“Okay,” she finally said on an exhalation. “You were right. What’s my name again?”
Her humor tugged a smile to his lips and he rubbed his nose alongside hers. “Beautiful Hayden.”
“You know, if you hadn’t remembered, this wouldn’t go well.”
He chuckled and they smiled into each other’s eyes. “No shit. Forgetting a girl’s name during sex is about the worst thing you can do.”
“Other than calling her the wrong name, maybe.”
He liked her sense of humor, evident even though they’d just survived a firestorm of sexual hotness.
“I can’t believe we did that.” She sank her teeth into her bottom lip.
He shook his head and kissed her so she’d release that lip from its torture. “No regrets.”
“No.” She blinked. “I can’t say I feel regret. I’m just a little…I don’t even know. Surprised at myself, I guess.” Then she smiled again. “And impressed by you. You may be cocky, but you definitely delivered.”
He gave a slow pelvic thrust, his half-hard cock still inside her. “I’m cocky because I have a big cock.”
She choked on a laugh, and he felt her body tighten on his. Jesus. It wouldn’t take much to get him hard and ready to go again.
“Can’t argue with that either,” she said, eyes gleaming. “I’ve witnessed it and know that for a fact. I like facts.”
He grinned, both proud of the fact that she’d noticed his cock and amused by her rational side. Once again their eyes met and held and the moment shifted from amusement to heat and awareness.
“Better get rid of this condom.” He pulled out slowly, and she closed her eyes as he did so, as if she didn’t want him to leave. Honestly, he didn’t want to either, but reality was creeping back. He’d left his business partners out there to deal with customers, Hayden had left her friend out there, and everyone was probably wondering where they were.
“I don’t think I’ve ever done something that crazy in my life.” Hayden slid off the desk as he moved to the wastebasket behind the desk.
“Crazy?”
“Yeah.” She reached for her panties. “Oh my God. They’re destroyed.”
“Um, yeah. Sorry about that.” He tucked himself into his jeans, zipped up, and plucked the ruined thong from her fingers.
She looked like someone had just told her the earth really was flat. “You ripped my panties off me.”
He’d already apologized once. Did he need to again? He shoved the panties into the back pocket of his jeans. “I’ll replace them.”
“You don’t need to do that. I have others. Obviously.” Her cheeks pinkened.
“I will.” He walked back toward her, picked up her jeans, and crouched in front of her.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping you put your jeans back on.” He lifted one foot and slipped it into the jeans, tugging them up until the foot popped out the narrow opening.
“I can do it.”
He ignored her and eased her second foot into the jeans. He was happy for another chance to put his hands all over those sexy legs. “Sorry you’re commando. Hope that’s not too uncomfortable.”
“Oh my God.” Her body tensed. “I am so embarrassed.”
“Why?” He placed a kiss on her lower belly before working the snug jeans up over her hips. She took over and wriggled into them, then zipped and buttoned.
“I just…I can’t…”
He grinned and stood. He laid his hands on the desk on either side of her, enclosing her in his arms. “You’re cute when you’re embarrassed. Hey. Sex is fun and hot, but it’s messy and awkward too. But it’s all good.” He smiled into her eyes. “Didn’t it feel good?”
“You know it did. Still, I can’t go around doing crazy things like that!”
“It’s okay, Hayden.” He kissed her mouth softly. “The world didn’t end. At least I don’t think it did. I was pretty distracted—it’s entirely possible there was a huge earthquake and the rest of California dropped into the ocean while we were getting busy in here.”
A reluctant smile tugged her lips. “Right.”
“Let’s get back out there and find out.”
She sucked in a big breath that lifted her breasts under the pretty top. Damn. Now that he knew they were bare under there and how pretty they were, he wasn’t going to be able stop looking at them. “Okay. Let’s go.”
“I need your phone number.”
“I don’t have time for dating.”
Da fuck? Her clear rejection for some reason annoyed him. “I didn’t ask you out on a date.”
Her cheeks flushed. “No, I know. I was just…being clear.”
“I want your number so I can get your new panties to you.”
“Oh.” She swallowed. “Right. But you really don’t have to.”
He laughed softly and pulled his cellphone out of a pocket. “What is it?”
She hesitated, but then recited the number and he entered it and saved it. “There. Come on, sexy girl.”
He took her hand and led her out of the office and back into the bar.
The world hadn’t ended. In fact, the bar was hopping. Christ, Marco and Cade were going to be pissed that he’d abandoned them for that long.
Hayden’s friend Carrie was surrounded by guys, laughing at something someone had said. Hayden slid back onto her stool and Carrie spun around. “Hayden! Where were you?”
“We were sampling more tequila,” Beck answered from behind the bar. “What did you think, Hayden?”
“It was amazing.” She met his eyes shyly.
“I thought so too.” He gave her a warm smile, then moved away to get back to work.
“Dude.” Down at the other end of the bar, Marco punched his shoulder. “What the hell? You’re not supposed to give the tequila away. The idea is to make money from this.”
Beck grinned. “Yeah, yeah.” He reached for some glasses.
“Uh…what’s hanging out of your pocket?”
Fuck. “Why are you looking at my ass?” He shoved his hand into the pocket to push the panties in deeper.
“Jesus. Seriously? You were fucking back there?”
Beck paused. Normally he’d wink and laugh about that. Not that he took a lot of girls back to the office for sex. Usually, that happened away from the bar. But it felt weird to make light of what had happened. Hayden had been so…innocent…it felt crude and insulting to say they’d been fucking back there, no matter that it was the truth. So he shrugged and set about making margaritas.
Chapter 5
“Where did you disappear to?”
Hayden swallowed and avoided Carrie’s eyes. “Um, Beck let me taste a special tequila they keep in the back.”
When Carrie said nothing, Hayden snuck a glance at her friend. Carrie’s eyes were bright from the alcohol and the fun of flirting, but also shrewd. Finally, Carrie leaned in closer and said, “You have whisker burn on your face.”
Hayden’s eyes flew open and she slapped a hand to her jaw. “I do not.”
“You sure do, honey.” Carrie grinned. “Was it good?”
Hayden sank her teeth into her lower lip. “Oh my God, yes.”
Carrie tilted her head and nodded knowingly. “Wow. Good for you!”
“I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why not?”
“Er…”
“Sweet Jesus…Did you have…” Carrie slammed her mouth shut and glanced around. Then she took Hayden’s arm and marched her away from the crowded bar. “What happened back there?”
Hayden gave Carrie a guilty look. “I’m not sure.”
Carrie blinked. “You’re not that drunk, are you? You do know what happened?”
“Yes, yes, I know…but I mean, I don’t know why. Or how…how I let myself be so…”
“Slutty?”
Hayden’s mouth dropped open.
“You know I’m kidding.” Carrie rolled her eyes. “Having sex doesn’t make you a slut.” She narro
wed her eyes. “You don’t feel slutty, do you?”
Hayden considered that. “No. I’m just more confused. I don’t do crazy, rash things like that. I’m all about the lists and the plans.”
“True. Holy hell. Well, we can talk more about this later, back at your place.”
They returned to the bar. Carrie flirted a little more with Brian and Will, drawing Hayden into the conversation. Excruciatingly aware of Beck behind the bar, Hayden forced herself to join in, smiling at the two guys.
They stayed another hour or so, then exchanged phone numbers with the guys. As Hayden entered a number into her phone, the back of her neck tingled and she looked up to see Beck staring at her, his eyebrows pulled down tight over his eyes, his mouth a thin line.
She gave him a “what?” look, then smiled, waved, and turned away. She and Carrie made their way out of the bar and turned down Grand Avenue to walk back to her place. The cool evening air brushed over Hayden’s skin as they walked, and she lifted her face to the breeze.
“Okay, now I want all the details. Did you seriously go back there with that hot bartender and screw him?”
Hayden gulped. “I did.”
“I can’t believe that! I’m so jealous.”
“Jealous?” Hayden shot her friend an incredulous glance.
“He’s gorgeous! And sexy. And he’s so smart about tequila.”
“Yes, yes, those are all things I noticed too.”
Carrie laughed and linked her arm through Hayden’s. “So he was good, huh?”
“Oh yeah. I can’t even…it was like some kind of chemical reaction. He just made me feel…all kinds of feelings. It was amazing.”
“Well, I didn’t expect this when I made these plans, but I think it’s awesome that you did something so spontaneous.”
“I don’t know. It makes me feel very uneasy.”
“It’s fine, Hayden. I mean…wait, you used protection, right?”
“Yes!”
“Okay, then, what’s the harm? I mean, I know nothing is ever a hundred percent foolproof, but you’re not likely pregnant, and not likely to get an STD, and you weren’t struck by lightning for having sex out of wedlock, so what’s the problem?”
Hayden sighed. “Your points have merit.”
“Thank you.”
“What about you and those guys? I couldn’t tell if you liked one more than the other.”
“They’re both nice.” Carrie shrugged. “There was no explosion of chemistry and spontaneous fucking, as with you and Beck, though.”
Hayden choked on a laugh.
“Who knows,” Carrie continued. “I might go out with one of them. Or both of them.”
Carrie spent the night on Hayden’s couch since she didn’t want to drive home after drinking all that tequila, which was totally fine and not the first time that had ever happened. In the morning, she downed a fast cup of coffee, then headed home.
“Thanks for coming to the bar with me last night,” she said as they lingered at Hayden’s door. “It was fun, right?”
“Right.” Whoa baby, yes.
“I’ll figure something else out for us to do next weekend.”
Hayden shook her head, smiling. “Okay, sure.”
Hayden spent the rest of the day reviewing all the information she needed for the presentation she was making tomorrow at the National Health Institute. While they were making progress with their research—enough that they’d been able to attract the attention of various corporations, government research councils, and charitable foundations—they had to continue to work on raising the funds they needed to operate.
Her usual focus was fractured, however. When it came to work she was single-minded and conscientious, but she couldn’t seem to stop her brain from replaying what had happened last night at Conquistadors. Over and over.
And not just her brain—she also couldn’t get her body to stop reliving it. She’d never experienced sensations like that…the adrenaline rush of taking a risk, of doing something so spontaneous and sensual and…erotic. The unbelievable pleasure Beck had so generously given her. She’d lived in a world of intellect for so long, not a world of physical, carnal pleasure. She was cautious, not reckless. Sensible, not senseless.
Finally, she gave up. Maybe if she just closed her eyes and went through it all from start to finish, that would get it out of her head.
Like the sweetest dream, she drifted, remembering…you want me to pour that tequila over you and lick it off…God! She pictured that—golden tequila trickling between her breasts and Beck’s dark head right there to lap it up…when he’d sucked on her nipples she’d thought she was going to implode, melting right into a puddle in his hands.
Give yourself over to the sensuality of it…tasting that tequila, letting the warmth spread through her body, pooling at her core…then tasting the cinnamon and caramel on Beck’s lips. His hungry, demanding kisses, his tongue in her mouth.
Damn. Now she was almost as aroused as she’d been last night, and since that had been highly arousing, she was pretty damn wet and aching. She bit her lip and looked around her home office. She was alone…why not?
She slid lower into her chair, spread her legs, and slipped her hand beneath her shorts and into her panties.
You want me to fuck you, gorgeous?
She couldn’t even believe she’d asked for that. She’d wanted it more than anything in that moment, which was scary because she had big goals and dreams she’d been working on for so long, and that had all disappeared in a heartbeat. All she could think of was assuaging the fierce ache between her legs…and Beck.
“Yes,” she moaned aloud, fingers finding slick heat. Her tongue swiped over her bottom lip, eyes still closed. “Yes, please fuck me.”
She relived the feel of Beck’s beard on her inner thighs and the sensitive skin of her pussy. Even now she felt the residual effects of that…her flesh lightly abraded, her thighs sore. She found her clit and circled one fingertip over it…oh God, yes, that felt so good…
She remembered her panties ripping…him entering her…so thick and hard. He was a big man…stretching her tight channel with his cock, filling her with such a delicious pressure, pleasure pulling up hard and tight inside her, just like it was now, twisting and burning…
Her cellphone buzzed on the desk. She jerked her hand out of her panties and bolted up in the chair, nearly falling off it. Shit. It wasn’t like someone had just walked in on her—why was she so jumpy?
Biting her lip with guilt, she grabbed her phone and peered at it. She didn’t recognize the number. She swiped to answer. “Hello?”
“Hi, gorgeous.”
Beck. She’d recognize that smoky voice anywhere. “Hi.”
“Did I catch you at a bad time? You sound out of breath.”
“No, I-I was just…” Masturbating. While thinking of you…“Um, doing some work.”
“Really? Your work makes you sound really sexy.”
Her cheeks burned and she closed her eyes. If he knew what she’d really been doing…
“I have something for you I want to drop off.”
She swallowed. “Now?”
“Sure. Unless it’s a bad time for you.”
She struggled to fill her lungs with oxygen, the adrenaline rush of being startled doing the two-fingered slot rumba tingling through her veins. She shouldn’t do this…“No, it’s fine.”
“Just need your address, sexy girl.”
Oh God. She wasn’t a sexy girl. But right now she felt…yes, sexy. Wanton. And dammit, aroused. She gave him her address and a few brief directions.
“On my way.”
Great. Fantastic. She set down her phone with trembling hands. Her pussy pulsed with unfulfilled need. She just needed to come…it would take him a while to get there. Probably. Actually she had no idea where he lived, or where he was calling from…
Unable to stop herself, she slipped her hand into her shorts and panties again and stroked herself. It didn’t take long
to get that feeling back, that coiling sweetness that spiraled up into a peak and then burst in a shimmering explosion of heat and sparks.
She lay back in the chair, breathing fast, heart skipping, muscles lax. Whoa. What was even happening to her?
She wasn’t sure how long she stayed sprawled in the chair, once more remembering the feel of Beck’s body against hers, inside hers, the scent of his skin, the taste of his mouth…This had never happened to her. It was like someone had spiked her coffee with some kind of aphrodisiac.
Finally, she roused herself enough to rise. She needed to wash her hands…he’d probably be able to smell her arousal on her fingers…or maybe she should have a shower…no, no time for that. She hurried to the bathroom and washed her hands. When she looked into the mirror, she blinked. Oh my God. Her face was tomato red. She stared in horror. Did she always look like that after an orgasm? That was mortifying, thinking that last night he’d gazed down into her face after she’d come—twice!—and seen this. What was she going to do about that now? There was no way to will the blood away from her cheeks. Even her nose was scarlet.
She ran the water cold and splashed some onto her face, hoping that would cool down her overheated skin, but it was probably hopeless. Then she glanced down at herself, at the pair of gray fleece shorts and baggy T-shirt she wore. So not sexy.
But that was good. Good, good, good. She didn’t want to appear sexy. She did not want him to know she’d been sitting there fantasizing about him and touching herself—
Her doorbell rang.
She went still, drew in a long breath, and let it out with a sound that sounded almost like a whimper.
She dried her hands on the towel, then hurried to the door. Yes, it was him.
He gave her that lazy smile, teeth white in his dark beard, when she opened the door. “Hi.”
Guilt and awareness made her throat dry and her voice squeaky as she said, “Hi.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Can I come in?”
Body Shot (Last Shot) Page 5
