She smiled.
“This beauty is aged for six years in white American oak barrels. It’s sustainably produced, organically grown, and made with no preservatives. On the nose, there are notes of herbs, cinnamon, and spices. In the mouth, it’s sweet yet spicy, with a fruity finish.” He displayed the bottle. “This is the perfect companion to a steak dinner.”
“As opposed to a nice Cabernet.”
He grinned. “Cab’s good too. But this is special.” He reached for two glasses, similar to the ones they’d used in the tasting, and poured a small amount into each glass.
As she’d been taught, she held the glass up to the light. Beck watched, nodding approvingly.
“Color and consistency,” she murmured. “It’s a deep amber color, and seems heavy.”
“Use all your senses,” he encouraged her. “That’s good.”
She next took a small sniff, then swirled the glass gently and sniffed again. “Spicy…yes, cinnamon.” She sniffed once more, then tasted. She closed her eyes to better savor the taste. “Cinnamon and…and caramel.”
She opened her eyes to see him watching her, his eyes hot and fixed on her mouth. She licked the taste of tequila off her bottom lip.
“You’re fascinating,” Beck said roughly.
Her eyes widened. “Me? Why?”
His head moved slowly from side to side and he sipped his own tequila. “You’re all analytical and serious about it, so practical and scientific. And yet…there’s a sensuality underneath all that…I don’t know if you even realize it.”
She blinked.
“Try it again,” he urged her. “Give yourself over to just the sensuality of it. The pleasure.”
Jesus, he could be talking about sex. And her pussy responded, tightening and heating and tingling.
Pleasure wasn’t something she spent a lot of time on. She was focused, driven, caught up in her work—her endless to-do list, her meetings, and her mission to help people. She was practical, precise, and serious. But at that moment, she felt caught up in something beautiful, a shimmery web of sensation. Beck’s eyes on her had her lower belly tightening, the low, husky tone of his voice made her toes curl, the sweet spice of the tequila tingled on her tongue, and the heat of the spirit spread throughout her body.
“You sound like you know a lot about pleasure.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners and his white teeth flashed against his dark beard. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Life isn’t just one big party. Or one big tequila tasting.”
“No?” One eyebrow lifted. “Why not?”
She didn’t even know how to answer that without sounding like a repressed, nerdy virgin. Which she sort of was. Okay, not a virgin, but when it came to sexual pleasure, she was definitely inexperienced.
That tingle low in her belly deepened, and she found herself with an inexplicable feeling of longing…wanting something more…wanting pleasure. “Life is serious. And hard work,” she managed to say.
Beck moved closer. Her skin prickled everywhere and her nipples tightened. “Sure,” he agreed. “But life should be fun too.”
She studied him, his face now so close, his eyes so deep…and hiding something. Behind the lazy smile and sex appeal were shadows and darkness. With an unfamiliar pang of intuition, she sensed that behind his words there was a lesson he’d learned the hard way.
She was used to figuring things out with logic and reason and facts. Not a gut feeling that couldn’t be relied upon. But she was having a lot of feelings at that moment, and a peculiar sense that she knew more about Beck than he wanted to let on.
She lifted a hand and stroked her fingertips over his beard. His eyes darkened. “I just wanted to know how it felt,” she murmured. “Rough or soft.”
Curiosity was another of her traits, and usually she saw that as a strength. It was what made her ask questions and seek out answers, what had helped her discover innovative medical solutions that had the potential to help millions of people. But sometimes curiosity could be a flaw and get her in trouble.
Beck caught her hand in his and held it to his face. His whiskers were both coarse and silky against her skin. And then he turned his head, his thick eyelashes dropping, and his mouth found her palm in a long kiss.
Heat shimmered through her veins, gathering in her pussy, and her belly flipped with lust. “What are you doing?” she whispered.
One corner of his mouth lifted as he moved it from her hand. “You seem like an intelligent woman.”
She swallowed. “I am.”
“That was a kiss, science girl. You want to analyze it?”
He was teasing her, and in her experience teasing was usually hurtful and cruel. But the warmth in his eyes and the curve of his mouth, the way he looked at her as if he thought it was cute that she might want to analyze the kiss, didn’t feel like that. It felt as if he knew her too, somehow, the way she somehow knew him, and he liked that she was smart and analytical and curious. It was heady, feeling like that, the way she’d felt when her crazy experiments had resulted in success—a sweet euphoria coursing through her veins.
So instead of taking offense, she smiled back. “I don’t want to analyze it.” Her voice came out husky. “I want you to do it again.”
His eyelids lowered and slowly, deliberately he brought her hand to his mouth and opened his lips on her palm. This time his tongue lingered when he drew away. Her throat closed up and more heat rushed through her body. Her mouth longed to taste him and her lips parted involuntarily as they stared into each other’s eyes. The air around them crackled.
“Here’s how hot I think you are.” He turned and set his ass against the edge of a desk, tugging her closer. Her breath caught in her throat as her body neared his, close enough to feel his heat. His gaze landed on her mouth and her skin flashed hot from her hairline to her toes. “I’m not a scientist, but I know a little something about explosives.”
“Oh yeah?” Her voice came out breathy and she set her fingertips lightly on his chest.
“Yeah. Chemical.” He bent his head and brushed his lips over hers. “Biological.” He kissed her again. “Nuclear.”
“Um, wow. That seems pretty extreme for a bartender.” She gazed up at him wide-eyed and her hands flattened on his chest as he pulled her closer to him, between his spread thighs. His heart thudded against her palm. He smelled amazing, a crisp, woodsy, spicy scent, and she wanted to press her nose to the skin of his throat and breathe him in. “I don’t think flaming sambucas are that explosive.”
His chuckle was low and sexy in his throat as his hands closed tighter over her hips. “Nope.”
Chapter 4
She thought he was a bartender.
Well, he was. A lot of the time. Beck had discovered an affinity for tending bar that had more to do with his enjoyment of socializing than it did with mixing drinks, although he’d learned a lot about mixing drinks over the last year since they’d bought the bar. It wasn’t rocket science. Nor was it locating, identifying, neutralizing, and disposing of ordnances like sea mines, torpedoes, and depth charges, which he’d been pretty damn good at.
But it was a helluva lot of fun.
So was this—holding this sweet, sexy woman in his arms, tasting warm, spicy tequila on her soft lips, flirting with her. He was good at that too, which was excellent for increasing their female business. He didn’t usually drag women into the back to kiss them, though. The heat between him and Hayden had definitely been combustible.
Was still combustible. Holy hell. It had taken him by surprise, because the other day when she’d bounced off that signpost and he’d caught her, he’d noticed she was pretty and had great legs, but she’d been flustered and all buttoned up in a modest shirt and skirt. Tonight, she looked way different, showing lots of smooth skin in that skimpy top, her hair down with messy curls around her face that made him think of sex hair…yet the shy, serious look in her eyes was the same.
She intrigued him. Her earnest questions
about tequila, her focus on the tasting as if she was going to be tested on what she’d learned, the tidy notes she’d made…so damn cute. She was clearly smart, and apparently more serious about tequila than Marco was. And sure, this was about learning something, but it was supposed to be fun too.
It seemed like she just needed a little nudging to edge over from the intellectual world she lived in to the physical one. To just using her senses to enjoy the tequila.
And maybe to enjoy another kind of physical pleasure.
He watched her tongue slick over her bottom lip, her gaze focused on his mouth. She wanted to be kissed. And he was going to do it. His dick throbbed behind his fly and with his hands on her hips, he eased her closer still until she pressed against him. Her fingers flexed on his pecs and he felt her breathing change. Her eyelashes fluttered, lowering, and he dipped his head and found her mouth with his.
Christ. His blood rushed south, leaving his head empty. The spice of the tequila mingled with her own sweet taste and he let his tongue touch her bottom lip, gently, lingering…when she groaned, he opened his mouth and took hers in a deeper kiss. Her hands slid up to his shoulders and gripped his T-shirt, and she pressed her breasts to his chest and her lower belly against his erection.
“Jesus,” he muttered, then kissed her again, licking into her mouth. Their tongues met and she made a soft moaning sound that had his dick twitching. Her fingers slid around the back of his neck and teased the sensitive skin there. Tingles coursed down his spine and the backs of his thighs.
He traced his open mouth down the side of her neck, licked over her collarbone, then kissed the top of one breast just above the sexy top she wore. He skimmed his lips over the top of her shoulder, pushing one skinny strap aside.
Another soft sound of pleasure rose in her throat, making him even harder. His hands slid up from her hips, beneath the loose top, curving around her waist and holding her as he ravished her mouth. Her skin was velvet beneath his rough hands, and then he couldn’t resist sliding them higher. When he encountered bare breasts, heat flashed through his veins.
“Oh man,” he groaned against her lips, then nipped at her plump bottom one. “These sweet tits were bare under here the whole time.” His body burned as he filled his palms with perfect, soft flesh tipped with hard nipples. His mouth watered with the need to taste.
Hayden’s head fell back and her chest pushed forward as he palmed her breasts, gently squeezing and rubbing. Sweet Jesus, there was nothing like the feel of a woman’s tits in his hands, so warm and lush and pliant. They rose and fell with her shuddering breaths, turning him on even more.
And apparently turning her on too, judging by her response.
“Wow,” she moaned. “I feel so…”
“So what, baby?” He licked her bottom lip.
“So…hot.”
“Mmm. Me too. Look at you, sexy girl, all flushed and panting. Are you aching?”
“Yes. Oh God, yes. Right between my thighs.”
He groaned. “Christ.” He lifted her and inserted his thigh between hers. She gasped and held on tighter. Deliberately he pressed his thigh into her pussy. Through their jeans, he could feel how hot and damp she was.
A moan leaked from her lips and she moved against him. He knew that movement, and what she was seeking. Heat blasted through his body as he caressed her breasts again and rocked his quadriceps into her soft warmth.
“Oh yeah,” she panted, riding his thigh. “Oh my God, that feels good.” Her head fell back. “Want more…”
His breathing stopped and his body went still. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Please…oh, please…”
“What do you want, Hayden?” He kissed her throat. “You need to be very clear.”
“I’m always clear.” Her hips rolled deeper against him.
His dick throbbed, begging to be inside her. “Okay, good. Tell me exactly what you want.”
Did he have a goddamn condom? Please, let me have a condom.
“Sex.”
The clinical word uttered in a breathy tone almost made him laugh.
He touched his lips to her cheek. “You want me to fuck you, gorgeous?”
“Yes. That’s what I want.”
He reached for his wallet, pulled it out, and dropped it on the desk. With one hand he fumbled in it for the condom he hoped like hell was there. Yes.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” she said.
Now his lips did quirk. He released her to rip open the packet.
“I mean I understand biology,” she continued. “You know…hormones.”
“Yeah.” He paused. Jesus, she really did like to analyze everything. He leaned closer to her so their noses were almost touching, their gazes joined. “How about we forget about hormones and just enjoy the moment, hmmm?” He brushed his lips over hers.
“Uh. Sure.”
She sounded like she wasn’t certain she could do that. Okay, this was a challenge now. “I’m gonna make you feel good. So good you forget your own name,” he vowed. “You won’t be thinking about hormones or biology. You won’t be thinking about any damn thing.”
She blinked, and then, to his surprise, she smiled. “Pretty confident, aren’t you?”
He gave her a slow smile in response. “Why yes. Yes I am.”
In a series of efficient moves, he reversed their position and planted her sweet ass on the desk. He had her jeans open in no time and worked the tight denim down her legs. Legs that were indeed spectacular, and not only to look at—he ran his hands down their satiny length. Her shoes dropped to the floor as the jeans came off and then he dropped to his knees in front of her. A tiny pink and white thong was all that was between his mouth and her pussy. His hands landed on her inner thighs and pushed them wider.
Falling to her elbows on the desk, she gasped. “What are you doing?”
“Just feel it. Close your eyes, baby, and let go.”
“Oh God.”
He pressed his open mouth to the cotton triangle, savoring her damp heat.
“Oh God!”
He nibbled at her through the fabric with his lips, turned his head to kiss her inner thigh on one side, the other, then licked along the edge of her panties. Her inner thighs tightened against his hand and her belly muscles quivered.
He dipped his head lower again, sucking at her through her panties, wetting them more than they already were. The faint taste of her made his head spin and his dick harden even more. Pleasure knifed through him.
He pulled the panties to the side. There wasn’t much of them so it was easy to bare her to him. He studied her. “So pretty,” he murmured. “Look at you, all pink and swollen.” He touched one fingertip to velvety softness.
“Ungh.”
He licked over the softest skin, so gently. A ripping sound had his head lifting. Damn. In his excitement he’d tugged too hard on the thong and one string had separated from the triangle. “Damn. Sorry.” Then he shrugged and yanked the fabric away from her, tossing it aside. “Ah well, it was in the way anyway.”
He wasn’t sure if Hayden had even noticed. She said nothing, just let out a stream of soft, breathy sounds of pleasure as he licked her again, up and down, sucking on soft flesh, then using his tongue to penetrate the petals and taste her more deeply. She cried out.
“Jesus.” He lapped at her. “So goddamn juicy and sweet. Fucking addicting.”
He could do this forever, and he wished they had forever. He also wished they were in a soft bed, because the floor was hard on his knees and she was sprawled out on a desk. He circled her clit with his tongue and then licked over it.
Her body jolted and her fingers curled into fists. “Beck!”
“Mmm.” He tongued the swollen bud, back and forth, back and forth. Her body trembled and her abs contracted. Close…he closed his lips over her and sucked.
Her soft scream registered. He hoped it wasn’t loud enough to have people running to see what was going on, because the door had no lock.
They’d walk in on quite a sight. He pushed that thought away and gave her pussy one last long stroke of his tongue and a kiss on the tiny patch of gold curls.
He surged to his feet and studied her as he opened his jeans and rolled the condom on his stiff, aching dick. Christ, she was gorgeous. Her face had gone pink, her eyes were heavy-lidded, and her lips parted as she watched him glove up.
“Still want this, baby?” he murmured, giving his dick a shake.
She lifted glowing eyes to his and gave him a lazy smile. “Oh yeah.”
“How’d that feel?” He moved closer, bent his knees, and slid the head of his cock through her slick crevice.
“So good.”
“You’re really wet.” That was good. She was wet and soft for him and he began to push inside her, inch by inch. “And tight.” He groaned. His balls pulled up as hard as walnuts at the base of his cock.
Her eyes fell closed and she rolled down flat on her back, knocking some papers and one of the glasses they’d been drinking from onto the floor. Luckily, it didn’t break.
“That’s it, gorgeous. Just feel it.”
“It feels amazing.”
“I know. Christ…” It wasn’t going to take much. “I know.”
He pushed her legs up and back and held on to brace her as he began to slide in and out, going deeper, harder. Then he slid a hand to find her clit with his thumb. She jerked but moaned. “Want you to come again. With me inside you.”
She opened her mouth as if to speak but all that came out was a moan.
He circled her clit, dividing his focus between that and his own orgasm, tingles brewing deep in his lower back.
She gave that faint scream again and her body squeezed him hard. “Holy hell, I can feel that.” He gasped as electricity sizzled up his spine. Ecstasy erupted in his balls and his entire body seized with unbearable pleasure. He roared his excitement as his cock jerked inside her in wrenching spasms.
He fell over her to kiss her mouth, keeping them joined as their bodies shuddered together. Her hands lifted to grip his shoulders, her thighs tightening on his hips.
Never mind her forgetting her name, he might have forgotten his. His world had narrowed to this, this moment, this woman and the mind-blowing pleasure he’d just given and gotten. The crazy, impulsive riskiness was like a drug to him, along with the taste of her on his tongue, the scent of her, the feel of her hot body clamped around him.
Body Shot (Last Shot) Page 4
