I dropped my head against my forearms, enjoying the feel of his fingers moving, teasing, against my clit, but feeling all the disappointment in the world, thinking that this stubborn man wasn’t going to fuck me without a condom.
I should have been more prepared.
“You’re on birth control?” he asked when he already knew. I felt his lips press against my back. They were soft and gentle. Then I felt his tongue as he flicked it against my skin. He pushed a finger inside me.
“Yes,” I moaned.
“You diligently take it?”
“Yes. Shit, yes. John...”
He pushed two fingers inside me, pumping lazily, and I forgot about anything else.
Okay,” he simply said. Then he moved his hands, and the next thing I felt was the head of his erection pressing against my entrance, and then the feeling of fullness as he thrust deep inside me.
I cried out, closing my eyes, shutting out the world. He was bigger than I expected, stretching me. He went in as deep as he could then pulled out to repeat the motion. He kept moving and it was bliss. An escape from the world. I soaked in the feeling and loved when he hooked a hand under one of my thighs, drawing my leg higher, so he could angle himself deeper. My body rapidly starting building toward an orgasm. All my nerve endings tingled. But I needed him to touch me to get me over the edge.
“John,” I choked out. “John!”
“Yes.”
“I need you to touch me.”
He let my leg fall back to the floor, slowing. He ran his hands over my chest, pushing my bra down so he could cup the full weight of my breasts in his hands. But he didn’t touch me where I ached the most. Did I need to spell this out for him?
“What’s your name?” he asked.
For the first time since I walked into his room, I felt unsure. I had him inside me. I had what I wanted. And if he didn’t already know who I was, who my cousins were, and he seriously didn’t know my name, then why ask it now?
I wiggled against him, wanting him to move and stop asking dumb questions.
“What’s your name?” he repeated, more edge in his voice this second time.
“Does it matter?”
He pulled away from the bed frame, standing up tall, taking me with him. He was inside me still, his strong arms locked around me, one hand on my neck, one hand on my chest, and I might have felt threatened except... his voice against my ear went gentle. “Just tell me your name. It’s not fair you know mine, and I don’t know yours.”
“It’s Dani.”
“Like Danielle?”
“Yes,” I breathed out, somehow feeling vulnerable as fuck right this moment. “But no one calls me that.”
He kept his one hand on my neck. But his other moved lower, to touch me where I was pulsing with need and aching to finish. “You need me to touch your clit to get you off?” he whispered.
“Yes.”
“Like this?” He moved in slow circles against me. My mouth dropped open, and I breathed in and out carefully.
I wouldn’t last much longer. “Like that,” I moaned. “Just like that.”
Most guys wouldn’t bother to take the time for this. To make sure I got off before the fucking was done. I guess he wasn’t most guys.
“You’re so fucking wet for me, Dani.” He gripped me harder and his hand moved faster. It was hard for him to fully thrust standing like this, but I felt his cock move inside me. “Your pussy is the best thing I’ve ever felt. Come for me, Danielle.” I closed my eyes and listened to his words. “I want to feel that sweet pussy pulse on my dick.”
A shudder rocked through me. Then with absolutely no control over it, I came. A burst of ecstasy ran over my entire body in wave after amazing wave. John made an animal-like growl and held me tighter.
As I started to fade from my high, I felt him come. His cock flinched in long spurts inside me. By the time it ended I felt dizzy and sated, knowing that if he still didn’t have his arms around me, I would have collapsed to the floor.
I found my bearings before he carefully pulled out of me.
Now came the awkward part.
The countdown until I could slip away from his room.
He moved away from me, pulling his sweatpants back into place over his cock. I guess he’d never taken them off. It had been hard to tell with him behind me the whole time. In his small kitchen, he grabbed a towel. Without a word, only his eyes on mine, he brought it over and handed it to me.
Feeling my face flush, I grabbed the towel from him and quickly wiped away the evidence that we had been together. I handed back the towel and quickly pulled my skirt down into place. I fixed my bra. I found my shirt and pulled that on. The only thing missing were my underwear. By the time I found my pair of panties, my hands shook. I needed out of his room. Away from him as quickly as possible.
~ CHAPTER 4 ~
JOHN
My heart raced still. Sex with this firecracker of a woman had been nothing short of incredible. She’d been a nice surprise. But now it was over, and Dani was dressed quickly.
She slipped her panties up her smooth thighs, and I nearly told her to stop so we could go again. But I had a sense this girl didn’t go for second rounds. She’d been confident as hell prior to finishing. Now... I noticed her hands trembled as she adjusted her skirt.
“That was fun. And surprising. Thanks,” I told her. I shoved my hands in my pockets, staring at her eyes, trying to read her.
“You’re welcome,” she answered. But her voice held some sarcasm. Then she grabbed her jacket off my bed and clutched it tight in her arms.
I hadn’t meant anything by saying thanks. She’d been the one to come up to my room and offer herself up like a pretty little Christmas package. So, yeah, thanks felt appropriate.
“It was nice meeting you, Dani,” I tried instead, meaning it sincerely. I offered her my hand, knowing that was about all I would ever get from her again.
“You, too.”
She held onto my fingers. This one touch was more intimate than anything else we’d done tonight. Then she left my room.
It was quiet in her absence.
Almost as if she’d never been here at all.
***
My alarm went off at six in the morning. I smacked it and jumped out of bed. With speed, I showered and dressed. I wanted to be gone and on my way before Dani and her cousins awoke. I’d lock my room, leave, and hope to fuck none of them would steal anything from my house.
I was done with the hospitality.
I had no desire for one last awkward run-in with Dani. Last night had been great, but I took it for what it was. Just one night.
Downstairs things were quiet. Thank fuck. My feet moved fast as I looked for Luce. I needed to at least tell her goodbye. I found her in the kitchen with one of Dani’s cousins sitting across from her at the table. The youngest of the three, I guessed. They each had a cup of coffee. I noticed more black gold in the coffee maker, so I went to pour myself some, too.
“I have an early client,” I said to whomever was listening as I filled a to-go cup to the brim. “I need to head back to Kill Devil Hills now. So you can let yourselves out. Whatever.”
I turned back around, and Luce was on her feet. “Can I get a ride? Emma too?”
“Sure. Meet me outside in two minutes.” I looked at the guy in my kitchen. “I don’t mind if you all sleep in.” I really meant if Dani slept in. “But then I want you guys out of my house. Fair?”
“I understand.” He nodded. “Thanks, man, for letting us stay last night. I’ll have Caleb send you some concert tickets, front row, to repay you. He loves to give out tickets.”
Why would I want random concert tickets? I hadn’t been to a concert since I was about sixteen. And front row? Were they all that wealthy they could just throw away that sort of money on some random stranger? Judging by the Hummer they’d driven up in and by that custom-looking jacket Dani wore... maybe.
“Whatever.”
I left t
he kitchen, walking toward the front door, with this traitorous feeling in my chest. I half wanted to bump into Dani on my way out. To see her pretty face and sexy little body one last time.
But regretfully, it never happened. She must have been fast asleep in one of the other rooms. Then, minutes later, I was on my way with Luce and Emma, heading south, never to see Dani again.
I might have felt shitty about that but thinking about having her last night only brought a smile to my lips. One I immediately pushed away... but a smile, nonetheless.
It was a good half hour drive. I had to listen to Luce lecturing Emma about sleeping with Caleb, one of the cousins. I hardly processed their conversation. Their business was their business. But I understood Luce’s protectiveness. My sister Sydney was ten years younger than me. From the time she came into this world, it had been my job to look after her. And that sort of feeling, no matter how old the other person gets, never fades.
I dropped the girls at the gas station where Luce had left her car yesterday, and then I finished driving to Kill Devil Ink. My second home. My sanctuary. When I first moved here from New York City, I’d started as an apprentice. Now, this shop was my own. It was the only thing in life that hadn’t been handed to me by my parents, making it just about the only thing in life I cared for. Other than Sydney of course.
Ellie Turner, my first appointment of the day, waited outside the locked glass doors. She had short brown hair, bright blue eyes, and almost as many tattoos as me. She was a regular customer and, I suppose, one of my only friends.
“Sorry, I’m late,” I mumbled, unlocking the door. The thing I liked most about Ellie—I could be my usual grumpy self with her, and she didn’t give a fuck. “Where’s Sydney? She didn’t let you in?”
At that very moment, a Chevy Impala peeled into the parking lot. Rhett—Sydney’s outgoing, outspoken, fun-loving boyfriend was the driver. I had my grievances against Rhett in the beginning, but they’d been together four years so by now I’d accepted him as a permanent fixture in our lives.
Sydney hopped from the car, a backpack over one shoulder, sunglasses on her face. “I stayed at Rhett’s last night,” she said, like it wasn’t obvious. “Hi, Ellie.”
She closed the door and Rhett moved the car, taking a parking spot in the back of the lot. Great. I guess he wasn’t leaving.
“What’s with you?” My sister slapped my arm.
“What?” I said defensively.
Sydney took off her sunglasses, squinting at me. “Something is off about you.”
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“Let’s just go inside. It’s chilly out,” Ellie urged, running her hands over her arms.
I opened the door for them. Plus Rhett, who came sprinting from where he’d parked. The four of us went inside and into the warmth.
I never opened early. But Ellie paid me well, and like I said, she was about the closest thing I had to a friend.
“No, something is strange about you.” Sydney stared at me like I was an alien and not her brother. “Did you get a haircut?”
“No.”
“Um, get some sun?”
“What?” It was November.
“He got laid,” Rhett said.
Well, fuck you too, Rhett.
“That’s it,” Sydney said, her hands on her hips. “You’re less moody than usual.”
Even Ellie nodded in agreement, as if the three of them had just solved some cold case. “All of you, fucking crazy,” I complained.
“Did you use a condom?”
My mouth dropped open. I couldn’t believe the words coming out of my own sister’s mouth. Before Rhett, I don’t think she’d ever even kissed a boy. She was practically saintly. And I knew he’d corrupted her, because he was Rhett, but she’d never spoken to me like this, so bluntly about sex.
“Because remember when Rhett and I... you know... for the first time,” Sydney said. “You made me go to the free health clinic and get tested. It was so embarrassing. So I just want to make sure you’re practicing safe sex and all, big brother.”
She smiled at me, enjoying this, enjoying having the tables turned. And damn it, because she was right. I hadn’t been very safe last night. I’d been with a girl who clearly got off sleeping with strangers, and I’d fucked her bare.
“Holy shit. You’re right. I’ll make an appointment.” Last night suddenly seemed less romantic. How could I have been so careless?
“I’m sorry.” Sydney frowned at me. “I was only kidding. Was she special?”
“No, I don’t think she was. I should go in today,” I decided. “It’s better to be safe than get hepatitis.”
That would be my shitty luck—one night of fun and a lifetime of genital warts. I never should have let Dani into my room. I should have kept the door locked.
~ CHAPTER 5 ~
DANI
I had the GPS running on my phone. I’d taken three wrong turns, but I’d finally found the clinic. The pharmacy hadn’t sold the morning-after pill. What planet were we on that I couldn’t just walk in and get it? I had to make an appointment at the nearest health clinic instead. I was so pissed.
So once I had my appointment, I decided I might as well get tested for any STDs as well. It had been a couple months since I’d last had that reassurance so maybe this was a good thing. At the very least, it gave me something to do today. I’d been so bored living in this town, supporting Caleb while he pursued Emma, that I needed some sort of distraction.
I walked into the tiny, dull waiting room, the door dinging behind me, and I wrote my name on the sign-in sheet. Trying to hide behind my sunglasses, hoping to God no one recognized me, I turned around looking for an open seat.
There were about five people waiting. And low and behold, one of them was John. Judging from the giant-ass mansion he lived in—finding him at the free health clinic seemed awfully strange.
He had a brochure about chlamydia in his tattooed fingers. I don’t know why but seeing him here made me smile. He wore a ball cap, no team or anything on it, and a white long-sleeve t-shirt. If I didn’t already know him, on any other day, I never would have noticed him. Even with his tattoos, he blended in well.
I moved to sit next to him.
He didn’t flinch. He didn’t notice me.
I sat back, waiting on him to see that I was here, too, sitting right next to him. We sat so close—my thigh was practically touching his thigh.
A full minute passed.
I drummed my hands against my legs. I’d never been a patient person. “That brochure about chlamydia must be super riveting,” I finally said.
Without missing a beat he answered me. “Not as fascinating as the one on gonorrhea but better than the one on syphilis.”
“Kind of makes having a one-night stand seem a lot less appealing,” I joked, but was I really joking? And apparently, he had noticed me.
“Nah. Still fun.”
He closed the brochure and set it aside. From the corner of my eye, I watched him. He had a lip ring, a silver hoop, through the edge of his bottom lip. He played with it with his tongue like it was a habit he wasn’t even aware of, not saying anything else. I think he knew it was me, but he hadn’t looked at me so I still couldn’t say for sure.
Either way, he was so damn calm. Meanwhile, the jitters hit me hard. One of my legs bounced impatiently.
A nurse came through the door beside the reception window. “John Michaels,” she called out.
For a moment, I thought that was that. I’d never see him again. But he surprised me when he rested his hand on my bouncing leg. “If you finish before me—wait,” he said. Then he stood and disappeared through the door.
I pulled my knees up to my chest, my heart thumping. Shit. Should I bolt? Should I go find a different clinic? Speed away in the Hummer rental like he just asked me to marry him and carry his babies?
But, as it turned out, I didn’t bolt. Something made me stay. I waited for my name to be cal
led. I went through all the motions and tests like a normal human being. All the while, I had a heavy rock settling in my stomach. I found myself wanting to see John again after this, and that scared the piss out of me.
“Here’s your morning-after pill,” the nurse said. “And your tests are all negative.”
“Well, thank you Jesus.” I laughed.
The nurse didn’t smile with me. I guess she didn’t share my same sense of humor. Ripping open the paper on the pill, I dug it from its small confinement and popped it in my mouth. It was tiny enough to swallow without water. Then I hopped down off the padded bench with the crinkly paper and left about as fast as I could.
Leaning against the wall in the waiting room, with his sleeves rolled up and his arms crossed over his chest, was John. He’d waited on me.
We made eye contact. And left together.
Outside in the windy air, he lingered with me on the sidewalk, looking way too damn sexy. There was something insanely attractive about the way the light material of his shirt contrasted against the dark ink on his forearms. I wanted to tear that shirt off of him.
“You good?” he asked me.
“Yes. My results were fine. You?”
“Same. Sorry I made you go through that. I should have had a condom. That was completely on me.” I’d never seen eyes quite as blue as his, or quite as sincere. What he didn’t know was that my trip to the clinic had been overdue.
“But,” I added, “it was really good without a condom, am I right?” I smiled at him, baiting him, teasing him.
“Yes.”
A spark between us ignited. I felt an invisible force trying to pull me closer to this man. He ran a hand over the back of his neck, his eyes telling me that I could have him again... if I wanted. And, fuck... I wanted.
“I’m not really into repeat sessions,” I admitted. “It goes against all the rules. But technically it hasn’t been a full twenty-four hours yet. So maybe... if you wanted inside me again... we could count it as part two of the same session.”
Never Kiss a Rockstar (Never Trust Book 2) Page 2
