“I like excitement.” Her eyes glittered with desire and that same need echoed inside him, evidenced by his rapidly beating heart.
She devoured him with her gaze and his pulse picked up rhythm. Other women had admired him before. As a single guy in a small town, he was more than used to feminine attention, especially since his mother’s campaign for a grandchild had begun. But Kendall looked at him differently and he liked the way her single-minded focus made him feel.
“You’re wet,” she said, obviously just noticing that his T-shirt stuck to his skin.
“Teenagers with buckets and a hose will do that to you.” He pulled at the damp cotton material. “The kids had a mind of their own.”
“You’re wonderful with them.” She bit down on her lip, then admitted, “I was watching you.”
His heart skipped a beat. “I didn’t see you.”
“That’s because I didn’t want you to know I was there.”
“Aah, spying on me, were you?”
She shrugged. “I was curious about Hannah and how she’d fit in. And I was curious about you. What your days are like. What you’re like when you’re not with me.” She shook out her adorably shaggy hair. “But don’t let it go to your head,” she said on an embarrassed laugh.
“As if I’ve got a vain bone in my body.” He grinned, brushing the fact off as she obviously wanted him to do. But privately he was thrilled she’d bothered. Oh, hell, he was just plain happy with any display of interest she offered because it meant she gave thought to him when they were apart, and Lord knew he’d thought about her plenty.
She stepped forward, bracing her hands on his forearms. “I think we should get you out of those wet clothes.” She licked her lips in obvious anticipation, then ran her palms over his shoulders and down his arms before moving those arousing hands to his chest.
“You won’t get any argument out of me, sweetheart.”
She played with the bottom of his shirt, teasing him by lifting the edge slowly, making certain her fingers grazed his skin with an erotic, hot touch.
A torrent of desire rushed through him, hard and strong. He wanted her in a way that surpassed sexual need. Not even her hellion sister or her self-imposed end-of-the-summer deadline could deter or deflect his actions now. Though that fact should give him pause, he had her alone and damned if he’d let anything get in the way.
“I want this shirt off you,” she murmured.
“Then do it.” He raised his arms over his head, giving her the control she’d once said he refused to give up. He’d give up more than that for her, Rick thought, damning himself at the same time.
He met her gaze as she lifted his shirt, then helped her toss it onto the floor. Her fingers raked over his chest, then she paused to bend and place a warm kiss against his fevered skin. Another touch of that mouth and he might not make it to the bedroom. Sensation shot through him and he sucked in a sharp breath.
“Sounds like I hit the right spot.”
“At this point any spot you hit would be the right one,” he said wryly. “But much as I’m enjoying, I’ve been outside all day and I could use a shower first.”
A teasing smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “I wouldn’t mind taking another one.”
He shook his head and laughed. “Oh, baby, you sure know how to tempt a man.”
She met his gaze. “Only you.” As if to prove her point, her fingers went next to the button on his jeans.
Who was he to argue? Once again he gave her free rein, gritting his teeth as her palms grazed first his thighs, and clenching his fists when she paused, running her hand over his hard length on her quest to divest him of all clothing. She had her own agenda, her own time schedule, and he didn’t mind. Her hands on his body was foreplay of the most intense and erotic kind and he could enjoy the sensation all day.
Shutting his eyes, he leaned back against the wall and gave himself up to her ministrations. Blood rushed through his veins and to other parts of his body and when he heard ringing the first time, he thought the sound was in his head.
And then her hand stilled and he recognized the noise as the telephone. “Dammit.” He forced his eyelids open.
“You’d better get it. It could be important.” Kendall sighed and gestured toward the phone on the wall.
He yanked up his pants, leaving only the button open, and grabbed the phone. “This better be good.”
Kendall raised an eyebrow at his frustrated greeting and he winked at her.
“Rick, it’s Lisa Burton.”
He exhaled an aggravated groan. Lisa had annoyed the hell out of him at the DARE car wash. His taken status hadn’t deterred her this afternoon and now this phone call. “This isn’t a good time.”
“I wouldn’t call if it wasn’t important.”
“Well, I’d have assumed a 911 call was important too.” His patience for games had run out. Maybe it was pure male frustration talking or maybe now that he knew which woman interested him, he wished women like Lisa would accept and back off.
“I’m calling as a teaching professional. I have a young girl here named Hannah who says she’s your responsibility.”
At her words, Rick refocused. “You’re with Hannah? What’s wrong?”
Kendall came up to him in an instant, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Is Hannah okay?” she asked him.
“She’s fine,” Lisa told Rick.
“Then what’s she doing with you? I left her with Jonesy.” Not with the one woman he didn’t want any kind of connection with.
“He had to leave. Right after you left he got a call from his wife. I didn’t think it would be a big deal to watch over another teenager, so I told him I’d keep an eye out. I figured it was no big deal and it wasn’t . . . until Dr. Nowicki arrived.”
Uh-oh. Rick ran a hand through his hair. “What did Hannah say to the principal?” he asked, resigned.
Kendall groaned aloud, burying her face in her hands. “Oh, no. What’d she do now?”
Rick wrapped a hand around Kendall’s waist. “Your sister’s fine,” he whispered in Kendall’s ear.
“Oh, your girlfriend is with you? Figures.” Lisa sniffed, obviously offended. “Maybe Hannah has a right to act out. It seems her sister can’t be bothered with her. And you snuck off first chance you got to be with your new lady friend. ” Lisa choked over the words, as if it galled her to admit she’d lost not just the battle but the war for Rick’s attention. “You left the poor girl alone in a strange town. It’s no wonder she’s looking for attention.”