by Carter Blake
I nod. I know he’s just trying to keep me safe, but it doesn’t make the tsunami of desire flooding my every synapse any easier to tolerate.
“Just so we’re clear,” he quips, “You’re the one who took me into the bedroom, Princess.”
I feel it. The sudden shift in the air between us as he tries to steer us away from the clipped tones and unnecessary anxieties that I seemed to be creating. The small grin on his face is reassuring, and he reaches up slowly again to push the hair behind my ear. This time, I let him.
“Don’t put so much pressure on yourself,” he whispers. “It mars that pretty little face of yours.”
I sigh, leaning my face against the palm of his hand. “I never expected you.”
“Likewise, Princess.”
We stand like that for what seems like forever, his one hand cupping my face while the other is pressed against the countertop, holding me in place.
“Why did you kiss me in the SUV?” The question falls from my lips before I can stop it, and I blush at the stupidity of it.
Dominic grins crookedly, leaning in as though to tell me a dirty little secret that no one else knows. “Because I fucking wanted to,” he whispers. “Because you’re gorgeous and I couldn’t help myself.”
His face is so close to mine I can feel the damp heat of his breath on my lips. Simultaneously, both our gazes flit upward and lock, and the smouldering fire in his eyes ignites at the same time my self-control bursts into flames.
I’m not even sure who kisses who, but suddenly our mouths find each other and the taste of him does something to me that unravels my resolve. I’m aware of the counter pressed roughly into my back, and the way Dominic’s body engulfs me, pushing against me with uncontrollable need. His tongue tangles with mine, possessing my mouth and causing a moan to fall from my lips that dies somewhere within his.
My hands are everywhere, memorizing every smooth, clenched muscle of his abdomen and chest. And his hands disappear under the hem of my shirt, each of his callused fingers caressing and exploring my stomach.
His thumb grazes along the bottom of my bra, and I gasp as he deftly pulls it away to cup my breast in his palm. My nipple is already hardened by my desire, and as his thumb circles it, I moan again.
“Addison…”
“Oh God…” My eyes are clenched shut as I struggle to focus. Between the feel of his fingers on my sensitive skin, and his obvious hardness pushing firmly against my hip, I can barely catch my breath, let alone think.
In one fluid movement, Dominic pushes my arms above my head and pulls my t-shirt off me.
“Oh, you are so beautiful,” he mumbles just before lowering his head to one of my breasts and running his tongue over my nipple.
My legs are ready to give out, and I gasp at the delicious sensation.
“Mmm, you like that, Princess?”
I cry out when his tongue is replaced by his teeth, and he nips at me just enough to make every muscle within me clench and ache in desperation.
“Oh God, Dominic…”
“I love it when you say my name,” he breathes, licking and kissing a trail from my chest to my collarbone, then my neck. “I want to hear you scream it.”
I can’t take it anymore. I’m panting so hard I’m not sure my lungs will hold out. “I will. I swear, I will…just, please…”
My hands find the button of his jeans, and in my haste, I fumble with it before finally undoing it on the second try.
“Please what, Addison?” His mouth is against my ear now, and his tongue flicks against my ear lobe before pulling it into his mouth and sucking it.
My knees threaten to buckle, but Dominic grinds his hips against me, pushing me firmly against the kitchen counter before devouring my mouth again.
When he pulls away, I beg him breathlessly, “Please take me. Fuck me. Whatever it is you want to do. Just…please.”
A low moan escapes his throat, and his eyes are on mine, predatory and dark with lust.
For a moment, I think he’s going to turn me down. Then, his jaw clenches just as his mouth curves into a devilish grin. “I thought you didn’t sleep with men you’ve just met?”
“I guess, for you, I’m making an exception.”
“That’s my girl.”
Chapter 10
DOMINIC
I could’ve let her sleep in my bed, while I camped out on the couch. We could’ve called it a night, and dealt with her second day of her freelance job the next day, and even put together her statement regarding the things she told me about her father.
I would’ve had to contend with a raging hard-on and aching balls while I did it, but damn it, I would’ve been a gentleman about it.
Then, she begged me.
Please take me. Fuck me. Just…please.
There’s no man on this planet that could turn away from that kind of unbridled need. She was beyond just wanting me. She needed me.
Hell, I needed her, too, but for different, more selfish, primal reasons.
We’re all hands, fingers, and desperate tugs and pulls to free ourselves of the barriers between us. And we’re both completely naked before we even hit the sheets. I kiss her, undress her, and mark her as we fumble our way back to the bedroom, falling onto the bed.
I can’t control myself. The small moans and whimpers that come from her mouth as I hover over her, kissing and nipping the tender skin of her breasts and abdomen and hips, only encourages me. I push her thighs apart, ducking my head to run my tongue along the inside of her thigh.
There it is. The scent of her desire for me. Even in the dim moonlight of the room, I can see her body arching and her muscles clenching in response to my touch.
Addison’s hands fist in my hair, tugging me up to her. “Oh God, Dominic…please…”
Her plea sets my insides on fire, and I almost come undone at the despair in her voice, now hoarse with longing.
I reach over and pull a condom from the drawer of my nightstand, rolling it on.
I position myself over her, pushing my throbbing erection against her.
“Addison—”
“Shh…” She arches her hips up, just begging me to push into her, and her silent plea elicits a low growl in my throat. I sink into her more forcefully than I intend to, and she gasps.
I give her a second to adjust to me—and give myself a second, too, because the heat and clenching of her around me threatens to immediately send me careening over the edge—and then I pull out slightly, only to thrust into her again.
This time, she cries out. “Dominic, oh God…”
She’s perfect. The sight of her underneath me, taking everything I give her, and the throaty, sexy sounds she makes as her hips arch up to meet mine with each thrust—it’s perfect. We fit together like her body is made for mine, and the decadent, intoxicating sensation of my name on her lips drives me closer and closer to coming.
My arms are planted on either side of her head, and I kiss her hard. The taste of her mouth, coupled with the flawless rhythm between our bodies as we both take what we need, and the desperate, emotional gleam in Addison’s eyes as I hold her gaze—it all does something to me, causing a shift in the center of my being.
There’s chemistry here, yes. Raw, mutual, sexual chemistry.
But it’s not just about sex.
Even if I could have told myself it was only about physical release before, I can’t hide behind that lie now.
“Oh God…” Addison squeezes her eyes shut, and I can feel her clenching around me.
I don’t stop my rhythmic, sensual assault. “Look at me, Princess,” I demand. “Let me see you. Let me take you. All of you.”
A sheen of sweat glistens on her forehead, but her hips raise to meet each thrust, panting and whimpering at the mix of pleasure and pain.
“Come for me, Princess,” I growl again, thrusting myself into her faster and harder. She’s right there, on the edge…
“Dom…Dominic!”
In a split secon
d, her body shatters beneath my touch. Her hands press into the taut muscles of my shoulders, and her fingernails dig into my flesh enough that I hiss in a breath. I don’t slow down, though, and continue to thrust into her as my own orgasm hits the boiling point.
Every muscle within her contracts around me, and I can’t hold back. “Oh fuck, Addison!”
I groan desperately. Finding her hand still fisted in the sheets, I entwine my fingers with hers without thinking, holding it tightly by her head until I slow my movements and lower my body onto hers in exhaustion.
I can feel her chest still heaving beneath me as she pants, and I focus on the rise and fall beneath me as her breathing evens out.
Addison brings her hands up to her face, covering it, and I think she’s just going to wipe the sweat from her brow. Then I feel her body shuddering beneath me and realize her hands are pressed into her face.
Christ, is she crying?
“Addi—”
But she’s not.
She moves her hands away, looking at me squarely as I hover over her, suspended on one elbow, and she’s not crying at all.
She’s laughing.
“Oh my God,” she giggles. “You are so…that was amazing.”
“And that’s funny?” I arch a brow, unable to stop the grin slowly forming on my face. Damn it, she’s adorable when she laughs.
“Well, no,” she snickers. “But it’s just so…absurd for me to know nothing about you, yet I just…we just…”
It’s my turn to chuckle. “Yeah, we just, all right.”
“Oh my God,” she groans again, attempting to cover her face again.
I reach up and pull her hands away gently. “Addison Kent, are you…embarrassed?” I ask, amused.
She blushes a deep crimson. “Slightly.”
I lower my head and kiss her temple. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“I don’t even know you.”
“I don’t think our bodies realize that, if you ask me,” I smirk, rolling off her onto my side. “You’re right about one thing. That was amazing.”
Understatement of the fucking year.
“I know!” she exclaims, beginning to laugh again.
“Then what the hell’s the problem?” I don’t even know why I’m laughing now. She’s just so beautiful, sprawled out in my bed with her cheeks so flushed and her hair all tousled. I don’t even care about the inappropriateness of her laughter after having mind-blowing sex with me.
Maybe I fucked her senseless, I think to myself, then chuckle again.
“That just went against all the rules,” she grins. “What have you done to me?”
“I could ask you the same question, believe me.”
“I just didn’t…expect this.” Addison sighs, but she smiles up at me. “I didn’t expect you.”
I lean over and kiss her lips softly. “Me neither, Princess,” I agree. “But that doesn’t make it any less real.”
Chapter 11
ADDISON
I’m not kidding when I say that Dominic Kerr goes against every rule I’ve ever set for myself.
Avoid dangerous situations.
Oh well, I wasn’t exactly doing well with that one, anyway.
Don’t get distracted.
Oh please, I never had a prayer.
Don’t sleep with men you’ve only just met.
Umm, oops.
Don’t get your hopes up that he might actually be “the one”.
But…but…but…
All I thought about after Dominic collapsed beside me—and after I assured myself that my heart wasn’t, in fact, going to beat out of my chest after such an earth-shattering orgasm—was that I had no idea how the hell I was going to face him the next morning, or how I was going to concentrate enough to finish the freelance job I’d been assigned to do.
But, I’ve got to admit, it’s not hard to do.
We haven’t talked about our rendezvous the previous night, and we both avoided it this morning while we rushed around to get ready.
Once, I thought he was leaning in to kiss me, but I dodged him.
It was just easier that way. And he didn’t try again.
Dominic had driven me to my apartment so I didn’t have to show up to the station in the same outfit I’d worn previously, and I stayed silent as he scoped out the perimeter of my place and even entered my apartment before I did, pushing me behind him protectively as he deemed it clear with his gun at the ready.
My own private bodyguard. How hot.
After that, we get coffee and I go about my day, snapping a multitude of pictures inside the precinct, watching the uniformed officers as they look on, choosing my shots strategically.
Acting like I hadn’t spent the night consumed by the police chief’s unrelenting sexual appetite.
I mean, I’d already screwed him once. After the initial embarrassment, why not do it again?
Three mind-blowing orgasms in one night.
I didn’t even know that was possible, and I’m surprised I can even walk this morning.
But I’d do it again. I want to do it again.
He’s not the only one with an unquenchable sexual appetite, it seems.
I just didn’t know I had such a thing…until he brought it out.
I avoid Chief Kerr’s office, and I’m relieved that I’m able to steer clear of him most of the morning while I obtain the raw images I need for SKB’s documentary. My gaze wanders back toward the door of his office, still closed. It’s been that way since we arrived this morning.
I worried about showing up to the precinct with him, and what that would look like. “I don’t care what other people think, Addison,” was the only response I received.
Now, as a revolving door of suited, important-looking people slip in and out of his office, I’m paranoid. Irrational fear grips me that he is somehow being reprimanded for his unorthodox behavior with a hired professional he’d been entrusted to aid.
No one fucking knows. Calm yourself.
I’m still staring at the door when my cell phone rings in my pocket, ripping me from my thoughts. A few officers look up from their files and computer screens at the shrill sound, but quickly go back to ignoring me.
The acid rises in my stomach as a wave of nausea courses through me. The number staring back at me on the display is the same one I’d seen yesterday evening, I’m sure of it.
I answer it, if only to stop the incessant ringing. “H-hello?” I say, but my efforts to sound calm are lost in a firestorm of anxiety.
“You’re running out of strikes, Addy, dear. And you can’t hide in that police station forever.”
The line goes dead.
My father is obviously enjoying himself, playing this out like a made-for-TV horror movie.
“Addison?”
I jump, startled by Dominic’s sudden voice. When I meet his gaze, his brows furrow.
“Are you okay?” he asks, and I can see the war going on inside him, whether to stay where he is in the doorway of his office, or to go to me and show the concern I recognize in his eyes.
“I’m…fine.”
“Good. Can I see you in my office for a minute?”
A few officers are watching us, but if Dominic notices, he doesn’t let on. His serious gaze never wavers from mine as I nod and tuck the phone back into my pocket. He steps to the side, allowing me entrance into his office before shutting the door again.
Inside, three men—two in suits and one in a dress shirt and khakis with a badge clipped to his belt—rise from their seats, their hands outstretched.
I shake their hands, but my gaze is firmly on Dominic now, and my eyes silently question him.
“Addison, these men are from the DEA, and Witness Protection.”
My eyes widen at first, then narrow almost as quickly.
So, this is about my father.
“And?” I don’t try to hide the edge in my voice.
“We’d like to ask you a few questions, Ms. Kent.�
�� The man with the badge is clean cut and articulate. “Chief Kerr has given us a preliminary rundown of the situation regarding your father.”
My eyes dart to the agent only for a moment before zeroing in on Dominic again. “He has, huh? Well, if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask a few questions of my own.”
Dominic’s jaw tightens and his nostrils flare, preparing himself. He nods, knowing full fucking well that I’m going to make him admit it out loud.
“Why’s the DEA here?” I spit out.
The agent holds up a hand. “Ma’am, I’m here—”
“I didn’t ask you. I asked Chief Kerr.”
Dominic swallows, and his eyes are an inferno, silently willing me to back the fuck down. “I called them,” he states matter-of-factly.
“When?” I bark.
His jaw works again, and I can tell he’s pissed I’m doing this in front of his colleagues.
“Right after I did a background check on you.”
“This morning?”
He clears his throat. “This morning.”
I resist the urge to slap the asshole, but my fists clench at my sides just the same. “You looked into me.” It wasn’t a question.
Our audience can see things going south in a hurry. One of the suits takes a stab at diffusing the situation. “The New Hampshire precincts—”
They were from New Hampshire.
Dominic ran a background check on me using the limited information I’d given him. “Wow,” I chuckle darkly, turning to face him. “You’re good, Chief. I’ll give you that. You’re a damn good cop.”
“Addison—”
“Too bad you’re an asshole of a man.”
I turn to storm out of the office, but his hand catches me at the wrist. “Addison!”
“Get your hands off me!”
He tears his fingers from my skin like he’s been burned.
Which is fine by me, because I’m feeling pretty burned right now myself. And all I can hope is that he feels the same shards of pain I do, because that pain is any chance we had of being more than a one-night thing being smashed to pieces before our eyes.
