Five Minute Man: A Contemporary Love Story (Covendale Book 1)

by Abbie Zanders

  A minute later, she tightened her leg-lock around his hips and dug her heels into his tight ass in an unspoken request for more.

  He gave it to her. Increasing his pace, his hips pistons of even greater force, thrusting into her harder and faster. Possessing her. Owning her.

  “Yes!” she scream-moaned, grabbing the hair at the base of his skull and tugging hard. This was exactly what she had needed. Him. Pounding into her as if he would die if he didn’t. Assuming total control over his pleasure and hers.

  “Come for me, Holly,” he commanded sharply, grinding his hips, pushing deeper, demanding more. “Come all over my cock, baby.”

  His raw words undid her. Seconds later, her entire body clenched, a silent scream ripping from her throat.

  Adam roared her name as her channel bore down hard around him in complete bliss. He was no longer pumping but pushing hard into and against her as if he couldn’t get deep enough.

  Along with the intense climax ripping through her body, she felt the pulse of his release as he exploded inside her. Then they were moving again.

  Adam’s arms were still around her, tight bands that kept her from floating away in thousands of tiny pieces. He dropped down onto the sofa, pulling her with him.

  “Jesus, Holly,” he moaned, holding her tightly encased in his arms.

  She moaned against his neck, her body still shuddering with aftershocks.

  “Five minutes ...” she breathed before giving in to the darkness.

  Chapter 19

  Adam woke up and looked at the clock. Six a.m. If it were any other Friday, he would be up, showered, and eating breakfast by now, checking out the day’s schedule and making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be. The guys he worked with were good—Adam only used the best—but it paid to be on top of things.

  He wasn’t the one on top now. A lush, feminine body was draped over him, legs and arms curled possessively around his body. Her face was buried in his neck, lips parted just enough in exhausted slumber that he could feel the hot, rhythmic puffs of breath against his pulse. She was very warm, his own personal electric blanket. He chuckled, thinking that, come winter, they would be saving a lot on heating bills.

  Yes, he was thinking that far ahead, because the last twelve hours had made his future crystal clear.

  The slight movement had Holly stirring.

  She skimmed her hand down his body and cupped as much of his package as she could. “You’re taking the day off,” she grumbled against his skin. Her little growl was every bit as possessive as her hand.

  His chest swelled with something he had doubted he would ever feel.

  He wasn’t going anywhere. Not until he had imprinted himself on every inch of her, inside and out, and she knew with absolute certainty that they belonged together. He had made significant progress last night.

  After their first time in her living room, they had moved to the bedroom and continued at a more leisurely but no less desperate pace.

  Five, he decided, was his new lucky number. A five-minute orgasm. Making her come five times in as many hours.

  Yeah. Five was fucking awesome.

  “I have a job,” he teased.

  Holly lifted her head enough to lick along his jawline. “Yes, you do.”

  In her capable hand, his cock hardened and swelled.

  She had an incredible morning voice, husky and low, twisting his insides into a tangle of hot, instant need. Adam closed his eyes and let it wash over him, relishing every second.

  And it wasn’t because sex with her was better than any he had ever had. It was how he felt now, the morning after, that really did it for him. The certain knowledge that he wanted to wake up like this every morning for the rest of his life. That, and the fact that such knowledge filled him with a profound sense of peace instead of scaring the shit out of him, convinced him that it didn’t get more right.

  As he pondered such things, Holly began to move. She brushed her lips lightly over his, then trailed back down along his jaw. She made soft, little sounds of pleasure as she progressed, as if she was getting as much out of this as he was.

  He lazily kneaded her back and her perfect backside encouragingly.

  The woman was pure magic. Before long, he was once again lost in the sensations of her intoxicating kisses, the feel of her warm weight moving over him, and all that lush softness beneath his worshipping hands.

  It wasn’t until he gripped nothing but hair that he realized her intent. All the hazy warm and fuzzies cleared instantly, and a sharp and sudden bolt of lust scored the length of his body.

  Fisting her cherry-cola curls, he raised his head to see her wedging between his thighs.

  She didn’t bother to look back at him. Holly’s attention was fully focused on that part of him right in front of her face.

  With one finger, she traced the length of him, from base to tip, causing his hips to involuntarily jerk.

  From one fucking finger.

  That one finger was joined by others until she closed her skillful hand around him and they all began stroking together. She kept her other hand similarly employed, cupping his balls, tugging lightly and rolling, all at the same time. Holy hell, where did she learn that?

  Then she peeked her tongue out from those soft pink lips and licked at the pre-come beading along the top of his head. She must have liked it because she made an appreciative noise and, seconds later, the first few inches of his cock disappeared into her mouth.

  In a flurry of sensations that threatened to blow his mind, the heat of her mouth, the stroke of her tongue, and the light, erotic rasp of her teeth conspired against him.

  After several, agonizing seconds, she just ... stopped. Why had she stopped?

  He opened his eyes and looked down to find her looking back at him, her green eyes filled with lust and something primal and possessive.

  “Mine,” she growled. “I can taste myself on you, Adam. You’re mine.”

  Fuck yes. His inner caveman tossed aside his club and kneeled before her in absolute submission.

  She renewed her efforts with great enthusiasm, claiming him as he had claimed her. He could have fought it, but why would he? She was right. He was hers. And if she felt the need to prove it to him so thoroughly, who was he to deny her?

  She owned him. Owned his cock, his heart and, in that moment, his soul.

  Hours later, after three meals, two showers, and several more orgasms, Adam woke up again, but alone this time.

  The room was dark. A brief look toward the window confirmed that it was well past sunset.

  Adam rose, feeling both sated and needy. Physically, he was more than satisfied. Holly had seen to that. But there was another part of him now that would never be fully satisfied. That part needed to see her, to know that she was near and safe, to look into her eyes and feel that incredible rush of connection that made him think crazy, permanent thoughts.

  He found her in the kitchen, sitting at the table with her laptop in front of her, the glow from the screen reflected in her eyes. Max was curled up at her feet.

  She looked adorable sitting there, with her tousled curls and unmistakable just-fucked looked, fingers flying across the keyboard so quickly they looked blurry from where he stood.

  He leaned against the doorframe, content to just watch her. A strange feeling came over him in those moments, like déjà vu, but just the opposite. Instead of feeling like he had experienced this before, he knew he was seeing his future. That there would be hundreds, if not thousands, of nights he would wake up and find her here, just like this.

  She paused long enough to take a sip from the mug beside her, and that was when she spotted him. Her features softened, her eyes sparkled, and her lips curved into a smile that made his heart stop altogether.

  “Hi,” she said softly.

  “Hi,” he replied. “Writing?”

  “Yeah,” she confessed. The creeping, rosy blush across her cheeks gave him a pretty good idea of what she was writing
about. “I wanted to get a few ideas down while they were still fresh in my mind.”

  Ideas that he had inspired? Oh yeah, he was all about the inspiration.

  He pushed off from the frame. “Yeah? Like what?”

  She watched him stalk across the kitchen, her eyes like brands as they scanned down his chest, his hips, his legs, and back up again. He loved it, loved the fierce gleam in her eye, the sense of being wanted like that by her.

  “Feelings, mostly. Sensations. Stuff like that.”

  “Hmmm,” he hummed. “You put that into your books, huh?”

  “Oh yeah,” she said, her voice slightly breathier than it had been only a minute earlier. He loved that he had this kind of effect on her, too. “Being able to capture that separates the good writers from the great ones. Readers can tell the difference.”

  He stopped beside her, close enough that he could feel the heat radiating from her skin. “Is that so?”

  HOLLY LICKED HER BOTTOM lip. Sitting as she was, her mouth was right in line with his hips. There was no mistaking the large bulge beneath the faded denim. She closed her eyes, remembering what he had looked like naked. The satiny steel feel of him in her hands, between her thighs, in her mouth.

  “Yeah. Well, that and lots of research.”

  “Research.” His eyes twinkled with amusement and something else. Something dark and hungry and possessive that had tendrils of heat licking up from her center. Again.

  She swallowed. “Yeah.”

  “Anything in particular you need to research?” he asked, dropping smoothly to his knees and turning her chair to face him. His big hands landed on bare skin just above her knees. She inhaled sharply, her body zinging with anticipation when she realized his intent.

  “Um ...” She didn’t say it. She couldn’t. It was one thing to write about it, to imagine it, to dream of it, but to ask for it? With Adam, Holly had been bolder than she had ever been, but not even she could bring herself to speak of ... that.

  The part of her that had so brazenly claimed him earlier was nowhere to be found. She was probably taking a well-deserved rest while leaving her sweet, docile alter ego in charge. If vocalizing that particular fantasy was a prerequisite for actually experiencing it, she would be going without.

  Thankfully, Adam seemed to understand. He flexed and pressed his hands, guiding her legs open to wedge his big body between them.

  “Relax,” he whispered, massaging her thighs when they tensed.

  Easy for him to say, she thought, barely containing the hysterical giggle trying to erupt. No man had ever done that before. She read about it plenty, even wrote about it herself, but that was romantic fiction. It was called that for a reason.

  She was just about to tell him to stop when he placed a kiss on the inside of her thigh. She had never realized just how sensitive her skin was there. She could feel everything. The silky caress of his hair, the heat of his breath, the stark contrast of his soft lips to the prickly stubble along his jaw.

  Without conscious thought, she tangled her fingers into his hair and slid her behind to the front of the chair in silent demand. Her mind might be a little freaked out, but her body was totally on board with where he was going.

  Adam thumbed her instep—who knew that was an erogenous zone?—and guided her foot to his shoulder. Then he did the same with her other leg. She tilted her head back and watched him through heavy-lidded eyes. How absolutely male he looked there between her legs with his rugged, stubbly features framed by her just-shaved, baby smooth thighs.

  Her logical, rational self made one final rally before her inner harlot awoke and took over completely.

  “Adam,” she breathed. “You don’t have to—ungh ...”

  The words broke off with a strangled gurgle when Adam surged forward, licking along her slick folds.

  Her head flew back, and all she could think about was how glad she was that she hadn’t bothered to put on panties because it would have delayed this for several interminable seconds.

  “Mmm ... You taste so fucking good, baby. Sweet and rich and perfect.”

  The man was a hummer, and it was amazing. The vibrations skittered across bundles of lovingly abused nerves, more pleasing than Vinny had ever been. And Vinny had never talked to her, either. She would never again underestimate the power of sexy, dirty dialogue while doing sexy, dirty deeds.

  The man had some serious skills! He licked, he flicked, he sucked, he fucked her with his tongue. And just when she thought she couldn’t possibly stand another freaking second, he thrust his long, thick fingers deep inside, curling and applying pressure right there while he sucked hard on her clit and made her body explode into thousands of tiny scattered pieces of light.

  “Damn, that was hot, baby.” Holly heard his voice, but she didn’t have the strength to open her eyes just yet. It was enough to be held in his arms as he gently rocked her back down to earth. No, not rocking. Walking.

  She smiled, or at least thought she did. Humming as she was from that last incredible orgasm, she wasn’t quite sure she had complete control over any muscles whatsoever.

  “I need to be inside you. Now.”

  That penetrated the haze. Impossibly, her still tingling sex went from satisfied to needy at the husky rasp of his voice.

  After a brief moment of weightlessness, she felt the bed beneath her. Then Adam was above her, hot and hard and naked, sliding deeply inside. They both let out a moan at the same time.

  Holly arched and tilted her hips, still reeling from that last orgasm as he pushed farther. Like the very first time, there was no hesitation, no gentle possession. Just raw, blinding need.

  He pumped inside her, flesh slapping flesh as he drove himself deeper, only to withdraw and do it again and again. Her climax came fast and hard, shattering her into pieces all over again. Only this time, the pulsing of his sheathed cock deep in her core told her that he had joined her.

  She must have zoned out there for a few minutes, because the next thing she knew, Adam was chuckling.

  “What’s so funny?” she asked dreamily. Maybe if she hadn’t been loved repeatedly into a sense of complete and total lassitude, she might have felt a bit offended or at least a little self-conscious. As it was, she just didn’t have the strength.

  “I was just thinking how lucky I am,” he told her. “I don’t think helping you with your research would be nearly as much fun if you were still an analyst.”

  She managed a tired but happy grin. “Bits and bytes don’t turn you on?”

  “Your bits and bytes do. There are several bits I’d like to bite right now, as a matter of fact,” he growled, lowering his head to nip at her breast.

  “It really doesn’t bother you?” she asked softly, running her hand over his hair in a comforting gesture.

  He kissed his way back up to her face. “Having a beautiful, smart, sexy, creative, successful woman as my own? No, Holly, it doesn’t bother me. It makes me feel like the luckiest man in the world.” In case she needed more convincing, he lowered his mouth to hers, expressing himself with a searing, lingering kiss.

  “What about you?” he asked. “Can you be happy with a humble contractor?”

  “Oh, yes,” she whispered, her words filled with genuine awe and wonderment as she guided him into her again. “You’re my Five-Minute Man ...”

  ADAM GROANED, OFFERING a silent prayer of thanks to Liz. “You want to convince Holly she’s the one?” she had said to him. “Be her Five-Minute Man. Prove it to her.”

  He’d had his doubts. After all, Holly wrote romances. Shouldn’t he be buying roses and taking her out to candlelight dinners? When he had asked that, Liz had snorted, telling him with unwavering confidence that all that stuff would mean nothing unless Holly believed it was real, and there was only one way to do that.

  It looked as if Liz had hit the nail on the head with that one.

  “Yes, I am,” he agreed, flipping them so she was on top of him again. “And you are my Five-Minute Woman.�
��

  She purred at that, curling her nails lightly into his chest as she made slow circles with her hips. “Always. But now, I think I want a lot more than five minutes ...”

  Chapter 20

  “Hello, Adam.”

  Adam cringed at hearing Eve’s sex-kitten purr clearly through his mobile. Having just left Holly’s after a long weekend of sheer bliss, he hadn’t been thinking clearly or he would have checked the caller ID before answering.

  “What do you want, Eve?”

  “Is that any way to talk to your lover?”

  “We are not lovers,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “I beg to differ.” She laughed softly, undeterred.

  She could beg all she wanted. Adam was done. Had been for a long time.

  “We had sex, Eve. It was one night. Don’t make it out to be anything more than that.”

  “Keep telling yourself that, baby, but I know better. You and I, we’re meant to be. You will accept that eventually.”

  “I’m hanging up now.”

  “Okay,” she said in a sing-song voice. Her easy agreement set off warning bells in the back of his mind. “But if you do, you might lose your chance to get a bid in on that old gamekeeper’s cottage you were so interested in.”

  Adam’s thumb paused over the “End Call” button. “What the hell are you talking about, Eve? The cottage was sold months ago.” To Holly.

  “What if I told you the Historical Society is trying to buy back the property?”

  “Won’t happen,” he said without thinking. “I know the owner, and she’s not interested in selling.”

  There was a long pause, long enough for him to realize his mistake.

  “She, huh? So that’s who has captured your attention,” Eve mused. “I should have known. Is she the one you have been doing business with lately, Adam?”

  Fuck! He needed to get his head out of his pants and start thinking with his brain again. If Eve thought for a minute that Adam was interested in anyone besides her, she would make Holly’s life a living hell. Things were too new, too fresh with Holly to subject her to that kind of insanity yet. He had to make Eve believe that Holly was not a threat, at least until he could figure out a more permanent solution.