He shut down the engine and car lights, plunging them into pitch black darkness and absolute silence. He glanced out at the multimillion dollar view in front of them, then up at the clear night sky bright with twinkling stars, feeling content in a way that had eluded him all his adult life.
A soft, wistful sigh escaped her, as if she felt the same sublime connection. “It is so incredible up here,” she whispered. “Like being in a whole different world.”
“Yeah,” he agreed wholeheartedly, then addressed a question that he couldn’t shake loose. “So, how many guys have you brought up here?” He’d meant to ask the question in a light, playful manner, but the jealousy in his voice betrayed him.
She glanced his way, a vixen smile tipping one corner of her mouth. “You’re making unwarranted assumptions, Gabe,” she chastised gently, amusement evident in her throaty voice. “I didn’t say anything about coming up here with men.”
No, she hadn’t, but she’d implied as much, probably to provoke that green-eyed monster that lurked inside him. Her ploy had worked. “You come up here by yourself, then?”
“Yeah.” She rested her head against the back of her seat and stared up at the velvet night sky, her expression relaxed and beautiful. “It’s a great thinking spot. It’s quiet and secluded, and the view is gorgeous.”
Reaching out, he threaded a silky strand of her hair between his fingers. “Would you believe that before bringing you up to this spot I used to come here all the time, too?”
“With girls?” she asked.
He laughed and feathered his fingers along her neck. “Now there you go making assumptions.”
“You had a slew of young, eager teenage girls panting after you in high school and wanting to make it with the star quarterback of Santana High School,” she said wryly. “I figured this dark secluded place would be the perfect make-out spot for you.”
“Never happened.” Not in high school anyway. She’d been the one and only woman he’d ever shared this private spot with, but the timing had been all wrong and he’d screwed up his chance to finally take a risk on something more with her.
He’d wanted Chloe since he’d first laid eyes on her when her brother Derek had brought him home after school one day to work on a science project together. She’d been fifteen, pretty, and sweeter than anything that had been a part of his life up to that point. And he wasn’t near good enough for her, or so he’d believed.
She’d accepted him as a friend, and even though there had been a wealth of awareness between them from the very beginning, he hadn’t wanted to mess with his best friend’s sister. Besides, his sole focus at that age had been working a part-time job after school to help his mother pay bills and studying to gain the GPA to nab the football scholarship that would admit him into a reputable college, and from there be drafted into the NFL. He’d attained his goals and achieved his dreams, and lost every single one of them in a shattering life-altering moment.
She tipped her head and regarded him speculatively. “You mean to tell me all those rumors I overheard in the girls’ locker room about what a stud you were in bed were all false?”
“That’s why they’re called rumors, sweetheart,” he said, then revealed, “I only went all the way with one girl in high school.”
Her jaw dropped in obvious shock. “Only one? Get outta here!”
He nodded. “I swear it’s true. And it was with Melissa Bender, the captain of the cheerleading squad. I lost my virginity to her my senior year, prom night.”
“Were you a late bloomer?”
He grinned at her skepticism. “No, just…selective. Still am,” he said meaningfully. “That night after the dance, one thing led to another, and the next thing I knew we were in the backseat of my mother’s Ford Escort screwing like rabbits.” And the whole time he’d been pumping furiously into Melissa’s body he’d been thinking of Chloe. With his eyes squeezed closed, he’d fantasized that she was beneath him, wanting him, and it was that erotic vision that had finally sent him over the edge. “I can’t say it was the greatest introduction to sex.”
“The first time isn’t always romance and fireworks,” she said softly, giving him the impression she was referring to her first sexual encounter, too.
“I think the first time with the right person can be all that and more,” he countered, looking deeply into her eyes.
She transferred her gaze to the glittering cityscape below. “Maybe.” The one word was tinged with disbelief.
He held back the urge to argue her way of thinking. When it came to him and Chloe there was no “maybe” about it. He had proof that the two of them were capable of generating enough electricity and heat to power the entire city of San Diego. And before the next four nights were over, she’d experience romance and fireworks, too.
He returned to the original thread of their conversation. “Anyway, that night with Melissa was a huge mistake. She wanted a commitment, which I’d never promised, and she literally stalked me from class to class. She scared the shit out of me. My biggest fear was that she’d end up pregnant even though we used a condom, and everything I’d worked so hard for would get sucked down the toilet. That thought alone kept me celibate for a long time after that.”
She laughed, the sound low and husky. “Poor baby.”
“Don’t feel sorry for me, Chloe,” he murmured, touching the shell of her ear and eliciting a shiver from her. “For me, it’s quality that counts, not quantity.”
She flashed him a wicked smile. “I like the sound of that, especially since you’re mine for the next four nights. And the last thing you need to worry about is me getting pregnant. I’m on the pill.” She twisted in her seat so that she faced him straight-on, her eyes seeking his in the shadowed darkness. “Do you remember the night we came up here together?”
That evening was indelibly etched in his mind, their first slow kiss, which had escalated into heavy foreplay, the need and longing that had welled up in him as the fire between them had burned out of control…then came echoes of the self-recriminations he’d tried to escape for tearing a ligament in his knee and ending his football career, which had instigated a brusque ending to not only their foreplay, but to the trust Chloe had given him.
“I remember everything about that night,” he told her.
She blinked slowly, lazily. “What do you remember most?”
“How much I wanted you.” Honesty infused his rich voice.
A small frown formed between her brows as she stared at him for a long moment. He could have sworn he saw a flash of hurt pass over her features, and then it was gone, replaced by a sassy tilt of her chin. “You certainly had a funny way of showing it.”
How could he explain that everything had happened between them so quickly, the connection and the intimacy. She’d felt so damn right at a time in his life where everything had gone so horribly wrong. He’d ached to make love to her that night, but had convinced himself he was doing the honorable thing by walking away. Now he had to wonder if he’d been a coward, afraid to take a risk when he’d never, ever done so in his entire life.
He was taking a risk now, but was he too late?
The question haunted him, and he refused to dwell on it. Instead, he sought to reassure the woman in front of him just how desirable he found her. “Don’t ever doubt that I wanted you, Chloe.” Then or now, he thought. “Hell, I was so goddamn hard when I got home that night—”
“You took a cold shower?” she finished humorously for him.
“No.” He shook his head. “A cold shower is highly overrated and doesn’t do much when you want someone as much as I craved you that night.” Sitting back in his seat, he relaxed against the headrest and closed his eyes, determined to draw her into his fantasy and seduce her senses. “What I did do was strip off all my clothes, turned off the lights, and laid down on my cool sheets completely naked. I knew I’d never be able to sleep, not until I gave my body the release it was screaming for. So, I took my straining erection in my fi
st and pictured your hand stroking me, your mouth making me slick and wet.” His eyes opened halfway, just enough to gauge her reaction, and was pleased with what he found. Her breathing was ragged and aroused, the upper swells of her breasts taut and nearly bursting from the bodice of her dress.
He went on. “Then I fantasized about you straddling my waist, moving on me, and the tighter I squeezed, the more I imagined being deep inside your body, feeling your inner muscles clutching me. And just like that I came in a hot, scalding rush that made my toes curl from the pleasure of it.”
She touched her tongue to her upper lip, then the bottom, making her lush mouth glisten with silvery moonlight. “At least one of us had an orgasm that night.”
He lifted a brow. “You didn’t?”
She shook her head, and a sultry smile appeared. “I went to bed frustrated, my entire body throbbing.” Her fingers touched her throat and leisurely drifted downward to her heaving breasts, tracing the edge of her bodice. “Up to that point I had no idea how to take the edge off of my desire.”
He watched her caress herself, throughly caught up in her brand of seduction. “And now you do?”
She nodded and tugged on the ribbon securing the front of her dress. The little bow unraveled and the laces loosened, just as he’d envisioned earlier, giving him a glimpse of more pale smooth flesh. “Yeah, in this day and age, I discovered a girl has to depend on herself for certain things. Including her own orgasms.”
“Ahh, Chloe, I’m so sorry,” he murmured, knowing his apology covered more than just the release she’d been denied. “I never meant to hurt you…”
She pressed her fingers over his lips, cutting him off, seemingly not wanting to hear any excuses. Crowding closer to his side of the car, she pressed a damp kiss to his jaw, then whispered hotly in his ear, “Here and now, I want what you withheld that night six years ago.” An orgasm. “Move your seat back and make room for me.”
Her tongue dipped into his ear, and his breath whooshed out of his lungs. Oh, man, he was in big trouble…the kind he welcomed with open arms. Pushing his leather seat as far as it would slide back, he helped Chloe crawl over the center console and gearshift, then settled his hands on her waist as she moved over him and sat in his lap, her thighs straddling his hips. The position was tight and cramped, and devastatingly intimate.
“Hmm, I don’t think I’m close enough,” she said huskily.
Gabe just couldn’t think, period. At least not with his brain. His penis was reading her signals just fine.
With a wanton gleam in her eyes, and a boldness he was beginning to enjoy and admire, she inched closer, if that was even possible. The wispy material of her dress bunched high on her thighs, until the unmistakable heat and softness of her femininity pressed against the hard, unyielding bulge in his trousers.
“Ahh, much better.” She sighed. Her fingers fluttered at the waistband of his pants, and she tugged his shirt loose. “Now, let’s see what we can do about making you a bit more accessible.”
“Why do I need to be more accessible?” he asked, not that he was complaining if she wanted to strip him bare. “I thought this was about your pleasure.”
“It is,” she said impudently, “but I find I get more turned on when I’m visually stimulated, as well as physically aroused. And you have a magnificent body, one that is meant to be admired and appreciated and touched.”
He laughed, and lifted his arms as she pulled off his shirt and tossed the garment into the backseat of the car. “That sounds like it ought to be my line.”
“Tonight, it’s mine.” Her cool hands glided across his broad shoulders and down his chest, leisurely exploring his muscular contours. Her thumbnails scraped across his taut nipples, and he sucked in a quick breath.
She smiled, pleased with his reaction. “I told you last night that my breasts are very responsive, and right now my nipples are tight and hard, aching for your warm mouth and wet tongue.” Grasping the hands that still rested on her waist, she guided them to the loosened ties of her bodice. “Open up the front of my dress, Gabe. I want to feel your mouth on my breasts.”
There was no way he could refuse such a request, not when he wanted that just as much. He pulled on the ties until they unraveled completely, then he spread the front of her dress wide open. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and he groaned at the voluptuous beauty displayed before him. The glow of the moon shimmered on her pale skin, enhancing the fullness of her breasts and the rosy hue of her engorged nipples.
She threaded all ten fingers through his hair and guided his head forward, until her velvety nipples brushed across his mouth. He parted his lips, breathing damp heat across her flesh, then stroked his soft, wet tongue over one luscious crest. He laved her slowly, languorously, before suckling the rest of her deep inside his mouth.
Her body shuddered and a helpless moan rose in her throat. Her knees flexed against his hips, and her fingers tightened in his hair, holding him close…as if he planned on going anywhere, he thought, consumed by a red-hot haze of desire that simmered like a ball of fire in his belly. Needing more of her, he cupped both of her breasts in his large hands, pushed the plump mounds together, and tongued both of her beaded nipples at the same time.
She writhed restlessly on his lap. “Gabe,” she whispered raggedly, her voice vibrating with the same hunger and need flowing through his veins.
Without preamble, he lifted his head and claimed her lips in a hot, lavish, openmouthed kiss rich in passion, and primitive and greedy enough to brand and possess. With a soft moan, she returned the greedy, tongue-tangling kiss with equal fervor. Her hands slid from his hair and caressed his jaw while her lower body began a rhythmic, rocking motion against his erection.
Knowing her lap dance and simulated act of sex would have him coming in his pants, he pulled his lips from hers, steadied her sensual movements with one strong hand on her hip, and met her gaze, which blazed with feverish longing.
He splayed a hand on her bare thigh, making his intentions known. “Let me touch you and make you come,” he murmured, seeking her permission. She was, after all, in charge of this seduction.
She didn’t hesitate, but took what she wanted. “Yes,” she breathed, the one word infused with undeniable excitement and excruciating need.
Holding her gaze, he stroked his long fingers up the insides of her spread thighs, then grazed the scrap of satin covering her feminine mound, finding her panties drenched with moist heat and silky desire, for him. He pressed his thumb along her slit, once, twice, and even through the damp fabric he could feel the soft, swollen folds of her flesh, and the distended nub seeking more pressure, a deeper caress.
Her hips thrust forward, her body trembled, and a moan rumbled up from her throat. “Stop teasing me,” she groaned. “I’ve been waiting six long years for this.”
Her words stunned him. For a brief moment he wondered if she’d meant she’d been waiting for the orgasm he’d denied her, or for him. Either way, it was a heady thought and one that boosted his self-esteem and made him want this release to be the best she’d ever had.
Slipping his thumb beneath the elastic band of her panties, he glided his finger along her slick folds, touching her languidly, caressing steadily, delving deeper….
She arched her back and moved on his hand rhythmically. “Oh, yes,” she breathed, her lips parted and her expression near rapturous.
Overcome with the urge to devour her in any way he could, he flattened his free hand in the middle of her spine, forcing her to bend back even further. The position brought her breasts to his mouth, and he ravished her with wet, hot kisses with his teeth alternately nipping and gently biting her tender skin. He swirled and flicked his tongue across her hardened nipples the same way he ached to flick his tongue along the clit pulsing beneath the press of his thumb.
He felt the tension within her build as her knees dug into his hips, heard the catch of her breath change as her climax rolled over and through her. Clutching his shoulders,
her head fell back and a raw cry echoed in the quiet night air as she tumbled over the edge, her body shaking from the force of her release.
He lifted his head and watched her, his blood roaring in his ears, his heart threatening to explode from his chest, and his mind chanting possessively, she’s mine, she’s mine, she’s mine….
One last delicate shudder and then she opened her eyes and looked at him, a satisfied smile on her lips and the reflection of the stars above shimmering in her gaze. “Now that was worth waiting for.”
“You’re worth waiting for,” he said, the truthful words slipping from him without a second thought. Withdrawing his hand from between their bodies, he traced his wet, slick thumb across her bottom lip. Ignoring her startled expression, he brought her mouth to his and licked off the dewy essence, then kissed her slowly, deeply, thoroughly, sharing the honeyed taste of her with his tongue. She relaxed into him, the feel of her breasts crushing against his chest an exquisite torture.
Reluctantly, he ended the kiss before his self-control snapped and he took her in the front seat of the cramped Camaro. Then again, judging by the mischievous gleam in her eyes, he knew that this evening’s performance was solely for her gratification and he was in for another sleepless, tossing and turning kind of night. Payback for the way he’d let things end between them six years ago…in this same exact spot. He sighed, wondering how long she planned to make him suffer.
She pulled the front of her dress together and tied another bow, covering up her gorgeous breasts. “Ahh, one fantasy down, three more to go,” she said, her breathy voice rife with sensual pleasure. “What do you say we make our rendezvous for the same time tomorrow night at my place?”
He grinned wryly. Did she really think he’d refuse? “Consider it a date.”
Chapter Three
Revenge had never been so sweet.
Still reveling in last night’s pleasure and her ultimate conquest, Chloe smiled to herself as she stepped from the warm, relaxing bubble bath she’d indulged in after work. Drying off with a fluffy towel, she spritzed her skin with a light cinnamon body spray and slipped into the silky, thigh-length chemise she’d bought on her way home today. The soft emerald green material draped along her curves, skimmed her flesh in a provocative caress, and aroused her senses.
I Love Bad Boys Page 12
