by Lexi Blake
“You did well,” he whispered against her ear. He could still smell her. He let his hand drift down and found that pussy drenched in fresh arousal. No, he hadn’t been wrong about her. She’d responded to a bite of pain, and he knew exactly how to give it to her.
Her head fell back against his shoulder. “I liked it. I didn’t think I would. I like how it hurts. I think that makes me a freak.”
“It makes you perfect.” Perfect for him. He hoped her date tomorrow was some buttoned-up, completely vanilla, never-thought-of-sinking-his-cock-into-her-arse bastard of a man. He let go of that line of thinking because it wasn’t going to happen. “And a sub as perfect as you deserves a treat after her discipline.”
He sank his fingers inside, his thumb finding her already ripe and ready to go clitoris. She shook in his arms as he fucked her with his fingers, his free hand cupping her breast and holding her against his chest. It didn’t take long before he felt her come around his fingers. The spanking had her primed.
He knew he should play with her longer, show her how much control he had. But he couldn’t stand it one more second. He had to get inside her or he was going to lose his mind. He’d meant to have her completely undress him, but he didn’t care now.
“Grip the couch again,” he ordered. “And spread your legs for me.”
“Yes, Owen.” There was a smile in those words, a deliriously happy smile.
He’d made the doctor purr like a happy kitten. He’d done that. No one else. He pulled on his belt, his hands shaking like he was some teen and this was his first time. It took effort to find the condoms he had in his wallet and roll one on. His dick was so hard he worried the minute he touched the damn thing he might go off. It didn’t. His cock knew exactly what it wanted. He shoved his slacks down, not bothering to take them off. He needed her too badly.
He was out of control, but if she was worried it didn’t show. She turned her head back, her eyes still soft.
“One of these days, I’m going to see that cock, you know,” she promised. She wiggled her arse his way. “But not this second. Fuck me, Owen. I want to feel you inside me.”
That was an invitation he would never refuse. Not from her. He moved in between her legs and lined up his cock. She was perfectly wet and ready for him, and still it was a delicious fight to get inside her.
She was tight around him, and he gripped her hips to steady himself as he slowly impaled her on his cock. Her back flattened and she pushed against him as her hands gripped the side of the couch.
“You feel so good,” she said on a shuddering breath.
Good didn’t begin to cover it. He forced his cock in until he couldn’t go any further and he held himself still against her, letting her heat surround him, suffuse him.
She wriggled, tempting him to move. He dragged his cock back out and thrust in again. She moved in perfect time with him, catching the rhythm quickly.
He fucked her hard, reveling in the way she took everything he gave her. The orgasm hit him like a flash fire. It poured through him and he held on to her as she shook and called out his name for the third damn time that night.
He staggered back and she managed to stand up and turn. She was stunningly gorgeous, obviously flushed from sex.
And he had his pants around his ankles, a condom still on his softening cock.
She simply smiled his way. “If this is how you play, Owen, count me in. Let’s go to the bedroom for the next round. And I swear I’m getting you out of your clothes this time.”
She turned and began to lead him to the back of the apartment.
He pulled up his damn pants and practically ran after her.
So much for being the one in control.
Chapter Ten
Becca came awake to the heavenly smell of coffee. She felt a grin slide across her face. It was coffee she didn’t have to make herself, and she so wasn’t organized enough to have a preset coffeemaker. Nope. There was a Scottish sex god making coffee in her kitchen, and if she was lucky, he didn’t have on any pants.
A shaft of sunlight filtered in, warming her face. It was the kind of thing that would normally annoy her since she would have been up late going over reports and Sunday was the only day she allowed herself to sleep in. But she didn’t want to sleep in today. Not unless Owen was cuddled around her.
After they’d made love again, this time in an actual bed, he’d ordered pizza and they’d shared a bottle of wine and watched an old movie on TV before he’d turned it off. He’d given her that look she was starting to understand meant he was in charge again and then the things he’d done to her body…
She opened her eyes and ran her hand over the place where he’d lain beside her the night before. She’d never had anyone in this bed with her.
She’d liked it far too much.
But why shouldn’t she? They’d laid out all the rules. They would be together when they were together, and when they weren’t they were both adults and free to do whatever they like.
It was a logical arrangement. It was precisely what she wanted.
Yep. That’s what she wanted. She wasn’t going to fall for the whole relationship thing again. It didn’t work. This was the best way to deal with her physical needs. A casual relationship where she enjoyed the men in her life and she didn’t become some puppy hanging on every word he said.
“Becca? Becca, are you awake?”
She was up and out of bed in a heartbeat, grabbing for her robe. “I’m coming.”
She slowed down because she hadn’t meant to do that. She hadn’t meant for her heart to race at the very sound of his voice, and she definitely hadn’t meant for every cell in her body to seem to come alive at the thought of seeing him.
It was oxytocin. Being around Owen Shaw rubbed at the pleasure center of her brain and released all those hormones meant to trick her into fulfilling her biological function. She was already addicted to it and it had only been one night.
“I mean, I’ll be there in a moment.” She forced herself to slow down and make sure her robe was firmly tied around her body, that she wasn’t all flushed and breathless with anticipation. She was going to be normal, like this was something that happened every day.
It’s totally normal to be crazy about the insanely hot guy who played your body like a freaking violin master.
Her primal brain wasn’t going down without a fight, but she didn’t have to listen. She could be a reasonable adult who knew that this road only led to heartache. It was like that old saying about the definition of insanity—doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.
She wasn’t going through that again. She was having a perfectly normal, adult relationship in which one of the partners sexually dominated the other. In which one of the partners had the most spectacular penis in the world. Not that she’d had the largest study of them, but she was a doctor. She knew a perfectly made body part, and Owen’s was thick and long, and when she’d pulled back the foreskin she’d seen a beautifully made cockhead.
She wanted to have sex again. Like all-day sex.
“I don’t understand why you’re here.” That hadn’t been said by Owen. A familiar voice floated down the hall. “She wouldn’t have given you a key to her apartment. Dr. Walsh is a careful woman. I’m the only one with a key. She locks herself out from time to time.”
She rushed into the living room where Owen stood with a cup of coffee in his hand. It was from the café downstairs, and she spied a brown paper bag sitting on the bar. He’d gone down and gotten them breakfast. The only thing marring the situation was the fact that Carter was standing there looking up at Owen with suspicious eyes.
“Well, you’re not sleeping with her so I guess you can give that key to me and I’ll take care of her from now on,” Owen shot back, and it was easy to see from the tense set of his shoulders that this morning was not going the way he’d planned.
Damn it. “Carter, you met Owen. He’s my guest. Now what’s going on?”
<
br /> Owen passed her the coffee. “Not a thing for you to worry about. I went downstairs to get you some coffee and breakfast. It’s a vanilla latte and a couple of croissants. The lady who works down there told me it’s what you have on Sundays.”
She nodded, taking the coffee. “Thanks. I love their croissants.”
Not that she ate them often. Only one a week.
Was she going to parse her time with Owen out like that? Only once a week, and never more than a few hours. Wasn’t that the smart play? Indulge lightly but never so much that he could hurt her when he inevitably left?
“I hope you enjoy them. And I used this because I didn’t want to leave the door unlocked. You left it sitting on the bar.” He held up her keys briefly before placing them on the bar beside the croissants. “I’m glad I did, too, because this one was hovering around when I came back. He’s called the cops. You’re going to have to deal with that one, love. I have to get to work.”
He was leaving?
Carter had called the cops?
She was confused, but oddly the idea that Owen was leaving and he was irritated with her took precedence. She followed him to the door. “It’s Sunday.”
He turned, his hand on the door. “Yes, it is. And I have to work. I was going to stay and have breakfast, but I don’t think that one is going to make it possible. Watch out for him. He’s not the friend you think he is. He’s got a thing for you and he doesn’t like me. There’s more to this than you think.”
She reached out to him. This morning he seemed untouchable, distant, but then she wasn’t sure how she would feel if she’d been confronted with a guy who’d called the police on her when all she’d been doing was getting her boyfriend some breakfast.
Not her boyfriend.
“Besides, you have a date in a couple of hours.” He leaned over and kissed her swiftly. “I’ll see you soon.”
He walked down the hall. She stood in the doorway and watched as he strode down the hallway. She couldn’t see his apartment from her vantage. It was past the elevator.
“This is very dangerous, Rebecca,” Carter said from behind her. “What do you know about that man?”
“I know he was a guest in my home and apparently you called the cops on him.” Irritation rose swiftly inside her as she closed the door and rounded on her unwelcome guest. “You want to explain that thought process?”
Carter blinked once and then again. “I saw a strange man trying to break into your apartment. I didn’t realize he had a key.”
Was Owen right? Had she been misreading the signals Carter had been sending to her? He always seemed so uptight and prissy. She’d never once thought about him as anything but a colleague who was likely getting close to her because she was a department head. He was obviously ambitious, but he was also a man. Honestly, she’d kind of thought he wasn’t interested in her entire sex. “He doesn’t, but he certainly had permission to use mine. I wish you had talked to me before you involved the police.”
He huffed, a frustrated sound. “Well, the next time I think someone is going to break into your place and rape you, I’ll remember to ask your permission to call the police before I do.” He shook his head her way. “I never thought for a second you would…”
“I would what?” They should get this all out in the open now. “Say what you need to say, Carter.”
His face flushed. “I didn’t think you would get involved so quickly. You seemed like a careful lady. I didn’t think you would hop into bed with the first guy to come along.”
“I’ve been celibate for two years.” She didn’t owe him an explanation, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. Her brain was still working on the fact that Owen had left. He’d reminded her about her date and then he’d gone away. It was perverse because it was everything she’d thought she wanted. “I assure you Owen isn’t the first man to come around.”
“That’s because it’s easy for women to find sex,” he said under his breath.
“What?”
His head came up. “It’s easy for a woman to find a man. A man will take anything that comes his way. At least a lesser man will. But if you’re not some muscular caveman, most women won’t even consider you.” He stopped and took a long breath. “I’m sorry. I recently found out some unsavory things about a woman I was interested in and it’s unsettled me.”
“I didn’t know you were seeing someone.” She didn’t want to have this conversation with him, but they had been friendly for the last couple of years.
“She’s one of the doctors at work,” he admitted. “She’s on the nephrology team. She’s not the doctor I thought she was. I won’t go into it, but I don’t like her ethics.”
She’d never worked with that team. “She’s doing something morally wrong?”
He’d flushed again. “It’s a philosophical difference, that’s all. We view the world quite differently, so it won’t work the way I hoped it would. It’s extremely disappointing because I thought she was the one woman in the world who might see the real me.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” She wasn’t sure any woman would fit with Carter. He seemed to have incredibly exacting standards. He was excellent at his job, which was why she put up with him, but she’d started to wonder about how he treated the female employees. And she wasn’t stupid. “Careful” wasn’t the word he’d been thinking. She was certain if she’d cracked into his head he’d been shocked that she’d turned out to be such a slut.
He could fuck himself for all she cared, but until she had something on the man to get him removed, she had to work with him.
He shook it off. “It’s fine. I don’t need a woman. So you’re dating that man?”
She was done. “Carter, it’s none of your business. I think we should take a step back because I don’t want to harm our work relationship. And I think I would feel more comfortable if you returned my key and I gave you back yours. I’ll give one to River.”
Hurt was stamped across his face before he managed to clear his expression back to the look of bland arrogance he normally wore. “Of course. If that’s what you think is best. I’ll go get it. After all, you’re the boss.”
He started to move for the door.
She had a sudden thought. “Carter, where were you yesterday around five?”
“I was running errands,” he said. “Why?”
It would be easy enough to check. He would have used his card to get in and out of the building. “Something happened. Someone was hanging around and hid in the cubicals while I was leaving.”
She’d thought about it and decided Owen was right. There was nothing jumpy about her. She didn’t see shadows and think someone was out to get her. Therefore the most probable reason she heard the things she did and felt the way she had was that someone had been in the room with her, someone who hadn’t wanted to be seen.
His lips firmed as he looked back at her. “I certainly wouldn’t be hiding in the cubicals, Dr. Walsh. It’s obvious you think very little of me. Good luck with that man. We’ll see how long he can keep up with you. I’ll bring your key by in a while.”
He threw open the door and two big cops wearing black uniforms and hats with red trim came striding up.
She really should have gotten dressed.
* * * *
Owen walked into the apartment and frowned Robert’s way. “I want a complete workup on that little fucker who lives next door to her.”
Robert looked up from his cereal and the tablet he’d been reading on. “Jax? He’s not so little, but I agree with the fucker part. After you left, he and River went at it in the kitchen. I walked in to help with the dishes, also because Ezra had started talking about his days in the Agency and he’s way more boring than Big Tag, and they were making out on the island. There was food prepared there. I don’t think that’s sanitary.”
“I’m talking about Carter what’s-his-name.” He should remember the bugger’s name, but right now all he could think about was the fact that the arsehole had t
alked about Becca like he had some kind of claim on her.
No one did. Certainly not him, and it rankled. It twisted in his gut that she was going on a date with another man this afternoon and there wasn’t a bloody thing he could do about it.
Unless he assassinated the man. He’d noticed the note she’d left on her bar with a restaurant reservation and time, and the reminder to ask for a table on the patio. If he found a nice perch across the street, he could take Lawyer Larry out with one shot. He would make sure to angle it right so the splatter didn’t hit Becca. Maybe he would even wait until she went to the loo and do it then. That way she would be traumatized, but not too traumatized. She would likely need someone to hold her, and he could be that man.
“I would not like what you are thinking right now,” Robert mused, sitting back in his chair. “Did it not go well? Might I suggest a trip to River and Jax’s kitchen island. It seems to inspire them.”
“Will you stop going on about that damn island,” a familiar voice said as a red-haired woman rounded the corner and entered the kitchen. “You don’t understand how it is when you’re first married. You gotta get all the sex in you can before the kids come. I told River that at her bridal shower. Not that it was much of a shower since they have to live out of suitcases and shit, but we all gave her advice. Theo and me didn’t even get that time because his fool ass got killed, and TJ was already here by the time he was smart enough to come back to life. Is there coffee?”
Erin Taggart. She was wearing boxer shorts and a too big T-shirt with the Top logo on it, her red hair up in a messy bun.
His stomach took an immediate nose dive.
“I made a fresh pot of coffee a couple of minutes ago.” Robert glanced up at him, concern on his face. “They got in late last night. I let them stay in your room. They’re finding a hotel this afternoon.”
