She raised her eyebrows.
“I can’t tell you.” That was the opposite of shutting the conversation down. It would only raise her curiosity.
“Why not?”
He made a last-ditch grab. “Because of the same thing I told you in the parking lot. You’re one-of-a-kind in my world, and if I tell you this, it could push you away.”
“I took a chance when I told you.” She hooked her thumbs in her pockets and rocked on her toes. “And I’m drawing all sorts of conclusions on my own, so you may want to clear those up.” There was a teasing sparkle in her eyes. Like this, she radiated temptation.
No. She always radiated temptation.
He stepped toward her, and her eyes grew wide.
What was he doing?
She stepped back when he drew closer, stopping when her back hit the car.
He closed the space between them until he felt her heat, but not making contact. He still didn’t have the right words, and the way her breath hitched made it harder to find them.
“Because”—the reply came out without his permission—”every time we’re up here, all I can think about is that day.”
“Which day?”
“You know which one.” He didn’t have a great grasp on words before, but the longer they stood like this, the further his mind drifted into that place he didn’t want it to be. His nerve endings screamed for contact. His fingers twitched to brush against her cheek. To tangle in her hair. To slide under her sweater and feel skin-on-skin.
She licked her lips. Had she always done that so frequently or was she tormenting him on purpose today? “What if I do?”
“I’ve asked myself what if... so many times.”
“What stops you from asking it out loud?” Her question was timid, but she shifted her body enough to make contact. Her hip pressed into his erection.
Fuck. He wanted her. More desperately than usual. But he couldn’t have her long term. Was it possible to do both? No. That was insanity. He couldn’t sleep with her and keep her friendship.
But other people did it. Friends with benefits, right? “Because you’re not just any warm body. You’re Ivy. Some day you’re going to find the perfect guy and have the perfect life. In the meantime, I don’t want to ruin what we have with something fleeting.”
“What if we could both promise it wouldn’t change things between us?” She was asking the right questions.
Too bad it wasn’t that simple. “You can’t promise that. Things will change.”
“They don’t have to change in a bad way.” There was more conviction in her voice.
He teetered in the edge of how badly he wanted her, and how much she deserved some who hadn’t betrayed her in the past.
Ivy tilted her head in and kissed him lightly.
His control snapped under the weight of her soft touch and her body yielding against his.
Don’t do this.
Too late.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Ivy remembered every kiss they’d shared over the years. Not that there were many, but she’d burned each one into her mind, and replayed all of them on endless loops.
None of them held a candle to this.
Miles’s groan hummed against her mouth and sang through her veins. His erection dug into her stomach, promising more. He tugged her hair and held her head in place at the same time, swallowing her gasps.
She needed something to hold onto, to keep her head from floating away. She fisted the front of his shirt, desperate and hungry.
I’m going to wrinkle his shirt... The concern evaporated when he dove his tongue into her mouth and probed.
Desire chased away the cold. All she felt were scorched spots where his body met hers.
Miles broke the kiss, but kept his grip on her hair. He met her gaze, his breathing ragged. “You have to say it. I’m not going anywhere. You’re my Ivy now and forever, but I have to hear you say this won’t come between us.” His voice was a low growl.
My Ivy. Such beautiful words. The my best friend was implied. But the tightening in her nipples and the pulse between her thighs pleaded with her to tell him whatever he wanted to hear.
Lust couldn’t get in the way. She hadn’t let it in the past, and she wouldn’t change that now. Not for a taste.
“Ivy?” Concern leaked into his voice.
But her answer wasn’t a lie. She could keep sex and friendship separate. She already knew he’d be with someone else next week, and then the week after. That was going to hurt whether or not she slept with him. At least this way, she got what she wanted—Miles in her bed and her life. “I promise, this won’t come between us. Anything that happens today, regardless of how far it goes. I promise.”
“Thank God.” He crashed his mouth down on hers again. His body pressed into hers, pinning her in place.
He pried one of her hands from his shirt, and glided it lower to trace his erection. He cupped her fingers around his shaft.
She followed his prompting, stroking him through his trousers.
Were they actually doing this? Making out in the middle of the parking lot?
He slid a hand under her sweater, and up her chest. He teased a nipple through the lace of her bra as he nipped along her jaw to her ear. “I can’t get the picture out of my head from this morning. You in a bra and jeans, nothing else.”
He’d been thinking about her? It made her slick with need. She tilted her head to give him better access to her neck. When he bit the tender skin she gasped in surprise. He traced his tongue along the sting. It all felt so good. She wanted more, but the setting wasn’t ideal.
“Are you planning to strip me down in the middle of the parking lot?” She teased between moans.
“Is that a problem?”
No. But yes. “It’s cold out here.”
“So if it was summer you’d let me bend you over the hood of the car and fuck you?”
Yes. She might not even make him wait until it was dark. There was no one out here. “Ask me again when it’s summer.”
His chuckle rumbled through her. He dipped his hand back down her stomach and undid her jeans.
Her heart hammered against her ribs. In anticipation and delicious terror and need.
Miles pressed against her panties, grinding in time to her whimpers. “Fuck, you’re wet,” he said.
“Thank you for that.” She shifted her weight to bring the center of her need closer to his fingers.
He pulled away with a smirk, breaking all contact. “You should take your picture.”
She squirmed. “I don’t think this kind of picture is allowed.”
“Naughty girl. I love it.” He dipped his mouth to her ear, not touching her. His hot breath fell across her skin. “This isn’t a childhood memory. Though I promise you it’s been a part of several fantasies.” He grabbed her phone from her purse and stepped away.
“Hey.” She lunged for him, but couldn’t put any force behind her protest.
“Tsk, tsk.” He wagged a finger at her. “On the swings.”
“Why me?”
He pointed her toward the playground and slapped her ass. “It’s your memory.”
She couldn’t argue that. She squealed involuntarily when she sat on the rubber seat. The cold was bad enough. Seeping into her jeans, and reminding her he’d gotten her worked up and slippery, made it worse.
He studied her for a moment, then snapped the picture. “I was going to make you actually swing, but you’re not the only one who wants to finish what we started.
So this would be more than an incredible kiss and a not-quite orgasm. The revelation chased way the creeping chill.
“We need to take a detour before your next task,” he said as he handed her back her phone.
Her heart skipped at the brush of his hand against hers. It was such a simple, everyday thing, and now it carried promises. “Detour where?”
“My place. Where I can tie you up and fuck you.” He opened the car door.
Did he
mean literally? The growl running through his word and the way he raked his gaze over her said yes. She slid into her seat with a hard swallow.
Her heart ground against her ribs as he pulled back onto the main road. This was really happening. Years of fantasy and dreaming, and it was real. She pinched herself.
“What are you doing?” Miles asked.
“Making sure this isn’t a dream.”
He rested a hand on her thigh, and teased her bare skin through one of the rips. “I promise it’s real. Yo know what you could do if you need proof?”
Her heart hammered against her ribs so hard she thought it might burst free. “What’s that?”
“Get started without me.”
Her throat was instantly parched. “I’m pretty sure that’s not proof.” She started—and finished—without him on a regular basis.
“No? Slide your jeans down your legs. Make yourself come. Right now.”
“I don’t...” Terror stole her voice. But desire throbbed between her legs. She was more turned on than she’d ever been.
He glanced sideways. His eyes were dark and hungry, sending pleasant shivers up her spine. “It wasn’t a request, Ivy.”
The stretch of freeway they were on was mostly empty, but not completely. They passed the occasional semi truck. Those cabs were high enough that the driver would get an eyeful if they glanced in her direction at the right moment.
Damn it, that made her pulse race faster, and amplified her desire.
She did as ordered, shoving her jeans down to her ankle. She slid her fingers between her legs and under her panties. That first brush of skin-on-skin made her gasp.
“Don’t stay quiet on my account,” Miles said. “I have to watch the road, so I need some way to know what you’re up to.”
Was it hot in here? She was scorching under her coat. She was fingering herself. In Miles’ car, as they drove at high speed down the interstate.
She slipped along her slit, teasing and trying to draw the moment out. Sometimes dipping into her opening before moving back up to her clit.
“I can’t hear you.” Miles’ voice glided along her skin, amplifying her desire.
She let out a gasp. It was foreign, but felt good to let it out. She couldn’t drag this out much longer. She focused on her clit, letting the moans and whimpers tear from her throat.
Ivy had never been vocal during sex, but it added another layer of sensation. It was freeing.
Orgasm built inside, until she couldn’t hold it back. “I’m going to come.” The words were delicious rolling off her tongue.
“Shove your fingers inside you.” He gripped her bare leg, fingers digging into her skin.
The command and his touch pushed her into climax. She used her other hand to slide two fingers inside. The new penetration drew out her pleasure. She clenched around her fingers, hips thrusting, until she was spent, and the touches were too much.
She eased off and sank back into her seat with a satisfied giggle “I think I made a mess in your seat.” Not the sexiest thing she could have said.
“I don’t care. They’ll clean up. The only thing I’m worried about is I still have to wait until I get you home.”
His confession squeezed around her chest. She didn’t know how to process this news that he wanted her this way. It was incredible, and she was going to savor every minute until it was over.
CHAPTER NINE
Miles struggled to put more focus on the road than on the stunning, partly-naked blonde next to him.
He wasn’t succeeding. He grabbed one of Ivy’s wrists, eliciting a delicious yelp. Drawing her fingers to his mouth, he sucked each one clean.
Her groans drove straight to his cock, until he thought he might pop his zipper. This wasn’t one of his better thought through ideas. But when she gave him permission in the park, he lost all his restraint.
He forced himself not to watch her as she cleaned up enough with napkins from the glove compartment so she could pull her jeans back up. Thank God for leather seats.
The remaining fifteen minutes that it took to get to his place were the longest of his life. After he shut the engine off, he all but dragged her inside.
Part of him wanted to romance and woo her. Seduce Ivy and make love to her all afternoon. She deserved that.
But not from him. This was just sex. They’d agreed. And his aching dick was grateful for that.
He was kissing her again before the door finished swinging shut. Knotting his fingers in her hair and tugging. Biting her bottom lip. Sucking along her jaw and to her neck. Each time she moaned, another of his restraints snapped.
“I need you now.” He guided her toward the couch, not breaking any contact. “I’ve behaved for the last half hour”—several years, whatever—“I can’t wait anymore.”
“I’m great with that.” Her voice was breathy and light. How did she manage innocent and seductive at the same time?
Because she was Ivy.
He managed to fumble a condom out of his wallet without easing up on the kisses for more than a few seconds. He shoved her jeans and panties to the ground, groaning in disappointment when they snagged on her shoes.
She laughed and toed off her shoes to kick everything aside. “Impatient much?”
“You’re not?” He stood and licked the tender spot where her neck met her shoulder, before biting hard enough to draw a whimper.
“I definitely am.”
He rolled on the protection, gripped her hips, and prompted her to sit on the back of the couch.
She wrapped her legs around him, and he groaned at the rush of heat from her wrapped around him.
He nudged her opening with the head of his cock, then slid in. She was still sloppy wet, and there was no resistance, despite the tight fit.
She arched her back with a sigh, pressing his dick deeper.
His control was at zero. He gripped her hips hard, and slammed inside her.
With each thrust, Ivy gasped or moaned, and pushed back. He felt everything, despite the condom.
Arousal swam in his head, driven by her sweet sounds, her scent, her taste when he crushed his mouth to hers. It wrapped him in an incredible haze.
Her cries grew louder. She dug her fingers into his back and clenched around him when she came again. Squeezing. Milking. Pushing him into orgasm.
He came hard, thrusting with abandon until he was spent. He didn’t slow until the cloud of need that drove him started to lift
When he finally stopped, they were both gasping for breath. She leaned her head against his chest, and he dropped his forehead. Did that really just...? It happened too fast for his taste, but he couldn’t have drawn it out.
It wasn’t enough. But it had to be.
Miles didn’t care that they were half dressed, and messy from sex. He fell onto the couch with her in his arms.
“Wow.” Ivy’s light laugh was candy and ecstasy.
He agreed. God, he wanted to bottle this feeling. To hold her for the rest of the day
He couldn’t. “Next item on the list?”
“In a hurry?” Her expression wilted.
He wasn’t, but he should be. “I figured you would be. The more tasks you complete, the better your chances of winning.”
Her groan was reluctant. “You’re right. Like usual.” She extracted herself from his arms. “Give me a few minutes to clean up?”
“Yeah. Whatever you need to do.” He felt empty with her gone.
He watched her walk away, hips swaying, exaggerating a stunning bare ass. Fuck, he wanted to yank her back here, kiss her hard, and explore her body longer.
He promised this wouldn’t disrupt their friendship. He wasn’t good for her as anything more.
The mental assurances didn’t quiet the roar inside, begging for more Ivy.
CHAPTER TEN
Warm fuzzies lingered in Ivy’s thoughts and whispered along her skin. She’d never expected that. Her wildest fantasies didn’t come close to what hummed in her v
eins. It wasn’t just that Miles knew what he was doing—and God did he know—it was that he was the one doing it.
And then it was over, and it was like a switch had been flipped. He wasn’t dirty-talking, desperate Miles anymore, he was back to best-buddy-for-life Miles.
Which was exactly what she’d agreed to. She needed to remember this was part of the agreement.
“Next up is something no one else is going to post,” she read the task aloud. “It needs to be a series of pictures. It doesn’t say how many. Just a series. Short videos are also included.”
She had no idea what to do for this. It had to be epic. Grand enough to catch attention in the competition, and elaborate enough to take her mind off Miles. Otherwise she’d be tempted to ditch this entire thing and spend the afternoon naked with him.
Did just this once extend to the entire day if they didn’t really take a break?
She shoved the question aside. She needed to at least try to win this money, despite the low odds. It was already going to hurt to let Miles go at the end of the day. Drawing out the intimacy wouldn’t help that any.
“We could head downtown,” Miles said. “Not super exciting, but we could find something unique.” He had already been dressed when she returned, but that didn’t stop him from looking delicious.
“I guess we could.” She didn’t like the idea, but she couldn’t come up with anything better.
He furrowed his brow and studied her for a moment, before a wolf-like smile spread across his face. “I have the perfect thing. I guarantee no one else will do it, and it will be stunning.”
That was a pretty big promise, and nothing in Ivy’s world met that definition. “What do you have in mind?”
“You. Painting. Pick one of the designs we talked about earlier, and start on it. I’ll work the camera.”
“People don’t want to see that.” She was good enough to sell merchandise and do custom work, but that was for a select audience. Her art was quirky and commercialized. Plus, “What if someone steals the ideas?” She’d dealt with that more than she ever expected when it came to her designs.
Seeking More Page 3
