“Oh my God!” She whipped around, her hand flying to her chest. “You scared the hell out of me. What are you doing here?”
That was a good question.
Right now, he was hard as stone as he wordlessly watched her, imagining all the filthy ways he wanted to be inside her. Rein it the hell in, man.
But he couldn’t help when his gaze lasered in on her chest. His breathing suddenly became heavy. “I saw the light on,” he croaked. “What have I told you about locking your doors?”
“How long have you been standing there?” she asked. Her gaze drifted over his body, arousal overtaking her features, and his blood ran faster. He met her gaze. “Long enough to know your nipples are hard.” And hardening more by the second…
His dick swelled in victory when he took a step toward her and she didn’t retreat. Even if she did, he would follow.
She wasn’t getting away from him. Not this time. Especially not with the image of her taking his dick into her mouth last night still so fresh in his mind.
“What do you think, Jade?” he asked, tilting his head. “Have we waited long enough?”
She looked as if she was having difficulty pushing air in and out of her lungs. “Long enough for what?”
Once again, he let his gaze slowly track down her bikini-clad body. “For the second time to be even better than the first.” He took another step toward her.
Her back hit the mirror, positioning their bodies in the exact way they’d been the night before at the bar.
“Don’t you mean, like…the fourth time?” she asked breathlessly.
For some reason, the question made his need to fuck her amp up to a furious urgency. “True,” he said. “Let’s go with second night.”
“I don’t know,” she said slowly. “That first one will be hard to beat.”
His head started spinning. The corner of his mouth tipped up in approval. “Maybe. But I say we give it the ol’ college try. Because, baby,” he said, closing the distance between their faces and whispering against her mouth, “I really want to suck on those hard nipples.”
His breath mingled with hers, their gazes soaking each other in for two seconds before—
He lunged toward her at the exact moment she went for him.
Their mouths fused together.
He palmed her breast, shoving aside the triangle of material with his fingers as he plunged his tongue into her mouth, meeting her own with a flare of passion. He made quick work of her top, untying the strings and throwing it to the floor. He pulled his mouth away and gazed down at her exposed breasts. The rosy tips puckered even more under his scrutiny.
He was barely conscious of muttering, “You drive me fucking crazy,” and then he feasted on her breasts.
He sucked on them with wild abandon, his tongue lapping at her nipples while his hands ripped her bottoms down her legs. Hell, he was prepared to rip the material to shreds if he couldn’t get to her right now.
He leaned back and yanked his shirt over his head. She started running her hands down his chest and…all over. When her fingers reached his waistband, he almost lost it.
He wanted every last barrier between them gone.
“Get your pants off,” she demanded.
Good thing she was on the same page.
His hands were frantic as they pushed his jeans and briefs down, but not before he pulled a condom out of his back pocket, which he shoved into her hand. “Put it on me.”
There was no point in trying to be sweet or tender. She clearly had no more self-control left than he did. They both wanted each other desperately.
He hoped she was ready for the kind of animalistic fucking he was craving. The kind they experienced their first night together.
After she rolled the condom over him, he grabbed her under her thighs and lifted her up his body. She immediately wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing his dick right to her entrance.
Oh, she was so ready for him.
Without words, he pinned her to the mirror and pushed inside. She gasped and he groaned. Shit, he’d almost forgotten how fucking amazing it felt when she sucked him inside her.
Almost.
“Ah, baby,” he said, pushing all the way in. Taking deep breaths, he brought their foreheads together. “How are you even tighter than before?”
“Hunter…”
He knew she needed him to move, but he had to take a second to just breathe. “I’m getting there,” he said, panting hard. “You just feel so damn good. I don’t want this to be over too soon.”
Dream on. He wasn’t going to be able to last for shit. Not with Jade.
“But damned if I can wait anymore,” he growled. “Your pussy’s squeezing me too tight.”
Once he started drilling into her, any thoughts of pacing himself went out the window. There was just something about fucking her up against a wall that made everything feel so raw and…fantastically dirty. It was the driving force of his overpowering lust.
Who needed a damn bed?
He heard the glass against her back creak and, fuck, but he wanted it to break.
But he also…
“I want you on top of me.” His voice cracked like a whip.
He dragged her away from the mirror and fell into the plush easy chair in the corner of the room, pulling her onto his lap. At this angle, with the bright spotlights beaming down on them, his hungry eyes could finally drink their fill of her. For the first time ever.
The hotel room had been mostly dark.
Now, there was no place to hide.
And he took full advantage.
He took both of her breasts in his hands as she slowly slid herself onto his thick length, straddling his hips and bracing her hands on his shoulders. “That’s it. Take my cock, baby.” He wriggled his hips around, massaging her inner walls. “I want to see your tight little body struggling to take all of me inside you. Need to feel your pussy choking on me.”
At his words, he felt whatever reservations she had slip away. She started moving with more confidence, sliding down on him with urgent pumps. Oh yeah. Just like that.
He gripped her hips, his fingers digging into her skin, guiding her movements. His thighs lurched up and he pounded into her with short, powerful thrusts, forcing himself deeper inside.
“Christ. You feel amazing.”
He didn’t know how much longer he could hold on.
“Shit, Hunter. You’re so big…and hard…and, oh my God…”
He looked over her shoulder and—
“Fuck, yeah,” he panted. “That’s a damn fine ass you’ve got there, baby. And it looks so fucking hot riding my cock like that.”
The chair was directly in front of the mirror, giving him a mouthwatering view of their joined bodies writhing in ecstasy. He was pretty sure he’d never seen anything so erotic and…sexy as all hell.
The image launched him over the edge.
She was right behind him.
Her screams met his roar as they both descended into blissful madness. He pulled her up and down on him with blinding force until both were spent, slick with sweat from their exertions.
He snaked his arms around her when she collapsed, her body melting against his chest. They sat like that for several minutes, just listening to each other breathe to the beat of a sensual soul tune playing over the speakers.
“You’re coming to the barbecue tomorrow, right?” he asked hopefully when he was again able to breathe, and to think.
She leaned back, and he was surprised to see a shadow of vulnerability in her expression. But then her mouth spread into a genuine smile. He was almost positive that was…eagerness?
With that smile, he lost another part of his heart to her. Which had been happening a lot lately.
“If I’m still invited, yes,” she said.
He gave her a kiss. “Are you kidding? Absolutely.”
She played with his chest hair and shot him a coy smile. “Let me get this straight. You were too much of a coward
to invite me, so you sent Maggie and Mia to do your dirty work?”
He huffed. “Not even close. Half an hour after our parents told us about the barbeque, Mia called to tell me she and Maggie were parking in front of your shop to pay you a visit. Those little twerps cut me off at the pass.”
Jade giggled. It was probably the cutest thing he’d ever heard.
“Well, their plan worked. I’ll be there.”
“Good.” He glanced down to the floor where their shucked clothing lay in a crumbled heap. “I liked that suit you had on,” he said, tipping his head down at the cock-tease of a bikini. “Wear it tomorrow.”
“So you can picture yourself ripping it off me again?”
He pulled her face down for a hard kiss. “Who says I won’t rip it off you again?”
“Uh, there will be no hanky-panky going on with your parents around,” she warned.
He let out an exaggerated moan. “I love it when you talk dirty.”
She poked him in the chest, unable to keep a straight face. “You, sir, have the dirtiest mouth of all.”
Proving her point, he sucked her lower lip into his mouth, giving it a quick nip with his teeth. “Damn straight, baby. Damn fucking straight.”
Chapter Eighteen
Jade hadn’t bailed on him, had she?
Hunter tossed the football to Finn and discreetly pulled his phone out of his swim trunks pocket to check the time. She was only fifteen minutes late to his family barbecue. He didn’t need to freak out yet.
“Did you scare off the new girl already, Mags?” Finn asked Maggie as he threw the football at her.
She smirked, unaffected by the comment. “Are you kidding?” She nodded toward Hunter. “I’m looking forward to watching lover boy over there fall all over himself around her. Why would I screw up such a golden opportunity?”
Finn laughed and Hunter rolled his eyes.
“It’s just nice to see him falling over someone with both a brain and a heart,” Mia said. “Since his last girlfriend was missing both of those qualities.”
“Yeah, and real hair,” Maggie muttered.
Hunter made jazz hands. “Hello,” he muttered. “You know I can hear you guys, right?”
“Plus, Jade can cook,” Mia offered, ignoring him. “Or at least bake.”
“Whoa,” Finn exclaimed, his throwing arm halting in midair. “No one told me the woman can cook.”
Mia grinned. “She had homemade triple chocolate chunk muffins at the shop.”
Finn groaned, then looked pointedly at Maggie. “Maybe she could teach you a thing or two in the kitchen, Mags.”
Maggie glared and launched the ball right at his gut, though he easily caught it. And laughed.
“Again, I’m standing right here,” Hunter said, exasperated.
“So?” Finn said. “We’re not talking about you.”
Hunter was about to check the time on his phone again when he caught a flash of red out of the corner of his eye. He glanced around to see Jade gingerly walking down to the beach as she balanced a giant beach bag, a chair, and two Tupperware containers in her arms.
Her long, thick locks had been corralled under a retro-patterned scarf. The flimsy dress thing she was wearing didn’t hide what she had on underneath. The wind was blowing the material about, providing him with glimpses of her brightly colored swimsuit.
The one he’d told her to wear.
The one he’d ripped off of her last night.
Shit, there went his dick.
This was going to be a long day.
Suddenly, Mia yelled, “Hunter! Jade!”
He whipped around as Maggie shouted, “Heads up!”
Crap.
He quickly looked back at Jade. She dove to one side, sending her bag and chair flying. The football missed her head by mere inches. She held onto her containers, though, clutching them to her chest as if her life depended on it.
“What the hell, Maggie?” he yelled, but didn’t waste time scolding her.
“Jade!” He ran toward her at full speed.
She glanced up as he reached her, her eyes focusing on his bare torso. He’d lost his shirt earlier when the sun came out full blast and was only wearing his swim trunks.
He was abundantly pleased that she seemed to be appreciating the view.
“Jade?” he repeated. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head, snapping out of her—hopefully—lust-induced trance. “I’m fine,” she said. “No harm done.”
He knelt down and helped her to her feet, then gathered her bag and beach chair. She adjusted her scarf and tried to brush the sand off as Maggie, Finn, and Mia approached.
“I’m so sorry about the football, Jade,” Maggie apologized. “Sparky, here, forgot that I have a cannon.”
Hunter shot her a glare. “I wasn’t even looking when you threw it!”
“Yeah, we know where you were looking,” Finn mumbled under his breath, forcing Hunter to turn his glare on his soon-to-be-ex-best friend.
Maggie snatched the plastic containers out of Jade’s hands and held them high above her head. “Good news, folks. The desserts are safe!”
“What’cha got in there?” Finn asked, looking over Maggie’s shoulder as she lifted one of the lids.
“Apple pie bites and cherry limeade cupcakes.”
Everyone spun around to look at Jade, shock and amazement on their faces.
“What?” she asked, at once uncertain.
“We’re usually lucky if someone makes cookies. Brownies on a good day,” Mia answered, awe in her voice. “This is like…a whole other level of…feasting.”
“She used to work as a baker,” Hunter said proudly.
Jade smiled. “I can’t really help myself. When I have an excuse to bake, I sort of go overboard. If I made this stuff for myself all the time, I’d weigh a ton by now.”
“Oh, we’re definitely not complaining,” Maggie said, shoving the containers into Finn’s hands before reaching up and pinching Jade’s cheek. “You’re already going to be in Uncle Wayne’s good graces. Let’s go introduce you to the rest of the fam.”
Hunter saw the nervous way Jade bit her lower lip, though she tried to play it off with a polite smile. He held her back with a light touch on her arm.
“We’ll be there in just a minute,” he told the others, who scampered off to the picnic area they’d set up surrounding a grill that was billowing smoke.
He was already gazing down at Jade by the time she met his eyes. “Hey,” he said.
Her mouth stretched wider. “Hi.”
“Glad you made it.” He took in her sand-covered front with amusement. “And in one piece.”
“Maggie threatened to set her pet boa constrictor loose in my store if I didn’t show up.” She shivered. “Does she really own a pet snake?”
He bit back a sigh and nodded, leading Jade toward a group of chairs, his hand on her lower back. “Yes, she does. A giant one named Sly. But don’t worry. She would never have done that. Maggie’s bark is a lot worse than her bite.” He halted midstep and looked over at her in caution. “I take that back. Her bite can be pretty vicious, too.”
Jade laughed. “I’ll do my best never to get on her bad side, then.”
He stopped in front of two chairs and placed her bag on the sand beside them. “I’m really happy you’re here.”
He couldn’t mask the blatant honesty in that statement even if he wanted to. But he figured, hey, he’d fucked her in her fitting room the night before. And fingered her in a very public bar. He could be open with her.
Even about his scary feelings.
Feelings he probably shouldn’t be having for a woman like her. Someone who had grown up worlds away from his poor childhood. Someone who was used to the finer things in life. No doubt expected those things to always be there.
Someone who, as he’d told his father, was miles and miles out of his league.
She had to realize all of that. If the differences between them were s
o obvious to him, she couldn’t have missed that fact, either.
In other words… Yeah. Feelings he definitely shouldn’t be having.
But she held his gaze with a bright, unrestrained smile, making him momentarily dismiss every damn thing he’d just warned himself about when she whispered, “Me, too.”
Chapter Nineteen
It didn’t take Jade long to realize there hadn’t been any reason to feel nervous about coming to the barbeque.
Hunter’s parents, Wayne and Beverly Sparks, were two of the most down-to-earth people she’d ever met. She visited with them while Hunter and Finn grilled the burgers and hot dogs. They asked about her family—not much to tell there—and her former life in DC. Hunter’s mom seemed particularly interested in her time as a baker. They even shared a few recipes.
“You’re a very brave woman,” Mrs. Sparks said to her out of nowhere, startling her. “To change jobs, open your own business, and move to a town where you have no ties or connections.” Hunter’s mom smiled warmly at her. “That’s a courageous thing to do. I can see why he likes you.”
No one had ever called Jade courageous before. Or brave.
Though, being those things was one of her biggest aspirations. Along with being self-sufficient. She was still working on that one, too.
She bit her lip, wondering if it was appropriate to grill a mother about her son’s feelings. But she certainly didn’t want to give the woman ideas, because Jade had no intention of being in a relationship with Hunter. She was determined to protect her heart from that kind of pain again. She couldn’t do it. No matter how wonderful the day was turning out to be, nor how much she enjoyed his family’s company.
They weren’t dating. They weren’t involved. And wouldn’t be.
At least, not emotionally. Physically…maybe.
Oh, who are you kidding?
She decided to play it safe by keeping her responses vague. “I like Hunter, too, ma’am. He’s been a good…friend.”
Friend?
They’d been strangers, then lovers, then enemies…sort of…but what were they now? Fuck buddies?
She could feel a blush cover her entire face at that thought.
“I know it’s probably not my place, but I think my son sees you as more than a friend.” Mrs. Sparks chuckled at Jade’s expression. “A mother can always tell these things. I’ve never seen him so smitten with a woman.”
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