by Tabatha Kiss
I grip the knife tighter, curbing my rage. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
My brow twitches. Just the thought of this man — or any man — coercing her into something like this makes my skin burn. “I am really not okay with that.”
“Neither was I.”
“I’m feeling extreme and irrational levels of hatred for this man right now.”
“I should hope so,” she smiles.
“I don’t feel bad at all about beating the hell out of his boys before…”
“Good.”
I lay the knife down. “Evey, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Her smile fades and she looks at the floor. “He’ll come back for me…” she murmurs.
“And he’ll leave empty handed. You have my word.”
She runs a hand through her hair and her fingers get caught in a few knots before they reach the ends. She pushes it to one side with a huff, obviously embarrassed with the state of her but I still think that she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
“Evey, look at me.”
She hesitates before her eyes slowly rise off the counter.
“You’re safe here,” I tell her, holding her big, brown eyes. “With me.”
She says nothing, nor does she even nod. She just sits there, breathing quietly, searching my face to figure out whether or not she can really trust me.
Finally, her lips twitch. “You know, that’s actually starting to smell really good.”
I smile and pick up the knife again. “Good.”
Chapter 10
Evey
I look at Vincent across the table. My cheeks flare-up with a delightful mixture of heat and the wine in my glass. He hasn’t taken his eyes off of me this entire meal but I don’t feel the least bit self-conscious about that.
His eyes flick down to my chest again and I pretend not to notice.
I tear off a chunk of bread and dip it into the leftover sauce on my plate. “This was delicious, Vincent. Thank you.”
“It’s nothing special, really…”
I pop the bread into my mouth and my tongue delights in the strong Italian flavors. “When you consider the crap I usually eat, yes, it is.”
“Well, I’d be happy to do it again sometime. Just say when.”
“When,” I quip, picking up my wine glass.
He laughs and takes a sip of his own. “Let’s pace ourselves. This is just the first night of your vacation.”
I sit back in my chair and breathe a happy sigh. “Vacation,” I repeat. “How I’ve missed you…”
I let myself enjoy the moment. I let the threat of mobsters bleed away. The fear of Aiden Shank. I don’t even dare think about the possibility of them coming back and making my life a living hell again.
And I’m not about to waste time thinking about any other man right now than Vincent Silva.
I look at him and he smiles, flashing a perfect, white grin at me. The man next door. The baker. And now, the soldier.
“Vincent, can I ask you something?”
He narrows his eyes. “Sure.”
A million questions dance on my tongue. Why did you want to join the military? Why did you come home? What are we going to do after my vacation is over when I go to bed when you wake up? But none of them matter in this moment as much as this one…
“Why me?”
Vincent pulls the napkin from his lap and wipes his lips. “Do you remember the first time you came into the bakery?”
I think back, instantly smiling. “Yeah. It, uh… it was the beginning of the summer and you had just opened a few days earlier.”
“May 14th,” he nods.
I tilt my head, impressed. “I was running late — obviously — and I was pissed off that my coffee maker at home finally broke after weeks of hanging on. Then, I remembered that a bakery just opened up next to the bar…”
“I was in the kitchen freaking out.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yeah,” he smirks. “Six years in the military did not prepare me for cupcakes and muffins.”
I laugh, closing my eyes to picture it. “I walked in and immediately fell in love with it. Everything looked so new and fresh and that smell. Also, the name Muffin Top spoke to me on a very personal level.”
His lips curl. “Me, too.”
“Anyway, I ordered the largest coffee you had and the girl offered me a muffin sample. Naturally, I accepted… because free muffins.”
“Naturally.”
I pause, feeling overwhelmed for a short moment. “And that’s when you walked in… and my first thought was, ‘Whoa… who is that?’”
He chuckles. “You let out the cutest moan and it stopped me in my tracks.”
I look down as blood rushes to my face. “Ugh, I was hoping you didn’t hear that.”
“I did,” he confirms.
“I couldn’t help it,” I wince. “It was a really good muffin.”
“My first thought was, ‘Whoa… maybe I can do this whole bakery thing, after all.’”
I smile. “I still haven’t replaced that coffee maker.”
Vincent leans forward and his soft eyes lock on mine. “I want you, Evey,” he says. “From that moment until now — that’s never changed.”
“Well, you know why I never said anything. Why didn’t you?” I ask.
He hesitates for a moment. “I never thought I deserved you or a normal life. I’m still not sure that I do, but… my world got a little brighter the second you walked into it and I don’t want that to end. I want you. In my life. In my bed. You make me feel things that no woman ever has.”
My heart pounds, rocking me in my seat. I can’t sit still. Not after that. I can barely even breathe.
I look over my shoulder. “That bed?” I ask, smirking.
“Yeah,” he says. “That bed.”
“That one right there?” I stand and take a few backwards steps from the table. “You want me in it?”
“Yes,” he says, following me off his chair. “That exact bed.”
I continue back until my heels reach the foot of the bed. Everything tingles as I lower myself down to sit on its edge. My head rushes, fueled by wine and adrenaline but I’ve never been surer of anything before in my life.
I lie back and he leans down to me, towering above me on both hands.
“Evey…” he whispers, brushing his lips over mine. “I want you.”
I twitch, settling even deeper against his pillow as his hand slowly trace down my breasts. He cups them for a moment before resting a hand between my thighs.
He closes his eyes and presses his nose against my neck. I feel him take in a deep inhale, smelling me before planting a kiss on my collarbone. His fingers gently tickle me as they slowly spider beneath my skirt.
Heat builds between my legs. “Vincent…”
He raises his head to look me in the eye and I crush my lips on his. We fit together like the perfect puzzle, one that’s long overdue to be finished.
I feel his hand rest against my mound while the other tangles itself in the hair behind my head. A moan escapes my throat and I feel his lips curl as he slides his hand into my panties. He feels my wet crevice and kisses me even harder as we both grunt with pleasure.
“Do you want me to stop?” he asks.
I shake my head. “No. Keep going.”
Vincent slides a finger inside of me and I gasp in his arms. I’m so tight and he’s so warm. I can’t remember the last time a man touched me like this. Scratch that — no man has ever touched me like this before. I fall even deeper in lust as he flicks his digit to make me squirm.
“More?” he whispers.
I kiss him in response, giving him my tongue and he sucks on it as he slides a second finger inside, stretching me out even wider.
My head falls back and I moan as pleasure builds with every firm rub on the inside. Vincent attacks my throat, nibbling and biting me like a wild animal.
I reach for his belt and I
slide it free, fumbling briefly as I try to focus on anything other than this desire clenching my core. He lets me do it. He lets me unzip him and free his stiff cock from its cotton confinement. I take him in my palm and I stroke his tip, drawing an instant groan and he bites my lips.
We wage war against each other; fighting to see which one of us will surrender first. He finds my sensitive spot and I mewl for him as he presses the heel of his hand into my clit.
“I love making you moan,” he says into my ear. “You sound so good.”
I grip him tighter and he chuckles, dropping his jaw as pleasure hits him harder. The look on his face, full of so much passion for me, creates a flood against his hand.
Vincent slides away from me and I drop his cock as he descends my body. He pulls his fingers out of me and I sigh from disappointment, wanting so much more from him but that look in his eyes tells me this is far from over.
He settles between my knees and he guides them farther apart. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long…” he says, raising my skirt and looking down at me.
I scoot closer to him, giving him full access to everything and I grip the blanket beneath me.
He licks his lips and kisses my clit, creating fireworks through my entire core. I moan from the smallest touch. Even the sudden brush of his warm breath is enough to drive me crazy.
Vincent watches, pursing his lips to kiss me again and again and I feel each peck as if it were a bullet to my brain.
Finally, he tastes me, curling his tongue over my clit with the softest touch. My heart pounds, sending blood everywhere. I hear my pulse thumping in my ears, refusing to let up. He sucks my engorged bud between his teeth, teasing me with so much pleasure and pain that I honestly can’t tell the difference anymore.
Vincent releases my clit and smiles up at me. “You taste so sweet,” he says.
I laugh, unable to form any other response.
He laps at me and my back arches with delight. I practically rise off the bed and I would if Vincent didn’t lay his hands on me to keep me still.
He plunges his tongue in me and I moan even louder at the ceiling above us, fighting to stay in control. I buck my hips to send him even deeper inside. His tongue can’t reach where I want him to go, but something else will.
Vincent rises and I lean in to kiss him. I taste myself on him and my tongue erupts from the sweet, sensual flavor. He touches me, resting his fingers on either side of my clit while he looks deep into my eyes.
“Moan for me, Evey.”
I obey, opening my mouth and letting pleasure fall out. He rubs me, softly at first, and then harder and faster. He never stops watching me, staring into my eyes and smiling at my uncontrollable shaking.
“I’ve thought about you… about this,” he says, “every night since I met you.”
I sigh with his words. With any other man, I don’t think I’d believe him but there’s so much truth and lust in Vincent’s voice. I believe him. I trust him completely when he tells me he wants me.
I reach out to take his hard cock in my hand again.
He smiles. “I’ve fantasized about taking you on the tables downstairs. Bent over with your skirt up over your hips.” He kisses me. “My fingers wrapped up in your hair while I fuck you from behind.”
I whimper, teetering on the edge of his fingertips as I massage his shaft with a tight grip.
“Have you fantasized about me?”
“Yes,” I answer truthfully.
“Tell me,” he grunts. “What do you want?”
“I…” I gasp, rolling towards climax as nervous blood fills my cheeks. “I’ve fantasized about dropping to my knees for you beneath the counter downstairs.”
He grins. “Yeah?”
“I want to suck you off …” I chuckle. “No one would ever know.”
“I don’t know if I’d be able to keep it together if I were in your sweet mouth.”
I shift onto my knees. “Lie back…”
Vincent does as I want and he lays down on the bed. I pull his pants down and he kicks them off his ankles to the floor.
I can’t help but pause and admire him. His entire body is chiseled to athletic perfection. Even his muscles have muscles. Navy SEALs; some of the most well-trained soldiers in the entire world and I’m spending the night with one of them. If this is a dream, then I never want to wake up ever again.
I lower myself down to his cock. It stands on end, pulsating and ready. I think about him, lying in this very bed every night, touching himself and thinking about me. I remember last night and how he stroked himself, gazing down at me like a damn dirty magazine and I remember how much I liked it. My toes curl just thinking about how he came on me, unable to hold in his desire for me.
I lick my lips and open them for him.
He’s wide — very wide — and I struggle to get my mouth around his thick tip but his groans of pleasure show no signs of disappointment. He lays a hand on the back of my head, clawing his fingers around my hair. I relax my mouth and throat to take him in deeper while I lap and suck at him. My tongue dances, invigorated by the sweet taste spilling out of him.
He groans and my own passions break through. “Oh, that’s good.”
I don’t stop. I keep going, sucking harder and faster while his grip on my hair tightens. I should slow down. I don’t want this to end so fast but I just can’t get enough of him. His taste, his scent. Everything about him drives me crazy.
“Evey—”
Vincent stops me himself, guiding his shaft out of my mouth and I take a second to catch my breath. He grips my face and pulls me closer to kiss me.
“I want you,” he says again, forcing me onto my back. I spread my legs for him and he settles between them.
“Vincent,” I moan, feeling his hard cock rest between my folds. “I want you to fuck me.”
He angles himself towards my dripping slit and balances on his arms above me. “I’ll fuck you all night if you want me to.”
One quick thrust sends his tip inside and I clench his arms, feeling my inner walls stretch out around him. He moves slowly, working me with short, purposefully strokes until he fills me completely.
I stare into his eyes. They look as shocked as I feel. We gaze at each other, speechless and ecstatic. Finally. After a year of fantasizing and denying that this could ever happen, we’re together. I feel his warm body and the dripping sweat on his brow. I taste the lust on his lips and his salty skin. It’s everything I hoped it would be and we’re just getting started.
Vincent bucks his hips, sliding in and out. I feel every sensation, every thick inch of him as he massages my inner walls. Just the thought of this used to send me over the edge. I dig my nails into his back and he grunts, taking the pain as it blends with the pleasure between us. He rests his lips against the flesh of my shoulder and takes a bite, etching a deep line in my skin and I moan for more twisted pain.
I roll my hips to meet his thrusts, pushing us even closer together. We lock lips. We entwine fingers. We moan into each other’s mouths. Our rhythm becomes second nature. Every touch brings me closer to the edge.
He grinds deeper, pinning me against the mattress until I break beneath him. I close my eyes but I can feel him watching as I come, clenching everything I can to keep from tearing apart.
He crushes his smiling lips on mine and moves faster in and out of me. His muscles clench. He holds his breath. I feel him pull out of me at the last moment before he comes, spilling himself on the sheets beneath me.
Vincent lowers down and rests his head on my breasts. His heart pounds against mine and his labored breath spreads across my skin. He holds me and I embrace him, easily forgetting about everything outside of this bed again.
When he finally raises his head, he smiles at me through the thick, tattered lashes falling down over his eyes. “You’re amazing,” he whispers.
I smirk. “You stole my line.”
He laughs and pushes up to kiss me, starting with my lips before dropping t
o my neck and breasts. The slow kisses create blooms of white hot fire on my skin and I feel my body preparing for more of him. I’m not even tired. I don’t want to sleep at all tonight because that would just make morning come much faster.
We rest against each other, touching and feeling and kissing, and I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that he wants this as much as I do.
Soon, his hard cock presses against me again and he guides me onto my hands and knees.
“Evey,” he says behind me, “do you want me to stop?”
He enters me again before I answer. My entire body purrs with lust, feeling his hands clench my hips. He fucks me slowly, waiting for my answer but I can barely get the word out.
“No,” I finally moan.
Chapter 11
Vincent
I don’t remember the last time I was so exhausted. Probably sometime during my deployment but I’m not about to scavenge through those memories to find out.
Especially not while Evey Ryan is in my bed.
“Right there…”
She moans for me, guiding me and my tongue, and I do every little thing she asks for. Her clit throbs, engorged with blood, and I pull it between my lips to rock her body even more.
Evey trembles, her thighs shaking against my ears, and I know she’s about to come. It’s strange how quickly you get to know someone’s buttons and quirks. Her brow furrows and she bites down hard on her bottom lip. That, plus the rapid rise and fall of her breasts and the way she bucks her wide hips tells me she’s going to come for me.
I lap faster against her clit and she lets out a scream, signaling her hard climax. She grips the pillow beneath her head with both hands and rides the wave while I continue a gentle lick. I wouldn’t mind at all if this view lasted forever.
Evey laughs and presses her palm against my forehead. “No more,” she breathes. “Please, no more.”
I climb on top of her, kissing her soft body on my way up to her lips. I don’t want to stop — but what the lady wants, the lady gets. I settle beside her on my back and she instantly slides beneath my arm to rest her head on my chest.
I reach for the bowl of cherries on the bedside table and set it beside me before snatching one off the top and tossing it into my mouth.
