by JM Stewart
Determined to relax him, she fisted his red tie and tugged on the end. “Does that speech always work to woo the ladies?”
The left corner of his mouth quirked, but the smile fell as quickly as it came. His big hands caressed over the curve of her hips and up her back. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never said it to anyone else before.”
This caught her. He drew clear boundary lines, and she wanted to ask what made her so special. In that moment, though, vulnerability hung all over him. The anxiousness screaming from his gaze told her he was out of his element. Once again, he reminded her how different he was from the image he’d portrayed online. In the flesh, he was every bit as flawed and human as she was. Seeing his human frailty filled her with more questions and nudged something inside, but she shoved the queries aside. In another lifetime, he might have been someone she’d want to get to know better. In another lifetime, maybe they’d lie together in the dark and share wounds.
Gaze downcast, she forced her mind to focus on the task at hand and worked at undoing the knot in his tie. Like he said, they were here for sex, nothing more, nothing less. She had no desire to date him or get her heart broken again. “Trust goes both ways, GQ. If it makes you feel any better, your money doesn’t mean much to me. Do your research, the same way I did on you. You’ll find enough to know I am who I say I am. I’ve been taking care of myself since I was fourteen. No offense, but I don’t need you.”
The corners of his mouth twitched, amusement gleaming in his eyes. “I appreciate that, thanks.”
Tie undone, she whipped it from around his neck and dropped it to the floor beside the couch.
“I have a few rules of my own. I agree. I don’t want hearts and flowers, either. I want to use you for a while.” She arched a brow. “You okay with that?”
His hands slid to her backside. He pulled her tight against the ridge of his erection, straining the front placket of his black pants. “You tell me.”
She gasped. The solid press of his cock against her core, against the spot that had been throbbing for a week now, overwhelmed her system. Since they’d made plans to meet, she’d been in a state of constant arousal. She’d given herself so many orgasms in the last week while fantasizing about this exact moment she ought to have gotten it out of her system by now. Yet a hot, luscious pulse shot straight to her clit. She wanted him, too.
She let out a quiet, shuddering breath but held tight to her composure. “This is just for one night. Whether we go back to what we were remains to be seen, but I don’t want to do this again.”
Okay, so she lied. She had a feeling she could do this with him again. And again. And again. He was right on one account. Their exchanges had become intense. She’d become addicted, too.
Cade leaned forward, scraping his teeth over her bottom lip. “I’d like to negotiate that. I’m going to be here for two weeks. I don’t see why we can’t enjoy each other while I’m here.”
His hands slid up her torso to curve around each breast, his velvet lips wandering along her chin and down the side of her neck. Hannah forgot her name, let alone any form of protest. Her fingers curled of their own volition into the hard muscle of his broad shoulders.
She closed her eyes, desperate to hold on to what little sanity she had left. Heated tremors ran the length of her spine. “And I w-won’t spend the n-night. I have a job, and I need to be fresh in the morning.”
The bookstore was an excuse and a lousy one. Falling asleep in someone’s arms created things like intimacy, and she knew better.
He nipped at the spot where her neck met her shoulder. “Ditto.”
She lifted her head and opened her eyes, pulling away enough to look into his face. Now came the serious stuff. His answer to her next question would tell her about the man and could make or break their night altogether. She wouldn’t be somebody’s joke again.
His playful expression fell, his brows drawing together in concern. “What is it?”
She stiffened her spine, determined to get the words out. Her hands shook so much she feared he’d feel her trembling. Nausea swirled in her stomach. “I also need to be the only person you’re sleeping with. What you do in your own time is your business, but while you’re here, I won’t be one in a long line of your conquests, or a joke between you and another woman.”
The heat of the moment before faded, seriousness taking its place between them. He sat back, his green gaze working over her face in disbelief. “Have you ever?”
Embarrassed heat rose up her neck and into her cheeks. She glanced down at their combined laps, staring at the creases in his slacks, and nodded. “Somebody played a cruel joke once, my freshman year in college.”
“Well, he was an asshole.” He cupped her face in his hands and forced her gaze back to his, his thumbs sweeping her cheeks. “That won’t be a problem. To be honest, I’m not intimate with anybody but you in any way, shape, or form. Up until seven months ago, I dated a woman I thought I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.”
His words caught her. It meant, for all intents and purposes, Cade McKenzie was the marrying type. The wounded little girl inside her pulsed to life. Deep down, in a place she didn’t want to name or face, she wanted the fantasy, the one all little girls dreamed of. A man she could trust, who’d spend the rest of his life worshiping her. So far, life had proven Prince Charming didn’t exist. Better to stay uninvolved.
She ran her finger around one of the buttons on his shirt. “The woman who cheated on you.”
Something flashed across his features, but his expression went impassive again before she grasped what the emotion had been.
“Mmm. I found out she wanted what every woman I’ve dated seems to want.”
“The money.” She laid a hand against his chest. She may not understand this specific pain, but she knew what it meant to be used. “I’m sorry.”
He made a noncommittal grunt in the back of his throat. “Since the breakup, I haven’t dated. I guess you could say I’ve lost my desire to do so. I didn’t plan what developed between you and me. You had such strong opinions of the book that I enjoyed challenging you.”
She couldn’t help smiling. “So did I.”
He rubbed slow, soothing circles over her back. “I didn’t expect to like you or for this to lead where it did. So, no worries, babe. You’re it for me.”
His quiet admission relaxed the last of her nerves. They had a lot in common. They’d both arrived at the same place in their lives, both needing a connection but not wanting the heartache that came with relationships. Staring at him, he no longer seemed a stranger anymore, but the man she’d come to know over the last few months. Whose words on a computer screen could light up her whole day.
His earlier words filled her mind. Before this went any further, she might as well know now. “You said you had secrets. Anything I should know?”
His gaze worked over her face, searching as if something weighed on him. Finally, he drew a breath and that vulnerability returned to his eyes. “Yes, but…not now.”
The smart girl who’d been hurt one time too many insisted she ought to know everything before she got involved with him. It was the anxiousness in the depths of his eyes, though, that told her she already knew. “It’s painful.”
“Not quite like your accident, but it’s not easy to talk about and it sends my head into places I don’t want to go right now.” A ghost of a smile whispered across his mouth, humor flaring in his gaze. “I don’t want to ruin the moment. I promise it’s nothing bad, at least not for you. I will tell you. Just not now.”
She nodded, stroking a reassuring hand over his chest. “All right.”
Relief flooded his features and his body relaxed beneath her.
“Thank you. So…” He sat back, hands on her hips, and cocked a playful brow. “Any more demands, Miss Miller?”
Filled with a sense of freedom, she let go of her inhibitions and leaned forward, pressing her chest to his. “No, that’s it. For now.”
&nbs
p; “Good.” He caught her bottom lip in his teeth, then soothed the soft bite with a stroke of his tongue. His voice lowered to a husky murmur between them. “Now tell me what you want. Did you notice the bed?”
She turned, following his gaze. Double doors leading to the bedroom stood open, revealing a huge behemoth of a bed, decorated with no less than six pillows and a fluffy quilt. The gorgeous, four-poster bed lined the wall, deep mahogany in color with a carved wooden frame.
Cade leaned forward, his voice a low, sexy rumble in her ear. “I booked this room on purpose. At some point, I’m going to tie you to it and show you what I meant about restraints. There’s also a fantastic tub I want to get you in at some point. For now, however, I’ve decided to let you lead.”
She braced her hands against his chest and pushed upright.
“We’ll negotiate the bed later. For starters, I want this shirt off. I want to see the rest of your tattoo.” She slid off his lap and moved to the small, overstuffed chair, catty-corner to the couch. She shifted the chair, turning it to face the couch, and sat.
Hands already making quick work of the buttons on his shirt, he shifted forward, as if he were about to get up.
Hannah shook her head and held up a hand. “Uh-uh. Stay. I want to watch.”
Cade’s fingers paused over the next button. He stared for a moment before comprehension dawned across his face. He sank back into the couch cushions with a groan. “Baby, I didn’t come all the way out here to touch myself. I can stay home and do that.”
She arched a brow. “You recall me telling you my biggest fantasy?”
He let out a frustrated growl. “I’ve tried several times to fulfill it, but you wouldn’t ever let me see you.”
She smiled again. “Take off your shirt, Cade.”
“You’re a bossy little thing.” He grinned but freed another button. “What happened to shy Hannah?”
Her smile fell, the playful pretense for a moment forgotten. The air of seriousness returned as unease rose over her. “I feel comfortable with you. I hadn’t expected it, all things considered, but I do.”
He returned her smile, this one soft and understanding. “Me too.”
A sense of mutual respect passed between them, tender and hot at the same time. Cade had become her friend, her lover. His smile told her he shared the sentiment.
She craved that about their exchanges, about him, the most. It had never been just sex, but something more. They shared a connection. Something about him warmed her insides. He seemed familiar and something in her always melted beneath the power of it. She couldn’t put a name to the emotion. She refused to ponder it, but for tonight at least, she’d give in. She needed him too much. Tonight, she wanted to feel like a woman, desired and beautiful.
He grinned, once again playful and mischievous, and nodded in her direction. “If I have to get naked, so do you. Shirt. Off. I want to see you.”
The heat flaring in his gaze made her obey, but it didn’t escape her notice that he hadn’t asked. He’d demanded.
The corners of her mouth twitched with her effort to hold back a grin. “You’re used to getting your way, aren’t you?”
Two buttons down, his fingers once again halted. He grinned, his eyes glittering with playful impishness. “Yes, ma’am. Now do as you’re told and take off your shirt.”
Unable to resist the playful tease, she gripped the hem of her shirt and lifted it enough to reveal her belly, then arched a brow at him. “You first.”
He made quick work of the rest of the buttons, pulled his shirt out from beneath the waistband of his slacks, and shrugged out of it, then balled it and tossed it at her. It landed on her feet with a soft swish of fabric, still warm from the heat of his body.
“Ball’s in your court now, baby.” He sat back, folding his hands over his bare stomach. A nice flat stomach dusted with a smattering of dark hair. She preferred guys who looked like men, not little boys, but who also didn’t resemble wildebeests. Cade had just the right amount covering his well-defined pecs. Her fingers itched to dive into the dark curls.
Her gaze shifted, falling to his tattoo. A black snakelike dragon ran from his shoulder to the middle of his forearm. Classy and simple, nothing garish, but it made a bold statement. Unable to help herself, she rose from her seat and moved to stand beside the couch.
“I like this.” She followed the dragon’s body with the tip of a finger as it wound its way up his arm.
He glanced at his shoulder and shrugged. “Call it an act of rebellion. It goes with that story I’ll tell you sometime. I got it when I turned eighteen. It pissed off my father. My parents have certain expectations for my sister and I. Everything we’ve ever done has been dictated to us, and I wanted to unseat the old man.”
He’d mentioned a sister before. She looked up, finger pausing on a stroke over the dragon’s serpentlike tongue. “You have a sister?”
“Mmm. I’m a twin, though she’s fond of telling people she’s older.” The corners of his mouth twitched, amusement filling his gaze.
“Does she look like you?” She shouldn’t have asked him that, but the mention of his family reminded her how much she didn’t know about him, other than what she’d gleaned online. They didn’t talk about this side of themselves. She was about to become intimate with a man whose words could make her come so hard she lost her breath, but she didn’t know his family or his life. His innocent sharing filled her with a dangerous yearning to know more. She ached to learn about his world, to see the man.
“We look like siblings. I’m told she looks like a smaller, feminine version of me.” He reached over, fingering the hem of her shirt. “I don’t want to talk about my sister. I want to talk about you taking this off.”
He cocked a brow and waited, but her nerves were getting the best of her. Truth was, she’d stalled on purpose. What could she tell him? Despite having been the one to initiate this, the thought of baring her not-so-perfect body still made her stomach churn. Having to stand in front of him and watch his every reaction made her limbs shake. She had a running nightmare she’d make a dork out of herself and get stuck in her shirt. Or she’d take it off and have to watch the revulsion rise in his eyes.
He dropped his head against the back of the couch.
“I’m hanging on a thread, baby. I’m about three seconds from standing up and taking it off myself.” Despite the playful threat, he spoke softly, his fingers wandering beneath the hem of her shirt, stroking over her trembling belly. “For months I’ve had nothing but my imagination to go by. Here you are in front of me. I need to see you. All of you.”
The hunger in his eyes encouraged her. She let it fuel her own hunger and gripped the hem of her shirt, pulling it off over her head. She dropped it to the floor, then did the same with her tank top. Wearing only her bra, she waited, heart going gangbusters in her throat.
Cade growled low as he slid his hand up her belly. His fingers grazed the underside of her left breast, encased in the red, lacy bra. His hot gaze trapped her, an all-too-willing prisoner.
Feeling braver now, she shook her head and moved to the overstuffed chair but didn’t take a seat. His gaze followed her every move as she unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down her hips. She stepped out of them, pushing them aside with her foot, and stood before him in the matching bra and panties she’d bought for this date. A red number she’d hoped would match his tie. She was pleased to see it did.
Hands trembling, she let him look at her for a moment, then sat in the chair. Gaze locked on his, she leaned back and ran her hand down her stomach and over her lace-covered mound, rubbing herself through her panties. “Your turn.”
His chest rose and fell at an increasingly rapid pace, his hands visibly shaking as he undid his belt. He unzipped his slacks and reached inside, pulling out his cock, then sat back. Hannah licked her lips. He was beautiful, long and thick, the head stretching up his stomach to touch his belly button. She wasn’t certain what she wanted more…to climb on his lap an
d sink onto him or take him in her mouth. The unbearable need to taste him warred with the fantasy they’d been playing out for too many months. To watch him stroke himself to orgasm. To get to watch his face when he came.
He wrapped his hand around the head and squeezed, eyes fluttering closed and mouth falling open in bliss. He stroked himself once, twice, then opened his heavy-lidded eyes again. “The rest. Please. I want to see all of you.”
Hannah bit her lower lip and did as he asked, unable to stop her gaze from soaking in the sight he made. She had to admit it. Watching him sitting there, gaze locked on her, filled her with a sense of power. Cade McKenzie had a beautiful body, every inch of him lean and sculpted. For tonight at least, he was all hers.
She tossed her bra to the floor and massaged her breasts, caressing them and pinching the nipples, then moved to her panties. She teased him, pulled them halfway down, then back up, before turning her back to him and bending over as she pushed them down her legs. She wiggled her backside at him then turned back around and took a seat in the chair.
Cade banged his head against the back of the couch. The tendons in his neck strained. His jaw tightened. His hand stroked his cock slow but steady. “Christ, you’re killing me. Please. I’m dying to touch you.”
She shook her head, and he let out another growl, this one loud and frustrated. His hand squeezed his cock, the head purple and swollen. Her effect on him filled her with an addicting sense of power. She had the sense right then she could do anything. No man had ever looked at her with that much desire or begged her in such a desperate way. It might be cruel to make him sit and watch. He was right. She hadn’t met him here so she could touch herself. By God, she had to prolong this as much as possible. The expression on his face filled her with an unparalleled sense of being beautiful and powerful.
Maybe, though, the time had come to let him off the hook and be honest.
“It’s addicting.” Soaking in the sight of him, letting it fuel her desire and her bravery, she slid her fingers down her slit, swiping her index finger over her clit. One stroke sent a heady rush shuddering through her. She gasped, her back arching off the chair. “Watching you. God, Cade, I’m so aroused. Sitting here, knowing I do that to you. Nobody’s ever looked at me the way you are right now. Like I’m…”
