by Brisa Starr
My tongue is coated in her wetness, and I zero in on a strong, consistent rhythm… it’s time to make her come. I keep fingering her while I let my tongue flick, full speed, on her engorged clit. Her body tenses as she ascends her way to orgasm, and she cries out as she tips over the top, coming all over my finger and mouth, grinding it out on my face. Her release is so sweet. The release I gave her.
As she’s coming down and relaxing in the glow of hormones coursing through her, I grab a condom from my pants pocket. I kneel between her creamy legs, spread wide for me, and she looks up at me wide-eyed, admiring my gigantic, thick cock standing at attention in front of her. “I need you,” she whispers.
I put on the condom, and she lays back, angling her hips up, ready for me. I shove my cock deep inside her. Oh my god. This. This woman. This feeling. I’m transported somewhere I’ve never been.
What is this connection, this affection, this bond?
She shrouds my cock in her heat and wetness, tight, like a tiny cave that’s molten hot and trying to milk my cock of everything I’ve got. I slowly pull out, then plunge it right back into her. She meets my thrust, wanting me just as much as I want her. I gaze into her eyes, and my passion, my devotion—the closeness—is reflected back.
I couldn’t prolong this even if I wanted to. I need to come so hard, so bad, so deep in her. “I’m sorry,” I say through gritted teeth. “I have to take you hard.” And I plunge harder, faster. She closes her eyes and gasps, arching her back high, her tits jutting out as she takes all of my size.
I pump her, ram her, fuck her hard. Her eyes fly open, meeting mine, filled with lust, desire, tenderness, and… safety. God, I’m falling for this woman.
“Give me everything you have,” she says, not taking her eyes off me.
Sweat drips off my brow and splatters on her chest. “Yes!” I growl. “I’m gonna give it to you.” I’d give her anything. Everything. I slam my cock into her, my balls slapping her ass, and she cries out, shattered, screaming my name, getting exactly what she asked for.
“Come again, Aspen. Come on my cock,” I command.
“Yes! Harder!” she cries.
Holy shit, she wants more. So I pound her harder, at rapid speed, slamming into her like a jackhammer, never letting up, never relenting, showing her what I’m capable of. Showing her what she can have, anytime she wants.
“Ryker! I’m going to come! Oh my god!”
I gather all my power and strength, smashing the orgasm out of her. She explodes, her legs stiffening as her orgasm washes through her body in epic tidal waves.
I don’t wait even a second before my load explodes into her, filling her with my cum, and my orgasm sucks everything out of me. I gasp for air as a final spasm shoots the last bit out.
I collapse on top of her, crushing her with my weight, as my sweaty chest rests on her soft breasts. She doesn’t complain. After a moment, I lean up and pull out of her. I take off the condom, tie the end of it and toss it aside. I lay down next to her, my arm extended for her to crawl into, and we still have no words. I close my arms around her, and our breathing calms into a gentle rhythm, in sync with one another. I stroke her silky hair with my fingertips, marveling at its softness as a wave of peacefulness washes through me, and we relax into our afterglow.
A minute goes by, and lying on the ground gets uncomfortable. I lean up on my elbow, looking down on her. “That’s what I meant when I said I wanted your pie.”
22
Aspen
I look into Ryker’s eyes, and I can’t stop the laugh that bubbles out of me. “You’re crazy, you know that?” I say and shove his shoulder playfully.
That man just made my DNA sing. I could pretend that I didn’t know what I was doing when I drove over to his house, but I had to see him. I wanted to. I didn’t like how we left things at the auction, and by the time I went to find him, his dad said he’d gone home. So, I asked him for Ryker’s address, which he was more than happy to provide, and here I am.
When Ryker opened the door, and his eyes were filled with so much heat and longing, a calm voice, deep down inside my soul, urged me, “Yes.”
“That was… intense,” I say, and my eyes grow wide as I replay in my mind the thrashing Ryker just savaged on my pussy. “I might be sore for a week.”
He twists a lock of my hair around his finger and says, “God, I hope it’s not that long before I can have you again. I’m almost ready to take you again now.” He smiles and leans his face closer to mine. “I’ll be gentle.” He softly kisses my lips, and even those are thrashed.
I don’t know how he did it, but the man has cast a spell on me. I’d cry foul play. Or bemoan my own weakness. But the main thing I’m feeling with Ryker right now is strength. A bond. We sit up, and I look around, looking at our evening wear piled sexily on the floor, like a morning after shot in a perfume ad in a fashion magazine. I giggle. We never even made it past the hallway.
Then, his eyes cast a hint of shadow, and he says, “So… I’m surprised you came out here.”
“Me too, I guess. But, well, I’d wanted to see you before the night was over, seeing as how I never have time to get out. I was the one who was surprised, when you left the auction without saying goodbye.” I blush as I say it.
He stands up and picks up my thong and dress. The shadow on his face is larger now as he hands them to me. Then he picks up his clothes, and we get dressed.
It feels awkward now.
He seems guarded and distant, and my defenses go up. “Why did you leave the auction early?” I ask, and before he answers, my skin prickles as the room suddenly seems cold. Did he just get what he wanted from me and that’s it? Is this my send off?
Didn’t he just mention wanting to have me again?
Or was that just the afterglow talking? Or maybe he was just saying that to be nice.
“I was mad at you tonight,” he says, his flashing green eyes challenging mine.
My eyebrows furrow. “Mad at me? What the hell for?” I snap, and the last remnant of bliss from a moment ago slips from my grasp. “You’re the one who was being unreasonable.”
“I didn’t like how friendly you were when you were ‘networking,’” he says, using air quotes.
I gasp, offended. “What the fuck, Ryker?”
He flinches and then closes his eyes. “It pissed me off, Aspen! You were going from man to man, networking,” he says, again, a sneer coating the word.
“So? I was drumming up business for The Rose. That’s what businesspeople do. We work. We network. I’m not surprised your lazy ass doesn’t know anything about that!” I walk to the table by the door and grab my purse.
He flinches again. “You know nothing about me!” he yells. “But what I know about you is that you’re obsessed and have a one-track mind to get what you want!”
His words slap my face, and I can’t believe what I’m hearing. My blood pounds so hard in my ears, they feel like they’re going to pop. “I know that you’re a jealous oaf who has no right to be jealous. I didn’t belong to you then! I don’t, I mean!” I stand there, my legs shaky, from both the anger streaking through me, and from the Spartan-level sex.
“What the hell’s gotten into you, Ryker? Why are you acting this way?” I ask, the edges of my eyes stinging. I want to cry, but I’m too damn angry.
“Because you only care about one thing, yourself!” he yells, and now it’s my turn to flinch.
I take a deep breath, not believing this is happening between us. I have no idea what to say. My god, after what we just did, the passion, the intensity, the feeling… my gut twists into knots. I have to get out of here. Now.
I shake my head in disbelief. “I told you I didn’t have time for a relationship, and all you’re doing is proving me right. I’m wasting my fucking time!” I grab the doorknob, yank it open, and storm out of his house.
I drag myself into my condo, still not understanding what just happened between Ryker and me. The minute he opened his front
door, we came together like we were meant to be. Easy. Intense. Powerful.
Then it all blew up.
What the fuck happened?
I eat a giant spoonful of cream cheese and take the open bottle of wine from my fridge and head upstairs to start a bath. I set the bottle on the edge of the tub next to my phone. It’s late, and I should get to bed because I have an early morning, but a bath and wine sound soothing for my mind and my body, both battered by Ryker.
As the hot water fills the tub, I think about how I’d missed him at the auction, but I was busy sharing the news and talking to others about it. There wasn’t anything I could do about that, and I wanted to drum up business. If he hadn’t been so jealous, he could’ve been standing by my side, but nooooooo, he freaked out.
After I made the rounds, those keys to the hotel were burning a hole in my purse, and I wanted to let loose and share the joy. I was on top of the world, but it quickly felt lonely there by myself. Sure, I had Mom, and people at the auction were congratulating me, but…
I wanted to be with Ryker.
So I threw caution to the wind, and went to see him. I had no plan beyond driving to his place. Once I walked up to his front door, it was anyone’s guess what would happen, but I guess I had hoped for at least another kiss.
I got more than just a kiss!
Then, after our incredible love-making, fucking—whatever you call it—he suddenly morphed into this ridiculous jealous asshole, fuming and suffocating me. It was like he was someone else. Like Jekyll and Hyde.
I’m the idiot for letting myself fall for him.
I never should have gone over there.
I slide into the warm bathtub and turn on the jets. It’s one of my favorite things about this condo, my giant bathtub with jets. They pulse around my body, and I take my phone, swiping it to find my to-do list. Correction, my huge to-do list. Sometimes I wish time would just stop, and all the balls in the air would stop, too. A moment to catch my breath is all I need.
I take a deep breath and toggle between my calendar and list, making a plan. And although thoughts of Ryker skirt my mind, I do my best to ignore them. Him.
Well, that’s dead. And better now than later. With that, I turn my heart off. Click. It’s back to doing shit on my own, just the way I like it. I think. Because… I. Don’t. Need. A. Man.
But do I want one?
A certain one?
Nope. Not anymore.
I blast through the next couple of days, which are non-stop running around, baking pies, and meeting with contractors about The Rose. I’m so busy that I’ve only thought about Ryker forty-eight times, but who’s counting?
My phone rings. It’s Cheryl from the Chamber of Commerce.
“Hi, Cheryl,” I say into the speakerphone, while driving with Popster to The Rose, so we can decide on paint colors.
“Hi, Aspen. How are you doing?” Cheryl asks.
“I’m great. Busy as heck getting the bed-and-breakfast spruced up. Mom and I are eager to start taking reservations,” I say and turn the car into the parking lot.
Suddenly, I shriek. “Ah! Look, Popster!” I point to the new sign we had made. The old sign said The Rose Hotel. Now, it says THE ROSE BED & BREAKFAST.
“What’s wrong? Aspen? Are you OK?!” Cheryl asks.
I laugh. “Yes! We just pulled into the bed-and-breakfast, and they’ve already changed the sign!”
“That’s fabulous! Send me a picture!”
“Will do! Hey, so what did you call about?”
“I have the name of the company for your pie donation from the auction,” she says and giggles.
“What are you laughing at? Who won?”
Popster mouths to me that he’ll head inside, and he exits the car. I watch him leave, but he stops on his way for a smoke. He turns back to see if I’m watching, and I shake my finger at him through the windshield, my lips tight. He shrugs as if to say, “Whatever.”
“Well, Aspen,” Cheryl says, “Your pies brought in the biggest donation, by far. You owe Ryker Miles of Miles Law Firm twenty pies for his donation of… ready?… ten thousand bucks!” she says and giggles again.
Ten thousand dollars?!
“He must really like your pies, girl.”
If she only knew.
My pulse quickens, and my face flushes. “Do you need his contact info?” she asks, interrupting my wicked thoughts of when he was eating my pie.
“No, I have it,” I say and clear my head with a little shake.
For fuck’s sake.
I leave Popster at The Rose to manage the contractors, while I run across town to the hardware store. I’ve decided on a cranberry-red paint color for the dining room.
I head into the hardware store, and I grab the things Popster wanted on his list. He’s excited about living there, and he’s already busied himself tinkering with things, helping the contractors, and figuring out his living space.
I walk out of the hardware store and get into my car. Ugh, I need to text Ryker. I pull out my phone to text him about the pies he won at the auction. My heart lurches at the thought. I haven’t heard from him, and I expect he’s regretting the $10,000 bid. But then again, that’s pennies for him.
I open the messaging app.
Me: Hi. Cheryl from the Chamber of Commerce told me about your bid on the pies, and, not surprisingly, you won. Is there a place you want them donated? Or do you want them all at the law office?
Ryker: Law office.
Me: OK. Well, I usually bake on Sundays for big orders, but this weekend is the Cherry Festival in Traverse City, which I never miss. Is it OK if I bake the following Sunday and deliver next Monday?
Ryker: Fine.
I swallow. His cold brevity twists a knife in my heart, and I exhale softly. I never expected a man to take up space like this in my heart and mind. I’m trying like hell to ignore it—him—but it’s impossible.
Determined not to waste time thinking about what could have been, I crank up Hailee Steinfeld’s song Love Myself and head home to pack for the weekend. Maybe a couple of days at one of my favorite places will soften my ails.
Cherry Festival, here I come!
23
Ryker
I can’t get that night with Aspen out of my mind. The red dress. The sex! I’m haunted by the image of her beautiful, naked body beneath mine, her legs spread, eyelids fluttering, as I took her as my woman. Mine.
But what now?
I don’t know what got into me… one minute, I was inside the woman of my dreams. The woman I was sure was the one, my juice. But when the afterglow of our sex faded, I remembered the auction. I couldn’t get Mom’s words out of my head, or the memory of Aspen flirting, making the rounds at the auction. Networking.
Now that I think of it, it’s all becoming clear. It would never work with us. She’s too obsessed with her success. I don’t know why I didn’t see that before Mom pointed it out to me. Maybe it was seeing her in action at the auction, in a different light. It was a punch to my gut.
Still, I don’t feel any better right now. I feel like absolute shit. I miss her. But I’ll just have to get over it. My Spartan race is coming up, so I’ll focus on that. I’d love to take off to Hawaii after the race, work on the house out there, but I have to fulfill my obligations to my dad.
But… the sex was unbelievable. She felt so good. It was like our bodies were designed to fit together. I’ve never felt so comfortable and natural with a woman so fast. With Aspen, the sex combined all of the excitement of a first time, with the safety and familiarity of a long-time partner. It felt like I’d known her for years. Like we’d been lovers for years.
I sigh, and I know I won’t be able to sleep. So I take a hot shower and get a beer.
I wish she were here, and that things were different.
The nights haven’t gotten any easier, and last night was extra long and shitty, but it’s Friday evening, and I’ve had a productive day at work. I’ve got my head buried in files when Dad w
alks into my office. I haven’t seen him since the auction. He sits in the chair across from my desk and smirks, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Yes, Dad? You don’t look like you’re here to talk about a case.”
“I was wondering how things are going with Aspen.”
My heart sinks. “Not great. Why?”
“She was looking for you at the auction the other night. I told her you’d left, and she asked for your address, so I played Cupid.”
He leans forward, putting his elbows on my desk like I’m going to share a juicy secret. I chuckle inwardly at my joke, but it wilts inside me. It’s anything but a joke.
“Sooooo… what happened?” he asks, no doubt smiling because he thinks he played a role in something exciting.
“It went well, and then it didn’t.” It’s all I can manage.
His face turns sympathetic. “Oh. Sorry, son. Want to talk about it?”
I stand up and rake my fingers through my hair. I need to talk with someone, and there’s no one better than Dad. He’s had his share of heartbreak, and look at him now. He’s happier than he’s ever been. Happier than anyone I know, actually.
“You know, Dad…” I say, and I start pacing the office. “Things were moving along, despite her claiming she doesn’t have time for a relationship.” I regret the anger in my voice.
“And I was watching her working the room at the auction—networking—with one man after another, and I got jealous. I saw how they looked at her. You could see they were smitten by her. It pissed me off.”
I pause, thinking about the pain I felt at the gallery that night. “I don’t know… she’s so beautiful. I worked so hard to push my way into her life, and it was working. And then… fuck, I blew up.”
