“You okay?”
“Raw fish doesn’t agree with me sometimes.”
“No worries. We’ll only feed you cooked fish.”
I sped down the road and Harper seemed to loosen up, gasping and giggling as I took the corners fast. By the time we made it to the restaurant, she was smiling and laughing again.
It made my heart swell to know I could make her smile. This woman’s happiness gave me so much goddamn pleasure. I couldn’t understand it.
I helped her out of her seat and held her hand as we walked to the front door. A hostess seated us at a table by the window, overlooking a spectacular view of the beach and ocean beyond.
The waitress handed us menus and told us about the specials. I, personally, loved some fucking sushi. I might come from a poor neighborhood, but this was California. We loved all kinds of food here. My mom had once cleaned for this Japanese couple who would give her left over sushi rolls to take home. Ever since, I’d been hooked.
When the waitress came back, I ordered a combination plate of sushi and sashimi and Harper ordered a bento box with chicken. The waitress asked if we wanted anything to drink, suggesting a variety of fine wines and sake. I ordered sake and Harper ordered a ginger-ale. I was beginning to think maybe she didn’t feel very good, but she hadn’t said anything about it. I was determined to make this date a memorable one. In a good way.
I reached across the table and took her hand, caressing the soft skin of the back of her hand with my thumb.
“I’m so glad we did this. It’s good to get out of the house to spend time together,” I said, not recognizing the guy talking.
“I am, too. I like seeing you like this. Dressed in a trendy suit jacket in this fancy restaurant. It’s different. It’s like I’m seeing another side of you.”
“I’m not all bad,” I said, grinning.
“You’re actually great.” She smiled and squeezed my hand back.
“Don’t let that fact get out,” I said, winking.
The waitress brought our food after a short wait and we started to eat. It was so delicious. I hadn’t had sushi this good since I’d been stationed in Japan for a few months. Harper watched me using chopsticks and raised an eyebrow.
“I’m surprised you can use those,” she said, pointing at them with her own.
“Do you think I’m some kind of barbarian?” I teased.
“Kind of,” she said with a cute giggle.
“I’ve been able to use chopsticks since I was a kid. I was also stationed in Japan for a few months during the Iraq war.”
I raised my eyebrow back at her, daring her to taunt me some more. Did she really think I was an uncultured clod? So what if she did? Didn’t matter. She’d get to know otherwise the longer she spent with me.
“That’s cool. Tell me more about your childhood. You just lost your mom. That must be hard.”
That’s when she got me. The ache I’d been pushing down suddenly burst back up and I felt a lump in my throat.
“My mom was an amazing woman. She raised me by herself on a maid’s income. I have nothing but the deepest respect for that woman. May she rest in peace.”
“She sounds a lot like my mom,” Harper said softly.
“I know. We have that in common.”
“I’m beginning to think that’s not the only thing we have in common. I usually love sushi. Is it as good as it looks?”
“Yeah. Want some?”
“I can’t.”
I gave her a questioning look. Why the fuck not? If she loved it, why wasn’t she eating it? And why wasn’t she drinking? Before I could put two and two together, some dumbass walked up and interrupted us.
“Jeremy?” Harper said in a surprised voice.
“Who’s he?” Jeremy demanded. I was about to deck him for taking that tone with Harper.
“He’s my stepbrother, Crash.”
“Your stepbrother. This looks like a date to me. Tell me you aren’t dating your stepbrother.”
“Jeremy, please, just leave.”
“Harper, what the hell are you doing with this guy?”
I stood and rolled my shoulders. “The lady asked you to leave,” I said in a low, threatening voice. The waitress scurried over and began fussing.
“Is there a problem?” she asked in a heavily accented voice.
“No problem, ma’am. He was just about to leave.”
The waitress escorted Jeremy back to his table. Harper looked like she’d been punched in the face. Great. Asshole ruined our date, just when we were starting to connect.
“Are you all right?” I asked her. She looked like she was about to cry.
“Can we just leave?” she asked.
“Don’t let that asshole ruin our date,” I said, taking her hand over the table and squeezing gently. I tried to catch her eyes, but she was looking out the window and away from me. I couldn’t make out the expression on her face.
“It’s not ruined. I just don’t want to be here anymore. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to go,” she said, looking back at me.
I motioned for the waitress to come over and asked for the bill. A few moments later, we were on our way out the door. I put my hand on the small of Harper’s back and guided her through the parking lot to the Ferrari where I open the door and helped her inside.
I climbed in the car and looked over at Harper in the dim light of the cab.
“Ready for dessert?” I asked, grinning at her.
“I’d really rather just go home if that’s all right with you.”
“Sure,” I said. I was a bit disappointed.
I knew Harper had a heavy work schedule that was exhausting her. Besides, there were whipped cream and maraschino cherries back at the house. I had a feeling I could come up with something delicious to do with those two ingredients.
I drove back to the house and parked the Ferrari in its regular parking place. As soon as we got into the house, Harper sighed and slipped out of her heels. I watched her as she walked down the hallway towards her bedroom.
“I’ll join you in a minute,” I said, walking towards the kitchen.
I grabbed the gourmet whipped cream and maraschino cherries from the fridge and sauntered down the hall and into Harper’s bedroom. She was sitting on the side of the bed in a pair of flannel PJs with cats all over them. They were cute but didn’t exactly say, “Fuck me senseless,” if you know what I mean.
“Are you tired?” I asked.
“I’m sorry. Seeing Jeremy at the restaurant really threw me off. I’m feeling kind of exhausted.”
“But I have such a delicious dessert planned,” I said, bringing the whipped cream and cherries from behind my back to show her.
She started to giggle, and I stepped forward, setting the cream and cherries on the bedside table. I sank to my knees and began to unbutton her flannel pajamas. I pulled her top open to reveal her sexy, full breasts. Placing my palm on her breastbone, I slowly tucked my hand under one breast and gently squeezed.
“Your tits are hot as fuck,” I said.
I pulled her top the rest of the way off before yanking her bottoms and panties down her legs and off her feet. With her totally naked, I began to peel out of my own clothes. A moment later, I was naked and crawling over her on the bed.
“What are you going to do with that?” she said between kisses, pointing at the goodies from the fridge.
I took the whipped cream dispenser and sprayed little globs on her nipples and then put a cherry on each one. She was giggling so uncontrollably that the cherries almost toppled off. I sucked one after the other into my mouth, relishing the flavor and the feel of her taut nipple under my tongue.
“What about me?” she said.
I knelt beside her and sprayed the tip of my cock with a glob of whipped cream and put a cherry on top. She licked it in her mouth. I smiled as she licked me and then crawled down her body to spread her legs. She was giggling and chewing while I sprayed a glob of whipped cream on her pussy with a cherry on top of h
er clit.
She couldn’t stop laughing, and the reverberations shook her entire petite frame. I loved the sound of her laugh and loved that I’d been able to give her some joy back after being confronted by her dickhead ex-boyfriend at the restaurant.
“I need to taste that sweet pussy,” I said. I ran my tongue up her slit, lapping up all the cream.
She gasped and grabbed the bedsheet beside her thighs. I bit the cherry and used it to tickle her clit before chewing and swallowing it down. She started to moan as soon as my tongue found her sweet spot. Her juices mingled with the whipped cream, making her taste sweeter than ever. It had been a silly game to make her smile, but it was making me stiff as a steel rod.
I licked her up and down and circled my tongue around her clit, then increased the pressure and rhythm of my licking, flicking tongue. Harper called out my name and ran her fingers through my hair. I could feel her bud swell and it just made me want to lick her all the more. I could do this for hours. She tasted so good.
Having her writhe under my mouth was the hottest fucking thing I’d ever experienced. I wanted to sink my dick inside her soft wetness, but I wanted to give her mind-blowing pleasure even more. Knowing that I had that kind of power over her little body was erotic as hell.
I started to groan as I licked and sucked her clit, making smacking and moaning sounds as I took her pussy ferociously with my mouth. All of the sudden, she stopped groaning and sucked a sharp breath through her mouth. Her whole body clenched up, and I could feel her pussy contract. I took the whole thing into my mouth and felt her throb against my tongue. I nearly came right then.
She grabbed my shoulders and began pulling me up toward her. With the hottest little moans, she wrapped her arms around me and leaned up to kiss me hard. Her strong legs wrapped around my waist and pulled me toward her waiting cunt.
I flicked my tongue between her lips and pushed the head of my cock into her entrance. She groaned and pulled me closer, pressing me deeper inside her.
She was soaking wet, and I slipped into her throbbing pussy without resistance. She fit around me like a warm, soft, wet glove. My dick was raging and my hips were ready to thrust with all they were worth.
This girl was so fucking hot. I took both of her hands and held them up above her head as I used my other arm to hold my weight over her body. With her restrained below me, I began to thrust. She looked up at me with complete abandon as I slowly drove into her softness.
She looked into my eyes, her expression so tender and yielding. All my need for her was multiplied in her eyes. I slowed and kissed her tenderly, feeling her body’s building desire. I wanted to keep her close to me and protect her from all the bad in the world. I wanted her to heal me from the pain and trauma of life. I wanted her forever.
I kissed her neck and whispered in her ear, “I need you so bad, Harper.”
With waving thrusts, I poured into her, pulling sexy moans from her throat as she whispered in my ear. I increased the intensity and the strength of my thrusts, the sound of flesh against flesh mixed with the sounds of her needy little groans.
“Oh, Crash. You’re so good to me,” she whimpered in my ear.
I could feel her pussy clench around my shaft and I groaned. Her swollen breasts pressed against my chest, and I let go of her hands to grab her perfectly shaped tit. I rolled her nipple between my fingers as I continued to piston my hips, driving deeper and deeper into her core. She wrapped her arms around my neck and ran her fingers through my hair.
With a few final thrusts, the explosion came from deep in my core and spilled out into Harper’s waiting womb. Her pussy clenched over mine, and she gasped from the shot of cum inside her. My head felt dizzy from such a massive orgasm. I could barely see straight. But I carefully rolled over and collapsed beside her, panting and sweaty.
She rolled over and rested her head against my chest and I wrapped my arms around her. I was never going to let this girl go. I intended to make her mine.
Chapter Eighteen
Leaving Crash in bed the next morning was a challenge, but I managed to sneak away while he was still sleeping. I made it to the hospital on time, thankfully. I got to my station without drawing any attention to myself. As we made our rounds for the day, I felt a sense of contentment and joy bubbling in my chest.
I knew that it was because of Crash. We were becoming closer and closer to each other every day and there was something deepening that I never expected.
I’d thought that if I slept with him, it would just help me get him out of my system, but it had become so much more than that. There was an attachment growing between us. More than just the sex or the flirting.
As I took an elderly woman’s blood pressure, I watched her husband holding her hand and looking at her with such tenderness and concern. It was so sweet it made me smile. She’d come in with chest pains and most likely had suffered a mild stroke. Dr. Williams came in and checked the vitals I’d taken. Ultimately, she diagnosed the stroke and gave recommendations for the woman, leaving me in with the couple to carry out her orders.
I brought the woman the medication she’d been prescribed and then left them alone in a private room where she would be kept overnight for observation. The little old man followed me out of the room and grabbed my elbow as I was about to turn down the hall.
“I wanted to thank you for being so kind to my wife,” he said.
“Oh. That’s sweet. Thank you,” I said. “She looks stable. We’ll keep an eye on her.” I patted his shoulder and smiled as I looked into his eyes.
“I don’t know what I’d do if I lost her. She’s my life.”
“She’s going to be just fine.”
“You know what it’s like to love someone that much,” he said. I just looked at him blankly and blinked twice. I had no idea what he was talking about. “You’re in love. I can tell. I can see it in your smile.”
“Maybe. Maybe I am.” I started to giggle nervously.
“You are. Doctor. Don’t run from love. It’s the most important thing you’ll ever have.” He squeezed my elbow and smiled at me. “Trust me.” Then he walked back into the room to sit with his wife.
I looked inside and asked myself if I was in love with Crash. After receiving that kind of message, as crazy as it seemed, it was hard not to believe it. How could I possibly be in love with Crash? I barely knew him. It was a hot sexual connection. Sure, he was sweet beneath his bad boy persona, but I couldn’t be in love with him.
I was lost in my thoughts as I walked down the hall and nearly smacked into Ava coming from the other direction. She grabbed my arm and pulled me into the locker room.
“What?” I shrieked, yanking my arm away. She’d pulled me out of my thoughts and startled the heck out of me.
“I have to talk to you.” She looked upset.
“Just tell me.”
She heaved a big sigh and looked around the locker room. There was no one else there.
“Harper. I’m really sorry. It just slipped out.”
“Ava, what the hell are you talking about?”
“I told Jeremy that you were pregnant.”
“You what? When?”
“I’m a gossip. I’m sorry. I know. I have a problem. Do they have a twelve-step program for that?”
“When did you tell him?”
“Yesterday.”
So he had known the night before.
“He thinks it’s his,” she said.
“He what? Ava. Seriously?”
“Isn’t it?”
“No.”
“Whose is it?”
I looked at her cockeyed. “You really think I’m going to tell you?”
“So you know?”
“Ava. Could you just shut your piehole and mind your own business?”
She took a step back and crossed her arms. “Okay. I deserve that.”
“I’ve got to get back to work or Dr. Williams is going to have my head.”
“Harper. I’m sorry. If you need a
nything, please just ask.”
“Sure, Ava.”
I felt totally betrayed by her, but I knew it hadn’t been malicious. Ava was a notorious gossip. Telling her had been a mistake, and I accepted that mistake. I’d just wanted to tell someone. The impulse had been stupid and this was the result of that mistake.
I burst back out of the locker room and past the nurses’ station on my way to the ER. Coming straight toward me was Jeremy, holding his sales bag. I cringed and turned around in the opposite direction.
“Harper,” he said, catching up with me. “We need to talk.”
“I’m busy, Jeremy.”
“Ava told me.”
“I can’t talk about this now,” I snarled under my breath.
“When were you going to tell me?”
I turned away and began walking quickly back to the locker room. Ava passed us in the hall looking guilty. Jeremy caught me and cornered me in the hallway.
“Is it mine?”
“I don’t know whose it is.” I didn’t want to tell anyone else until I’d told Crash. Now that it was out, I’d have to. But informing Jeremy who my baby’s father was before I told the father was not going to happen.
“You don’t know? Who else have you been with? How far along are you?”
“I’m not ready to talk about it,” I muttered. That much was true.
“Are you fucking your stepbrother?” he sneered, grabbing my arm.
“Let go of me.” I pulled my arm away and pushed around him to escape down the hall.
I went through the rest of my shift feeling like I was about to faint or throw up. Ava had put me in a bad position. It was stupid not to expect it from her. Why the hell had I told her? Of all the people I could’ve told, why had I chosen Ava? I couldn’t even tell my mother or Crash. Now Jeremy knew.
The fact that I had considered claiming he was the father a few weeks ago made bile rise in my gut. The days I’d spent with Crash had been some of the most magical of my life. What the little old man had said haunted me all day. Maybe I was in love with Crash. Did I want to be in love? Maybe I did. I didn’t really know. I didn’t really know anything.
I was taking a blood sample from a patient when Dr. Williams walked by and raised her eyebrow at me. When I was done with the sample, I put it on the tray and delivered it to the laboratory. She caught me in the hallway and stopped me.
Crash: A Bad Boy MMA Romance Page 12
