The Pairing

by Katie Ashley

  In the end, she had gone up to the roof to somehow save Pesh, and instead, she had lost herself to him and his emotions.

  Pesh regretfully watched Megan’s retreating form. He cursed under his breath as she disappeared into the stairwell. What was his problem? The woman had been merely comforting him, and he had allowed his libido to take over. He had promised her he would keep his distance. Regardless of the flirting and easy banter between them, he had kept things professional. Now she probably felt trapped and harassed by him. She tried to talk to him about it, and he’d dismissed her.

  He paced around the rooftop as the rain that had soaked him to the bone began to dissipate. His mind was a jangled mess of thoughts and emotions. One voice argued over and over that Megan had wanted him to kiss her—that the look in her eyes told the truth. But Pesh worried that in his agony he had misread the signals she may or may not have been giving. In the end, he’d made a terrible situation even worse by not being able to control his feelings for Megan.

  With a frustrated grunt, he realized he had to make things right with her. He needed to apologize. Casting one last look out over the horizon, he then turned and started for the stairwell. After pounding downstairs, he searched the hallway for any signs of Megan. When he spotted Kristi, he was surprised not to see Megan with her. “Where’s Megan?” he asked.

  “Oh, since we’re kinda slow tonight, I asked her to go work in the storage closet. We’re behind on inventory and cataloguing.”

  “I see.”

  Kristi eyed him up and down before shaking her head. “You’re drenched.”

  “It’s raining outside.”

  “So I’ve heard,” she said knowingly.

  “What does that mean?” he asked.

  She waved her hand. “Nothing. Why don’t you do us both a favor and go get out of those wet clothes? The last thing we need is you coming down with something.”

  Pesh knew it was fruitless to argue with her. Instead, he tucked his tail between his legs and made his way to the doctors’ lounge. He took a clean pair of pants and shirt out of his locker. After he slid on a new white coat, he strode down the hall to the medicine closet. After swiping his key card, he entered the room. When he closed the door behind him, Megan turned around, gazing expectantly at him. Now that he was in front of her, he didn’t know exactly what to say. He had been on an emotional overload on the roof, and things had escalated far too quickly. “Look, I just want to say how very sorry I am about kissing you.”

  “Well I’m not,” she replied matter-of-factly.

  Pesh’s neck snapped back in shock. Her response wasn’t what he was expecting at all. He had imagined she might be relieved or even embarrassed, but he hadn’t imagined that she would be unregretful. He cleared his throat. “Regardless, I shouldn’t have done it. I was in an emotionally vulnerable position, and you were merely trying to comfort me. Nothing more.” His words were more for his own good than hers.

  She shook her head. “Just because I was comforting you, doesn’t mean I didn’t want you to kiss me. That I still don’t want to kiss you again.”

  His brows furrowed in confusion. “But you—”

  “Pesh, I’ve wanted you since the night of Noah’s baptism. But you shot me down then, and you still do.”

  Although his heart wanted to soar at her admission of wanting him, the reality of her words caused his chest to clench instead. “Sexually. You only want me sexually.”

  “Yes.”

  He should have been flattered that a young, sexy woman like Megan desired him. But he wasn’t. Half of the women in the hospital would be willing for him to drag them to an empty patient’s room for a quick and dirty screw. But that’s not who he was. He had never been that way with women, and he didn’t see how it could be possible to change. All he wanted was for her to really see him and how good he could be for her. How good they would be for each other. He thought that was what she was feeling in the moments before and after he kissed her. But now it seemed it was once again only lust.

  Although it was probably pointless, he couldn’t help putting everything out there once again. “But when we were up on the roof, there wasn’t a moment where you wanted more from me than just sex?” He licked his lips and took a step toward her. “Just a second where you could imagine your life with me in it?”

  Megan stared at him, her expression contemplative. For a brief moment, Pesh thought by her hesitation that she had changed her mind about him. But then she shook her head. “How many times are you going to make me hurt you with this? You’re too good for me, Pesh. We both know that. I’ll remind you again of some of the reasons I’m not the one for you. I’m twenty-five, and you’re thirty-seven. You want a wife, and I’m not ready to be married.”

  Her words cut into his chest the same as if she had taken a sharp blade to him. She may have had to repeat herself this time, but he realized the finality of her words. And then an idea hit him so hard that he shuddered—a true light bulb moment and epiphany. There was only one way he was going to get to have his sweet Megan, and that was if he gave in to her. He would have to become someone else for her, even if it was just for a little while. He could distract her with sex that she both desired and demanded, but at the same time, he would make her fall in love with him. It could work. It had to.

  Cocking his head at her, he questioned, “So let me get this straight once and for all. You would let me…”

  He paused, fighting the conflict within himself to say what he needed to. He drew in a ragged breath. “You would let me fuck you but not love you?”

  Her eyes widened at his word choice. “What’s gotten into you?”

  He shrugged nonchalantly, feeling slightly empowered in the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde moment. “I merely asked a simple question.”

  She snorted exasperatedly. “Yeah, about…” She swallowed hard. “Fucking, of all things.”

  “Yes.”

  Megan shook her head wildly back and forth. “I can barely acknowledge hearing you say the word, least of all you doing that.”

  “You can’t imagine me—”

  She held up her hand. “You’re not the type of man to fuck,” she countered.

  Crossing his arms over his chest, he countered, “Oh really? I’m too nice of a guy?”

  “Something like that.”

  “I am a man, Megan. We all have needs. Isn’t fucking one of them?”

  Her body trembled slightly at his words. She licked her lips before replying, “S-Stop saying that word—it isn’t you.”

  “So, fucking isn’t me? Don’t tell me you think I’m totally asexual—that you can’t imagine me fucking a woman…fucking you.” He eased in closer to her. “We both know for a fact that you wanted nothing more than to fuck me the night of Noah’s baptism. Given the chance right now, you’d let me strip off your scrubs and fuck you up against the medicine cabinet.”

  As her chest heaved up and down, she took a step back from him, bumping against the counter. “But you don’t say things like that. You’re refined. You’re a gentleman,” she whispered.

  “It may have been a while, but even a gentleman like me enjoys fucking.” He closed the gap between them.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered.

  “I’m giving you what you want.”

  “You’re giving in?”

  “Yeah, why not?” As he dipped his head, his mouth hovered over hers. “If you really want me to take you, then kiss me.”

  Without a moment’s hesitation, Megan crashed her lips against his. The kiss was hard and desperately seeking more. As his tongue thrust into her mouth, his hand came to her breast. Tenderly, he cupped the flesh, feeling the weight fill his hand. Unsatisfied with the lack of contact, he pulled his hand away and slid it underneath Megan’s top. Over her bra, he kneaded her breast again, feeling her nipple harden under his touch. He felt his erection grow at the sound of her whimper. He wanted nothing more than to strip off all her clothes and kiss every inch of her body. />
  Megan’s mouth popped off of his, and she stared up at him with hooded eyes. “What about someone finding us?”

  “I’ll lock the door,” he replied. Reluctantly, he pulled away from her to walk back over to the door. After he turned the lock, he made sure to push a box in front of it as well. They would have enough warning if someone were to try to use their card to come in. With his hands on her shoulders, he steered her behind one of the floor-to-ceiling shelves, concealing them even further from potential prying eyes.

  “Now where were we?” he asked, with a smile.

  She grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I think you were getting acquainted with second base.”

  “Yes, I remember now.” Instead of his hands going back to her breasts, he pulled her flush against him. As his lips met hers, he slipped his arms around her waist. He grabbed the globes of her ass and squeezed, causing Megan to moan into his mouth. His hands gripped her flesh, urging her upward. Rising on her tiptoes, she allowed him to hoist her up. Her legs wrapped around his waist. Once he had secured her to him, he rammed them back, until they bumped into the wall. He ground his pelvis into her core, letting her feel how much he truly wanted her.

  “Mmm,” she murmured, as he continued rubbing against her. One of her hands abandoned his shoulder and slid down his back to squeeze his ass.

  His fingers jerked her hair back, pulling her lips back from his. He gazed into her heavy lidded eyes before his mouth dipped to her neck. His tongue slid up her jugular, feeling her racing pulse. “So you’ll let me inside your body but not your heart?” he demanded.

  “Yes. Please Pesh.”

  Now that he had her right where he wanted her, it was time to put his plan into motion. “If I give you an orgasm, you’ll have to go on a date with me.”

  Her eyes widened through her panting. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Oh, but I am. Give and take, Megan. I give you what you want—” He paused in his thrusts to let his fingers dip into the waist band of her scrubs. Through the thin scrap of her thong, his hand caressed her, causing her to whimper. “Which is to explode in bliss.”

  As he continued stroking her, she hissed in a breath as she glared at him. “You want me pretty bad, don’t you, Megan?” he asked, as his fingertips felt of her growing moisture.

  Her fingernails dug into his shoulders. “Yes. God, yes, I do.”

  “So let me give you this pleasure. I want nothing more than to see you come apart.” He licked his lips. “Then you’ll let me take you out.”

  Her eyelids fluttered, and she bit down on her lip. He could tell she was internally raging war with herself about what to do. As his fingers sped up their tempo against her clit, her head fell back against the wall. “You don’t play fair,” she groaned.

  He momentarily eased his hand off of her. “I don’t want to play games with you at all, but you leave me no choice.” He lowered his head to kiss her again. “All I want is you,” he murmured.

  “Fine, fine.”

  “Fine what?” he questioned, as he looked her in the eye.

  “Make me come, and I’ll go out on a date with you.”

  He smiled before easing her back onto her feet. When he sank to his knees before her, Megan’s brows furrowed in confusion. He then gripped the waistband of her scrubs. He eased them down, along with her panties, never taking his eyes off hers. When he had them down to her ankles, he rose back up. Grabbing her by the waist, he shifted her to the side where she bumped into the counter. He gripped her hips once again and raised her up to where her butt rested on the cool Formica. He slid her pants and thong over her shoes, letting the drop into floor below him.

  He was so far gone with desire that he didn’t stop to think how long it had been since he had gone down on a woman. He pushed the voices out of his head when they reminded him of how Jade had teasingly called his tongue a master of orgasms. Instead, he focused on the beautiful, panting woman before him as she widened her legs invitingly for him.

  When he slid his tongue slowly up Megan’s wet slit, they both shuddered. He took one of her legs and propped her foot on his shoulder, so he could get better access to her while he pushed her other thigh further open. Her pink, glistening center was laid out beautifully before him. As his tongue flicked and teased her swollen clit, Megan threw her head back and moaned. His lips closed over her clit, sucking it hard. Her hips began to rock back and forth. He knew it wasn’t going to take him long to make her come—she was too ready for this. It had been a long time for her as well.

  He resisted using his fingers. Instead, he spread her apart and then thrust his tongue rhythmically inside her. Megan’s cries grew louder to where he brought his hand up and clamped it over her lips. The last thing they needed was someone banging on the door. As he felt her walls tensing, she reached out to twist her fingers in his hair. He welcomed the pain as she went over the edge, convulsing and screaming against his hand. When Megan’s walls finishing clenching and pulsing, Pesh removed his tongue from inside her. He placed butterfly kisses against her core and then on the insides of her thighs.

  When he finally glanced up, he found Megan staring at him, a combustive mix of emotions swirling in her blue eyes. “That was…”

  Smiling, he rose up from the floor. His hands gently came to her waist. He was just about to pull her down when she stopped him. “Don’t. I can’t even feel my legs right now.”

  He brushed her hair back from her face. “It has been a long time, hasn’t it?”

  She shook her head. “How about never has it been like that.”

  He couldn’t help staring at her incredulously. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, that I’ve never gotten off like that.” She gave him a sheepish grin. “At least not with a man.”

  At her insinuation, he felt warmth enter his face. “Are you blushing about me mentioning masturbating?”

  “No, I’m not,” he protested feebly.

  Megan laughed. “You really are something else, you know that?”

  “I am?”

  “Hell yes. One minute you’ve got your tongue buried inside me, giving me the most intense orgasm of my life, and then the next you’re blushing. It’s like you became another person a few minutes ago. You were forceful and domineering.” A shudder rippled through her as she raised her brows. “Do you always get like that when it comes to sex?”

  Pesh felt even more warmth creeping into his cheeks. How she could talk so frankly without any pants on, he had no idea. “We should cover you up.”

  “You were enjoying the view a few minutes ago.” She leaned over and winked at him. “A very up-close and personal view.”

  He rubbed his hands over his face. “Honestly, I don’t know what came over me. I came in here to tell you I was sorry and that you wouldn’t have to worry about me coming on to you again.” And then all hell had broken loose. It was like he had been fried with the electrical current from the paddles on the crash cart. He’d decided to become another person to win her and damned if he had. Almost too easily for his liking. What had he said to her in the heat of the moment?

  He stared intently at her. “All I could think of was how much I wanted you and what it would take to have you.”

  “You really wanted me that much?” she asked, her brows rising in surprise.

  “Yes, I did.”

  With a coy smile, she scooted to the edge of the counter. She wrapped her legs around his waist and drew him closer to her. “What about you?” she asked, as her hand cupped his erection through his pants.

  His hips bucked involuntarily, and he closed his eyes, trying to steady himself. “This wasn’t about me,” he murmured.

  “I can’t let you go back on the floor with a hard-on.” She licked up the side of his face, causing him to shudder. “I owe you at least a happy ending after those multiple orgasms you just gave me.”

  His closed eyes popped open. “Multiple did you say?”

  She giggled. “Yeah.”


  “Then that means you owe me multiple dates, right?”

  Megan reached around to smack his ass. “You’re a bad boy trying to trick me.”

  “I’m sorry. I play dirty when I have to.”

  Without another word, Megan unbuttoned and unzipped him. She eased his pants and boxer shorts off his hips. When his erection was freed, she glanced between them. “Hmm, pretty impressive.”

  He started to laugh at her remark, but when she gripped him in her hand, he gasped. All coherent thoughts flew out of his mind as she stroked his length up and down, alternating from smooth slides to hard tugs. “Would you rather it was my mouth on you than my hand?” she asked.

  “Feels good no matter what,” he muttered, his head dipping to rest against her shoulder.

  Her breath scorched against his ear. “Mmm, I love that you’re so hard. Just for me, right?”

  “Yes,” he panted. “Just for you. Only you.”

  Flicking her tongue out, she encircled his lobe and the shell of his ear. “Can you imagine what it would be like to bury yourself deep inside me?”

  Her words were having too much of an effect on him. The dirty talk, coupled with the way she had her hand on him, caused him to tighten up. He tried to pull away, but she kept hold of him. And then he was coming undone.

  When he finally came back to himself, he opened his eyes to see that he’d come on Megan’s exposed thighs. “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “It’s okay. It was worth it to see your O face.” She smiled dreamily at him. “God, you were beautiful.”

  Since he’d never had a woman tell him that, he couldn’t help flushing. He pulled away from her to search for something to clean her up with. Finally, he found a roll of paper towels. When he returned to her, he gently wiped himself off her skin. After he finished, he helped her down off the counter. “I’ll go out first. I need to clean up. And so do you.”

  He gave a brief nod. He was having trouble processing all the emotions swirling through his mind. “So when it is?” she asked.

  “When is what?” he asked dumbly. He was still far too obliterated by a simple hand job to be processing coherent thoughts.