He continued to soothe her skin, his damn palm making her want even more. She gritted her teeth to keep from speaking, unsure if she would beg him to stop, or to fuck her before she lost her mind.
Gage lifted his hand finally and tapped her thighs where they met. “Spread your legs, baby. You’re stiff.”
Kayla’s breath hitched. She was helpless to deny him. All she had to do was relax her muscles, and her legs fell open on their own, just enough to make her more aware of her pussy when the air in the room hit her wet panties. She whimpered.
“Good girl. May I continue?”
“Yes.”
He lifted his palm again and swatted her ass, lower this time, four strikes that landed at the base of her cheeks and then the juncture with her thighs.
She moaned. OhGodohGod. She was so aroused, she feared she might come. That floaty sensation she hoped to acquire from the spanking, the one guaranteed to accompany a rush of endorphins, was totally not what she was experiencing. Not even close.
Nope. Kayla was so fucking aroused, she couldn’t concentrate on anything but the need growing in her pussy. And she had no intention of letting Gage know he affected her that way. She pushed on his shin, trying to lift off him. She needed to separate from him. Not fuck him. Shit.
He pressed her against his lap, however, his hand moving from her lower back to her shoulder blades. Mistaking her need for escape, he muttered, “Stay still, baby.” And in an effort to keep her from wiggling off his lap, he grabbed her thigh, the one closest to him, right at the juncture to her ass and held her firmly. His fingers landed between her legs, too far for him not to notice her wetness.
Gage froze.
Kayla stopped moving, and breathing.
“Baby…”
She listened to his breaths in the still of the silent room, shallow pants that came too rapidly.
“Kayla, do you need more than a spanking?” He slowly eased his fingers lower until he cupped her pussy.
She moaned, an unintentional noise that whooshed out of her mouth without her permission., but Lord, his hand felt so good pressed against her pussy like that. She didn’t answer him. But she doubted he missed her cues. They weren’t subtle.
Gage nudged her legs farther apart with his pinky and thumb. “You’re soaked, baby.”
She bit her lip, letting her head hang lower as though in defeat, or in reaction to having been caught keeping this secret from him.
What she didn’t do was leap off his lap and run. She didn’t push him away or squeeze her legs together. She didn’t keep him from flattening his hand over her pussy and stroking his middle finger across her clit through the thin barrier of her thong.
He kept that up, drawing lazy circles around and across her tight nub forever. Her wetness increased. She needed to come so badly, she didn’t even care that this hadn’t been in the plan. Fuck the plan. She squeezed her eyes together and let herself enjoy the feel of Gage’s fingers working their magic across her clit, his other hand splayed on her back, holding her so firmly she couldn’t move.
And then his hand disappeared from between her legs, and a sharp sting radiated up her body when he swatted her firmly at the juncture of her cheeks.
Kayla let out a sharp scream. Holy shit. Holy shit. She’d never felt anything like this before. Amazing. The combination of his firm hand landing on her ass mixed with the need soaking her pussy…
He spanked her a few more times, harder than before, and then when she thought she would implode, he reached back between her legs, yanked her thong to the side, and thrust two fingers into her pussy.
She didn’t implode. She fucking exploded. Her body grabbed his fingers and milked them, the most intense orgasm of her life sending a massive shiver up her spine. All she knew was the way her pussy continued to pulse around Gage’s hand, the way her clit throbbed in a rhythm she’d never truly known.
And he didn’t stop. He kept thrusting into her, deeper, faster, harder. He added a third finger as she came down from her high, forcing the ecstasy to stay intact, driving her need back to full speed with each thrust of his hand.
Kayla panted as her arousal built back up on the heels of that fantastic orgasm. Instead of pulling away, she attempted to buck up into each thrust of his hand, wanting more, though there wasn’t more to give.
When Gage’s fingers disappeared from her sopping wet sheath, she moaned, but it was short lived. He immediately set all three wet fingers on her clit and pressed. After only a heartbeat, he rubbed her clit firmly. His hand between her shoulder blades stroked down to the small of her back again, the pressure of his palm holding her steady to take what he offered between her legs.
She hadn’t realized she’d squirmed nearly off his lap. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the fingers. The intensity mounted with the pressure. Nothing existed except Gage and his fingers and his hands and the way he played her. And she didn’t care.
On a long groan, she reached a second climax, her body stiffening as she came for the second time against Gage’s hand. He kept rubbing her clit as she pulsed against him, not easing or slowing until the throbbing inside her subsided. When she finally came down from her second high, her body went limp, threatening to ooze off Gage’s lap and slip to the floor like jelly. Her arms and legs shook uncontrollably.
Gage lifted her in his arms and spun her around until he had her nestled in his lap. He leaned back into the couch, cradling her against his chest.
Her damn teeth chattered as though she was cold. Or in shock.
Gage grabbed the throw from the back of her couch and wrapped it around her, his huge arms tucking her solidly against him. He kissed her temple and then left his mouth against her face.
For a long time, Kayla fought to catch her breath and regain the ability to think. And then the reality of what she’d just done, allowed Gage to do, sank in. “Oh God.” She pushed against him, trying to dislodge herself from his solidness.
He held tighter. “Don’t. Don’t do it. Don’t make this ugly, Kayla. It was beautiful and humbling and sexy and so many other things. Don’t ruin it. Stay right here and let me hold you through the crash.” He kissed her temple again.
She whimpered softly, unable to fight him.
“That’s it. Let it go. It was just what you needed. Might not have been what you expected, but clearly it was what you needed.”
She breathed. That was all she could do as she followed his instructions, letting herself relax into his chest. His heart beat against hers, almost in sync. She closed her eyes and let her mind relax with her body. After a while, she must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew, Gage was lifting her. He carried her, as though she weighed nothing, up the stairs and into her bedroom. He pushed back her comforter and settled her under the sheet, tucking the warm blankets around her.
And then he surprised her by climbing over her and tugging her back against his chest, his arm across her middle, one leg wrapped across both of hers. He held her so tight, she didn’t have the energy to question him. A tear leaked from her eye and ran down to her pillow. She prayed he didn’t notice.
Chapter Five
When Kayla’s blaring alarm went off the next morning, she reached over and slapped the snooze button like she did every morning of her life. After she pulled her arm back under the covers, she burrowed deeper and grabbed for that extra nine minutes of sleep.
And then last night wormed its way into her brain. Kayla bolted upright, letting the warm covers fall away. She whipped her head around the room. She was alone. She listened closely. Nothing. She glanced down. She still wore her bra and panties. Her heart pounded inside her chest now that she was fully awake. Gage. Had he left?
Shit. She tossed the covers aside and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Her body ached, deliciously, every muscle tender from the scene. She winced as she slid off the bed, her ass reminding her of the swats it had endured at her pleading.
Kayla padded to the bedroom door and leaned i
nto the hall. “Gage?”
No answer. She let her shoulders go slack. He’d left. She had no idea if that made her happy or sad. Facing him would be excruciating at the moment, but not facing him was equally maddening.
What the hell had happened?
She turned, shut off her alarm, and headed for the bathroom. As she flipped on the shower and waited for it to heat, she bit her lower lip. She watched herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess, sticking out all over the place. Just fucked.
Except she wasn’t fucked.
So there was that. The nicest man she’d ever been with had given her exactly what she wanted, needed, asked for, and then not fucked her. Was that a good thing? Or was he not even interested in her that way?
She was the one who made it clear she needed a spanking. And she was then the one who had gotten aroused and moaned against Gage’s lap. She had not asked him to fuck her, and he had not taken advantage.
And now she was the one who had to pull herself together and get to work where she would have to face the object of all these unanswered questions.
And again—fuck.
She moved quickly through her morning routine, showering, drying her hair, and eating some cereal she barely tasted.
She tried not to think, but by the time she got to work, she was a ball of nerves. She slipped behind her desk without making eye contact with anyone—and then she smiled. Right in the center of her desk sat her favorite coffee. And under the coffee was a folded piece of paper. Her fingers shook as she tugged the page out from under the cup and opened it.
Lunch.
Same thing he’d said yesterday. She glanced around. No one was paying attention. She couldn’t avoid him forever. The man had fixed her car and then provided her with the best night’s sleep of her life. She could surely do lunch.
After another busy morning, she had her back to the front of the office and was bent over a filing cabinet when she heard panting right before a huge wet tongue landed on her ear. She giggled as she reached out to scruff Thor under his chin. “Hey, big guy. You slipped out on me last night. Do you treat all the women that way?” The words popped out before she could convince herself to stop them. Obviously Thor’s owner would be right behind him, in earshot.
She righted herself and turned around to find Gage grinning, his head cocked to one side. “You talking to my dog or me?”
She felt the pink flush that rose up her cheeks, burning her face. And she ignored him to grab her purse. “Where’re we going?” she asked to cover up her blunder.
“Deli three doors down. They don’t mind Thor.”
“Isn’t Thor allowed to go anywhere you want? He’s a working dog, after all.”
“Yeah, well sort of retired though, and I find it easier to avoid the stares.” He shrugged and led the way out the front door, holding Thor’s unnecessary leash in one hand. It wasn’t as though the dog would ever wander away from Gage. The German shepherd worshipped the ground Gage walked on. He idolized him, if that were possible for a dog.
Kayla wondered what the two of them had been through together. She hadn’t spoken to Gage about his time in the service, and she couldn’t really ask him since she wasn’t remotely prepared to talk about her past. Ever.
A bell rang above the door as they entered the deli she’d eaten lunch in so many times in her life she couldn’t count them. Even as a small child, her dad had brought her there for lunch. The owners treated her like their own. And thank God she had so many kind people in her court. It made returning to Vegas after Simon so much easier. The police chief had taken her back and given her a job without batting an eye. Eva and Ward, the older couple who owned the deli, greeted her with open arms, never asking a word about where she’d been. As if four years hadn’t passed since the last time she’d been in.
At first it had unnerved her the way everyone treated her with kid gloves, as if they knew something about her past, but then she decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and took their kindness graciously. Lord knew she needed the friendships.
And Marci had been a godsend. Kayla’d met her on the first day back at the office. Marci was Chief Edwards’ secretary, and immediately Kayla trusted the woman. The two of them were close in age. Marci was married and had a two-year-old son, but she included Kayla in many of her family’s activities.
In two years, Kayla had not reconnected with any of her high school friends. She had no interest in getting together with anyone from her previous life. She couldn’t begin to explain what she’d been doing since high school and frankly never wanted to share that side of herself with anyone. Including the man currently pulling out a chair for her to take a seat.
“I’ll order. You keep Thor. It’s crowded in here.” He nodded at the menu on the chalkboard above the counter. “Know what you want?”
“A BLT would be great. And iced tea.” She reached for her purse to give him some money, but he disappeared through the crowd before she could stop him. Trying to relax, Kayla threaded her fingers into Thor’s hair and scratched the top of his head. The dog sat perfectly next to her, but when she stroked his fur, he set his head on her lap. If only people were that reliable.
Gage returned in minutes and settled food all over the table. He smiled as he nodded at the way she held on to his dog. “You’re going to spoil him. He won’t want to come home with me.”
She jerked her hand free of his fur, and Thor immediately popped his head up.
Gage sat in the chair across from her at the small round table. “Kayla, I was kidding.” He reached across the table and grabbed her hand to squeeze it.
“Of course.” She forced a smile. If she’d stopped to think about his words, she would have realized that. But habit made her forget a man could joke around.
Thor lay on the floor between them with a sigh, his head on his front paws.
“How was your morning?” Gage asked before he lifted his sandwich and took an enormous bite.
“Good. Yours?”
“Good.” He set his food down and wiped his mouth. “How long do you suppose we’re going to dance around each other?”
She shrugged, picking at the top piece of bread she hadn’t touched yet. She’d never been so uncomfortable.
Gage reached over and lifted her chin with one finger. His eyebrows rose. “No pressure, okay? You needed the release. I provided it. It can mean whatever you need it to mean.”
Right. In her experience there was no such thing. And her pussy tingled from his touch as though he were still pressing his fingers into her. She nodded but shifted her gaze to the table.
Gage sighed. “Kayla. Look at me.” He removed his fingers and lowered both hands to his lap as she jerked her face to meet his. “I’m not going to deny I’m attracted to you. You’ve probably known it for months. And it’s been a damn long time since I’ve met anyone I was physically attracted to who also happened to enjoy a bit of kink. But I’m not an ass. And I want to help you. Your terms.
“Do you enjoy my company?”
She widened her gaze. How could she not enjoy his company? “Of course.”
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
“Then how about we spend some time together? Get to know each other? What do you have to lose?”
What do I have to lose? Everything.
She swallowed through the lump in her throat. “I’m a disaster. And I’m not looking for a relationship.”
“Noted.”
What was happening here? “I’m not even looking for a date.”
“Also, noted.” The man picked up his sandwich and took another huge bite as though they were discussing a wallpaper choice. “Eat, Kayla.” He pointed at her food.
She wasn’t sure how she could swallow a single bite with him watching her. His frame filled the entire room. The table looked ridiculous in front of him. He wore the usual black polo shirt over a black tee that pulled tight around his muscles. And as she watched him chew, she wanted to rub her face a
gainst the close beard that covered his chin. Here she sat, having lunch with the sexiest man in Vegas, and she was too busy telling him she didn’t want to date.
She squirmed in her seat, her legs bouncing under the table as she attempted to squeeze them together. And she watched as Gage polished off his sandwich and sat back in his chair, sucking down a soda.
“Baby, you haven’t touched your sandwich.” He nodded at her food again. “How about you eat and I tell you about myself.”
She scrunched up her nose. “In exchange for what?”
He chuckled. “Not everything I give you has to have expectations of reciprocation, baby.” He leaned his elbows on the table. “Have you not realized that about me?”
She should have. The man gave her two glorious orgasms last night and asked for nothing in return. Yet.
In her experience that was unheard of.
He narrowed his gaze again, so she picked up her sandwich and took a bite. It was delicious. Maybe she could eat after all. “Okay, tell me all about yourself.” She straightened her spine and took another bite, her gaze locked on his dark face. His full lips made her wonder what it would be like to have them on hers, or any other place on her body for that matter. She shook the thought away as he began.
“I was born and raised here in Vegas.”
“Me too.”
He smiled. “Look at us sharing,” he teased. “I was raised on the poor side of town, though.” He grinned bigger. “My parents worked hard, but they didn’t have the money to pay for college. So I enlisted in the army when I graduated from high school.”
“God, you were so young. That must have been tough.”
“Yes. And no. In a way I loved it. It opened a whole new world for me.” He glanced down at Thor and continued, “I was interested in law enforcement at the time, so I joined the military police. I had also always been good with dogs. I had trained my own two pups growing up, loving the challenge of getting them to do the strangest things. Impressed my friends every time they came over.
“Anyway, when the army found out how I was with dogs, they assigned me to the K-9 unit, and I became the luckiest bastard in the military. I got Thor when he was six months old. He was by my side through two tours in Iraq. When I left the army, I got even luckier and was able to adopt Thor. He’s been with me almost non-stop his entire life.”
Hers Page 5
