Giving My All to You

by Sheryl Lister

  “If you want me to stop—”

  “Brandon.” She cut him off. “The only thing I want you to stop doing right now is talking.”

  He chuckled. “Then how about I do this instead?” He tilted her head back and brushed his lips against the exposed column of her neck, along her jaw and her eyelids.

  He teased the corners of her mouth with his tongue and dipped inside. His hands toured her shoulders, feathered down her back, and then around to the front to cup her breasts. Faith shuddered, the slow exploration driving her out of her mind.

  “You have the softest skin,” Brandon murmured, while removing her top. “And these beautiful breasts have been calling me since I left on Thursday.” He unclasped her bra and slid the straps down and off. He circled his tongue around first, one nipple, then the other before suckling them.

  Faith cried out. She could barely stand. A pulsing began in her core that grew stronger by the second.

  He lifted his head. “I think we need to move this to the bedroom.”

  “I think you might be right.” She took his hand and led him back to the room she’d been using. The sensual kisses and roaming hands began again. She pushed his shirt up and over his head, then tossed it aside. She ran her hands over the sculpted planes of his biceps, shoulders and chest, wanting to feel his warm, smooth skin beneath her fingers.

  Brandon’s eyes closed and he groaned. “I like the way your hands feel on me.”

  She liked his hands on her, as well. So much so, that when they covered her breasts again, she arched her back to get closer. For the next few minutes, he treated her to sultry kisses, taking his time and driving her out of her mind with desire.

  “Brandon,” she panted. “Hurry.”

  “No can do, baby.” Brandon dropped to his knees and charted a path with his tongue from the valley between her breasts to her belly button. “I’m going to take my time touching and kissing every part of your body, then make love to you, slowly...thoroughly. I’m going to start here.” He stood and stroked a finger down her cheek. “And work my way down your sexy body, turn you around and go up the other side.” He spun her around. “Take you from the back,” he continued hotly.

  Oh. My. Faith melted.

  “Then...”

  He rotated her to face him again, locked his gaze on her and a wolfish grin played around his lips. “Then, I’m going to do it all over again.”

  She was halfway to an orgasm just from his sizzling words. If he actually touched her, she would go up in flames.

  In the blink of an eye, he removed her shorts and panties, and placed her on the bed. “Shall we begin?”

  True to his words, Brandon used his hands and mouth to tease and torment, taking her to the brink of ecstasy, time and time again. He latched on to a hardened nipple and tugged gently, then lavished the same attention on its twin. The kisses moved lower, grazing her core, then continued to her thighs, knees and ankles. Faith felt as if she were coming out of her skin. Never had she experienced such overwhelming sensations.

  “Bran... Brandon.” She moaned and writhed as he kissed his way up one inner thigh and then the other.

  “Do you like that?” Brandon whispered.

  She couldn’t begin to answer him, not with his talented fingers parting her sensitive folds. He slid one finger inside and she came with a strangled cry. He added another finger, moving them in and out and prolonging the pleasure.

  “Damn, baby. You’re so wet. I can’t wait to get inside you.” He withdrew his fingers and kissed her once more. Standing, he undressed, donned a condom and came back to the bed.

  Faith had always known his body would be a work of art, but her imagination hadn’t come close to the sheer magnificence of this man’s physique. She delighted in the feel of him stretched on top of her. She skated her fingers over his broad shoulders and down his back, feeling the muscles contract beneath her touch. “I love this body of yours, Brandon.”

  “Mmm, and I love the way your bare skin feels against mine.” Brandon nudged her legs apart and, holding her gaze, guided himself inside her.

  When he was buried to the hilt, they both moaned. He pulled out to the tip and plunged deep. He shuddered and held still for a moment before he started to move in slow insistent circles. He delved deeper with each rhythmic push and Faith wrapped her legs around him and lifted her hips to meet the next powerful thrust.

  The sounds of their breathing increased and he set a pace that had the bed rocking. “I knew it would be this way with us,” he said. “I can’t get enough of you.” He tilted her hips, never missing a beat. “I need to be deeper inside you, baby.”

  Faith held him tighter as the pleasure built, this time even stronger. He gripped her hips tighter and his strokes came faster. Her breath came in short gasps and she convulsed with a loud wail.

  Brandon slowed and pulled out. “That’s it. Come for me, sweetheart.” He gently turned her on her stomach and traced a path down the center of her spine with his tongue. “Now, from behind.”

  Before she could recover, he surged back in, thrusting high and deep. He placed his thighs over hers, squeezing her legs closed. The sensations were so intense Faith thought she might pass out. It only took a couple of minutes for another blinding climax to overtake her. She screamed even louder.

  Brandon pumped harder, went rigid against her and found his own explosive release. His body shuddered and he called her name on a ragged sigh. He collapsed on her, and then shifted to his side, taking her with him.

  Faith lay there gulping in air. Her eyes slid closed and her body still tingled. Several minutes passed before her heart rate slowed.

  Brandon turned onto his back and pulled her on top of him. His hand feathered up her spine. “And now we do it again,” he whispered huskily.

  She gave him a sultry smile. “As long as you allow me the same opportunity to work my way up and down your body, we can do it as many times as you like.” She took the condom he handed her and rolled it down his engorged length, stroking him as she went.

  He sucked in a sharp breath and groaned. “Baby...” He lifted her and brought her down slowly.

  As they starting moving, she knew she would never forget this night. Or him.

  Chapter 10

  Brandon leaned back in his chair, picked up his coffee and rotated toward the window. Although it was Sunday morning, he had gotten up and driven to the office. He sipped slowly while thinking about the day he and Faith had spent yesterday. He couldn’t remember the last time he had gone an entire day without doing any work. And he’d had a great time. But it was the memories of what happened after they’d left the beach that had kept him awake and aroused all night. He hadn’t expected her to be so uninhibited, especially when she told him she thought it only fair that she get a turn to work her way up and down his body. She had treated him to the most passionate night of his life and given herself totally.

  Brandon set the cup on his desk. Too bad he couldn’t say the same. As much as he enjoyed the sex, he could not bring himself to surrender his entire being to a woman. Doing so would mean opening up emotions and places within he had purposely locked away to protect his heart. That was a risk he wouldn’t take. However, he wouldn’t mind driving over to the hotel for just one more round.

  Shaking himself mentally, he turned back to the mounds of paperwork on his desk. He wanted to prove to his father that he was more than ready to take over running the company. If that meant spending his Sunday afternoon working, so be it.

  He had been working steadily for more than two hours when his cell chimed. He picked it up and smiled when he saw Faith’s name on the display.

  Forgot to tell you last night, I’m going home.

  Brandon went still. He typed back: For good?

  No. Need to check on a few things at home, came the reply. />
  How long are you going to be gone? he texted.

  Not sure.

  For a brief moment, something akin to panic settled in his chest. But that couldn’t be right. He did not panic over any woman. First time for everything. He dismissed the notion and replied: When you get back, I have a surprise for you.

  What kind of surprise?

  You’ll have to come back to find out, he typed.

  He smiled again. She didn’t respond, but he was confident she would be back soon. Another vision of them naked in her bed floated through his mind. Faith had matched him stroke for stroke and fit him better than any other woman. Whoa. He didn’t like where this line of thinking was headed. Why was he obsessing over one night? He had to keep his mind from traveling to a place it had no business going.

  Brandon snatched up the phone again and called Khalil.

  “What can I do for you at this ungodly hour, big bro?” Khalil said when he answered.

  He chuckled. “It’s almost eleven.”

  “And your point would be? I do like to sleep in every now and again. What if I was entertaining?”

  “Boy, please. You like to wake up in your bed alone just like I do.”

  Khalil laughed. “You’re right about that. No sense in inviting that kind of drama. So what did you want?”

  “For you to open the gym.”

  He laughed harder. “So this woman is giving you fits, huh?”

  Brandon groaned inwardly and muttered, “Something like that.”

  “Maybe you ought to just sleep with her and stop pretending you’re just being friendly. Ain’t nothing like a good night of sex to ease your tension.”

  Except it hadn’t eased his tension. It only made it worse. He knew he was setting himself up for Khalil to tease him mercilessly if he confessed to already having slept with Faith, but told him anyway. “We already did.”

  There was complete silence on the line for several seconds before Khalil said, “I don’t believe it. I’ll be there in an hour and I want to know all about this woman.” He hung up without giving Brandon a chance to reply.

  Brandon muttered a curse and pushed to his feet. He straightened his desk, shut down the computer and locked up.

  Khalil was getting out of his car when Brandon pulled into the gym’s parking lot. Brandon hopped out and the two brothers greeted each other with a one-arm hug.

  As soon as they entered the gym, Khalil turned on a light and said, “Spill it.”

  “Nothing to tell,” Brandon said nonchalantly. “We had sex. It was good.” Incredible if he were honest, which was the crux of his problem. He had never been so distracted by a woman. Everything about Faith appealed to him, from her enchanting smile to her spirit in the bedroom. Even the fact that she didn’t hesitate to call him out or readily agree with whatever he said drew him. Especially that. He put on a pair of boxing gloves and went to the heavy bag.

  “Must’ve been real good for you to be in here less than a day later.” Khalil took a seat on a nearby bench. “If it was all that, why not just call her up and ask for a repeat tonight?”

  “Because she’s gone back to Portland,” Brandon said between punches.

  “Portland?”

  “Yeah. That’s where she lives.”

  “So she just left without telling you? Is she coming back?”

  “She texted me earlier and said she was.” He took a few more punches. “I just don’t know when.” It had crossed his mind that she might get home and decide not to return. He hit the bag harder, not wanting to analyze why the thought caused his gut to churn.

  “I sure hope it’s soon. Otherwise, I’ll be sending you the bill to replace my equipment.”

  Brandon eased up on his punches. His arms and shoulders were going to be sore in the morning. He went at the bag for another few minutes, then dropped down on the bench beside his brother. He stripped off the gloves and wiped the sweat from his face.

  Khalil handed him a bottle of water. “Better?”

  “Not even close,” he murmured, twisting off the cap and draining the bottle.

  He chuckled. “I’m so glad I don’t have these problems. There isn’t a woman alive who can make me this crazy. Unless you plan to get serious about this woman, you’d better get control of yourself. The next thing you know, she’ll be looking for a ring.”

  “It’ll never come to that. She doesn’t live here, remember? And I don’t do long-distance relationships. I don’t do serious, either. Period. It’s just sex.” Just because the sex between them had been incredible and he wanted nothing more than to be buried deep inside her while she called his name again didn’t mean he wanted exclusivity. That only meant... Hell, he didn’t know what it meant.

  * * *

  Faith navigated through the airport and out to the curb. While searching for Kathi, her mind went back to Brandon and what kind of surprise he had in store. Curiosity made her somewhat anxious to get back to LA. That and the prospect of them having another night like the previous one. Her body was still a little sore and she’d noticed several passion marks that morning as she dressed. Thankfully, all of them were in places covered by her clothing. To say it had been something straight out of a fantasy would be a huge understatement, and she’d woken up several times during the night, her body pulsing.

  She spotted Kathi’s Acura and stepped out to wave her down.

  Kathi eased to the curb, popped the trunk and got out. “Hey, girl.” They embraced.

  “Hey. Thanks for picking me up.” Faith put her suitcase and tote in the trunk and slid into the passenger seat.

  “How was your flight?” Kathi asked as she merged into the traffic.

  “Uneventful.” Faith stifled a yawn. Between that second round and the erotic dreams that had plagued her all night, she had only gotten a couple hours of sleep. “How’s the new job going?” Kathi had started working as a pharmacist at a local hospital two months ago.

  “It’s going pretty well. The great thing is that I only have to work one Saturday a month and I’m in the outpatient pharmacy, which closes at six. The inpatient one is twenty-four hours. The other pharmacist is a dream to work with compared to the last one—no snide remarks about me being too young and questioning what I’m doing.”

  Faith smiled. “I’m so glad it’s going well.”

  Kathi slanted her an amused glance. “Girl, me, too. One more day working with that old geezer and I might have fed him that Bengay he always smelled like.”

  She frowned. “Eww, the image I’m getting.” They burst out laughing.

  “I know, right. Anyway, how are things with you and Brandon?”

  Loaded question. “There’s no me and Brandon, but things are fine.” If she were in the market for a relationship, he’d top the list. But since she wasn’t, things were getting more complicated by the minute. “He took me to Santa Monica Pier and to the amusement park yesterday.”

  “Sounds like fun.”

  “It was.” From walking on the pier, playing games and going on the rides to sitting on the beach watching the sunset, everything about the evening had be amazing. Not to mention what happened afterward. Never had she had a more perfect date. Faith gave her an update on Thad.

  “Is your mom still mad?”

  “I have no idea. We haven’t really spoken much.”

  As they pulled into Faith’s complex, Kathi said, “I’ve been keeping an eye on the place. Your mail is stacked on the kitchen counter.”

  “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you.”

  “Do you know when you’re going back?”

  Faith sighed. “No. I’m thinking the weekend. I’ll let you know what I decide. Today, I’ll probably go over to my parents’ house.”

  “Guess you’ll be having that conversation with your mom soone
r rather than later.”

  “Yeah.” And she wasn’t looking forward to the confrontation. She climbed out of the car, retrieved her luggage and waved. “I’ll call you.”

  “Okay. Let me know how it goes with your mom.”

  Faith nodded. She unlocked her door, stepped inside her condo and released a deep breath, happy to be home. She glanced around to make sure everything was in its place and smiled.

  She made her way to her bedroom, left the suitcase and tote by the door, and flopped down on the bed. “My bed.” She sighed heavily. She’d missed being in her own space. Faith allowed herself a few more minutes of relaxation, then scooted off the bed and started the task of unpacking and doing laundry.

  While her clothes were in the wash, she went through the huge stack of mail that had accumulated in her absence and paid her bills. Once she finished putting away the clothes, she took a quick shower and set out for her parents’ house. She had put off talking to her mother for almost a month, but now it was time.

  Twenty minutes later, Faith parked behind her mother’s car in the driveway. Part of her had hoped they weren’t home. She drew in a fortifying breath and got out. The front door opened before she made it halfway up the walk and her stepfather rushed to meet her with his arms spread wide. Though he stood only five-nine, his slim build and ramrod spine made him seem taller.

  “Hey, baby girl. You’re back.”

  “Hi, Daddy,” she said, moving into his embrace.

  He eased back and studied her critically. “How are you doing? Anything still bothering you from the accident?”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m good as new.”

  He released her and they continued up the walkway. “When did you get back?”

  “Earlier today.”

  He held the door open. “You should’ve called. I would’ve picked you up.”

  Faith smiled. “I know. Kathi offered to come get me.” She followed him to the living room, steeling herself for her mother’s response.

  “Francis, look who’s back,” her stepfather said.

  Faith’s mother slowly closed the book she had been reading. “Hello, Faith.” She smoothed a hand over her shoulder-length dark hair. She’d added a few more strands of gray hair since Faith had seen her a month ago.