Crush

by Vivienne Savage

  “You can.” He practically growled the words, voice raw with desire. “You will. Come here.”

  Seeking her lips, he silenced her protest with a kiss. Tender and patient, he coaxed her to lay against him; then he assumed control. He guided the frenetic tempo of their lovemaking, rolling her up and down with sinuous-paced movements of his hips. In and out he stroked while kissing her brow and running his fingers down her perspiring back.

  “It’s just the two of us. I want to feel you coming around me, baby girl. No rush.”

  She settled in as close as their awkward sprawl allowed, breasts flattened against his chest. He was tireless, movements slow and body tensed with self-restraint. And it touched her. It touched her so deeply that she turned her mouth back toward his and kissed him again.

  “Stay with me tonight,” she whispered as her body picked up his new rhythm and followed. The clawing panic subsided, the frustration dimmed, and renewed pleasure swelled in a bright fountain. But she waited.

  Would a frenzied one-night stand in his Jeep be the end?

  “There’s nowhere else I wanna be, baby. I can’t…”

  Nate groaned, and on the next thrust, he broke—head tilting back and eyes shut. His abs flexed, and his pelvis bumped up, burying to completion, while the hand guiding her hips slipped around to her ass and squeezed, fingers denting into the pliable skin. The cry on his lips was purely her name.

  With his words and his final stroke came bliss. Like a flower unfurling beneath the sun, it washed over her, coursing through her veins like wildfire. The experience was made all the more brilliant by his mutual release.

  “Yes!” she screamed as she seized in orgasm. Her teeth nipped his jaw; then she whispered his name over and over amidst ragged breaths.

  Her teeth sharpened and lengthened, her mouth hot with the desire to mark Nate and claim him with the Dragon’s Brand.

  No. Can’t. Not without telling him. Discussing it.

  Astrid held back and turned her cheek against his shoulder instead. From there, the sex became a blur. She lost track of the minutes while they rocked against each other, the connection of their bodies hot and slick. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, and her heart pounded long after she collapsed limp and loose atop him, completely spent. Blissfully satisfied.

  Minutes passed before Nate moved, and when he did, it was to trail his fingers through her hair. “So much for being a gentleman,” he muttered. “Completely worth it, though.”

  “I didn’t want a gentleman. I wanted Nate. The real Nate. Unguarded and open with me.”

  “I wasn’t the real Nate before?”

  “Not always.” She nipped his shoulder, grazing his skin. It wasn’t the claiming bite her dragon demanded, but it was enough to sate the inner beast. That and his softening dick still speared within her. “I guess we should go upstairs.”

  Shifting beneath her at first, he protested moving with a low groan. “Fine, fine. Get dressed and I’ll follow. Dragon or not, I think you’ll raise a security guard’s eyebrows if you wander across the lot bare-assed.”

  “Ugh, yeah, Charlie would probably glower a bit,” she said, referring the usual night watchman.

  Limbs shaky, she dragged her dress from the passenger seat. Once she’d crawled off him, she used her ripped panties to dab away the smear left between her thighs. She tossed them into a plastic bag she’d brought along for trash.

  Almost shy again, she shot him a quiet smile and donned her dress. While he tucked himself away, she fetched the bags with their changes of clothing.

  He joined her outside after zipping up his jeans. “Only a bit? Do you make it a habit of wandering naked around your building so much it only gets you a dirty look? Is there something I need to know about you?” He spoke lightheartedly with a smile on his face.

  The smile she loved. The smile that made her knees weak.

  “No!” A bright, hot flush crept up her cheeks before she ducked her gaze. “Besides, I’ve never brought a guy up before.” The cement was cool beneath her bare feet as she carried her sandals by their thin straps. An elevator took them to the lobby, where they exited to take a second elevator to her floor. Charlie glanced over as they walked through the lobby. His nostrils flared.

  The grumpy old bear probably smelled the sex on her.

  “No one?” Nate asked with skepticism. “Not even your dad?” Passing the watchman, he nodded courteously and followed her into the elevator.

  “Dad isn’t a guy. He’s Dad.” She rolled her eyes at him and pressed the button. She lived on one of the top floors in a corner end unit.

  “Is ‘no guys in the apartment’ one of Dad’s rules?” he asked, lurking behind her while she unlocked the door.

  “No.” She peered over her shoulder at him. “I just haven’t wanted to bring a guy up before.”

  A chorus of meows greeted them, and the three kittens dashed across the floor. Isis eyed the pair from the back of the sofa but didn’t deign to come down and greet them. Instead, the older cat yawned and went back to sleep, considering her kitten babysitting duties complete.

  “Just set the cooler down there,” Astrid said, motioning to the kitchen area.

  With the kittens on his heels, he did as she instructed. They must have smelled Echo on his jeans. They chased Nate relentlessly until he sat on the floor and let them pile onto his lap. Once they lost interest and abandoned him, he stood up and wandered to the huge windows overlooking the street.

  “Make yourself at home,” she said. “I’m just gonna go start the shower.”

  “Go ahead. Promise I won’t steal anything.” After his promise, he picked up a sketchbook from a nearby desk and idly turned the pages.

  “You could join me,” Astrid offered. She had a large sunken tub big enough for two, and a spacious walk-in shower. She’d bet money his ass was perfect and craved seeing him fully naked and wet beneath the spray. “I’ll even promise to behave myself.”

  Nate froze with the sketchbook in his hands and glanced over his shoulder at her, blinking. Gently, he returned the book to the desk and studied her pensive expression while he approached. “I’d like that.”

  When he reached her, he seized her by the hips and leaned down. He coaxed her lips to part with his brief and playful, drugging kisses. She wrapped her arms around his waist and never wanted to let go.

  “Go ahead and start the water. I’ll be there in a second.”

  “Water. Right. Okay.” Once she shook off the daze, she flashed an impish smile and turned to flounce inside the bathroom. “I hope you like your water hot.”

  Astrid hurried into the shower without questioning his delay.

  Within seconds, water rushed from the dual shower heads, pelting down on the stone tile floor. For his benefit, she’d hunted through her bizarre collection of soaps until she found a non-floral aroma.

  She jumped in first and rinsed beneath the steaming torrent to relax her nerves. In the heat of the moment, nudity hadn’t troubled her. The poor lighting, her physical need, and weeks of longing had given her courage.

  Nate would be seeing her again without shadows hiding her.

  And she would be seeing him, too.

  The glass door opened and shut behind Astrid. Anticipation struck, and when she glanced over her shoulder, it was to the sight of Nate approaching the second fixture. Water slicked down his neatly cropped brown hair and pelted his shoulders. He turned his face toward the showerhead, as if oblivious to the nude woman beside him.

  If not for his visible interest, she would have thought him ambivalent to her altogether. His cock swayed while he soaped his body with the no-nonsense haste of a military man. And he grew harder by the second.

  His arousal made her bold.

  Without a word, she stepped behind him and stole the soap from his hands. She ran the bar over his back, creating suds with her fingers and reveling in the way his muscles shifted beneath her touch. Her fingers followed the trail of soap bubbles gliding down hi
s spine toward his ass.

  Yes! As predicted, her sailor was head-to-toe perfection, his firm, curved bottom designed for snug jeans and tailored suits. She gripped a handful and squeezed with delight, deciding his body was sin incarnate and created for her ogling. He turned before she could continue.

  “Is this behaving?” he asked.

  A flutter of pure lust clenched Astrid’s core. “What?” she asked in a tiny voice, breath caught in her chest. She wanted to be sensual and coy and was failing miserably. “It seemed the nice thing to do after I helped get you all messy.”

  He nudged his hips forward and trapped his dick between their bodies. She gasped. Her failing attempts to appear experienced ended when her gaze dropped down. His rigid cock nudged in hard against her belly, a dark contrast against her fairer skin.

  She’d wanted to see the real Nate, and the real Nate is what she received, playful and teasing, a soap thief who relieved her of the bar and treated her with tender care. His sudsy hands caressed the slick front of her, down defined shoulders and small breasts. His thumbs teased over the rosy nipples without lingering and traveled the gentle slope before descending below her ribs.

  As restlessness stirred within her, bringing a craving for Nate that transcended physical pleasure. She stepped forward and pushed him to the tiled wall.

  She took his cock into her hands and familiarized her touch with his length, hesitant at first, then more boldly. “I lied. I don’t want to behave.”

  The soap hit the floor and bounced away.

  “Like what you see?” Nate pumped his hips forward without avoiding eye contact. He met her gaze and held it, desire and ravenous hunger visible upon his features in equal measure. His cock twitched between her fingers, tense with apparent need.

  Her tongue darted out and licked her lips. “I do,” she answered, honest and without pretense. Her two-fisted grip slid up and down over his stiff skin as she figured out how snug a hold she could keep without causing discomfort. “Does that feel nice for you?” she asked in sudden wonder. “My hands, I mean. Is that nice for you?”

  What the hell is wrong with me? She regretted the bumbling question and rushed forward without giving him the chance to reply. “I’m sorry for freaking out on you in the Jeep. I—” she swallowed “—I really liked… it’s… I’ve never…” Goddamn. She either needed to shut up or just spit it out. “I’ve never had a climax like that before.”

  His hand slipped over her fingers and guided them, showing her how to curve her grip loosely but firmly, neither squeezing or timidly holding him. “Hey. No apologies, okay?”

  A quick learner, she mimicked his earlier pump and stroked him long and slow, once, twice, and then a third time while picking up speed. The way his eyes glazed over made her toes curl.

  His head fell back against the sandstone tile. “I—do we need protection?”

  Did they? Astrid had yet to determine if she had a human or dragon’s reproductive cycle. “I don’t have any condoms, but if you trust me, I swear I’ll pick up a Plan B tomorrow. I can guarantee you that I’m clean. Besides, I, uh, think we already jumped off that cliff, and I don’t regret it.”

  “Thank God.” Without elaborating for what he was grateful, he hefted her smaller body up, coaxed her thighs around his hips, and claimed her anew.

  Words were lost, replaced by inarticulate cries for more. Gasped utterances of his name. Moans of unfettered passion. Eventually, their restricted position and slick footing led their coupling to the tiled floor.

  Once they’d tired of the shower and craved a warm bed with clean sheets, they toweled one another on the fluffy bath mat and drifted to the bed.

  “I’m glad we ran into each other at the coffee shop,” she mumbled as they snuggled naked beneath the sheets.

  A tender kiss to her damp hairline preceded a whispered, “Me too.”

  Exhaustion pulled her under, fighting the need to stay up and learn more. To taste him again. In the end, exhaustion won, and Astrid drifted to sleep with her head on his shoulder. In her dreams, she soared high above the skies, Nate astride her back. They were one heart and one mind—her mark emblazoned on his shoulder.

  Chapter 6

  Nate stirred once in the early hours of the morning, accustomed to waking with the dawn. Faint shafts of sunlight streamed through unfamiliar blinds. Blonde strands tickled his cheek. Astrid had snuggled beneath his chin, peaceful in her sleep with a slim arm tossed across his chest.

  If she hadn’t told him, he’d never believe an enormous, fire-breathing beast dwelled within her. He traced the curve of her shoulder and, for a while, was content to watch her slumber.

  Beautiful, but impossible to keep. Fate had dealt him a raw hand.

  Eventually, he drowsed again without shame. They’d swam for hours, drank, and had sex long into the night in a variety of positions. She’d been tireless, inexperienced but tireless.

  She awakened him with kisses.

  Somewhere on the precipice between consciousness and sleep, he roused enough to recognize a playful nibble to his left hip. His cock leaped, twitching as if to demand attention, too.

  And Astrid gave it. His drowsy eyes opened to the sight of her lips tracing his length from tip to root, stirring him awake in more ways than one. The cheater. He rose steadily, swelling with arousal and renewed vigor.

  Her kisses worked their way up back to the smooth, silken crown where she gave a delicate nibble against the ribbed edge, followed by a tiny lick. In an instant, he went from semi-flaccid to hard as a rock. Her gaze raised to his face as she took into her mouth.

  He’d died and skipped the reincarnation cycle while deployed. Or maybe it happened on a mission for the knighthood. Something. He had to have, because he’d awakened in what could only be heaven, with an angel of his very own fantasies. He watched her mouth descend and the sweet warmth of her envelop the sensitive head. In one move, she had him as her captive audience. His fingers grasped at the sheets, and his hips jerked up.

  Whenever he thought he had her figured out, she surprised him anew, her actions unpredictable. Endearing. He grew hard as tempered steel beneath her lips and swore out loud when the urgent need for relief robbed him of coherent thought. His hips worked independently of his brain, an automatic rhythm matched to the speed of her hand.

  Although she was nowhere close to deep throating his entire length, her lips bumped against her circled index finger and thumb. And those weren’t far from the root of him.

  “More, baby. God, yes, more,” he coaxed her. And this time, he had nothing holding him back from an orgasm. No need to hold back.

  When his release came, her eyes shut and nostrils flared, but her hand and mouth didn’t stop. She took all he offered, sucking his dick until he was a groaning mess on the bed, and his hips slowed their erratic pumps. Then, and only then, did she pull back, taking the time to lap up every bit of his seed before letting the glossy length of him slide from her lips.

  It was the hottest thing Nate witnessed in all of his life, next to the sight of her pussy stuffed with every inch of him.

  With her cheek pressed against his thigh, her eyes drifted shut, and a pleased smile crept onto her face. “Worth it.”

  Members of the order had debated before why humans found shifters irresistible, and now Nate had learned firsthand. They became insatiable, wild beasts in bed. He sank against the sheets again with a groan.

  “Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?”

  “Hmm?” she asked in a lazy, content tone. Her eyes remained closed, body still bent between his legs and cheek to his thigh. “I don’t know. I guess… I wanted to do something nice for you. Something special. Why?” She stirred enough to lift her head and blink heavy-lidded eyes at him, golden hair rumpled around her face. “You liked it, right?”

  He answered by running his fingers through her hair, his motion languid and lazy, but all of his affection was conveyed in a few simple brushes. As he moved tousled waves from her fac
e and tucked them behind her ear, the reality of the weekend came crashing down on him. He’d not only slept with a dragon, his order’s mortal enemy, but he’d loved every second of it.

  “I think right now, ‘like’ would be an understatement, baby. Come here a second.” He encouraged her to rise from where she’d folded her body between his legs, and sat up to hold her cradled on his lap instead. “Was last night the first for you?”

  She lifted her ducked head, turning to look him in the eye. “I’ve never met a guy I wanted to share my bed with. Until you.”

  “Why me?” came the next question, a natural curiosity. His fingers trailed over her messy blonde hair, idly combing through the strands gliding over her back.

  “I did it because you saw me—Astrid.”

  She’d given him her body, shared her bed, and he’d traded her gift with lies. The worst feeling came over him, guilt striking with a hammer’s force. He should have treated her better. Should have given her roses and chocolates. He should have been another man who wasn’t part of an organization hell-bent on the destruction of her species. Among those thoughts were a dozen more.

  “Thank you,” he said instead, “for bringing me into your life.”

  “Thank you for buying my coffee.”

  If only she knew the truth, that his gesture of goodwill had been a devious trap.

  Their remaining morning dissolved into kisses and, eventually, another round of passionate sex beneath her sheets. This time, he gave her the lovemaking she’d deserved, what he would have done had he known she was a virgin, untested and untouched by any other man. With patient fingers, he explored every inch of her body in earnest, determined to repay a gift without a known value.

  While she sprawled on the rumpled sheets in the afterglow of their sex, he showered alone, thankful she hadn’t tagged along with him. He needed the time to think. Seducing her had been part of Kay’s plan, never his, and now that he’d bedded her, he could only think of how much he wanted to spend the rest of his life beside only her.

  What they had felt was real, and it had felt real long before their inappropriate parking garage romp. But why had he done it?