Their gazes met and held. Slowly, giving her plenty of time to kick him again if she wanted, he reached for her hand. Nothing with her was ever going to come easy, he knew this and was okay with that. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I hate that I let you think I’d believe you were having sex with a client on the job. That was shitty, really shitty. I don’t blame you for getting mad. You should’ve kicked my ass.”

  She looked down at her hand in his. “I think I got mad because what you thought was happening is so far from my reality that it isn’t funny. I haven’t had sex with anyone for three years.”

  He waited until she met his gaze. “That’s a long time,” he murmured, wanting to know more. What had happened three years ago to so thoroughly put her off being intimate with someone?

  “It didn’t feel all that long.” She paused and slid him an ironic glance. “Not until . . .”

  He went brows up.

  “We kissed.” She looked at his mouth like maybe she wanted it back on hers.

  “It was a pretty great kiss,” he said.

  “Was it?” She shrugged. “I can’t remember.”

  His laugh was low and rough as he pulled her into him. She always went toe-to-toe with him, challenged him in a way no one else ever did. It was sexy as hell. “Liar,” he whispered and cupped the back of her head, bringing her mouth to his. “But let me remind you . . .”

  He kissed her, a sensuous, delicious kiss with a lot of tongue that had heat exploding in his chest and radiating out to every part of his body. It rushed north to get his heart kicking hard and south to rev up the rest of him, melting everything else along the way. Her mouth was every bit as eager as his, trailing up his jaw, teeth nipping at his ear, and then down his throat, and he just about lost consciousness. By the time they surfaced, he was more than half-gone.

  And given her heavy breathing, she felt the same.

  Then she shivered and he ran his hands up and down her arms, feeling like an asshole for keeping her outside in this temperature. “You’re icy cold. I want to get you back inside. How much longer are you working?”

  She touched her fingers to her mouth, still looking dazed.

  “Sadie?”

  “Right.” She looked at her phone and shook her head. “Rocco just texted me that Cal’s rescheduled. I’m done.”

  Relieved, he nodded. “Then let’s get you home. You parked nearby?”

  “I took the bus today.”

  “What happened to your car?” he asked.

  “It’s still out for repairs. I’m picking it up later this week.”

  “Okay, then let’s go get Lollipop from Rocco and I’ll drive you home.”

  She shocked him by nodding and keeping her hand in his as they took the stairs. At the Canvas Shop, Rocco handed Sadie a container. “Lasagna leftovers. Take it,” he said. “I’m going out tonight and don’t want it to go to waste.”

  “You’re going out?” Sadie asked, sounding surprised.

  Rocco grinned. It was the first time Caleb had ever seen it and it was a good look on the guy.

  “Got a call from an old friend. An apologetic old friend,” Rocco said cryptically. “We’re having dinner.”

  Sadie narrowed her eyes. “Tell Tyler if he hurts you again, I’m coming for him and it won’t be pretty.”

  Rocco laughed. Laughed. And then nodded. “I’ll pass along the message, but he said he already kicked his own ass.”

  Sadie hugged Rocco, kissed him on the cheek, and whispered, “Keep your guard up.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” Rocco asked.

  Sadie was quiet as Caleb walked her out to his car, which he’d started remotely, heater cranked. When he opened the passenger door, both woman and dog sighed in pleasure at the vents blasting warm air at them.

  As Caleb slid behind the wheel, Sadie’s phone rang and she grimaced. “It’s my mom.”

  “It’s okay,” he said. “Take it if you want.”

  She sighed again and answered. “Hey, Mom. Yeah. Okay.” Pause. “Okay. Uh-huh. Yeah, okay.” Another pause. “Okay.” Still another pause. “Okay. Okay. Bye. Okay. Okay . . .” She pulled the phone from her ear and disconnected. “Bad connection,” she murmured. “Must be the tunnel we just went through.”

  There’d been no tunnel. He smiled. “Tough call?”

  “It was my mother,” she repeated, like that explained it all.

  “Where am I taking you?”

  She rattled off her address, though he didn’t have to plug it into his GPS. He knew the city inside and out. She lived in a neighborhood called the Tenderloin, one of San Francisco’s most notorious areas. The funky colorful streets were a mix of dangerous and trendy, featuring a mixed bag of hole-in-the-wall places to eat. Nightlife ranged from dark, dark dives slinging beer and shots to speakeasy-style bars serving craft cocktails. Residential buildings coexisted with underground indie live theater and packs of homeless people living in tents right on the sidewalks. He managed to find a spot a block down from Sadie’s building, across from the police station where a guy in handcuffs was being marched inside.

  “I know it’s a nutty place,” Sadie said, peering out the windshield, “but the Korean barbecue on the corner is delicious and my neighbors are all really nice.” She unhooked her seatbelt and faced him. “Thanks for the ride.” She turned to the back, leaning in to kiss and hug Lollipop goodbye. “See you tomorrow, baby.” She went to exit the car and gasped in surprise to find Caleb already outside, holding the door open for her.

  She slowly rose to her feet, their bodies extremely close between the car and the opened door. “Bet that move of opening the door works on women all day long,” she murmured.

  “That ‘move’ is meant to be good manners and nothing more,” he said. “It’s not a pickup tool.” He smiled. “I don’t need it.”

  She laughed. “You’re right. You don’t. You don’t have to walk me up.”

  “I know I don’t have to,” he said. “I want to.” He opened the back door and let Lollipop out, holding her leash. “Lead the way.”

  “Look, Suits—”

  “We’re back to that?” he asked. “Seriously? You just had your tongue halfway down my throat. It’s time to use my name. Say it.”

  “You’re right,” she said. “I did that to irritate you, so you’d get back in your car and leave.”

  It didn’t escape him that she still didn’t say his name. “If you want me to leave, all you have to do is say so. It’s your choice, Sadie. It’s always your choice.”

  She stared at him for a beat, and then another. Then she gestured with her chin and they walked to her building. She lived on the third floor and it was a walkup. At her door, she pulled out her key but didn’t use it. Instead, she lifted her face to his. “Thanks for the ride.”

  “Open up,” he said. “You should never loiter in this hallway.”

  She unlocked the door but then blocked his way in, bending to give Lollipop another proper goodbye. This took like five minutes. Finally rising, she met Caleb’s eyes. “Goodnight to you too.”

  And her goodbye to him had taken a second. But he’d told her it was her choice and he’d meant it. “Goodnight.”

  Lollipop tried to get inside. Sadie paused, looked behind her into the apartment and then bit her lower lip. “Fine. You can come in. For a minute.”

  The dog was all in.

  So was Caleb. He shut and locked the door behind him, taking a sweeping gaze across her place. It was small, with comfortable-looking and very lived-in furniture and colorful throw rugs scattered throughout.

  Cute. Cozy. But not warm. In fact, it was freezing in here. “Something wrong with your heat?”

  “No.” She moved into the kitchen and put fresh water into Lollipop’s bowl. She put the container Rocco had handed her into her fridge, which was looking pretty bare.

  “Just haven’t had a chance to go to the grocery store,” she said to his unasked question, turning away to scoop some food for Lollipop, who pounced on it and happily dug in.

  Caleb kept his eyes on Sadie. He knew she wanted to think she was an island, that she was unreadable and not easily figured out, but she was wrong.

  He already knew she was struggling financially. He wasn’t going to be able to ignore that. He wouldn’t have been able to ignore it for a perfect stranger, so he certainly couldn’t for a woman he suspected he was falling for big-time. “You’re pretty new at the day spa,” he said.

  “Yes.”

  “And you’re still building your clientele at the Canvas Shop.”

  “Yes.” She narrowed her eyes. “Your point?”

  “I could help—”

  “Wow, would you look at the time?” She strode to the door and opened it for him. “Okay, you got your little peek into my world. Time to go.” She added a little chin jerk to the opened door.

  Thinking the new energy in the room meant playtime, Lollipop loped a circle around them with an excited bark.

  Caleb moved to the door, stopping very close to Sadie. So close that their bodies brushed up against each other. She could’ve stepped back, but she didn’t. He decided to take that as a good sign. “Everyone struggles sometimes, you know that, right?”

  “Do you offer to help everyone then?” she asked in a deceptively serene voice. Deceptive because her eyes were flashing temper.

  “I help who I can.” He paused. “Sadie . . .”

  She closed her eyes. Reaching out, he gently shut and locked the door again, staying on the inside with her. And when he stepped even closer, she put her hands on his chest, her fingers curling into his shirt, whether to pull him closer or keep him at bay, he wasn’t sure.

  “You drive me crazy,” she murmured. “You know that, right?”

  “Yeah. And ditto.” Liking her hands on him, he decided to go with optimism and wrapped his arms around her.

  She pressed her face into the crook of his neck and inhaled deeply, like she craved the scent of him, and he felt his body react. “Sadie. About your heater—”

  “You aren’t going to be nosy and bossy about this, are you?”

  “Nosy and bossy are the female Parkers, not me.”

  She snorted. “Okay.”

  Wrapping her hair around his fist, he used it to lift her face so he could look into her eyes. “So you’re saying I’m nosy and bossy.”

  She laughed but pressed herself a little closer to him so he forgave her.

  “Hello,” she said, still smiling. “Have you met yourself?”

  “So I like to be aware of what’s going on around me, and—”

  “B-O-S-S-Y,” she said, spelling out the word. “And you also always need things to go your way.”

  “Okay, so that might be true. And you’re changing the subject.”

  “I’m not a charity case, remember? So thank you for caring and offering, but I’m fine.” She said all this without taking her hands off him. A good sign, right?

  An even better one was when she nudged him up against the door at his back and pinned him there.

  His hands went to her waist, slid up her arms, and cupped her face. “Sadie.”

  She stared at his mouth. “Yeah?”

  “I’m going to kiss you now. If you’ve got a problem with that, tell me, okay? Don’t put that lethal knee of yours into action and ruin my chances of having kids.”

  She looked from his mouth to his eyes, her own surprised. “You want kids?”

  “Yeah, maybe. Someday.” He gave a small smile when she just stared at him. “What?”

  “I guess I’m just a little . . . fascinated by the idea of you being a dad to a couple of mini suits running around, taking on the world with all that effortless charm and charisma you put out there.”

  He smiled. “You think I’m charming and charismatic?”

  “I think you’re a lot of things.”

  He stroked a finger along her temple, tucking a loose strand of hair back from her face as he nudged in closer.

  She bit her lower lip and let out an almost inaudible moan, rocking her body to his.

  Yeah. For once they were on the same page at the same time.

  “What are you waiting for?” she whispered.

  Leaning in, he nuzzled her neck just below her ear. “Your body’s saying yes,” he murmured, “but that’s only partial consent.”

  Her hands fisted on his shirt. “Seriously. You’re a nut.”

  “Uh-huh.” He kissed the spot just beneath her ear and then gently sucked, smiling when she shivered and moaned again. “But a nut you want to kiss, right?”

  “Yes, very much, even if I’m still trying to figure you out.”

  He blazed a trail down her throat with his tongue while running his hands down her arms, to her hips, which she was still rocking into his, driving him half-mad. “Some things take time to figure out,” he murmured. “There’s no rush.”

  “Says you,” she whispered and drew his head down to hers.

  Chapter 15

  #ShowDontTell

  Sadie so completely lost herself in Caleb’s kiss that when she pulled back for air, she was shocked to find she’d tugged his shirt free from the waistband of his pants and unbuttoned it. Her hands were flat on his scrumptious abs trying to decide between heading north or south.

  No slouch, he had one palm full of her ass, his other beneath her shirt cupping a breast. When his teeth grazed her ear, need slid through her like fine wine. She was taking short ragged breaths, but his breathing wasn’t any more steady than hers as he slowly loosened his grip on her and gulped in some air.

  She’d wanted to see his control slip, and it thrilled her.

  “Sadie. Tell me you want this as much as I do.”

  It was cold enough in her place that their breath crystallized. Staying close for body heat, she slid her fingers into his hair to tug his face back to hers. “I want this,” she said against his lips and then she kissed him. “I want you tonight, Caleb.”

  His eyes heated when she said his name. “Just tonight.”

  It wasn’t just a statement, it was also a question. “Yes,” she said. “Is that enough for you?”

  He made a sound, low and deep, which rumbled through his chest, vibrating against hers, making her nipples go hard. He looked like a man being offered a present he’d dreamed of but hadn’t expected to ever have. “It’s enough for now,” he answered. “Be sure, Sadie.”

  “Oh, I’m very sure.”

  With a groan, he took over, hoisting her up his body, wrapping her legs around his hips, heading with her to her bedroom. Her room was lit only by a slant of light from her living room lamp. It was chilly, very chilly, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long, she thought as he let her slowly slide down his body. His chestnut eyes, darkened to the deepest pools of brown, met her gaze with a dizzying amount of heat.

  Then he kissed her and they both went up in flames.

  She was the sexiest thing Caleb had ever seen. He let his hands settle on her hips, holding her still for him as he lowered his head, his mouth dragging wet hot kisses across her collarbone. He stopped briefly at the hollow of her throat where his tongue dipped in for a taste while he lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it aside. “It’d be warmer at my place,” he said.

  “Too far away. Just leave some clothes on, and I’ve got lots of blankets.” She tried to tug his shirt from his shoulders but he was too busy working her camisole down to bunch at her waist. When he stroked a hand over the low-cut black lace bra, his fingers slipping beneath the lace to tease her nipples, her breathy moan fueled him. Then her bra fell away and she sucked in a breath. “You’ve got a hidden talent.”

  “I’ve got several.” He’d had many, many fantasies about this, but Sadie in the flesh was better than any of his fantasies had ever been. He nudged her to the bed and followed her down, crawling up her body, leaving no question about his intentions.

  She didn’t shy away. Instead, she reached for the top button on his pants. “Off,” she demanded.

  Going up on his knees to assist, he froze when he found Lollipop in the doorway, staring at them. Specifically him, her head cocked as if she was puzzled.

  “It’s bedtime, baby,” he said. “Go to your bed.”

  “I am in my bed,” Sadie said cheekily, laughing when he rolled his eyes at her smartassery.

  Lollipop whined.

  “Ignore her,” Sadie said. “She doesn’t sleep on my bed so she isn’t expecting that.”

  He grimaced.

  “Are you kidding me?” she asked. “You still let her sleep with you? I told you not to do that.”

  “Hey, I did the research,” he said. “There are lots of valid reasons why you should let your dog sleep with you.”

  “Name ’em.”

  He ticked them off on his fingers. “They keep you warm, they relieve stress, reduce depression, help you fall asleep faster, make you live longer, and there’s always free hugs available.”

  “Wow,” she said, coming up on her elbows. “Maybe we should agree to temporarily shelve how ridiculous you are and get back to you making me a very happy woman.”

  “Absolutely.” Then, hands planted on either side of her head, he lowered himself to her and—

  Lollipop whined.

  “Ignore her,” Sadie said against his mouth.

  It was heaven, she was heaven, but he could feel the weight of Lollipop’s stare and he let out a breath. “She’s watching.”

  “She has no idea what we’re up to. Look, you’re even still dressed.”

  Caleb turned his head and met the dog’s knowing eyes. “She totally knows what we’re up to.”

  Sadie nudged him off of her and sat up to look at Lollipop. “She’s just afraid she’s missing out on some fun.”

  “That’s because she is.”

  Sadie laughed. “You’re awfully sure of yourself. I’ll reserve judgment until after.”

  A challenge, one he was most definitely up for. Wrapping his hands around the back of her legs, he tugged so that she fell to her back. He lowered himself over her again and bent to lave some attention on her bare breasts, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement.