by Shayla Black
They weren’t having a relationship, merely a hookup. It didn’t matter if he was a well-practiced manwhore. The only thing she should care about was pleasure.
She smiled at him. “I can’t, either.”
Jamie climbed back on the bed, settling his knee between her legs as he pushed her flat again. “Can you take it hard? Fast? I’m not going to be happy until you’re screaming for me.”
“Stop talking and start living up to your promise.”
His cock jerked. Then he settled his body between her legs and gripped her hips, thrusting the head of his erection against her aching sex in one swift move. When he’d settled unerringly against her opening, he shoved forward. Hard.
His first few inches stretched her, and a sweet sting flooded her veins with drugging need. She surged up to him, her head arching back on a moan. He gripped her tighter as he eased back, then pushed deeper.
“Oh…fuck.” His voice dropped lower, his raspy tone making her feel as if he was coming apart, just like her.
“More,” she barely managed to squeak out.
“Yes,” he growled. “Now.”
Jamie delivered, withdrawing before he plunged in once more, shoving his way deeper inside her, inciting a riot of tingles. The head of his cock rubbed against her most sensitive spots. She grabbed at his shoulders, frantic to hang on as he took her close to the edge, amazed at how completely he filled her.
When he pulled back, he dragged his hard flesh over those same screaming nerves. Her heartbeat resounded in her ears. Bristol didn’t care if she ever took a deep breath again. The feel of his hands on her body, of his cock working back into her would keep her more than happy.
“You’re so tight. So…made for me right now. Take more.” His voice deepened with dark command.
No way she could have refused him. Instead, she lifted her legs around his hips and arched closer. “Yes.”
He wrapped his fingers even tighter around her hips and plunged forward again. He filled her once more, seeming to take up all the empty space inside her while relieving none of the ache. In fact, it only grew until her head swam with dizzying desire.
But he paid no heed, merely kept pressing in, squeezing another inch of his erection into her clenching flesh. He gritted his teeth, totally focused on her. Sweat dotted his temples as he shoved in yet another inch. Then a bit more.
Bristol gasped at the foreign sensation, as if he not only opened her body completely for the first time but owned it.
Finally, he tilted his hips down, fitting himself utterly against her, inside her. She writhed under him, at once frantic to end the maddening ache…yet make it last forever.
Jamie sucked in a couple of heaving breaths before he swooped down and stole into her mouth. He attacked her lips, claiming them as he withdrew his cock. She cried out in protest at his loss, but he swallowed the sound with his kiss. Then he stroked deep inside her again, stretching her to accommodate every bit of him, drowning her objection with more desire. He took down all her defenses.
He made her forget that Jamie Last-name-lacking was nothing but a fling who would be gone in a handful of days.
She didn’t know how to hold anything back when he thrust into her, falling into a deep, fast rhythm that made her ancient bedframe squeak, her old floors creak, her heart thunder, and her pleasure receptors overload. Everything about him called to her, from the slightly tangy flavor of his kiss, to his scorching palms roaming her overheated skin. With every stroke, he seemed to anchor himself deeper until she would have sworn that with the feverish rise of her orgasm, he was also unzipping her skin and turning her inside out, forcing her to show every bit of the vulnerability and need she’d rather hide.
Her headboard hit the wall. Thrill zipped through her as he filled her again.
He positioned her legs up and against her body, spreading her wider, allowing him deeper. “Wrap your hands around the headboard. Don’t let go.”
Her heart fluttered, skipped a beat, as she complied. His triumphant smile made the ache in her sex tighten. She clamped down on him. “I’m close.”
“Oh, honey. You have no idea how seriously I’m riding the edge.”
Bristol didn’t have a chance to say anything before he came at her again, his rhythm harder, faster, as if he’d allowed his need off a seriously tight leash. Every thrust told her that he didn’t have any intention of holding back anymore.
Frantically, she grabbed at the spindles of her old brass headboard, giving Jamie what he demanded. It felt good to give in, to surrender. He rewarded her with more pleasure. Sex with him felt like embracing a thunderstorm, riding a wild bronc. She absorbed him, savoring the rising crescendo of desire as every muscle in her body tightened for the imminent explosion.
“There you are. That’s it. Yeah.” He gritted his teeth, staring down into her eyes, the storm there stealing her breath. “Everything about you fucking turns me on. Come for me.”
She couldn’t have held back for anything. Blood rushed, tingles converged, the universe parted. Angels freaking wept.
As he tensed and slammed into her again, Bristol’s world crashed open, blotting out all but him. The pleasure that twisted her body wiped away everything in her head. The orgasm was too big to hold inside. She opened her mouth to beg Jamie for some way to handle the battering ram of ecstasy. The only sound that came out of her mouth was a low-pitched, animal wail.
He followed her with hammering strokes and a long, raspy growl that sounded an awful lot like her name as he shuddered.
Then he stopped, all but collapsing on his elbows above her. He planted his face in her neck, his panting breaths rolling over her skin.
He’d stolen everything from her and made her feel as if she’d been run over by a train. She didn’t have the energy to even open her eyes, but she did let go of the headboard and wrap her arms around him.
“What the fuck was that?” he muttered.
“No idea.” And somehow she wondered if her world would ever be the same.
Jamie lifted his head, his dark eyes shining with mischief. “Whatever it was, we definitely have to do it again.”
Chapter Four
Bristol bent to bag a few cookies from the display case for Mrs. Barton’s three kids and swallowed back a moan of discomfort. But putting up with the occasional twinge was a small price to pay for the enormous pleasure Jamie had given her last night.
True to his word, after that first gotta-have-it rush, he’d slowed the pace down and loved her with finessed, insatiable perfection. As their damp bodies glided together in a furious passion, he’d taken her over and over, leaving her breathless and stunned…yet still aching for him.
Clearly, he knew his way around a woman’s body.
As she secured the cookies in the little white bag, Bristol sighed.
The Barton kids whooped and cheered as she handed the confections to their mom. “Thanks. Enjoy!”
After a cheerful wave, the family tumbled out into the sunshine. Once they were gone, Bristol’s thoughts drifted back to the previous night. She should wipe what was probably a stupid, sappy grin from her face. But her body still hummed with a well-loved satisfaction she’d never imagined.
And when Jamie hadn’t been touching her last night—which seemed constantly—he’d talked to her. About her family, her coffeehouse, her favorite movies, fondest memories…everything. He didn’t talk much about himself. In fact, he’d artfully dodged most of her attempts to learn more about him. She knew some about his childhood and that, as an adult, he was a wanderer. She knew he considered his number of true friends very small. The man obviously preferred privacy. And Bristol didn’t pry. As much as she enjoyed being with him, as much as he intrigued her, Jamie wouldn’t be in her life past Tuesday night, provided she could even get him to stay long enough for her mother’s dinner. She didn’t want to find out everything about him and like him even more. She had to think fling. Temporary. Not getting attached. Romance really was nothing more than a
fairy tale. Hayden and every guy she’d dated before him had proven that.
The door chime resounded overhead. And speak of the devil…
Hayden entered her shop, looking flushed. From the heat? She glanced at the clock over his head. Twenty minutes until she closed, and he knew it. When they’d been dating, he’d come by about this time when he had something on his mind. He knew it was her slowest time of day and that she couldn’t end the confrontation by walking away until she locked her doors at quitting time.
Bristol tensed. “What’s up?”
Hayden didn’t pretend this was a friendly chat. “Is he still here?”
“Jamie?” she asked as if she had more than one man in her life. No way did she want Hayden to think she sat around pining for him. Nothing could be further from the truth.
“Yeah. I didn’t appreciate you bringing him to our engagement party.”
“He was my ‘plus one,’” she fibbed. “I RSVPd.”
“No, Jayla was your plus one,” he reminded her, holding up a stern finger.
Okay, that was true but… “Why does it matter? It’s not as if you ran out of food or chairs. The party wasn’t negatively impacted because Jamie came.”
“I didn’t like it. I don’t like him for you.” Hayden crossed his arms over his chest.
Now that Bristol had seen Jamie do nearly the same thing—while naked—her ex seemed on the scrawny side, not deeply masculine or shiver-worthy. Seeing Hayden in the buff had never incited her to tear off her clothes and plead for his touch. But Jamie…
As she crossed the room with careful steps to straighten the bistro tables and chairs—mostly to avoid looking at Hayden—she felt that sappy smile creep across her face again. “Too bad. I do.”
“That expression is making me sick. He’s obviously a player. And why are you walking so funny?” He scowled, then he gaped. “Are you sore because he—”
“I won’t discuss my relationship with Jamie, especially not with you, Hayden. You’re engaged to my sister now, so what I do is absolutely none of your business. Did you have a reason to come here, other than to harass me?”
He pulled down on his Sunday-best navy sport coat. “To check on you.”
“I’m fine. Don’t you have someplace else to be? Isn’t there a church potluck this afternoon?”
“I skipped it.”
Hayden never missed an opportunity to play the role of “big man in town.” Bristol stared at him suspiciously. Why was he sweating? “So you could come here and bug me?”
“No.” He sent her an annoyed scowl. “I stopped by Corey’s house and… That doesn’t matter. Watching you leave with that guy last night worried me. He won’t stay, you know.”
Bristol shrugged as if it didn’t matter. Jamie wouldn’t stay, and she was okay with that…mostly. Not seeing him after Tuesday night’s dinner at her mother’s house sounded horrible right now, but she was in a sex-induced infatuation bubble, right? By the time she was done with him, it was possible they both would have found a hundred ways to crawl on one another’s nerves. By then, they’d realize how wrong they were together. Then she’d be ready for her next fling. No muss, no fuss. No problem.
It just didn’t feel that way now.
Get it together, girl. You are not getting your heart involved again.
“You didn’t stay either, and I survived,” she pointed out.
“He’s only using you for sex,” Hayden added.
“I’m okay with that. At least he’s putting a smile on my face. I finally understand what the big deal about sex is.” She gave him a tight smile. “Shouldn’t you be focusing on your sex life? After all, you and Presleigh are getting married next month.”
“You know she’s a virgin. We’re waiting for our wedding night.”
Seriously? Hayden hadn’t wanted to wait ten minutes with her, and he was willing to wait over a year for her sister? Wow. That still didn’t explain why he’d come—and why he sounded more than slightly jealous, unless…
She shoved her hands on her hips and faced him. “So you don’t like Jamie here because—”
“I’m in the bed he wants to occupy until he marries his sweet little bride,” Jamie called from behind her, standing in the doorway of the kitchen.
When he stepped into her restaurant, Bristol breathed a sigh of relief. She knew he couldn’t leave the building without first passing through her kitchen, and she figured he’d been sleeping after their vigorous night. But seeing him now, clearly intending to get Hayden off her back, thrilled her all over again.
Jamie skirted the display cases and headed toward her. “He’s got a case of blue balls and hoped that you were pining for him enough to help him cheat on your sister so that he could dump you again when they got married. Or did you plan to just continue the bump and grind behind Presleigh’s back after the wedding?”
“That is not true!” Hayden insisted. “I still care for Bristol deeply. And I’m going to make sure you don’t use her and break her heart.”
“You mean like you did?” Jamie prompted.
Hayden gaped like a fish out of water, the shock on his face overdone and ridiculous. “I did not. We were simply not suited—”
“We weren’t, but I think you felt that way long before you bothered to share that fact with me,” Bristol pointed out. “You blindsided me by telling me that you were in love with my sister. Two days later, you were dating her. Until then, you made me believe that you cared and”—she held up her hands—“You know what? It doesn’t matter. I don’t care if you don’t like Jamie for me because I like him for me right now. Tomorrow may be another story, but I’m an adult. It’s my life and my business. But don’t for one second think you’re going to waltz in here and whisper a few pickup lines, seduce me out of my clothes, and use me to pass the time until your wedding. In fact, I’d better not see or hear from you again until you say ‘I do’ or I’ll be having a long talk with Presleigh about the likelihood of you not staying faithful.”
Hayden lunged at her, his hand balled in a fist. “I wasn’t hitting on you.”
“Bullshit.” Bristol tensed, ready to fend him off if necessary.
“And technically, I never cheated,” he insisted, edging closer.
Jamie put himself squarely between them, towering over Hayden, his shoulders a formidable barrier. “I’ll bet that’s bullshit, too. And she will talk to Presleigh if you don’t get the fuck out. I’ll back her up.”
Hayden leaned around Jamie and scowled, his expression asking her to be reasonable. She didn’t see why she had to defend her decision, especially since he was acting like a jealous bully. He was the one who’d betrayed her trust. No, she couldn’t prove that he’d come here today to crawl between her sheets again. But his reason certainly didn’t have anything to do with concern. Was he bored? Did he need to feed his ego by wooing her into bed again? Whatever. It wasn’t happening.
“Bris…” He huffed at her. “You two have known one another for…what? Ten minutes? We’ve known each other most of our lives. Of course I’m worried about you.”
She scoffed. “I know you too well to believe that. Now go away. You know I take goodies up to the kids at the county hospital on Sundays. You’re in my way.”
He refused to budge.
Jamie grabbed Hayden by the shirt. “She told you how she feels. You need to respect that. Turn your ass around and leave.”
“You’re really going to let your boy toy talk to me that way?” Hayden demanded, shoving Jamie away. “We’re practically family.”
Yeah, thirty days from becoming his sister-in-law, and he wanted to nail her. No thanks. “Just go.”
“I’m not leaving you here with this thug.” Hayden shoved his fists on his hips and stood his ground, despite the fact that Jamie stood a good six inches above him and outweighed him by fifty pounds of muscle.
“You know, you sound tired, honey.” Jamie glanced at her over his shoulder, his concern evident.
He totally i
gnored Hayden to check on her. Bristol tried not to let that make her a little giddy. He was merely a decent guy doing the right thing. It wasn’t a romantic gesture. He might have done the same for any woman with her ex breathing down her neck.
“Three thirty this morning came early.” Especially after last night. Even the thought of it made her face flush hot.
“Why don’t you go upstairs and rest?” Jamie suggested.
She shook her head. “I need to lock up.”
“Is it more complicated than turning the latch on the door over there.” Jamie thumbed in the direction of the glass entrance.
