Dylan couldn’t take his eyes off her. She flicked out her tongue—a light, playful lick—and he jerked. When she took him in her mouth, he almost came.
She continued to watch him as she swallowed his length. A lock of hair fell over her eyes, and he brushed it aside. He wanted to see those captivating eyes.
He rocked his hips against her face, moaning louder as she sucked and licked along his shaft. She stroked his balls, and they tightened at her touch. He was so close to climax, but he wanted more. It was a good thing he’d stopped at the hotel drugstore for condoms before she came downstairs.
Dylan pulled away from her with immense reluctance and was greeted with a pout.
“Is something wrong?” Teasing lined her question.
He grasped her hand and tugged her to her feet. “Everything—this entire night—is incredible. But I need to fuck you.” He led her to the bed.
The instant he let go of her arm, she wrapped it across her chest, half covering herself, and ducked her head. He reached for the light switch, and she stopped him.
“You don’t need to turn that on.” Shyness replaced her playfulness.
“I don’t have to, but I’d like to.” He gently pulled her arm down. “I want to see you. All of you. Reality tends to be much better than fantasy.”
She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “You’ve been fantasizing about me?”
“Since I saw you in the coffee shop.” He hovered his mouth millimeters from hers.
Her gasp was more of a suggestion than a sound. She closed the distance between them, giving him the softest kiss. “Me too.” Her breath was hot against his mouth.
“Lights on?”
She hesitated, then nodded.
Dylan flipped the switch. He laid a series of light kisses along her mouth, and down to her jaw and her neck, while he glided his hands under her shirt and up her side. He yanked her top off, and she hugged herself.
He lowered her hands and dragged his gaze over her body. “I like what I see. So fucking gorgeous.” He kissed along the top of her breasts, teasing her nipples through her bra. “Everything else off, too,” he said.
Sensuality laced her movements, as she stripped down to nothing. “I can’t be the only one who’s naked.”
“That sounds fair.” Dylan made quick work of discarding his clothes. “Lie on the bed.”
He rolled on a condom, nudged her legs apart, and knelt between her thighs. “Fucking stunning.” He lowered his head and drew one nipple into his mouth. When he wrapped his tongue around the swollen bud, she squirmed. When he scraped his teeth over the sensitive skin, she pressed into his mouth and his leg.
He wanted to spend all night exploring her, but he was ready to burst. Drawn-out play could happen next. He fisted his shaft and hovered at her opening before thrusting inside.
Sydney’s sigh and the arch of her back added another layer to his need. Her pussy was tight and slick, gripping him and drawing him in. Her face was screwed up with pleasure.
He’d missed seeing that in the hentai room, and was glad to get a glimpse now. “Finger yourself.” He wanted to watch her get off, and it was already taking more focus than he had, to keep from coming.
She slipped her hands between her legs. When her inhibitions faded, it was clear she liked putting on a show.
Dylan was good with watching or participating.
With each stroke, she dipped low enough to brush his shaft, until her motions grew shorter. Her gasps mingled with his grunts.
The flutter of her eyelids was enthralling, but the way she clenched his cock when she came was better.
Her hand fell away to grip the sheets. Her screams said she was still lost in climax.
Pressure built inside, narrowing his focus until he and she were the only things that existed.
Orgasm tore through him. Stars sparked behind his eyelids, as he slammed against her. He pounded until he was spent, and even then, was reluctant to slow.
He finally stopped and pressed his forehead to her chest.
The sounds of heavy breathing mingled with the whirring of the air conditioner.
Dylan kissed up her breastbone, to her mouth. “Incredible,” he murmured against her lips.
Her giggle was soft. “You really are.”
He stripped off and disposed of the condom, then fell into bed and pulled her back into him. His mind skipped along the next couple of hours. Maybe a shower to clean up, and using that time to explore her curves and find out what other buttons she had.
Dylan didn’t know why she had this impact on him. He wasn’t a stranger to a random hookup, and he didn’t have the kind of skeletons in his closet that made him cringe away from a longer relationship.
But he barely knew Sydney.
She was fun. Sexy. Witty. Different.
Maybe he did know why he was drawn to her.
“When do you have to be up?” he asked.
“Seven-ish? I need an hour to get ready, get downstairs, and make sure the booth is set up.”
“Stay here tonight.”
She snuggled back into him and pulled his arm more tightly around her. “You got it, boss.”
He liked that. They chatted, but the drowsiness in her voice was obvious.
Dylan wasn’t aware he’d fallen asleep, until the jarring of the mattress dragged him back to consciousness.
“Fuck, shit, God damn it.” Sydney’s muttered curses pulled him further awake. She was yanking on her clothes, like she couldn’t wait to get out of here.
“Syd? What’s wrong?”
She didn’t look at him as she slipped on her shoes. “I need to go. I can’t believe— Fuck. I have to go.”
CHAPTER SIX
When Josh finished law school, he’d hoped to serious cut back on weekend research.
Some things would never change, though. He’d spent his Saturday morning balancing the contract he’d been pulled from and learning about the one he was assigned to instead.
As he headed out for a late lunch, he was satisfied with the progress he’d made on both.
He was caught up enough to take Sunday off, and there was a spare key for the hotel room he and Dylan got for the con, waiting for him.
Josh had the windows rolled down on his Honda, as he followed traffic out of downtown. The sun was shining, the weather was mild, and he was going to enjoy the fuck out of the next thirty-six or so hours of his life.
He’d sent Dylan a couple of texts, to let him know he was on his way. There was no answer, but that wasn’t a big deal. Dylan would get to them when he had time.
They’d take in the con, and at the same time, they could brainstorm how to get Josh in front of the game publisher.
Josh hit an open stretch of road and smiled at the breeze floating through the car. He turned up the radio.
In law school, he and Dylan had played a couple sometimes. Sometimes for the shock value or to prove a point. Other times because a couple made a better impression at a social event. Both of them were bi, and comfortable with the masquerade of being together, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Josh was tempted to do the same thing now. If he were Dylan’s boyfriend, it would be an excuse for them to both be at dinners with the client.
There was a huge issue there. Everyone at work knew better, and that complicated things.
The screech of tires drowned out the music. Metal and glass shattered.
Josh’s skull slammed into the headrest, and his airbag pressed him tighter into his seat.
His ear were ringing. What happened?
The way his car had spun, and the shape of the passenger side—curved around a pickup truck—said he’d been broadsided. They were in the middle of an intersection.
He gingerly rolled his neck as the airbag deflated. Was he supposed to stay seated if he had a concussion? What about for whiplash?
Not really something they taught in law school.
He stretched his limbs as he climbed from the car. Phone. He nee
ded that. It was still in its cradle, attached to the dashboard.
Good fixture.
He dialed 911 and stumbled toward the truck.
The other driver wore a scowl as he stepped onto the pavement. The instant he saw Josh, he started shouting. “You asshole fucking prick. Where the fuck were you going? You shouldn’t have been in that intersection, you cunt.”
Great. This was what Josh wanted to deal with. It added to the throbbing pain in his skull. He spared the man a glance. “Just a moment, please. I’m on the phone.”
“Emergency services. What’s your emergency?” a woman asked over the line.
“I’d like to report an accident at the intersection of 3900 South and Main Street. Two cars. At least two adults—”
“I’m talking to you, you pussy twat.” The guy slapped Josh’s hand aside, knocking the phone away.
“And I’ll talk to you once I know someone has been dispatched to deal with this.” Josh was so tempted to deck this asshole. He didn’t want to bruise his knuckles, though. His skull screamed with every new sound, and his ears chimed like an elementary school bell at recess.
“Why the fuck weren’t you watching where you were going?” At least the guy had a limited cursing vocabulary. When he stepped closer to Josh, alcohol rolled off his breath and clothes.
Awesome. Not.
Josh was going to ignore him. He crouched to pick up his phone, and the guy kicked it away.
Josh rolled his eyes. He breathed deep and pushed calm through his veins, then stood. “You ran a red light. You struck the side of my car.”
“F’ckin asshole.”
“Yeah. That's me.” Josh kept his posture loose and his voice calm. Inside, every inch of him was prepared for the inevitable escalation of this conflict.
“Smartass.” The guy swung.
Josh stepped out of arm’s reach. It was a sloppy punch, and the guy’s momentum propelled him a few steps past Josh.
Josh didn’t want to do this. It wouldn’t diffuse anything. But calm resolution didn’t seem like an option anyway.
The guy let loose a rambling string of gibberish scattered with foul language, and charged Josh.
Josh sidestepped again, grabbed the guy’s arm, and twisted it behind his back. Apparently he did have an everyday use for that black belt in Aikido.
The guy jerked against Josh’s grip, and Josh let go. He didn’t want to break his arm or make him even madder by pinning him down. Someone might actually get hurt.
The guy lunged a third time.
Sirens chirped, and a police car pulled into sight.
It distracted Josh, and the guy clipped him on the cheek.
“Fuck.” That hurt.
“What’s going on?” The officer’s tone was friendly as he stepped from his car, but his hand hovered near his holster.
Josh held his hands up, shoulder level and palms out. “Good question.”
“Let’s just move away from each other while we get things sorted, shall we?” The office stepped between them.
Josh complied, and was half-surprised when the pickup driver did the same.
Over the next few minutes, a firetruck ambulance arrived, as well as a couple more cop cars.
An officer and an EMT led Josh in one direction and Pickup Guy in another. The EMT checked Josh for surface injuries, while the officer asked for his version of the story. He’d been driving, the light was green, and someone plowed into him in the intersection.
Pickup Guy told a very different tale. It was easy to hear most of it, due to his volume.
The tow trucks showed up during the conversation. Josh would never drive that Honda again. Thank God for gap insurance, or he’d be paying off a totaled piece of junk for another couple years.
“You look fine on the surface,” the EMT said. “You’ll want to visit the hospital and get checked out more completely.”
“Definitely.” If anything was wrong, Josh wasn’t letting it wait.
He got the case information from the officer, then called a friend, David, for a ride to the hospital.
At least the day couldn’t get much worse.
SYDNEY’S PULSE RACED a million miles a minute. She couldn’t believe she’d slept in. She never did that. It had been years since she needed an alarm clock, because her brain woke her up first thing in the morning.
But Dylan was so comfortable and sweet and really fucking incredible last night, her over-active brain had shut off for a few hours.
Now he was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at her with concern in his eyes.
Pity?
No. She wasn’t doing that to herself.
“Syd.” His voice was kind. “It’s okay. Freaking out won’t get you down to the vendor floor any faster.”
That was disturbingly rational. “But I need to get showered and changed...” Could she skip all that and just go downstairs? Sweating all day after not washing off a night of sex? Gross.
“So do it.” How was he so calm? Because it wasn’t his business on the line.
Neither was hers, technically. She could still be downstairs by eight-thirty. She might miss a person or two, but it wasn’t the end of the world.
Damn it. Now she was being reasonable, like him.
“How’s this?” Dylan said. “Go get ready. I’ll do the same, and we’ll meet downstairs in fifteen minutes.”
“All right.” She needed to learn how to do that not-freaking-out thing. “Thank you.”
She turned away, but he caught her wrist. He pulled her back to him, wrapped an arm around her waist, and kissed her hard. “I’ll see you soon. Promise.”
Heat flooded her cheeks, and she couldn’t fight her dopey grin. “Okay.”
She headed back to her room, her mind working on overtime. She couldn’t believe last night happened. Was this a done-and-gone kind of thing? He was sticking around to help her with her booth. He had yet to mislead her, as far as she knew.
If she was going to spend more time with him, she should trust him at least a little at some point. Hell, she’d let him get her off while a room full of strangers watched.
Sydney reached her room and started getting ready.
Last night felt genuine—his words, his actions...
There had been a tiny voice in the back of her head since she met Dylan, that insisted he was making fun of her. Having a silent laugh at the expense of the chubby geek chick. She knew that voice, because it was always there. Most of the time she could ignore it, but when things were going too good, or too badly, it made itself known.
If Dylan’s interest in her was a joke, he was an Oscar-quality actor. And if not, she was hooked on him.
Who was she kidding? She was hooked either way.
Would they see each other after the con? Could whatever this was become more? She was willing to push aside some shyness and ask, for a chance like this.
She showered and dressed in record time. One nice thing about running late—it cut out the opportunity to overthink her wardrobe.
She arrived at the vendor hall about the same time as Dylan.
His smile sent delicious tingles racing over her. “Shall we?” he asked.
“Let’s.”
He wrapped an arm around her waist, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
What was she doing? She didn’t care. This was fun. Delicious. Exciting.
They cut through the people, to get to her booth. A few con-goers were already hanging out, waiting to buy. The vendor next door had kept an eye on the place for her.
Sydney thanked the woman profusely and insisted lunch was on her.
Now, though? It was time to get to work.
The day passed quickly. Because it was Saturday, there was a whole new crowd who’d been working when the con started. It didn’t leave a lot of time for chatting, but sales were fantastic.
She found herself reaching for Dylan’s hand during lulls, and he always squeezed back with a reassuring smile.
A
billion hours later—or ten—the vendor hall closed its doors to attendees.
Dylan slid up behind her and tugged her close. “What are your plans for the night?” His voice vibrated through her back.
Sydney could guess where the conversation was leading. Part of her wanted to opt in for a Round Two of last night. The rest of her was exhausted. “Honestly? Saturday nights are usually soak my feet, take it easy, and tell myself I only have one more day kind of nights.”
“Don’t you love conventions?” Dylan asked.
“So much. But they’re draining. I usually need a day or two to sleep and recover after each one.”
“After helping you once, I can see why. Are you interested in unwinding with me?”
“Yes.” This was her best chance to find out what she needed to know. If she didn’t find out now, it would gnaw at her. “But I have to ask you something first.”
“Anything.”
Of course that was his answer. Because she was trapped in a fairy tale, he was the perfect prince, and she never wanted to wake-up. “Is this going somewhere? You and me?” she asked. “I mean, I’m not asking for long-term commitment, and we don’t have to put a definition on it—though if that happened in the future... Rather, is there a future? Do we see each other again after tomorrow? Or is this a one-weekend deal?”
“God, I hope not.”
She twisted free from his arms to face him, and studied him with disbelief. Which question was that an answer to?
Dylan laughed. “I’ll be more specific. I’d like to see you again. I’m really enjoying spending time with you.”
“Yeah?” It was what she’d hoped for, but hearing the words still made her heart flutter.
“Yeah.” Dylan nodded. “I don’t know what to do, besides be me, to show you I’m sincere. Come up to my room. We’ll set alarms on both of our phones and on the hotel clock, and schedule a wake-up call, so we don’t oversleep. And if our night is chilling out and nothing more, I’m fine with that.”
It was like someone made him in a computer. “Sounds perfect.”
They rode the elevator up, and walked to his room.
Dylan unlocked the door and let them in.
Roll Against Betrayal Page 4
