by Joya Ryan
Though she was mostly in the shadows, her head was in a strip of light. If someone were to look up, they’d see her face as she looked down at them. Would they see Gage’s glowing dark eyes behind her? She could imagine the sight. Only her face hinted at what was being done to her body in the dark.
“Everyone,” she whispered. “I know everyone in the bar.”
And she did. Beaufort was a small town, and she’d grown up there. Her own mother had lived in this very house before she’d transformed it into a restaurant and bar. It was the only home Chloe had ever known. Where she and her mom had waited all those years for her dad to come back.
Chloe struggled harder, pushing the memories out of her mind. She just wanted to forget and feel.
“Little fiery tonight.” He hiked her skirt up and held her firmly against the floor with her legs spread. “If one of those friends of yours looked up here, what do you think they’d see?”
With one hand still grabbing her wrists, the other palmed her ass hard. She gasped and smiled. Gage liked her mouth and spirit in more ways than one. It was time to test him. Challenge him.
“They’d probably see you taking your sweet-ass time fondling me instead of fucking me hard like you should—”
Slap—his hand came across her bare ass, and she moaned. This was what she wanted. The intense, rough man she got to scratch and claw at while he spanked back.
Gage chuckled. “You really want to push me tonight?”
“I’m starting to wonder if you’ve lost your touch, city boy.”
He growled. She smiled at the clink of his belt loosening and the crackle of a ripping condom wrapper.
“Why don’t you tell me if I’ve lost my touch?” He rubbed the head of his cock against her wet folds, teasing her, tempting her—and then he thrust deep inside.
She gasped and rocked forward. Her body flush against the ground and spread wide, he withdrew and then slammed back inside her.
“I don’t hear you saying anything now, sweetheart. Lost your nerve? Or are you trying to be quiet so no one hears you moan for me and sees you getting fucked hard”—he pulled out and thrust again—“the way you like it.”
“I do. So much,” she whispered. She was completely immobile. Gage still had her wrists trapped with one hand, and he wrapped his free hand around her middle and lay completely on top of her. She was at his mercy and surrounded by his strength. And she loved it.
“I know.” He pumped again, deeper, and she stifled a scream. He hit her perfectly, every damn time. “You’re wet and I didn’t even get my hands or tongue on this tight pussy.” He pistoned in and out, snaked his arm around her further, and locked his leg around hers.
She tilted her head back and leaned into him so she could run her teeth along his jaw. When he slammed into her again, she bit down.
“Fuck, baby,” he moaned. His breath washed over her lips. “Do you know how many times I’ve thought of you?” He thrust harder. “Thought of being right here?” Faster.
If it was half the amount of times she’d thought of him, it was daily. Which was why she’d lured him out here instead of drawing the night out. She wanted him to take her like this, and she’d take advantage of every second she had with him for the twenty-four to forty-eight hours she was given.
“Tell me, Chloe, what have you thought of?” He wrapped her tighter in his arms, and she relaxed. Let him have her. She didn’t have to do anything but lie there and take it. The fight would come and go. For now, she reveled in him taking her over.
She panted. “I’ve thought of you. Doing exactly this to me.”
“Like this?” He surged inside again. Each ridge and curve of his cock stretched and slid so perfectly that every last nerve ending sparked like a flickering lightbulb.
“Yes,” she moaned. Her sheath was tightening, so close to ecstasy. Her eyes fluttered open to see the bar patrons carrying on their conversations downstairs. They had no idea she was ready to come around the man who stole her thoughts every time he came into town.
“Do you touch yourself and think of me?”
“Yes…but it’s never good enough. Deep enough…hard enough.”
Gage groaned, like she’d said the exact right thing. He picked up the pace even more. She couldn’t breathe around the pleasure.
“So you don’t drench your own fingers like this?” He buried himself deep and stirred. “Because you’re weeping for me, sweetheart.”
“Only with you.” He shifted his hips, hitting deeper than ever before—she gasped. “Gage…yes…right there.”
A flash of white stole her vision, and red heat burst through her veins like a gunshot. It sparked and burned as it rushed from her core to her scalp, pricking and sizzling everything in between.
His hand covered her mouth as she screamed with her release. Her eyes widened—if his firm palm hadn’t stifled her cries, she would have brought the roof down.
She panted and moaned against his hand, squeezing her eyes shut as her orgasm went on and on. Snapping her skin like angry, lusty fingers. Sharp, and loud, and heady. Gage was right there, ready to come with her.
He hardened another degree inside her, and the sensation kicked her already unrelenting passion into overdrive. She pressed her mouth further against his palm, trying to contain her yell. Gage bit down on the curve of her shoulder to mask his own shout. Pride soared through her as he hummed against her skin from his own powerful release.
He breathed hard against her and finally eased his grip, rolling to his side and wrapping his arms around her.
“Chloe, you tempt me like no other.”
“Just a friendly welcome back,” she said, out of breath as he eased his hand away.
He chuckled low in her ear. “And what a welcome it is.”
She only had a few hours of Gage time over the weekend, and she’d already spent the first hour doing what they did best. Between both of their jobs, these stolen hours were all they had—which was good—but she took advantage while she could. The heat of his body would keep her satisfied for the dry spell to follow.
“I want more,” she said. The chance to see his amazing naked body. To kiss and feel him more. All of it. She only had the weekend, and she had a big checklist to get through that involved his body and all the ways she wanted to be wrapped around it.
“Me too.” He nipped her earlobe. “Especially since we have a few weeks to see where this goes.”
Her eyes snapped open. “What?”
He leaned back, eyebrows raised—her reaction evidently not what he’d expected. But she couldn’t help it. She rose to her feet and adjusted her clothes. Gage stood as well and buckled his belt.
“Did you say a few weeks? You’re staying for that long?”
He frowned. “Yeah. I was thinking I could take you out for once and—”
“Take me out?” His words were like a bucket of ice water to the face. “Like on a date?”
He stepped so close she couldn’t mistake the heat between them and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I want to be with you, Chloe. Now I have time to get to know you more than one weekend at a time.”
Oh God…
Her body hummed with so much need and confusion she thought she’d topple over. But she had to be honest. “Gage, I want you. You know I want you…”
He smiled and pressed against her further.
“But I don’t want to date you,” she finished.
When he stepped back, the look on his face made her chest tighten and her heart race.
The strong search and rescue badass of a man did not look happy.
Chapter Two
“I’m not dating him.” Chloe tied a short apron around her waist and walked around the bar to get ready for the lunch rush. Living upstairs was a big plus for Chloe’s nonexistent commute to work. She ran the restaurant and bar, trying to keep her mother’s life’s work a lucrative success. Her best friend, Natalie, had a small room for her cupcake shop off to the left-hand side of th
e house.
“You guys have sex every time he comes into town?” Natalie slowly applied frosting to one of her locally famous cupcakes. There was flour dusted on her apron and sweater set. She shoved her thick glasses up her nose, spreading buttercream on her face, then went back to her task.
“Well, yeah.”
“Call it what you want.” Natalie licked a dab of frosting off one of her fingers. “Whatever it is, it sounds like the perfect arrangement to me.”
Chloe glanced at the balcony above where she’d been with Gage the night before. A tremble from the memory crept up her back. She shook it off. The upstairs was being remodeled in time for the twentieth anniversary of the restaurant, an event Chloe hoped would kick-start a busier year.
She should be focused on the remodel and anniversary. Instead, she’d spent all night wrapped in thoughts about Gage and what he wanted from her.
Natalie eyed her. “I hear he’s sticking around for a while this time.”
Chloe groaned—how was she going to last with him staying in town for longer than a weekend? “Depends on how unlucky I am.”
Natalie shook her head. “Why do you look like that’s bad news?” She placed a few chocolate shavings on the cupcake. “I can think of worse things than having him hang around.”
“I can’t be with him more than a night or two,” Chloe mumbled. “I like our arrangement. But he wants to…take me out. You know.” She glanced around, like she was worried someone would overhear them. “On a date.”
Natalie slapped the piping bag down on the counter. “That dick! What man would have the nerve to ask a beautiful woman out on a date?”
Chloe sighed. Okay, so Natalie was giving her shit, and yeah, Chloe probably sounded crazy. But this was bad. “You know I don’t do commitment, Nat.”
She raised a brow. “You’re committed to this place. Committed to the town and your mama’s memory. I’d say you do it fine.”
“I mean commitment with a man. I just…don’t.” The thought alone gave her hives, and even though Gage was banging in the sack—literally—three weeks was treading into dangerous waters. Because she didn’t need to like him beyond their arrangement. Didn’t need him, period.
At least, she didn’t want to need him. She was already sold on his brand of passion. No reason to complicate things more with feelings, long term, or dating.
“Besides, you said it, I’m committed to Beaufort. Gage comes and goes. Even if I wanted more, which I don’t”—unless it involved him naked—“he’s not the guy.”
In fact, he was the exact wrong guy. She’d seen what getting hung up waiting for her dad had done to her mother.
Working at the restaurant, honoring her mother’s business and dream, those were what she took seriously. The restaurant was her home. Her career. Her life. But it had taken a dip a few years ago when her mother had gotten cancer. The famous menu she’d handcrafted had been condensed to the things Chloe knew she could provide at the same high quality, but it wasn’t enough. Without her mother’s passion and charm, business was slipping.
Chloe’s mission was to turn Honey’s around and bring back the staple foods her mother had been famous for. She wasn’t going anywhere, and she also wasn’t signing up for three weeks of blurred lines with Gage. She wouldn’t run the risk of developing expectations when attraction was more than enough with him.
Natalie put a flour-caked hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “I feel for you. And I understand. Doesn’t mean I agree with your decision to stay away from the hottie. Did you see his butt?”
Chloe laughed. Yeah, she’d seen it. Gage McGraw was as fine and strong as they came.
“There’s too much going on to even think about more than sex.”
Natalie raised an eyebrow. “Too much going on?”
Chloe nodded. “The twentieth anniversary for the restaurant is in a couple of weeks, and I’m still adjusting to running this place.”
Even though her mother had passed two years ago, Chloe still struggled to take over everything left to her. Her life was full and busy—and she was failing. She’d never be Mary “Honey” Franklin. Her mother had been strong, kind and good at everything she tried. So sweet that everyone called her “Honey.” Which was how the restaurant got its name.
Natalie leaned in. “If you know what you want, and you’re set, then stick with it. Sometimes you have to cheat at his rules or play by your own.”
That got Chloe’s attention real quick. It made sense. She wanted Gage; Gage wanted her. Should be simple. But he was throwing this “get to know you” bit into the mix. If she wanted him, she’d have to play dirty and be prepared to run after him before he caught her and tied her to a table for dinner talk.
“I don’t want to stay away from him, I just don’t want to hang out with him,” Chloe said.
“Well don’t hold back, sweetheart,” a gruff voice said behind her. Chloe turned and found Gage standing at the end of the bar. His dark eyes stared holes right through her, and she fought the urge to blush.
He was the only man who ever made her come close to feeling giddy. He had a pull on her emotions, and she needed to get them under control real quick. Because she did want him—as long as it was on her terms. Question was: how would she get it?
Normally she might have grabbed him and shown him how she really felt, but Easton Ambrose, the resident search and rescue EMT, had come with him. East was built like Gage, tall, strong, and good-looking. But East was the local town charmer with a playboy reputation.
Chloe knew a wingman when she saw one. Gage had come here to seduce her into romance. Well, fair was fair. If he wanted to play, she’d beat him at his own game.
“You should know by now I’m not shy about much.” Chloe handed menus to both men. “Hungry?”
“Yes,” Gage replied quickly. There was so much emotion in his voice. His words felt like his tongue against her skin. “I’m starving.”
“Uh…me too…but I’m going to go with a burger.” East leaned back in his seat like he was waiting to see the show. “And I’ll also take a cupcake,” he said to Natalie. When he reached for it, Natalie slapped his hand.
“Back off, Easton, this is a work of art. Not to be pawed on.”
He rolled his eyes. “Seriously, Nat?”
She looked over her cupcake, smiling and turning it to admire its perfection. “Yep.”
It was no secret Natalie and Easton kind of irritated each other. Had since they were all young.
East groaned. “Why the hell do you frost them out here then if they’re not for eating?”
“To drive you nuts.” She smiled.
“Tempting a man with something he wants but can’t have isn’t very nice, you know?”
Though East might be talking about a cupcake, Chloe knew the feeling. She glanced at Gage in all his super hotness and wanted to strangle him for sitting in front of her. With all this talk about cupcakes, she wanted to steal Natalie’s frosting bag and decorate her favorite dessert. Then she’d lick it off and—
She huffed out a breath and glared at the opposite wall. No point in fantasizing about what she couldn’t have.
“Well, I’m off to get this in the case with the rest of them,” Natalie said. “You want a cupcake, Easton? You’ll have to come to my shop and buy one like everyone else.” Then she pranced off with her miniature edible artwork.
“That woman needs to lighten up,” East grumbled.
Now it was Chloe’s turn to roll her eyes. Even though they went way back, there was no way her sweet but strictly organized rule-following BFF would lighten up anytime soon.
“Well, if you’re done whining…” Chloe glanced at Gage. “You going to order something?”
“I’d like to order you to go to dinner with me,” Gage said.
She straightened her shoulders and placed her hands on her hips. Former sergeant Gage McGraw issuing an order kicked her pulse up a notch. His dominance made her want to salute and say, “Yes sir.”
No! She needed to stay strong until she got what she wanted—Gage without the commitment.
“No dinner. But how about a nightcap?” she countered.
“I’m going to go put different music on the jukebox,” East said. “Purely to get away from this conversation.” He got up and walked across the bar to the machine.
Which gave Chloe and Gage a moment alone, and the stare down was on. Not that she cared if East heard. She wasn’t ashamed of what she wanted with Gage.
Gage leaned in and put his arms on the counter. “I want a date, Chloe. Romance. And you’re going to give it to me.”
“Romance?” She almost dry heaved around the word. “Why is this so important to you?”
He stilled for a moment. “Because I want your time. And I’m a romantic guy.”
She looked over him. He was a lot of things, mostly hard muscle and sex on a stick. But romantic? If he was serious, she was in trouble, because there wasn’t a romantic bone in her body.
“Why are you fighting this?” he asked.
“Because I want your body.” It was the first honest thing she could blurt out.
He raised a brow and sat back with a hint of a smile. “So you’re using me for all this?” He gestured over his impressive chest encased in a black T-shirt and…oh God…camo pants. She had a thing for his tactile gear. Just the sight of him donning his big boots, butch watch, and macho swagger was enough to make her wet.
“Don’t think too long, sweetheart. Would hate for the drool on the side of your mouth to get any worse.”
Her face flushed. “Shut up.”
“Now, I’m going to try to not take too much offence about your unwillingness to go out with me. I’ll chalk it up to you being difficult.”
“Well aren’t you sweet,” she said sarcastically.
“But I’m not about to let this slip. Because I think you kind of like me.” He tossed her a wink, and damn him, she did kind of like him. That wasn’t a secret—between the hours of sex in the past, they’d lain in bed and talked and laughed. But those were brief moments in the bedroom, and they only lasted a weekend. She could play it cool for a few hours, but a few weeks was different. All the baggage, emotions, and stuff she didn’t like to think about had more time to fester and come out.
