by J. A. Dennam
That abusive bastard had kicked his woman. Soon...he’d kill Brett Lockton.
Danny watched the emotions move through him as he stared at her body. Was he locked up by her minimal bust size, or by the ugly discoloration over her ribs? A sudden wave of insecurity inspired an attempt to cover herself, but he stopped her lighting fast. Obey, his look said as he pinned her arms beside her head.
Okay then, she’d been wrong about that.
His mouth descended, closed over a nipple. She jerked then moaned at the sensation of his tongue flicking the tightened nub. He sucked, pulling in deep. Slicked his tongue across her breastbone to give the other nipple equal treatment. Her entire body clenched, her hands fisting in his hair to draw his mouth even closer. Could he ever get close enough?
Austin drew circles with his tongue, loving her uninhibited response, craving more. His dick was unbearably hard with an ache that reached bone-deep. If he didn’t get inside her soon, he’d explode.
Down he went, tasting the skin just below her breast, leaving a hot, wet trail down hertraat c center until he found that most perfect navel. He soon discovered just how sweet it tasted.
“Jesus!” she wheezed when his tongue dipped inside, and arched up to take more.
In response to that tantalizing move, he tried to go lower but her blasted shorts were in the way. The memory of her hitting his men with those curves and furious splendor made him angry all over again.
“Don’t you ever,” he pulled off one boot, “come out onto my yard,” then the other, “in this get-up again,” her shorts came off, “around my crew.”
As if it weren’t hard enough to breath, she expelled precious oxygen in a laugh. “I looked ridiculous,” she said and licked her lips as her panties were hastily removed.
His response came out as a growl when he lifted the small of her back to unhook her bra. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more arousing in my life.”
She was staring at the ceiling when it hit her. She was completely naked. Her eyes glazed over. His touch was noticeably absent. She looked down and found him simply staring at her, his wide chest heaving. “What?” she asked, suddenly very conscious.
“I was wrong.” His words were tortured, his breath trimmed out. The sight of her naked on his desk was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. She rose up on her elbows. The act forced her lean physique to dance beneath her tight, tanned skin. Her petite breasts were so firm, tipped with rosy areolas that were swollen, darkened from the pull of his mouth. Lower, his mind reeled when he took in the thin strip of curls above her opening. She was definitely comfortable in a bikini and he stopped himself short of envisioning other men treating themselves to such a carefully groomed treasure.
“Austin…”
His eyes moved up to reconnect with hers. What she saw there almost scared her with their intensity. She sat up completely and he reached out, stopped her before she could attempt to cover herself again. With deliberate slowness he held her wrists out, splaying her wide for a moment. There would be none of that. Then he drew her close and she was against him once again. His mouth retook hers.
Again she was floating. He directed her arms around his neck and she held on tight while his hands roamed down to her knees. They were forced open wide, spreading her out and he moved in. He cupped her buttocks, pulled her to him as he drove into her. Rough denim pressed against her most sensitive area. The overflowing need to feel him against her, beneath her hands prompted her to touch, but he held her off.
“Don’t,” he ordered against her mouth.
“But I want to,” she rasped heavily and jerked her wrists free from his desperate hold.
His teeth grazed her jaw then nibbled sharply. “I swear, Bennett, if you touch me I’ll loseme nt>
“Then lose it,” she challenged and found the button of his jeans. “I can take you.” She pulled down his zipper and dove inside. Every muscle in him jumped and he grabbed her by the shoulders so violently, she gasped with excitement. Oh, yeah. She could take him.
Her eyes were heavy with desire, her smile was catlike and her hand stroked down the length of his cast-iron member until she felt the soft skin of testicles underneath. Her hand curled gently, cupped him before stroking back upward. “Come on, Cahill,” she purred and plunged again. This time she lowered his waistband until his jeans were around his thighs. Her eyes widened at the sight of his freed cock. It was certainly bigger than the last time she’d seen it. “My, my. You sure have grown up, haven’t you?”
“Christ, woman, are you trying to kill me?” In one swift move, he lifted her from the desk. She wrapped her legs around him. He walked her to the coach and toppled with her.
Before he could even remove his boots and jeans, she was touching him again, driving him mad. The insane need to be inside her dissolved any chance of taking things slow. In an act of sheer desperation, he gave her his full weight, grabbed her wrists and clamped them high above her head. It wasn’t his intention to keep her hands pinned, more of a continued act of desperation. He didn’t want to come prematurely. But the tip of his penis was right there, parting her soft warmth. The slick evidence of her desire against his head was the last straw. He buried his face in her hair, inhaled deeply and plunged right in.
Danny sucked in a sharp breath and instantly tensed beneath him.
He instantly tensed on top. Her natural wall of resistance gave way before he even realized what it was. Her untapped vagina was so tightly wrapped around him, if he moved an inch he would spill eight months of abstinence right inside her.
“Shit,” he ground out panting, his face still buried in her hair. He swallowed largely as he realized his predicament. How the hell could she be a virgin when she knew so much about foreplay?
Should he stop? Could he stop?
Oh, no you don’t, Danny thought, sensing his consternation. She ripped her wrists out of his grip, reached around his big body and slapped her open palms against his buttocks to keep him from withdrawing. Her hips thrust upward to take him in as deeply as possible. The feel of him thick inside her body held a potent mixture of pain and pleasure and she wanted to explore it further.
He cursed again in her ear. That slap undid him. Austin finally gave in and drove into her tight warmth over and over, unable to control the pace. As the.&nin pain eased, she took him without reservation, and he watched her expression go from blind wonder to lust-filled anticipation. Too late, he realized with horror that he was going to blow too soon. He rose up on his elbows, bowed back and fought the urge to rip her in half.
“I can’t,” he groaned through clenched teeth, and abruptly pulled out.
Danny, achingly close to a threshold yet unfamiliar to her, gasped at the sensation of losing his mass so suddenly. It felt as if she had deflated and was left emptier than before. She looked down, watched as warm white fluid shot out of him and onto her stomach and breasts. Understanding dawned, and her head dropped back to the couch.
He collapsed onto her and the feel of his bare chest against hers was enough to put the smile back on her face. This big magnificent man was cradled between her thighs. Such a powerful, wonderful feeling. She tightened them around him possessively, aware that she had just driven him out of control. Her hands gently rippled up the taut muscles of his back, lips brushed feather light kisses over his shoulder and neck.
Suddenly his warm weight was gone. With a shiver, she turned her head to watch him pull up his jeans, button them then rummage through a drawer at his desk. He produced a towel, wiped his chest dry. Then produced another for her, walked back to the couch and proceeded to wipe his seed from her stomach.
Danny stretched languidly, propped her hands behind her head. The pulse at the side of his neck danced above the corded necklace. When he was finished, he left the towel on her body so she could tend to the more delicate areas and went to stand at the window. She frowned, sat up and looked down. The towel was spotted with blood. Was he bothered by it?
Sh
e studied his back as she finished cleaning up. Sexual heat instantly bloomed inside her again. With his tight rear-end, long legs and broad muscle-bound shoulders, he belonged on the cover of a magazine.
Austin was at a loss for words. As his sated body came down from the pleasure rush, he scanned the manicured lawns, ran a hand over the back of his neck. His treacherous mind constructed every kind of problem that could possibly stem from what he’d just done. “You should have told me you were a virgin.”
His bristly words reached around and grabbed Danny’s undivided attention. She brushed off his comment with a shrug. “Would it have changed anything?”
That he couldn’t answer. His lust had been so great, so profoundly out of control. Perhaps he could have reined it in a little if...
There was something different about taking a woman with experience. But knowing that he’d violated the single, virginal sister of his most hated rival... No, it was bigger than that now. She was the single, virginal daughter of his family’s biggest rival...
fas New Roman">“I had a right to know.” Unable to look at her, he bent and retrieved his shirt from the floor. “Get dressed. I’ll leave first, say you needed to make a private call.
And with that, he was gone.
Frank caught Austin’s exit out of the corner of his eye. The boss cut a straight path toward the showers. Frank leaned heavily into the shovel he was using and watched, waited. Moments later, the office door opened again. Danny emerged even more tousled than before. Discreetly holding her top together, failing in her attempt to look natural. Mouth red and swollen as if she’d been sucked on good. The woman took a cautious look around, closed the door behind her and disappeared in the opposite direction.
A look of superiority crossed Frank’s features and the man held out his hand. The new kid swore under his breath. “Damn conman,” he grumbled, dug in his pocket and produced a small wad of bills.
Chapter 15
It had been a rough night. Danny couldn’t sleep a wink in her small single bed with Austin on the brain. She hadn’t so much as laid eyes on him since they made love in his office and she couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that he was avoiding her.
Who could blame him? Maybe he was the only one thinking straight. How could the two of them ever build a relationship with such powerful history between their families?
Instead of working, she’d opted to study in her room, just as Austin had wanted her to. The book and her missing pairs of jeans and shoes were waiting for her on her dresser that afternoon. He must have waited for her to leave in order to avoid her.
Every time she tried to focus, her thoughts would wonder off to re-experience some part of their sexual encounter…her first with any man. The raw tender skin between her legs still burned, still chafed when she walked. It was an unfamiliar sensation and a relentless reminder of how it felt when he’d plunged deep inside her.
Her heart would palpitate again, again she would take a breath to slow it down, again she would re-focus on her studies.
Needless to say, aside from losing her virginity, it had been the most unproductive day she’d had in a long time.
As she rose from bed, she decided to treat the new day as if nothing were amiss. If Austin wanted to ignore what happened, so would she. And life would go on as normal. That is, if she could get over the hurt if such a momentous experience had been cheapened to a one-night-stand.
If that were the case, she would hide her hurt. After all, she had her pride…
Morning meeting drew to a conclusion with the usual hustle and bustle. Crew members had been assigned to their jobs, the safety plan had been addressed and the handful of crew to work the yard headed that way while the others deployed to their awaiting work trucks. Austin had decided to oversee the progress being made at the Minerva plant, but first there was a more important matter to attend to.
“You forgot to assign me a job.”
Austin turned, his expression wrought with professionalism. The woman of his thoughts was gearing up for work, ready to take on the day with no hint of sexual tension, no moony-eyed expectations. It appeared, in fact, that she was as determined to ignore their time together as he was.
Good. That would make this a whole lot simpler.
“Come with me.”
Danny followed him to his office without question. She couldn’t help but feel as if she were about to be dressed down…and not in the physical sense. As they entered the room that was still so ripe with memories, they both ignored the couch as if they’d turn to ashes with one glance.
“Sit down,” he ordered, leaving the office door open, and took his own seat behind the desk. He pulled a form out of the inbox and proceeded to write. “As of today, I’m relieving you of your debt. All I need is your signature and you’re free to go home.”
Everything went still. Her eyes carefully scanned the document he pushed toward her then slowly moved upward. His were kept solidly trained on the computer screen. “You’re letting me go?”
“Well,” he sighed in a very businesslike manner, “you saved a man’s life, and you also managed to rescue a twenty-thousand dollar piece of equipment in the process. I’d say you’re paid up.”
“Just like that?”
The vein in his neck pumped. “Just like that.” But he still wouldn’t look at her.
Now, Danny Bennett was a smart girl. It didn’t take a genius to figure out his agenda this time. “This is because of what happened between us yesterday, isn’t it?”
His lips hardened to a thin line and he finally turned away from the computer to bestow her with a look of resolve. “Partly,” he admitted, “but what I said is true. I can’t, in good conscience, hold you to a debt that has already been paid.”
“You’ve made plenty of moves within the last few weeks that were absent a good conscience, Austin. Why start now?”
“Danny…”
“You know what,” she held up a hand, took a moment, changed her course. “Scratch that. I can figure it out for myself. You were obviously spooked when you realized I was a virgin. Somehow it changes things since your good conscience could handle a round of spontaneous sex with a Bennett, but not one that might actually mean something. Am I w.&nw it changarm?”
“No!” Austin shot out of his chair and moved around the desk to shut the door. He should have known his attempt to keep the conversation professional due to an audience in the next room would be a futile one. Danny wasn’t one to hold back. He took a deep breath, collected himself and moved to the window once again to re-focus. He had to remember what was important, what needed to be done.
“It wasn’t meaningless. But it was wrong. I should have never been your first time, Danny.”
“I wasn’t complaining.”
His back stiffened. “You aren’t thinking about the long-term right now. But when it hits you, you’ll understand why I’m doing this.”
“Because a Cahill and a Bennett can never coexist.”
He turned the upper portion of his body to glare at her. “You can’t deny you don’t have misgivings about sleeping with me.”
Danny remained carefully calm in her swivel chair. “In fact I don’t. I can honestly say it was the most…incredible experience I’ve ever had. But you are bound and determined to turn it into a mistake.”
“It was a mistake. I should have never taken things that far.”
“As if you pulled all the strings.”
“Your virginity is something precious, Danny. Your first time should have been much better than it was. You describe it as an incredible experience, but you’re too in-experienced to know better. When a man and woman come together, there should be pleasure on both sides, it should be something special.”
Ignoring the ache in her heart caused by his impervious comment, Danny’s eyes narrowed. “You’re talking about orgasm.” A moment of silence as he digested her bold observation. “I may be inexperienced, Austin, but I am twenty-one. Heard tons about it from Melanie, b
een felt up a few times, pressured by plenty of guys.” She stood now, bent over the form and scribbled her name by the X.
He wanted her to agree with him. He wanted her to ease his conscience. Well, too bad.
“And you may regret having sex with me, but I don’t.” She plopped the pen back down on the desk and straightened to face him without reservation. “In fact, I feel…liberated!” A tiny smile of wonder formed on her lips. “And now that I know what sex is like, now that I don’t have that burden of uncertainty weighing me down, I can’t wait to learn more.” With flourish, “I can’t wait for my next time so the man I share e mat it with can teach me what my body is capable of. To finally understand what it’s like to be a part of something special.”
Austin tensed, yet kept his visage blank. Was she really as co
ol as she appeared? Or was she hurting every bit as much as he was at that moment? It was difficult to tell, to see through that unsettling look of wellbeing on her upturned face. Then, before he could chew on it, she turned and headed for the door.
“Danny.”
His voice was soft. Danny turned, met his gaze and gave him one last chance to change his course. But it was not to be.
“Be careful.”
The reserved advice effectively put the distance between them. Her insides shattered into a thousand pieces.
But her expression remained impervious as she passed by Sue’s desk and gave the shocked woman – who obviously heard enough to understand the nature of her retreat – a parting salute.
Chapter 16
