by Sabrina York
Ah. Yes. She rounded the sofa and sank into its lush embrace. It felt like a hug. “Nice.”
He sat next to her, close to her. “Again, I had nothing to do with it.”
“But it suits you.” It did. It was big and broad and comfortable. Like him.
“I’ll have to thank her.” He took her beer and set it on the table next to his. When he turned back to her, his expression was serious, intent. “You are so beautiful.” He traced the line of her chin then tipped it up so he could look at her face. “When I saw you tonight sitting there in that booth, I just knew.”
“Knew wh—”
He silenced her question with a kiss. It was slow and warm, a sweet reprisal of what they’d shared in the bar, but tentative, questing. She yearned for more. She pulled him closer. Opened her mouth.
With a grunt, he shifted for a better angle and deepened his exploration. His palm, warm and hard, skated up her bare calf to her thigh. He traced the hem of her skirt with a teasing touch. Their lips mated, breath mingled. When he sucked her tongue into his mouth, she nearly fainted with pleasure.
His fingers edged under the hem of her skirt. Slowly. As though he was giving her the opportunity to stop him.
Not a chance in hell. She let her legs drift apart. He didn’t hesitate. At that unspoken assent, he ventured higher and higher and…
Jessica quivered in anticipation. Wriggled with impatience. Her legs stole farther apart. And he found her. He found her and nudged at her damp, swollen slit through her cotton panties.
Her clit screamed for attention, throbbing and thudding with every beat of her heart. It was so engorged it poked out of her labia. So his soft, brushing caress hit its mark. Jessica almost came on the spot.
“Oh God.” She threw her head back and arched her hips, urging him on.
He glanced at her and swallowed. “Je—J. Damn. You are beautiful.”
Madly, restlessly, she tested the muscles of his chest, his abdomen, his flat belly…and lower. “You already said that.”
“It bears repeating.” He groaned as she discovered his hard cock. And squeezed. She could feel his pulse in it, even through the thick material of his jeans. “Oh God.”
Desperate determination flashed across his face. He renewed his assault on her senses, slipping beneath the band of her panties. Her fist tightened on his cock as he stroked her—flesh to slick, aching flesh. Ah, mercy.
“You’re wet.” His voice was guttural, gruff.
“You make me wet.”
His nostrils flared. A muscle in his cheek bunched. The heat rose between them, scorched her. He rubbed her slit several times in quick succession and then slipped lower, toyed with the mouth of her cunt. Three fat fingers hovered there.
He held her attention.
She swallowed, desperately trying to retain her composure, regain the upper hand. “You’re hard.” To underscore this point, she stroked him again through his jeans.
It was hardly fair that she had to stroke him through his jeans.
His left lid twitched at her light caress. A muscle bunched in his cheek and then… And then, dear God, he shoved those fingers in deep.
Jessica cried out and trembled in bliss. He wiggled around inside her with a knowing expertise, searching. And he found it. That spot. That bundle of nerves that quivered and twitched and transported her at his touch.
He did not give her respite. He kept at it, teasing, tormenting her again and again and again, making her come, making her gasp, making her howl.
And she was not a howler.
No one had ever made her lose control to that extent. Not during an orgasm, not during anything.
The fact that he had—that he’d separated her from her natural restraint to the extent that she screeched like a howler monkey in his arms—discomfited her. But not for long. He did not allow her the luxury of female embarrassment.
Before she had finished coming, before she had a chance to reclaim herself, he dropped to his knees and yanked her panties off. He spread her legs wide and flipped up her skirt and put his mouth on her aching clit.
He consumed her. He licked and laved and nibbled and nipped and sucked and flicked at her bud. He tweaked her pussy and stuck his tongue in her cunt and even eased a finger into her ass.
And she came again. She came and came and came. She no longer cared that she screamed. She no longer cared if she howled. She no longer wondered what his neighbors would think about the wild animal he was mating with on his thick leather couch.
She only felt.
And felt and felt.
By the time he leaned up, took hold of her thighs and yanked her to the edge of the sofa, she was a boneless lump of jelly. She watched, mindless and replete, as he pulled out his cock—and oh God, he was beautiful—slipped on a condom and set the tip at her entrance.
He paused then and looked her straight in the eye. “I’ve wanted this since the moment I saw you,” he growled and, before she could respond—even if her brain were working sufficiently enough to do so—he thrust in.
And oh, he filled her. His cock was large and fat and long and he sank deep into her cunt, stretching and massaging her all the way. When it kissed her womb, she came again. She couldn’t help it. The sensation of fullness, of utter bliss, was beyond anything she’d ever known.
“Oh. Yeah,” he groaned as she spasmed around him. “Oh yeah.” He pulled out and shoved back in. And again. He moved slowly, savoring each plunge, tormenting her with his leisurely advances.
She wiggled her ass to encourage him to move faster. When he didn’t, she just said it. “Fuck me. Fuck me hard.”
His nostrils flared, his jaw tightened and he complied.
Oh God. Did he comply. He pulled out and then shoved back in, hot and hard and frantic, whipping in and out of her again and again at a maddening pace.
“You’re so tight,” he muttered, but that didn’t stop him.
She was slick too. Drooling for him, in fact. She could hear the wet sounds of her juice as he sluiced in and out of her quivering channel.
And then she could hear nothing, see nothing, feel nothing—nothing but the wedge of his cock swelling in her cunt, filling her even more as he hammered in and out of her with thrusts that were quicker, harder, deeper. Frenetic.
He whispered, “Yes, yes, yes,” in time to each exquisitely placed thrust. Then he tensed; his muscles went rigid. The tendons of his neck stood out as every ort of his being focused in on that minute point, that elusive pleasure.
With one hard drive straight to her core, he came. His cock jerked in her cunt, massaging her with wild spasms, setting off a waterfall of delirious explosions inside her. She grasped at him, clasped at him, shuddering, quivering, quaking in his arms.
Before she was finished, before she was done, he took her again, this time with his mouth. Their breath blended, tongues tangled, juices mingled. He soothed her like that until she recovered.
Until she came back to herself and wondered…what the hell had just happened? Sex had never been like that for her before. Never.
Afterward he took her to the bathroom and stripped her, bathed her, worshipped her. He feasted on her mound in the shower until she came and came again.
And then he took her to his bed. Not a blow-up mattress or a waterbed, a large indulgent haven with soft sheets and heavy covers and downy pillows. They nestled in and stroked each other until they were ready to go again.
This time the passion was slower, less frantic, but exquisite all the same. It was wonderful. He was wonderful.
Still, once he fell asleep, Jessica collected her clothes and sneaked out. Until she worked through these strange new feelings, she couldn’t bear to face him in the morning.
Chapter Three
She was gone when he woke up. Justin blew out a breath and stared up at the ceiling and contemplated the conflicting emotions swirling in his gut. First and foremost was disappointment. Oh, not in her, not in what they’d shared. That had been phenomena
l.
But she’d left. Slipped away in the night. That made him wonder if he’d made a mistake.
Maybe he should have just gone up to her and introduced himself instead of playing games. But formal introductions and expectations led to small talk and awkwardness. Chitchat about mutual acquaintances. Events they’d both attended—but at which somehow they’d never met.
He hadn’t wanted that distance with her. Not when he’d seen her face in the photo Penny shared and certainly not when he saw her in the flesh, sitting there in the cowboy bar sucking on her beer and looking as sweet and sexy as hell.
He’d wanted to fuck her. Right then and there. Hadn’t had the patience for preliminaries.
Maybe he should have been patient. Because she’d left.
He sighed and hefted himself out of bed. It didn’t matter. Not really. He knew where to find her.
The question was, did she want him to find her?
* * * * *
“So?” Penny leaned over the counter of crayons and shot Jessica a wicked grin. “How was your date?”
Jessica winced. Dear God. How to answer that one? Her body was still thrumming from Justin’s touch. Had started aching for him again. Her mind was awash with memories and regrets—regrets that she hadn’t stayed.
Hell, even her conscience was asking why she hadn’t stayed.
Oh, she should have stayed.
But she couldn’t tell Penny any of this. Better stick to the truth.
“He never showed.” Okay, a version of the truth.
“What!” Penny squawked so loud the cheerful cacophony of Jessica’s kindergarten classroom fell at once to dead silence. Thirty tiny heads turned, like a herd of velociraptors scenting their prey.
Jessica blanched. She quickly clapped her hands to avert the impending disaster. “Back to work, children,” she said very sternly. One needed to be stern with velociraptors. If one lost control of the room, there could be carnage.
Today they were exploring the letter Q. How she wished it was J.
Oh damn. She had to get him out of her mind.
Penny leaned closer and hissed, “What do you mean he never showed up? He was really excited about this date.”
He was? Well. That piqued her interest. She shrugged. “The bar was pretty crowded. Besides, how would he know what I look like?”
“Duh. I showed him a picture of you.”
Jessica’s heart hitched. “You what?”
It took a second to work through her emotions. He’d known. The bastard had known all along. Heat flushed her face as she relived their night together, each whisper and every caress. Fury lashed her.
And then, incomprehensibly, a laugh bubbled up inside her.
He’d known.
All along.
She laughed. Out loud.
“Jess?” Penny wrinkled her nose. “Are you having a mental breakdown?”
“Not today, Penn.”
“What are you laughing about?”
Andrew Dither hopped up to her holding his crotch in a death grip. Without being asked, Jessica handed him the bathroom pass.
“A guy did show up. He introduced himself as J. He didn’t look very much like the guy you showed me.”
Penny nibbled her lip. “Well. No. My wedding was awhile ago. He was right out of the service then. His hair is definitely longer now. You said he introduced himself as J?”
“Yup.”
“Not Justin?”
“Nope.”
A flush rose on Penny’s cheeks. “I’m so sorry. I should have mentioned he loves practical jokes.”
A practical joke? That night of scalding sex?
She’d kill him if that was all it had been.
Or worse, if he’d been testing her to see if she was the kind of woman who would go home with any old guy. Heat prickled at her nape.
Because apparently she was.
Jessica crossed her arms over her chest. “I thought he was a lawyer. A decent guy. The kind of guy a girl could have a real future with. That’s what you said anyway.”
“He is, Jess. He’s a great guy. One of the best.” She nudged her toe into the carpet. “I’m sorry.”
“No. Penn. Don’t be sorry. I liked him. I really liked him.”
Penny beamed. “Did you?”
Jessica sighed. Yeah. She really did. “I just don’t know if he liked me.”
Penny pulled out her phone. “Let’s find out.”
Panic flared. “Oh, dear God.” Jessica grabbed the phone. “Not here.”
“Okay.” Penny winked. “I’ll go to the teacher’s lounge and call him from there. And if he liked you?”
A little demon provoked her. “Why don’t you set us up again?”
“Again?”
“Yeah. But this time, we’ll do it differently…”
* * * * *
Justin was about halfway through a boring brief when his cell rang. He checked the caller, determined to avoid any interruptions, but when he saw it was Penny he answered.
He had to. “Yo, cuz.”
“Hey, Justin.” Silence buzzed on the line for a minute. He could envision her trying to form the question. He knew what it would be. What he didn’t anticipate was the sarcasm in her voice. “So how was your date last night?”
“My date?”
“With Jessica.”
“Um. Great?” Yeah. It had been great.
Penny snorted. “She said you didn’t show.”
His gut lurched. “She said that?”
“Yeah. She met some other guy instead.”
Ah. His tension released. He fiddled with his pen. “Did she…like this other guy?”
“She didn’t say. Justin, I am really peeved. I went out of my way to set you up with a perfect woman and you just blew her off.”
He bit back a snort. No. Someone had blown something off, deep in the night under the covers, but he could hardly tell Penny that. “Aw, come on, cuz. Give me another chance.”
“You don’t deserve it.”
“Please. Why don’t you set up another date?”
Penny sniffed. “I doubt she’s interested. Women don’t like being stood up, you know. Besides, now she’s met this other guy.”
“Please?” He could hear the amusement in his voice, hoped Penny couldn’t. He’d love to see Jessica again tonight. He’d love to have another chance to take her home with him.
Maybe make her stay.
“Okay. I’ll ask. Seven p.m. again? At the Rowdy Cowboy?”
“Perfect. I’ll be there.”
“You’d better be. And be on time, buster.”
Penny disconnected and Justin sat there staring at his phone with a goofy grin on his face. He was going to see her again tonight.
His smile dimmed. That was, if she showed.
God, he hoped she showed.
* * * * *
He got there early and was lounging by the busy bar when he saw her come in. She made her way through the crowd and slipped into a booth in the back.
He didn’t completely understand the humming of his body, the leap of his pulse when he saw her. The instant arousal, well, that he got. She was a beautiful woman—even all the way across the bar—but beyond that, there was something about her that spoke to him. Made him feel at home in her arms. He’d never felt that way before.
He kind of liked it.
He grabbed two Lone Stars and made his way toward her booth. As he slung into the seat by her side, he said in a dark, desperate voice, “You’ve got to save me.”
Then he got a look at her and froze. And exploded in laughter.
He tried to hide his amusement but failed miserably.
“I beg your pardon?” It appeared to be difficult for her to speak around the fake buckteeth but she lisped her way through it. She blinked several times in succession, as though he was blurry.
Then again he probably was…through the inch-thick coke-bottle glasses perched on her nose. Her luscious locks were twined up into a stiff
bun, with random spiky strands and the occasional pencil poking out. She looked like an unruly porcupine. Her outfit was atrocious. A mix between teen dork and Little House on the Prairie.
Still and all, she was damn cute.
He cleared his throat. “I said, you’ve got to save me.”
She bristled, stiffening her spine. “Thir, I don’t believe we’ve been introduthed.”
He bit back a grin—not very well—and thrust out a hand. “I’m Justin Sweetwater.” Boy howdy. It was fine to touch her again. She was warm and soft. He swallowed the urge to kiss her because, damn, those teeth.
“Mithter Thweetwater. I’m Jethica Evanth. Man-hungry thchoolmarm. Nith to meet you.”
He laughed out loud. Howled, in fact.
And then he almost swallowed his tongue. Because demure Mith Evanth, man-hungry thchoolmarm, put her palm on his thigh and scudded it up to his crotch. It stopped right before it hit home, thisclose to something weeping for her attention. He shifted in an attempt to make contact but she was a tease and shifted with him.
“Jessica…”
“Yeth?”
Hell. Even in that getup, with the thick glasses and the protruding teeth and the porcupine hair, he wanted her. “I’d like to kiss you.”
“Okay.”
He chuckled. “But I can’t get past those teeth.”
She took them out.
“And the glasses.”
She pulled them off.
“And that outfit…”
Damn. She didn’t slip out of that. But she did slip him a snarky grin. It was a beautiful grin.
He kissed it right off her face.
Her lips were warm and sweet. Mobile under his. They set a fire in his groin. She tasted like hops and sunshine and…Jessica. He leaned closer and took her mouth more fully, dabbing at her with his tongue, tempting her, soothing her. Begging forgiveness perhaps.
When the kiss ended, they were both panting. They stared at each other through an awkward silence.
He broke it with the question that had been at the forefront of his mind all day. “Why did you leave?”
She took a sip of her beer. “Why didn’t you tell me who you really were?”
