by Kit Tunstall
“Let’s get to know each other then.”
Erin licked her lips. “What’s the point? I’ll be going back to my hotel in a little bit. I doubt we’ll see each other again.”
Blake shifted, bringing him a fraction closer. “You’ve decided on New York?”
Erin shrugged. “I don’t know yet.”
“If you move here, it would be nice to have a friend.”
She gave him an impersonal smile. “I’m sure I’ll make friends quickly.”
“Just not with me.” He sighed, looking annoyed.
It took considerable effort to rein in the impulse to brush the blond hair off his forehead and smooth that worry spot between his eyebrows. “I didn’t say that,” she said with a sharp edge of irritation.
His gaze drilled through her, daring her to lie. “You don’t have to say anything. I got the picture loud and clear without you uttering a word.”
Looking away, she chose not to answer. She could either stroke his ego and tell him she was deliberately keeping herself from liking him, or she could let him think she just didn’t click with him. That was far better.
Bach rolled over again, sitting up. He put his head on her shoulder, as if commiserating, before jumping down and trotting across the hardwood floor to some unknown destination.
“Dinnertime,” said Blake. “He eats this late every night. I think he waits to make sure he’s not going to get even one more scrap of human food before giving in and eating the dog food.”
Erin managed a small smile, glad he was smoothing over the incident. Her relief faded when he closed the distance between them, placing his hand on her knee. “What are you doing?” She hated the panicked virgin tone that emerged.
“A little experiment.”
She glared at him. “I’m not into experimenting.”
Blake quirked an eyebrow. “Then why are you going into research?”
Balling her hands into fists, she said, “I meant personally.”
“Indulge me.”
Eyeing him warily, she asked, “What do you want?”
“A kiss.”
“What? Why?”
His hand crept an inch higher. “I want to prove or disprove a theory.”
“What theory?” she asked with narrowed eyes.
“I want to see if it’s all of you that doesn’t like me, or just your mind.” Blake put his arm across the back of the couch, just behind her shoulders. “I get the feeling your body likes me just fine, which annoys you.”
Erin stiffened her spine. “Don’t be ridiculous. I have to go. I’m sure my sweater is dry now.”
Blake held up his hands in a classic position of surrender. “Okay. I understand if you’re too afraid.”
Knowing he was baiting her to provoke his desired reaction still didn’t keep her from responding. “I’m not afraid of you or a little kiss.”
“Prove it,” he said with an air of cockiness.
Stalling for time, she asked, “Why do you even care?”
He shrugged. “Let’s just say I’m not used to women not liking me.”
Erin snorted. “So I’ve heard.”
Blake frowned. “What are you talking about?”
She lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve just heard a few stories from Ethan.”
“Ahh.”
Erin smirked. “Aren’t you going to ask what stories?”
Infuriatingly, he shook his head. “Nope. I can imagine what he said, and most of it is probably true.”
She blinked. “So, you are a man-whore?” Erin clapped a hand over her mouth and cut off a burst of nervous giggles. “Gosh, I shouldn’t have said that. I apologize.”
To her surprise, he didn’t look offended. “I don’t think I was a man-whore, but I have been a bit…indiscriminate in my past. I’ve been working on changing that for the past several months.”
“Good luck,” she said lightly. “I hope it works for you.”
“It was.” His gaze dropped briefly to her chest before returning to her face. “I hadn’t found anyone tempting enough to break my celibacy…until now.”
Pretending she hadn’t noticed his declaration or his gaze on her breasts, Erin cleared her throat. “Well, I should get dressed.”
He took her hand when she would have stood up. “Aren’t you forgetting the experiment?”
Damn him for reminding her. She’d hoped he would let it slide. “Not at all.”
“Good.” He cupped her chin, tipping her head to meet his.
Erin prepared herself for a quick, greedy kiss. The first light touch of his mouth on hers blew away that notion, as he teased and nibbled her lips, coaxing her to open to him. Without quite realizing she’d done it, Erin accepted his tongue, stroking it with her own. Heat coursed through her, making her nipples hard and her pussy wet, all from just a little kiss. Imagine what he could do to her if given free rein over her body. She moaned at the thought.
Blake deepened the kiss, pressing his mouth more firmly against hers and sealing in the little sighs that escaped when he began stroking her hip. Her hands remained demurely on her lap, but it was a struggle not to thread her fingers through his hair and pull him closer still.
A touch of sanity returned when his hand moved from her hip to below her breast, stroking across the soft fullness without touching her nipple. Gasping, Erin broke away, not looking at him while she regained control of her breathing.
He didn’t move back. Blake maintained the same position, complete with his hand still almost on her breast. “I think my hypothesis is right. Your body likes me.” His thumb flittered across her nipple, making it harden further. “A lot. So, why doesn’t your head?” He stroked her temple.
Erin swung her head to meet his gaze. “You’re attractive. A corpse would probably respond to you. That doesn’t mean I have any interest in receiving a pity fuck, Blake.”
He frowned. “What?”
She sighed with exasperation. “I don’t know what Ethan told you. I doubt he blatantly asked you to have sex with me, but he should have kept his mouth shut.”
Blake leaned back a bit, looking genuinely confused. “I have no idea what you’re talking about?”
She hesitated. “You don’t? He didn’t mention Mick?”
“Who the hell is Mick?”
“An ex-boyfriend. Ethan thinks he broke my heart, so he’s been trying to set me up with his friends.” She rolled her eyes.
“Did he?”
“What?”
“Did this Mick jerk break your heart?” A hint of anger showed in the way his mouth tightened.
Erin shook her head. “No.” He hadn’t broken her heart, but he’d really ripped out a chunk of her self-esteem, the lying, cheating bastard. He’d been screwing his roommate and had the gall to blame her, because she refused to lose weight—as though she had made the choice just to piss him off, and not because her body was naturally curvy, and she couldn’t lose weight easily, no matter how much she exercised. Having long ago decided to focus on being healthy instead of being a certain size hadn’t done much to keep her from finding new insecurities upon Mick’s betrayal.
“Good.” He leaned a little closer. “I’d like to fuck you, as you so eloquently put it, but it has nothing to do with pity. The moment I saw you tonight, I got an insta-erection.”
Erin snorted. “Sure, ‘cause I’m just so desirable.”
“You are.” He grimaced. “I find you alluring.”
She shook her head. “Yeah, not buying it, but thanks for the effort.”
Blake crossed his arms, anger sparkling in his hazel eyes. “Not buying what? That I find you sexy?”
“Bingo.” She scooted back, preparing to get up. “Perhaps it’s the novelty. Maybe I’m the last girl in Seattle you haven’t fu—”
“Don’t.” His eyes narrowed. “Do not bring up my past as a way to get out of this discussion. I was honest with you about that, and it should be a non-issue.”
She swallowed the rebuke,
nodding. “You’re right. I apologize for the comment. Anyway, I have to get going.”
He hesitated a moment before leaning away from her. “Fine.”
“You aren’t going to argue?” she asked it with a touch of sarcasm, but couldn’t deny the surge of disappointment at his easy surrender.
“Why bother? You’ve already made up your mind about what I think.” He shrugged. “Why would you listen to what I’m saying when you clearly know me so well?” he mocked.
Erin hesitated. “If I offended you, I ap—”
“I don’t want another apology,” he said in almost a snarl.
She frowned. “What do you want?”
“You. I want you to stop pretending like there’s no attraction between us, that you don’t want me to take you into my bedroom and touch every inch of you. I want you to stop running away.”
Erin blinked, unable to find artifice in his impassioned speech. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Blake shrugged. “Probably not, but you’re a fool if you walk away without exploring this thing between us.” His voice dropped an octave. “I can guarantee you’ll have no regrets, physically.”
“Emotionally?”
He shrugged. “I hope not, but I can’t make that promise.”
That was her undoing, his too-honest answer. If he’d tried to bluff her, or convince her she’d have no regrets about acting on their attraction, she would have been able to get up and leave. Having him acknowledge the real possibility that she might wish she hadn’t done it afterward breached the wall she’d had keeping him out.
With a soft whimper of defeat, she turned to face him, leaning closer. He met her halfway, their mouths tangling hungrily, each desperate for a taste of the other. Her heart raced in her ears, and warmth moved from her stomach to lower down, as nerves surged to life again. It was akin to her foot waking up after falling asleep.
Blake surprised her by lifting her onto his lap. She wasn’t the petite type that men could sling around with ease, but he hadn’t seemed to notice or struggle with the task. She straddled his thighs, returning the kiss he reinitiated. His cock was hard through his jeans and her skirt. She squirmed, instinctively seeking it with her pussy, making him groan.
“This shirt has never looked so good,” he said, fumbling for a second with the buttons on the top to strip it off her.
He buried his face in her cleavage, licking the skin and making her squirm again. His cock hardened even more, and she figured he must be close to bursting out of the jeans. Out of consideration, and desperation to feel his hot shaft, she unfastened the snap and worked the zipper down carefully, to avoid pinching the rock-hard flesh underneath.
While she tactilely explored his cock, Blake unhooked the front fastening of her bra. “I love these things,” he said.
“Breasts?” she asked with a grin.
“Mmmm.” He licked one of her nipples. “Those too, but whomever invented front-opening bras is a genius.” Blake cupped her large breasts in each hand, keeping his head between them.
“Whoever invented them in my size is a wunderkind at engineering.”
Blake frowned up at her. “Your tits are awesome, beautiful, luscious—I could go on. The point is, they’re perfect.”
She wanted to believe his words, but it was difficult to let go of a lifetime of hearing the opposite. In the interest of maintaining peace, she withheld comment and started stroking his cock in earnest.
“Erin.”
She met his gaze when he spoke in that uncompromising tone. “What?”
“I’m not just saying that. I had no idea actual breasts like this existed. Hell, I’ve seen them in magazines and large breasts in pornos, but they were so fake, and so out of proportion to the girls, that I never went for big boobs. That was before having a taste of the real thing.” He pressed his thumbs against her large nipples. “Your breasts are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, touched, or tasted.” Blake moved his head to take one of her nipples, sucking the large bud and part of her areola inside his mouth.
Erin arched her back, offering more of her breast to his tongue. He flicked it rapidly across the nipple before biting. She yelped in surprise, and a bit of discomfort. Blake did it again, while lightly twisting the other nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Sensations danced through her, emanating from her nipples, but settling between her thighs. She writhed restlessly, wanting him to touch her pussy, but dreading removing her clothes. He clearly was unused to plus-sized partners. How could he possibly find her figure as attractive as the women’s bodies to whom he was accustomed?
With trembling hands, she tugged his polo shirt from the waistband of his opened jeans, stripping it off when he paused breast worshipping long enough to let her take it over his head. His chest was firm and tanned, with a sprinkling of crisp blond hair. She tangled her hands in the short strands before flattening her palms against his skin. Erin allowed herself a leisurely exploration of his chest and abdomen with both hands before returning one to his thick cock. It pulsed in her hand, as if welcoming her back, and an echoing throb shot through her cunt.
She squeezed the head, making Blake gasp. He tore his mouth from her breasts, dragging in deep breaths. Erin didn’t make it any easier for him to breathe as she continued squeezing and stroking his shaft. “You have a huge cock, Blake. I bet all the girls want to play with you.” She winced, hoping her thoughtless comment wasn’t interpreted as a dig against his past sexual exploits.
He grunted. “Maybe, but there’s only one girl I want to play with. She has the most amazing tits, and the most beautiful brown eyes. When she actually smiles at me, it’s hard to breathe, because she’s so lovely.”
“That’s sweet, but isn’t there a better use for your mouth?” she teased. A second later, Erin let out a cry of surprise when he upended her off his lap, sending her sprawling on the chaise lounge of the sectional. For a moment, she thought she’d offended him, until she realized he was methodically stripping off her skirt, shoes, and stockings.
Frozen, she lay before him in just a pair of red panties. They were silky and made her feel sexy hiding underneath her clothes, but didn’t do much to bolster her self-image while lying in front of such a perfect male specimen, whose gaze devoured her. He couldn’t fail to notice every imperfection, every ounce of unwanted flesh. She shivered, trying to force back her fear of rejection, but was still unable to quite believe his acceptance when he crouched down in front of the sofa.
Blake stroked her folds through the silk. “Pretty.”
“Th-thanks.”
“Very pretty.” He stroked her again. “I’ll bet what’s inside is even prettier.” Blake slipped a finger in through the side of her panties to caress her slit. “Tasty too.”
Erin trembled, knowing what he was planning as he pulled the underwear down her body, taking it off and tossing it into the clothes pile on the floor. No one had ever gone down on her. There had been some fondling with boys before Mick, but he’d been her only lover and had professed desire to avoid giving her oral sex because of her thick thighs. Had he been willing to try, she wouldn’t have let him after that statement. The old self-consciousness reared its ugly head as he parted her thighs and settled between them. With a hint of desperation, she said, “I meant kissing.”
There was a bit of a dazed look in his eyes. “What?”
“When I suggested another use for your mouth, I was talking about kissing.” Her eyes pleaded with him not to get any closer to her pussy.
Either he didn’t see the message or ignored it. “I’m about to kiss you.”
“Blake, please don’t.” She cried out when his mouth covered her slit, his breath teasing her. Erin whimpered when he licked her, homing in on her shy clit, cajoling it to come to his mouth. Wet heat flowed freely from her pussy as she writhed and wriggled, no longer sure if she wanted to get away or wanted to bring him closer.
Blake put a firm hand on her soft stomach, forcing her to mostly hold still
as he kissed and sucked her folds. Erin cried out his name as she tried to buck her hips. He continued stroking her with his tongue, flicking it across the sensitive nub before running down her slit to probe the opening of her sheath. He groaned as her body instinctively tightened, trying to draw his tongue deeper inside her.
He slid a finger inside her as his tongue continued exploring her insides. The dual stimuli left her begging to come. “Please, Blake. Please don’t torture me.”
Lifting his head, he said, “That’s half the fun.” Apparently, he decided to show mercy, because he sucked on her clit rhythmically while continuing to thrust his finger in and out of her pussy, bringing her to a screaming climax seconds later.
Her body shook, and she couldn’t breathe for a second as her thighs tightened around Blake, trying to hold his head when he went to move away. He eased out gently, propping his chin on her stomach. Her arousal glistened on his face, and she was embarrassed at the prodigious amount. The pleasure was gone in that instant, and she found it hard to meet his gaze.
Blake scooted up to sit on the lounge between her thighs. “Hey, what’s wrong?” When she shook her head, he cupped her cheek to force her to meet his gaze. “What’s the matter? Didn’t you like it?”
She nodded, biting her lip. Still unable to meet his eyes, she said, “I’m sorry I made such a mess.” Her head snapped up when he cursed.
“I don’t know if it was that Mick dick, or some other guy who did this to you, but he’s…well, what I said.” He leaned closer, putting his hand on the back of her neck, as he rested his forehead against hers. “That’s normal, Erin. I’d be upset if you didn’t come so hard. It would mean I hadn’t done my job.”
Hating the vulnerability she felt, she closed her eyes, but managed a nod. Her eyelids fluttered open when his mouth touched hers, spreading her own essence to her lips. She touched her mouth with her tongue, finding the taste strange, but not unpleasant.
“See? Nothing to worry about.”
Feeling a little more confident, she nodded again before kissing him deeply. Once more, she delved into his briefs, seeking out the swollen treasure hidden there. She rubbed him as vigorously as the awkward position allowed. Finally, frustrated, she broke the kiss. “Could you take off those things? They’re driving me crazy.”
