by Anthology
His eyes darkened as he smiled. “I thought you’d never ask.”
He hopped off the desk and lifted her off her feet with one swift motion. She wrapped her legs around him and hooked her arms behind his neck, her mind whirling from the realization that this was actually happening. With ease, he carried her to the worn suede couch Nick used for guests and laid her on it. He didn’t give her time to second guess anything. Their lips met first—a breathless, urgent claiming that had her grappling for him. Then his body molded against hers as he sank onto the couch with her—hard against soft, his confidence pushing away any lingering uncertainties. This would be good. This would be worth it.
His tongue, hot and sweet, explored her mouth, the line of her jaw, her throat. She arched into him, nestling the steel of his erection against the burning between her thighs. Everything in her was screaming for him. Her fingers fumbled with the buckle of his belt. Needing. Wanting. Not willing to take her time. Scared that she would back out if she let herself think too much.
“Not yet,” he whispered, a smile touching his voice. “I’ve been thinking about this since the moment I met you. I don’t want to rush it.”
He tugged his shirt off, providing an eyeful of tightly packed muscle and inked skin for her hungry gaze. Good God he was pretty. She dragged her nails across his stomach, tracing the deep V of his pelvis. The firmness in his pants flexed in response. Her hand ran along the length of it, the denim rasping against her fingers. A deep groan escaped his throat, and heat flared in his eyes.
“You don’t listen very well, do you?” he said, the corners of his mouth hinting at a smile. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head. “I said patience, beautiful.”
“I hate that virtue,” she said, pushing her bottom lip out.
He grinned and caught her lip with his teeth, nibbling. “Don’t test me. That phone cord over there could make for excellent wrist bindings.”
She turned her head and glanced at the coiling black wire. He wouldn’t, right? Or maybe he would. She had no doubt that he’d had kinky sexual escapades she wasn’t experienced or knowledgeable enough to even conjure up in her mind. She sent him a wary look. “You’re into that kind of thing?”
He laughed and released her arms long enough to pull her dress up and over her head. “What? Tying you up and leaving you helpless while I drive you out of your mind? I’d be stupid not to be into that. But unfortunately, we don’t have time for that kind of fun.”
Her skin was so hot she half-expected steam to rise up as the chilled office air hit her. He tossed the dress onto the floor, and his fingers adeptly unsnapped her bra.
At the sudden exposure, a twinge of panic seized her. She didn’t look like the groupies he was probably used to—model thin and surgically enhanced. Her gym membership had expired a year ago. And her boobs definitely didn’t warrant their own zip code. She was real, imperfect, soft. His eyes raked over her bared breasts, her black panties, her body.
“You are so fucking gorgeous, Aubrey,” he said, his voice thick, all playfulness gone.
A nervous laugh bubbled to her lips, ready to dismiss the compliment, but she swallowed it when she met his gaze. His face was serious, hungry, reverent. He wasn’t joking with her or spouting platitudes. No man had ever looked at her like that.
Her body heated further under his stare and her nipples tightened, anticipating his touch. She smiled at him. “I would tell you that you’re stunning, but you clearly already know that.”
His mouth quirked up at the corner. “I’m glad you agree.”
She laughed and smacked his chest. “You’re so bad.”
He grabbed her wrist and placed a gentle kiss on her palm. Then he laid her arm above her head, his eyes giving her unspoken direction to stay put. Adept fingers traced paths along her stomach, sending ripples of sensation shooting out like seismic waves. In a silent plea, her back arched toward him. He cupped her breasts and ran rough thumbs across their peaks, causing her breath to catch.
“I’m bad?” He bent down and took a nipple into his mouth, first sucking and then tugging it gently with his teeth.
She gasped, urgent desire drenching the thin silk of her panties. She wondered if she could have an orgasm without him even touching her below the waist. Her control was hovering on the edge already. A deep breath shuddered through her as she tried to reign herself in. She didn’t want this to end too soon. Not without feeling him inside of her.
“What about you?” he breathed, before taking the other peak and giving it the same treatment.
She could barely form words, consumed by the tongue rasping against her breast and the heady scent of man wafting from him.
“Me? I’m not bad.” She shivered as his teeth scraped against the delicate nerve endings. “At least not usually.”
His finger trailed down the center of her cleavage, down her quivering abdomen, and then hovered at the lace waistband of her panties.
“I think you’re wrong.” He slipped his finger under the lace and caressed her.
She let her head drop back and moaned.
“No good girl would go through the trouble of keeping everything so smooth down here—like she’s begging to be kissed and licked and tasted. I think you’re naughtier than you’re letting on.” His finger found its destination and slid inside, dipping in and out in a languid rhythm.
“Oh, God.” Her body, no longer under her conscious control, rocked against his hand like a desperate, wanting thing. She writhed underneath his careful attention, blindly scraping her fingernails against his arms. “I like the way smooth feels.”
“Bet it makes touching yourself better?” he whispered.
“Yes.” The word came out in a gasp. She couldn’t believe what she was admitting aloud, but it was as if her internal filter had shut down.
He groaned as he eased his hand out of her panties. “Fuck.”
Her eyelids snapped open. “What’s wrong?”
His jaw tightened and sweat glistened on his forehead. “Now you’ve got me picturing you getting yourself off. That’s not fair.”
Her lips curled into a smile, happy that she was affecting him as much as he was affecting her. She may be a good girl, but she could play dirty, too. She grabbed his wrist and sucked the finger he had been using on her.
An expression akin to pain crossed his face. “Okay, screw taking our time. Terrible idea.”
He gripped her waistband and yanked her panties down without ceremony.
“Worst idea ever,” she agreed. She reached out and made quick work of his belt buckle, cursing the creator of such useless devices when it gave her trouble. Once it released, her fingers manipulated the button on his jeans as he dug in his back pocket. The couch squeaked underneath their hurried movements, and Aubrey said a silent prayer that no one would hear them outside in the hallway.
No longer the picture of patience, Lex hopped up, wrenched off his shoes and shucked his pants and boxers. Aubrey allowed her eyes to travel across all the hard angles and smooth plains of his naked torso, and then down, down, down, discovering there was something far sexier than Lex in jeans—Lex out of them. Hot damn. Everything in her coiled in anticipation at the sight of his impressive erection. Her tongue swiped at her bottom lip.
“Mmm, I like the way you’re looking at me, Ms. Bordelon.” He leaned over and kissed her full on the mouth, surprising her with the level of tenderness he could employ in the midst of their fervor. She ignored the stirring in her chest the affection awakened. When the kiss ended, he cupped her chin and tilted her face upward, locking those blue eyes on her green ones. “I’d love to kiss every inch of you like that, but we’ll have to make time for that later. If I’m not inside you in the next two minutes, I may end up in a straight jacket.”
The intensity in his face and seductive promise in his voice made her body throb in need. “That makes two of us.”
He braced his arm on the back of the couch and used his knee to part her legs, opening her to him. He m
ade a sound of appreciation, running a knuckle down her slick, aching cleft, and then settled his body between them. “So damn sexy.”
“Please, Lex,” she moaned, the simple touch almost sending her over.
“Easy, baby. Almost time.” While he opened the foil packet with his teeth, the thumb of his free hand caressed her clit, sending sharp bolts of pleasure through her and keeping her right at the edge. He fumbled a bit trying to get the condom out while still touching her, and she nearly resorted to whimpering. Instead, she managed to grab his arm and plucked the rubber from his fingertips, unable to wait another moment. She rolled it down his length, loving the feeling of that steel heat beneath her palm and positioned herself just right beneath him.
She needed him. Right. Now.
“Mmm, trying to take charge, huh?” He nestled himself against her mound, brushing her with the tip of his cock. “That won’t do.”
He took her wrists and pinned them above her head.
She tried to wiggle out of the hold, desperate to grab him and guide inside her but he held her firm and slid in one agonizingly sweet inch at a time. Every nerve ending in her body seemed centered on that one spot where their bodies were connected. She could feel every detail of him—the broad head of his cock, the smooth, hot shaft, the size of him.
“Christ,” he groaned, obviously torturing himself with his pace as well.
Her body protested as it stretched to accommodate him. It’d been so long. But the combination of pleasure and pain took her breath away. She dug her nails into her palms and wrapped her legs around his waist, seating him even deeper.
“Am I hurting you?” he asked, voice raspy, as if he were holding on by a thread. He moved inside her slowly, carefully.
Panic fluttered through her at the thought that he might stop.
“No,” she whispered, loving the feeling of his pumping heat so snug inside her, dragging over her most sensitive parts. “I want all of you.”
He didn’t need to be told twice. He slid to the hilt, filling her completely and gradually increasing his pace, until he was driving into her with the same urgency she felt. “Fuck, you feel good.”
She closed her eyes, relishing the hard grip of his hand around her wrists, the joining of their bodies, the rawness of it all.
He tucked a hand between them and caressed her clit, bringing her closer and closer to climax. It wouldn’t take much. She was so near the edge already, drowning in the man that was Lex Logan. The sights and sounds of the office around her faded into the ether. All her senses honed in on Lex—his spiced scent, the way his dampened hair fell across his forehead, how every kiss she peppered him with tasted like salty ocean air.
“Aubrey,” he ground out, drawing out the syllables. His eyes flared with yearning.
The moved together in perfect rhythm, rocking, thrusting, him holding her down like everything would fall away if either let go. Hard and fast and all-consuming. She teetered on the verge, feeling like she would never be able to gather her thoughts again. Over and over. Closer and closer to the brink. Then, right when she thought she would burst from the pleasure, she careened into orgasm.
She opened her mouth to cry out, but Lex shoved her head against his shoulder to keep her quiet, twisting his fingers into her hair. Unable to control the surging force of energy in her body, she bit into his flesh, letting go a muffled scream against his skin. He gasped, in pain or pleasure, she couldn’t tell. Then his body shuddered. A low, guttural moan escaped him as he found his own release.
They collapsed onto the couch, a tangle of legs and sapped muscles, breathing as if they’d run a marathon. They didn’t say anything for a long few minutes and the bliss of the moment started to settle down, letting reality slip in with its ugliness. Aubrey squeezed her eyes shut, holding in the idiotic tears that threatened to spill over.
Never. Never had it been like this. Not with Gray, not even when things were great between them. A miserable feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Leave it to her to discover the sex of her life with a guy who would be gone in a week.
CHAPTER 10
Lex wanted to choke the photographer. Hours of posing, setting up shots, getting powdered and re-powdered in the sweltering heat, and dealing with Sean’s foul mood were enough to drive him to homicidal thoughts. The photographer directed Lex to look intense for the umpteenth time. Lex bared his teeth and growled, earning a deep frown from the photographer.
“Not scary, Mr. Logan. Dark, sexy, mysterious…” he said in his exaggerated French accent. “Make love to the camera.”
Seriously? Oh, this guy was begging to be kicked in the balls.
“I need a break,” Lex barked, knowing he was seconds away from a meltdown. He grabbed a water bottle from the ice chest and stalked off to the shaded area inside of the abandoned warehouse that they were using as a backdrop. He rested his head against the rusted metal wall and stared at the large venting fans in the ceiling, willing them to rise from their corroded state and work. He slid down the wall and sank onto the dirt floor, not caring that the wardrobe chick would shit a brick when she saw his designer black pants dusted brown.
Jared loped through the open doorway and frowned at Lex. “Dude, what’s your deal?”
“My deal?”
“Yeah, you’ve been kind of an asshole the last few hours.”
A sarcastic comeback rose to Lex’s lips, but he stopped it from slipping out. “Sorry.”
He had been kind of a prick since Aubrey had left the set. The first hour of the shoot had been great. Aubrey was there in that short dress, flushed from orgasm, looking edible. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Then, she’d received a call from her boss that had sent her scurrying back to the office. So much for the afterglow.
Since that moment, he hadn’t been able to tolerate much. He had thought that having sex with Aubrey and getting her out of system would fix his fascination with her. That had always worked in the past. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d slept with the same girl twice, high school maybe. But screwing her had made things worse. Now, he wanted more than anything to touch her again, to see her let go, to hear her cry out in pleasure without having to muffle it. And God, to be inside her again. He suddenly had a new item to add to his short list of things he called amazing.
“You all right?” Jared asked, picking up a discarded screw and tossing it against the wall with a loud clink.
“It’s just too damn hot to be out here this long.” He unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it off, leaving only his white undershirt. “And what planet is that guy from?”
“France, I think.” He stepped closer to Lex and squinted. “What the hell happened to your shoulder?”
“Huh?” Lex looked down at the purpling semi-circles. “Oh, nothing.”
Lex tried to grab his shirt, but Jared was quicker. The drummer squatted down next to him, staring at the marks. “Holy shit, are those?” He leaned forward. “Teeth marks?”
Lex shoved Jared, who lost his balance and landed on his ass. “Back off, J.”
Jared burst into laughter.
“Dude, are the master,” he said between guffaws. “You got the prissy reporter to fucking bite you?”
Lex clenched his jaw, waiting for Jared to get a hold of himself. “Just keep that shit to yourself, all right.”
Jared wiped his watering eyes. He held up his hands. “Fine, whatever. But if I were you, I’d want the world to know.” He jumped to his feet and brushed his pants, creating a cloud of dust around him. He shook his head. “Damn. I love a biter. That’s awesome.”
“J,” Lex warned.
He put his finger to his lip. “Secret’s safe with me, man. Good job on taking care of business. Now you can pull her off the story anytime you want.”
***
Lex crumpled up the paper he’d been writing on and tossed it at the trashcan, missing by at least three feet.
“Hey,” Sean said, flicking a guitar pick at Lex and hitting him in the he
ad. “I thought we were getting somewhere.”
Lex raked his hands through his hair. “Dammit. I know what I’m trying to say, but the words won’t hang together right. I had this song all written in my mind last night, and now I can’t make it work for shit.”
Sean bounced his knees impatiently, his guitar clenched in his hands. “It’s fine. Let’s make it work. Not every song has to be perfect.”
“It doesn’t have to be—” He stared at Sean as if he were seeing a stranger. “What the fuck? Are you kidding? Since when do you want to settle for lame, mediocre crap?”
Sean lowered his guitar and got to his feet, his tone as sharp as his blond spikes. “Like the song I wrote? Is that the crap you’re talking about?”
“Bro, get over yourself,” Lex snapped, getting tired of Sean’s angry outbursts. “This isn’t all about you and your stupid song.”
He scoffed. “Oh, you don’t have to tell me that. I know what everything is always about. You. Welcome to the Lex Logan show, everyone! Pretty boy lead singer who thinks he’s the only one smart enough to put words together on a page. The one who’s going to drive this band into the goddamn ground because he can’t get his head out of his ass and write!”
Lex clenched his fists and stared at his unrecognizable best friend. “Whatever, Sean. Just get the hell out of here. Go write some nursery rhymes for us.”
“Screw you, Lex.” Sean flipped him off and slammed the door behind him, shaking the walls of Lex’s room.
“Asshole,” Lex muttered and shoved the coffee table with his feet, tipping it over in the process. How was he supposed to get anything done when Sean was more concerned about his precious ego than the damn band? Since when was it a fucking competition? They were all on the same sinking ship—if one failed, they all did.
Lex rose to his feet and paced the short length of the hotel’s living room like a caged tiger. He mumbled lyrics aloud, trying to piece them together in some sort of logical order. The night before, while Aubrey had slept in his hotel room, he had scribbled out three different song starts—each fraught with promise. Now they were a jumbled mess battering around in his brain. He slammed the side of his fist against the wall.
