My hands glide down her arms, over her rib cage to her hips. She draws in a sharp breath as I flex my fingers into the cheeks of her ass. With one quick movement, I slide her closer to the edge, and she squeaks.
“You wanted to watch me eat a pretzel.” I bite her bottom lip. “I told you to be careful what you ask for, Red.” I sink to my knees and hook both of her legs over my shoulders.
“Good God,” she pants out.
I chuckle and let my hot breaths coast over her center as I nip and bite at the white lace that’s the only barrier standing in the way of my tongue fucking her to an orgasm.
My dick is aching to be inside of her, but all I want to do is lick her, taste her, eat her. While she watches.
I slip a finger inside her panties and move them to the side. She lets out a muffled cry of pleasure when I blow on her pussy.
True redhead indeed. That question is forever settled.
My mouth hovers over her soft flesh as I look up at her. Her eyes are shut, lips parted, breaths heavy.
“Look at me,” I command her.
Her lashes flutter up, and she looks at me with glazed eyes.
“Watch me while I eat you.”
A whimper slips through her lips, and she does what she’s told.
That’s my cue, and I plant a hot, wet open-mouthed kiss in the center of her pussy. It’s slick with desire, just like I knew it would be. Just like I’ve imagined when I fantasized about fucking her like this.
She cries out and sinks one set of fingers into my hair, pressing my face into her. She braces her other hand behind her, and starts to move her hips in rhythm with my tongue.
I breathe in her scent, and it’s like a drug. With the tip of my tongue, I start at one end of her heated pussy and lick all the way up to her clit. I take it between my teeth and nip then suckle it until she screams my name again.
Her head falls back, and her eyes slide shut again. “Your stubble feels so good against my thighs,” she rasps out.
I take my mouth off of her. “Look at me,” I say again.
She does, and I can see the desperate hunger in her eyes.
I give her what she wants and bury my tongue between her folds to stroke her throbbing nub.
“Oh, Ethan,” she pants out, but she doesn’t take her eyes off my mouth. Her pussy gets hotter and wetter with each thrust of my tongue. Her legs tremble against my shoulders as she rides my face closer to the edge. Her nails curl into the back of my head, and I know she’s close by the flush of her skin that’s spreading from her face, all the way down her neck, and over her chest. Her tits bob and sway in sync with the rocking of her hips.
Goddamn, my dick is pulsing to have her.
“Ethan, please.” She’s almost there, and the look in her glassy eyes is so raw it makes my heart swell with pride that I can bring her this much pleasure.
I turn up the heat by sliding two fingers along her slick entrance. She shimmies and shudders, and it turns me on so fucking much that I don’t know how much longer I can last. My fingers are already soaking wet from her sex, and I sink them into her tight, slick pussy. She squirms and bites her lip to keep from screaming again.
I fuck her like this, with my tongue and my hand until I feel the first hint of her orgasm start to convulse around my fingers. That’s when I take her home by curling both fingers into her depths to hit her G-spot.
A sharp cry of ecstasy rips from her lungs. I keep pumping into her as a powerful orgasm ripples through her and coats my lips. She’s soaring above the clouds, and I ease the speed of my fingers and the pressure of my tongue. I let my mouth slide over her throbbing flesh as she starts to fall back to Earth.
I ease up to my feet again, and take her mouth in a soft lingering kiss so she can taste herself on my lips.
“Let me get you off,” she says. “With my mouth.” She hooks her thumbs into the waistband of my shorts, but before she can tug them down, I hear a knock on my office door. It’s faint since we’re in the bathroom, but no doubt about it, someone is knocking to come in.
“Shit,” I hiss out. “I didn’t lock the door.”
“Oh, my God,” Red whispers and clamps a hand over her mouth.
I reach the bathroom door in one stride and leave only a sliver of my face showing as I peer around it.
“What is it? I’m not dressed.” I yell without trying to hide the irritation in my voice.
“Ethan?” It’s my sister. “I’m back with the towels, and um, I forgot to mention that I let Adeline use your shower. She had an important appointment to go to.”
No kidding.
Red cusses under her breath and whispers, “I’m late. I’ve got to go.” She hops off the counter and starts snatching up her clothes.
“Be right out,” I call out to my younger sibling, whose timing is impeccably annoying.
I adjust my shorts and shirt and use my forearm to swipe across the foggy mirror. I take stock of my appearance as I run fingers through my tousled hair. “I’ll go distract Grace while you slip out.” I don’t want Red to be more embarrassed than she already is.
She’s frantically pulling on her skirt when I still her with my hand on her waist. I slip a finger under her chin and lift her gaze to mine. The flush on her cheeks is still fresh and visible from the fierce orgasm she just had. “To be continued,” I promise. I haven’t technically fucked her. Not with my dick, anyway, so I have no problem picking this up again at a later date and preferably at either her place or mine so we have a comfortable bed when I fuck her for real.
Until her gaze flits away, and she bites at her bottom lip.
I pull in a breath and turn to leave. By the time I walk into the hallway and close the office door behind me, I’m already doubting the wisdom of making good on that promise
Chapter Ten
When I walk into the main part of the gym that houses the cardio and weights, the music is blaring. No idea why, because I never turn it up this loud. I track down Grace in the locker room where the plumber is examining each shower stall.
“Hiya,” he chirps and moves to the sinks.
I lift a hand in greeting and stand between the door and Grace.
He gets down on all fours to look at the pipes under the counter.
FYI, what they say about plumbers is absolutely true. A pasty white crack stares up at us, and Grace slaps a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Or gagging. Not sure which.
“How’d it go with the towels?” I’m making small talk to keep her here with me so Red can slip out to make her appointment. It’s not that I’m embarrassed by what just happened between us. The opposite is true. I’m scared as hell by the pull I feel toward her. I don’t know what to make of it, probably because I don’t know exactly what it is. Until I figure it out, I don’t plan to answer questions from my sister or anyone else.
“Um, I got clean ones?” Grace looks confused by my stupid question. They’re towels. And they’re clean, which was the whole point in her going to the linen company in person to pick them up. Not much more she can say on the subject.
I scrub a hand over my jaw. “Well, what’s going on with the plumbing?”
“Why don’t we ask the plumber?” Grace arches a brow. “We’re in the same room. And he can hear us.”
“Yessiree,” he backs out from under the counter, still on all fours. He has to brace his massive weight against the sink to pull himself up to his feet. “You’ve got a big problem.”
No kidding.
“Looks like you’ve got a pretty bad leak inside the wall.” He hikes up his sagging pants. “Only thing to do is tear out the wall and replace the pipes.”
Son of a bitch. My members need showers or they won’t come back. Not to mention, Red and I will both be coaching two dozen sweaty people here for long hours over the next few weeks.
“You’ll still have water on the north side of the building.” He points in the direction of my office and the break room. “But here you’ll have nothing while
we’re working on it.”
“How long are we talking?” I ask.
He rubs his jaw. “Week. Maybe two.”
Fuck.
“I’ll write up an estimate before I leave. Replacing the pipe won’t be that hard. It’s the tear out and then replacing the wall, tile, and paint that will chew up time. We’re a full-service company, though, so that’ll save you time if you don’t want to pull in your own contractors to do each piece of the job.”
No, I fucking don’t. “Can you start immediately?” I ask. I’m kind of desperate, so I’ll pay whatever he wants.
“I can send a crew over today if you want.” The plumber grabs his clipboard and starts jotting down numbers. He tears it off and hands it to me, then starts to pack up his tools.
I angle my head to the door for Grace to follow me into the hall. Red has had enough time to make her escape. When I get to the door of my office, I turn to Grace.
“I’m already on it,” she says before I can speak. “We’ll give our members a free month and send them to one of the other locations for the next two weeks.”
I blow out a breath. “You’re awesome.”
“I know.” Grace tilts her head to the side. “Now go to the bank and make sure we have the money to pay for this.” She taps the estimate in my hand, then walks away.
I grab my wallet and phone out of my desk drawer, then head for the front doors. When I’m back in the main part of the gym, AC/DC is belting out the lyrics of Highway to Hell and it’s near deafening.
“Hey, Grace.” I walk over to her where she’s wiping down the spin bikes. “Why is the music so loud?”
She looks at me but her eyes flit away, and she focuses on her work. “I had to do something to, um, drown out the noise coming from your office.”
Oh. Shit.
I don’t say a word, because really, there is nothing more to say. I stride to the door and get the hell out of there. I’m cussing myself to hell and back when I walk into the bank down the block.
Until I hear a familiar voice.
A ridiculously sexy voice that begged me to keep fucking her with my mouth and my fingers just a few minutes ago. Yes, the very one AC/DC covered when she came apart in an explosive orgasm on my private bathroom counter. Instinctively, my hands go to my mouth and her scent is still on my fingertips.
Red is standing at the counter, and I ease into the line of people waiting to see a teller.
“I’m sorry I missed my appointment, but I really need to speak to a manager. It’s urgent.” Her back is to me, and the tension in her shoulders is as visible as it is apparent in her tone.
“I’m sorry, miss, but he’s gone the rest of the day,” the teller says patiently, but she cuts a look at the next person in line. It’s obviously a hint for Red to move along.
“Then maybe you can help me.” Her voice is a desperate plea.
Unfortunately, it’s not the same desperation or the same plea I heard from her in my bathroom, and I don’t like it. I want to cut the line and see what I can do to help, but that might add insult to her problem.
She glances over her shoulder like she’s making sure no one is listening. I ease to the right so that the big guy in front of me blocks me from her view. I pretend to thumb through social media to see what’s new, but all I can concentrate on is Red. She’s obviously in a jam.
She leans closer to the teller. “An overdraft notice was in my inbox this morning.”
My chest squeezes.
“There must be some mistake.” She tries to whisper.
I mean, have you ever tried to whisper in a bank? It’s quiet and every sound is amplified.
“Can I see your ID and bank card?” the teller asks.
Red digs them out of her purse and slides them through the slot.
The teller pecks away at her computer. When she’s done, she peers at Red over a pair of reading glasses. “I’m afraid there’s no mistake, Ms. McAllister. You’re overdrawn.”
“There has to be a mistake,” Red insists. I don’t miss the teary vibration in her voice. “If someone doesn’t figure it out and fix it, I’m taking all of my money and moving to another bank.”
The teller levels a perturbed look at Red over the glasses. “Your account balance is negative two hundred and forty-three dollars,” she deadpans.
The guy in front of me snickers, and I want to take him outside and teach him some manners. Laughing when someone’s world is falling apart is inexcusable. Especially since that someone is the woman I’m fucking.
Wait.
I haven’t actually fucked her. Not really, and when I do, it will be for one day. Unless…
No, no, and no. I’m not breaking my one-night rule. Never again will I get hurt. But I can’t help but want to be the person who sets Red’s world right again.
She snatches up her purse and turns on a heel.
I step farther to my right, turn my back to her, and dip my head like I’m engrossed in my phone as she bolts past and leaves the bank. Thankfully, she doesn’t see me.
When it’s my turn, I slide my ID and business card through the slot. “I need to check my balance.”
She looks me up in her magical computer and writes the amount on a slip of paper for me to see. Nice. I’m flush with cash right now because I’ve been watching every penny so I can start my expansion plans soon. There’s plenty to cover the cost of the plumbing repairs.
And plenty to help a friend in need.
“Can I have a deposit slip, please?” I jot a generous number down and pass it to the teller. “You know the redhead who just left?” I angle my head to the door.
“Mmm-hmm.” The teller’s tone is dull and not the least bit sympathetic.
“Transfer this amount from my account into hers.”
Chapter Eleven
Red is quiet the rest of the afternoon, and I don’t push her to talk about it. Everything she’s experiencing now, I’ve been through myself. The loss of financial security, the loss of the career I’d banked my entire future on, and the loss of the person I thought would share that future with me.
It took time for me to process losing so much in such a short span of time. I give Red space so she can do the same.
We take a break in the early evening, and I retreat to my office to check messages. Sean has called several times, so I tap his name on the screen and dial up his number.
“Hey, man.” He answers on the second ring. “How’s Adeline coming along?”
I want to say “she came just fine for me,” but I don’t.
“Is she ready to coach her team?” Sean asks.
“She’s ready,” I say.
“Good.” Sean’s voice is full of enthusiasm. “I’ve arranged a little get together for both teams at 7th Inning Stretch tomorrow night. I thought that would be a friendlier atmosphere when we introduce her to the team instead of just throwing her into the lion’s den during a training session.”
“Good plan.” I lean back in my chair. “I’ll make sure she and I wrap up our workout early, so we have time to get ready before the party.”
“I’ve got some exciting news.” Sean is practically bursting to tell me.
I do not want to know. I really don’t. The last time Sean had important news I ended up spending sixteen hours a day with a hot redhead who has me two shakes from breaking my one-nighter rule.
“What’s up?” I cave.
“Zach landed three more sponsors, and they’re bigger than any of our others.”
Wow. We already had some kick-ass companies signed on to sponsor the Weekend Warrior event. I’m about to ask who they are, but Sean beats me to it. “A Wall Street bank, Muscle Fitness Equipment, and Nike,” he blurts.
Holy shit. My contract with Checkmate Inc. helped fund two of my four locations. Three more contracts like that and I’m golden. I can probably achieve my goal of expanding into all five boroughs with those contracts alone. The prize money will catapult my plan to go national far ahead of schedule.
Everything I’ve wanted, hoped for, worked toward, since opening the first gym right out of college. That dream is what kept me going after getting dumped by both Major League Baseball and my fiancée at the same time. It drove my determination to make something good out of the mess my life had become.
“Good job, Sean. With this kind of support, you might just turn this thing into an annual event. It could be huge for the community, not to mention the coaches and the contestants.”
“Yeah, speaking of coaches….”
The deliberate tone in his voice causes worry to prickle up my spine.
I sigh, and rub the corners of my eyes with a thumb and forefinger. “Go ahead. Lay it on me.”
He chuckles. “You’re smarter than you look, buddy.”
“Very funny.” I fake a laugh. “Get to the point.”
“The only reason Zach reeled in the new sponsors is because of the name Adeline McAllister. Apparently, two of the CEOs’ daughters were Olympic gymnast wannabes back in the day, and the third CEO’s wife is a yoga junkie. They were skeptical that this event didn’t fit their corporate brand until Zach dropped Adeline’s name and mentioned that she’s a yoga instructor and owns her own studio now. So they’re making it a company-wide event. Employees, families, even their pets will probably be in the stands watching the Weekend Warrior competition live.” There’s an eternal pause.
Zach and Sean both know my end game. I was upfront with them when I signed on as a coach. They haven’t shown favoritism, and I don’t expect them to start now. But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt what he’s trying to tell me.
Finally I speak up to spell it out, since Sean is too chickenshit. “The sponsors, especially the newest three to sign on, could seal my plan to expand if I make a good impression, say by coaching my team to a victory.” I can’t help the smartassery from slipping into the conversation. It’s a gift, really. “But if I win too big and make Re” I clear my throat. “If I make Adeline look bad, then I could lose any chance of gaining the corporate contracts I need from our newest sponsors.”
Get Wilde (A Checkmate Inc. Novel Book 3) Page 7
