow above her, backlit by stars and moon. She pulled him down, locked her lips to his. His body tensed and flexed inside her as she opened her mouth. She kissed him back as hard as he kissed her, tasting his heat, savoring his need.
With one foot on the floorboard to brace himself, he thrust deeper, and she put a hand on the car door behind her head, pushing to meet each plunge. Hard, delicious, explosive. She dug her fingers into his shoulder as she burst wide open, exploding into a million perfect pieces as he exploded, too, with her name on his lips.
Just as his was on hers.
*
Harper snuggled against him as he drove back toward home, one arm thrown around her shoulder, holding her tight.
There was no point in trying to deny anymore that she was in too deep. But honestly, she was having a hard time caring about that, no longer counting down the days until he got tired of her and Jeremy.
Maybe it was stupid. Maybe she would regret it later. But right now she was simply too relaxed--and too full of soul-deep pleasure--to keep shoring up her barriers.
The wind blew through her hair, but with Will's arm around her, she couldn't tell that the night had turned cool. She could only feel his warmth protecting her.
Other men had been after Jeremy's trust fund, or begrudged her the time and energy she gave to her brother, as though it took something from them. But Will didn't need Jeremy's money. And he gave so much of himself to her brother, the car, the new job, driving Jeremy home. Even Jeremy's teacher, Miss Richards, had noticed a marked improvement.
All because of Will.
He slowed for a downhill curve. "I'm having a barbecue on Memorial Day with a few of my friends. I'd like you and Jeremy to come."
"Me? And Jeremy?" She blinked at him. "You want us to come to a barbecue with your friends?"
"Evan met you both, but no one else has yet."
Sex was one thing...but meeting his friends? That felt like something different. Something more.
But was it? Or was it just her heart running hopeful because Will Franconi was the most irresistible man she'd ever met?
The night air was suddenly a cool draft down her neck as those worries she thought she'd just buried poked up their heads again. Not only about what Will's wanting her to meet his friends meant about their relationship, but also about whether his friends--aka the Silicon Valley elite--would look down their noses at her and Jeremy.
Will had surprised her, though, hadn't he? All those weeks ago, she'd assumed he would be just a rich man in a fast car, only a slight step up from the father of the teenage boy who'd run Jeremy down. But that wasn't Will at all.
Was it possible that his friends would surprise her, too?
Maybe it was the beautiful night. Maybe it was the beautiful sex. Maybe it was how exhausting it was to keep holding up those heavy walls all the time.
Or maybe it was the way Will looked at her with such hope, as if her attending his party was the most important thing in the world.
Whatever the reason, she suddenly smiled and said, "A Memorial Day barbecue sounds great. I can't wait to meet the rest of your friends."
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Will couldn't stop staring at Harper as she chatted out by the pool with Evan's wife, Whitney, and Whitney's sister Paige. Harper was gorgeous in her bathing suit and matching wrap skirt, but trumping even his need for her was his pleasure at having her there with him and his closest friends.
He wished Evan could feel the same way about his own wife, although that was near impossible when Whitney had been engrossed in her cell phone the entire time she'd been at the barbecue. She had looks that turned most men stupid and as far as Will could tell, she'd been exploiting that her entire life. Her sister, Paige, on the other hand, was the sweet girl next door, the opposite of Whitney in every way, except for the auburn hair. It was hard to believe the two women had been raised by the same parents.
His pulse rate jumped when Harper came to join his conversation with the guys. Well, mostly with Jeremy, who held center stage. Will had to hand it to Harper's brother--he definitely wasn't shy.
"I deliver all the mail." Jeremy mimed pushing the cart. "I stack everyone's mail in order of where they sit on my route. I pass out supplies on my way, too, like pens and Post-its and binder clips and stuff. And I haven't gotten any of the deliveries wrong, have I, Will?"
"You've nailed them all."
"And when there's a big meeting," Jeremy added with a grin, "I make the coffee and go down to the bagel shop. I get a bunch of different bagels and the stuff for the bagels. Like cream cheese."
Harper had been a little worried when she'd first heard about that duty, afraid Jeremy would be in charge of money and have to account for discrepancies. But she'd ended up agreeing that more responsibility was good for her brother, and so far, Jeremy hadn't had any trouble with it.
"Those are really important tasks," Matt said with a seriousness that made Jeremy beam.
Will had known that his friends would see the same things in Jeremy that he did--including his enthusiasm and perpetually upbeat attitude.
"With all those bagels, no wonder Will here is getting fat." Sebastian pushed up his sunglasses and looked at Will's waistline.
"Up yours." Will thwapped his towel at him.
Sebastian fended it off and gave him the finger behind his hand so Jeremy wouldn't notice.
"Will's not fat," Jeremy said. "Every day when I get to work, he's just coming out of the gym. We've got machines in the office that anyone can use. It's so cool. I lifted weights there yesterday after lunch."
Will liked Jeremy's use of the word we. It meant Jeremy felt like he'd become a part of the place. Which was exactly what Will had hoped for.
Daniel, who had clearly been playing with the power tools his company was famous for, given the new bandage on his hand, cut in. "That's one badass car you're building, too."
"It's the coolest car ever made." Jeremy's mouth was round with pleasure.
All the Mavericks made approving male noises.
Will and Jeremy had conducted a tour earlier. He'd let Jeremy lead the guys through, pointing out critical components. Will had helped a bit and his friends had done the rest by asking the rig
ht questions, which fed Jeremy the answers when he couldn't find the words he wanted.
"So this is the intake manifold?" Daniel would ask, and Jeremy would nod heartily.
Harper had stayed by the pool during the tour, watching out for Noah, Matt's kid, who had the same dark hair, blue eyes, and the potential for a frame as tall and broad as his father's. The boy's mother was out of the picture, and at five, the little guy had already gone through six nannies. Will would have razzed Matt about the reasons for his quick nanny turnover rate had he not seen how hard it made things on his friend.
Noah was now playing in the paddling pool Will had installed especially for him. A big plastic ball sailed across the pool deck, and Will stopped it with his foot. "Hey, Noah, I think you might have the makings of a quarterback."
He kicked the ball up and caught it. A few steps from Noah's pool, he gave it a gentle toss and watched the ball plop in the water when Noah missed it. Wading into the pool, Will scooped up the ball again. "Hold up your hands like this." Noah threw out his arms in imitation. "Now get ready. I'm gonna throw it. Wait for it, wait for it--" He leaned forward, getting close, and executed a soft underhand shot right into Noah's hands.
The guys clapped and hooted, especially Matt, who loved his kid to pieces. Harper and Paige clapped, too. Whitney, however, never even glanced up from her phone.
"That was great," Will said. "Now throw it back to me."
The ball flew wild again, though Will wasn't sure exactly how that was possible since he was only two steps away. When the ball rolled over to Harper's feet, she picked it up and tossed it back to them.
Will caught it, but even as he passed it back to Noah, he was drinking Harper in again. She was special. She was perfect. And she was too good for him.
But Will was hoping that he could forget about that last part if he tried hard enough.
*
Will was so good with Noah. Just the way he was with Jeremy. Always praising, complimenting, building up rather than tearing down.
He would make an awesome father someday.