by Ava McKnight
“But so wet,” I said as I wiggled my eyebrows. “Thanks to you.”
“You drive me wild,” he told me. “I want to make you come all night long.”
I sighed happily. “Geez, Carter. Could you be more perfect?” His jaw tensed and I instantly added, “Stop thinking you’re defiling me or that we’re doing something demoralizing because we’re not in a relationship. You’re stressing out over not giving me more, but at the moment… You’re giving me everything I need.”
He looked contrite as he said, “There should be more than this between us, Cherish. We’ve secretly thought of each other for ten years, and our reunion has been nothing short of dynamic.”
“But I insinuated myself into your life, without your knowledge or consent. I basically ambushed you this evening. And now we’re stirring up all kinds of emotions—I can see it in your eyes, and I feel it too.”
“You’re sort of a dream come true. So beautiful and easy to be with. So passionate.”
I smiled. “We have amazing chemistry. But,” I gave him a serious look as I said, “I walked into your life at a very bad time. I understand that.” Smoothing his furrowed brow with my thumb, I added, “Don’t beat yourself up because we’re not on the same page. You’re giving me one night, I don’t want anything to spoil it.”
“I’m not just giving you one night. I want this too. When I realized the breathtaking blonde in the sexy red dress was you, all I could think was, ‘Now this is a homecoming’.”
Again, the things he said to me sounded right, but felt all wrong, because I knew they were moot. They were just words at this point, with no real meaning behind them.
“Maybe talking about all of this isn’t such a good idea,” I told him. My heart already hurt. I didn’t need more emotional damage.
Besides, this was just supposed to be sex. Fantasy fulfillment. Nothing more. I knew that, to the depths of my soul, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t still hold hope that the physical pull we both felt would heightened the obvious emotional one. Something significant arced between us, from the moment he had joined me on the patio. Cultivating it was the problem, Carter himself being our biggest obstacle.
He said, “I just want you to know how much tonight means to me.” He brushed strands of hair from my face as he added, “I was so happy to see you. And now that I know I’m not the only one who had a crush back then, or harbored feelings all this time… I just think it makes me an asshole for wanting to make love to you once.”
Trying to lighten the tense moment, I said, “It doesn’t have to be just once. We’ve got two condoms, remember?”
A smile teased his tempting mouth, but he didn’t give into it. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You keep forgetting I’m the one who instigated all of this.”I leaned toward him and brushed my lips over his. “No more agonizing. I just had two of the most sensational orgasms I’ve ever experienced, and I want more.”
“So greedy,” he said, his voice turning playful.
“Feels so good, I can’t help it.”
He groaned. “You could sell magic beans to someone less gullible than Jack.”
His mouth pressed to mine for but a second, before we both parted our lips and his tongue delved deep. He pulled me tightly to him, and I instantly fell in love with the way his warm skin and rigid muscles felt against my bare skin. His kiss was equally electrifying, conveying that mutual appreciation I’d spoke of earlier, in addition to something darker. Something more intense.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and let him command my passion. It was the easiest thing in the world to give into the wonderful sensations he evoked. It took no time at all—mere heartbeats—to lose myself in our kiss and the glorious feeling of his body pressed to mine, along with one of his hands roaming my body. He finally settled on palming an ass cheek again as his cock rubbed against my pussy lips.
Hot magma flooded my veins and fire lit my insides. He turned me on in ways I’d never experienced before, making me hot and bothered.
His fingers curled around the thin strand of my thong and he tugged. With his other hand gripping the opposite side, and me wiggling slightly, he worked the panties down my legs. He broke our kiss and whisked off the thong. I settled on my back and he filled the vee my parted legs created. His supple hands skimmed up my calves and then shifted, easing along my inner thighs.
Covering my mound with one hand, he massaged all the sensitive parts, pressing the heel into my clit. His dark brown eyes deepened in color, turning almost black. The irises shimmered with desire in the moonlight seeping in through the cracks in the shutters. I simply stared at him, burning from the way he stroked me and gazed at me, but also enjoying how fantastic he looked between my legs. He was sheer perfection in my mind, with his chiseled face and body, and his tousled hair, which I had mussed.
I grinned at him as the pressure began to build in my pussy and my stomach. “You’ve got a pretty easy job,” I teased. “I think I could come just by looking at you in all your hunky glory.”
“I’m willing to put some effort into this, sweetheart.” His tone was much darker than mine, laden with carnal cravings.
He lowered his head, moved his hand and licked slowly and sensuously along my lips and then my clit. Then his tongue circled my opening and darted inside, making me writhe on the bed as my soft, needy whimpers surrounded us.
“You are so good at that,” I murmured. “I’m so glad I waited for this. So glad I get to experience this with you.” The first and only time, I thought. Because I was certain I could never let another man do this to me. I knew it wouldn’t be the same, wouldn’t be as special or as hot.
My hips lifted and I pressed myself against his mouth as he suckled my clit while easing two fingers into my throbbing pussy. He worked me quickly, expertly, knowing the exact amount of pressure to apply, knowing just the right spots to hit. I closed my eyes and gripped his shoulders, holding on for dear life as he pushed me to the precipice once again and I experienced that beautiful release that made me cry out his name.
Little white orbs burst behind my lids and I lost my breath as wave after wave of erotic sensation crashed over me. Carter didn’t stop what he was doing, which prolonged my orgasm and made my body shudder.
It took me a while to come down from my high. I suddenly realized I was practically clawing at him, my fingernails biting into his shoulders. I released him and said, “Sorry about that. I didn’t hurt your shoulder, did I?”
He was languidly kissing the inside of one of my thighs. “Didn’t even notice.” He lifted his head and grinned at me. “I love making you come.”
“You are very good at it.” My cheeks flushed. I could lie here forever with him between my legs. But the insistent throbbing in my cunt made me say, “I want to feel you inside me.”
“I was hoping to get you all worked up,” he mumbled as he nipped at my skin, jolting me to the core of my being with the sexy sensation.
“I have been. For you. Since senior year.” My voice was breathy, riding little pants of air.
“Mm,” he murmured against my quivering flesh. His lips trailed over my body as he made his way up to my mouth and kissed me. I could taste my juices on his tongue and it was a ridiculously arousing thing, given the intimate act he’d repeatedly performed. So skillfully, I might add.
When I finally dragged my mouth from his, I whispered, “I am hot and wet and in desperate need of you. Make love to me.”
“I don’t think I can hold out a second longer,” he admitted as he reached for one of the foil packets on the nightstand.
I, in turn, gave him another little push that caused him to sprawl across the bed on his back.
With a chuckle, he said, “I didn’t realize you were so dominant.”
“Me either, but you bring out all kinds of animalistic instincts in me.”
“Well, I’m certainly not complaining.”
I took the condom from him and dropped it on the mattress, n
ext to his hip. I sat back and admired him for a moment, taking in every tanned and toned inch of him.
“Excuse the drool,” I said with a sigh of appreciation.
“You keep looking at me like that, and I’m not going to have much use for that condom.”
I smiled. “Staring at you as if you were The Last Supper?”
“Yeah,” he said on a low growl. He reached for me and pulled me down on top of him, giving me a slow, sensuous kiss before he added, “Like you want to devour me.”
“I do.” Wriggling out of his loose embrace, I knelt alongside him and carefully worked his sexy briefs down his thighs, then tossed them toward the dresser. They fell short, landing on the floor.
My gaze returned to Carter and my breath caught. His thick cock was positively mouthwatering, fully erect and thinly veined. A powerful muscle covered with smooth-looking skin.
“Wow,” was the uncouth word that slipped from my parted lips.
He gave me an amused look. “Thanks.”
“With all the blood it would take to make you hard, it’s a wonder you can even think straight.”
“I am feeling a little lightheaded,” he quipped.
“Ha, ha.” I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
“Think I can satisfy you?”
I could barely breathe. “And then some.”
He chuckled.
I still couldn’t get over how magnificent he was. “I’m just saying…” I choked out. “You are exactly what I need. Exactly what I’ve fantasized about.”
“Then come back here,” he said in a tight voice, as though my appreciation of his assets aroused him.
“Not yet.” I couldn’t resist tasting him. I wanted to feel his skin against my tongue, feel his hard cock in my mouth.
I bent my head, but he gripped my upper arm to stop me. “Whoa, Cherish. I’m already really close, sweetheart.”
Giving him a playful pout, I said, “I’m not going to have this opportunity again, Carter. Indulge me.”
“Indulge you?” He grunted sexily. “Christ, just thinking about you going down on me is enough to make me come.”
“You’ll just have to employ a bit of restraint and control, then.”
I didn’t give him another chance to protest. My fingers wrapped around his base and I licked my lips before slowly sliding them up one side of his cock. Reaching the head, I ran my tongue along the underside and then flicked it over his tip.
His body jerked and he sucked in a sharp breath. “Careful there, sweetheart.”
Of course I didn’t want to end our fun as it was just getting started, but I couldn’t resist taking him deep in my mouth, stretching my lips around his girth. He tasted faintly of soap and male heat, and his skin was so soft, it felt almost silky against my tongue. He’d been right. I did want to devour him.
As my head bobbed up and down, his body tensed. He gathered up my long hair and lifted the strands from my shoulders and away from my face. My eyes were closed as I concentrated on pleasuring him, so I had no idea what expression he wore. But his heavy breathing was a good indication he liked what I was doing to him.
“Cherish.” He whispered my name on a ragged breath that spurred me on. “God, I’ve never wanted anyone more than you.”
My heart twisted at his words, but I didn’t let up. With my free hand, I gently rolled his balls, causing his hips to buck. I sucked him hard and he released my hair and instead clasped my biceps.
“No more,” he said in a gruff voice. “I don’t want to come in your mouth, Cherish. I want to come inside you.”
Oh how I wanted that too.
I released him and glanced up, finding his dark expression still in place, with that now-familiar torment stamped across his devastatingly handsome face. His jaw was set and his body was rigid.
Hot flashes deep within me caused beads of perspiration to pop up along my hairline. The man made me absurdly aroused. And so very wet. My swollen folds slid against each other as I shifted on the bed and reached for the condom. Carter let out a low hiss as I rolled the latex down his thick shaft. Our gazes locked as I straddled him and settled above his cock, the tip nudging my opening.
He gripped my hips. “Slow,” he ground out, the look in his eyes intense and raw.
I shook my head as need and desire—and, yes, love—seized my very soul. “I’m ready for you, Carter. You have no idea how ready I am.”
I’d only waited ten years for this moment. And from the time I’d read the article on him in the Republic—which had boasted a fantastic photo of him—I’d longed for this intimate connection with him. Having pined for years and yearned desperately, there was no way I could hold back.
My hips pressed down and I took him deep in my body in one fell swoop.
He groaned sharply and said, “God, Cherish,” at the same time I moaned and cried out, “Carter!”
I fell forward, my palms flattening against his wide chest as the breath rushed from my lungs. His cock filled me completely, stretching me. His hands were suddenly on my upper arms again as he held me steady.
With an agonized voice, he asked, “Did I hurt you?”
A strangled sound eeked out of me. “Are you kidding me? Jesus, Carter…” Words couldn’t describe how incredible he felt inside me. How thick and hard and yet…so sensuous. My hips instantly started to rock, involuntarily. Pure primal instinct took over.
Unfortunately, this alarmed my lover. He said, “Stop, Cherish. Just give yourself a minute to—”
“To what?” I asked on a heavy breath. “Adjust to you? Please, Carter. You are huge inside me and it feels fantastic. Like nothing I’ve ever known.”
I couldn’t slow the rhythm my body set. I rocked against him quickly, some sort of metaphysical or primitive or just downright desirous intuition guiding me. I had no control over it. I didn’t want to have control over it. Having Carter buried deep in my cunt was the most beautiful, erotic, glorious experience of my life.
He was still being too careful with me, though. His muscles bunched beneath my hands, and his grip on my biceps was of the “Hey, take it easy” variety.
I didn’t want to take it easy. Or slow. I loved being completely consumed by lust and love and passion. It was the most liberating and exciting feeling in the world. To toss aside all the reservations and the downside of our situation and let the eroticism and perfection of the moment swallow me whole was positively mind-blowing. And highly addictive.
“Cherish.” He said my name as though leading into a protest. But then he added, “God, you feel so good.”
It seemed as though, at that very second, he gave into the physical and emotional pull too. His hips lifted as he thrust up into me, making my body jolt. Moans of sheer pleasure rushed from my mouth, on short pants of air.
“I want you so much, Carter.” I couldn’t hold back the wave of emotion that crested over me. “I’ve never wanted anyone this much either. I never will. Nothing feels better than you inside me.”
His death grip on my arms finally loosened and he palmed my breasts, caressing them before he teased the nipples even tighter.
“I love your hands on my body,” I told him as I stared deep into his eyes.
The clenching of his jaw told me he both liked and loathed my admission. I knew the feeling all too well at this point. It was easy to recognize. We were screwing, yet were screwed at that same time. Because this was heaven and we’d only experience it once.
But I wouldn’t allow myself to listen to the ticking clock.
One of his hands moved down to the apex of my legs and his thumb vigorously rubbed my clit as he said in a terse tone, “Come for me. Now.”
I’d already been skyrocketing toward another powerful release. His words and the lightning fast rubbing of my clit had every fiery sensation inside me colliding and exploding a breath later.
“Carter! Oh God!” I came harder than ever before, my body shaking and my inner walls constricting around his cock.
Carte
r let out another low growl, then said, “Squeeze me tight, sweetheart. Oh yeah. Just like that.”
He thrust up into me and then I felt him convulse as his cock surged and pulsed inside me. His climax kept me coming.
“Holy shit,” I said, my heart hammering out a wild beat. My shaky arms gave out and I collapsed on top of him. He held me in a strong embrace as I fought for normal breathing.
My cheek pressed to his hard chest and my eyes closed. I wondered if my pulse would ever slow or if the tingling of my skin and the throbbing in my cunt would ever subside, because they lingered so much longer than I’d expected.
Carter’s hand smoothed over my hair and then down my back as he gently stroked my spine. Against my temple, he whispered, “We just made our lives hell, didn’t we?”
Chapter Three
I knew what he meant. And I knew he was right. I’d made the call the second I’d stepped into his bedroom, after all.
I stared up at him. “I’m never going to regret this. It was too perfect, Carter. Too sensational. Too…meant to be.”
His eyes closed for a moment, then snapped open. “I don’t regret it either, sweetheart. Except that it complicates things even further.”
I shook my head. “No. You laid your cards on the table. You were honest and forthcoming. I accept your need to focus solely on our career. I’m not going to renege on this deal by begging you to give us a shot outside of this bedroom. As much as I want to, I can’t do that to you. I respect everything you said and the effort you’re making with the Rattlers. I’m committed to being supportive, not detrimental.”
My little speech made emotion well within me again, but I fought it. I wouldn’t cry in front of him ever again. I wouldn’t beg and plead. I’d willingly come up with this one-night-stand pact, and I would stick to it. I refused to force more upon him when he’d been so open about where he stood.
Even if it did appear he’d changed his mind.
Climbing off the hunky man of my dreams, I scooted off the bed and collected my dress, lingerie and shoes.
He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the mattress. “Hey,” he said. “What are you doing?”
