by Joya Ryan
She was his. Simply. And he’d take advantage while he could.
“I’m going to feel you first,” he said, running his finger along her damp slit.
“Yes, anything you want.” She pushed back, trying to coax his finger inside, and he couldn’t deny her. Sliding in, he felt her hot, tight sheath grip him. Only this time, she was soaking from him. He’d coated her. Brought her to climax. Remained a part of her.
The idea was drugging, and he couldn’t get enough.
“You had a plan from the beginning,” he said, thrusting deeper. “You had a…what was it? Mission?” He curved his finger.
“Y-yes.”
“And you wanted me. Put me in this position to take you. And you beg for more, even now.”
“Yes,” she said, the words coming out a moan.
“You’re not the good girl everyone thinks you are.”
“Yes, I am,” she said, her heavy eyes looking over at him again. “I’m only a bad girl with you.”
He liked the sound of that, so he rewarded her with another finger.
“Oh, God…” She sighed, and her body tensed.
“Not going to come already are you?” he teased.
“I want to.”
“I know you do, but you already broke the rules and came once before I said you could.”
“Because you were fucking me, and I loved it—”
His fingers surged into her, and she gasped. “I still told you not to. Told you I’d punish you.”
“Yes, please do it. Anything,” she groaned. Yeah, she was close.
Between the feel of her tightening around him and his cock twitching with the need to be back in wet paradise, he removed his fingers and plunged his cock deep.
“Penny…”
Her name was the only thing he could say. His control was slipping, and all he wanted to do was bring her pleasure. Wanted to stay right there, buried deep in her heat. He could feel how wet he’d left her.
He slid in and out, the motion of his hips slamming against her ass, and it wasn’t enough.
He wrapped one arm around her waist and yanked her back.
“Oh God! You’re so deep.” And with the added moisture, he slid with ease, allowing him to go further than ever before.
His arm around her waist tightened as he took her hard and slow.
She collapsed from her hands to her elbows, and Bass took full advantage.
Keeping a hold on her, he pulled out all the way and delivered a slap on her ass, rocking her forward and making her groan.
“Do you know why I’m punishing you?”
“B-because I challenged you.”
He thrust hard inside once, then slapped her ass again, causing her to fist the sheets.
“No. Don’t you ever,” thrust, “think I don’t want you.” His mind was a haze, and the words were out before he could get a grip on what he was saying or feeling. “Do you understand me?” he growled. “I told you, you’re mine.” For however long that lasted. Until their relationship was over, she was his. Completely.
He slapped her ass again and took her with all his might.
“Say it, Penny!”
“Yes. Yes, I understand.”
“Good girl.” He kept up his penetrating pace, and she started heaving, trying not to come. Despite what he’d said, he didn’t want her unsatisfied. If things were different, his goal in life would be to keep her happy.
Where did that come from?
He pushed the thought aside.
“Come now, darlin’,” he whispered.
He felt her tight pussy instantly, milking him from her release. “Thank you,” she said in such a sweet, trusting tone. The words hit his chest like a shot. She’d denied herself to make him happy. Held out. For him.
Between the surge of pleasure that raced through his spine and the tug of emotion that shot through his chest, he couldn’t take it anymore.
This woman amazed him.
He was lucky to have her, even for a short time.
Penelope Diamond is way out of my league.
As his own climax hit, he imprinted every inch of her to memory. For however long he had her, he would cherish her.
Soon, they’d go back to friends. The thought made him sick. So he stirred, feeling her arch to his touch.
But not tonight.
Tonight they weren’t friends, and he heard her sweet mouth admit, understand, she was his.
Tonight, she was his.
Chapter Ten
“I can’t believe you’re getting married so soon!” Lily said to Jenna as Penny set out a towel on the banks of Diamond Lake.
“I know! I’m so excited.”
The girls set up next to Penny, with Lily’s son Alex playing beside them. The lake was already packed with most of the town’s population lining the lake banks around the large lake. Lounge by the Lake Day was a tradition for the last Saturday in May. A pre-party to kick off summer.
Two days had passed since she and Sebastian had enjoyed their little fight-makeup sex session. She didn’t know what to make of it. Other than to wonder if he was pulling away. She didn’t want to push him too hard too fast, but what they’d shared went beyond friendship and their arrangement. They both knew it. So why did she feel that every time they took one step toward real intimacy, he was one step closer to running the other direction?
“There’s Colt!” Jenna said, and she took off running in the direction of the guys walking toward them. Huck, Ryder, and Colt, who was carrying a cooler, were several yards away. No Sebastian.
“You okay?” Lily said.
Penny turned to face her friend. “I don’t know.”
Lily looked her over, then turned to her son. “Alex, honey.” She tugged on the boy’s life jacket, making sure it was secure. “Want to go play with Michael? He’s right there with his mom.” Lily pointed to where they were at the edge of the lake.
Michael’s mom was waving him over. Lily waved, and the moms exchanged some signal that apparently meant Michael’s mom would keep an eye on the boys for a few minutes.
Lily’s attention turned to Penny. “What’s going on?”
Penny shrugged. She needed to talk to someone, get some perspective, but she couldn’t go around talking about her and Sebastian.
“I’m thinking about a lot, about the future.”
Lily nodded. “Does this thinking involve another person?”
“Sort of.” How could she talk about this without revealing everything? Vagueness would have to be her friend. “I want certain things. Like a family, husband, and all that.”
Lily nodded.
“But it’s more than that. I have this picture in my head of making biscuits in the morning, then having coffee with my husband while sitting on the porch and watching the sunrise.”
“You want a home.”
“Yeah,” Penny said.
That was it exactly. And more than that. She wanted Sebastian. Because being in his arms, his warm breath against her neck, felt like home.
She shook her head. She’d known better than to go into details about what her brain churned out, but with summer gearing up, she couldn’t help but think of her mother. It was the one season Penny missed her the most, because it was the one time of year they’d had all their adventures together. Along with all the wedding and love bliss in the air, she couldn’t help but confide in her friend.
“I have this image of my husband setting up a swing set in the front yard. My dad coming home for Christmas and…” And not avoiding me like he has since mom died.
Penny knew that was why her father didn’t come around or talk to her much. She wouldn’t make him admit it, but she knew it was because she looked just like her mother. With her passing, and then Penny taking over the BBQ, her father couldn’t handle the reminder, so he’d bought a condo in Florida. She spoke to him a few times a year. They used to be close, but it was like the sight of her, the sound of her voice, made him cringe.
Which broke
her heart, because her father and mother had had a marriage that she envied. They’d shown her what real love looked like. While she didn’t doubt her father loved her, she knew he was grieving, a process Penny still hadn’t figured out how to get through. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the people she loved might at any time disappear, the same way her mother had.
“It’s wonderful to want all those things,” Lily said. “And you’ll have them.”
“I want other things too. Like passion.”
“Ah.” Lily nodded. “And you think you can’t have both?”
She knew she couldn’t. Because Bass was passion and heat and every naughty fantasy she’d wrapped up into a big ball of lawyer awesomeness. But the rest? Like a future or commitment or house? No, he had made it clear a long time ago that he didn’t do any of those things. She might have to realize that no matter her efforts, he might never want the things she did.
“It’s not likely,” Penny finally admitted. Not unless she moved on from Bass. But the thought of giving him up stung her chest. She wanted to try. Try for more with him. Try for longer. Try for anything he’d give her.
They’d made strides as a couple, but she knew she was losing him. If she could sell the idea that longer term wasn’t scary, maybe he’d push the two week end date back.
Maybe. That was a far cry from yes.
But maybe was a lot better than no. It was a delicate situation, and she had to approach it as such. Not her strong point. Since every time Bass came around, her bratty, challenging side came out, which recently had ended with her begging or screaming his name.
“I’m not the perfect person to give advice,” Lily said, glancing at Alex playing by the water. “But you have to decide what you’re willing to give up and what you’re willing to fight for.” She patted Penny’s shoulder. “If there’s something or someone you want, make it happen. But don’t chase a dream that isn’t there. Sometimes, you have to adjust your expectations.”
She nodded. Lily was right. Problem was, she didn’t know which expectation to adjust. If it came to her prince charming or fairy tale ending, which one would she choose if they didn’t match up? She looked over Lily’s shoulder and saw Sebastian walking toward them.
He’d come.
Shirtless, in board shorts and aviator glasses, a towel slung over one shoulder, and all that tan skin. When he smiled her direction, her heart fluttered.
He was what she wanted her happily ever after to look like.
Before she could drool and swoon her fill, a different voice came from behind her.
“Penny?”
She turned, recognizing the voice enough to make bile rise in her throat.
“Eli.”
He stood next to his fiancée, a tall platinum blonde in a skimpy bikini. With abs like hers, her number one hobby was obviously Cross Fit.
She’d thought seeing Eli again would be weird, but he didn’t look the least bit awkward. In fact, he looked smug. As if purposefully parading his new woman in front of Penny, reminding her how she was lacking.
“You still look adorable as ever,” Eli said. “I hear you’re running the BBQ now.”
“That’s right,” she said tightly.
Lily looked between her and Eli. Penny just put on her best smile. She wasn’t the same woman he’d dumped. She was stronger, more confident.
“Maybe we should stop in sometime,” he said, squeezing platinum’s side. “Cindy here’s a vegetarian though. May be difficult to find something for her.”
Heat engulfed Penny. And not the good kind. The kind that made her want to run and hide. All she could think about was how small she felt. How Eli was loving this, and Penny was letting this happen. There was no graceful way out.
“You should call for a reservation first,” Sebastian said, walking up behind her, cupping her waist, and pulling her into his side. His voice was full of pride and made her tingle. “The BBQ fills up pretty quick.”
She looked up at Sebastian with a questioning expression. He just smiled down at her, then returned his attention to Eli.
“Really?” Eli said. “It never got that crowded in the past.”
“Well, that was the past. Penny has a way of—” Bass looked at her and briefly ran his hand from the small of her back to her ass and back up “—making things hot and addicting.”
That made Eli pause, and Lily looked like she was barely stifling a smile. Then platinum actually checked out Sebastian, and that was Penny’s final straw.
“Well, I can’t say it was good running in to you,” she said. “But have a nice day.”
She turned away from him, and Bass was right there giving her the support she needed.
Eli mumbled something, grabbed Platinum, and walked off. Maybe Penny was finally turning into the woman she always wanted to be. And looking up at the handsome man that came to her rescue but let her fight for her own victory, she couldn’t help but smile.
…
Jesus, Penny was gorgeous. Especially when she looked up at him with that smile. It actually made his chest hurt.
He’d seen Eli approach her. The asshole had actually gone out of his way to make his presence known. But she had stood tall.
“That was sweet, Bass,” Lily said.
He frowned. “What was?”
“You know, pretending to be with Penny to piss Eli off. I almost believed it for a second.”
He cleared his throat, reminding himself that they weren’t alone.
Keep it casual.
While the rest of their friends were several yards away, tied up in conversations with other people, Bass was drawn to Penny.
“I’d be the lucky one to have such a lady on my arm.” He looked at Penny. Her long hair pulled up, the Kansas sun dancing off her skin. That black bikini top and cut off shorts had his imagination going, but he kept it under control. Lily was standing right there. And besides, he couldn’t walk around with a damn hard-on all day.
The woman drives me crazy…
“Well, I’m glad you made it,” Lily said, then looked over by the lake. “Ah, crap.”
Bass caught sight of what she was looking at: Alex, trying to perfect his cannon ball.
“I’ll be back,” she said and took off in Alex’s direction.
Which left him alone with Penny.
“Can I set up next to you?”
She smiled and took the towel off his shoulder. “I’d like that.” She laid it out, and they sat side by side, looking out at the lake like the best of friends without a care in the world. Only he did care…more than he was prepared for.
She lay back, reclining on her forearms, and he sat with his hands tangled together and draped over his bent knees. They were best kept there.
He glanced around. Jenna and Colt were sneaking kisses and easing into the water. Lily was busy with Alex, and the whole town of Diamonds seemed to be having a great time.
He wouldn’t mind stealing a kiss of his own from the pretty redhead with a wicked mouth. But he couldn’t. A fact he hated.
“How are you?” he asked. Small talk wasn’t his style, but he didn’t know what else to say.
She looked at him and smiled. “Better now. Wishing I could touch you.”
That took him by surprise. Then again, she wasn’t shy when it came to what she wanted.
All he could do was smile and be just as honest. “Me too, darlin’.”
“Oh?” She sat up a little. “Where would you like me to touch? If we could, right now, that is.”
“Everywhere,” he answered instantly, like some damn teenager on the brink of getting to second base if he said all the right things.
“Okay then.” She fished for something out of her little bag. “Sit just like you are and keep your eyes forward.”
Just when he was going to ask what she was doing, much less why she was ordering him around, he saw a tub of sunscreen in her hand, and she moved behind him.
“You’re getting a little hot,” she said in his ear f
rom behind him. “I can help with that.”
The cold feeling of sunscreen squirting onto his back almost made him jump. It was pathetic how easily she made him edgy.
But when her hands started spreading the lotion around his shoulders, down his spine, and then back up, he almost groaned at the sensation. Her small thumbs dug into his muscles, kneading as she massaged him.
He stayed just as he was, not touching her, hopefully looking completely unaffected. She was just a friend helping him out with sunscreen.
Yeah right.
“I keep thinking about the other night,” she whispered.
Shit, that hard-on he was trying not to not sport was starting to stir.
“Can’t talk about that, darlin’. Unless you want me tenting my shorts all day.”
She laughed, and the sound made his whole body flush with a sense of enjoyment and pride. Making her laugh was the best thing he’d done all day.
“Well, then. Why don’t we talk about you?”
He glanced over his shoulder with a raised brow. “You know me, not much to talk about.”
“So then tell me something I don’t know. Like some hidden secret, darkest fear, or fun fact you’ve hidden from the rest of your world.”
There were no fun facts he could think of. Mostly because the parts of himself he kept private weren’t fun. They were painful.
“Why do you want to know?”
Her hands stopped for a moment, resting flat on his back. “Because I want to know you more.”
There was such a raw honesty in her voice that he couldn’t help but respond. She wanted to know him more. She’d said that before. It was still a bad idea, and yet, a big part of him wanted that also. Because he felt the same way. It was an odd idea, but damn it, he wanted it. Despite the two week agreement, they’d always be friends, so even if this ended between them—
When. When this ended. No if.
He had to remind himself that.
And maybe explaining himself would make it easier for her when they had to go back to being friends.
“Bass?” She slid her hands up, a gesture of support, and said the one word that hit his ribs like a damn arrow. “Please.”
He took a deep breath. “You want my darkest fear?” he asked. “I’m terrified of losing what I love most. I’m terrified of it ruining me.”
