Unleashed

Stopping at the top of the last flight of stairs, Tate Caldwell paused to catch his breath. Having dragged his heavy suitcase behind him up three flights of stairs, with his so-called

light weight

lap top -- now feeling more like a two hundred pound anvil slung over his aching back -- he wondered as he finally made it to the fourth floor, why his brother and new sister-in-law hadn't gone for an apartment that had an elevator -- or at least picked a place on a lower floor. Not that he was lazy or out of shape, just tired, damn tired. And all he could think of was getting some sleep.

Now he only hoped that the cat he was here to care for wouldn't need his attention at least not at two in the morning, because he sure as hell wasn't up for playing around with the thing tonight.

Turning the key in the door, he reached in and flipped on the living room light, casting his gaze around the room. Not bad, small, tidy, few nice old features; original dark oak flooring, cornice molding and wainscoting. He frowned, narrowing his eyes. Hmm, really tiny couch though, barely big enough for one person to sit.

With his sister-in-law Becky being an interior designer, he imagined an old place like this would be right up her alley. But at the moment décor was the last thing on his mind. All he wanted was somewhere to lay his head and the sooner the better. Having just flown into New York on an overnight flight from England, where he'd been guest lecturing at Oxford, he could barely keep his eyes open.

Glancing around as he went, with no sign of the little fur ball he was here to watch, he decided as he started to unbutton his shirt, that it should be fine for the night and he'd have plenty of time to look for it in the morning.

His shirt off and slung over his bare back, working the fly down on his slacks, he reached into what he assumed had to be the bedroom and hit the light switch. But when his eyes lit on the bed, he thought they'd pop right out of his head, his heart nearly stopping in his chest.

A woman was already in the bed, an incredibly beautiful woman, with long, dark hair spread around her like some kind of lacy veil and she sure as hell wasn't Becky. He watched her blink and sit up, eye-poppingly topless, with the most perfect pair of breasts he'd ever seen. Unable to look away, he prayed after his incredibly long, exhausting night, that she wasn't some kind of hallucination, because the hard-on he was already beginning to sport sure felt pretty damn real.

Seeing him in the doorway, sleeping beauty's eyes shot open and she let out one godawful scream the moment her foggy brain realized what she was staring at -- a complete stranger. And the hysterical way she was screaming had the effect of scaring the shit out of him, too.

Tate quickly held up his hands to try and reassure her. "Hey, calm down, I'm not here to hurt you." His gaze darting between her unbelievably pretty face and full pouty breasts, he knew he should probably turn his head and look away, but there was just no way he could. Even if someone was holding a gun to his head, he wouldn't be able to stop staring. She was just that breathtaking.

Following his fascinated gaze, the woman glanced down at herself, forgetting she'd felt warm and gone to bed topless. Snatching up the sheet, clutching it to her chest, her chin jutting out, she glared. "Who the hell are you? And how did you get in here?" He could see she was trembling, and her voice sounded pretty shaky, but her bravado surprised him, especially since if he really was out to harm her, it would be no contest -- he was a whole lot bigger than she was.

He tried to calm her fears as he explained, "Look, it's okay I'm Tate, Robert's brother. And I'm just here to watch their cat while they're away."

She stared at him wide-eyed, her mouth gaping open, looking completely baffled. "

You're

here to watch their cat? But that's why I'm here." She blinked, trying to comprehend what was happening. Sounding calmer now that she knew who he was, she asked, "So, who asked you to come and stay?"

He shrugged. "My brother Robert."

"Ugh, those two," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Bright as they are you'd think they'd know how to communicate. My sister Becky asked me to stay and take care of it too, and probably never bothered to mention it to Robert." She studied him for a moment then she briefly closed her eyes sounding resigned. "Fine, I guess you can sleep in here for tonight, and I'll go see if I can fit on that couch in the living room. And I suppose we can try and figure out this mess in the morning."

Tate shook his head. It wasn't going to happen. He'd gotten a look at that tiny couch, and knew there was no way she'd fit. "Don't think that's going to work. From what I saw it's barely the size of a love seat, and you'll probably kill yourself trying to sleep on that."

Blowing out a breath, he leaned against the doorframe, having lost the surge of adrenalin that shot through him when he'd first found her and she'd screamed her damn head off. Exhaustion now taking its toll, he knew he couldn't stay on his feet much longer. With a nod toward the bed he said, "Look, how about I just grab one of those pillows and try sleeping on the floor?"

Zoe sighed, there was no way she could let him do that. She'd feel terrible hogging the big comfy bed all for herself while he'd be breaking his back trying to sleep on the hardwood floor. Looking him over carefully, she said, "No, you don't have to do that, you can sleep in here. Gripping the sheet more tightly to her chest, she threw back the cover on the other side of the bed for him. "But no funny business, you understand?"

Tate chuckled. "The way I'm feeling right now, I don't think that would even be possible. I've just flown in from London, and I promise you have nothing to worry about, all I can think of is getting some sleep."

She gestured at the dresser on the far wall. "You want to grab me a T-shirt from the top drawer before you crawl in here, then?"

With a nod he said, "Sure." Wondering as he pulled open the drawer, how he could possibly be getting harder by simply thinking about those gorgeous breasts of hers even while his brain felt like it was shutting down. Huh, obviously his dick and brain were able to function independently. Interesting -- perhaps there was a lecture in there somewhere.

He tossed her the shirt, aware that he probably should look away, but he still managed to catch a nice flash of skin as she pulled the white tee over her head. And oh damn, as he turned to face her again he could still make out her dusky pink nipples through the thin fabric. Well, one saving grace, at least he knew the lights would be out soon, so he could say goodbye to her pretty nipples.

After tugging off his clothes, he hit the lights and crawled into bed beside her.

Barely able to discern her in the near pitch dark room, with only a sliver-thin shard of moonlight shining on the bed through a small decorative stained glass window above the curtains, he realized he should probably introduce himself if they were going to be sharing a bed. Extending his hand toward her in the dark, he said, "I'm Tate by the way, Tate Caldwell."

The idea of introducing themselves so formally in bed for some reason made her laugh, and he decided right away that he liked the soft musical sound of it. Fumbling in the dark to accept his hand, Tate noticed how her delicate little hand fit perfectly into his as she, in turn, introduced herself, which instantly got him wondering how else they might fit together. "And I'm Zoe McKay. I knew Robert had a brother, but I never imagined this was how we'd meet."

"Yeah, no kidding," he agreed, quietly chuckling, "nice to meet you, Zoe." After shifting the raging boner in his boxers, he released her hand and settled on his back, expecting to conk out the minute he closed his eyes. But surprisingly, that didn't happen. And he soon realized it wasn't likely to, not with every single nerve in his body not only coming to life but tingling with anticipation. And no small wonder, with a beautiful woman like Zoe lying next to him wearing next to nothing. Damn, this was weird -- and so damned arousing. It had been a long time since a woman had made him feel so anxious, so ready and so damn fast. But since nothing was going to happen to lessen his aching need, he had to tell himself to forget it and try to get some sleep.

Nearly frustrated out of her mind, Zoe curled onto her side facing the window. Squeezing her eyes shut, she willed herself to go back to sleep. It was middle of the night, and she should be tired --

right?

But how was she ever going to manage to fall sleep with such a gorgeous hunk of man lying next to her?

Once the initial shock of seeing him standing in the doorway had worn off, she knew her mouth had to have been hanging open from the incredible sight of him. And he must have noticed how she'd been unable to tear her gaze away, with how she'd shamelessly devoured every last amazing inch of him with her eyes. And he was quite a feast.

A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered. Nice and tall, well over six feet, broad firm bare chest with a nice smattering of fair hair, and with his fly down, those snug low slung boxers gave the perfect hint of the promised-land with that huge bulge he'd been rocking. She remembered how she'd had to fight to hold back a moan. Oh, and that face. Handsome didn't even begin to describe him; slightly longish sandy brown hair, teasing gorgeous pale blue/green eyes fringed with incredibly long lashes, and the hint of a sexy GQ beard and lips that were so obviously designed to be savored. But it was the raw, confident sensuality he exuded that had left her feeling so overwhelmed. She could feel her panties getting wetter by the minute just thinking about him, and damned if he wasn't in easy reach of her itchy fingers, nearly naked and way too close -- just an arms-reach away in the very same bed.

All she'd have to do was, roll over reach out and ...

She gave her head a mental shake. No. There was no way she could do anything like that. And what would he think of her if she did? After all they were practically related now, since their siblings had just married. Still, with thoughts of all the things they

could

be doing rolling around in her head taunting her, frustrating her to the point of exasperation she sat up, flipped her pillow, gave it a good hard punch and flopped back down again. As she tried to settle, she wondered if she hadn't actually heard him chuckle. Huh, could be crazy hot Mr. GQ wasn't sleeping too well himself...

When he awoke, Tate discovered his arm snug around a wonderfully warm, slender body. Still half asleep, he smiled at the erotic sensation of his erection nicely nestled in the crack of one perfectly round feminine ass. And he even flexed his hips a little to appreciate the sensation of those cheeks cradling his cock so nice and tight.

Tate blinked and nearly sat up, when he found himself staring at the back of the woman's head he vaguely remembered meeting the night before. Oh, crap, it was all coming back to him now. It was gorgeous Zoe's head he was staring at, and it was her he was holding tight, and it was the feel of her nice tight ass making him so unbelievably hard, that his nuts felt like they were trapped in a vice. Unable to avoid the heady scent of her lush dark hair in his face he gave in, inhaling his fill, settling back down with a contented sigh.

Awkward or not, this was one hell of a way to wake up. Trying to think back, he was pretty sure that nothing had happened between them last night. Carefully sliding his thumb to her hip, he could feel from the silky slide that she was wearing some kind of panties, and he could tell his boxers were still in place, so he was fairly certain

that

never happened. But if it had, he'd sure as hell want to be awake enough to enjoy something as amazing as it would have been with someone as hot as her.

He felt her shift in his arms beginning to stir and wondered if he should let go of her, but realized with the way she had her butt tucked up against him, that he'd have to physically push her away to get any space between them. Not exactly sure how to handle a situation like this he finally decided just to stay where he was and test her reaction.

Aware of a soft, sweet moan passing from her lips, he watched fascinated as her slender arm gradually slid down to cover his before her hand circled his wrist. Her curious fingers wrapping around his forearm and gently squeezing, apparently testing its strength, before gently brushing the soft short hair with her fingertips, he heard another contented little sigh slip from her lips

. Huh, could be she was okay with it.

But when he felt the excruciatingly arousing sensation of her sweet little butt wiggle tauntingly against his already painfully stiff cock, pressed in dangerously tight as it was, he felt her suddenly tense. And lightning fast she flew out of his arms and shot over to the far side of the bed. And strange as it was, he already wanted her back.

When she turned and sat up to face him, he couldn't miss her accusing glare. Unsure exactly what to say in such a situation, he chose to ignore it, and just said with a friendly smile, "Morning, Zoe."

Narrowing her eyes, there was no hint of humor in her voice when she asked, "You mind telling me how I wound up in your arms like that?"

As annoyed as she looked, he had to fight to hold back a grin, since he knew he had no regrets about waking up the way they had. "No idea, I just woke up and there you were, snuggled up nice and tight." His eyes shone with mischief. "Could be you were just cold."

She shook her head looking sceptical, but then he thought he saw the merest glint of amusement in her eyes, too. "Well, however it happened, we probably shouldn't let it happen again."

Detecting that glint of mischief in his eyes, she had to wonder how much of an accident it had been.

"You a coffee or a tea person, Zoe?" he asked as he pulled back the sheet and slid his feet to the floor, deciding to let the matter of their early morning snuggle drop without another word.

Sitting up, she blatantly feasted on the sight of his delectable body rolling out of bed. "Uh... tea, but it's all right, I can get it."

Tate shook his head. "No, you stay and maybe try and getting a little more sleep if you can. I can make us something." With the way she'd tossed and turned all night, he knew she couldn't have gotten much rest. But then again neither had he, not with how his raging hard-on had kept his focus trained on her sweet, soft body so close beside him in bed. Painfully aroused, the damn thing had refused to let him forget she was there --

or

let him catch any sleep. Seems co-habiting with a beautiful stranger could do that to a guy -- even if nothing happened.

Getting an eyeful when he stood Zoe's gaze trailed after him as he left the bedroom, finally blowing out an unsteady breath at the arousing sight of his nicely muscled back, and nice tight ass, clad only in a snug pair of black boxer briefs.

Hot as hell

was the only way to describe him. No wonder she'd wound up curled up tight against him. With all the lusty thoughts tormenting her last night, her body's homing system was probably tuned to

red hot male

, and automatically zoomed right in on its target, even while she'd slept. All she knew was something had to give soon or she was going to embarrass herself big time when she finally gave in and jumped that nice tight body of his -- whether he was almost family or not.

Tate had to shake his head to clear it as he stood in the middle of the small kitchen struggling to get his bearings. Certain he'd never been more tempted by a woman in his life, he wondered how he'd be able to continue sharing a bed with her, or even stay in the tiny apartment without losing his mind, never mind his load, he thought chuckling.

Finding a wooden tray in one of the cupboards, once he got everything ready, taking a deep breath he readied himself to head back to the den of temptation, or the uh... bedroom.

But as he went, he thought of how crazy this whole thing was. He'd never really cared much for cats, and had even told his brother Robert that when he'd asked him if he'd mind staying here to take care of theirs while they were away. But since Tate had already told him that he planned to be in the city to reconnect with some colleagues at NYU, Robert mentioned how he and his new bride Becky had missed out on having a honeymoon when they'd impulsively gone for a quickie lunch hour wedding at city hall. And since they'd had to return to work right after their vows, these upcoming two weeks would be their only shot at getting away together.

And apparently when Becky tried to board it once before, the cat hadn't done too well, refusing to eat until she got back. Bottom line, somehow Robert had managed to let him know, without actually saying it, that he wouldn't be much of a brother if he refused him. And with their parents both gone, and the two of them, the only family they had, he'd reluctantly agreed to baby sit a damn cat and look after their place.

But with Zoe here now to take of things, there really was no reason for him to stay anymore. He could just grab his suitcase and head to a hotel somewhere near the university and stay there for the next few weeks. He glanced around the tiny flat. Truth was the place really was pretty small for two people, especially who barely knew each other, and with just the one bed. He slowly began to smile --

yeah,

just one bed

-- for the two of them to share. And his grin just kept widening the more he thought about sharing it with lovely Zoe. Naw, what the hell, maybe he'd stay put after all, just to see how things went. Oh, and of course see about the cat, as he'd promised his brother.

Zoe sat up in bed when he walked in, with her thick, lustrous hair loose around her shoulders perfectly framing those spectacular breasts he'd got a glimpse of last night. He had to force himself to look away or knew he'd probably trip over his own damn feet, never mind his traitorous dick, once he spied those taut pink nipples through her thin T-shirt again, nipples that seemed to be practically calling his name.

Even in the harsh light of day, she really was beautiful; dark sexy hair any guy would love, long and softly curling at the ends, amazing bright blue eyes, framed with super long lashes. Even without makeup, she was flat out gorgeous. And that pretty lush mouth of hers had him wondering what she'd taste like.

No, he decided, he wasn't planning to go anywhere anytime soon -- at least not while Zoe was here.

And when she flashed him a pretty smile, his knees damn near gave out. "Ooh, how nice -- breakfast in bed. Thank you. I don't think I've had it since I was a kid when I had my tonsils out."

He smiled back. "Then I guess it's time you had it again."

Zoe bit her lip, remembering she hadn't had

that

in a long while either, and the way he'd said

it was time she had it again

, reminded her of one of the reasons she was here, not only to house-sit and care for her sister's cat, but also to try and hook up for some much needed sensual stimulation.

Being a third grade teacher living in a small town was not exactly conducive to having a crazy hot sex life, especially with the way her every move was monitored not only by her overbearing family, but the entire busy body population. So there was no way, normally prim and proper Miss McKay could ever

get it on

with anyone in tiny close-knit Martindale without causing a full-blown scandal.

And being a healthy twenty-seven year old woman with definite desires, she had every intention of seeing to those needs at least a time or two before she had to head home in a little over two weeks -- starting tonight if she could. She imagined having Tate around shouldn't hold her back from her goal. Considering how hot he looked, he'd undoubtedly have plans of his own, most likely with some willing woman or another. She wrinkled her nose at the thought -- deciding she was one lucky bitch, whoever she was.