Free Up All Night-nook by Lyric James

 
Up All Night
     
    “Hey. Where are you going?”
    Stella Lewis glanced down at the hand wrapped around her wrist. Her gaze swung up to stunning green eyes with gold flecks around the irises. The face wasn’t anything to sneeze at either. It was a light honey brown with a smattering of freckles across the bridge of the nose.
    Ian Hollis.
    Her mind went blank, and she forgot to breath. Gracious, he was handsome. In a white linen shirt, gray linen shorts and no shoes, he looked like he just stepped out of a GQ advertisement.
    Between the eyes, the cocky grin on his face and the backdrop of the ocean, it was no wonder her mind conjured up an antique four-poster bed draped in red silk with bodies tangled underneath. Her heart thumped when he moved to the step below her.
    “Stella?”
    The way her name sounded in that deep, intoxicating voice sent shivers down her spine and shifted her imagination into overdrive. Ian Hollis was the man she craved but denied herself since the very first moment she met him. Because she knew better and understood that a man like him could, and would, distract her and turn her into someone she didn’t want to be. 
    So, why did the mere sight of him make her mind turn to mush and conjure sensuously dark thoughts? She twisted her wrist out of his grasp. “Up to the attic,” she answered in a clipped tone.
    Ian smiled and looked around. “Is there another pool up there I don’t know about? A hot tub?”
    His gaze, slow and lazy, perused her body and made her wish she’d worn something sexier than navy blue shorts and a short-sleeved white shirt, even though the eyes that traveled back up to her face hinted with pure male appreciation. For the life of her, she didn’t understand why. “Um...no. I’m going up there to look at some of the furniture Dayna’s grandmother left.
    His eyes widened. “You’re working?”
    Stella nodded her head and shifted her eyeglasses on the bridge of her nose. “Yes. I only have the weekend. I want to look at as much of the furniture up there as possible so I’ll know how big a truck to send next week to pick it up.”
     A rush of heat sparked along her veins when Ian trailed a finger over her cheek. “You mean,” he said, huskily, “you’re going to waste that white sandy beach, that gorgeous pool and your beautiful body by rummaging around in an attic all weekend?”
    Her insides tingled with pleasure and she nodded. He moved around her to the step above and took her by the waist. Heat suffused her skin, and she found herself leaning back into his embrace. A delicate whisper of wind pushed a tendril of hair from her ear when he leaned forward and said, “Nope. Not going to let you do it.”
    Ian pushed her ahead until she had no choice but to climb down the steps or fall. She pursed her lips. “But...”
    Ian’s lazy, amused voice rolled out. “No buts. You came to relax and enjoy yourself. Not work.”
    Actually, that wasn’t true. She had come to work. When she’d received Dayna’s email, she’d immediately picked up her phone and called.
    “Hey, Dayna. Can I take a look at the furniture in the attic while I’m there?”
    “Sure. I was actually going to call you and suggest you do that.”
    Stella owned an antique store, and if she didn’t get an infusion of new furniture and cash real quick, she’d be operating in the red in a few short months. Since the economy tanked, she wasn’t able to purchase or order new furniture for her store. Her regular customer’s had grown tired of seeing the same offerings month after month. But if she could get her hands on some of the things Dayna’s grandmother left, she knew it would entice her customers to purchase and infuse some much needed funds into her almost empty business and personal bank accounts. As an added bonus, she didn’t have to outright buy anything from her friend as she’d have to do with one of her regular retailers. Once she sold something, Dayna agreed to accept a