by Lia Slater
Of course not. He was playing with her. That had to be it. Why would he want her now? When all he dated were cute, chirpy twenty-somethings?
His hands eased up to grip her hips. His fingers were hot even through the denim. “Tell me, Kara, why I shouldn’t take you into the station and book you?”
“What? Why?” Her voice squeaked. He couldn’t be serious. He knew how she’d always followed the straight and narrow path, never getting into trouble with the law. Never even getting a speeding ticket. Heck, her whole life had been one huge boring yawn, from the day she’d turned in her first homework assignment a week early to the day she’d married the man her parents had loved.
Breaking into Clint’s house had been the only crime she’d ever committed.
When Austin didn’t answer her, she scrambled. “I only did it to retrieve the charm bracelet you gave me for my birthday two years ago. I missed wearing it, and Clint refused to hand it over. He said he threw it away, but I needed to find out for myself.”
Austin’s smile dissolved, and a familiar expression took its place. The one he showed whenever he found out Clint had intentionally or unintentionally done something to hurt her. She’d seen the clenched jaw and narrowed eyes more than she liked to admit.
“That son of bitch. Kara, I’ll buy you a new one, I promise. You don’t need to stoop to his level. You’re better than that.”
“It’s okay. You don’t—”
His lips closed over hers, making her gasp. The shock didn’t last long, though, as his firm warm lips manipulated and molded. A perfect fit. Yep, every single thing about him was perfect.
She kissed him back, unable to control the overwhelming need. His lips were powerful and hungry, but he maintained a tenderness she’d never thought existed in a kiss.
All her feelings for Austin poured out, like the gate to her heart was open wide and bleeding from her chest. It was both scary and thrilling, and she wasn’t sure if she should at least attempt to close it halfway. For her heart’s sake.
His tongue slipped between her lips, urging them to open for him. And she did so without question. Her body had been denied too long. She indulged in his essence. The taste of his velvety tongue was more decadent than the darkest chocolate. He tasted smooth and minty. Fresh breath. He was always so fresh and clean.
She dared to meet his movements with her own, drawing him in farther. She wanted to savor him, make this kiss last forever.
But he had other plans. He drew his mouth down her jaw line, to the sensitive column of her throat. A groan rumbled from somewhere in his chest. “Your shirt,” he murmured and deftly worked the buttons loose.
One. Two. Three. All of them. Within seconds.
He peeled her blouse back and continued kissing and licking her feverish skin. Her heart throbbed an almost painful beat and she panted. Desire battled with her lack of confidence.
Her bra was fairly new, thank God, but what would he think of a thirty-eight year old woman’s breasts when he was used to someone firmer, younger?
Not that she was horribly gross. She liked her breasts, the soft feel of them, the full roundness. But they weren’t what they used to be.
All thoughts evaporated as he kissed his way down the slope of her breast, then licked at her pebbled nipple through the black lace of her bra.
“Oh, wow.” She moved to touch him anywhere, but she’d forgotten she was restrained by the damn handcuffs. “Austin, please.”
“Stop squirming, Kara. I’ve waited too long for this.” His brows drew together as he closed his lips around her nipple and sucked it into his mouth.
Hot moisture seared her nerve endings, sending sparks of pleasure shooting to her core. He sucked her in so tight, pain mixed with pleasure.
“Ah, God.” Her pussy ached for him, and the seam of her jeans pressing against her femininity didn’t help much. She wriggled against the strain, attempting to soothe some of her need.
It was no use.
He moved to the other breast, but this time he pushed her bra down to reveal her naked flesh. Her cheeks burned as he took a moment to admire her. At least she hoped it was admiration.
From the heaviness of his eyes, she guessed it was a lustful gaze. She wished he would say something.
Then finally, the words, “So fucking beautiful,” stung the air and she released a pent up breath.
He molded her flesh in his large rough hands and brushed the pad of his thumb over her sensitive nipple. “I want to see all of you, Kara.”
She tried to speak, to say something, but her words stuck in her throat. Her entire body trembled at the thought of seeing all of him. She had a good feeling she wouldn’t be disappointed. She’d seen him in his swim trunks and the man had muscles upon lean muscle. Corded and gorgeous.
He ran his knuckle down her abdomen, and she held in a deep breath. Her ex-husband hadn’t liked her stomach. He’d complained she was too thick in the middle and didn’t look good in bikinis. He never touched her there.
So when Austin lowered his mouth and kissed a path to the top of her jeans, stopping to lick at her navel, she had to bite back a moan. Her skin was ultra sensitive and immediately prickled under his attention.
She had to wonder what he would do to her other neglected areas. She’d been divorced for six months and before that, Clint hadn’t made love to her for an entire year.
Don’t think of him, Kara. It would only depress her, knowing she’d given him so much of her life.
What had she been missing?
Austin peeled open the top button to her jeans and unzipped. The zip seemed to echo throughout the generous living room. The only other sounds were her ragged breath and her pulse beating at her temples.
He slipped his fingers in the sides of her jeans. “Lift your ass, Kara. I’m going to make you forget all your worries.”
Holy shit. Like a robot obeying a command, she lifted her bottom, and he slid her jeans and panties down in one swoop, easily taking off her ankle socks and tennies in the process.
She shivered as the room-temperature air breezed against her skin. Exposed. She was exposed. And sitting on a hard chair in her ex-husband’s home. This was so unlike her.
What was she thinking?
Hell, she was thinking Austin was going to make her forget all her worries. She believed him. She trusted him. Like no other person in her life, she needed him.
“Ah, sugar.” His sultry green gaze swept over her, from her bare breasts, to the triangle of black hair covering her mound, to her rose painted toes.
She shook with both need and anxiety.
Finally, he met her eyes. “You’ve just shattered every fantasy I’ve ever had about you into a million pieces.”
“Is it that bad?” She wasn’t sure whether to be surprised that he’d fantasized about her or horrified that she’d mangled the fantasies.
“No, Kara.” He caressed her cheek and kissed her lips sweetly. “You’re that good. Don’t you know?”
“I know that I want you.” The words slipped from her mouth before she could stop them.
“Mmm.” He bit into his bottom lip. “How much?”
Why stop now, Kara? She’d been so good for so long. And something about Austin made her want to be really bad.
She cleared her throat. “Every time I see you walk into a room my thighs tremble and my heart races.”
He glanced away for a moment as if he’d been hit by surprising news. When his gaze returned, the determination was back in place. “Every time? For how long?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Since the divorce or before that?”
“I don’t want you to think less of me.”
His warm hands braced her cheeks. “Trust me, Kara, I won’t.”
“It started after the wedding.” She licked her dry lips. “And it’s grown.”
He blew out a short breath. “I had no idea. You’ve wanted me for that long?”
She nodded, hoping their friendsh
ip could survive this round of honesty.
He muttered a curse and stood. The briskness of his walk as he made his way to the coffee table was enough to put her on edge. He wanted her vulnerable. Well, here she was.
He snatched up something from the table, something tiny that had been lying by his gun, and strode back behind her. He quickly released the handcuffs, setting her free.
She rubbed her wrists and blinked away the tears burning her eyes. If there was a way to forget this entire evening, she’d do it in a heartbeat. Damn him for making her feel this way.
She reached for her jeans, but he clasped a hand over her forearm and yanked her to his steel hard chest. He was almost a foot taller than her five and half feet, but their bodies melded seamlessly. Deceitful butterflies fluttered in her belly.
He crushed his lips over hers. The previous tenderness was replaced by desperate raw hunger. His tongue didn’t wait for an invitation as he thrust it into her mouth. His hands kneaded into her hair and clung to her scalp.
She didn’t fight him. She wanted him. With a passion that stunned her. Her mind was not her own as she clawed at his T-shirt, trying to find some way to get it off him. She needed to feel his bare skin. To touch him finally. He pulled back briefly to help her, ripping the shirt over his head, then latching his lips back onto hers.
Her hands searched his chest, his stomach, his back. All the places she’d memorized with her eyes, she could now feel with her fingertips. And God, did he feel good.
His shoulders and chest were broad and muscled. They tapered nicely down to his lean waist. His abdomen clenched and bunched when she ran her fingers over his rippled muscle.
She sucked eagerly on his tongue, showing him she wanted more. This was so much better than any fantasy.
And yet so much scarier.
Her heart teetered on the edge of a sharp razorblade. But her body continued to drive forward. She worked on his jean buttons, popping them open as they strained against his thick erection.
There was no turning back. She reached inside the elastic waistband of his boxer briefs, but he caught her wrist before she could grip him.
He ripped away from the kiss and peered down at her. His eyes were dark, a storm breaking loose behind them. “You’re going to let me lead, understood?”
She nodded but couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”
“I’ve felt helpless seeing you with another man for the last ten goddamn years. And to know that you’ve wanted me too all that time makes me a little crazy. Can you understand that?”
“Yes,” was all she could say. Her mind was running in frantic circles. Her body was overheating.
“I need to be in control for once. Can you give that to me?”
“Do whatever you need to do, but please just touch me, Austin. Please.”
“Oh, hell.” He leaned over and picked her up in his arms as if she weighed nothing.
The short distance he took seemed like eternity as he made his way to the guest bedroom. He kicked the door shut and let her slip from his grasp, only to press her, front forward, into the hard wood.
With his knee shoved between her thighs, he kept her there. “I haven’t finished undressing you yet.” He slipped off her blouse, then unclipped her bra, letting them both fall to the floor.
Kara pressed her palms flat against the door, showing her surrender. If he wanted control, he could have it. She’d submit to him. She’d do anything for him.
Just as long as he was inside her soon.
She closed her eyes and savored how he sculpted his fingers over her shoulders and down her back. Her skin prickled with delight. This was Austin touching her. Austin.
His knee rode higher, teasing her aching sex. His hand curved around her waist and found her hot center. He slipped through her folds and lightly circled her clit.
“Oh, God.” She pressed her forehead to the oak door. The wood was cold against her heated skin.
The feather-touch of his forefingers was searing a bolt of lightning into her body as he slid them slowly, achingly, down to her entrance, then back up to her clit.
“You’re soaking my fingers, baby. You’re so fucking wet for me.”
“Yes.” She ground against his knee, desperate for friction.
He groaned and dropped his leg. “Bad, girl,” he said in a deep growl. Then he swatted at her bottom.
Shocked, Kara jerked back, trying to turn around, but Austin held her there. Her pussy pulsated, surging with heat. His handprint left a warm sting on her ass. God, was she turned on by getting spanked?
Somehow she didn’t think she would be with anyone other than Austin. Her best friend was now her lover. The thought thrilled her.
“Did I scare you?” His breath was hot at her ear.
“No. Just surprised me.” She panted, unable to speak in full sentences. “Want you inside me, please.”
He swatted at her bottom again, this time the sting shot straight to her pussy and she moaned from the deep pulsing pleasure. “Let me lead, Kara.” He gripped her ass. Held her tight.
Her inner child wanted to stick her tongue out at him. The woman in her wanted to tease him by fighting back.
Just so he’d do it again.
“Fuck me.” She dared him and braced herself. “Fuck me hard, Austin.”
He stilled behind her. She’d obviously shocked him. She hardly ever cursed. Never around him.
“You want to be naughty?”
“Only with you. It’s always been you.” She poured the words out. The damn gate to her heart bleeding her dry.
After a gut-wrenching moment, he finally spoke. “Don’t move.”
She listened to him, but only because she didn’t want to give him a reason to stop undressing. She waited as the rest of his clothes dropped to the carpet.
He was naked. And she was facing the door. Damn it.
“I want to see you.”
“No. Stay put.”
Not gonna happen. She peeked from the corner of her eye to see him ripping open a foil packet. Then sheathing a condom down his hard length.
Wow, even his cock was perfect. Long but not too long. Thick but not too thick. A gorgeous specimen she planned to have in her mouth sometime soon. Yep, the bad girl in her was alive and thriving. She yearned for him so much that her worries about her physique had completely disappeared.
It was a good thing Austin didn’t seem to mind that she wasn’t perfect.
****
Austin’s hands shook as he wrapped the rubber over his dick. He never shook. Not for any woman.
But Kara. Damn, Kara was his weakness. And she was making him weaker by the moment. Her rounded ass was pink with his handprint. Her luscious body trembled as she waited for his next move. To think she’d wanted him all these years and he hadn’t had a clue. Even if he’d figured it out, what could he have done differently? Nothing. Unlike Clint, Austin was loyal to the people he loved.
He clenched his teeth at the thought of how his brother had treated Kara over the years. All the times he had listened to Clint brag about his cheating. All the times he had gone to Kara when Clint was away with another woman. Austin had never understood why his brother would look outside his home when he was lucky enough to have a wife like Kara.
It enraged him that Clint kept her to himself all those fucking years when he wasn’t happy with her. And he hoped Kara would never learn why Clint finally asked for a divorce.
Forget him, Austin. He’s out of her life now. That’s all that mattered.
And here she was, ripe and ready for him.
He caught her staring over her shoulder at his cock and arched a brow, holding back a grin. “Want to get spanked again?”
“Maybe.”
Damn. Not the answer he’d expected. He liked this side of her. “You’re taking all the fun out of it.”
“Not for me.”
She liked it rough, huh? He slapped her ass, harder this time, and she let out a heart-stopping moan. Then she sucked in
a breath and tilted her backside up, asking for more.
His balls knotted painfully and his cock throbbed. “Oh, baby, we’re going to have to talk about the psychology behind you liking this so damn much.” He clasped both hands on her pretty little ass cheeks and spread them.
His cock settled against her crevice, and she tilted up even further. Yes, this side of her needed further exploration.
Austin planned to take his time doing it.
He used his foot to broaden her stance, then eased his hand over her mound and between her thighs. The heat emanating from her pussy met him before he even touched her. Her body quivered and she whimpered.
Damn. Damn. He slipped his finger past her swollen clit and found her wet little pussy. He’d dreamed about this, and now it was happening. Kara was his and his alone.
Her tight entrance was slick and silken. He glided his finger in deep and felt her inner walls clench against him. Oh, hell. She was wet and creamy. So ready for his cock.
He bent his finger just so and found the spot that usually drove women wild. Her slick heat molded around him, quivering and contracting.
“Oh, God. Austin.” She tensed and slammed her palm to the door. Her wetness heated his hand.
This was too damn much. The past few years had been enough foreplay to last a lifetime.
He withdrew his hand and turned her around to face him. Her bright indigo eyes were wide and alert, her cheeks were flushed pink, and tendrils of her raven hair clung to her jaw and neck. Her lips parted as she sipped in breaths of air. Her full breasts begged for his touch. Her rosy beaded nipples pointed up at him, teasing him.
“So goddamn beautiful.” He could stare at her forever. Maybe now he’d have that chance.
****
This had to be a dream. Kara took in every inch of him, starting with his heated gaze, to his broad muscled shoulders, farther to the cabled muscles on his tanned abdomen, ending with his rigid cock.
Her mouth watered at just the sight of his gorgeous body. His perfect cock. She moved to grip him but, again, he wouldn’t allow it. He took hold of her wrists and flung them over his shoulders. Then he bent, grabbed her ass, and lifted her against him.
“Wrap your legs around me. Now.”
She did as he said, clutching his hips with her legs, just as he slammed her against the door. He used one hand to guide his shaft to her entrance. And before she had a chance to think, this is really happening, he thrust inside her pussy.
