Naughty Wish

by J. H. Croix

  It didn't slip my notice that Sherry’s gaze bounced between Audrey and me a few times. She was clearly curious. It certainly wasn't unusual for Audrey to be in town. It wouldn’t be suspicious that we would still be friendly. Yet, the last time we’d both been in Haven’s Bay at the same time had been over four years ago. We'd certainly never spent much time together outside of the circle of our families. Once she’d grown up and become so damn tempting I could hardly stand it, I’d done my best to only encounter her when other people were around.

  As I drove back toward her family’s home, the snow was picking up its pace. It felt as if a nor'easter was on the way, which meant the wind and snow would pick up significantly in the next few hours. Despite my apprehension at having Audrey here, I was relieved she hadn't chosen to leave yet. If she were to return to New York, she had quite a drive. From the forecast we heard on the radio, all of New England would be hit with the storm tonight.

  The Christmas lights stayed on during the day in Haven’s Bay, glittering through the gray snowy afternoon as we drove through downtown and headed out onto the coastal road. I kept my eyes on the road, only occasionally glancing sideways at the ocean view. There wasn't much to see today with the snow falling and waves rolling into the shore. The horizon was nothing but shades of foreboding gray.

  Once we’d put away the groceries, I was at loose ends and uncertain what to do. I needed to keep myself busy with Audrey around, so I settled down at the dining room table to work. She went into the kitchen, reporting that she planned to cook something.

  The wind picked up its pace, along with the snow. By early evening, it was a white-out storm. I stood up to stretch and walked to the windows to look outside. Nothing but swirling snow could be seen.

  I heard Audrey answer her phone. As soon as she said hello, her tone ratcheted up. Concerned it was Matthew even though she’d blocked his number, I went to stand in the archway leading into the kitchen.

  “Alyssa, I can't believe you're calling me. What the hell do you want?”

  Audrey's hair was tied up in a messy bun, loose tendrils falling down around the nape of her neck and her face. She wore a long sleeved, fitted cotton shirt that buttoned in a V over her swingy cotton pants. She was clearly dressed for comfort, yet every curve was easily visible. At least to my eyes. What I couldn't see, my imagination filled out because I knew how she felt against me. Her cheeks were flushed as she gestured while she talked.

  “There's no explanation that makes any sense. Alyssa, you were fucking my fiancé!”

  She hadn’t seen me yet and rolled her eyes in response to whatever Alyssa said.

  “No! I don't want to talk about it. He's all yours as far as I'm concerned. That's what you want, right?”

  I held back the urge to grab the phone from her and tell off the faceless Alyssa. I didn't even know her. I figured she was a friend of Audrey’s from law school or college. I was painfully familiar with her social orbit here in Haven’s Bay. For one, she was close friends with my younger sister. Once she’d become so alluring I could hardly take it, I hadn't been able to help myself from noticing every detail about her. All the way down to the crowd she ran with in the summer, the guys whose eyes followed her when she walked down the beach, tanned and way too curvy for her own good.

  “Alyssa, forget it. You made your choice when you did what you did. Why would I want to work something out with the guy that fucked one of my friends who was going to be in our wedding?”

  Every word Audrey said came out sharp. She huffed, muttered something and then tossed the phone. It slid across the end of the counter and fell to the floor with a thump. I stepped into the kitchen and picked it up.

  “I suppose we should've blocked Alyssa’s number too.”

  Audrey’s eyes whipped up to mine, anger and pain flashing in their depths. I hated the pain. She spun away, wrapping her arms around her waist.

  “I suppose so,” she muttered. “I'll do it now.”

  She spun back around and strode quickly to me, snatching the phone from my hands, her movements jerky. When she got close enough, I saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes, and my heart clenched. I held myself back from tugging her into my arms.

  She quickly opened her phone. There was a fine tremor in her fingers, and it made me angry all over again. Damn Matthew and Alyssa straight to hell. I watched as she tapped her screen and quickly blocked Alyssa’s number.

  “Was she a good friend?” I asked, my tone husky.

  Fuck. It killed me to see her like this. Audrey took a shaky breath, carefully setting her phone back on the kitchen counter before looking up at me.

  “Well, she was supposed to be one of my bridesmaids. She’s not my best friend if that’s what you mean. Thea was going to be my maid of honor,” she explained, referring to my little sister.

  “Does Thea know what happened?” I asked.

  Audrey shook her head sharply. “No. I didn't call anybody yesterday.”

  As I stared down into her eyes, seeing the pain flashing in the depths and the fine tremor running through her, the tight grip I had on my control slipped for a beat. I pulled her into my arms. All I meant to do was comfort her. I swear. She stiffened for a moment and then relaxed against me. She didn't sob because that wasn't her way. I heard her taking shaky breaths against my chest, all the while my heart thundered with a visceral ache. I didn't know how much Matthew meant to her, but he hurt her and I hated him for it.

  Sadly, the effect she had on my body was too powerful even for this moment. Feeling the lush curves of her breasts pressing against my chest and the warmth of her, my cock throbbed. I knew she could feel it, and I couldn't bring myself to step back just yet. I focused on holding her and hoping somehow she would absorb what I was trying to convey. It didn't matter what had happened. It wasn't about her, it was about a man who didn't know an amazing woman when he had one.

  Somewhere along the way, Audrey’s arms slipped around my waist. She lifted her head, her eyes locked into mine, darkening as she looked at me. What I'd meant to be a comforting hug was turning into something else entirely. The space around us felt electrified, fairly vibrating under the force of desire between us. Fuck me. I wanted her so damn much. She took a shaky breath, her eyes locked into mine.

  “Just so you understand, it's not like I was in love with him. I think I talked myself into it. I also tried to break things off, but he persuaded me to hold off,” she said softly.

  I arched a brow. “Well, then why were you going to marry him?”

  “He was really nice at first. I figured he was the best I would get.”

  “What the hell do you mean, Audrey? The best you could get?”

  She never looked away. “I'm not the kind of woman most men go for. I don't back down in a fight, I don't spend time stroking anyone’s ego, making them feel smart and strong. That's not my personality and you know it. Plus, like I told you once before, there was always somebody else that I wanted more,” she said, that bitter look entering her eyes.

  It was the same look I’d seen last night when she demanded I tell her why I didn't want her. I was normally a rational, calm man. I thought everything through. I considered contingencies and looked ahead to the potential consequences of certain actions. I didn't get to where I’d gotten as an FBI agent by being impulsive and acting on emotion. Rather, it was the opposite. I was never impulsive, and I never let emotions drive my actions.

  Right here, right now with Audrey held against me, I suddenly made an impulsive, probably stupid decision. No matter what happened, she would know that I wanted her. She'd never forget it. I stared at her, the air around us becoming so heavy my cock hardened to the point of pain.

  “Don't ever compromise. Not for a man,” I said flatly, my voice coming out almost in a growl.

  I lifted a hand and brushed a loose lock of hair away from her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. Her breath hitched, and I could feel her nipples, tight little points, pressed against my chest. My body answered,
and I pulled her even closer, sliding my palm down her spine to cup her bottom and bring her against me. My cock was buried at the apex of her thighs. I could feel the heat of her there. Her lips parted, and her eyes widened slightly, darkening as she stared at me. The raw desire in her gaze answered mine with such force, I couldn't deny it. I dipped my head, again damning myself straight to hell. I might not be able to have her as completely as I wanted, but I would have this. If only so she would know for once and for all…she was completely wrong about me not wanting her.

  Chapter 6

  Audrey

  The moment Dallas fit his mouth over mine, it was an electric shock to my system, straight to my core. His tongue swept deeply into my mouth, tangling with mine. I was burning up inside. He devoured my mouth with his. His hand tangled roughly in my hair, his other palm cupped my bottom and pulled me against the hard, hot length of his cock. I curled a foot around his calf as I roamed my hands over his back and chest. I needed to feel him. All of him. Now.

  I gasped when his hand slid around to cup my breast, thumbing my nipple. My nipples were tight and achy. I was hot and prickly all over and close to frantic. I hadn't felt like this in five years, not since the last time we kissed. Unless I counted last night, but that was so fast and so shocking, I'd hardly absorbed it.

  His lips blazed a trail down my neck. Between kisses and soft nips, he muttered my name and hot dirty words. I barely caught anything he said, only the intensity. For now, I didn't care about anything other than my need to nearly meld myself with him. He lifted me against him easily. When he took a few steps, I lifted my head. There was barely any space between us. His hand gripped my hair so tightly, I couldn't look away. His touch was rough, and it struck the chord of wildness in me that needed him like air.

  “Where are you going?” I murmured.

  The grip of his hand in my hair tightened, and I savored the sharp tingle of pain in my scalp. I needed the bite of desire to slice through me, to help me forget all of my doubts. My legs were curled around his hips, and his cock rode hard and hot against my clit. I couldn't help but roll into him.

  “Fuck, Audrey,” he muttered darkly. “Slow down.”

  He leaned back, his dark blue gaze colliding with mine. He loosened his hand in my hair slightly. His eyes were electric, the space between us weighted with pent-up need and longing. He slid his hand out of my hair to cup my nape, his thumb tracing along my jawline and around my lips. I caught it in my teeth, biting down softly. I was restless and needy, ensnared within the sharp intensity of this desire.

  “I don't want to slow down,” I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper, roughened by desire.

  His eyes searched mine. I might have doubts about many things, but right here, right now, I didn't doubt what I felt between us. Whether it was just raw desire or more, I didn't care to contemplate. I needed to whet my appetite. If it would only be once with him and that's all I would ever have, I would take it.

  “Where are you going?” I repeated, only then releasing his thumb from between my teeth as I stared at him.

  I swiped my tongue across my lips. They were swollen, bordering on sore, from the ferocity of our kiss.

  “Bedroom,” he said simply.

  We stared at each other for a few beats.

  “It appears I have a point to prove,” he said, his voice a gruff whisper.

  “Point to prove?”

  He cupped my bottom and arched into my hips. There was no mistaking the hard, hot length of him pressing into me. The layers of clothing between us were nothing.

  “You seem to think I don't want you.”

  “Because you sent me away before, and you've ignored me ever since,” I said flatly.

  I was beyond caring about much of anything now. I'd already embarrassed myself so thoroughly with him once, it couldn't get any worse this time.

  “I didn't want to send you away, but we can't have each other, not that way. We can have this.”

  “Sex?”

  He nodded sharply, his eyes dark.

  “Is that all you want?”

  Despite how controlled his expression was, I knew him. I knew him the way you do when you grow up with someone. He wasn't family, but he was damn close. I saw something flicker in the depths of his eyes.

  “That's all this can be,” he said flatly.

  My heart clenched. I knew he wasn't involved with anyone. Thea, his sister and my closest friend, had often complained he hardly even dated. I knew from her that his work was his life. She worried about him. Thea had never known of my long-ago crush on him, a crush that had gone unrequited. She also never knew about my attempt to seduce him.

  That silly mistake had cemented the depth of my desire for him. He was also an honorable man. I knew quite well what his family had gone through over the last few years once everything blew up with his father. I knew the pain it had caused his entire family. I knew from Thea he had done everything he could to make things right, to atone for his father’s sins. That only made me want him even more. All of these thoughts tumbled through my mind as I stared at him, realizing that he was offering me only the chance to be close to him in this way. He was carefully trying to draw a line for me. I didn't know how I felt about that, but I knew I wanted him.

  With my heart drumming in my body and heat rolling through me, I held his gaze and nodded.

  “Take me upstairs.”

  He moved swiftly, his hold on me never wavering. I savored the flex of his muscles against me as he carried me. I busied myself tasting the warm skin of his neck. I loved the smell of him—sharp and clean with a hint of pine. As he shouldered through the door of the guest room, I briefly wondered why he chose this room and not mine. My thoughts were lost in the turmoil of sensation. He eased me down and set to stripping off my clothes.

  He was nothing if not efficient. Before I knew it, I was down to nothing but my panties. His gaze swept over me, lighting fires everywhere his eyes landed on my body. I hadn’t been quite as efficient as him, but I had managed to get his shirt off. My mouth went dry at the sight of him. I’d seen him bare chested before, but not this close. He was cut and fit, always had been. A jagged scar ran along his upper shoulder on the right side. I briefly wondered where it came from, a flash of worry running through my mind. His job wasn't exactly safe, but those questions would wait for later. I followed the line of the dark, bold tattoo curling in strokes down along his upper arm and around his elbow. Another tattoo feathered along the edge of his ribs on his side. I wanted to trace the lines with my tongue.

  I reached for him, hooking my finger in his belt loop and pulling him toward me. I lost my balance, my hips falling to the bed. His mouth curled at one corner, that devilish grin sending my belly spinning. I was wet, so wet I had to clench my thighs together to quell the ache there. I distantly considered that sex with Matthew had never even come close to the way I felt with Dallas. Any orgasms I’d had were the result of my own efforts, not his. I was so close now, I knew all Dallas would have to do was sink inside of me, and I would probably explode around him.

  He put his palm on my chest, his touch hot. The calloused surface of his fingers brushing across one of my nipples sent a jolt of want through me so hard and fast, I lost my breath.

  “Come here,” I said, restlessly shifting my legs.

  His eyes darkened, but he was quiet. With gentle pressure, he pushed me back on the bed and stretched out atop me. My legs curled around him, and I savored the rough feel of the denim against the insides of my thighs. He kissed me again, long slow and deep. I forgot my impatience and tumbled into the moment. Deep strokes of his tongue, his teeth catching my bottom lip when he drew away, his eyes locking to mine, his gaze alone setting me afire. His hands charted my body. Every press of his hips against my sex arced the need higher and higher inside. It felt like the underside of a wave, the water rushing out to sea, pulling it fast and hard underneath, coiling it into a ball of power tightening in my core.

  His lips made t
heir way down my body, dallying at my breasts, rolling one of my taut nipples between his thumb and forefinger while he laved the other one with his tongue. I was murmuring incoherently between gasps. Out of my mind with need, I could feel the wet silk between my thighs.

  “Dallas, please…” I murmured.

  He lifted his gaze, his teeth closing over my nipple. I cried out at the bite of pain, savoring it.

  “I'm getting there,” he murmured, the gruff sound of his voice alone sending a shiver through me.

  He shifted his weight, hooking a hand over the edge of my panties and yanking them down my legs. He tossed them to the floor and then settled down, his mouth coasting across my belly—hot, wet kisses, the occasional scrape of his teeth. His hand stroked up my thigh, a finger sliding through my folds.

  “Fuck, you're so wet Audrey,” he murmured against my belly.

  I felt drugged, so out of my mind with need. I could barely speak, so I didn't even try. My head fell back on a low moan when he sank his finger inside of me, my pussy clenching around him. The wave inside was coiling tighter and tighter. I could feel it reaching its crest. He dropped kisses on the insides of my thighs, making me cry out, the skin so sensitive every touch was almost too much. With a dip of his head, he dragged his tongue over my clit. A spike of pleasure shot through me. Gripping his hair in my hands, I was rough, but it was all too much. Another finger joined the first, and he set his mouth against me, exploring my folds with his tongue.

  I hadn’t thought I could take anymore, but somehow I did. Dallas kept me right at the edge, right where everything was coiled tight, ready to let loose and break. I murmured his name and begged—yes, I begged. Finally, another swipe of his tongue across my clit and the pleasure crashed through me, spinning and tossing me in its current.