Reluctant Heat

by Jaden Sinclair

  “That does sound barbaric.”

  “And it is. But enough about that. Eat.”

  They ate, and then she tossed the trash away and Fox stretched out on the sofa, feet resting on a beat up table that looked like it had seen better days. He flipped on the television and found a game.

  “Shouldn’t you been getting back?” she asked.

  “Not yet,” he answered, not looking up at her. “I’m waiting until my parents cool off.”

  She rolled her eyes at him and, even though he catch her doing it, he knew she did. A few minutes later she sat down in a chair with a book in hand. He went back to watching the game, and she read her book. Things felt so normal it should’ve scared Darian, but it didn’t. Right before halftime he caught that scent again and before he could think he was up, a growl slipping from his lips and he had his nose pressed up against the window.

  “Fox?” Lindsey asked with caution in her voice.

  He didn’t want to think about if she might be scared or not. His full attention focused on the outside. The animal in him wanted to go out and find this bastard, but he wasn’t about to leave her alone. His gut told him that if he left her alone right now then the bastard might come in and harm her.

  As fast as the scent came, it disappeared, but the animal inside Darian refused to go away. It stayed put. It wanted attention.

  “My god, your eyes!” she gasped.

  He looked in the window, saw his own reflection, saw the red eyes. Yep, the animal was out now, and the bastard wouldn’t go back to sleep just yet. Not when she was so close.

  Fox pushed away from the window, turned and in a rush had Lindsey boxed in between him and the wall. Her fear mixed with the scent, bathing him in a lust that for the moment he couldn’t control. Her hands came up to his shoulders, pushed and he lost it. Fisting a hand into her hair, holding her as he wanted with head tilted to the side, Fox kissed her deep.

  The taste of her stole all sense and reason right out of him. Fox couldn’t think; couldn’t reason with himself why this was wrong, or why he should stop. All he could do was feel, and what he felt at the moment felt damn good.

  Still holding her hair tightly, he moved his other hand to her hip, then upward under her shirt. The first real feel of skin and he growled in back of his throat. Lindsey jumped and pushed at his shoulder. Higher he moved that hand and right before he reached the underside of a breast she broke the kiss. That helped to bring him back to what he was doing.

  “Why are you doing this?” she asked in a pleading voice.

  Fox removed his hand and let her hair go. He then leaned forward with elbows on the wall, his head resting on her shoulder. Each deep breath he took in order to get control over his body was filled with her scent.

  “I’m sorry,” he panted. “I lost control.”

  “I think you need to leave.”

  He agreed with her. When he started to pull away she helped by pushing him hard. Fox took two steps back and watched her tear filled eyes looking at him.

  “I think you need to go and get laid so you’ll stop attacking me,” she said. How she managed to hold those tears back he didn’t know. “You know the way out.”

  He stood there, saying nothing. She turned and went down the hall to her room. Flinching at the sound of the door slamming, Fox ran a shaky hand through his hair before turning away and leaving the house. He walked to the truck, stopped and once more picked up that damned scent. Stronger this time, and it also finally started to come to him that he knew the scent, but couldn’t place it.

  Nose up in the air he followed it and found himself behind the house, not too far from Lindsey’s bedroom window. She had the blinds down, but there was a small spot where if someone really wanted to watch her they could. Again, the brain shut down, feet took over, and he stood at that spot watching her in her room. Now I’m turning into a fucking window peeper!

  Lindsey stood in front of her mirror that hung from the inside of a closet door in nothing more than panties and a bra. She was looking at herself, her hands moving from her shoulders down over her breasts to her belly. She rubbed the roundness, turned sideways, and seemed to be inspecting her body.

  It began to drive him crazy!

  Fox didn’t think something as simple as watching her touch herself, or look at herself could turn him on any more than that kiss. He tried telling himself that she was like a sister to him; that he needed to stop this shit before they both ended up in trouble. However, the inner voice, his animal side reminded him differently. Lindsey wasn’t his sister but a woman. A woman who should be his.

  Her long hair brushed over her shoulder, and Fox held his breath when she reached back for the clasp of her bra. One twist and it was free, slipping down her arms to the floor. A twist of her body and her hair was flowing once more down her back, and her breasts showed clearly in the mirror.

  Fox fisted his hands and fought to hold the growl that threatened to erupt from deep down inside his throat.

  Perfect, round, full breasts with sweet, tempting, pink nipples she’d revealed, which he knew would harden from the brush of a hand. His mouth watered, and cock thickened to a hard pounding agony in his jeans. This wasn’t good for a male already on the edge, his hand too close to cupping one of the perfect mounds.

  When her hands closed around her breasts, Fox had to push himself away from the window, close a hand over his mouth, and sit on the ground to get himself under control. Because if he didn’t then he was going to bust through the window and do something crazy, like have sex with her or something.

  The light went out, and he quickly pushed himself away from the wall. By the time he got back to the truck he was breathing hard and fast. Sweat covered his forehead, and his damn cock felt like it was going to explode with just a simple touch to the tip.

  He got in, started the engine, and drove away as fast as he could. Distance was what he needed right now. As much distance as he could put between them.

  Instead of going home, which he had been doing, he headed for his boat home. He couldn’t face his family, not in the condition he was in right now. Thankfully, Lindsey’s home wasn’t that far from the marina. He parked, locked up, and went to his soon to be new home.

  At the moment, the only thing ready in the houseboat was the master bedroom and bath. The kitchen and large living room were still under construction, which was fine. At the moment he only needed the bedroom and bathroom. Inside it, he stripped as fast as he could, walked into the bathroom, and took a blistering, cold shower. Her words beat over him just as the cold water did.

  “I think you need to go and get laid so you’ll stop attacking me.”

  Closing his eyes, head back he mumbled to himself, “You’re the one I want, no someone else.”

  Unable to handle the cold any longer he shut the water off, grabbed a towel, and got out of the shower. Drying off, tossing the towel with the other clothes on the floor, Fox dropped down onto the bed and lay on his back. Rubbing his face, moving fingers through his wet hair, he stretched then relaxed his body and hoped like hell that he could get some sleep. After all, he needed his wits around him for he would be seeing her again.

  Only it seemed that sleep wasn’t what his body or mind had in store for him. Instead, he felt himself reaching out for her. Reaching for a connection that he knew would be there, and sure enough it was. He could see her in her bed, curled up on her side, blankets up to her chin, sleeping. So he reached into her mind and pulled her into his dream, and things heated up real fast.

  He was behind her, watching her touch herself in the mirror. Fox was so close he could feel her body heat, smell the sweet scent that was all hers. He reached up, touched her hair, eyes locks with hers. Brown eyes opened wide, her lips parted in shock and her arms slowly came up to cover her bare breasts.

  Fox reached around her, stopping the motions. “No,” he whispered in her ear, hair moving slowly over her bare shoulder when he spoke. “I want to see.”

  He mov
ed some of her hair from her shoulder and lowered his face, resting his chin in the crook of her neck. Not once did Fox stop staring at her.

  Her arms were back down to her sides, and he moved his own around her waist to flatten his hands on her stomach.

  “I could stand here and just stare at you for hours,” he said softly. “You’re so soft and smell so good.” He moved his hands up at a leisurely manner towards her breasts. The movement had her breathing quickening. “And I bet these will fit perfectly in my hand, just as if they were made for me only.”

  “You can’t be in my dream,” she whispered.

  “This is our dream,” he whispered back.

  Fox closed his hands over her breasts and closed his eyes at the sweet, tormented pleasure. Fuck if she didn’t feel good in his hands.

  “I want you in the middle of the bed, your long hair fanning out around you, waiting only for me,” he said in her ear right before nipping her shoulder. He let go of her breasts, turned her around quickly, and had her pressed up against the mirror with his body holding her in place. “Nothing but white lace panties on.”

  She opened her mouth to speak, but Fox didn’t let her say a thing. He swooped down on her, lips pressing against hers, tongue sliding into her mouth, tasting her. It was a slow kiss that deepened with each suck, his lips caressing hers.

  “God you’re hot,” he murmured against her lips before kissing her again, deep.

  Lindsey shook her head and broke the kiss. “No,” she whimpered.

  “Undress me and you’ll see just how hot you are to me.” Another kiss and he had her hand between his legs, cupping him. Fox moaned, “I’m hard as steal, just for you.”

  “You’re crazy,” she panted.

  “Maybe so...” Another kiss. “But I’m claiming you right now as mine!”

  * * * *

  Lindsey sat up in bed, sweat covered her face and chest. She’d kicked off her blankets, now on the floor. In her dark room, she struggled to catch her breath. Her breasts felt heavy, her clit throbbed, and for some strange reason it felt as if that dream wasn’t a dream at all but real.

  Looking around, making sure she was still alone, she slowly got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. Flipping the light on she looked at herself in the mirror and got a slight shock. Very light on her shoulder, where in the dream Fox has been standing with his chin resting there, was a pale pink mark—the kind of mark that would be there if someone had been sucking on her.

  Hands shaking, she reached up and touched the spot, and was stunned that it felt tender, as if he’d bit her and not just sucked on it.

  “What the hell is going on here?” she asked herself.

  Chapter Five

  “Lindsey!”

  Lindsey slowly roused from her sleep, thinking that she’d heard her name being called. Eyes fluttered opened. She didn’t move but listened. Hard. Hearing nothing she closed her eyes and snuggled back into the covers.

  It took forever for her to get back to sleep. Something about the dream bothered her. The way she seemed to respond to Fox in it didn’t sit well with her. They were friends; he was like the brother she didn’t have, and yet she had to admit to herself that she liked it when he kissed her. She felt herself drifting off again, only to be scared wide awake.

  “Lindsey!” Darian rushed into her room, the door flying backward into the wall.

  Lindsey sat up in bed, shocked. “What the hell!”

  “Jesus, you’re all right,” Darian sighed.

  “Alright?” Lindsey frowned.

  “I tried to call you but your phone is disconnected.”

  “Dad didn’t pay it and I don’t have any money.” Lindsey rubbed sleep from her eyes then pushed the blankets off her legs.

  “What’s this?” Darian held up a sleazy looking outfit that had a nice cut right down the middle with a tag pinned to it.

  Lindsey got out of bed, took the outfit, and read the note. Sluts wear this. Mess around with Laswell again, and you’ll be wearing this, sucking my cock.

  “Where did you get this?” Lindsey asked, her hands starting to shake.

  “On your front porch. Lindsey, what’s going on?”

  Shaking her head, Lindsey walked out of her room, down the hall and to the kitchen where she tossed the thing in the trash.

  “It hasn’t stopped, has it?” Darian asked.

  Lindsey couldn’t face her. Instead, she hugged herself, kept her back to her best friend and mouth shut.

  Darian sighed. “Does Fox know?”

  “No one needs to know.”

  “Lindsey—”

  “I need to get dressed.” Lindsey turned and went back to her room, closing the door before Darian could enter. She dressed in a pair of cutoff jeans and a shirt. Slipping into some sandals she came out and was a bit surprised that Darian was still there. “Why don’t you go home? Think you’re needed there more than here.”

  “As much as you might want to push me away right now, I’m not leaving my best friend.” Darian smiled. “And I’ll drive you where you need to go. We do need to talk about this.” Feeling a bit beaten down, Lindsey nodded in agreement. Outside, she got into the family truck and Darian pulled away. “Where to?”

  “I need to get the books from the club,” Lindsey answered. “If I wait too long on it then Jewels will have it back in a mess. Besides this week is payday so I need to get that ready also.”

  “You really are her book keeper then.”

  Lindsey shrugged. “Someone has to be. That girl is a mess.” They giggled about it as if they were young girls once more without a care in the world. After some silence passed between them, Lindsey broke the silence. “My father is in jail.” Darian gasped. “Please don’t tell the others.”

  “What’d he do this time?”

  Lindsey looked out the passenger window. “He tried to smuggle drugs over the border. Told me it was to pay off a debt he owed. Don’t think he’s going to get out so easy this time.”

  “Man, he’s in real big trouble.”

  “And he’s left me in one big ass mess.” She turned then to look at Darian. “The house has been mortgaged and I didn’t know about it. It forecloses end of the month.”

  Darian’s mouth dropped. “What’re you going to do?”

  “Don’t know. Sure I’ll figure something out.”

  “Let me talk to Dominic.”

  “No!” Lindsey rushed out. “I don’t need pity, Darian. I need a job. Besides,” she turned once more to stare out the window, “I hate that house anyway.” Darian pulled up and Lindsey had the door open before she parked. “Wait here. Won’t take me long.”

  Darian nodded, and Lindsey headed toward the door.

  “You were supposed to order that shit last week, so now you can take your ass and go get the shit right now!” Jewels yelled at her bartender. Once she saw Lindsey she smiled. “Oh thank fucking god!”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Ordering is wrong. I thought the guys could handle that, but it seems not.” She gave the man a glare. “You’re still standing here. If you want to keep the job then go get my booze!”

  He jumped and quickly left. Lindsey couldn’t help but smile.

  “Okay, you get a small raise and I’m sorry to say, a bit more work,” Jewels wrinkled her nose. “But I so need you right now.”

  “I’m happy to be needed.” Lindsey smiled again. “Besides, I need the money, so whatever you need, I’m your girl.”

  “No, you’re a blessing. Now you already help with payroll and keeping things in order, so since I have dipshits working for me, looks like ordering supplies might be the next step.”

  “How far behind are you?”

  “It shouldn’t be that far, if the guys have been doing at least some of the books. What I need you to do for me right now is just put to order what they’ve got. If they’re short it will come out of their checks, not mine.”

  “And then you want me to keep the records.”

&nb
sp; “See, told you you were smart as hell.”

  “Well I need the work, so bring it on. But it might take me a couple days, if that’s all right?”

  “Honey you have a week.” Lindsey frowned and Jewels rolled her eyes. “I’m painting the place, so we’re going to be closed for the week. Let me go get the books for you.”

  Jewels disappeared in the back to her office, Lindsey assumed. Lindsey strolled up to the dancing pole. There were a few times when she saw Jewels work out on the thing, saw her dance with the other girls, and Lindsey always wished she could do that—to entice a man just by moving her body.

  Swinging herself around, she stopped dead at seeing a shadow of a man watching her. Her heart began to pound hard in her chest and she glanced a couple times in the direction that Jewels went.

  The man clapped.

  “Don’t stop on my account.” Ben Fallen strolled out of the shadow, a sinister smile tugging the corner of his lips, cruel eyes locked on her. “I’m enjoying the show.”

  She backed away, only to have the pole stop her. Out of nowhere Ben snatched her arm in a brutal grip, pulling her close.

  “Let go,” Lindsey said, wincing at his hard hold on her.

  That cruel smile never left his lips. “We’re just starting to have some fun, pet.”

  “I’d rather have fun in the middle of a busy street.”

  The grip tightened and she wondered for a moment if he might break a bone. “Don’t be rude, Lindsey. Someone in your position should keep an open mind with someone like me.”

  “Oh I have an open mind—” Where the hell am I getting this courage from? “You’re just not in it.”

  Another hard jerk and she fell to the floor upon her knees. “That’s how I like them,” he growled low.

  “Hey!” Jewels voice right then was Lindsey’s heaven. “We got a problem here, Ben?”

  Ben let her arm go, but Lindsey was unable to stand back up. It throbbed, the pain of his grip still keeping her down on her knees.