Strung Out by Kaitlin Maitland Page B

you actually use all of these kitchen gadgets?”
    “Actually, I can.” He grinned, his green eyes glinting with mischief. “I love to cook. Although I can’t report one hundred percent success with all of my kitchen experiments.”
    “And here I thought guys like you were a myth.”
    “Only some parts of me are mythic.” He took her hand and tugged her through the kitchen, through a dining room furnished with a gorgeous antique table, delicately tooled chairs, and a matching china cabinet, and into the living room.
    She stopped seeing furniture. It just didn’t matter. It was obvious there was no family living here just yet. But the house was begging for the life and laughter one would bring.
    “You know, I would have figured you for the loft sort.”
    He continued tugging her toward the stairs. “You mean one of those minimalist, modern spaces where you can’t tell the furniture from the art hanging on the walls?”
    “Yeah, that.” The staircase was narrow, elegantly curving its way toward the second floor.
    “That sort of thing doesn’t appeal to me. I have an office downtown. I’d rather live in something that looks like a house.”
    She stopped, resisting his pull on her hand and giving him a look to say she didn’t buy it.
    “All right, so other than the kitchen, I’d probably have a bed with a milk crate for a nightstand. And maybe a couch.”
    “No electronics?”
    His grin turned sheepish. “In a room upstairs.”
    “So where did all this other stuff come from?”
    “I told you, Desiree isn’t the type of sister you can get rid of. She stays here off and on when she gets sick and tired of our mother.” The warm smile on his face said he didn’t really care. “Or when Neiman Marcus is having a three-day sale.”
    Talia gazed around at the soft earth tones, warm fabrics, and inviting decor. Erik’s sister had fantastic taste. Of course it was probably a lot simpler to make your space inviting when you had limitless funds at your disposal.
    He pulled her toward the stairs. “Come upstairs. I want to show you something.”
    Erik had put his personal, masculine touch on the second floor. A flat-screen television dominated the living space. The couches were overstuffed black leather, and a full bar stretched the length of the only wall that wasn’t covered in Celtics, Red Sox, and Patriots paraphernalia.
    “Apparently you like sports.”
    “I was born and bred in Boston. It’s a requirement.”
    “You’ll have to explain that phenomenon to me.”
    “Later.” He left off tugging her arm and swept her off her feet. “Forget the tour. I can’t wait any longer to have your pussy for dessert.”

Chapter Nine

    Erik was certain a psychologist somewhere had come up with a term for the all-consuming frenzy of lust that overcame a man when he saw his woman, naked, in his bed. That same psychologist would probably also have a scientific name for the possessive inclination that would cause Erik to decide Talia was his to begin with.
    Shoving the doubts to the back of his mind, he focused on the woman lying on her belly before him. Her ass was perfect, rising smooth and full before flaring into ample hips. Tangled hair rested against her back, and her arms were tucked beneath her head, giving him an enticing view of the pale, sensitive skin at the sides of her breasts.
    “Would you quit staring? You’re making me self-conscious.” Her voice was muffled by the pillows.
    He’d been standing in the doorway. Now he closed the distance between them and stretched out alongside her warm body.
    “Did you find your phone and order food?” She lifted her head, giving him an expression of woe. “I’m going to die of starvation.”
    He ran the palm of his hand from her shoulder blades to the cleft of her ass. “You could quit burning calories.”
    She wrapped one hand around his cock. “Are you sure about that?”
    Heat lanced through his body. She squeezed gently, pumping his shaft. Blood rushed