My nails dug into his back and I rocked my pelvis against his, getting the perfect friction that I needed. Recognizing my desired angle, he shifted slightly and hit that sweet spot inside of me over and over again while rubbing my clit on the outside. I couldn’t hold back with the combined magic, it was all too much.
I exploded, warm liquid pleasure suffusing every millimeter of my body all the way to the tips of my toes and fingers. Letting it wash over me, I watched fascinated as Kyle reached his own peak, his head thrown back and his teeth bared in a growl of male satisfaction. When it was over he rolled to his back, taking me with him and tucking me into his side. Neither of us spoke for several minutes, too busy trying to suck oxygen into our starved lungs.
I didn’t want to be the first to talk and break the spell. It felt so comfortable and cozy, just Kyle and I in our own little bubble. Reality was overrated.
So of course, I was the first one to say something. Because I simply couldn’t shut up. Not even at a moment like this.
“That was…wow. Just wow.”
Holy crap, I should have stayed quiet. So eloquent. Not. He probably thought he’d fucked my brains out.
“Can’t disagree.” Kyle sighed and pulled me closer so my head was pillowed on his chest. “You pack a wallop for such a little thing.”
“Is that good?”
Did I say that out loud? I really needed to shut the hell up.
I could feel his chest rumble under my ear. “Very good. Very, very good. So good, in fact, that I’m going to want to do this again as often as possible. I hope that’s not a problem.”
It wasn’t.
“Eventually we’re going to have to go to work.”
“True, but that’s hours away.”
I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the time between now and then.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Ashlyn
Dancing can lead to making love. Making love all night can lead to falling asleep, exhausted and dead to the world. That means waking up the next morning with a new lover, a state I tried to avoid as much as possible.
I usually start laying the groundwork early in the date if I think there’s a chance that we’ll have sex. I tell him about how I have to get up for work or maybe catch a plane for a business trip. Later in the evening I’ll make sure to touch on the subject again, just in case he wasn’t listening the first time. If he’s interested in the topic, I’ll regale him with all the details of just how busy I’m going to be the next day and how tired I’ll be at the end of it.
For some reason I had never been comfortable with waking up next to someone, most especially that first morning after. Some men were playful and wanted to continue the intimacy with a shared shower or more fooling around in the bed. Some men weren’t morning people and needed an immediate cup of coffee. Which I completely understood. Some men couldn’t get out of a woman’s house fast enough, barely taking time to say good morning before they were in their car and driving down the road.
But they were all going to see my morning hair and smooshed bed face. They were going to be assaulted by my morning coyote breath.
And most of all…they were going to see my naked body in the cold, bright light of day. People always look better in candlelight and when Mister Sunshine rolls out of bed and beams into my bedroom window both me and the guy are going to get an eyeful that we may not have wanted.
So here I am lying in my own bed, the sun peeking through the curtains and casting a sunbeam across the comforter.
And I’m all alone.
Kyle was across town in his own home, probably curled up with Sam. I hadn’t had to make any excuses this time. He’d had the excuse. He wanted to stay snuggled against me but he couldn’t leave Sam alone all night. It made complete sense and I’d immediately agreed that he needed to get home to his puppy, but then after he’d left the bed hadn’t been quite as comfortable and definitely not as warm and cozy.
Scratch that. Make that sizzling. Kyle Lewis really was a freakin’ genius.
Searingly hot images crowded my brain as last night came screeching back. Kyle had been as thorough as I’d thought he’d be. Considerate but passionate. Rough but gentle. Insatiable but satisfying. And for some crazy reason I hadn’t wanted him to leave last night. I’d wanted him to stay and wake up next to him. It had sounded so romantic in my head.
I needed coffee. A shower and coffee, not necessarily in that order. Maybe a cruller, too.
I might also need a trip to see Shelby at her office because I should have my head examined by a professional. I was already missing Kyle and wondering when I was going to see him again.
I was in deep with this guy. Heaven help me.
* * *
Kyle
I’d barely slept last night after I arrived back home. Sam had jumped all over me and then went straight to the back door, indicating that he’d had his paws crossed waiting for me. I let him out and then we’d climbed into bed, but my head was too full of Ashlyn. How could I sleep after making love to the most beautiful woman in the world?
Next time we’d have to come back to my place so she could spend the night. I wanted to wake up with her in my arms, the warmth and scent of her skin surrounding me. I wanted to make love to her again, softly and slowly in the bright morning sunshine. As gorgeous as she’d looked last night, she’d be even more devastating with the sun glinting off her golden hair and caressing her peaches and cream complexion.
I wanted to spend the whole day with her too, but we both had work. There was that annoying little voice in the back of my head that was telling me that I was the boss and I could just call George and say I was taking the day off. But I didn’t get where I am calling in sick on a whim. I doubted that Ashlyn did, either.
Damn, sometimes it sucked being a responsible adult.
After feeding Sam, I sat down on my couch with a cup of coffee and propped my feet on the coffee table while some newscaster droned on and on about world affairs and the weather. It was going to be another cold and snowy day in the Midwest. All I could think about was Ashlyn and I keeping warm. I could fix dinner for her tonight and then we could make love in front of the fireplace.
Except I hadn’t made any future plans with Miss Hill before I left her house. Shit. I was dumb as a box of rocks about interpersonal relationships but even I knew that a gentleman needed to make a date as soon as possible after having sex. I didn’t want Ashlyn to think that last night was…one night only.
Retrieving my phone from the side table, I tapped out a quick message. I didn’t know if she woke early or slept late but at least she wouldn’t think I’d flaked out on her.
Thinking about you.
Last night was fantastic.
How about dinner tonight? My place. I’ll cook.
Should I have mentioned last night? Was it gauche or bad manners? It was the truth. I was thinking about her and last night was terrific. I wasn’t the kind of guy to play games with a woman and I didn’t want to pretend.
I didn’t expect a reply so quickly but my phone buzzed almost instantaneously.
That sounds good. I’ll bring the wine and dessert.
Okay…
Was that it? Was that all she was going to say? A cold sweat broke over me at the thought that perhaps last night hadn’t been as good for Ashlyn as it had been for me, but then I remembered the way she’d said my name over and over, digging her nails into my back. This morning I’d had little crescent moons on my shoulders. So she’d enjoyed herself. Unless she was the most amazing actress ever.
Mentally smacking myself in the head, I pushed all the doubts from my mind. A guy had to have confidence or the world would trounce all over him. That’s what I needed right now. Confidence and plenty of it. Because if I hadn’t rocked Ashlyn’s world…
Then I was determined to get a second chance tonight.
* * *
Ashlyn
Emmy had stopped into the store first thing to hear all about the date and h
ad ended up sitting on a stool by the sales counter, paging through Shelby’s book and sipping the coffee she’d brought us. And two cinnamon Danish. It was even better than a cruller. Hallelujah.
She tapped at the pages of the book. “I hate to admit it but the farther I read into this, the better it gets. The first part reads a trifle old-fashioned but after about the first third it really becomes a rallying cry for female empowerment. Shelby tells it like it is and she certainly tells her readers not to take any shit. I love it.”
“I need to finish it,” I admitted, stuffing another bite of warm cinnamon goodness in my mouth and savoring the sweet frosting, which was really the best part. The store was empty of customers and Katie was out running an errand so there was only my friend to witness my gluttony. “But I don’t know when I’ll be able to. Kyle asked me out again for tonight.”
Wagging her brows, Emmy grinned. “That’s what I’m here for. All the dirty details and don’t be stingy. How was last night?”
There was no point in pretending with my best friend. She could see right through me and vice versa.
“It was really great.” I paused, unsure how to phrase it. “I invited him in after the movie.”
“Is that a euphemism for hitting the sheets? Having sex? Doing the dance with no pants?”
I giggled at her ridiculous sayings. “Where in the hell did you ever hear doing the dance with no pants?”
She rolled her eyes and groaned. “A best man said it at the toast a few weekends ago at a wedding I was organizing. He thought it was hilarious.”
“He said it at the toast? How…cringeworthy. Somehow I don’t think he was the best man, if you know what I mean.”
“I worry for that relationship. The bride was not amused but her groom and his friends laughed and laughed. The stories I could tell you would curl your hair. I swear that woman married a thirteen-year-old in a grown man’s body. Good luck to her because she’s going to need it. Now enough about my weddings and get to it, missy. What happened?”
“We danced for a little while and then we ended up in bed.”
Emmy was literally rubbing her hands together like a villain in a bad movie.
“Excellent. He’s a smooth fucker, I’ll give him that. Or wait… Did he suggest dancing or did you?”
“He did. I was so nervous I think he thought it would relax me.” I sighed and took another bite of my cinnamon Danish. “He relaxed me all the way to making love and it made it like it was my idea. I was the one that suggested we take it to the bedroom.”
Emmy’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open. “He’s got skill. So…does he have real skill? The kind that counts?”
The truth will set you free.
“Yes. Oh my, yes. It was amazing. Earthshattering. Life changing.”
“Wow, that’s some incredible sex.”
“It was.”
“You could seem happier about it.”
“I am happy. It’s just that I feel like I’m riding a runaway train and I don’t know how much track is there. This could derail badly.”
“Or it could be really wonderful. What are you afraid of?”
Did she want the list alphabetical or by importance?
“How can you even ask that? You know who he is and you know who I am. I can’t change for him and I won’t.”
“Has he asked you to change?”
The cinnamon roll was gone so all I had left was my coffee. Mental note. Keep more snacks in the storeroom.
“No, but they don’t do it at the beginning. You know that. They wait until you’ve fallen for them and that’s when they start to try and change you. A little at first, and then more. Like that boiling the frog story.” I held up my phone and waved it around. I was still indignant about it an hour later. “Do you know how he asked me out for tonight? By text. Text, Emmy. He said last night was great and how about dinner tonight. He’ll cook. It was a text.”
Patting my hand, Emmy gave me a kind look. “I know you hate cell phone communication of any kind but that is a perfectly acceptable way to ask a person out on a date these days.”
I stared down at my phone with distaste. The only reason I had a smart phone like this was because Emmy had taken me – practically by force – to the cell phone store and forced me to upgrade from my flip phone. My friends wanted to be able to send me texts and pictures and whatever else. There was nothing wrong with my flip phone. It got the job done but I had to admit that sending a text wasn’t easy and it took forever for one little sentence.
But I still didn’t like it.
“I slept with a man who thinks it’s okay to ask out a woman by text. What have I done? We’re just too different.”
Emmy took the last drink of her coffee and then tossed the cup into the trash. “Here’s a radical thought. Why don’t you tell him you don’t like to text? I’m sure he’ll understand.”
“It might be too early in our relationship for that sort of honesty.”
“But it’s not too early to do naked, sweaty things with him on your Egyptian cotton sheets? Really?”
Emmy was the most practical of the four of us and today was no exception. Dammit. But then she hadn’t been there last night as Kyle and I had danced. The heat, the tension, the shimmering attraction that couldn’t be ignored.
Was it hot in here? I think I turned the heat up too far when I opened the store.
“You make a good point. I’ll bring it up with him tonight. If he doesn’t take it well, then I guess I’ll know that this won’t work.”
“Stop looking for reasons to end this,” Emmy chided me. “Look for ways to make it work. What are your deal-breakers?”
I had no idea, but I know that Mia had made a list of what she wanted and didn’t want when she was working through Shelby’s book.
Sighing, I reached for a notebook under the counter and a pen rolling around by the register.
“I don’t know but I’ll make a list. Are you going to help me?”
“Absolutely.” She clapped her hands together and then paged to that part of the book. “Now tell me what kind of man you can see yourself with when you’re eighty.”
“The kind that pick my ass up off the floor when I fall.”
I might enjoy this exercise after all.
“Funny. Seriously, what’s the most important trait a man can have?”
“A sense of humor. That’s an easy one. How many more questions are there?”
“Seventy-four.”
“I think we’re going to need more coffee.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Kyle
If it hadn’t been snowing and the temperature a frosty twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit, I would have done steaks on the grill. With the weather the way it was, however, I needed a plan B.
My mother had taught all of us kids to cook a few basic dishes – grilled cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, and her famous chicken. The chicken involved a hell of a lot of garlic but it always made the house smell heavenly. Since I wanted to impress Ashlyn with my culinary skills, I picked up a roaster and some potatoes and carrots from the store along with a half-gallon of ice cream, hot fudge, and whipped cream. She’d indicated that she was bringing dessert but just in case I wanted to be prepared.
My dirty mind had already thought of a few scenarios of where we could put that hot fudge and whipped cream to use if we didn’t eat the ice cream.
I’d straightened up the house, lit a fire in the fireplace, and put fresh sheets on the bed. Just in case.
Okay, I’m a total horndog.
Freshly showered and dressed, I had just checked on the chicken and potatoes in the oven when I heard the peal of the doorbell. My pulse raced with excitement and I opened the door to see Ashlyn on the other side looking more beautiful than I’d remembered. She was dressed casually in blue jeans and a sweater under her thick coat but she’d left her long blonde hair down around her shoulders. I couldn’t resist rubbing a silky strand between my fingers as I kissed her hello.
>
The air around us quickly heated up, and I had to drag my mouth from hers to slow my arousal and keep from jerking her up into my arms and dragging her to bed. Sam, too, was being particularly insistent that she pay some attention to him and not me. It seemed that I had a rival for her affections and he was damn cuter than me. How could I possibly compete?
I’d pulled her in for a kiss so quickly I hadn’t even said hello or noticed that she was carrying a bottle of wine and an oblong pan.
“Will you take these so I can give our sweet boy a big hug and kiss?” I relieved her of her burdens and she practically dove onto the floor to press her cheek against Sam’s fur. “Hello, love. How are you? Are you getting spoiled?”
The dog was getting more attention for sure.
“He got a bath today,” I said, ruffling the shining fur on his back. “He really needed it. I thought he’d hate it, but he loved it. Didn’t want to get out of the tub.”
“I’ll get you a rubber duckie,” she cooed, kissing Sam on his snout. “Don’t you look handsome? And you smell so good.”
“Hey, I smell good, too,” I said in mock indignation. Mostly mock. “I bathed as well. No rubber duckie required.”
Once again, my filthy mind filled with images of me and Ashlyn in my oversized jetted bathtub. A tub that Sam had not been bathed in this afternoon. I’d used the guest bathroom for that.
She abandoned Sam and lifted up on her tiptoes to give me a chaste kiss on the cheek. Probably just as well or we’d end up with a burnt dinner. “Are you feeling left out? He’s just so cute and look at him wag his tail. He really earned it.”
Sam was really going all out to win Ashlyn’s affections. His tail was wagging, his tongue hanging out, and he was looking up at her with pure love in his brown gaze. A human guy simply couldn’t compete with that.
Tease Him (ManTrap Book 2) Page 9
