by Croix, J. H.
Dear God, Susie. She felt his words against her skin as his lips traveled down her neck. He hooked his finger under her tank top, whipping it up over her head. She sighed in relief when he unhooked her bra and roughly shoved it off her shoulders. The feel of his lips on her nipples—licking and softly biting—sparked the banked fires within. She was burning, desperate for him. Heat spiraled inside.
She tugged at his shirt, pushing it over his head, and sighed at the feel of his skin against hers. She could barely breathe when he slid his warm palms up her thighs and teased her through the damp silk of her panties. Suddenly, he lifted her off his lap and stood. He kicked his jeans off and turned back to her. The brief separation only notched her desperation higher. Jared pulled her up from the couch and tugged her skirt down. It pooled on the floor around her feet. She stepped out of her sandals, looking up at him. His eyes were dark. His gaze trained on her, he lifted her palm and turned to drop a kiss in its center. He breath caught in her throat.
In a flash, he turned her. She fell on her knees on the couch. His warm hands caressed down her back, curling around her hips, the roughened skin leaving a trail of goose bumps in its wake. She trembled with want, dripped with need. His lips coasted down her back as he slid one finger and then another in her channel. By this point, she was near out of her mind. She moaned.
Please…
Please what?
Need you…inside…now
Susie felt the tip of his cock at her entrance. He nudged inside and slid back out, teasing her. She pushed her hips back into him. He finally surged inside, driving deep and pausing when he filled her completely. She almost sobbed with relief. He kept one hand curled on her hips, the other slipped up her back to thread in her curls. With the slightest pressure, he tugged on her hair and began a rhythm of strokes, looping in and out of her. She careened into sensation, losing hold on all thought. Her climax built slowly and exploded in ripples through her body. She felt him thrust deeply one last time and then convulse inside of her.
Jared’s hand loosened in her curls and rested for a moment between her shoulder blades, the warmth anchoring her and bringing her back to herself. He slowly pulled out of her, turning to sit on the couch and pulling her onto his lap. She curled into his chest. Her heartbeat slowed and her breath finally settled to normal. She must have dozed off because she woke in Jared’s arms as he carried her upstairs. The last thing she remembered was him tucking her against his body.
***
Jared came awake slowly. Sun fell across the bed. Susie was sound asleep in his arms. He thought he could wake to the feel of her soft curves every day and never get enough. He lifted his head and glanced at the clock. As soon as he saw the time, he groaned. He’d overslept by more than an hour. This was becoming a bit of a habit with Susie. He considered getting up immediately, but couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. It felt too damn good to cuddle with her in the bright morning sun. But then he couldn’t believe this was even happening. He hadn’t cuddled with anyone in years. Cuddling represented something he’d decided he couldn’t have. Cuddling was far more intimate than sex. And yet, here he was, cuddling with Susie. And loving it.
He flung the covers back and practically leapt out of bed. Susie rolled over. He walked into the bathroom and immediately stepped into the shower, not even waiting for the water to warm up. Several moments of cold water, and he could think clearly again. When he came out of the bathroom, Susie was propped up on the pillows. He could see her dusky nipples through the thin white sheet. He had to shake his head and force himself to remember he had a schedule today, and it did not involve a romp in bed with Susie first thing in the morning when he was already an hour behind.
She smiled at him, her curls in tousled disarray, her brown eyes sleepy and warm. “Good morning.”
His chest was tight, and he didn’t know why. He forced himself to try to act normal. “Morning. Sorry to rush, but I need to get to the harbor soon.” He intended to walk past the bed and downstairs, but he stayed where he was, staring at her.
She nodded, hopefully oblivious to his internal confusion. “I figured. I have to get to the office. I’ll head home to shower,” she said.
She climbed out of bed, and Jared had to bite back a groan at the sight of her. He, who prided himself on his control, lost any semblance of it at the sight of her body. She was curvy and soft all over. Her breasts spilled out, bouncing with each step she took. Her bottom was round and lush, perfectly curved in a heart shape with little dimples at the top. He loved that she was so short and so much of a woman. If he were poetic, he’d admit that she was nothing short of a goddess. For now, he had to close his eyes to regain control. He could not yank her against him and throw her onto the bed like he wanted. He would be in control.
“Oh! All my clothes are downstairs,” Susie said with a giggle.
He opened his eyes to see her hips swaying as she walked back past him and down the stairs. He took several long breaths and had to walk back to the bathroom and splash cold water on his face to get a grip on himself. When he finally walked downstairs, she was standing by the door in that ridiculous flouncy skirt and tight red tank top. Her hair was mussed.
She looked at him, a hint of uncertainty in her eyes. “So I guess I might see you later,” she said.
Jared considered the mere hour he’d attempted to spend alone last night and whether he wanted try that again tonight. He couldn’t really contemplate it, but he knew he didn’t want to spend an evening without her, so he shoved away his doubts and walked over to her. He dropped a kiss on her lips, forcing himself to immediately step back. “I’ll see you tonight,” he said firmly.
He leaned against the door with a sigh once she left. He didn’t know what he needed to do, but somehow he had to get a grip.
Chapter 12
Susie kicked her boots off when she stepped inside. She was running late, but what else was new. She wasn’t much of a schedule person. Working for herself didn’t help matters in that area. Just as she was about to close the door, Jasmine raced by her. She paused to shake furiously, drops of rain flying off her smoky gray fur, arcing in a circle around her. Susie stepped into the small laundry room off the kitchen, grabbed a towel and briskly rubbed Jasmine with it.
“Damn, she sure can purr!”
Susie whipped her head up to see Jared sitting on the couch in her living room.
“Oh! I forgot you were meeting me here. Sorry I’m late,” she replied.
Jared glanced at his watch and back at her. “Well, you’re exactly an hour behind schedule, which is par for the course. I suppose I should start showing up an hour late whenever we plan to meet,” he said with a tight smile.
Susie gave Jasmine a last rub and dropped the towel on the floor where Jasmine promptly curled up and started grooming herself. She looked over at Jared. His smile was tense as his eyes traveled to the boots she’d haphazardly kicked to the floor and followed the raincoat she tossed across the back of a stool by the kitchen counter.
“I lost track of time,” she replied, thinking Jared would consider that insufficient planning since he was reliably punctual. Feeling defensive, irritation rose inside.
Jared shrugged. “It’s okay. With the rain today, we cut our trip short. I’ve been back a few hours. I brought my laptop with me since I wasn’t sure if you’d make it on time. Did you still want to go out to dinner?”
Susie walked over to the couch, feeling out of sorts. This thing with Jared had been going on for almost a month now. They hadn’t spent a night apart the last few weeks. But aside from Tess, none of their mutual friends knew about it. It wouldn’t surprise Susie if Tess had told Nathan about it, but Nathan wasn’t one to talk. As such, Susie was starting to feel like they were sneaking around. She didn’t know what Jared thought and if he wanted anything other than what they had. Which was the most amazing sex she’d ever had. Of course, her experience with actual sex was limited to Jared.
Jared had suggeste
d they have dinner at Diamond Creek Brewery. When she’d pointed out that they’d yet to be public about themselves, he’d shrugged and said it wouldn’t be obvious because they were friends anyway. His comment grated on her. It made her feel like he didn’t want anyone to know about them. And yet she was far from certain about what she wanted when it came to Jared. It was too confusing. She pushed the thought away and sat on the couch beside him, resting her feet on the coffee table. When she looked over, his green gaze was focused on her, dark and intent. His black curls shone in the light cast by a nearby lamp. She could happily look at him all day. He quirked a brow, and she blushed, realizing she’d been staring.
“We can go to dinner. Are you ready to go now?” she asked.
Jared nodded and lifted his laptop from his lap to set it on the table to the side of the couch. “Yup. I’m starving. Do you need a few minutes?”
She ran a hand through her curls. They were damp and in disarray. But a few minutes wouldn’t change that, so she shook her head. “Let’s go. Who’s driving?”
Jared stood and held his hand out to her. “I’ll drive.”
Susie placed her palm in his, savoring the warmth. She was chilled from the rain. As he tugged her up, his warm grip sparked a buzz of desire. He didn’t let go when she stood, pulling her close for a kiss, ratcheting up the heat flaring to life inside of her. Flustered, she was blushing when he pulled away. She shook her raincoat quickly and looked around for something other than her boots to wear. She finally eyed a pair of clogs on the floor by Jasmine’s water bowl and slipped them on. She watched, bemused, when Jared picked up the boots she kicked off and set them in the small shoe tray by the door. Of course that’s what a shoe tray was for, but she rarely used it.
A short drive later, they dashed through the rain into Diamond Creek Brewery. As usual in the summer, the brewery was hopping. The brewery occupied a refurbished plane hangar. Though the space was expansive, it felt warm and homey. The back end of the building comprised the brewery part of the business, which was separated from the restaurant by a brick wall. Elaborate model planes hung from the ceiling of the hangar, replicas of the small six-seater planes still used frequently in Alaska. Windows had been added to the hanger offering the view of an adjacent field with Kachemak Bay and the mountains in the distance. The restaurant had booths lining the walls and clusters of tables in the center. Bright fabric wall hangings and colorful rugs softened what could have been a noisy space.
Susie glanced around to see if anyone she knew was here. Cammi was at the bar with her friend, Dara. Hannah and Luke were in a booth together in the far corner. Susie sighed internally. Somehow, she and Jared had to figure out if they were going to just let whatever this was between them go, or stop trying to pretend it wasn’t anything. Susie was tired of holding back from her friends. She’d had a reason a few weeks ago while everyone was worried about Emma, but now…it was starting to feel like she and Jared were being juvenile. Problem was, she wasn’t sure how Jared would feel if she let their friends know what was going on, although that was only one element of the bigger picture. There was also the rather glaring issue that Jared had been a committed bachelor for years. She gave her head a sharp shake. Now was not the time to think about this.
After a short wait, they were escorted to a booth. Susie breathed a sigh of relief when she realized they wouldn’t have to walk past Hannah and Luke. Cammi’s back was to the room at the bar. They might get lucky, and no one would notice she and Jared were here together. Though she knew Jared was probably right, they were friends and had been for years, she wasn’t so sure Hannah wouldn’t pick up on something. Hannah knew Susie better than anyone and would sense something was afoot.
After they were seated, Susie quickly scanned the menu before setting it down. When their waiter approached, she ordered a glass of red wine while Jared ordered a beer.
“Wine at a beer brewery?” Jared asked with a grin.
“I’m in the mood for wine tonight,” she replied with a shrug.
Jared nodded. In moments, their waiter returned and took the rest of their order. She took a welcome sip of wine. Between the ever-present buzz of desire she felt when Jared was near and her self-consciousness about whether their friends would notice them, her nerves were high. She was so busy trying to talk herself into relaxing she jumped when she felt Jared’s hand on her thigh. He reached under the table and dragged his fingertips in lazy circles on her knee. Her pulse ricocheted.
“What are you doing?” she whispered fiercely.
He grinned and took a swallow from the beer held in his free hand.
Susie watched as Hannah and Luke got up from their booth and turned toward them. Hannah nudged her shoulder against Luke’s and gestured to Susie and Jared, following with a quick wave and walking toward them.
Susie glared at Jared. “Stop it!” she hissed.
He feigned innocence and toyed with the edge of her skirt before pushing it further up her thighs and walking his fingers up the inside of her thigh. She’d complained before about how the booths here were too small and never knew how right she’d been. Jared could easily reach under the table and drive her mad, just as he was doing right now. Her panties were already wet, and he’d barely touched her. She tried to close her thighs together. Jared ignored it and applied gentle pressure to one of her knees while tucking one of his legs between hers.
Hannah and Luke reached their table. “Hey there,” Hannah said. “What are you two doing here?”
Being driven absolutely mad by Jared, that’s what I’m doing here. Oh…my…God… Susie almost groaned aloud when Jared slipped his hand further up her thigh and stroked the damp silk. She was about ready to dissolve into a puddle. She tried her damnedest to smile normally and flailed internally for an innocent explanation.
“I stopped by Susie’s office to go over some reports. We were both hungry, so here we are,” Jared replied nonchalantly.
Hannah and Luke appeared to accept that explanation though Hannah’s eyes were questioning. She glanced at Susie, but didn’t say anything. Susie was busy trying to keep her face from flaming. Dammit Jared! She surreptitiously glared at him when Hannah looked at Luke for a second. He ignored her. She tried to shift her hips back, but there was nowhere to go. The motion only heightened what her body wanted, her hips rocking against his fingers.
“Called you last night, but you didn’t answer. I was hoping you could help me with some work on our shed,” Luke said to Jared.
“Sure,” Jared replied, ignoring Luke’s comment that he didn’t answer his call last night.
Jared traced circles over her clit through her panties. Susie thought she might melt on the spot. She was furious with him. He knew he was driving her mad and making it decidedly difficult for her to pretend like they were simply friends out for dinner. Her breath hitched when he slid a finger under the silk and stroked through her swollen folds, dipping into her slick cleft.
Luke and Hannah both looked at her. Her face was on fire, but she schooled her expression to blank. Luke turned back to Jared. “Mind coming by in the morning? I’m hoping to shore up the pilings and put some shelving in.”
Jared nodded. “No problem. We don’t have any more trips scheduled this week, so I can come by any day. What time?”
“Not before nine, but anytime after that,” Luke replied.
Hannah caught Susie’s eyes and lifted her eyebrows in question. Susie knew she was wondering what was up. Susie lifted her eyebrows in return and shrugged. Luke slipped his arm around Hannah’s shoulder.
“Make sure to try this week’s brew, it’s amazing,” Luke said to Jared. “We gotta get going. John’s with Emma and Trey tonight, but we promised them we’d pick him up before eight.”
Hannah glanced to Susie. “I’ll call you later,” she said pointedly.
Susie nodded. “Sure. I’m headed home soon. How about I call you?”
At Hannah’s nod, she and Luke turned to leave. Once they were o
ut of earshot, Susie looked at Jared and opened her mouth to tell him off—right when he slid a finger deep into her channel. She gasped and then glared at him. She again tried to close her knees, but it only increased the friction of his hand. Another finger joined the first and he stroked his thumb across her clit, tracing circles in her wetness.
“Jared…” she choked out. “Please stop, we’re in the middle of a restaurant!”
He grinned. And dammit if he didn’t make her forget where they were—he was deliciously and dangerously attractive and so in tune with what her body craved. His eyes turned a dark shade of green when he was focused on her. That combined with the dimple that flashed whenever he grinned, and she forgot everything but him. Susie couldn’t believe she’d ever wondered what other women saw in him. And if they’d even had a small taste of what he was like in bed…she had no idea how they managed to walk away. She was tumbling further and further into whatever lay between them. Its force was overwhelming.
She closed her eyes when he slid his fingers slowly in and out of her channel. She was so wet, her thighs were damp. He knew what she liked now and didn’t hesitate to make use of his intimate knowledge. He teased her folds and dove in again with his fingers, his thumb picked up its pace, coasting over and around her clit. In spite of, or perhaps because of, their public location, Susie was more turned on than she could have imagined. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. She didn’t want him to stop anymore. Her hips shifted into his hand. In seconds, her climax rushed through her. Her hands flexed against the edge of the table. She forced herself to remain silent as the aftershocks rippled through her.
Jared slowly stilled his hand. He carefully withdrew it and put her panties back in place. He took another swallow of beer. His grin was finally gone. He looked as shaken as she felt.
“Give me your hand,” he said, his voice low.
“Huh?” Her thoughts were muddled. The awareness of where they were was finally sinking in again. He tapped her knee.
