“Fuck it,” he said, getting up and tossing down bills onto the table, taking my hand and leading me out of the restaurant. Once at his SUV, he pushed my back against it, bent down, and kissed me.
It was the best kiss I’d ever had in my life. Tongue, teeth, lips—it was all-consuming, and in that instant I was lost. I wasn’t Hannah. I wasn’t Aspen. I wasn’t a woman on the run. I was simply a woman turned the hell on.
And I knew I was so screwed.
12
Dane
I was absolutely lost, dumbfounded actually. Her honesty shocked me. Her sincerity surprised me. Her kindness drew me in. Her eyes captured me. Her body called to me. Her strength turned me on.
I had many women in my past. Not a single one wound me up and threw me off my game like her.
Mistake one, I used my real first name at the shop. I shouldn’t have done that.
Mistake two, while I hadn’t lied that I had three brothers and a single mom, I gave her a generalized description of my life with Onyx, Paxton, Garrett, and Ellen Sue. I even shared with her that one brother was an attorney, one an accountant, and that Onyx and I shared a real estate investment company.
I gave this girl far too much information.
She didn’t know that I knew everything about her. She didn’t know she was being set up. Yet, she sat at a dinner table and gave me what she could without giving too much.
Genuine.
Honest.
Loyalty to herself.
Those were traits hard to find in people.
If our situation was anything different than this, I could dare find a future with a woman like her.
When I was in her presence, work, life, home, tasks, markers, and everything was forgotten. I couldn’t stop touching her, craving her, wanting her. The more I told myself I needed to keep my distance, the more my cock screamed to sink inside of her.
With every passing moment I wanted more of her. The date passed, and I didn’t want it to end. The more time I spent with her the more I craved a taste.
I never meant to kiss her, but I did.
After that I was gone.
One taste of her lips turned into an all-consuming passion that I couldn’t control. I couldn’t get close enough to her and the way she was pulling on me, she felt the same. The car ride to her place was a blur. Her hand rubbed my thigh as my cock strained behind the zipper of my pants.
My phone rang from Onyx once but I ignored it, knowing I would reach out in the morning while Aspen was at work. Right now, everything was forgotten but getting inside of her.
Parking in front of her place, I rushed out of my seat and over to hers to open the door. She took me by the hand and led me to her door.
Mustering up every bit of self-control I had, I looked her in the eye and stopped her at the front door.
“I’m gonna be the gentleman who walks away, Hannah.” My voice strained as I wanted to call her Aspen, the beautiful name for an even more beautiful woman. “If I kiss you again, I’m not gonna wanna stop.”
She smiled softly at me under the night sky. “What if I don’t wanna stop?” she whispered before biting her lip.
I groaned as she rolled up on her tiptoes and wrapped her hands around my neck, pulling me to her. Our lips met, she opened, and my tongue invaded her mouth.
She moaned in my mouth, and I knew I was going inside with her. Consequences be damned.
Without breaking our kiss, she opened the door making me wonder about her locks. Opening my eyes, I noticed no deadbolt, just a handle lock. I made a mental note to fix that tomorrow.
She kept her hands around my neck and pulled me further into her space. Hot. No, she was blazing, and I needed more of her. Needed to taste every inch of her. Needed to worship her like she deserved to be.
This woman undid me. In only a few hours of time together, all my body and mind could think about was her.
My cock strained in my pants as I pulled her to me and kissed her hard and deep, letting her feel what she did to me. Her hands came around my neck pulling me as she moved just a bit closer to the point there was no room between us. She wanted everything as much as I did. As lost as I had become tonight, Aspen was right there with me. Gone, both of us completely gone.
Fuck.
We fell to her bed in a tangle of limbs, our hands roaming and lips taking from each other. She didn’t tell me to stop. Instead, she was a full participant giving to me as much as she could. I fucking loved that.
Her lips tasted of strawberries, and I devoured her. My cock rubbed against her core, lengthening. She broke the kiss and cried out already close to orgasm. I’d only begun with her, and she was already there. I couldn’t imagine what she’d be like when we actually fucked.
Aspen’s hands clutched my shoulders and pulled me down fully on top of her, all of my weight pressing her down.
The kiss broke, and we looked each other deep almost to our souls.
“You sure about this?” I asked, panting and hoping like hell she wasn’t going to call an end to this. While I’d always taken care of my women, never had I cared so much about the other woman’s feelings. It was in, out, orgasm, bye. Not with Aspen. I was in too deep. The connection was too strong. This mattered more than I cared to admit even to myself.
“Yes,” she breathed, and I wasted no time rolling off and swiping her dress from her body. A groan rumbled deep in my chest. Her matching purple lace bra and barely there underwear greeted me.
“If I’d known you had this underneath that dress, we wouldn’t have made it to dinner.”
She smiled, reaching up and pulling the buttons from my shirt. Her fingers fumbled, so I helped her along then tore my shirt off. Our lips connected once more as I rolled us, my fingers unclasping her bra and pulling it off then grabbing her ass. Thong. She had on a fucking thong.
Fuck. I needed inside of her. Slow would have to come another day.
I pulled her knees up to straddle my frame, our tongues dueling in a dance of passion and need. Her hips began to move back and forth on my dick, rubbing it just right. Each movement making it hotter than hell in here.
She looked down at me, eyes burning and captivating me in her web. She had me tangled up and didn’t even know it yet.
Her hand reached down, unbuckling my belt, unbuttoning and unzipping my pants. She pulled them down over my ass and squeezed me hard. Fuck, that felt good.
“Need you… Hannah.” I’d almost fucked up calling her by her real name, but caught myself. Dammit, this was harder than I anticipated.
Reaching between us, my fingers went underneath the tiny scrap of fabric and found her clit. Swirl after swirl, her hips moved more and more. She slicked my fingers to the point she began squirming. She was close, so close, and with the fire blazing in her eyes, I couldn’t wait to watch her go off.
I flipped her over to her back, kicked the rest of my clothes off fully and came down on her, only her underwear blocking my way.
I reached up and pulled her hair out of her face. Her eyes were dilated and breathing labored. She wanted this just as much as I did. I fucking needed her like I’d never needed another human in my life.
“Please,” she whispered, and my control snapped.
Pushing the barrier aside, I lined up and pressed inside of her. She wrapped around me, squeezing me along the way. For the first time since I was a teenager, I felt as though I would come early. She had that much power.
Aspen’s eyes rolled back in her head as her back arched taking more of me in. Inch by inch, I went all the way to the hilt and stilled.
Connected.
One.
Bonded.
In that moment, all those things raced through my head, and I couldn’t stop them. As much as I knew my job here, I couldn’t fight it. I didn’t want to fight it.
I leaned down kissing her, thrusting in and out at a rapid pace, building both of us. Grasping her hands and placing them on either side of her head, I laced our fingers together, need
ing more. Hell, if I could climb inside of her, I would at this moment.
Her legs wrapped around me, pulling me in deeper and closer.
Her muscles clamped around me as she broke from my lips and screamed out, the orgasm taking her under. I tried my damnedest to ride her out through it. My balls pulled up and each stream of my seed was like a mini orgasm all leading up to the explosion. When I finished, she was still breathing hard, her eyes on mine.
Something happened in that moment. Something powerful. Something life changing. Something I’d never expected.
I was officially fucked.
13
Aspen—Hannah
Warmth surrounded me as my eyes tried to open, but having a hard time doing so. It was comfortable and cozy, and no way did I want it to stop. I hadn’t felt comfortable or cozy for weeks now and while I was still in dreamland, I grasped it with both hands determined to not let go.
Funny the lessons life taught you when you’d lost everything. For this brief moment in time, I wanted to hold on and take it all in. That’s the hardest lesson in all of this, wishing I could go back and have just one more second with Gramma and Royal. This was just a dream, but while I had an opportunity to escape my reality, I was going to hold on for as long as my mind would let me.
Soft kisses trailed on my shoulder moving to my neck where lips whispered, “Mornin’, beautiful.” Those words were so real, I could reach out and touch them.
Fingertips trailed from my hip, my very naked hip, up my side all the way to my breasts. The heat of a hand cupped one of them giving a small squeeze.
My eyes flew open. There was still warmth. There was still a hand on my breast. There were still kisses trailing from neck to shoulder.
Holy shit.
Dane.
Last night played on a reel through my head. The glances. The touching. His lips. His hands. Holy shit. He made my body sing like no other man had ever done in my life. There was more to it, though. It wasn’t just sex like I’d intended it to be.
Instead, it was a coming of the minds, a connection, a bond and it scared the ever loving shit out of me.
This wasn’t supposed to happen and especially not in one night. No, it didn’t happen like that, not for a woman like me. A black cloud had been over my head from the day I was born. I was doomed for all things terrible. He was a man, and no way he thought or felt anything like that. I felt safe then knowing he wasn’t going to expect more. I had a plan. Let loose for the night and forget about him and everything we had shared in the morning.
Only morning was here and now everything I had planned slipped from my mind as he continued to caress my body.
He’d get up and leave, and I’d head to work. We’d be done and move on. No connection. No bond. Nothing to tie us together.
One night of sex did not constitute as a marriage proposal. Thank God. No way was I ready for any of that.
Now I had to get him out of my house and his hands off of me, because the more he touched me, the more I wanted him to take me once more.
That wasn’t good for me. I needed scissors to cut the ties that wanted desperately to form between us.
There was too much in my life and so much that he didn’t know about. So much that I’d never be able to tell him. Ever.
We may have amazing compatibility and a strong connection, but we were doomed from the start. This could and would never go anywhere further than sharing time between the sheets until I had to take off to stay away from Jolin.
“Morning.” My voice was calm and quiet; not sure how I pulled that one off because inside I was anything but. Stilling my nerves, I kept focused on what I needed to do next. “I really need to get to work.” I tried to roll out from Dane, but his arm wrapped around my waist like a steel band holding me to him.
This wasn’t going as planned, but I guess nothing in my life ever did.
“After,” he whispered right at my ear creating a small puff of air that sent chills down my spine.
“After what?” Dammit. I sounded breathy and ready to spread my legs open for him to fuck me again. Shit. Shit. Shit.
Dane didn’t wait. He rolled me over, my back now on the softness, while his hardness came over top of me.
He had a gorgeous body and knew how to use every single inch of it.
And he did. On me.
He leaned down just as I was about to tell him that this wasn’t a good idea and kissed me. It was deep, hard, and so full of passion that desire shot right between my legs.
The man could kiss. It wasn’t sloppy or unskilled. He wasn’t a man who didn’t care about his partner. No, this was all about me. I felt it down to my bones. Each movement of his lips and hands were made to arouse me. To make me want him.
It was glorious. I felt cherished.
The doubt tried to creep back in, but I pushed it out and just felt. His lean, hard body on top of mine. His dick right at my clit, moving just enough to tease. His hands and fingers feeling me all over, demanding that each inch of my flesh sing.
I was lost. In him. In me. To the damn world.
He pulled away and chuckled when I tried to lift up to chase his lips. Dane reached over to the nightstand, grabbed a condom, put it on and was inside me. It was beautiful, and I felt him so deep inside my body claiming me.
I shifted my hips as we worked together in a steady rhythm building and building. He broke the kiss just as I tipped over into bliss, and he watched the entire thing before stilling inside of me and giving in to his orgasm.
His forehead came down on mine. It was a very intimate gesture, and as much as I knew I should push him away and not give in to it. I couldn’t. I loved every second of it.
He rolled off of me. We both worked on getting our breathing under control. It took a bit but my brain kicked back in, and I rolled from the bed my nakedness on full display. He’d already seen every part of me, no need to feel modest now.
“I love your ass,” he rumbled and I felt it in my core.
Why couldn’t we have met in my other life? One where I wasn’t running for my life. One where I could actually have something with a man. One where I didn’t know if I’d have to pack up everything I had and get out of town as quick as possible.
One where I could trace every tattoo on his body and drink him in. My body was humming in desire again, and I needed to get myself under control.
The bathroom door shut behind me and tears threatened to come, but I pushed them down. I needed to get ready for the day and set off to do just that. Of course, I didn’t do much to get ready, just wash my face, comb my hair, and put on a little bit of moisturizer. There was no need to get all gussied up when all I did was work with clay.
Clay didn’t judge.
Clay didn’t talk. It just moved the way I wanted it to go.
Stepping out of the bathroom, Dane was already dressed in last night’s clothes. I raced over to my small dresser, another thing left here by my landlords, and pulled out clothes putting them on quickly.
This shouldn’t be awkward, right? Two people who had explosive sex just needed to say goodbye and move on. That’s what I planned to do. Unfortunately, Dane didn’t see it that way.
He approached. “Dinner tonight?”
I shook my head using the only out I had, and truthfully it had to be done. I was so behind schedule and needed pieces glazed and in the kiln. “I can’t. I have an order that needs to be done.”
“After,” he tried.
“I’ll be dead on my feet.”
Dane’s gaze became shrewd like he was crawling inside my head and learning all of my secrets. That absolutely couldn’t happen. “Thanks, though,” I added on, trying to get him out the door so I could get out the door. Casual, Aspen, I reminded myself silently to remain casual, collected, and calm.
“This is good between us, Hannah. You know it, and I know it. Last night wasn’t some one-night stand that either of us are going to forget.” His words pierced my heart. He felt it. Whatever it was…
he knew it too.
Shit.
“I really have to get to work.”
Dane pulled me to him, his lips coming down hard on mine. My hands went around his back as I held on for dear life. When he pulled away from my lips, I was in a daze, so caught up in the feel of him. I forgot about work, life, and the shit-storm I was in for a brief moment.
“Tomorrow night. I’ll pick you up at six.”
He leaned down, pecked my lips, and then he was gone. Poof. I hadn’t gotten a single word in. Hell. Shit. And damn.
How was I supposed to get out of this?
I didn’t dwell on it. I really did have work to get done and at least I got a pass for tonight. Tomorrow, well, I would deal with it then.
The day went by so fast, but I got so much work done that I was almost back on schedule.
“You sure you’re going to stay here?” Cora asked with her keys in her hand, ready to be done for the day. As soon as I came in she pounced on me wanting the rundown of my date. Since she was the only friend I had at the moment, I didn’t hesitate to jump right into it, needing to unload it on someone.
I told her everything; well almost everything. I just told her that he was good in bed, not the actual deed because that was just weird. She jumped me for turning him down for dinner and tried her damnedest to get more out of me.
I couldn’t tell her about me. My life. The reasons I couldn’t have a good man like Dane. Why I was running. Why I’d probably never be able to return home. Why I wanted to scream and wish for a different life. One where I could have all of those things.
Since I wasn’t a two-year-old, I did none of these.
“Yeah. I have to get two more made tonight, then I’ll almost be on track.”
“And you need some new for the storefront.”
I smiled. “I know. I know. They’re on my list.”
“I’ll lock the door, you set the alarm when you leave. Okay?”
PowerLess: Anti-Hero Game: Power Chain Book Three Page 9
