Tripped Up

by Nicole Austin

  “Darlin’, in my line of work, I have to take things very serious ‘cause it generally boils down to life or death. I’ve learned life is way too short to play by someone else’s idea of right and wrong. I speak my mind, and I’ll have few regrets when I’m face to face with Saint Peter.”

  His slow confident smile twisted her stomach as hot arousal flushed her face. Damn the man and his outlook on life. Reluctantly, even to herself, Karen admitted she admired him for his sane view of an insane world.

  “Well, I admire your attitude, but that doesn’t mean I’ll drop my underwear and bend over for your pleasure.” Her voice came out firm even as an image of doing just that sent a shiver of lust racing down her spine.

  Two long strides closed the distance between them, and Trip cupped her jaw in his rough palm. “What if it was for your pleasure?”

  Her brain cells refused to fire as she stared into his ice blue eyes. Had she ever seen a man with such unusual and unique colored eyes? “What’s for my pleasure?” she managed to ask.

  “You getting naked and bending over.” His low sensual voice and the sudden heat in those stunning eyes did funny things to her libido. “I can make it all about your pleasure.”

  His words slammed her back to reality like nothing else could. Yeah, right. No way in hell did she believe him. Men always made promises of great pleasure and multiple O’s but were never able to provide. Generally, it ended up with her screaming and moaning a fake orgasm just to get the guy off and out of her. Nothing was worse than a man who couldn’t follow through.

  When she tried to step back, to increase the too slim distance between their bodies, her knees bumped into the back of the staged bed. Shit, right where she didn’t need to be. A bed and Trip would lead to things better left for her fantasies.

  Taking a deep breath, she looked over his shoulder while she spoke calmly. “Trip, nothing’s going to happen between us. Just because our friends are hooked up doesn’t mean we have to do the same. Besides, I’d rather get a Brazilian wax sober than put up with your halfhearted groping.”

  Damn, Karen thought miserably, even as she listened to the words leave her mouth. She came off like a bitter, mistrustful bitch. Granted, she was a mistrustful bitch, but did she have to sound so hostile?

  “My groping is never halfhearted, darlin’,” he assured smoothly. “If I grope a beautiful lady, I put my whole heart into it.”

  Despite her fierce desire to keep frowning, Karen couldn’t resist the smile curving her lips. Nothing fazed the man, and he had a quick retort for everything. “Look, I’ve got to finish staging for this shoot. Let me get the keys for the apartment, and you can get settled in.”

  “Thanks, I’d appreciate that. It’s been a long day.” Even as he said the words, Karen could see the weariness in his eyes when she looked close.

  “Sure thing.” Retreating from the tempting hunk, Karen hurried over to Syndra’s desk, grabbed the keys, and handed them over with a silent sigh of relief. “Stairs to the apartments are around back. Have a good night.” She waved him to the door in a broad hint to leave.

  “Thanks, Karen. If you change your mind, you know where to find me.” He winked and flashed a sexy smile before grabbing his bag and leaving her to finish her work. Of course, work was now the last thing on her mind.

  Chapter Two

  The urge to knock on the door overwhelmed Karen but fear of rejection kept her hands by her side. What the hell had she been thinking to come over here? That Trip would answer the door, be overcome with lust at the sight of her dressed in nothing but a man’s shirt and angry bunny socks, and sweep her off to bed for some mind-blowing sex?

  Nice fantasy, but in reality, she knew none of those things would happen. Most likely, he’d answer the door, grumpy from being woken up, and demand to know what she wanted. Then, when she couldn’t come up with a reasonable answer, Trip would slam the door in her face.

  Even worse, what if he had another woman in there? The man had a body every female dreamed of touching and claiming, at least for a night, so what made her think he’d spend his first night off duty alone? A man with Trip’s looks and personality must have a black book the size of Webster’s dictionary.

  “Shit, this is a mistake,” she muttered as she paced back and forth in front of Trip’s door. “He’s probably not alone, and even if he is, he’s asleep and sure as hell won’t like me waking him up to ask if he was serious.”

  And that’s where the trouble lay. How could she know if he meant the words or if he was such a flirt that anyone with breasts would have drawn the same rhetoric? Damn him and his sex appeal. Thanks to Trip’s husky proposition, Karen had been unable to satisfy her carnal lust no matter how much she tried. She just never quite reached the point of satiation. Oh, she’d made the climb okay. Large amounts of money spent on top of the line pleasure toys assured that. But even as a climax had her crying out something had been missing.

  Tired, fed up, on edge, and in desperate need of relief, Karen’s common sense deserted her long enough to drag on a man’s white dress shirt, her favorite socks, and park herself in front of his door.

  Could she? Should she? If he turned her down or laughed at her, she’d never be able to face him again. They were supposed to spend the remaining time before the wedding together. She’d promised Syn and Alexa to keep Trip entertained so he wouldn’t feel left out. Somehow, she didn’t think screwing Trip’s brains out was exactly what the two women had in mind when they suggested Karen keep him busy.

  “I can’t do this. It’s a mistake,” she declared, pacing in front of the thick oak door, her feet almost sliding on the light bamboo floor. “But it’s his damn fault I can’t sleep.”

  Oh, screw it. Taking a deep breath for courage, Karen raised her hand and tapped on the door as softly as possible. “There, he’s not—”

  The door swung open before her hand dropped, and her mouth hung open. Trip stood before her looking mouthwatering in nothing but a pair of loose cotton sleep pants and a wicked smile. Her mouth snapped shut with a painful jarring of teeth.

  “It took you long enough, darlin’” he drawled. “Please tell me you’re here to put me out of my misery?”

  She swallowed hard, trying to add moisture to her suddenly dry mouth as her gaze travelled over the tanned feast of roped muscles in front of her eyes. “Misery,” she questioned, absently licking her lips.

  “Oh, Karen, don’t tempt my already shaky control,” he warned in a husky tone. “I want you, badly. So either come in and let me have you or walk away so I can go back to jacking off.”

  “You really want me,” she asked, still hesitant to believe him. “I mean you want me for sex?”

  “You have no idea.” His gaze latched on to the taut nubs of her nipples pressing against the thin cotton material. “I want to take you hard and fast against the wall, shove my cock so deep inside your pussy you feel me at the back of your throat. I want to feel you clamping down on my dick when you come, to hear you scream my name and feel your nails digging into my skin.”

  “Oh, shit,” she whispered. Mental images of them doing just that flashed through her mind and heated her blood.

  He stepped closer until she felt the warmth of his body. “Tell me, Karen. Yes or no. Yes, I can take you, have you and fuck you until neither one of us can walk tomorrow. Or no, and we part ways here and now.”

  Sanity demanded she walk away. Why risk possible rejection and humiliation from a man she didn’t know? Hadn’t she already been there done that with the last ex, Will? Except Will never seduced her with words. His every action had been calculated for effect, but not Trip.

  The man standing in front of her seemed to be holding onto his control by a narrow thread. If she said no, Karen knew he’d let her walk away without a mean look or derogatory remark behind her back. But if she said yes, he just might give her the pleasure she couldn’t find on her own.

  And hadn’t Trip already told her life was too short for regrets? Yea
h, this might be a mistake, she might regret it. But she’d regret it even more if she walked away a coward.

  “Yes,” she forced out before giving her brain a chance to talk her out of it. Finally lifting her eyes to meet his gaze, she gasped at the fiery desire burning there. Clear, undiluted desire for her. Damn, that was hot.

  He moved fast, one hand sliding behind her neck, fingers tangling in her hair, the other grasped her hip. Before she knew what had happened, she was inside the apartment, pressed against the wall, the sound of the door slamming shut echoing in her head. A determined look glimmered in his intense blue gaze as he descended on her like an animal that had gone without food for way too long. Yet, his full lips skimmed hers in a soft, almost reverent caress that made her knees feel weak.

  Trip took his time, seeming to savor the tender touch, pressing soft kisses to the corners of her mouth before tracing the curves of first her upper lip and then the lower with his warm, damp tongue. As he glided over the seam of her lips, she gasped at the electrical surge of need that tingled in her trembling lips and spread outward to each nerve ending, making her entire body extremely sensitive. Alive. She felt vital and alive.

  He took advantage of her parted lips, his tongue gliding inside to continue his explorations. Not one millimeter of her mouth was left untouched. Trip was everywhere, learning her, filling her with his delicious masculine flavor and a trace of mint. Without the solid wall at her back and the hot, hard length of his body to hold her up, Karen would have been a boneless puddle of goo at his feet.

  The hand tangled in her hair tilted her head, and he deepened the kiss, which took on a primal edge. His tongue danced erotically with hers, and his teeth nipped her swollen lips. Rough male sounds rumbled from his mouth into hers.

  Pulling back, Trip stared into her eyes, his pleading expression generating hot spasms in her core and sending her thrumming heart into overdrive. No man had ever looked at her with such longing. Raw, untamed lust.

  “Touch me,” he demanded in a raspy growl. “I need you to touch me.”

  Huh? Wasn’t she touching him? Her gaze slid to his broad shoulders where her hands held a death grip on the corded, tense muscles. Oh God, she was missing out on the chance to explore all that chiseled expanse of bare flesh. What was she thinking?

  Duh, his kisses short-circuited her synapses, leaving conscious thought impossible. But now that her brain was firing again, she sent a message to get her hands with the program.

  They both stared at her hands as she loosened her grip and slid her fingers down to the rock-hard slabs of muscle making up his chest, separated by a delineating line that ran down the center of his torso. His skin was warm, soft, and stretched tight over all that incredible sinew. She grazed her fingertips over the small cinnamon toned discs of his nipples, delighting as they hardened, and Trip sucked in a harsh breath.

  She glanced up at his dilated eyes, mostly black now surrounded by a thin rim of blue. “You’re amazing. More beautiful than David.”

  His expression turned fierce, and he scowled down at her. “Who the fuck is David?”

  That look and angry tone said he was willing and prepared to fight for her if necessary. Her confidence swelled and her lips curled upward. “Michelangelo’s David, considered the ideal male form.” She slid her hands lower, caressing his rigid abdominals. “Honey, David has nothing on you.”

  He flashed that lazy, cocky grin she was coming to appreciate and slowly lowered his head toward hers. “Good,” he whispered against her lips. “‘Cause I’d hate to waste time killing someone before getting another taste of you.”

  He didn’t give her a chance to respond, taking her lips with a scorching kiss, deeper and more commanding. Finished with tender seduction, Trip took control, claiming her mouth and leaving behind indelible proof of his ownership. If she wasn’t careful, he’d reach inside and steal her heart. The mere thought made the traitorous organ ache and pound with giddy anticipation.

  Now that her hands were in motion, they wouldn’t be still. She teased along his sides, over his ribs, and back to those intriguing, responsive nipples. Had he not been keeping her mouth busy, she’d have swirled her tongue around the hard nubbins, see how he reacted to the soft nip of her teeth. She had a feeling Trip would like rough, edgy sexual play. Karen didn’t have to hold back. She could try all the things she’d read in the titillating books the erotic romance publisher sent Syn.

  She bet Trip would be on board with tying her to the bed and ravishing her to the point of exhaustion. He’d readily agree to some sixty-nine action, eating her out while she sucked his cock dry.

  There were so many things she wanted to try out. More than anything, she yearned to be fucked long and hard and rough through multiple screaming orgasms until she couldn’t walk straight much less think. For once, she’d love her over-active mind to be silenced as Trip had achieved with his potent kisses. Would he be into the wild sex she craved?

  The sharp sting of teeth bit into her lower lip as big hands palmed her ass and pulled her tight against an impressive erection derailing her train of thought.

  “Am I boring you, darlin’?”

  Boring? Trip? “Hell, no,” she panted.

  “Then tell me what you were thinking about so hard.” His gruff voice demanded obedience. “Now.”

  Her mouth obeyed before her brain could issue the command to button it up. “I was wondering if you liked it rough…crude…edgy. Maybe some love bites, restraints—”

  “Ah, fuck.”

  Trip stared so intently she figured he saw right into her soul. At least his volatile reaction finally shut her mouth before she’d said anything truly embarrassing about spanking. Great move, smart one. Now they’d get the rejection out of the way without even advancing on to the sex portion of the evening, allowing her to slink away to her own apartment and drown her misery in vanilla vodka.

  Son of a sea-devil, Karen drove Trip perilously close to losing his cool. The flash of shame and the idea he’d turn her away dulling those vibrant green eyes made him want to punch something. No way would he reject her. Hell, he might chain her to his bed and keep her. The fact she’d enjoy some rough and randy lovin’ had his throbbing cock threatening to rip through the pajama pants he’d tossed on while she paced in the hallway, ratcheting up her nerve to knock. How he’d prayed she wouldn’t walk away.

  Seeing her in the thin white button-down men’s shirt made him fighting mad and lusty as hell. He wanted to kill the bastard she got it from but not before he ripped the material apart and feasted his eyes on those beautiful curves.

  Trip didn’t understand the guys who went for boyishly thin women with hard, protruding pelvic bones. Those fuckers hurt. He much preferred a lush body that could handle a bit of rowdy sex without breaking and some cushioning to soften the pounding of his hips. Karen was the embodiment of everything he loved about women, perfect in every way, right down to her snarky mouth. You knew where you stood with a woman who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and put you in your place.

  And he couldn’t wait another second to see her. He’d also make damn sure that if she wore a man’s shirt again it would be his. Grasping the cotton material with both hands, he yanked. Buttons flew, pinging off the wall and floor as the material gave with a heady tearing sound. The simple caveman act drove all his blood straight to his groin.

  “Sweet Mercy.” He’d died and found Nirvana. “You are so beautiful.”

  “I’ll go—Huh? I-I’m what?” She seemed startled and completely clueless to his abject fascination with her. How could a woman look as luscious and fuckable as Karen and not know it? Some asshole from her past had obviously damaged her confidence, but so long as said asshole stayed in the past, Trip would take care of ensuring Karen knew exactly how amazing she was.

  “Darlin’, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. I’ve been dying to get my hands on you since I first saw you. You’re pretty much my every fantasy come to life.” He cupped t
hen lifted her breasts, teasing the sweet, raspberry-red tips with his thumbs. “So soft and lush. Look how tight and hard your nipples are. Bet they taste as sweet as they look.”

  Bending forward, he rasped his tongue over a taut peek before sealing his lips around the nipple and drawing it into his mouth. Her throaty moan was music to his ears. He paid homage to first one sweet nipple and then the other before pulling back to take in her heavy-lidded, elated expression.

  “You are a lush goddess I intend to worship with my hands, mouth, tongue, and dick. I want to fuck you so bad my balls hurt.”

  Karen’s tongue darted out to moisten her kiss-swollen lips. Swallowing an unmanly groan of pain, Trip raised his gaze to meet hers.

  “I want you, too, Trip.” Again with the lip licking. Was the woman out to kill him? This facade of gentlemanly behavior wouldn’t last much longer if Karen kept up her innocent, unknowing seduction.

  “Thank you, darlin’,” he replied sincerely before lowering his gaze to the paradise before him.

  Trip brushed his beard stubble over one damp nipple then nibbled the other with his teeth, not hard enough to leave a mark but with adequate pressure to give her that delicious bite of pain. The strangled cry drawn from her throat was all the encouragement he needed.

  Dropping to his knees, he took the edge of pink lace, boy short panties between his teeth and slid them down her long, sexy legs. He parted her thighs, pushing them wide, and blew a warm stream of breath over her dark triangle of neatly trimmed curls. Some guys liked a woman to shave her pussy. Not Trip. He didn’t want a plucked chicken any more than he wanted a skinny toothpick. And that prickly shit hurt a guy when it started growing in. He might like a little pain with his pleasure, but road rash on his dick didn’t count in any way, shape, or form as erotic fun.