by Ava McKnight
“I’m listening.”
I swallowed down a knot of nerves that had formed and did my squared-shoulder thing again, taking a business stance with my proposal, rather than an emotional one.
It took all the courage I possessed, but I said, “We’re both agonizing over what’s happened between us tonight. And I understand where you’re coming from. I don’t want to impede your career or your progress with your shoulder. I want everything to work out for you, Carter. I swear. But I also know I will regret—for the rest of my life—not taking a shot at this.”
His brow lifted. “What are you suggesting?”
“One night.”
The lifted brow dipped. “As in a one-night stand?”
“Don’t tell me you’ve never had one. Just about everyone has, and you’re way too hot and in demand to not have women come on to you at a bar or after a game or whatever.”
He had the good grace not to torment me with his past lovers. Instead, he said, “Somehow, I doubt you’re the type, Cherish. And again, it’d hardly be fair to you.”
“I’m a big girl,” I told him. “I can handle it. Just one night, then we go our separate ways.”
It seemed trite, yet at the same time…it was the only solution I had. I absolutely did not want to leave his hotel room without experiencing one evening of unbridled passion with him. I had to make it happen.
Yet Carter still hedged.
“Seriously?” I challenged, as he remained silent. “You have to think about this? I mean, what man would pass up no-strings-attached sex with a woman he’s admitted he wants to sleep with?”
Carter’s laugh was a hollow one. “We’re not two strangers who ended up in a hotel room. And the truth is, I don’t know if I can have no-strings-attached sex with you, Cherish. Deep down… I want strings with you.”
I shook my head as the knife twisted in my heart. “You keep making this more and more difficult.”
“It is difficult.” His frustration was evident and it gnawed at me. “No matter what I say or don’t say. No matter what I do or don’t do. This is a shitty position for us to be in.”
Returning to the kitchen table, I set my bag and iPad on the polished wood surface and then stepped close to Carter. Staring up at him, I said, “Let’s leave it to Fate, shall we? Kiss me again, and if you don’t feel like dragging me off to the bedroom, fine. I’ll leave.”
He laughed again. “We may as well head straight into the bedroom then.”
“Okay.” I brushed passed him and crossed to the hallway.
“Cherish.” He groaned, the frustration clearly mounting.
I refused to give up on this idea, though. Yes, it would be hell in the end, when I knew exactly what it was like to kiss Carter and make love with him, and to know I’d only have this one time with him. But hell was better than having the life sucked out of me if I didn’t take advantage of this opportunity.
Stepping over the threshold of his bedroom, I experienced the kind of breathless exhilaration reserved for the most significant moments of one’s life. A long-awaited kiss. The first day on a dream job. An anticipated marriage proposal. The birth of a child.
In the back of my mind, I had qualms about what I was doing, because I knew there would be substantial emotional repercussions. But I was willing to keep the dark thoughts tucked away as excitement eclipsed the dread inherent to the realization that, come tomorrow, Carter would be nothing more than a past lover.
I kept my heels on, for obvious reasons, but was pulling my dress over my head when Carter joined me. I stood before him, wearing nothing more than a red satin strapless bra, a matching thong and the peek-a-boos.
He sucked in a sharp breath, then let it out harshly. “There’s no turning back now. I couldn’t resist you if I tried.” His searing gaze roved slowly over my body, his look so hot, I felt branded.
A scintillating thrill shimmied down my spine at the thought. I reached for the flap of his dress shirt and released the row of buttons from their holes, and freed the hem from the waist of his suit pants. He quickly removed his gold cufflinks from the sleeves and placed them on the dresser. Then he stripped off his shirt and it was all I could do not to pounce on him.
Electrifying sensations zapped all my erogenous zones at the sight of him—and he wasn’t even completely naked. He had broad shoulders and a wide chest. His torso was impeccably sculpted, with well-defined pecs, corrugated abs and rock-hard biceps. His toned muscles were covered with smooth, tanned skin. The man gave all-new meaning to the term tall, dark and handsome.
I couldn’t resist touching him. Flattening my palms against his chest, I stared up at him and said, “You are breathtaking, Carter Davis.”
He chuckled, though it sounded strained. His hands covered mine and he bent his head to kiss my forehead.
“We’re playing with fire,” he said in a dark tone. “You know that, right?”
I nodded. “This is very dangerous. I’m already anticipating a broken heart, but this isn’t a water faucet I can turn off. I want you. Badly. And that’s not going to just go away because I tell it to.”
His jaw tightened for a moment. “I don’t want to break your heart, Cherish.”
“I won’t blame you, I promise. It’s not your fault I’ve had a crush on you since high school.”
With narrowed eyes, he said, “I didn’t know.”
“What would have been the point of telling you? You had tons of girlfriends. I certainly couldn’t have competed with them.”
“You were the only girl I danced with at our prom,” he said pointedly.
This made my stomach flip. “I hadn’t noticed. I was too busy trying to keep my date from wandering off. Though that turned out to be a wasted effort.”
“He was a jerk.” Suddenly, Carter scooped me into his arms.
“Hey,” I said, instantly alarmed. “Your shoulder.”
He carried me over to the king-size bed and set me gently in the middle of it before he stretched out next to me, lying on his side. “You’re light as a feather, sweetheart.”
“So charming,” I mused, not missing the dreaminess in my voice. “But don’t do that again. I told you I don’t want to be an impediment.”
The look he gave me was a confusing one to decipher. He seemed to know his limitations, and they aggravated him. But I sensed it was more than his physical condition that upset him. I truly believed the fact he found me to be a distraction bothered him, because of the way he felt about me. Because he really didn’t want to put perimeters around our association.
My heart melted at the same time my gut twisted into a pretzel. “I’m pushing this on you, aren’t I?” I asked in a quiet voice as my fingers skimmed over his warm skin. I couldn’t help touching him when he was this close to me, and I loved how his abs and pecs flexed beneath my fingertips.
He said, “I never do anything I don’t want to, Cherish. I’m just not sure we’re being sensible. Tonight, I get to unleash everything I’m feeling toward you, but tomorrow… I have to bottle it all up.”
I swallowed down a lump of emotion. “But one night is better than no night, right?”
And what if one evening together turned into something more? What if there was a way for me to be in his life without hindering his healing progress or his career?
Yes, of course, I hoped there was a chance for more with Carter. I wouldn’t hang my hat on the notion, though. That would only set me up for an even greater heartache. But I was too optimistic a person not to keep the door open.
Carter said, “I don’t want you to feel used.”
My unexpected laugh filled the silent room. “This was my idea, remember? Let’s think of it as an evening of mutual appreciation,” I suggested as my head dipped and I brushed my lips over his collarbone.
He let out a low grunt. “Sure beats the hell out of the cold shower I’d previously resigned myself to.”
“I can offer more relief than that.” I lightly pushed at his chest until he rolled
onto his back.
Where to start was the thought that flitted through my mind as I gazed down at his hunky body. I nibbled my lower lip while I absorbed the magnificent sight before me, and he still wasn’t naked yet.
My first order of business, I decided, was to attempt to get him as hot and bothered as I felt. So I reached behind my back and unhooked my bra. I tossed the lingerie aside as he let out another lustful grunt.
I unfastened his pants and slid the zipper down its track. Then I bent over him and kissed him aggressively. Our intense liplock was scorching hot, and he groaned when I finally pulled away.
“You make me so damn hard,” he told me in a tight voice.
I left him that way and shifted to the end of the bed. I quickly divested him of his Italian leather shoes and socks, then asked, “You have a condom, right?”
“Somewhere.” He gave it some thought before saying, “Either the toiletry bag hanging on the back of the bathroom door, or the small duffle sitting on the vanity.”
I slipped from the bed, surprised he felt so comfortable with me rummaging through his personal effects. I found two foil packets at the very bottom of the duffle, where he kept several books on Joe Montana and Dan Marino, plus a few magazines. I couldn’t help checking out the titles and smiled at his selection of reading material. Classic Cars, Newsweek and, of course, Sports Illustrated, though thankfully not the swimsuit edition.
Returning to the bedroom, I tossed the condoms on the nightstand. He’d removed his pants, but not his briefs. His erection strained against the sexy black shorts, making my mouth water.
I finally kicked off my heels and climbed back into bed with him.
Carter reached for me and pulled me down on top of him. He kissed me in that way that made me feel singed to the core of my being. Hot and passionate. Obviously, he couldn’t hold back, which made my pulse race and my cunt ache.
His hands roamed my body, his fingers grazing my skin until it tingled. He touched me without reservation or hesitation. In fact, he was quite assertive as he cupped my ass cheeks and kneaded them. He broke our kiss and, gripping the backs of my thighs, coaxed me to straddle his lap, and my upper body melded to his. With his hands on my hips, he pressed my pelvis downward, sliding my satin-covered lips over his hard cock. He was wide and thick, and my insides blazed at the thought of him filling and stretching me.
We rocked slowly together, and my breathing grew shallow.
I dropped kisses on his chest as he murmured, “You are so damn sexy.”
Words I’d longed to hear from him. Praise the Lord, I’d successfully erased the image of Tinkerbell from his mind.
Sitting up, but still riding his cock through our underwear, I said, “Do crazy-wicked things to me, Carter. Things I’ll never forget. Things I won’t ever want any other man to do to me, because I know there’ll be no comparison.”
He sat up as well, and wrapped his arms around my waist. He kissed me hungrily as his hands swept over my ribs, to my breasts. He massaged them with a slight roughness that made me restless.
When the pads of his thumbs brushed over my nipples, I sighed contentedly.
“I always knew your hands would feel heavenly on my body.”
He stilled. “You’ve thought of this?”
“Fantasized about it,” I admitted, not the least bit ashamed, because our intimate connection was undeniable. “For a very long time.”
His head dipped and his tongue replaced a thumb on one of my nipples. He flicked the puckered bud, then whispered against the sensitive peak, “And this?”
“All of it,” I confessed. “Your hands and mouth all over my body, in places no one else has touched.”
A heartbeat later, he flipped me onto my back. He propped himself up on one elbow as he lay between my parted thighs.
“Where, Cherish?” he asked in a thick voice.
I hedged, my inhibitions creeping in around my brave front.
His hand skimmed over my stomach and down to the apex of my legs. His fingers swept over my pussy lips as he asked, “Here?”
I nodded.
“With my mouth?”
Again, I nodded.
“No man’s ever—”
“No.” My voice was low and needy. “I never wanted that with anyone other than you. That’s what makes the fantasies so good. You do things to me I won’t let anyone else do.”
His chiseled face became a mask of hard angles. I couldn’t read his expression, but it was incredibly tense.
“Cherish.” He shook his head. He seemed incapable of coming up with the right words to express his thoughts and feelings. Instead of speaking, he simply rubbed my lips with his fingertips as he stared into my eyes.
The erotic sensation was ridiculously blissful and equally titillating. The desire in his dark gaze aroused me even more. When his fingers whisked aside the material covering my pussy and he stroked me again, the skin-on-skin contact caused a small cry to fall from my partially opened mouth.
I bit into my lower lip to keep from making another peep as his fingers shifted to my clit and rubbed the swollen nub in slow circles.
My hand curled around the side of his neck. The other hand slipped through the space between our bodies, created by the elbow holding him up, and I flattened my palm against his back. He bent his head to my breast again and gently suckled a nipple, sending a ripple of excitement through me.
Releasing my lip, I said, “Carter. That feels so good.” When he eased a finger into my wet cunt, my entire body jolted. “Oh!” I cried out as my hips lifted off the mattress.
He caressed my inner walls as he continued to tongue my nipple. I writhed beneath him, feeling the pressure build within me.
I was already drowning in sexual euphoria. Yet Carter clearly had so much more in store for me. He shifted on the bed, his lips grazing my skin as he moved down my body and positioned himself between my thighs, his finger still in my pussy.
His warm lips slid over my slick ones, and my low moan echoed in the room. I wove my fingers through his luxurious hair, while my free hand curled around the down comforter beneath me. Carter lapped slowly, driving me wild. I squirmed on the bed as the tip of his tongue targeted my clit, a foreign sensation that made me deliriously happy.
“You’re going to make me come,” I said on a sharp breath.
“Yes,” he whispered against my sensitive skin. “And I want you to say my name when you do.”
My hips rolled as he finger-fucked me a bit faster, a bit more forcefully. He suckled my clit and I barreled toward orgasm at lightning speed.
“Oh God, yes,” I mumbled as sizzling sensations made my insides burn. “That feels so incredible. I knew it’d be this good with you.”
He diligently licked and stroked my pussy, and seconds later, I called out, “Carter!”
The explosion inside me pulsated vibrantly. I gasped for air as my body trembled and my heart swelled.
He withdrew his finger from me, using the slick pad to rub my clit much quicker than previously. He pressed his fingertips against my dewy flesh and stroked aggressively, clearly wanting to get me off again. I had a feeling he’d accomplish his mission faster than he intended.
Fire roared through me, the sensations from my orgasm meshing with the tantalizing feeling of his determined touch.
He left featherlike kisses across my quivering stomach as he whispered, “That was hot, sweetheart. I want you to come again.”
This time, he pushed two fingers into my dripping cunt and pumped them in and out as his thumb massaged my clit. He rose slightly above me, but dipped his head to my breast and tongued a nipple as his fingers worked their magic in my pussy and on my clit.
My back arched and my hips undulated. Breathy little pants fell from my lips. My fingers remained twined in his hair. I could tell by his aggressive ministrations he wanted to make me scream in ecstasy.
“Carter,” I said on a harsh breath. My body moved in ways I’d never experienced before, as though n
eeding to get closer to him while also responding in a primal way to everything he did to me. “I’m almost there. God, you push me right to the edge, so fast.”
He let out a carnal growl that was damn sexy. “The things I want to do to you, Cherish…” he whispered against my breast. “I want to make you feel good.”
“I want you inside me,” I told him.
“Soon.”
His fingers plunged deep and I let out a strangled sound that was erotic and needy at the same time.
“You want more?” he asked, his tone seductive.
“Yes.”
He managed to work a third finger into my cunt and I gasped. The heel of his hand rubbed my clit in lieu of his thumb, and I rocked in time with his rhythm as sinfully delicious sensations flooded my veins.
“You’re tight and wet,” he murmured. “So tight.”
His fingers filled me, preparing me for his cock. I knew it was going to be a snug fit, but I craved the intimate connection.
As his lips grazed my neck and he lightly nipped at my skin, his fingers pumped faster inside me.
“Oh Christ, Carter.” I stepped off the ledge again and it was a glorious freefall as the radiant sensations erupted within me once more and coursed throughout my entire body.
He pulled his fingers from inside me and wrapped me in a tight embrace as I vibrated from head to toe, my very being lit up like a Roman candle.
“Holy cow,” I ground out. “That’s what they mean by an earth-shattering orgasm.”
With a soft chuckle, he said, “And I’m just getting warmed up.”
I lifted my head and stared into his eyes. “I don’t know if I can come any harder.”
“Sure you can.” The wicked glint in his chocolate gaze sent another tremor through me.
“My heart’s about to jump out of my chest, it’s beating so hard.”
“Yeah, well, I’m about to bust a seam in these briefs, if you know what I mean.”
I laughed, despite my limited airflow. “We should do something about that.”
I reached for the waist of his briefs, but he caught my hands with his. “We’re going to have to take this part slow and easy, Cherish. You are damn tight.”
