Crimson Sunsets

by Lacee Hightower

  I slid a hand underneath her thin shirt, taking one of her perfect tits in my palm, the pebbled nipple puckering up as I twisted it between my fingers. I raised the tank top over her head, tossing it alongside my clothes, gliding my fingertips around to her back and unfastening the snap to her satiny bra. Normally, I wouldn’t undress a woman. She would strip for me. Always for me. But then, who was I kidding? Nothing in this moment was ordinary. The soft moans. The incredible pain behind my chest. All of this … was fucked.

  What we were about to share was going to be intimate in a whole new way.

  My head fell into the tight area between her two ideally formed breasts, my hands gripping them as my tongue twisted over her nipples.

  “Justin. God.” Her arms tightened around my waist and brushed across my ass, the light brown tint to her eyes darkening, my cock writhing like a finger on the trigger of a gun.

  With a gentle nudge, I pushed her back onto the bed, reaching for her shoes and dropping them onto the wood floor. Jesus, even her fucking feet were delicate and beautiful. She lifted her hips to ease the unzipping of her jeans. Bare in front of me in only tiny black panties, her thighs were open and ready, the scent of her arousal filling my senses with wild hunger.

  Grand fucking slam!

  I buried my head between her legs, lowering the small strip of lace covering her wet heat and letting go of the doubt swimming through my brain. Neither of us broke our stare, the essence of her arousal strong and sweet as I lost every train of thinking. I stroked my tongue from the beginning of her ass up and over her tightened mound, her honeyed wet essence glazing the inside of my mouth as her quiet moans deepened. I dropped a finger and brushed it across her tight clit, the small peak hardening even more. She whimpered. She was already close. This one-time thing needed to be perfect. I wanted her to walk away positive that our time together was the best ever.

  My dick throbbed. This compulsion was irrefutable.

  “Yes. Justin,” she moaned, her nails scraping gently across my back, urging me upward with her legs.

  Slow down sweet thing.

  One finger slipped inside her. Then a second. I pumped them both slowly in and out of her tight wet channel, coating them in sweet dripping arousal.

  Slowly, I pulled my hand back, my dick hard and aching for its destination. Inside her.

  “Look at me and tell me you want my cock, Hartley.”

  I brushed my dick against her pulsing belly as I climbed up and elevated myself over her.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  In two seconds flat, I was driving inside her. Bare and uncovered, her gasp hardening my unprotected cock even more as she soaked it in the juices of her arousal as her tight sex pressed against me.

  I covered her mouth with mine, surging inside and pulling her ankles over my shoulders. Gentle thrusts became harder and deeper in seconds. Again and again, I was home, driving through her sex with a certifiable urgency, her nails scraping down my back and digging into my ass, impelling me into her with the crazed longing and hunger we both felt.

  Just sex. Nothing but sex, Wisely.

  Deep inside her channel, I was uncovered. Being irresponsible as fuck. I hadn’t ever been bareback before. Was I out of my mind? Even as a young naïve kid, I’d always made sure to seal my dick. With this girl, I was breaking every rule I’d ever made, paying no heed to the things that had been significant in my past. This fantasy fueled something that had been long dead inside me my entire life.

  Nothing was soft or sweet. Urgent and fast, she clearly wanted hard fucking. I’d damn sure give her hard. I ran my tongue down the sweet tasting skin of her neck until I reached her breasts, slipping one firm nipple between my teeth as my hard strokes inside her became even more demanding. Her arms circled my neck, pulling me down against her even tighter.

  With every thrust, her feminine muscles squeezed me as she groaned into my chest. It all felt like we belonged right here. Just like this. Together.

  Fuck, if things were only different. If I could trust myself again. Be confident my health wouldn’t fail me. I could fall long and hard for this girl, but I’d kill myself before I caused her more hurt. She’d just been through a shit storm. I wouldn’t send her into a second.

  With a harsh, grating, guttural groan, my body stiffened. I was coming, my head falling into the delicate curve of her neck as I spilled long currents of hot semen, covering her insides with my seed instead of a blanket of latex. Losing my fucking mind. There hadn’t been once that I’d come this long—this hard. It just kept on. Kept on.

  “Christ... Fuck.”

  Her own climax started, the grip of her small fingers on my ass clamping down and squeezing the ever-living life out of me as I bottomed out, thrusting into her in long deep strokes.

  I held her tightly against me.

  “That’s it, Hartley. Cover me with your sweet honey.” My eyes stayed locked on hers as I pressed inside, watching her spasm around my emptying erection.

  “Holy Christ … you’re so beautiful.”

  Already feeling how easily I could develop real feelings for her, I shrugged off the idea, all the while everything inside my chest and downward tightened.

  The only woman I’d ever really wanted.

  The woman I knew I couldn’t have.

  Her body relaxed as I felt myself softening. I slid out of her and turned onto my back.

  “Come here, sweet thing.”

  It was instant. Almost seemed normal. She rolled onto her side, hoisting her leg over the top of mine as her head fell into my shoulder. It felt natural and routine, like it had happened a dozen times before. I kissed the tip of her nose, her smile telling me everything I needed to know.

  Everything I knew I had to do.

  Protecting this woman was vital. There was no other alternative.

  Keeping her out of my life was imperative.

  The only time… This would be the one and only.

  Motherfucker, her feet were cold!

  Chapter Eight

  Hartley

  What the hell was I doing? This wasn’t Hartley Shipman. I’d never done anything so outrageous in my life. Literally begging a man that I barely knew to fuck me three ways from Sunday when he’d looked me directly in the eye and said it meant nothing. And the worst part was … that I liked it. Way too much.

  “You’re the owner. It’s not like anybody can fire you. Come on. It’ll be fun. Please.” I nudged Justin in the side with the tip of my finger. He jumped.

  “Oh, excellent. Somebody’s ticklish.” His eyes narrowed. I smiled, trying to make the same face he’d just made.

  The middle of the afternoon, I knew Justin had to go to work, and here I was again, doing any and everything I could to keep him from leaving. Oddly enough, it hadn’t been all that hard to do. He didn’t realize and probably never would, that he was the first man that ever gave me an orgasm that didn’t involve me being on top. That was big for me.

  Curious what kind of club he owned, I wondered why he was so secretive. Great! Here I was wanting to spend time with a man that was dropping hint after hint that he owned a titty bar. Or worse.

  “Are they always like this? Your feet?” He grinned as I gnawed my bottom lip trying to stifle a smile.

  “Unfortunately,” I whispered.

  “These have to be the coldest fucking feet I’ve ever felt in my life.” He was rubbing my soles and arches, pushing and kneading his thumbs firmly into the soft fleshy ball of skin. Oh, my God. This felt better than any pedicure massage I’d ever had. Suddenly, I was trying to shake off the small twinge of jealousy at thoughts of him doing this to another woman’s feet, which was totally ludicrous. I had no right.

  “So, The Shining it is. How many times have you watched this stellar movie?” he asked as the beginning music started.

  “Seems like somebody’s scared.” I teasingly jabbed him again in the side, his whole body tensing up. Seriously ticklish, I’d remember that. Right now, though, the only
thing I wanted was exactly what he was doing to my feet. Holy Hell.

  “That music is fucking sadistic sounding. Never would have guessed you to be a fan of such morbid-ass movies. I would have figured you for Lifetime or some kind of romantic shit.” He smiled, his shiny white teeth perfect. “And I don’t get scared, but I am ticklish.” The sound of his heated tone comforted me.

  “And I love Lifetime. This is way better though. You give an outstanding foot rub.”

  He gave me a strange look, leaving me with an unusual nervous feeling all the sudden. I shifted just slightly, pulling my feet from his hands and slipping them underneath his warm strong legs. My nipples tightened against the thin fabric of my shirt when his legs instantly hardened.

  “Your feet are straight from the fucking deep freeze. Do you have some kind of circulatory problem? They’re still cold.” His grin was priceless. Chill bumps popped out from one end of my body to the other just by the simple movement of his toned thighs clinching over the tops of my feet.

  “Maybe. They’re always this way.” I breathed a hard, long breath, curling my toes underneath his upper legs.

  “By the way, Jackson’s the one who turned me on to scary movies. Blame him. He had me a seasoned horror movie buff as soon as I was old enough to understand television. When I was young, he’d sit by my bed until I fell asleep after we watched something scary. For some reason, I was determined that witches lived in my closet. I guess it makes sense he’d have an entire collection of classics in his enormous media room.”

  “Always knew he was into some pretty messed up shit.” The opening credits I’d seen a dozen times streamed across the large flat-screened television. I pushed the fast-forward button.

  “Justin, what’s the name of your club?”

  “Venture. It’s an adult club, Hartley.” He turned away, staring at the television.

  I knew it.

  “The movie’s starting. Don’t want you missing any blood curdling stabbing scenes or organs being ripped from live bodies.” He raised a hand and mimicked stabbing motions, finally pulling my feet from underneath his legs and settling them across the top of his thighs, grasping both of my icy arches back into his large palms.

  “Let’s get these feet warmed up. Get ready for a little ‘redrum’.” He winked.

  “You dog. You do know this movie.” His brows lifted as he gave me another playful grin.

  “Or this. Let’s do this first. See who else might be ticklish.”

  One hand settled over my legs, brushing just the tip of his finger across the arch of my foot, sending me straight into ticklish hell.

  “You. Absolutely. Wouldn’t!”

  “Oh, sweet thing. But I would.”

  I roared with laughter as he held me down, tickling me until I thought I may throw up.

  “Stop! Please!” I cried out. “You’re gonna make me pee in my pants.”

  His grin was infectious.

  Finally easing up on the tortuous tickling, he uttered, “That might get interesting.”

  Justin didn’t want anything long-term. I would never be important.

  So why on God’s green earth was I hoping for more?

  ****

  “Jesus. Do you really like this messed-up shit? No wonder you grew up thinking witches lived in your closet. I’ll probably have nightmares for weeks.” Justin reached for my face, rubbing his thumbs across my flesh like he’d done every time he kissed me.

  “I’d much rather be doing this,” he whispered into the side of my neck. His lips melted against mine, the slip of his tongue stroking and diving inside me with an unrestrained lustful kiss. “I’ve got to get to work, sweetheart. I’m out of clean clothes. I need to stop by my apartment first. I might raise a few eyebrows if I show up in wrinkled clothes reeking of sex.”

  He offered me his hand and pulled me from the couch, walking me into the wall closest to the door. His body pushed against mine, the hardening against my belly pulling an uneven sigh from my lips. His fingers were against mine, tensing up the ache in my lower body just like it had seconds before. Just as quickly, he dropped his hand and reached for the medium-sized suitcase that was packed and sitting on the floor, leaving me instantly lonely at the loss of his touch. I wondered if I’d see him again.

  “There’s so much snow in The Shining. I always wanted to learn to ski. Have you ever skied, Justin?” I asked, trying to ease out of something I knew wasn’t going to happen right now. Would it ever again?

  “I have. With your new boss as a matter of fact. He’s a phenomenal snowboarder.”

  “One day, I’m going to learn. That’s on my bucket list.”

  “And you very well should, sweetheart.” He kissed the tip of my nose, pushing my hair behind my ear.

  “Jackson’s supposed to be home this evening, isn’t he?”

  His voice seemed cold as he kissed my nose a second time. He didn’t like my brother.

  “He said he might be, but it’ll be late.”

  “Give me your phone.”

  I handed him my iPhone with its newly chipped corner. He typed in his contact information and handed it to me with a kiss on the nose and a goodbye with nothing but, “Later, sweet thing.”

  “Well, that’s that,” I whispered. A kiss on the nose with nothing but a ‘Later, sweet thing’. No, ‘I’d like to see you again’ or ‘I had a really good time’ More like an ‘Awesome fuck. Have a great life.’

  Fucking player…

  No expectations, Hartley.

  I walked to the bathroom to start a shower. My God, I looked awful. Like a recently fucked woman with newly sex-messed hair. Oh well. He was gone. End of equation. I stared at his contact information and labeled him Mr. One Fine Ass, giggling as I fired off a quick text to Mandy.

  You’d be so proud. I just had the hottest dirtiest sex of my life with a stranger from the past. And he was long … and thick. LOL! My Bad!

  I grinned at what I’d just sent. No immediate X-rated response meant she was most likely stuck on the phone fighting a denial. I sent one more and stepped into the much-needed shower.

  And I’m still aching in all my girly parts. It feels amazing.

  Minutes later, wrapped in a nice thick towel, my phone buzzed with an incoming text from my apartment complex, informing me everything had been repaired. Tomorrow I’d be back at my new home getting settled in before I started work on Monday. But tonight, I planned on asking my big brother a few questions about Justin.

  Crap, why would I wait on Jackson? What was I thinking? All I needed was my laptop.

  Cozy on Jackson’s oversized sofa with a small blanket draped over my legs and feet after throwing on leggings and a tank top, I sat cross-legged, my Mac resting across my thighs. I dropped a straw inside the bottle of Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper, surprised my brother even had straws in his giant pantry. Thoughts of the sophisticated District Attorney sipping through a multi-colored bendy straw cracked me up.

  “Hey, Coco.” I was still smiling from thoughts of Jackson drinking through a straw when the door opened and he walked through. Still dressed in his suit, his sleeves were rolled up to underneath his elbows, his jacket across his shoulder. He set down his briefcase and garment bag. He looked tired, his facial hair thicker than it was last night.

  “Hey, big brother. How was the trip? You looked exhausted.” He shrugged and sat down beside me, crossing an ankle over his thigh.

  “The trip was good. We killed it in court. I’m actually home earlier than I anticipated. What’s with the big grin on your face?”

  His question made my smile grow.

  “Honestly, I was just laughing to myself, getting a visual of you drinking through one of these.” I brought the straw to my lips and took a long drink of Dr. Pepper.

  “I’m not a complete uptight asshole … all the time, Coco.” He winked.

  “Never said you were, big brother,” I giggled.

  “My apartment is ready so I’ll get out of your hair tomorrow. Thanks again for
everything.” I blinked back tears, no idea where the sudden emotion was coming from. My stomach still fluttering with butterflies, even though Justin had been gone for almost two hours, I could still smell him. And us. Every time I took a step, the tender flesh between my legs was a delicious reminder.

  Jackson threw an arm around my shoulder.

  “No need for thanks, sis. I’m just happy as hell you’re here. Good things are in store for you. Tyler’s a good guy. I really think you’re going to like him. I don’t know Brandon Hicks, but I’m sure he’s okay if Tyler trusts him enough to run his clinic.”

  “I’m just looking for a way to support myself. An enjoyable way to make ends meet. I don’t have any desire to have my own business again. It’s too damn hard. Oh! I met Justin.” Jackson’s eyes widened. “He said the same thing about Tyler.”

  “Oh. Really? Didn’t think you two would run into each other.” He stood and grabbed his garment bag, my suspicions the two of them didn’t like each other much tripling.

  “Think I’ll get a long hot shower. You hungry? We could order in.”

  “I could eat. What do you feel like? I’ll call something in while you shower. Does it have to be disgusting tofu noodles?” I made a silly gagging noise. He opened the drawer to the small table his briefcase rested on and pulled out a folder.

  “Here’s all the menus, goofy. There’s pretty much anything you want in here, including tofu noodles. Just order whatever sounds good. I’m too fucking worn out to really give a shit.” He pulled out his wallet and handed me his gold credit card.

  “Okay. I’ll figure it out. And hey, I want to ask you about Justin when you have a minute. I know him, Jacks. He’s from Topeka.” Jackson spun back around, his eyes wide.

  “How would you know him, Coco?”

  “Remember when I took that shop class with Kelly? He was there. He didn’t come much, but it’s him.” I opened the folder and pulled out the stack of take-out menus, eyeing the sushi restaurant.

  “His life really sucked, Jackson. He…”

  Jacks held his hands out in front of him, gesturing me to stop talking.