by Ferraro, W
With her earlobe between his teeth, he pulled on the fleshy lobe once, twice, before releasing it. Letting his tongue slowly and erotically lick along its rim, he whispered, “Dip your hands into the paint. Palms only!”
Colby turned her head so her cheek rested against his pectoral muscles and she met his lusted over blue eyes. He knew his jaw was tense with the lust he felt for her.
Without a word, Colby stepped slowly and sensually away from him. Bending down at the waist to where the closest open can of paint was, Colby Jackson deserved a triple X rating if dipping hands in paint was sexy. Just the way she raised that beautiful derriere in the air, coyly looking over her shoulder at him, had Reed threatening to lose his seed right there and then. The view of her soft, bare, delicious wet flesh glistening at him made him momentarily second-guess his slow plan of seduction, but there was no way he wanted to rush this.
Colby then stood, turned, and showed him her now red paint covered palm and fingers waiting for the next set of instructions. Reed inclined his head to the blank canvas mere feet away, and she followed until she stood before it. Reed then moved from where he had been rooted to the floor and easily positioned her so once again her back was to his front, her feet were slightly spread apart, and she somewhat bent at the waist so she leaned toward the canvas with each hand now firmly flush against the porous fiber.
Pleased with his positioning of her, Reed placed one sensual kiss to the back of her exposed neck and slowly stepped away from her. Using his foot, he dragged the drop cloth closer to the new canvas and moved two of the closest paint cans along with it. With his hands, he dipped one in the first can, which was green, and then the other in yellow, and began to paint her breasts and stomach. When he felt she was adequately covered, he moved so he stood behind her once more, with bent knees he grabbed on to her hips making sure his aching cock fell into the crevice between her perfect twin cheeks. Slowly, he rubbed against her, just enough to let her feel him—all of him—as he kissed her neck and shoulder with open-mouth kisses, dragging his tongue along the same trail.
Colby began to purr, pushing back against him and wiggling to relieve some of the building tension. Slowly, her hands began to move from the canvas. Reed quickly and firmly placed them back against it and huskily instructed, “Leave them.”
Ever compliant, Colby left them, but slowly, they began to slide down the canvas, smearing the red paint with them. Her chest began to press closer and closer toward the canvas, adding more color as Reed’s kisses and hip rotation became more and more aggressive.
Now, blots of green and yellow swirled along the fiber, mixing with the red.
Unable to keep from feeling her wet heat any longer, he cupped her pussy, being careful not to insert paint inside, and rubbed the heel of his palm against her clit.
Colby began to moan. Now almost fully flush against the canvas from the waist up, she seemed ignorant to their mess.
“Reed . . . please . . . I need you . . . now . . .” she panted out.
Unable to take much more, Reed turned her around forcefully, lifted her up so now her back leaned against the paint-covered canvas, and wrapped her legs around his waist. He impaled her. Nothing slow and sweet about his entrance, he was on the brink.
With one hand on her ass pulling her toward him, his own paint-covered hand added another section of paint as he used it repeatedly as leverage to pound harder into her welcoming heat.
With the wet paint at her back and his driving force at her front, Colby began to yell out in ecstasy.
Being able to feel how close she was by the way her inner muscles clenched his rigid member, he knew she was only moments away from her climax, and he had every intention of going over the edge with her and feeling her milk his cock for all it was worth.
Soon, Colby screamed her orgasm, and Reed clung to her lips only to throw his head back and voice his own completion, “Fuck!” as he squeezed his eyes shut and shot his cum into her.
Hours later, with a wrinkled periwinkle sheet lying over his lap and his skin damp with sweat and partially covered with dried paint, he was grateful for the drafty window to his left. Colby curled inwardly toward his torso but left enough space between the two that neither actually touched. Not bothered by such details, Reed appreciated the way the sheet covered her from chest to hip but allowed her beautiful, delectable leg to peek out as it remained uncovered on top of the unruly sheet.
Knowing that if he really tried, he would be able to go again, he decided that he had used Colby’s body enough in his time here. She deserved a break or she truly would not be able to walk tomorrow. So trying not to think of that supple leg, he let his eyes roam around the studio apartment. He focused on the multitude of cardboard boxes littered throughout.
He turned his attention back to the beautiful waif next to him “What’s with all the boxes?”
Coby stretched catlike resulting in the sheet falling from her breasts before she pushed herself up to a sitting position with the sheet pooled around her waist. Reed couldn’t help but extend his finger and run it down the line of her exposed spine.
Not reacting to his touch, Colby trained her face away from him as she too looked around her small space and answered. “Time for a new place. My cousin has been trying to get me to move closer to her. Considering we are the only family either have left, I thought ‘why the hell not.’ Relocating for her isn’t an option because she really is happy with her job, and it isn’t feasible for her to be far away from it. But me, I have nothing holding me here or anywhere else so the choice was easy.”
As if such an explanation said it all, Colby stood from where the mattress was on the floor and padded barefoot across the apartment to where a stack of boxes sat. She began to place items from a nearby shelf into one.
Reed watched her for a few moments before standing too, grabbing his pants from where they lay, slipping them on, and going to stand next to her.
While still focused on placing more and more items in the box, Reed was slightly caught off guard when her voice easily stated, “So you, my friend, need to find another gal to have amazingly hot paint sex with.”
Reed didn’t answer, but by the saucy wink Colby threw his way and the way she focused on grabbing for an empty box, she didn’t seem to expect Reed to respond. He couldn’t help but smile at the woman who so easily accepted his terms for an unattached sexual relationship and realized somewhere inside he would miss her.
But that was just because of their incredible chemistry.
You mean sexual chemistry.
The voice inside Reed clarified. Yes, the sexual chemistry they shared. However, his admiration for Colby increased with her easygoing way of embracing such a nomad type of existence. Even though living such a life was the polar opposite of his own, it didn’t mean he couldn’t respect the candor and spunk it took. However, the knowledge she would be near family gave him comfort. Everyone needed family.
Family was very important to Reed. Actually, it was important to every Dennison. Family was forever. You might fight, you might yell, or you might even throw some punches, which was the case a time or two with his brothers and himself, but in the end, family was there for you when no one else was.
Reed was close with his family, but no one truly knew him inside and out. That was completely the doing of Reed versus a lack of his family wanting to know the real him. He just always felt certain parts of your life should be no one else’s business but. No one needs to know your every move every minute of every day. Even just the concept of having that type of relationship with his family, let alone anyone else, was stifling to him.
No, Reed Dennison liked his life the way it was. As a bachelor with a successful career, he worked for and accomplished what he knew he would. He had an incredible opportunity to embark on an even more challenging path that, as far as he was concerned, was not only completely obtainable but also very much plausible. Reed had no doubt that if he ran for that seat he was going to win. Reed didn’t accept failure. He did
n’t allow his plans or intentions not come to fruition.
But focusing all his energy on his career didn’t mean he led a life of celibacy either. He was a red-blooded male; of course, he sought a woman’s company. Leading the kind of lifestyle he did, when he looked for it, he attained it without difficulty. The type of woman he chose to keep such company with was all of the same mindset. They knew no promises of forever or dazzling rings would bestow their finger. He didn’t mince words, and he left no room for misunderstandings. That was why he sought such women out in the first place. And even though he had no such knowledge of Colby like that when he first noticed her, Reed couldn’t have planned it out better himself. That he lucked out was just the cherry on the proverbial sundae.
But even though he put all this out in front, he never truly mattered because Reed had yet to meet someone he would even consider changing his personal convictions for. No one made him doubt the way he lived his life.
Bottom line—Reed did not intend to change any of his character traits. They worked for him. And that was all that mattered.
Watching as Colby continued to empty shelf after shelf not caring that she was naked as the day she was born, Reed raised his hand until it cupped the back of her neck and pulled her head toward him. He placed a kiss on her temple, letting his lips linger there and communicating with her that he was acknowledging this was the last time they would see each other.
Colby accepted the silent exchange with a wink and a gentle shoulder bump to his still naked chest.
With very few words to follow, Reed gathered his things, and with one last passionate kiss, he wordlessly left the apartment, leaving Colby Jackson and their distinctive chemistry behind forever.
“Reed, you have a visitor.”
Garrett’s voice came through the intercom, and before Reed could respond, his closed office door swung open and in walked none other than the man-eater Lacey Gibbons. She was as deadly and vindictive as she was smart and beautiful. Her curvaceous body, with her large deep blue eyes and long, straight, thick dirty blond hair, was what white-collar dreams were made of. Rivaling a reality star’s breasts and derriere, she was no fool when it came to using every weapon she had. Those just a tad too short skirts or those tight fitting tailor-made suit coats showcased her arsenal. She was never without her four plus inch Louboutin heels. As easy as it was to list her obvious physical attributes, you could never forget her lethal munition—her brain. Lacey was known for her keen eye and unmatched undefeatable strategies. A highly sought after player in the political field, she had never managed a losing campaign.
Usually on the payroll of much bigger races, Reed wasn’t surprised when Tom mentioned her name to him yesterday. It had been well-known knowledge that, without Lacey, neither Conrad nor Tom would hold their current offices. If rumors were anything to go by, Lacey’s cravings sometimes didn’t just stop at her election winning desires when she took a candidate on; they sometimes drifted to receiving bonuses from the newly named officers-to-be. Whispers could always be heard; some even surrounded Conrad’s election, but Reed wasn’t the type to focus on company gossip. Especially ones that centered on infidelity.
He had met Lacey previously, during both campaigns, so an introduction was not required, and Reed didn’t think she’d appreciate a lesson in etiquette.
Reed watched as she sauntered into his office and casually, as if she owned the place, sat comfortably on his couch with her legs crossed and her arms draped along the back on each side of her.
They both just stared at each other, one scrutinizing and the other merely observing.
Brazenly obvious, Lacey ran her eyes over Reed, quirking an eyebrow in disappointment when her gaze could go no further than where the desk interrupted her view.
“Well, you certainly will be easy enough to get press coverage for. Dashingly handsome men tend to be an easy sell,” she said matter-of-factly.
Reed couldn’t help but softly snort at such a statement.
Hearing that made Lacey’s red-stained lips stretch into her signature smile. Cocking her head to the side, she continued to show a beautiful front that Reed had no doubt sent many men to their knees. He couldn’t imagine how not many dared not to fall for such a woman.
Then again, Reed never really followed the crowd.
Lacey stood and elegantly but directly walked toward Reed’s desk. She continued around until she stood at his side where she leaned against it. Perching herself in such a way that showed dominance, she towered over his still sitting form. Her black skirt brushed ever so lightly against where his hand rested on the arm of his chair, and one long stocking-covered leg bent while its partner was rod straight allowing her to slip off the heel of her shoe so it dangled from her toes.
Reed had to hand it to her; she knew what she was doing.
Her dark lined blue eyes held his for a moment before she once again smiled and said, “Let’s cut the bullshit and get right to it, shall we? You want Baker’s vacating seat, and I can get you there. All you have to do is agree to do as I say when I say.”
Now, it was Reed’s turn to study her. He couldn’t imagine that anyone had ever told this woman no.
“I have no problem with your terms,” he answered. Lacey smiled, standing and walking around to the front of his desk as Reed added, “As long as I agree with it.”
Reed watched as she turned to face him, caught off guard by his lack of full submissiveness. Reed tilted his head, waiting for the inevitable reaction. Lacey only made him wait but a moment.
“Tom said you would be a hard nut to crack when I had dinner with him and Conrad last night.”
Reed knew she wasn’t done, and he waited silently for the certain lashing to come.
“But as I told both men, just as I will tell you, Mr. Dennison, come the end of this campaign, you not only will be doing everything I say, but you will also be heeling at my side looking ever so dashing on the short leash I fully intend to keep you on.”
She turned around and left his office, yelling that she would be in touch and that she fully expected him to take her calls whenever and wherever he might be.
Reed let out a breath as his brain swirled around her last order. Undoubtedly, she would want him at her beck and call. Leaning forward so his elbows rested on his desk, Reed placed his face in his palms and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. Reminding himself that to reach the golden ring, you sometimes had to ride the carousel for longer than you initially intended to.
In this time of Reed’s self-motivation, Garrett entered his office and took the seat across from him.
“That wasn’t who I think it was, was it?”
Garrett was a smart man.
Reed lifted his head back up and leaned back against his chair as he suddenly felt tired. He dropped his hands to his chair and answered. “Not only was it who you thought it was, but I’m quite sure I’ve just become her biggest challenge.”
Garrett whistled, then looked to his boss and said, “Before you jump into bed with the praying mantis, make sure there isn’t a nice tarantula instead.”
Garrett’s analogy gave Reed a reason to laugh. The sound echoed throughout his office.
“I have no intention of letting that woman anywhere near my dick or my head for that matter.”
The chime of Reed’s smartphone interrupted his conversation. Looking at where it lay on his desk, Reed picked it up. “What’s up, kid?”
“Just making sure you are going to be here tonight. Puck drops at 7:30 pm,” Mason’s smooth timbre prompts.
“I’ll be there. I’m picking up the wings at Molly’s at 7:15.”
“All right. See you then.” And the line went dead.
Reed placed the phone back down on the desk and lightly shook his head. His brother Mason was definitely the most suave of his brothers, but he certainly didn’t mince words.
“Sheriff, doctor, or firefighter?” Garrett asked, knowing a little about Reed’s family.
“Firefig
hter or rather one of them, since both Mason and Casey are. Just because they shared a womb, they seem to think they need to do everything together. I mean I get it—togetherness is grand but so is space and solitude.” Reed muttered the end.
Along with their best friend, Jamie Dwyer—all three of them toddled around together and hung out all through their youth. They all went to the fire academy together, and hell, all three of them live together in the older refurbished fabric mill.
“They all back in Clearwater Falls?” Garrett asked. Reed knew the man wasn’t being nosy but rather just conversational. The only reason Reed wasn’t shutting the conversation down was because he did consider Garrett a friend.
“Yeah, their place is about a mile from mine.”
Garrett stood up, pulling his shirt cuffs down as his position changed. “I don’t know how you do that hour commute to and from this place. I hate traffic; I’ll keep my walking distance apartment thank you very much.” And just like Lacey, Garrett left Reed alone without anything else said.
Reed thought for a moment about his commute. Honestly, he did like the ride. It was an hour guaranteed at the end of his day with just him and his thoughts and his music. He used this time to think about case specifics or whatnot. He valued the luxury, and he did not intend to go back to how he lived six months ago. He’d always kept a small apartment in Clearwater Falls, close to his family but very rarely used with the exceptions of long weekends. Until his recent move back, he’d mostly stayed in a penthouse apartment in the center of Lancaster—just a hop, skip, and a jump from his office. But then his brother Hunter put his townhouse on the market when he and his now wife, Molly, were building their new family home, so Reed decided to buy it and return to his hometown permanently.
The townhouse fit Reed’s life perfectly. Spacious and modern, he appreciated all the updates that Hunter had put into it but very rarely used including the private sauna off the mudroom downstairs, the four-person hot tub on the private high fenced deck, and the heated master bathroom floor. Those private luxuries alone were worth the sixty-minute commute.
