by Cari Quinn
What the hell? He pulled into a space in her apartment parking lot and slanted her a glance. “You okay, darlin’?”
“Mr. Townsend, really, these personal comments aren’t warranted. I’m afraid if you keep saying such things, I’m going to have to notify my supervisor.” The look she sent him under her lashes could’ve melted steel. “Now if you’ll follow me inside and get changed, we can get started.”
He stared after her as she got out of the vehicle. Was that what he thought it was? Had she already assumed her nurse character?
And oh holy fuck, how was he going to walk into her building sporting a hard-on this massive?
He shook his head. Such was the wonder of Jill. No problem was bigger than the way she brightened his world so effortlessly.
Once he’d recovered enough to follow her, he grabbed the football gear, turned off his truck, and headed inside. He took the elevator up to her floor, where he lifted his hand to knock on her apartment door—
The door swung open, and Jill stood framed in the doorway, wearing a white cap and snug white dress paired with white stockings and plain soft-soled shoes. Though the dress wasn’t exactly nurse wear, he had no problems with the gaping vee that exposed her scarlet-red lace bra. Hell, he’d happily bronze the entire outfit and pay homage to it every day for the rest of his life.
“Mr. Townsend, you’re late for your appointment. I have a very full schedule.” She stepped back and pointed down the hall. “Please get changed and get into bed so I can examine you.”
“Wow, you’re really good at this,” he muttered, moving past her. He was tempted to slap her ass as he usually might have, but he wasn’t sure how she would respond.
She let him get all the way to the hall before she called after him, “Oh, and just so you know, I expect full compliance with my requests. If you argue, I’m afraid I’ll have to punish you.”
This was where they were supposed to discuss some ground rules. With someone else he hadn’t known for more than a decade, he might have. But Jill was different. Any boundaries they’d push with each other would never be done to harm.
So he’d let her punish him if that spun her windmill, and he’d hope like hell she understood he’d get his own back later.
“I understand.”
“Don’t forget the pants,” she called after him as he headed down the hall to the bathroom, making him grin. If those pants had been a dubious prospect before, now they were a downright joke.
How he was willing to suffer for his woman.
He changed—everything fit, albeit tightly, wonder of all wonders—and entered her bedroom, surprised to see a trio of candles flickering on the shelf above the bed. Normally that kind of romantic gesture made him want to hit the ground running. Not with Jill. With her, it seemed cute. Sweet.
His smile lasted until he glanced toward the window and glimpsed her standing with her arms crossed. “Please get on the bed, Mr. Townsend. I don’t have all day.”
“No comment on my outfit?” He gestured at himself, shifting to help alleviate the pinch in his crotch area. His balls would probably retract into his spinal column before he managed to unseal these stupid pants from his body. “I had to skip the boxers. They would’ve turned these from uncomfortable to obscene.”
“Is there a reason you’re not wearing underwear? I hope it’s not to try to entice me.”
“Oh, no. Absolutely not.”
“On the bed, Mr. Townsend. Now. Please.” She tacked on the last word and added a smile that wouldn’t have fooled anyone.
Damn, he really had a thing for mean, busty blond nurses. Who knew?
As soon as he’d complied, she moved forward and reached for a bottle from the nightstand. “So what are your symptoms? Please be specific.”
He tucked his hands beneath his head and stared up at her, loving this angle. She had the most delicious pair he’d ever seen, especially highlighted in red lace. He couldn’t wait to suck on her nipples until they were just as red.
Cocking a brow, he looked down his body at his noticeable erection. “I’d think that’s obvious.”
“You’re having sexual dysfunction issues. Got it.” Without warning, she dragged the material over his dick, freeing it from the painful confines of his pants. He nearly groaned in relief…until she squirted some oil down his length and made him hiss.
She started to stroke him in long, thorough pulls, her hand sliding in the oil as she vised around him. Fucking A, that felt incredible.
“I have a number of tests I intend to try to see if I can restore some of the function,” she said.
He reached for her, unable to remember his part. “I know a couple of surefire ways.”
“Uh-uh. No touching.” She stepped back, and he bit his lip to restrain another hiss. Not having her hand on his cock at all times seemed like a crime against nature. If he had to pretend she was in charge to keep it there, he would.
“Sorry. I won’t do that again.”
Nodding, she resumed her task, working him even harder than she had before. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to unbutton my dress the rest of the way. It’s warm in here.”
“You’re telling me,” he mumbled, riveted by the sight of her glistening fingers opening and closing around his shaft. “Go ahead.”
She undid the buttons and let the dress slide to the floor, showing off her lacy bra-and-panty set. If that wasn’t enough to nearly kill him, she trailed her slippery fingers down her pale belly, making her skin gleam.
“Fuck. Jill.” He laced his fingers together behind his neck, trying to use the pain to center himself. “I need your hands on me. All over me.”
“Jill?” She canted her head, tumbling her blond-and-purple hair down her shoulders to tease the tops of her breasts. “You’re getting entirely too personal, Mr. Townsend. I think you should close your eyes and let me handle things.”
He wasn’t used to letting a woman take control. Doing so made him feel more vulnerable than he was comfortable with, but he damn well couldn’t shut her down now when she’d come so fully into her own. He closed his eyes and tried not to twitch while he waited for her touch. “Yes, handle me. Please.”
She grasped his cock and started jerking him off in strong, steady pulls. Warm oil drizzled onto his balls, and he swore, his hips coming up off the bed. Before he could get control of himself, the wet heat of her mouth surrounded the tip of his length, drawing gently. So gently that he couldn’t help grabbing hold of her hair and dragging her down, begging her wordlessly to swallow more of him. He pulled hard, tangling his fingers in the silky strands as he forged his way into her throat, momentarily unable to stifle his desire to feel her submit—and to enjoy it.
He struggled to dial back his urgency. She’d been game for everything so far. But if they continued to push the boundaries—both hers and his—he was running a huge risk. If she didn’t like some of the darker things he was into, he was fucked.
But if she loved them, he was more fucked, because going those places in bed fostered an intimacy that should go way beyond five dates. The more he discovered about his compatibility with Jill in and outside of the bedroom, the more difficult it would be to walk away at the end of the two weeks.
Not walking wasn’t even on the table.
When he met her gaze, he expected an admonition for his roughness, but her eyes smoldered up at him as she sucked, her cheeks hollowing from the effort. Her fingers played over his balls, drawing patterns with her nails. Testing her, he tightened his hand in her hair again, even harder than before. But she only moaned and drew on him that much more vigorously.
“Stop. I can’t. Jill.” He raised her head and pulled her closer until their mouths clashed in a hot, brutal kiss. He thrust his tongue between her lips, sliding it over hers, absorbing the purr she made in her throat as he pushed her for more. “Let me in you.” Like a miracle, she reached down to tug off her panties, yanking them off with a speed he appreciated. She started to climb atop him, and h
e stilled her, shaking his head. “No. First my tongue, then the rest of me.”
Before she could so much as squeak, he tugged her into position, spreading her thighs on either side of his head. Then he took a long, greedy lick.
“Bryan. God.”
No more Mr. Townsend now. “Ah, sweetheart, you got yourself all worked up for me. Just the way I like you best.” He opened her up with two fingers and took another taste, longer and slower this time, swirling his tongue over her swollen clit. Her thighs trembled, and her belly rippled above him, obvious evidence of her struggle not to let go. That just wouldn’t do.
“Please.”
“Watch me, baby.” Licking his fingers, he used them to part her slippery flesh, sliding them into her while she gripped the headboard and stared down into his eyes through the curtain of her long hair. Her pupils widened as he pushed deeper, flexing into her and out again.
He used his thumb on her clit, moving his fingers in tandem, absorbed by the thrilling play of emotions on her flushed face. From this angle, it was hard to see everything, but he forced himself to focus on her face, to concentrate on giving her back even one tenth of what she’d offered him tonight. Sexually and emotionally. She’d been his lover, but she’d also been his friend. Those were rare and precious.
Like her. She was a gift, a jewel he’d gotten to peel back the layers of to touch and kiss—
And what else? To love?
His fingers stopped. He cared for her. He’d known her for years, so of course she mattered to him. But he’d be leaving soon. He could only deny reality for so long.
She was his, but only temporarily. His gut churned. Eventually he’d leave town again, and she would move on to someone else.
All the more reason to enjoy every bit of her while he could.
“Bry?” Her fingers threaded through his hair, tugging impatiently. It made him smile and reminded him of his task.
To give her all the ecstasy she could stand.
…
Jill barely had an instant to register the change in him, that slight tension in his caresses, before he speared his tongue deep into her depths and sent her tumbling. She’d been so close already, a teasing breath could’ve pushed her over. One big hand clamped on her hip while he used his other hand to dial up the intensity. He rubbed her clit as he licked her quivering folds, murmuring his approval. She was so wet that his chin and cheeks were smeared with it, and she couldn’t even be embarrassed, because God, the way he stared up at her with those wicked green eyes made her want to be even wetter, even more open, even more dirty.
With him. Only with him.
In a heartbeat, she was on her back and beneath him on the bed.
He leaned up to tug off his super-snug football jersey, slowly revealing his abs inch by inch. She wasn’t sure if he was giving her a show or if the material really took that much effort to work off, but either way she had no complaints.
The pants were next, and those involved considerably more flexing and grunting. Again, no problemo. He flicked open her bra and nuzzled between her breasts, licking a path from one nipple to the other. He captured one in his teeth as he reached down to finger her, leisurely now, as if he had lifetimes to savor her. As if his erection wasn’t prodding her hip, hard and oh-so-demanding.
“This is what I used to think about.” Shifting back, he spread her legs and let his gaze travel up and down until she squirmed. “Seeing you like this beneath me, all that hair spilling everywhere, those eyes sleepy from how many times I’d made you come. Not there yet. Getting closer.” He bent to nip her belly and slipped a finger inside, rotating it slowly on every thrust. “Then I kissed you, and I started imagining other things. Things you weren’t ready to deal with.”
“But I am now.” Her voice shook, not from fear but from the power of her desire. Whatever he wanted, she wanted, too. His pleasure was hers, and she knew he would never suggest something she wouldn’t crave. He already understood her body better than she did. She’d been too unsure on her own to explore the boundaries of what she yearned for.
He wasn’t unsure about anything. Ever.
“Mmm-hmm.” He pressed harder between her legs, sliding two fingers, then three inside her, spreading them and then twisting them together as he moved in and out. “Listen to you. So fucking beautiful. You’re going to drench my cock.”
She arched her back, loving the unrelenting fullness of his strokes. She opened her legs even wider, raising her hips so he had no doubt of her longing for what he had to give. He growled low in his throat and pumped into her harder, almost to the point of pain. She couldn’t feel it, could only relish the way her body acceded to his commands.
She was on the brink of coming again when his next demand cut through the roar in her ears.
“On your knees,” he said. “Blow out those candles first, because I’m going to fuck you hard enough to start a fire in here.” His finger glided in and out of her, punctuating his statement. “And we don’t want to burn the place down, now do we, sweetness?”
“Not until I come.”
The dizzy answer made him laugh forcefully enough to jiggle his digits inside her. She moaned, a whisper away from another climax.
“Oh, you’ll come. Don’t worry. Now, on your knees for me.” He slapped the inside of her thigh, and she fisted the sheet, trying to remember how to get her boneless limbs to work.
Thankfully he helped her into position, facing her away from him. He sculpted her ass in his hands, hard enough that she wondered if he’d threaten to spank her again as he had the other night. If tonight he’d actually do it.
She blew out the candles one by one, grateful for the small bedside lamp she’d turned on earlier. The rip of a foil packet made her wonder where he’d tucked away the condom, but then he was parting her damp thighs and seeking her opening, forging forward with a tentative thrust. She started to tell him not to be careful when he drew back and slammed into her, jiggling the candles in their pools of wax. Shaking her down to the core. She cried out, her fingers digging into the shelf. His pinched her hip, holding her still even as he continued his unending drives deep inside her.
She tried to speak, to share what was happening to her, the pressure, the heat. But she couldn’t find the words, and he wouldn’t stop battering into her again and again. She crawled up the bed, and he yanked her to a half-standing position on her knees until she was practically flush against the headboard, trapping the pillows between her pelvis and the wood. They added that much more friction to his strokes, cushioning her clit while he pumped into her with frenzied precision.
“Bry.” It was all she could manage.
“I’m here.” He smoothed a kiss over her shoulder and unraveled her more completely than if he’d offered her a million romantic words.
Her heart turned over, beating too fast. She couldn’t catch her breath, especially after he caught her chin, dragging her back so he could fuse his mouth to hers. The taste of herself on his tongue propelled her over the knife’s edge into pleasure. She cried out again, lost to him, so freaking lost. And he banded his arms around her, cradling her body against his while he surged deep and finished inside her in long, pulsing bursts of heat that made her whimper.
She collapsed on the bed. He disposed of the condom and joined her, bundling her into his arms. His lips brushed her temple, and he murmured soft, soothing things she never would’ve expected from him. She was still shaking, but by God, so was he. It felt like they’d gone through something epic together, a journey so much more complete than just simple sex.
Simple. As if anything between them had ever been that.
“Whoa. Wow. That was amazing.” When he didn’t reply, she let out a laugh. “Guess I better start practicing learning how to keep my hands off you in public if we’re really going to the wedding together.”
For a moment after the words left her mouth, she didn’t move. Barely even breathed. Orgasm brain was an actual syndrome, she was almost positive.
>
That had to be the reason why she’d brought up the wedding when things were going so well between them. Because she knew the score. Hell, she’d been keeping a running tally in her head all along.
She stole a glance over her shoulder at his relaxed face. His eyes were closed, so she feathered his fingers over his arm, tenderly stroking. “You awake?”
“I’m awake.”
“I’m sure you are. It’s probably hard for you to sleep here.”
His chuckle sounded forced. “Oh, I’ll get there. I’ve gotten surprisingly used to this tin-can-sized bed of yours.” His thumb rubbed the inside of her elbow, and she shuddered. If he kept that up, she wouldn’t be sleeping for quite a while yet. Her heart might be easy to bruise, but her body was damn near shameless. “Sorry, what were you saying before?”
She might’ve been happier to repeat her statement if he hadn’t asked the question like she was about to announce she’d infected him with leprosy. “I was just saying I’m not sure if I’m up to keeping my hands off you in front of everyone.”
“Yeah, me either.” But he sounded so distant that she didn’t want to keep this topic going. In fact, she wanted to slam the lid on it and label it off limits.
“Are you ever not sure about anything?” she asked, laughing weakly. “That’s not the Bryan Townsend I know.”
His silence caused her to roll over to look at him. “Hey,” she said, touching his tensed jaw. “That’s not a bad thing. I’d kill for some of your confidence.”
He gazed over her head, his expression unreadable. “You really do think I’m a cocky SOB. Just rolling my way through life, banging babes, getting drunk, enjoying every minute.”
She winced. “I try not to think overmuch about the banging babes part, but yeah.” She stroked his jaw until he slid his gaze her way. “Though I can’t argue with the results,” she teased.
“I haven’t slept with anyone in close to six months. Just so you know.”
Yeah, there was that whole not breathing issue again. Right on time. “Other than me, you mean.”
