by Tabatha Kiss
I pause, glancing at the clock on the microwave. “You called me at seven in the morning on a Saturday to tell me that?”
“Yeah. I know how much of a perfectionist you can be. I wanted to make sure you knew. Anyway, how are things? Did you get rained-in?”
I rub the bridge of my nose in annoyance. “Yeah, I think so.”
“And what about your little house guest?”
I lower my hand. “So, that’s why you really called.”
“Is she still there?” I hear his smile through the phone.
“No,” I say. “I had her picked up before the storm hit.”
There’s a long, quiet pause. “You banged her, didn’t you?”
“No,” I say quickly, “I—”
“Yes, you did! I can hear it in your voice. You cut off a little slice of city girl pie. Admit it.”
I deflate. “Bye, Bobby.”
“Wait, Leo—”
I hang up, slamming the receiver down a bit too hard and I cringe. I poke my head out into the living room, hoping the noise didn’t disturb Hazel but she’s sitting up with open, tired eyes.
Ah, shit.
I step back into the kitchen to avoid detection, instinct pushing me toward the back door. I can’t leave her out there. I’m going to have to talk to her eventually. That, or I can spin around and bolt out this door before she ever knows I’m—
“Hey.”
Fuck.
I look up to see her standing in the kitchen doorway, still wearing nothing but that ripped, flannel shirt. Her hair is wavy and tangled, draped carelessly over her right shoulder. Her eyes drift downward to my bare chest but quickly rise again and stay there. She holds the shirt closed with her hands and hugs her arms protectively around her.
“Hey,” I say back.
“Who was that?” she asks, eying the phone.
“My assistant. He was just checking in.”
“On a Saturday morning?”
“I run a tight ship.” I clear my throat, quickly running out of things to say and she doesn’t dare crack the silence either.
Finally, she gives a light smile. “So, this is really fucking awkward.”
I laugh, happy to feel a little break in the tension. “Yes, it is.”
“How about...” she taps her toes on the floor, “we both agree not to talk about it until we are both dressed and highly-caffeinated?”
“That sounds amazing.”
She chuckles. “Okay, then.”
I gesture to the counter. “I’ll put on some coffee.”
“And I will go fix this in the bathroom...” She tugs on her tattered hair and walks backward out of the kitchen.
Once she’s gone, I let out the breath I was holding and turn to focus on the coffeemaker.
Dressed and highly-caffeinated. I can deal with that. I can delay that for a while…
No, I shouldn’t delay that. I should cut the crap and get her out of here as fast as possible. Keeping her around is dangerous. I shouldn’t be showing the slightest bit of hesitation. Her idealistic fantasies have no place here and I shouldn’t be entertaining them like this. She’ll be back any moment, completely dressed and willing to have this conversation so I better get ready for it.
No, Hazel Smith.
The project is on. The trail is as good as gone.
Get over it and go home.
Last night doesn’t change anything.
I repeat the words over and over in my head and stare at the coffeepot as it slowly fills with fresh brew.
Last night doesn’t change anything.
I pour coffee into two large mugs and set them down on the kitchen table as Hazel walks back in. I expected her to have changed but she’s still wearing nothing but my red flannel. I sit down in a chair and silently will my blood to stop rushing to my groin.
Hazel slides into the chair across from me. “Thank you,” she says as she wraps her hands around the mug. She brings it to her lips and blows a bit of cool air on it before taking a quick sip. “Where’s the dog?” she asks, glancing around.
“Uhh...” I raise a brow. “I haven’t seen her yet. She likes to sit on the porch in the morning, though. She’s probably doing that.”
“Pearl likes to do her own thing, eh?”
“Pretty much,” I nod. “She comes to me for food and then she goes out and comes back when she’s hungry again...”
She chuckles into her mug. “Sounds like she’s cheating on you.”
My jaw drops. “What a bitch.”
“I’m sure he means nothing to her.”
“I hope not.” I sip my coffee. “She didn’t bother you last night, did she?”
“No,” she answers. “I mean, I don’t think so. I was... well, I was out. Haven’t slept that hard in a long time.”
I smile at her red face. “Me neither.”
Her green eyes lock on mine for a split second before she turns away again.
Last night doesn’t change anything.
I clear my throat. “So, you’re okay? I used to camp a lot so sleeping on the floor doesn’t bother me...”
“Oh, no. I’m fine. It was fine.” She looks at my beard. “Well, I’m pretty sure my thighs have rug burn but I’ll live.”
I laugh and scratch my chin. My tongue twitches, remembering her sweet taste but I gulp the saliva down. “If you need more sleep, feel free to use the bed or the couch. It’s still early but I’m usually up at this hour.”
I bite my cheek.
Did I really just offer her my bed?
“I’m pretty wide awake now,” she says. “It’s hard for me to get back to sleep once I’m up.”
“Same here,” I say with relief.
“And you probably want me out of your hair as soon as possible.”
I nod. “The roads usually stay flooded for a day or so after a storm like that…”
What the hell am I doing?
I should be booting her out of here. I shouldn’t be encouraging her to stay here.
Do not invite her to stay.
“You’re welcome to stick around until then, if you want,” I say.
Goddammit.
She smiles and my knees twitch. “Thanks.”
But last night totally doesn’t change anything.
We both take large gulps of coffee, trying to avoid the eyes but we end up staring at each other anyway.
Hazel nods at my wooden chessboard at the other end of the table. “So, you’re not too bad. If I’m stuck here, we might as well get in another game.”
I nod. “Sure. Next time I won’t go so easy on you.”
She scoffs. “Yeah, okay.”
“Seriously.”
“Uh-huh. Sure.”
“Hey, last night doesn’t change anything.”
She tilts her head. “What do you mean?”
“Uhh…” I hesitate, thinking fast. “I just mean that…”
Shit, I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean.
Hazel abandons her mug. “You mean that I shouldn’t expect you to let me win just because we had sex last night?”
I raise a finger to an invisible jury. “Let the record show that you said the s-word first.”
“That’s fine.” She sits back and smiles. “If you don’t want to admit that you came onto me because you crashed and burned on the board, that’s all right with me.”
I furrow a brow, following her logic to an unsatisfying place. “I did what?”
“You got beat by a girl,” she says. “You had to prove your alpha manliness by dominating me in other ways.”
“No, I got that,” I say, leaning forward. “Rewind to the part where I came onto you.”
She blinks. “You came onto me.”
“Uhhh, no. You were practically begging me for it.”
“I was not!”
I add as much pitch to my voice as I can. “Is there anyone else that takes up your time?” I mock.
“I never would have asked if you weren’t eye-banging my
cleavage the whole night!”
“You easily could have buttoned-up,” I point out. “And, as we both know, you found my condoms before you put on my shirt, meaning you popped those buttons free on purpose to entice me. Didn’t ya?”
Hazel’s mouth sags and her voice sputters while she searches for a retort.
I grin. “Oh, what? What’s that?” I lean forward and cup my ear. “Is that the sweet silence I’ve longed so much for?”
She rolls her eyes back into her skull as she slides off the chair. “Forget it. I’m just gonna go find some pants.”
“Wait—” I snatch her arm and yank her closer to me. “I’m only teasing, Haze.”
Our eyes lock. She inhales a deep breath and I feel her body quiver against my hand. Or my hands tremble with the touch of her smooth skin. I’m not sure which but I don’t exactly care, either.
I crush my lips on hers, satisfying a little of my thirst for her but she recoils from me.
“Leo, wait...” She exhales hard. “Shouldn’t we talk about this whole thing?”
My groin clenches in desperation. “Technically, we haven’t met the agreed-upon criteria yet.” Her brow furrows. “We agreed not to talk about it until we were both dressed and highly-caffeinated.”
“Right...”
I gesture downward. “Well, I’m showing a fair bit of skin and you are still very naked under that shirt, so... we don’t have to talk about it yet.”
“So,” her arms slip around my neck, “what you’re saying is that we never have to talk about it as long as one of us — or both — stay naked?”
I nod once. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
We kiss again, pulling our bodies closer until it feels like we’ll fuse together.
Thirteen
Leo
Hazel moans softly against my lips, driving even more of my blood below the belt as I guide her back against the kitchen counter.
I fish my hands inside her shirt, sliding my fingers around her naked back. Her skin is so soft and smooth it sends me into a blissful rage. She lays a hand on the side of my neck as the other slides down my abs and I tense up as her fingers ease into the zipper of my jeans.
I’m already hard by the time her little fingers wrap around me and squeeze. I want so badly to be inside of her again but I can’t without rushing to the bathroom again for a condom.
I pause our kiss and look down at her little mouth.
She presses her lips together, reading my mind, but I see just as much lust in her eyes. I step back and she lowers down onto her knees in front of me. She takes my jeans with her and her eyes grow as wide as last night as she stares at my hard cock. I lay a hand on the back of her neck, squeezing softly but I don’t force her. I wait on the edge as she licks her lips and opens her mouth.
Her warm breath caresses my tip and I tense as her tongue connects with me. I flex my jaw and lay my other hand on the counter to hold myself up. Light lappings between gentle sucks drive me even harder in her mouth and it takes all my willpower not to take her face.
Hazel concentrates on the tip, sucking me a little harder and I groan with pleasure at her concaved cheeks. She stares up at me with those devilish eyes. I push her bangs away to see them more clearly. She moans around my cock, sending a flurry of vibrations through my loins. I bite my lip, breathing harder as she bobs her head. I nudge the back of her throat but she continues without a reflex. I put more weight on the counter, losing strength in my knees. Her tongue, her cheeks. Those bright pink lips. I want nothing more than to mark them as mine. Her shirt is open, revealing the inner line of her breasts and I fight the urge to come all over them, too.
I roll a fist, taking hold of her hair. My throbbing cock shakes, my balls tightening with need. I hold her head and release, coming inside that wonderful mouth and she gives me another moan as I cover her tongue.
Again, she looks up at me with those green eyes. I feel her swallow as she slides my cock from her mouth and takes a deep breath. She licks her raw lips and stands up, leaning against the counter as I did to hold herself up on shaking knees.
We stare at each other. If her thoughts are anything like mine, they’re as blank as a sheet of fresh paper. We should talk now. I think to say it out loud but the words don’t come out.
I lay a hand on her cheek and she leans into it slightly. She shivers as I run my thumb along her bottom lip and her eyes flutter closed. Her mouth parts and she tastes my fingertip, gently licking from the first knuckle up.
Maybe she has an oral fixation. Doesn’t bother me one bit. Especially if it keeps us from talking for just a little bit longer.
I lower my hand and kiss her, pulling her body against mine as I lift her up. She gasps and wraps her legs around my waist. I carry her from the kitchen to the hallway, kissing whatever part of her skin my mouth can reach while her moist cunt drips on my abs.
I kick open the door to my bedroom and carry her to the bed. She falls onto the mattress and her shirt opens wide, revealing everything from her face to her toes and I grit my teeth. Blood surges through my veins, traveling through my cock again and white light fills my vision. I need her again. Right now. I need to feel that pulsing pussy around me. I need to hear her moans and taste her sweetness on my tongue.
I throw her knees over my shoulders and bury my face between her thighs. Hazel’s fingers run through my hair, scratching at my scalp and I nibble her mound to give her the same delicious pain. She throws her head back and sighs, flinching slightly, but she pulls me closer to her slit with begging eyes.
I slip my tongue between her folds to caress her clit and she writhes in my hands. I feel her bud as it throbs with lust but I leave it alone and tease her wet lips instead. She gasps as I slip my tongue inside and her hips rock slightly to fuck my face. It drives me crazy and I keep still to let her use me for her pleasure.
“Leo...”
She sighs my name once and my hard dick presses into the bedspread but I won’t stop just yet. I want her to come for me first. Then I’ll fuck her until she turns numb and screams for me.
I lay a finger against her slit and she bites her lip. Her back arches. Her thighs twitch. She’s barely able to hold herself together. One smooth stroke of my finger and she’ll come instantly. I kiss her thighs and gently tap along the outer lips, letting the tease last longer.
She whimpers above me but I ignore it, refusing to give in until she’s begging for it. Her nails dig into my scalp, sending shocks down my back and I let my tongue swipe her clit. She moans through clenched teeth. Her hips grind on me and I smile with greed.
I push my finger inside and her jaw drops. Her pussy tightens around my knuckles and her body instantly submits to me. She comes harder than she did last night, bucking and mewling and I take great pleasure in making it last by suckling on her engorged clit until she can’t take it anymore.
I rise to my knees and stick my finger in my mouth to lick it clean. “Spread your legs,” I say, stepping off the bed, “and don’t move.”
Hazel obeys and spreads them wide, revealing her glistening folds to me. I force myself to retreat to the bathroom instead of taking her bareback like I want to.
I pull the medicine cabinet open and grab the condoms, palming the entire box to take back with me. I stare at myself in the mirror and exhale hard, feeling really fucking good about myself when I see her shape pass by behind me.
“Hazel?”
She doesn’t answer. I follow into the living room and I hear a soft clanging coming from the kitchen.
“Hey…” My voice lingers away as I see her bent over at the refrigerator. Her shirt inches up her back, revealing the bottom half of her naked ass. “I told you to not to move,” I say.
Hazel grabs an apple from inside and stands up to look at me. “So? You’re not my boss.”
I point behind me. “Get back in there.”
She takes a bite of the apple. “No.”
“Yes.”
Her lips curl as sh
e chews. “You’re a bully, you know that?”
“I’m not a bully.”
“Sure, you are. Nothing but a great, big bully. I saw the way you were talking to your assistant the other day and here you are now, barking orders at me.”
I step forward, my hard-on standing firm in front of me. “I’m a boss,” I argue. “It’s in the job title. I boss.”
“Big ole bossy bully.”
My eye twitches. “Do you ever stop talking?”
“Not if I have something to say.”
“Hazel, if you open your mouth again, I’m gonna stick something in it.”
She murmurs from the edge of her lips. “Bossy bully.”
“Okay, that’s it—”
Hazel yelps with laughter as I grip her waist and toss her over my shoulder. I spin around and march back to the bedroom with a strong grip on her.
“Put me down!” she shouts.
I reach the bed, but before I drop her, I slap her rear with a firm, open palm.
She gasps. “What the hell was that?”
I throw her down on her back and she bounces on the mattress. “Spread your legs,” I repeat as I tear a condom open, “and don’t move.”
“You know, if you’re gonna boss me around, I might as well get a paycheck.”
I squint. “Hazel...”
“Or some stock options.”
“Please.”
She smirks. “How about health insurance?”
I snatch the apple from her hand and lean over her. “Shut up.”
She opens her mouth again and I push the apple between her teeth. Her stares at me in playful shock but says nothing as she obeys and spreads her legs.
“Good girl.” I kneel on the bed with my cock in hand, ready to ease it between her folds and take her again.
“Thrr doch iuru srrin autus.”
I pause with an inch inside of her. “What?”
Hazel turns her head and spits the apple out. “The dog is staring at us,” she says, pointing to the foot of the bed.
I turn and see Pearl’s snout peeking over. “Pearl... go lay down.”
