Susan Mallery - The Sassy One

“You’d send the Grands into a Hail-Mary frenzy. Grandpa Lorenzo would have your hide.”

“He’d throw me out of the family.”

“Some days I don’t think that would be such a great loss.”

Francesca shrugged. “It’s not an issue. I have no plans to get pregnant, and I’m not falling for Sam.”

“Or the kid,” Brenna told her sternly. “Don’t you even think about rescuing her. You hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“All right.” Brenna refilled both their glasses. “Now I want to hear all the details about the sex. I haven’t even seen a naked man in months, and I’m going to have to live vicariously through you.”

“I do not kiss and tell.”

“Fine. Then make something up. I won’t know the difference.”

Kelly typed in the Internet address for one of her favorite clothing Web sites. “Cool,” she murmured. “Free shipping.”

After studying several camis and tops, she selected three of each, then moved on to skirts. A mock wrap with a slit caught her attention. Not that she went out all that much, but maybe Sam would take her to dinner or something.

“Not likely,” she told herself. He was turning out to be a real pinhead. Francesca?

Another no, especially after what had happened that afternoon.

She guessed she knew that Francesca was only trying to be, like, nice with her offer to go shopping. Kelly had really wanted to say yes. A trip to the mall would have been fun. And a movie. The one on the plane had been totally dumb. But she’d reacted without thinking. Not just saying no, but being mean, too.

Kelly shook her head. It was all Tanya’s fault. How many times had her mother asked her something like that? “Do you want to go shopping, Kelly?” Or if not shopping, then to the ballet or the theater. And if she said yes or acted interested, Tanya always gave her that smirky smile and shook her head.

“Well, I’m not taking you. Ask Mary.” Or Rosa or Sarah, whoever was currently in charge of taking care of her.

Kelly had a feeling that Francesca wasn’t like that. That she really would have taken her to the mall. But what if she’d just been playing, too?

Pushing the question to the back of her mind, Kelly completed her order. She changed the ship-to address on her account, so the clothes would come here instead of to the New York apartment, then clicked on “Place my order.”

But instead of the cheerful notice telling her that her order had been placed, there was only a single line explaining that her credit card had been denied.

Kelly frowned. That didn’t make sense.

She fished the credit card out of her backpack and checked the expiration date. It wasn’t until 2006. So what…?

Horror filled her. She remembered Sam yelling at her, telling her she wasn’t getting her own DVD player and her claim that she would simply buy it herself. He’d looked mad when she’d said that. He couldn’t have canceled her card, could he?

Three minutes later she hung up the phone and screamed. She flew out of her room and down the stairs.

“What did you do?” she screeched as she ran into the kitchen.

Her father stood at the stove, which was weird. Except for a couple of gay chefs her mother knew, she’d never seen a guy cook. Not that she cared right now.

Sam put down a spatula and faced her. “What’s your problem?”

She curled her hands into fists. “You canceled my credit card.”

“Yes, I did.”

“You had no right. It’s not yours. It’s not in your name.”

“You’re twelve, Kelly. You don’t need a credit card.”

His eyes were a really weird color. Sort of brown, but gold, too. Right now they were dark and cold and he looked mean.

But she wasn’t scared, she told herself. She was mad. “It was mine,” she insisted. “How am I supposed to take care of myself if I can’t buy stuff?”

“I’ll buy what you need.”

“No. You’ll buy what you want me to have. You won’t care about what I want.” Without her credit card she was stuck.

He sighed. “We’ll talk about the logistics of what and where the purchases will be after dinner. You’re just in time to wash your hands and set the table.”

“No! We’ll talk about it now.”

“I said later.”

“I don’t care what you said. I don’t even have any clothes to wear.”

“That’s because you turned down Francesca’s offer to take you shopping. Now you’ll have to wash what you have and wait for the rest of your things to arrive.”

Kelly’s eyes burned. She turned away as betrayal cut through her. She couldn’t believe Francesca had told Sam what had happened about the shopping. It wasn’t fair.

Sam sighed. “Kelly, I’m not trying to make your life miserable, although it may seem that way to you. Things are going to be different here. You’re not going to buy whatever you want, whenever it suits you. I will take care of you, but on my terms.”

So she didn’t matter at all. She squeezed her eyes shut.

“Your things will arrive on Friday. That’s only three more days. If you don’t know how to do laundry, I’ll teach you.”

She spun back to face him. “I don’t do laundry. That’s why you’re supposed to have a maid.”

“Ours is gone right now. Either you do it yourself or you wear dirty clothes. I don’t care which. Now wash your hands and set the table.”

He turned off the grill set in the center of the stove. Two chicken breasts lay there. They were pale and unappealing.

“I’m not eating that,” she told him.

“It’s healthy.”

“It’s disgusting looking. Did you cook them?”

His expression hardened. “Yes. And I made the salad.”

She turned toward the table. There was a bowl of iceberg lettuce in the center. “That doesn’t even count as a vegetable.”

“It’s healthy,” he repeated.

“No, it’s not. So you’re not going to get me any clothes to wear, and now you’re trying to starve me. You’re really a lousy father.”

He took a step toward her. “It’s been forty-eight hours since you showed up, and I think I’m doing a hell of a job. If you’ve got a complaint, then put it in writing. Otherwise, wash your hands, set the table, and eat dinner.”

She glared at him. “Go to hell,” she said, speaking each word slowly, then walked out of the kitchen.

There was a moment of silence, then something slammed into a wall.

But Kelly didn’t feel victorious. She didn’t feel anything at all except empty, hungry, and very much alone.

“I’ve decided to run away,” Sam said after dinner. “Want to come?”

Francesca curled up against him on the family room sofa and closed her eyes. “Where would we go?”

“Somewhere hot. An uncharted island in the South Pacific. You’d have to spend the day naked.”

She smiled. “There are parts of me I don’t want sunburned.”

He shifted so his mouth pressed against her ear. “We’d be making love all the time, so they’d be covered.”

The low, sexy words made her stomach clench and her thighs relax. “What about food and water?”

“It would be there. We’d do take-out.”

“On an uncharted island? How would they find us.”

He wrapped both arms around her and drew her close. “Shh. You’re spoiling the fantasy. There would be plenty of food and water. A big bed, champagne. Ready to sign up?”

She thought about the feeble start she’d made on her outline and Sam’s child sulking upstairs. They were halfway through the first week, and things weren’t looking any brighter.

“Sure. When do we leave?”

“You’re my kind of woman.”

He kissed her, pressing his mouth against hers as he pulled her close. She felt surrounded by sensual heat. Need sparked to life, making her part her lips.

As he swept his tongue inside, he groaned low in his throat. The sound of masculine need made her tremble. Wanting grew, as it had the first time they’d been together. It enveloped her until it was all she could think about. Until rational thought wasn’t possible. She ached for him.

“Sam,” she breathed as she rubbed her palm against his chest.

He swore, then kissed along her jaw and down her neck. Her breasts swelled and her nipples tightened.

As she arched against him, he slipped a hand under her T-shirt and cupped her left breast. She gasped as his thumb brushed across the sensitized peak, then shuddered as he continued to caress her.

Despite her need to get lost in the moment, she was aware that they weren’t alone in the house.

“We can’t,” she whispered, even as she covered his hand with hers, urging him to keep touching her.

“I know. I’m just playing.”

If this was play, she thought as he nibbled her neck and made her skin break out in goose bumps, what would it be like if he got serious?

But she already knew. She’d made love with Sam, experiencing the sureness of his touch, the ease with which he pleasured her. Her insides tightened as she recalled how he’d filled her, thrusting deeply until she’d lost herself. She wanted that now-his body covering hers, touching and teasing.

Think about something else, she told herself as need turned frantic. Her breathing increased, as did her heart rate, and she couldn’t find the strength to push him away when he slipped his hand from her breast to the waistband of her shorts.

Any halfhearted protest she might have made died away when he unfastened the waistband and drew down the zipper.

“Just for a second,” she whispered, even as his fingers slid between curls and settled against swollen flesh.

He pressed his mouth to her ear. “You’re wet,” he whispered.

She sagged back against the sofa and closed her eyes. “I can’t help it. You’re touching me.”

“I like touching you.”

He rubbed against the one sensitive spot and she gasped. “What about Kelly?”

“We’ll hear her if she comes downstairs.” He bit her earlobe. “Just a couple of minutes. You don’t have to like it.”

“Yes, I do.”

He circled around, then slipped a finger inside of her. At the same time he pressed in with his thumb. The unbelievable combination made her gasp. Her hips pulsed slightly as her body surged and tensed.

She was close in a heartbeat. A few more strokes, a little rubbing, and she would lose herself in the pleasure.

Awareness of her surroundings made her hesitate. She put her hand on his wrist. “We have to stop.”

Sam looked at her, then nodded. “You’re right. If things get going too much, we won’t hear Kelly.” He withdrew his hand.

Half relieved, half disappointed, Francesca fastened her shorts. She felt aroused, edgy, and in serious need of some satisfaction.

“Did you know I have an original Picasso?” he said.

She blinked at the change in topic. “No.”

“It’s in my office. Come have a look.”

He stood and drew her to her feet, then led the way toward the front of the house. There was a small hallway just past the formal living room. The first door on the right led into a bookcase-lined study, complete with runway-sized desk and heavy drapes.

She barely had time to notice the small painting on the far wall when the door closed and Sam turned the lock.

“No condom,” he said, pulling her close. “We’ll have to be creative.”

His mouth settled on hers. The relief was nearly as sweet as the need was sharp. Under the circumstances-no birth control, limited time, and strange surroundings-she probably should have told him to forget it. But she couldn’t. Not when his hot, deep kisses made her rub herself against him. Her swollen center came in contact with his hard, thick erection and they both groaned.

“You first,” he said, pushing her back until she settled against the desk. He was already fumbling with her shorts.

She helped, then pushed them off, along with her bikini briefs. Then his tongue was in her mouth and his fingers were between her legs, and nothing mattered but the way he made her feel.

It was too good, she thought, barely able to stay standing. She clung to him as she sucked on his tongue and parted her thighs even more. Fingers plunged in and out of her. His thumb rubbed and circled and teased. She was seconds away from losing herself when he broke the kiss and crouched down.

“I want to taste you,” he told her.

She was hardly going to protest. With one quick push, she sat on the edge of the desk. Sam knelt on the floor and drew her swollen flesh apart. He leaned close, then placed an open-mouthed kiss on the very heart of her.

The orgasm came from nowhere. One second she’d been anticipating the intimate act and the next she was caught up in a whirlwind of pleasure and release. She bit back a scream as she clutched at his head. He licked and sucked, forcing one orgasm into two, then three. She shuddered and gasped, finally stilling.

When she was done, he straightened and smiled at her. Francesca felt more than a little embarrassed.