Real Men Will

by Victoria Dahl

  She turned her face away, and Eric slid his mouth to her neck and sucked there.

  “Eric. I…” Jesus, that felt so good. Especially when she thought of him moving his mouth lower and lower, sucking the whole way. “The bedroom,” she gasped.

  “Yes,” he said against her throat.

  She led him down the hall, damn glad she was still wearing her heels as she walked in front of him. She made sure to add a little extra sway to her hips, and when she glanced back, he wasn’t looking at her face.

  But when they got to her bedroom, she didn’t know what to do, which kicked her brain to life. It remembered that it was supposed to be worrying, second-guessing, overanalyzing. She stood helplessly for a moment, but Eric took charge, thank God. He seemed to know what to do. Instead of thinking, he took off his shirt, then reached for his belt. Even that was preppy, one of those Cole Haan strips of braided leather, and as she watched him slide the leather free of the buckle, her knees went a little weak.

  He looked so…strong. His chest was so wide. His biceps were thick. He probably belonged to a gym. He probably lifted weights while the skinny gym girls swooned. Were those the girls he normally dated? The ones he told his family about and gave his real name to?

  Beth shook her head, breaking the thoughts free and sending them scattering. It didn’t matter. He wanted her, secretly or not. More importantly, she wanted him. So she stopped thinking and reached for the button of his jeans. She could feel the thick length of him through the rough fabric, and she immediately knew what she wanted.

  She slid his zipper carefully down. His hands fell to his sides. Then she slipped her hand inside his briefs and wrapped her fingers around his cock. He was so hot. She eased him free and went to her knees.

  My God, he was lovely. A work of art. She hadn’t gotten a chance to get up close and personal that night at the hotel. But now she could look her fill. The head was plump and perfect, but from there, his shaft got even thicker.

  Beth stroked him, one slow, firm stroke. A tiny bead of liquid leaked from the tip. She pressed a small, wet kiss to that spot just as she glanced up to see Eric’s face.

  She couldn’t read much. He looked…serious. She licked the underside of his cock, just to see if she could budge his expression. His jaw jumped. Good enough for her. She smiled and licked again, loving the rich, clean taste of his skin.

  Eric took a deep breath. “You said I owed you.”

  She closed her eyes and sighed against him. “This isn’t for you,” she whispered. “It’s for me.”

  Beth wrapped her hand around the base of his shaft, saying a little prayer of thanks for the class she’d given on fellatio this summer. She finally had someone to practice her newfound skills on.

  She took it slow, building up, pressing small kisses at first, then lingering ones, letting him feel the moisture of her open lips. Then she slid her mouth over him, pressing her tongue to the underside of his head. His taste settled into her, making her hum with pleasure. He smelled like soap and sex combined, and salt touched her tongue when she sucked.

  She eased him deeper, aware of how thick he was, how impossible it would be to take it all. Her clit felt painfully hard as she took as much of him as she could before easing back.

  His hands still hung by his sides, but his fingers had curled into fists.

  Beth took him deep again, letting him push roughly over her tongue. This time when she pulled back, she stroked with her fist at the same time, and Eric gasped. She used her mouth and hand in slow tandem, knowing the sensations would blend together into one nonstop feeling of—

  “Christ,” he ground out. Now his hands were open, hovering near her head as if he wanted to take hold of her and thrust deep.

  Closing her eyes, she let herself feel everything. His tension. His hardness. The way he seemed to get thicker with each pull of her mouth. This was what she’d always yearned for. Pleasure. Getting it or giving it, that part didn’t matter. She just wanted the pure blankness of it. Wanted it to go on forever. She took him over and over again, loving every minute of it. She lost herself in every stroke of him inside her mouth, taking him as deep as she could manage.

  “Beth,” he breathed after long minutes of silence.

  She knew what he was going to say. She could taste it on her tongue.

  “Stop,” he urged. “I can’t…”

  But she didn’t want to stop. Because his hand was finally in her hair—urging her to stay still or take more, she didn’t know. She tightened her fist around him, quickened the slide of her mouth, and felt his hand slip toward the back of her skull. His breath hissed between his teeth, then he groaned and jerked and his come flooded her throat.

  It was the most fun she’d had in months.

  ERIC COLLAPSED ONTO THE bed, his body warm and completely weak. “That’s not what I was planning,” he managed to say.

  “Oh?” Beth pressed against his side, chuckling softly. Her hand traced light circles on his chest. “I hope you’re not disappointed.”

  His laugh sounded more like a groan.

  “So what did you have planned? And when did you start planning?”

  “Okay, plan may be too strong a word, but I definitely had some major points I wanted to hit.” And none of them had started with having an orgasm three minutes into the best blow job of his life.

  “Like?” she asked, her hand dipping lower. He didn’t think it was possible to get hard again so quickly, but if anyone could make it happen, it was Beth Cantrell.

  “Like…” He watched her fingers spread wide just below his rib cage. Her hand looked so feminine against him. “Like I thought I’d spend a little time on you first.”

  “A little time?” she teased.

  “Well, I’ve got to work tomorrow.”

  Her nails bit lightly into his skin.

  “I thought I’d make you come,” he said. “And then I thought I’d slide deep inside you. Maybe make you come again.” He pushed up to one elbow, and Beth rolled to her back. “Isn’t that what you wanted? Me inside you while you scream my name?”

  “I…” Her eyelids fluttered. “That would be good, yes.”

  “Yes?” He traced the same spot he’d traced before, the rise of her breast against the dark blue fabric of her bra. Her skin…he couldn’t describe it, not even in his own mind. Soft was an utterly inadequate word.

  He reached for the delicate bow at the front of the bra and pulled it free. “You always have these little ties.”

  “Do I?”

  “Yes. I love it.” Last time, the ties had been on her panties, and all he’d had to do was pull them free and she’d been naked.

  “It’s my favorite—” the laces finally gave way, and he smoothed the dark silk off her breasts “—brand,” she finished weakly.

  “Mine, too,” he murmured, lowering his head to brush his lips over one dark nipple. Everything had been hurried before. Desperate. Now he had time to taste her, touch her. And he was suddenly glad he’d already come, because just this was stirring his cock again, a goddamned miraculous resurrection.

  He opened his mouth over her and drew her in, and Beth gasped so sweetly that it made his chest tighten. He knew she was experienced, he knew she’d probably done things in bed that he’d never even heard of. But somehow she sounded like the simplest kiss was a wonder to her. How was it possible for her to be so many amazing things at once?

  He found a rhythm with his tongue that made her gasp and writhe, then eased his hand down her stomach and cupped it over the dark fabric that covered her sex. She was wet. Soaked through. He stroked her through the silk, and pressed his teeth to her nipple.

  Beth arched up with a little cry, but he wanted to make her scream.

  Giving up any teasing, he dragged her panties down and slipped his finger along the seam of her body. Her clit was hard and eager, and when he brushed it, she groaned as if she was in pain.

  She was close to coming already, but he wanted to do this right. Thanks
to her earlier attentions, he could actually concentrate, and Eric thought of the lesson he’d overheard at the White Orchid. Raising his head, he watched her face as he touched her clit again.

  Beth threw her head back. She let her knees fall open and pressed toward his hand. He could make her come right now. Easily. His fingers were soaked. All he had to do was circle her clit a few times and she’d come apart for him. But he didn’t want easy. So instead of concentrating on that spot, he pressed two fingers slowly inside her pussy, stretching her.

  “Oh, God,” she moaned. “That feels good.”

  When he rubbed the heel of his hand into her clit, her mouth opened on a sigh. Watching her face, he curled his two fingers up and pressed into her body as he fucked her with his hand. He felt it. Subtle, but just what the girl at the shop had described. The faintest little curve of texture in her flesh, hardly even noticeable. He pressed his fingertips against it and rubbed her clit at the same time.

  Beth’s eyes popped open. “Oh,” she breathed. He did it again. Her eyes fluttered closed. She whimpered and grabbed his wrist, holding him tight inside her.

  His dick throbbed in sympathetic approval.

  “Eric…”

  Yeah.

  “Don’t stop. Just…” Her forehead creased with concentration. Her nails bit into his wrist in sharp points of pain that did nothing but excite him further. He felt her muscles tighten around him as he worked her. Jesus Christ, he wanted inside her. But not until…

  “That’s… It’s…” Words seemed to fail her as she whimpered and turned her face away. Finally, a sharp cry escaped her mouth and she was shaking, her hips bucking against him as she came. “Oh, God,” she sobbed. “Oh, Eric.”

  He waited until her last sobs had passed before he let her go. Then Beth rolled to her side, still panting. He smoothed a hand over the generous curve of her ass, loving the way her hip rose up from his hand. He shaped every curve, then slid the edge of his hand down until he touched wet heat.

  “Mmm,” she sighed, pushing into his fingers as he stroked her.

  “More?” he asked, and his cock strained forward when she eased her legs open at his touch.

  Eric pulled a condom from his wallet, rolled it on and pushed slowly inside her from behind. It was…heaven. He held her tight to his chest and fucked her as slowly as he could, drawing it out, burying himself so deeply inside her he felt consumed by her body.

  A long time later, when they both came again, Beth didn’t scream his name. Instead, she sighed it so softly that he barely heard. And strangely, that was even better.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  HE’D AWOKEN EARLY, GRATEFUL that Beth was still asleep and they could avoid any morning-after awkwardness. They’d have to talk about what this meant, if anything, but not when they were naked. And not when her cheeks were flushed pink with sleep.

  Though he’d managed to dress without waking her, he hadn’t been cold enough to just sneak out. He was still trying to make up for his lies, after all. Stealing out like a thief probably wouldn’t help.

  So instead of tiptoeing out the door, he sat down on her side of the bed and smoothed a lock of hair off her shoulder. Beth didn’t respond. She was sleeping on her stomach, her head cradled on her arms, and once he’d swept her hair away, nearly her whole back was exposed to him.

  In the morning light, her skin glowed, so smooth that his fingers actually ached to touch her. He wanted to run his hand down her spine, put his mouth to her shoulder blade and work his way up to her neck. He wanted to smell her, taste her, have her again.

  Just the thought of touching her had him hard as a rock already. But if he slipped back into bed and woke her, there’d be talk of breakfast, then talk of talk, and he didn’t want to walk away this morning with any of that tension. He wanted to fucking float.

  He brushed the backs of his fingers over her pink cheekbone. “Beth?”

  She sighed.

  Eric forced himself not to give in to the warm feeling spreading through his chest. It was just a blow job, man. Get it together. It was just sex.

  “Beth? I’ve got to go.”

  Her eyes finally opened, widening when she saw him sitting there. “Oh!” She twisted around, holding the sheet to her chest.

  “Go back to sleep. I just wanted you to know I’m leaving.”

  “I…” Her gaze slid to the doorway and she nodded. “Okay.” She obviously wanted to avoid any awkwardness, too.

  “I’ll call later,” he promised, then got to his feet before he screwed up and kissed her. He glanced back as he left, and he could have sworn he caught her smiling. He smiled, too, but not until he was safely outside.

  Hard to believe, but…last night had far surpassed their first night together. That had been hot, yes. Desperate. Mind-blowing. But last night had been all that and more. Including the part where she’d fallen asleep pressed tight to his side.

  She surprised him, constantly. Every interaction with her left him less sure of who she was. Funny, considering he’d been the one with the fake name.

  She just seemed so…soft. Not just her skin, but everything about her. Soft and so much more vulnerable than he’d ever expected. He was really glad he’d gone to her place, though he still had no idea why he’d gone. Well, he knew why he’d gone. There was no question of that. But why had he decided to risk it?

  Six months ago, it had seemed the height of danger, meeting her. It had felt foolhardy and wrong, sleeping with a stranger, and a notorious one at that. It had been completely out of character.

  But now…now he was a different man. Every part of his life felt uncertain. Hell, he didn’t even know what his character was anymore. Compared to that confusion, Beth was solid. After all, there was no question of what he wanted from her, and how much he wanted it.

  Three hours later, he was still gliding through his day as if it weren’t quite real. He’d showered and eaten. Now it was time to get to work, but he checked his phone as he stepped into the brewery, just in case he’d missed a call from Beth.

  “Just the guy I wanted to see,” a man said from the dimness of the bar.

  His eyes were still adjusting, but Eric recognized Luke’s voice. He stuffed the phone in his pocket. “Hey, Luke. What are you doing here so early?”

  “I’ve got news about the investigation.”

  “Good news?”

  “After Monica called your friend, I started pushing a little harder. It seemed suspicious. I mean, more suspicious than the Kendalls usually are. We’ve found some evidence of how Graham broke into other places. Some were just standard break-ins that he paid local thugs to carry out. Some seemed to be crimes of convenience. Renovations that left buildings vulnerable. Stuff like that.”

  “Okay.”

  “But there was one man who struck me as cagey. So after I heard from you about Monica, I pressed him harder. His place was hit late last year. A big catering and event company that had a lot of employees over the past ten years, not to mention all the payment information from clients. He’d always claimed not to know anything about any of it, but he was lying.”

  “He knew Monica?”

  “He slept with her. He’s married. That’s why he suggested she come to his office. Or maybe she suggested it, he couldn’t seem to remember those details.”

  Eric shook his head. “So it was the exact same situation?”

  “Pretty much. Counting the owner of that construction company she slept with, that’s three men. Maybe that’s all there are. But that’s enough to charge her as an accessory.”

  “You’re going to charge her?”

  “The D.A.’s leaning hard. They’d much rather she give up her brother.” The double doors to the back room opened, and Luke looked up with a smile.

  “Hey, Luke,” Tessa drawled with the kind of smile for her boyfriend that a big brother shouldn’t see. Eric cringed, but Tessa ignored that and walked up to kiss him on the cheek. “Eric, did you and Jamie really make up?”

  �
�We talked. We’re fine.”

  “Good. I still can’t believe you did that. God. I’m so mad at you.” She glared, but her sternness was ruined by the hug she gave him. “Be nice to Jamie.”

  “I was trying to be nice!” he protested.

  “Maybe you need to learn how to communicate better,” she suggested.

  “Maybe he needs to learn how to grow up.”

  Tessa slapped his arm. “Behave.”

  “Hey!”

  But she just shrugged and started straightening tables.

  “Anyway,” Luke said when he finally dragged his eyes off Tessa. Here was a man who was head over heels. “I’ll need to get that information about your friend.”

  “My friend?” Eric stiffened and glanced toward Tessa.

  “The woman. Beth… What’s her last name?”

  “Right,” Eric started. “I’ll—”

  “Cantrell. Beth Cantrell. I’ll need to interview her.”

  Eric swallowed and watched his sister, who’d stopped shifting things around and was now staring at Luke. “Sure,” Eric said. “No problem.”

  “Beth Cantrell,” Tessa said. “I know that name.”

  Eric ignored her, but Luke didn’t, of course. “She’s the woman who said Monica Kendall asked her to lie.”

  “Yes, but—”

  Eric spun on his heel. “No problem. I’ll see you two later.”

  “Wait!” Tessa yelped. “I know who she is!”

  His neck burned, but strangely, the heat felt like ice crawling down his spine. He stopped, but didn’t turn around.

  “I met her a few months ago. She runs the White Orchid.”

  “Oh,” Luke said, and then silence fell. Eric could feel their eyes on him. He stared hard at the doors that led to his office, where he could lock himself in and avoid these questions.