It had taken me a full three months to finally accept it was over and start looking elsewhere. There’d been other women since her, plenty of other women, but she was the only one who’d put the squeeze on my heart.
She licked her lips. “My friends think I should have revenge sex. That’s why they brought me here tonight. They thought you might like to volunteer.”
I bit my lip, my eyes lingering over her full, pouty mouth. “Baby, you can count me in.”
Chapter Two
Jasmine
Ten minutes dancing with him and I was already hot and bothered. Okay, maybe it had something to do with the fact that he’d just offered to fuck me to dull the pain of losing my fiancé to a skank. That was Carter Wells for ya, always willing to take one for the team.
“Why don’t we get out of here?” he suggested, gripping my hips.
He was hard, all over, and I was dying to know if he’d added any new ink to his colorful collection. Still, sex with Carter? Wouldn’t that be asking for trouble? I’d stopped calling him because I was getting in too deep. My heart had been sending my brain all kinds of crazy messages about love and forever and I had to shut that shit down before I did something stupid… like made a full confession to him between the sheets.
“We can go back to my place,” he said, his big hands skimming up my sides and over my ribs, making me feel all tingly as he brushed the sides of my breasts with his thumbs. “Have a drink. Catch up.”
“You really expect me to believe that’s all you’re interested in? A drink?”
“Well, if you jumped me, I wouldn’t turn you down, but…”
“Shut up!” I had to laugh. He was the most egotistical man I’d ever met. But he was also sweet and funny and self-deprecating at times, so it all balanced out. “I’m not that desperate.” Though the insistent throbbing between my legs told a different story.
“Come on,” he said, grabbing my hand. “Let’s go say hi to your friends, then I’ll take you home.”
“Yours or mine?” I asked, tugging on his hand before he could drag me off the dance floor.
His sexy smirk said it all. We both knew I couldn’t resist him. “I’ll leave that up to you, baby.”
I listened to him trading small talk with my friends, but I could read the message in their eyes loud and clear. Do it! Fuck him!
But I was still vulnerable after the clusterfuck with Alex. We’d been fighting all week as he tried to convince me to take him back and I tried to convince him he was a douchebag who didn’t deserve to breathe the same air I did. The back and forth was exhausting. Hooking up with my ex could be exactly what I needed… or it could be like tripping down the rabbit hole into a whole ‘nother kind of hurt.
“You guys go,” Becca said, waving at us. “We’re going to have a few more drinks and get an Uber to take us home.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Carter said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder. “My buddy Butler brought his car tonight. He was going to be the DD if the rest of us got shit-faced. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind driving you girls home.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” Violet said, curling her hand around his wrist. “You’re sweet to offer, but who knows, we might get lucky tonight too.”
“You could always hit up Leather Jacket,” Carter suggested, squeezing my hand. “He’s probably pissed he won’t be getting anywhere with my girl tonight.”
My girl. Damn. He still said things that made me feel all gooey inside.
Becca and Vi shared a satisfied look before Vi said, “You two go. Have a great time. Oh and Jas?” She grabbed my free hand. “Don’t worry about coming in to work early in the morning. I can handle that meeting with Envision.”
“You’re the best,” I said, smiling. “But I’d never hear the end of it from Alex if I missed that meeting.”
“Fuck him,” Vi said, folding her arms. “He doesn’t get a say in the way you run your life anymore.”
“He may not get a say in the way I run my life, but he does own twenty-five percent of the business. I don’t want to give him any reason to bitch about me not doing my job.”
“Alex?” Carter repeated. “You’re not talking about the asshole who cheated on you? He’s your business partner?”
I groaned, leaning into him. “Unfortunately.”
He released my hand, putting his arm around my shoulders and drawing me into his side. “Baby, that is seriously fucked up. You need to get rid of him. No way can you go on working with him after what he did.”
“She only needs six and half mil to buy him out,” Vi said. “Chump change, right?”
“You want the money to buy him out?” Carter asked. “I’ll give it to you.”
My jaw dropped. He did not just offer me six and a half million dollars! Okay, so his last contract was fifty million over five years, but still. Six and a half mil was a lot of money. And we hadn’t seen each other in three years. He didn’t know shit about my business.
But he knew me. He was willing to invest in me. Damn. I could see myself falling for this guy again, but who would be there to pick me up this time?
“That’s okay,” I said, trying to find my voice. “Thanks, but…” I chuckled, shaking my head. “It’s not as easy as cutting him a check. He’s the CFO, and there’s no way he’d be willing to just walk away from me or the company. See, he’s convinced we’re getting back together—”
“Fuck him. You’re not.”
Becca and Vi shared a silent “Oh my God,” but I tried to focus on the big, burly guy in front of me trying to tell me what to do.
“Yeah, that’s not for you to decide.” Not that I would ever take Alex back.
He took a deep breath as though he was trying to suppress everything he wanted to say. “Can we just get out of here? I’m getting a headache.”
I was surprised he hadn’t been accosted by autograph-seekers tonight. Must have something to do with the “back off” vibe he’d been sending out since he wrapped his arms around me.
“Fine, let’s go.” It beat driving home with my friends and listening to them rant about how I should have taken Carter up on his offer to take me home. And to loan me the money to buy out Alex. I had no doubt they’d weigh in on that too. “See you in the morning, ladies.”
“I meant what I said about the meeting,” Vi called after me. “Sleep in. Hell, call in sick if you want to.”
“She’s so subtle, isn’t she?” I muttered to Carter.
He chuckled. “She had a good idea though.”
I backhanded him in the stomach. Yup. Rock hard, just like I remembered. Not that I was surprised. Carter wasn’t the kind of guy to get soft. And that applied to more than just his abs.
***
Carter
I watched her take in the changes I’d made to my condo since the last time she’d been here. We used to hang out at my place a lot. Cooking. Watching TV. Having sex. Needless to say that was my favorite way to pass the time.
“Place looks great, Carter.” She smiled. “Last time I think you had a bed, a couch, a large flat screen, and… that’s about it.”
“What else do you need?” I asked, handing her a glass of wine.
I was telling myself to take it slow, but the way she moved those hips as she toured the condo made my mind wander… to all the dirty things I wanted to do to her when I finally got her naked again.
“Ah!” She pointed at a picture of my older brother’s twin boys. She’d come with me to visit them in the hospital when they were born. “Look how big they are now! They’re so cute.”
So was she. Cute. Sexy. Blowing-my-fucking-mind gorgeous.
“Yeah,” I said, coming up behind her to admire the picture. “They take after their uncle.”
She pretended to consider that before she said, “You think they look like Nick? I don’t see it.”
“Smartass.” Nick was my younger brother. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I pulled her back against my chest as I buried my face in her hair.
My erection was prodding her back, leaving little doubt as to where I wanted this night to go. “What? You don’t think I’m cute?”
Her breath hitched as she leaned into me. “Not sure that’s the word I’d use to describe you.”
“How would you describe me?” I licked the shell of her ear. Damn. She tasted and smelled incredible, as always. Made me want to lick her from head to toe.
“Hot.”
“Hmm, I like that, Jazzy.” She always used to laugh when I called her that, claiming I was the only one who ever had.
“Crazy being back here with you,” she said, leaning her head against my chest as she closed her eyes.
She was a petite thing, but her big personality and fierce determination made her seem larger than life. I loved that about her. She didn’t just live life, like most people; she attacked it. Faced with a challenge, she’d always say, “Bring it on.” Which probably explained her business success.
“I love that you’re back here with me.” Where you belong. “Meeting up with you tonight was the best surprise I’ve had in a long time.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
She’d always had a hard time believing she was special to me. She claimed, early on in our relationship, that she didn’t need to know if I was sleeping with other people. I agreed because if I’d found out she was sleeping with someone else, I would have hunted the fucker down and put him in the hospital. Going to jail wouldn’t have been good for my career.
“I’m glad you’re not mad at me, you know, for not ending things the right way.” She’d shed her jean jacket when she walked in, so only a thin layer of cotton separated my hands from the most luscious tits I’d ever had in my mouth. Made it tough for a man to concentrate.
“I’m still trying to figure out why you ended it at all. We were good together.”
“We were,” she said, sighing. “You rocked me, Carter.”
Fuuuuccccckkkk. I was trying so hard to be good, to take it slow, but when she said shit like that, I wanted to tear off her clothes and drive home. ‘Cause that was what her perfect little body had always felt like to me. Home.
“Goes both way,” I said, letting my hands glide over her soft curves.
“Has there, uh, been anyone special in your life since we were together?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Because I never got over you. “I don’t know. Never met the right person, I guess.”
She laughed. “My guess is you’ve had too much fun playing the field.”
I hadn’t had my dick on lockdown since we broke up, but I didn’t parade it out nearly as often as she thought I did. I was tired of puck bunnies. They didn’t do it for me anymore. I wanted a well-rounded woman who could argue politics with my father, bake with my mother, babysit my nephews with me, shop with my sister-in-law, and come home and ride me all night long. Probably too much to ask for, but Jas had all those qualities and she’d become the standard by which I’d judged every other woman. Fuck. How had I let her get away? And what was it going to take to get her back?
“It’s not fun anymore, Jas. When I was twenty, sure. But things have changed.” You changed me, girl. Why can’t you see that? “I guess I want what my brothers and some of my buddies have found. A good woman. Kids.”
“Kids?” she asked, sounding surprised. “When we were together, you weren’t even sure you wanted kids.”
That was before I’d fallen head over heels in love with my nephews. Yeah, I wanted kids all right. At least a couple. Maybe a few. Hell, maybe a whole hockey team if I could convince Jas.
“I’ve changed.” I dropped open-mouthed kissed down the side of her neck. “I’m smarter now.”
Braver too. ‘Cause there was no way I’d leave her guessing about my feelings for her this time. Last time, I’d been afraid to talk about shit like that in case I spooked her. Now she’d know how I felt. I’d tell her every damn day that I loved her, needed her, and was the luckiest bastard alive to be sharing her bed.
She set her wine on the built-in shelf and reached her arms over her head, tugging on the hair curling over my collar. “What we’re doing here tonight, I’m not so sure it’s smart.”
“We haven’t done anything yet,” I reminded her, gripping her hips and rolling her ass over my hard length. “But I sure as hell want to.” My voice was thick and raspy, like air was at a premium, which it was when I was touching her.
“I want to too.” She turned into my arms. “Kiss me, Carter.”
All of the flirting, touching, and sexual innuendo and I still hadn’t kissed her. For one reason. When I started, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to stop. And she needed to know that before we took this any further.
“Jas,” I said, cradling her face in my hands. Damn. She was stunning. Honey-colored hair that fell in soft waves down her back, chocolate-brown eyes, soft sun-kissed skin… it was no wonder I couldn’t resist her.
“What’s wrong? You’ve changed your mind? You don’t want me anymore?” She tugged her lower lip between a row of straight white teeth.
I wanted her more than I wanted to win the Cup.
“I want you too much,” I said, resting my forehead against hers as I closed my eyes. “That’s the problem. I don’t want to be your rebound guy. I don’t want this to be about revenge sex for you. When you’re with me, in my bed, with me buried deep in that sweet little body of yours, I don’t want you thinking about some asshole who wronged you. I want you to think about how right it feels being with me again.”
She curled her small hands around my biceps. They didn’t even make it halfway around and it reminded me how vulnerable she was, how much she’d trusted me, which she’d proved by agreeing to come home with me.
“Believe me…” She licked her lips as her eyes met mine. “When I’m with you, I’m not thinking about anyone else.” She tugged my dress shirt free of my pants and glided her hands over my abs. “I need that tonight, Carter. For you to make me forget.”
She wanted to use me to help her escape. I got it. In her position, I’d feel the same way, but could I absorb her pain knowing someone else had caused it? Knowing she wouldn’t be hurting the way she was if she hadn’t loved him so much?
Fuck. That hurt. She was the only woman I’d ever loved, yet she’d loved someone else in a way she’d never loved me.
“I hate that he hurt you,” I whispered, saying the words I believed she needed to hear. He hadn’t just hurt her heart; he’d shaken her confidence and I wanted to help her rebuild that. To convince her she was the sexiest, most desirable women who’d ever shared my bed. “I hate that you gave him the power to hurt you, baby. You have to know he didn’t deserve you.”
Her eyes were still closed, but I could see tears threatening to spill out the corners.
“Don’t cry over him, Jas. He’s not worth it.” I suspected she’d already shed too many tears over him, and that made me want to find him and bust him up. “You know he’s not.”
“I know.” Her lips were trembling as she dug her nails into my biceps. “But I trusted him. How could I have been so stupid?”
“You weren’t stupid to trust him.” I kissed away the salty tears when they spilled down her cheeks. “You were brave as hell, putting yourself out there like that.”
She opened her eyes and looked at me. “I’m not as brave as you think.”
“Sure, you are.”
“I don’t always say what I think,” she said quietly. “Sometimes I’m afraid to tell people how I feel.”
Something we have in common, beautiful. “I get that, sweetheart. We’re all a little scared sometimes.” Even big, burly hockey players who weren’t afraid to throw the gloves down got scared… of saying those three little words that had the power to change everything.
“You always made me feel…”
I closed my eyes when she unbuttoned my shirt and trailed her lips over my chest. “Tell me, Jas. Tell me how I made you feel.” This
time, I wasn’t going to hide from it and I wouldn’t let her either. I’d help her forget that son of a bitch all right—by making her fall in love with me.
“You made me feel alive.” She tore at my tie and pushed my shirt over my shoulders before grabbing my belt. She was dragging her lips and teeth and tongue over my pecs, down my chest. “More than that,” she said, as though she was searching for the right words. “High. You make me feel fucking high, Carter.”
I sucked in a breath when she dropped to her knees and unzipped my pants. I was dying. Dying to feel her lips wrapped around me again, to have her take me all the way, and never let me go this time. Every time I took matters into my own hands, it was her mouth I imagined wrapped around me, her sexy body milking me. Her. Always her.
She pushed my boxer briefs over my hips before her soft hand circled my shaft. Licking the tip, she moaned in satisfaction. “God, I’ve missed this.”
I chuckled, though it came out as more of a broken groan. “He’s missed you too, baby.”
She closed her eyes as her mouth and hand worked in unison, making my eyes roll back in my head. I gently held her head, letting her take as much as she needed from me. I want to give it all to her, everything I had, but this wasn’t about me. It was about letting her fall apart with me so I could be the one to piece her back together again.
“Feels so good, Jas.” I could barely speak, but I needed her to know. “Your mouth… fuck… the way you do that… shit… it does crazy things to me.” It felt as if I was being electrocuted, with shocks pinging through my body and bringing me alive.
“I love this,” she said, looking up at me between long deep pulls. “I love that you let me do this.”
“Are you kidding?” I asked, sifting my hand through her silky hair. “Where do I sign up to get this every day?”
Bring It On (The Exes #5) Page 2
