by Maya Banks
drastic measures because he was every bit as pigheaded as she was. Probably more so.
She stalked into her room, threw the few changes of clothes into a duffel bag and started for the door. Still no sign of Sawyer. With a sigh, she thumped down the stairs. She was more than willing to leave and let Sawyer try and explain to Cam and Hutch why she wasn’t there.
She gripped the front door handle, and Sawyer still hadn’t left his room. She knew because the house hadn’t shook yet with the force of a slamming door. Maybe that could be her exit, but then she didn’t want to wake Hutch and Cam.
She walked outside and down the steps toward her RAV4. Her hand was on the door handle when she heard something that sounded remarkably like a bellowing bull. She barely had time to suppress her grin when she was lifted into the air and thrown over one bulky shoulder.
Sawyer stomped up the steps with her swinging behind him, her nose bumping his ass the whole way. He slammed the door behind him, and she winced. So much for not waking the guys up.
He looped an arm over her ass and then tossed her onto the couch. She landed with a thump, momentarily winded. Sawyer stood over her, a dark scowl on his face.
“What the fuck, Reggie? Since when do you pull shit like this?”
She raised her left eyebrow. “Excuse me? I’m not the one acting like an ass here. You haul me around like that again and I’ll arrest you for assaulting a police officer.”
He bent down, placed his hands on either side of her legs and got into her face.
“Arrest me then,” he snarled.
She glared at him, and he glared back. Then she smacked her hands against his face with a little more force than necessary and yanked him to meet her kiss.
Hot and hungry. She was so hungry for him.
He kissed her back just as hard, just as forcefully. He leaned her back until she hit the cushion, and he pressed her against the back of the couch.
Then he pulled away and stared at her with fierce determination. “You’re not going anywhere.”
No, she wasn’t, but he didn’t have to know that.
“If you don’t talk to me, Sawyer, I’m going. I won’t stay here with you putting a foot of distance between us at every turn.”
He ducked his head away from her and swore. Crude words even for him. She raised her eyebrows.
“Goddamn, Reggie. What do you want from me?” he said after his cursing streak was over.
“Everything,” she said with no hesitation. She didn’t wait for him to put her off again. She cupped his face with her hand and rubbed her thumb over the stiff bristle of his goatee. “He was wrong, Sawyer. Hutch was way out of line. He had no right to say the things he said. You know it, and I know it. He knows it.”
Uncertainty flickered in his eyes. “He wasn’t wrong,” he said quietly. “I had no right to treat you like that, Reggie. Like some cheap lay out for kinky thrills.”
She dropped her hand from his face, crossed her arms over her chest and adopted a look of outrage. “Did you just fucking call me a cheap lay?”
He swore again. His jaw was wound so tight he was going to break his teeth. “You know goddamn well that’s not what I was saying!”
She smirked up at him, knowing she was about to push him right over the edge. Something had to give. Might as well be his tight ass.
“So you’re saying that me wanting kinky thrills doesn’t make me a cheap lay?”
He growled and threw his hands up. “I swear to God, if I didn’t already shave my head, I’d be a bald motherfucker. You’re going to drive me to drink.”
“The feeling is entirely mutual,” she said sweetly.
“Are you just trying to piss me off?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He gaped at her.
“Talk to me, Sawyer,” she said, dropping the sneer, the arguing and everything else. “I won’t let you run from this. Sound familiar? You had no qualms about pinning my ass down. The tables are turned now. I quit running, and now you’re damn sure not going to tuck tail on me.”
He stared at her for a long moment, his blue eyes burning holes through her. “God save me from stubborn women,” he muttered. “There’s nothing to talk about, Reggie. It’s over with.”
She shook her head. “I saw you, Sawyer. I saw that look on your face. I know you better than anyone. Don’t tell me I don’t.”
“Yeah, you do,” he said softly. “Better than anyone. You love me better than anyone, and that’s why I don’t ever want to hurt you.”
A low scream of frustration tore from her lips. He flinched away and looked at her in surprise.
“How is you having sex with me hurting me? How? God, that doesn’t even make sense. You think I don’t have kinky fantasies? Granted they’ve never really centered around you tying me up and smacking my ass, but you know, I just might come around on those points. What’s so terrible about you? That you don’t murmur little sweet lovey words while you’re stuffing that big cock into my ass?”
His eyes widened in shock at her crudity. He opened his mouth but nothing came out, and she plunged ahead, unwilling to let him interrupt her tirade. Not when she was just getting warmed up.
“Or maybe it’s that you fucked my ass? Do you think you’re the first to do that, Sawyer? Here’s a clue. You weren’t. I’ve been around the block a time or two. Certainly more than Cam or Hutch, it would appear. Now according to your self-imposed criteria, that fact makes me completely unsuitable. In fact, I should lock myself away from the three of you and live the rest of my life in celibacy.”
“Jesus Christ. Shut the hell up, Reggie.”
“Sounds stupid when I say it, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t give a shit how many guys you’ve been with in the past,” he said. “All I care about is how many it’s going to be from now on.”
“And I don’t care about the women in your past,” she said gently. “I don’t care that you’re rough and unpolished or that you don’t whisper sweet nothings in my ear while you’re fucking me. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll have Cam do the whispering while you fuck me.”
A low growl rippled out of his throat. “I don’t need Cam to do my talking for me.”
“Good. That’s settled then. You and I can make love without anyone else’s help. I feel so much better now.”
“You are such a miserable smart-ass,” he said, sending his eyes rolling upward.
“But you love me anyway.”
He sighed morosely and gave her a forlorn look, the look of a man solidly defeated. “I do love you, Reggie. More than you’ll ever know. More than I’ve ever loved anyone else.”
“And I love you,” she said softly. “Now take me upstairs and fuck me, you big goof.”
CHAPTER 32
Regina looked up at Sawyer as she waited for him to react. After a brief flicker of indecision crossed his face, he seemed to come to grips with his uncertainty and another gleam lightened his eyes. A pure predatory gleam. One that made her shiver.
“I kinda like that he-man act of you throwing me over your shoulder,” she said casually.
“Is that an invitation?” he asked huskily. The deep timbre of his voice washed over her skin, warm and mellow.
She grinned cheekily up at him. “I’d say it was a demand, but you might refuse on principle.”
“Feel free to make those kinds of demands anytime you want.”
Before she could say another word, he lifted her and tossed her over his shoulder as easily as if she were a five-pound bag of sugar.
She giggled like an idiot the entire way up the stairs, which earned her a smack on the ass and an admonishment not to wake the rest of the house. As if they could have slept through one of her and Sawyer’s rows.
He carried her into his bedroom and tossed her on the bed. He reached down to pull his shirt off and tossed it across the room. The sheer sexiness of watching a stacked man undress wasn’t lost on her. Her eyes were glued to his physique.
H
is muscles rippled beautifully. He looked almost graceful despite his size.
He popped the button of his fly, hooked his thumbs in the waistband and yanked downward. The blue boxers he wore came with the jeans, baring his engorged cock to her view. It bobbed free of confinement and stood erect.
He caught her staring and stood there, legs apart, completely unabashed. “Like what you see?”
She swallowed and nodded.
“Take off your clothes,” he ordered.
“And if I want you to take them off?” she said lightly.
“Now.”
Alrighty then. His tone brooked no argument, and she was close to panting.
She hurriedly yanked at her jeans, but he stopped her with a look.
“Slow,” he said. “Nice and slow.”
A sultry smile curved her lips upward. So he wanted a show, did he? She crawled up to her knees then stood up on the bed so that now she looked down at him.
With a seductive sway to her hips, she began inching her jeans over her hips, being careful to keep her underwear in place. When they fell down around her ankles, she picked up one foot and shook it free of the denim and then picked her other foot up and kicked the jeans toward the doorway.
Placing her palms at her hips, she smoothed her hands up her body, underneath her shirt and higher, working the material up her chest.
She pulled the shirt over her head and sent it flying after the jeans. Still swaying back and forth, she snaked her hands behind her back to unclasp her bra. The straps came loose and tumbled down her arms. She yanked her hands back around to hold the cups in place, and then she slowly let the lacy bra slide down her body, freeing her breasts to his avid gaze.
Unable to resist the temptation to make him a little crazy, she swallowed her inhibitions and let her fingers dance across her breasts. She cupped each small mound then worked the nipples between her fingers.
She let out a small moan that mixed with his sudden intake of air.
Keeping one hand caressing the puckered tip, she trailed the fingers of her other hand down her midline, traced a line around her navel and then dipped lower to the band of her panties.
Soft as a whisper, her fingers delved underneath the filmy material, through the crisp curls between her legs, deeper into the damp flesh between her folds.
Her middle finger rolled over her clitoris, inciting a delicate shudder that began in her groin and ended at her shoulders. Her nipples tightened in response, and she plucked at one with her fingers, enjoying the sharp tingles that erupted.
She locked eyes with Sawyer as she manipulated the tiny nub of flesh between her legs. When she was sure he was solely focused on her, she threw back her head, closed her eyes and undulated her hips in rhythm with her fingers.
She didn’t have long to wait.
He grabbed her wrists and yanked her forward until she fell to her knees on the bed, her body just inches from his broad chest. His fingers still wrapped tightly around her wrists, he leaned in and devoured her mouth in a ravenous kiss.
“You make me crazy,” he muttered against her lips.
“Good,” she murmured back.
He pulled her arms apart and leaned her backward, falling forward onto her as her back hit the mattress. He hovered just inches over her, his body pressed firmly against hers.
He was a man who might scare a lot of women. There was no softness to him. Big and mean. That’s what he looked like. But when he smiled at her, when he looked at her, there was such a gentleness to him, that it made her chest ache.
Hers. He was all hers, and she reveled in that fact. He may have been with a lot of women, but she knew none of them had ever owned his heart the way she did. It wasn’t something he had to say either. His actions proved it.
His goatee brushed across her chin as he rolled his mouth over hers, drinking deeply of her. He tasted, licked and nibbled at first her lips and then her tongue.
His body arched over hers as he drew in his hips to position himself between her legs. He nudged the underside of her thigh with a knee so that she was more open to his advances.
Curling his fingers around her wrists again, he drew her arms over her head then collected both of her hands in the firm grip of one of his.
Then he let his free hand trail over her face, exploring the lines of her jaw and feathering over her swollen lips. His fingertips danced down her neck, around her collarbone, until little goose bumps rose in his wake.
He traced the slight indention between her breasts and circled each nipple in turn until it puckered and strained under his attentions.
He dipped his head and tugged on one of the tight little nubs with his teeth. She cried out as lightning chased through her veins. Her breasts swelled and plumped, begging for more, wanting his touch, his mouth.
She begged. She wasn’t ashamed of her need. She wanted more. Demanded more.
“Please,” she whispered. “I want you so much. I need you, Sawyer.”
“Ah, Reggie,” he groaned. “You make me feel as though I’m the only man in the world.”
His cock brushed over her slick flesh as he arched his hips forward. Two more adjustments, and he slid into her in one long push.
She bowed her back and strained against him, wanting closer, wanting more. He was so thick. Every nerve ending in her pussy was stretched tight, on fire as he rubbed back and forth over her swollen flesh.
He continued to hold her hands with his while his free hand teased and pleasured her nipples. His hips rocked forward gently, setting an easy pace. It reminded her of the gentle waves on the Texas coast. Warm, soothing, lapping to the shore and spreading along the sun-scorched sand.
She sighed in contentment as he rocked between her legs. He’d lied when he said he knew nothing about slow, sensual lovemaking. She’d never felt more loved or cherished than in this moment. The idea that this warrior, this big-ass man with bulging muscles and hands larger than her head could love her so tenderly brought tears to her eyes.
Yes, he’d lied. He knew exactly how to give her sweet lovemaking.
He rested inside her, his eyes closed as shudders rolled over his body. There was peace on his face. Pleasure and contentment.
Then he began to move again, rolling forward like the tide. Deeper he sank. With each thrust, he reached further into her body. And her soul.
“Wrap your legs around me, honey. Hold me tight.”
She slid her heels up the back of his legs before crossing them at the small of his back. She pulled her lower body upward to meet his every thrust.
A small pinch settled deep in her pussy, one that grew bigger, tighter, expanding until she writhed with edgy need. That need grew, larger with each passing second. It pooled in her groin and radiated outward in a hundred different directions.
He finally let go of her wrists and slid both of his hands down her body to cup her ass. His fingers splayed out over the cheeks as he palmed her behind. Cupping her to him, he rode her, his body meshing with hers like the missing piece to a puzzle.
Faster, harder. Higher they flew. Soft then hard. Gentle then strong. Slow then quick.
She took a running leap, diving for the edge of the cliff. Over she fell, spreading her arms wide as she entered her free fall. Arms outstretched, eyes closed, the wind in her face. And then she flew. Soaring and dipping, she chased the wind.
And through it all, he held her. Those words he swore he didn’t know were whispered in her ear. His love. It wrapped around every part of her body, filling her, surrounding her.
Love.
“I love you,” she whispered as he shuddered against her.
“I love you,” he answered hoarsely. “I’m so sorry, Reggie. I never meant to make you feel like you didn’t mean the world to me.”
She smiled as he came to rest on top of her. “I’ve never doubted that I mean a lot to you.”
His head rested on her shoulder, his face pressed against her neck. She curled her arms around him, holding him there. The
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