by Opal Carew
She debated whether to tell him she’d run into Amy, then confront him with the fact she was not the first woman he’d done this contract thing with, but her stomach knotted. What would be the point? He hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d been totally aboveboard about the fact that he just wanted a physical relationship with her. What could she do? Demand he fall in love with her?
The fact that she was falling in love with him wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t help it that he was exactly the kind of man she’d always wanted. If things had happened differently in college—if she hadn’t been scared off of having a sexual relationship with a man—then she was sure they would have become romantically involved back then. Maybe at that time she would have had a chance with him.
But clearly things had changed since then.
“Liv, what about dessert?” Shock asked.
She glanced up from her empty plate.
“What?” She’d been lost in her thoughts. She set down her fork, and the waitress, who was standing by the table, picked up her plate.
“No, thank you,” Liv said.
“Just coffee,” Shock said to the waitress.
But Liv didn’t want to sit here over a cup of coffee with him. Watching the sun sink over the lake. Talking with him as if her heart weren’t breaking.
“No coffee for me.”
But the waitress had already left.
“I’m sorry, I just want to go.”
“What’s wrong, Liv?”
She bit her lip as she gazed into his concerned brown eyes.
“I know you have a meeting, so I’ll just get a cab.”
“The meeting’s not important. I’ll take you.”
That’s the last thing she wanted right now. To have her arms wrapped around him, resting her cheek against the warm, supple leather of his jacket, breathing his musky male scent as they rode back to his big house. And the bedroom they shared there.
“No … please. I’m not feeling well. I’d rather take a cab.”
Shock turned thoughtful, but he didn’t argue. He asked the waitress to arrange for a cab and soon Liv was sitting in the back of a taxi, feeling more alone than she had in years.
* * *
Liv sat in the chair by the large bedroom window watching the sun set over the lake, her knees to her chest, her arms curled around them. Shock still hadn’t returned from town.
She had to get used to the idea that this month was about sex and nothing more. They even had guidelines written down so they both knew the parameters, and although at first she’d been uncomfortable with the breadth of the acts he’d included in the agreement, she’d come to see very quickly that he would never push any of them on her if they made her uncomfortable. They were simply things on the table they could try. And that meant she could trust him totally.
She had to keep a tight rein on her feelings for him.
She would concentrate on enjoying this month of physical intimacy with him. Allow it to help heal her.
There was a knock on the door and she glanced at it. Was it Raven coming to check on her again?
“Liv, it’s Shock.”
She drew in a breath, then dried her eyes on the hem of her T-shirt. She was surprised he’d knocked. It was his bedroom.
“May I come in?” he asked.
“Yes, of course.”
The door opened and he stood there, so tall and sexy with his leather jacket unzipped, the shirt underneath stretched across his broad chest. And in his hand was the sorriest looking bouquet of pink roses she’d ever seen.
“What’s with the flowers?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I knew something was bothering you, so I wanted to bring you something to cheer you up.”
He closed the door and walked toward her, holding them out.
“Watch for the thorns,” he cautioned as she reached for them.
She nodded and took them from his big hand, then sniffed the poor crushed flowers.
“Sorry, I rode with them inside my jacket. It didn’t work too well.”
She lifted her gaze from the blossoms to his face. “It’s okay. They smell lovely.”
She noticed pink petals still clinging to his black T-shirt and reached for one to pluck it free. As soon as her hand touched him, he covered it with his own, pressing her fingers to his hard, muscular chest. She could feel his heart pounding.
“Liv, I’m sorry if I did something to upset you.”
She shook her head. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then what was bothering you?”
She compressed her lips. “I guess I was just feeling a little homesick,” she lied.
“Look, sweetheart, if you want to go back home, just say the word.”
No, she didn’t want to lose one day with him.
“I want to stay here.”
He stroked her hair back. “If it’s about the agreement, I’ll tear it up right now. You know that.”
“No, I like having this time to get to know you better.” She dragged her fingertip along his lips. “And I love having sex with you.”
His eyes brightened. “I like that, too.”
She drew in a breath, trying to suppress the feelings rising inside her. Drowning in her need to throw herself in his arms and tell him how much she loved him.
She drew away and walked to the en suite bathroom. Shock followed on her heels. She laid the flowers at an angle in the sink, then filled it with enough water to keep them fresh until she could put them in a vase.
She loved these flowers. They were crushed and a little broken, but they still smelled sweet and looked beautiful to her. Even more so because Shock had brought them for her. He’d cradled them inside his jacket, close to his heart, to keep them safe and protected.
She could see his reflection in the mirror behind the sink, watching her, a frown on his face.
“So you’re totally comfortable with the agreement? Even when I command you to do things? Or restrain your hands so you can’t escape?”
Her breath caught. “Actually, I find that very exciting.”
“And what about some of those things that made you uncomfortable?” He moved closer.
“What if I turned you around and leaned you forward?” He did just that, pressing her forward and leaning her over the vanity. He glided his hand over her ass and cupped. “And pushed into you here?”
He pressed his fingers against the middle seam, leaving no doubt he was talking about anal sex. Her inside muscles tightened and anxiety rippled through her, but she calmed herself.
“It would be fine. I’ve never done it before, but I trust you to guide me through it.”
His reflected gaze locked on hers and his pupils dilated, making his brown eyes go almost black. “You trust me.”
“Of course.”
He pulled her against his chest, his arms wrapping around her waist, and held her. The deeply serious look on his face as he stared at her reflection stirred something deep inside her.
“I want you to trust me. I want you to know I’ll never hurt you.”
She nodded. “I do know that.”
He turned her to face him and swept her into his arms, then their lips met and she got lost in the sweep of emotions that emanated from him to her, sending her senses reeling.
Their mouths parted and his lips brushed against her temple.
“I want you to promise if I push something too fast or too far … if I do anything to make you uncomfortable … I want you to let me know.”
“I will. I promise.”
She smiled and gazed down at the flowers lying in the sink. “I love the roses. Thank you so much.”
He tightened his arms around her and she kissed him again, melting into his embrace.
She curled her arms around his neck, staring up at him. “I can’t believe you remembered I like pink roses.”
He took her hand and led her back into the bedroom.
“How could I forget how much you gushed when your sister sent you som
e on your twenty-second birthday?”
She laughed and stroked his chest. “So I have a question. Would it break the terms of the agreement if I were to kiss you, then initiate sex?”
He smiled and ran his hands up her sides, his thumbs tracing the curves of her breasts, making her long for him to cover them with his big, warm palms. Her nipples hardened at the thought.
“Not at all. I would love it,” he murmured against her ear, sending tingles down her spine.
She leaned in and nuzzled his neck, loving the roughness of his coarse stubble against her lips. “I’m glad,” she whispered, sliding her hand down his chest, then over his thickening bulge under the denim.
She unzipped them and put her hand inside.
* * *
Shock’s breath caught as her soft fingers wrapped around him. God, there’d been so much turmoil between them. All he wanted to do was to make love to her. Sweetly and tenderly.
He captured her lips again as she stroked him, a wave of pleasure surging through him.
“Oh, baby, what you’re doing feels so good.” He held her tighter, enjoying everything about her body against his, her gentle touch arousing him.
He wanted to touch her, too. To taste her and bring her to orgasm while she called out his name.
Someone wrapped loudly on the door and he ignored it. He caressed her breast, anticipating taking the sweet bud in his mouth.
“Shock.” It was Rip’s voice.
Shock dragged his mouth from Liv’s. “What?” he barked.
“There’s a call for you.”
“Take a fucking message.”
“Man, it’s from a hospital. Something about Liv’s sister.”
Liv’s eyes went wide and her hand slipped away from him. Shock zipped up as he strode to the door, Liv on his heels. As soon as he pulled it open, Rip held out the phone. Liv took it.
“Hello? This is Olivia Hughes. You’re calling about my sister, Julia?”
Shock watched her as she listened, his gut clenching as tears glistened in her eyes.
“I understand. Yes. I …” Her voice broke and Shock’s stomach twisted. He placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.
She sucked in a breath. “Yes, thank you.” Her voice was soft. Resigned.
She handed the phone back to Rip.
“Julia … my sister. She’s in the hospital.”
Shock nodded, waiting for her to tell him what she had to say in her own time.
“She’s been really sick and … they said she’s taken a turn for the worse.”
Her hand clamped on Shock’s forearm and her fingers dug into him. “They said …” She sucked in a ragged breath and couldn’t continue.
“What is it, Liv?” he prompted. “Tell me.”
She gazed up at him, her eyes blue pools of pain. “They said she’s dying.”
Also by Opal Carew
Bliss
Forbidden Heat
Secret Ties
Six
Blush
Swing
Twin Fantasies
Pleasure Bound
Total Abandon
Secret Weapon
Insatiable
Illicit
His to Command
His to Possess
His to Claim
Riding Steele
About the Author
Opal Carew is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of sixteen previous erotic romances for St. Martin’s Press. To learn more, visit her on the Web at www.opalcarew.com. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Don’t miss Hard Ride
A novel in three parts
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Hard Ride: Part Two
Also by Opal Carew
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
HARD RIDE: PART TWO. Copyright © 2015 by Opal Carew. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Danielle Fiorella
Cover photographs: Man on right © katalinks/Shutterstock; woman’s face and man on left © Gabriel Georgescu/Shutterstock
eISBN: 9781466878662
First Edition: April 2015
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