One Last Dance

by Nancy Stopper

  “A little.”

  He rubbed his hands up and down her arms.

  She shuddered. From the cold, or maybe from the things Joey made her feel.

  “Come on, let’s get you inside.”

  He pushed the car door shut behind her. His hand was strong, the callouses he’d earned from hard work rough against her skin. She had no idea holding hands could be so comforting and so erotic at the same time. He whispered his thumb over her knuckles, and each pass shot straight to her core. It had been a long time since she’d been driven out of control simply by a man’s touch. It was a bit unsettling, but also exciting.

  Joey hustled her inside, and before she had time to react, he’d closed the door behind her and leaned her against it. His lips crashed down on hers, his hands everywhere on her body, stroking, squeezing and caressing. Each brush of his hand left a path of tingling flesh in its wake, his fingers light in places, firm and intense in others. He drove her nearly out of her mind with need.

  She fumbled for the tail of his T-shirt and ripped it out of his jeans. Together, they pulled it up and over his head. With his shirt out of the way, she was free to run her hands up his bare back, tracing the muscles she’d been admiring. He shifted them so his back was against the door, her body pressed breast to thigh against his. With every part of her front touching him, the sensations overwhelmed her.

  Two could play this game.

  After smoothing her hands over the ridges of his abs, she leaned down. She stared for a moment at the perfection she’d exposed before nipping at the skin above his waistband.

  He sucked in a deep breath.

  With just the tip of her tongue, she licked where she had nipped before soothing the spot with a gentle kiss. She moved higher, nipping and kissing until she reached his nipple. Were his as sensitive as hers? She was about to find out. She rubbed her thumb over one. He jumped and tried to pull away, but she pushed herself more firmly against him. After blowing a puff of air over his other nipple, she circled it with her tongue.

  A groan rumbled through his gut, and his head thumped against the door. “Killing me here,” he said through gritted teeth.

  If she was driving him as wild as he had driven her last night, she knew exactly how he felt. She chuckled. She loved being on the giving end. Powerful, that was what she felt. Like his pleasure was solely hers to control.

  She moved to the other nipple, teasing it to a peak before sucking it into her mouth. A salty, musky flavor exploded on her tongue.

  Joey slid his hands under her butt and lifted her. After just a few steps, he unceremoniously dropped her onto the couch. A squeak escaped from her lips before he followed her down and covered her body with his.

  He sprinkled kisses down her cheek, and then he circled her earlobe with his tongue. She wriggled, his assault sending jolts through her entire body.

  He sucked her earlobe into his mouth, the gentle pressure causing her muscles to tense from the sensation. She relaxed and sank into the cushion. When he nipped just behind her ear, her back arched off the couch, seeking more contact, more something from him.

  With his body pressed to hers and his tongue doing wonderful things to her, every cell of her body trembled. He’d found her weakness and took full advantage, sending wave after wave of pleasure through her body.

  She slid her hands to his chest and pushed him off her. He pouted like a puppy who’d lost his bone, and she laughed. “I want to feel more of you.”

  At those words, his eyes darkened with intense desire. She wasn’t sure she’d ever had someone so fully focused on her, her happiness, her pleasure. She knew without a doubt that Joey would ensure her enjoyment before his own. It was intoxicating… and overwhelming.

  After she nodded her approval, he slid his hands down her body to the tail of her shirt, pulling it over her head in a single, smooth motion.

  She reached for him, but he simply sat back and smiled.

  “Nuh-uh. I want to look at you. I didn’t get to see you last night.”

  She grimaced, wrapping her arms around her belly. He leaned forward, his chest against her bra-covered breasts, and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, much gentler than the fevered kissing and clinging she’d experienced when he’d pushed her against the door. How did he know exactly what she needed? She couldn’t even form the words with the jumbled mess of thoughts in her head.

  He whispered, “You’re beautiful,” against her lips before plunging his tongue in her mouth again. His warm body against hers made her want more, so much more. Her breasts tingled and her nipples hardened into peaks.

  She needed to hold on to something, anything, to ground her while she felt so out of control. Her hands found their way into the waist of his pants. She slid her hands into his boxers and grabbed his ass. His muscles were taut, firm and lean, and they flexed as she squeezed. She pulled him tight. His erection thickened, and he rubbed it against her. Jolts shot through every cell with each stroke, her body yearning, begging for what he offered.

  She slipped her hands from his jeans and trailed them along his waist. His breaths came ragged and heavy. Her heart beat raced. She was arousing him, which turned her on, deepening the ache between her thighs. Just as she reached to unsnap his jeans, he yanked her hand away. “Not yet. I’m right on the edge. If you touch me, I’m going to be finished way too soon.”

  He pulled her so she was sitting. Trailing his hands up her arms, he slid them around her back and released her bra with an easy flick. She should have felt more exposed to him now, but she didn’t. The cool air across her breasts sent shots of desire from her nipples straight to her core, flooding her entire body with intense desire. Her bundle of nerves tingled and begged for his touch to relieve the building ache. She wiggled and groaned. If he didn’t relieve the pressure soon, she’d explode.

  He pressed a gentle hand against her shoulder. She wanted more, harder and faster. Instead, he lowered her back to the couch and sprinkled kisses down her neck. His tongue traced a line down and across her belly before settling on her breast. His calloused palm cupped her aching flesh, brushing a gentle thumb across her pebbled nub.

  “God, Brittany. You feel so good beneath me. I can’t wait until I’m inside you, feeling you around me.”

  His words were gentle, yet erotic, and while his touch aroused her body, his words sank right into her soul and took hold of her heart. As he continued to caress her one breast, teasing her nipple, he lowered his head and sucked her other into his mouth. Her back arched, her body reaching for him just as her arms wrapped around him. Sucking, pulling, licking, he continued until she couldn’t bear the overwhelming sensation any longer. He then switched to the other, giving it equal attention.

  She squirmed beneath him.

  “I want… I need…” she panted between ragged breaths.

  “Tell me what you need, baby. What you want.”

  “I want you.”

  “Where, baby?”

  “Everywhere.”

  At that single word, he released the button and zipper of her jeans and slid his hand into her panties, easily finding her core.

  “So wet. So ready for me.”

  “Oh, God,” she panted as he rubbed her, stroking in and out. He withdrew, brushing across her throbbing bundle of nerves before plunging two fingers back into her. They were thick inside her, igniting her most sensitive nerves with a single move.

  With a twist of his hand, he found a spot deep within her, one that drove her immediately over the edge. Her body tensed as sensations shot out from her core to every bit of her body. Her arms tingled and her toes curled. Her breaths came in spurts, her throat rough from the moans that escaped unbidden. All at once, every muscle in her body prickled as wave after wave of pleasure washed through her. He stroked her over and over, finally withdrawing as the tremors slowed.

  She relaxed in his arms, her breathing calmed. But he wasn’t done. He pinched her clit, sending a shock through her body. He ran his finger along her folds,
pushing her toward another release.

  “I can’t… it’s too much.”

  He covered her mouth with his in a searing kiss before chuckling against her mouth. “It’s never too much. It’ll never be too much. I want to see you come again.”

  His desire-laced words combined with his increasing strokes sent her over, the sensations stronger, the jolts streaking through her body fiercer than the last.

  Through ragged breaths, she begged, “Enough. Enough. I can’t take it anymore.”

  He slowed his movement and she finally collapsed, exhausted, against the couch.

  He wrapped his arms around her, cradling her as she shuddered through the aftereffects. Her eyes were too heavy to open, but she felt his gaze boring into her.

  “Damn, Brittany, you are so sexy when you come.”

  She opened her eyes slightly and smiled. She felt like a wet noodle, all wrung out and limp, all energy from her body expended. He sprinkled gentle kisses on her lips and cheeks until she felt her body responding. She moaned. “I can’t. You wore me out.”

  “Well, then, how about we get more comfortable?”

  He stood up from her, cool air washing over her body as he did. Before she could follow him, he lifted her into his arms and carried her down the hall.

  JOEY KICKED HIS bedroom door closed behind him, striding with determined steps to the bed. He laid Brittany down gently, almost reverently, her legs hanging off the side. She tried to sit up.

  “Not yet,” he said as he reached for her foot. Somewhere along the way, she’d kicked her shoes off, or they’d fallen off. He didn’t care, his focus solely on the half-naked woman in front of him.

  He placed a kiss on the arch of her foot, her gasp all the encouragement he needed to continue. Moving to the waist of her jeans, he nudged her to lift up as he tugged them over her hips. He slid his hands down her legs, with his eyes fixed on hers, and grabbed the cuffs of her pants. In one quick motion, he yanked them off and tossed them over his head. Who knew undressing a woman could be so erotic? Usually, it was more about getting to the desired result, but he was certainly enjoying the journey this time.

  His entire body tightened at the sight of her fair skin against the dark tones of his bedspread. He couldn’t believe she was here, in his house, in his bed. He never brought women home, preferring to keep his hookups impersonal and away from his private space. And with Shelby, as teenagers, they’d only had stolen moments away from their parents’ prying eyes. Despite all of that, he needed Brittany in his bed with an intensity he couldn’t explain.

  He smoothed a hand up the inside of her thigh and brushed his finger over her core. “Damn, baby, I can feel your heat through your panties.”

  She didn’t speak, her eyes closed as she wriggled her body, pressing against his hand. With a single finger tucked in the edge of her panties, he tugged them off.

  Perfection. He had no other way to describe the wonderful curves of the naked woman in front of him, the roundness of her hips and her breasts in perfect proportion to her body. Her moist lips opened as ragged breaths escaped. She opened her eyes, and the desire reflected in them shook him.

  His erection twitched, pleading for her. To be touched by her, to be inside her.

  He dropped to the floor, parting her knees with his hands. Her thighs begged to be kissed, and he obliged, up one thigh and down the other, skipping over the spot he most desired.

  She wiggled, trying to direct him to the place she wanted him. The place he wanted to be.

  He chuckled. He hadn’t known making love could be fun and playful. It hadn’t been for him… until now.

  He kissed up her leg and hesitated at her core, breathing in her musky scent. She laid open, vulnerable to him, completely opposite to the woman he’d spied across the dance floor a few days ago.

  So little time had passed since he’d met her. Never before had he felt such a connection to a woman so quickly. He wanted her with his entire being, an uncomfortable place to be for the avowed playboy he’d been. Shaking those thoughts out of his mind, he focused on the here and now. This had to be enough.

  With just the tip of his tongue, he licked up one side of her opening and then the other, mimicking the strokes that had driven her crazy earlier. He pressed his hand to her soft belly, to ground himself and hold her still while he drove his tongue into her channel. He curled it, absorbing her essence before withdrawing and circling the bundle of nerves at the apex of her legs.

  He did it again as her body writhed beneath him, the pace increasing as his strokes intensified. He added a finger as he licked until her muscles clenched. She felt so good around him that he couldn’t wait until he was inside her. He sucked her clit into his mouth as he slid his fingers in again. Her muscles tightened and she trembled around him as she climaxed.

  He released her and made quick work of his jeans. After grabbing a condom and sheathing himself, he lifted her knees, pressing them back toward the bed, and entered her in in a single stroke.

  “Oh, God,” she moaned deep in her throat.

  “Good?”

  “So… good.”

  He withdrew almost completely before plunging in again, her channel clenching his shaft as he did. Her wet heat drew him in, wrapped around him. Sensations tingled through his entire cock and shot straight into his gut, a growing ache deep inside. He withdrew and then thrust. Her hips lifted to meet him, rolling smoothly with each move.

  They quickly established a rhythm, Brittany lifting her hips with each thrust, driving both of them higher and higher. As her inner muscles gripped him, he quickened his pace, reaching down to rub her intimately. Her moans increased, and she writhed beneath him as her orgasm overtook her. Her tight muscles gripping around his cock shot a jolt straight through him and drove him over the edge. His muscles screamed, and every cell in his body tightened as he came.

  He collapsed over her body, spent. They lay together, sweat coating their bodies, until his breathing calmed and he could speak. Just one word. “Stay.”

  He hadn’t intended to blurt it out while still sprawled over her body, but now that he’d said it, he realized exactly how much he wanted her here.

  She didn’t move. She didn’t lift her head. She only mumbled an incomprehensible string of words.

  He chuckled. She was as drained as he was. He lifted his head and looked at her. “Brittany, open your eyes.”

  Her eyes fluttered open and then closed again. Eventually she opened one eye, the deep brown color focused on him.

  “I mean it. I want you to stay.”

  Now she chuckled. “I’m sorta stuck right now, what with you laying on top of me and not having a car or anything.”

  Joey stood, the cold air a shock to his naked body.

  She moved to cover herself, but before she could, he lifted her up and slid her up the bed. He didn’t want to leave her, but he needed to take care of the condom. When he returned, she’d pulled the sheet up over her breasts, hiding them from his view. He stretched out on the bed beside her, his head propped on his elbow. He traced along the edge of the sheet.

  “Stay this week. Here. With me.”

  She didn’t answer, but her expression betrayed the wheels turning in her head as she considered his request.

  “It’s a quiet week for me, with everything around the grand reopening and the Honor Beer reveal done. I have a couple of projects to work on this week, and I hope you’ll join me. I think you’ll enjoy them. And then we don’t have to cut this short.”

  “What is this?” The question came out quietly, hesitantly.

  Joey ran his hand through his hair. “We’re having fun, aren’t we?”

  She hesitated. “Yeah, is that what this is? Some short-term fun?”

  “I don’t know. I just don’t know. You said you don’t have anything on your work schedule for the week, right?”

  “I don’t.”

  “Then stay.”

  “It’s not that simple and you know it.”


  “Let’s make it that simple. I like you. I think you like me. We have fun together. I want to spend more time with you. You’ve got free time.”

  “To what end?”

  He sighed, unable to form the words that his heart yearned to verbalize. He didn’t know the answer, and she deserved one.

  She continued. “What do you expect to happen at the end of this week? You live here, I live in New York. Neither of us plans to move.”

  “We don’t need to think about that, do we? You’re on vacation and we’re both here right now. Isn’t that enough?” He sat up so he could look her in the eye. He didn’t want her to leave. He’d do anything to get her to stay. All of a sudden, this conversation became too important for him to mess it up. He had to find the right words that wouldn’t spook her but would make her decision an easy one. “I’m not asking you to move here. I’m not even asking you to make a commitment any longer than this week. But I’d like you to stay.”

  She bit down on her lower lip, a cute reaction he’d come to know meant she was thinking. He leaned forward and placed a single kiss on her lips, his eyes never leaving hers. “Come on, Britt. Say yes.”

  She blew out a huge breath, closed her eyes, and then opened them again. “Okay.”

  She’d barely spoken the word before he covered her mouth with his and proceeded to give her a preview of the week to come.

  Chapter Thirteen

  SUN STREAKING THROUGH the open curtains fell on Brittany’s face, shocking her awake. She squinted against the brightness before squeezing her eyes closed again. She stretched her hand out to her side, along the spot beside her.

  It was cold.

  Memories of last night flooded her mind, and her muscles stiffened.

  She turned over, finding the other side of the bed empty, an indention in the pillow the only sign Joey had been with her in bed. But when she stretched her muscles, the evidence of exactly what they had done screamed in the blessed soreness between her legs.

  Where had he gone? Why? Did he regret asking her to stay?

  She turned onto her back, stretched her arms above her head, and smiled. It hadn’t just been the one time, although their first time together was certainly memorable. He’d had her again in the shower as they’d washed each other off. They’d collapsed into bed after showering, but he’d woken her up before the sky lightened, running his hand over her hip while pressing his thickening erection against her backside until she’d turned into his arms.