by J. L. Drake
“Nope,” was all I offered. I was going to break.
“I love it.” She flipped her hair out of her face and looked over at me. “It’s dirty.”
Focus, Mike.
Sure as hell, ten minutes into the show, the main guy was in bed with some woman, and I fought the flinch in my hand to touch her.
“You look tense.” She grinned knowingly and batted her long lashes. “Oh.” She hopped up when her phone buzzed. She stood with her back to me and laughed.
“Your sister is texting me from upstairs.” It buzzed again, and she answered it.
“Hey, girl, I just got your text.”
I saw my opportunity and took it.
In two steps, I pressed my front to her back and slid my hands around and dipped my fingers down over the top of her panties and whispered, “Remember when we were in the woods?” I stroked and teased her through the fabric. “How I kissed you here,” I kissed her shoulder, “how I sucked here.” I moved over to suck where her neck met her shoulder.
“I forget where it is, Char.” She tried to think and was quickly forgetting how to breathe.
“Remember the way you moaned when I pressed my erection into your back?” I did just that, and she reached out to stabilize herself. “And when my fingers slipped inside you.” I tucked my finger under the fabric and gently brushed over her swollen nub. “Show’s back on.” I chuckled and stepped back.
She turned around and showed me the phone wasn’t even on.
“Thanks for the rub, babe.” She beamed at her trickery.
I tossed my head back, having been completely fooled by the power of a woman. Before she had a moment to think, I hauled her over my shoulder and slapped her smooth ass.
She laughed and tried to fight me.
I tossed her on the bed and hovered over her, catching her lips with mine. She willingly let me in, and her hands were in my hair and tugging at the roots.
“I’ve dreamt of this moment for a while now, Catalina.” I kissed the corners of her eyes and watched her face in the flicker of the TV. “I was starting to think maybe someone didn’t create a person for me.” I swallowed hard and pushed by the rawness that lived inside me. “I thought I was one of those men who was destined to live my life through the happiness of others.” She leaned up and gently kissed my lips before she lay back down. “Then one night, I heard this woman on the phone, and when she looked at me, she really looked at me. No fear, no assumptions. She just saw me.” I brushed the hair back from her neck, and my feelings for this woman rushed to my heart. “I never thought I would see that woman again. Imagine my surprise when I came face to face with you at my parents’ place.”
“Fate,” she whispered darkly, “or some trick of the universe.”
“Trick?” She shook her head for me to let the comment go, but I didn’t. “Maybe the universe is testing us, testing to see if we’ll make it.”
“Catalina,” I paused, unsure if I wanted to know the truth right now, “do you want to make it?”
Her lips pressed into a tight line, almost like she was going to cry, and she nodded a few times.
“Then we’ll make it.” I kissed her hard, and the mood switched from scared as hell to full-blown lust.
I ripped her t-shirt over her head, and she pushed my sweatpants so I could kick them off.
With both hands, I flipped her over and growled at her lace panties. I dragged my fingers from her neck, down her spine, and fingered the little bow before I used my teeth and untied the package in front of me. The two sides separated and released partway, giving me a gorgeous show of her sleek arousal.
“Jesus,” I groaned, wanting her so badly but also wanting to savor our first time together.
“Mike,” she rolled to her back and spread her legs so I could fit in between her hips, “I love that you’re a gentleman at heart, but…”
As I leaned over to kiss her, I quickly slipped inside to catch her off guard.
“Oh!” Her back bowed and pushed her breasts into my chest.
Oh, shit. I clenched my jaw and stopped when I didn’t think she could take any more of me.
“Don’t stop,” she cried but shifted to relieve the ache.
“I will not hurt you, Cat.” I didn’t move.
“Mike Irons, I will kick your ass somehow if you don’t push all the way…” Her head rolled back as she moaned and gripped the sheets. “Yes!”
I didn’t stop until she hit my base, and once I was in, I moved to help spread her arousal around to ease the bite of pain she was in. The moment she relaxed and adjusted to my size, I knew I could move freely.
My fists rolled into balls of steel, and my arms flexed by her head as I dragged myself out while I pressed upward to tease her clit. Just before I fell out, I switched directions and repeated this same action and went back in.
Her cheeks pinked and her chest heaved, and her hands clung on to my forearms. I changed the pace and went a little harder and faster, and her head moved back and forth in a silent cry, trying to find her release. Placing my hand flat on her stomach, I gently used my thumb to circle her clit and watched her opening take me to the root over and over again. It was incredibly erotic to watch the woman you were falling for fall to pieces while you were inside of her. It was like a wordless connection that was formed by two bodies fusing as one.
Just when I saw her leap off the edge, I hauled her up in my arms, twisted to sit, and let her ride her orgasm from on top. I locked my arms around her and dove into her neck and joined her bliss.
Lights, sounds, and heat broke over me all at once. If sound and color had a physical feeling, it took me over. Catalina rode me right through her release, which drained me of all my strength. I had never come that hard before, ever. She became slack in my hold, so I leaned back and brought her with me. We were both totally spent.
We should shower, we should talk about the fact that we didn’t use a condom, but really, I just needed another moment to relish her.
“Pill.” She seemed to hear my thoughts. “Clean too.”
I laughed into her hair and kissed her forehead.
“Sorry, I should have been more careful.”
“Perfect,” she muttered right before her breathing evened out.
“Yeah, you are.” I held her tighter and slipped off into the best sleep of my life.
***
The next morning, I dropped Catalina off at home to get ready for work and eyed Jeff as I walked away. What an asshole.
I decided to help my old man out at the cabin. We needed some more time together, and he could use the extra help because winter was coming. Dad was one of the main wood suppliers for the city.
Later that evening, Cole pulled the team away from my parents’ dinner table to check in on us.
“We will go over the route tomorrow morning at zero-seven-hundred.” Cole checked his watch. “Irons,” he directed his attention at me, “you good to go?”
“Yeah.” I ran my fingers through my hair and down my scruff, happy I decided to grow my hair out. “I’ll prep up when we meet our mark, but until then I will stay like this.” Not worth getting spotted in my undercover look.
“We’ll be in suits to cover your eagle tat.” We both knew it would be a dead giveaway. Cole stopped talking, and his gaze drifted over my shoulder. I turned, hoping to spot Catalina, but instead, Lizzy was on her way toward us.
“Zero-seven-hundred,” Cole repeated before the guys all shot off in different directions, leaving me to deal with her.
“Hey, you.” Lizzy leaned up on her toes and kissed my cheek. “You’ve been MIA lately.”
“Work,” I muttered as I scanned the property.
“She’s not here,” Lizzy spat. “Just like she wasn’t there to cover my shift the other day, like she promised. Now I need to get my hair done at Cha Cha Lomona instead of All Done Up.” She huffed out an irritated sigh. “Some people are just not reliable.”
“Oh, yeah?” I tried to recall what she sa
id, but I wasn’t really listening.
“So?” Her grin brought my attention back to her.
“So?”
Shit, what was she getting at?
“You ready for tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?”
“The party you told me you’d be my date for at the Brew.”
Oh, no…
“You promised, Mike, please.”
I wanted to say no, to walk away, to go hunt down Catalina, but I made this promise, and maybe Catalina would show up.
“Text me the details, and I’ll pick you up.” I pulled out my phone as she cheered. It was the first time I didn’t care about doing something with Lizzy.
I said goodnight to my parents, who looked worried about me but would never mention it.
“Get some sleep, Banner.” My mother gave me hug. “See you soon, right?”
“Do I ever not come back?” I forced a smile and headed out into the night.
CHAPTER TEN
Catalina
“Sometimes I wonder why God tests me around women like you,” Kyle huffed into his drink.
“Huh?” I wasn’t listening. I was still stuck in Thursday’s loop of shit. Where the hell was Javier? I just knew a dark storm was festering somewhere, and I wouldn’t be able to escape it.
“You in that,” he pointed to my red Spanish cocktail dress, “even I find myself checking you out.”
“You dabble with both sides, Kyle,” I muttered without really thinking. “I would be disappointed if you didn’t look.”
My dress was tight, short, and it had feathering around the trim at the bottom and lining the V that plunged down between my breasts. The feathery straps hung off my shoulders, and my messy hair flowed all around me. Really, I had no time to think about what I was going to show up in, so I wore what I had from a friend’s birthday party a few years back.
“Nice to know I look better than I feel.”
“Fooled me.” He winked then his gaze flickered over my shoulder, and his mouth dropped open. “Seriously?”
I turned to see Mike with Lizzy on his arm, and my stomach twisted into an uncomfortable knot.
Lizzy had on a white puffy dress that looked like she was at her quinceañera rather than a work party. Mike, on the other hand, had on a black dress shirt and dress pants. His dark hair was a little long, so he’d slicked it back. He looked intense as he scanned the room.
Suddenly, my four-inch heels felt like toothpicks and my knees wobbled.
“I need a drink,” I grumbled and hurried to the bar just for something to do.
“Damn, girl, I’d take you home tonight,” Charlotte joked from behind me. I turned and tried to give her the best smile I could, but of course, she saw through it. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I sipped my martini. “Just a long week.”
“Yeah, you left early the other day. Are you okay?”
“I wasn’t feeling well.”
“I’m sorry, honey.” She drew me into one of her famous warm hugs, and I held on a little longer than I probably should have.
She leaned back and studied my face the way her brother did. I pushed down my concerns and smiled.
“Your dress,” I pointed to her tight black dress, “looks sexy as hell.”
“Thanks!” She spun playfully. “I’m waiting for Mike to send me home.”
“Huh, yeah.” Mike was ridiculously protective of her. It was sweet.
“Speaking of which, is he here?” She looked around and spotted him. “Oh.” She seemed just as confused as I was. “He’s here with Lizzy?”
“Looks that way.” I finished off the rest of my drink, needing another.
“Maybe he didn’t know you were going to be here?” She tried to cover for him.
“I’m sure that’s it.”
“Or she sees that he’s found someone new to love, and now she wants him,” she muttered, clearly annoyed with her friend.
“Mike,” she called, and I turned away.
“I’m just going to go to the restroom.” I squeezed her arm and slipped out of the room.
After a five-minute pep talk with myself, I took a deep breath and stepped out of the restroom. A hand wrapped around my wrist and tugged me around a corner and into the empty kitchen.
Before I could think, Mike’s lips were on mine, and his hands slid around my waist and down my backside.
“Wait.” I stepped back, annoyed he didn’t see the problem here. “Why are you here with Lizzy?”
I saw the regret on his face, and his skin flushed with heat. “Old habits die hard. When she asked, it was a reflex to say yes. I didn’t want to come with her, but I did make a promise. It’s important to me that my word is kept.”
“I respect that, Mike, but if we’re together, you need to be with me, not showing up here with her.”
“You’re right,” he stepped closer and raised his hands, “and I’m sorry. I should have explained to her why she needed to find another date. Do you forgive me?”
That was all I needed, and I sank into his arms and let him devour my body. My hands wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer. We were starved for each other. I wished we were alone and didn’t have any secrets that could hurt us.
His fingers inched up under my dress and brushed between my legs. I hooked my leg over his hip and felt like I was seventeen again. Young, reckless, and in full-blown heat.
He moved his hands to my hips, and he lifted me up but kept his lips locked on mine as he walked us backward. He sat me down on a long, steel counter and moved in between my legs. Without a word, he tucked my hair behind my ear, and his other hand lifted my jaw. He licked my neck, followed by his lips sucking and nibbling all the sensitive areas.
“Mike,” I whispered, finding my voice somehow.
He pressed a finger over my mouth and shook his head. “Just let me have you,” he whispered. “I need you.”
Something about the tone in his voice told me something big was going on. I grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back to see his face. “What’s wrong?”
He closed his eyes and took a long breath, and I tried not to let my eyes roam over how sexy he looked tonight. “I leave tomorrow.”
My stomach flinched before it tucked itself into a ball.
“You seem different. It’s going to be risky, isn’t it?”
“Risky enough.” I swore I saw the battle he had inside through his dark eyes. They flickered with something I couldn’t understand. “I just want to be with the one person who makes it all worthwhile.”
I melted because I understood. Regardless of what life tossed at you, you needed a reason to go on. We were that for each other. How it happened, I was still unsure, but we were.
Without another word, I grabbed his belt and slowly undid his pants to free his massive erection. It sprung free, and he hissed when I wrapped my fist around the base. He took a moment to roll a condom on before he ordered me to lie back. I did, and he slid his hands up the outside of my legs and hooked my panties with his thumbs and pulled them down and tucked them in his pocket.
With both of my ankles in one hand high in the air, he positioned himself at my opening and coated his tip with my arousal.
“Sss,” he hissed with pleasure like he tried to control himself. I, on the other hand, was nearly delirious with desire. The heat that poured off his erection made a layer of sweat break out across my entire body.
He let go of my ankles and let them drape around his shoulders as he slid his hands back down my legs and up my stomach to my breasts, which were nearly falling out of the top of my dress.
“You are so beautiful, Catalina,” he whispered and nudged a little deeper into me. My back bowed off the table, and my head clouded. “I pictured this going differently, but after I saw you in this dress, and the way my week has been, I can’t stop myself.”
“Mike—” His name cut off when he pulled me down as he thrust forward to fill me to the max in one swift movement. I gasped, and his head f
ell to my chest to kiss my breasts.
“Breathe, Catalina,” he encouraged me. “Relax so I can get all the way in.”
“There’s no more room.” I nearly cried at the pleasure and pain that bit at my insides. How did I do this before?
He lifted my hips while still over me and inched farther in.
“That’s it, my girl,” he grunted in the most primal tone that begged my body to explode into a million pieces. “Come on.” He gave me more of him. He pulled out and slid back in to coat himself. “Ready?”
I shook my head but found myself saying, “Yes.”
“Almost there,” he gritted through his clenched jaw. “Christ, you’re tight.”
“Mike!” I cried, wanting more of the pain. It started to feel unbelievable.
One hand went to my shoulder to push me down and the other to my hip to help guide me. He leaned back to watch me take the rest of him.
“This is so fucking sexy,” he murmured, and finally I felt myself hit his base. He held still so I could adjust. I wiggled and panted, completely at his mercy.
Will it always be this way?
His sounds when I clenched around him had my teeth burrowing into my bottom lip.
“You ready?” he asked softly.
I nodded, fearing I’d lost my voice.
Slowly, he started to draw the length of his erection across my swollen clit, and I closed my eyes with a chuckle. I was drunk on lust and didn’t care if Charlotte walked in on us right now. Never had I felt so safe, so sexy, and so full at the same time.
“God, you’re so wet,” Mike purred like he was calm, but his neck muscles ticked, and I could tell he was holding back his urge to take control.
Three more times, he dragged out the feeling that sent my entire nervous system into overdrive. I was so ready but needed more friction.
I covered my face and moaned. I didn’t know if I was coming or going. I felt light as a feather, yet heavy as a rock.
“Take it!” I nearly screamed. “Take control, do what you want.”
He granted me a throaty chuckle before he bent me over like a pretzel and folded his body over me to use his weight to hold me down. My legs were over my own shoulders, and his face was to mine.
