Give It Up

by Lee Kilraine

  He slid his hands to my waist and swung me around until my legs were backed up against the mattress. The heat in his eyes made my knees weak, and I dropped down onto the bed. With his gaze firmly on mine, he unzipped his jeans and slid them off.

  I’d never seen him naked in the light before and… Oh. My. God. He was gorgeous. His wide muscled shoulders and chest led down to hard abs. He even had that dip near his hip bones, and holy cow, he was big…everywhere. I couldn’t even think. I just knew I needed him on me, over me, in me. I reached up, grabbed on to his arms and tugged, frantically trying to get him where I needed him.

  “Damn, Sam. Can I at least put a condom on first?” His mouth slid into a wicked sexy grin, and I kept running my greedy hands over his chest before his words filtered through my brain. Right. The condom.

  I nodded and let him take care of it, realizing I’d lost my mind. How could I forget about the condom? And then his gaze hit me up again, and his hands stirred up the flames across my body, and the mystery was solved.

  He leaned down with one forearm on the bed next to me; his other hand dove through my hair to the back of my head. He kissed me hard. The kiss dragged me back down deep while his hard body slammed against my curves. A tingle shot from the top of my head straight down to my toes, melting everything in its path.

  Oh, he knew my weaknesses. He already knew those places that swirled my stomach and made me throb. He trailed his lips along the sensitive skin of my neck. My pulse heated and raced under his mouth like liquid silver in my veins. I felt his teeth catch my earlobe, and a shudder ran clear down me. He stroked his hand over my belly, and higher until his hand stopped.

  I lost my breath when his knuckles brushed the bottom curve of my breast. My eyes rolled back into my head when he ran his tongue and lips along my collarbone in delicious bites. He wound a strand of my hair around his hand, leveraging my head back and baring my neck to his ravenous lips.

  “I’ve dreamed about touching you like this since the last time we were together.” His voice rough, husky, possessive against my throat. He ran his thumb under my breast, teasing me, until he finally moved higher, running his thumb over my nipple once…twice. It was exquisite, but I needed more.

  “Yesss. Touch me. I love when you touch me.” His eyelids lowered at my voice, like it brought him pleasure. I wrapped my arms around his neck and offered my mouth. He took it. We explored each other. My lips lingered and ambled along the hard muscles of his chest and shoulders. Beck’s hands loitered and flirted along my skin and curves. The heat stoked up from hot to a blazing inferno in an instant.

  Whatever communication issues we’d been having downstairs, disappeared in bed. The conflict melted away and our bodies worked in concert.

  I couldn’t touch him enough, and I couldn’t get enough of his hands on me. I wanted those hands everywhere. He obliged. He seemed to know what I wanted—what I needed—before I did. His hands over my skin, across my stomach, down my thighs and calves. He pulled off my panties and rolled me over to run his lips over my shoulder blades, the small of my back, and even sunk his teeth into my ass.

  “Needed to do that,” he growled before rolling me back over and exploring my breasts with his lips and mouth. It was hot and wild. I moaned and whimpered. He groaned and grunted.

  We each took and we each gave.

  He found my clit and fingered feather touches there until my breath was stuck in my throat. He took me just to the edge with his hands, then locked his eyes with mine, and thrust deep into me. Instant warmth spread in waves through my body. He began moving his hips, pushing deep, and I rolled my own hips into him, meeting him halfway.

  It was quick. It only took a few strokes, a pinch of my nipple, his mouth on mine, and I was gone—sharp pleasure rolled through my body.

  Oh my God. My mind blanked. Every molecule in my body tightened in ecstasy like I’d never felt before. I’d shot into space and now I was floating my way down. Melty, tingling, warmth sizzling in all the right places, humming softly back into the stratosphere.

  I opened my eyes slowly and saw Beck still moving over me. Holy heck, the man was gorgeous. He moved in me with firm strokes, and he felt good. So good.

  I floated down, relaxing back in the bed, Beck’s eyes locked on mine as he kept his steady rhythm, grinding into me and searching out his own release. I tilted my hips up, taking him in further. A low growl escaped his throat.

  One last thrust, and he buried his face against my neck, my name on his lips. I pressed a kiss against his skin, closed my eyes, and felt the weight of him. The warmth of him. I wrapped my arms tight around him, pressed my nose against his warm, damp skin, and inhaled. I knew I’d always think of Beck at the scent of pine.

  I stared up at the ceiling, my pulse finally settling down from the wild, heart-clenching beat Beck had induced. Second time riding the Beckett Thorne thrill ride and each time kept getting better and better.

  “Wow.” Beck’s voice rumbled low and sexy in the bed next to me. “Is it me, or are we getting better at this?”

  “A bit of both I think.” Because the man knew what he was doing in bed. He had amazing hands. I rolled until I faced him and slipped my hands, palms together, under the pillow so I’d keep my hands off him. Lightning flashed outside and his profile from his sharp nose and strong jawline down to his muscled chest was lit up and on display next to me. Thunder rumbled overhead and the first rain in weeks smashed against the roof.

  “Sounds like we might finally get a break from this heat.” He rolled toward me, reaching out a hand and stroking my stomach and across my hip in slow strokes that started my nerve endings tingling again. I bit my lip to keep from moaning. I loved his big hands on my body, making me feel delicate and treasured. The tantalizing scratch of his calluses along my skin reminding me of the many ways he used his hands. The sureness of his hands when he touched me, knowing exactly how to bring me pleasure.

  Yeah, he somehow knew how to bring me pleasure. Every spot, every move, every hot kiss that made me arch into him and lose my breath. I wondered if the world would miss us if we stayed locked up here for days.…

  “Can I ask you a question?” he asked.

  “After what you just did to me, you can ask me anything. If I have the answer, it’s yours.”

  “What’s the story with you and your dad? There’s some definite tension between you.”

  “You picked up on that, did you? You know that rumor about parents and unconditional love?”

  “Vaguely,” he said, his voice sharp and clipped.

  I peered over the pillow at his shadowed face but couldn’t make out his expression.

  “Go on.” He ran his hand down to rest on my thigh.

  “Oh, well, my father had his heart set on a boy. I was a great disappointment to him. I used to hear my parents argue, and it always ended back up at ‘you couldn’t even give me a boy.’ It was an ugly divorce. They fought over custody until my mother couldn’t take it anymore and flew off to Europe. So Dad got stuck with me.”

  “How do you know that’s what he thought?” Beck rubbed his hand in slow, comforting strokes. “Lots of fathers want custody of their kids.”

  “Well, the thing is when you’re sitting across the table at a Golden Corral restaurant and your father says, ‘Looks like I’m stuck with you,’ you kind of do know.”

  Beck growled low in his throat and his fingers tightened. “Bastard.”

  “So I spent the next twelve years trying to be the son he’d always wanted. I stopped wearing dresses and cut my hair in a pixie. I gave up my Barbie dolls and started building with the Erector sets he’d given me every Christmas and birthday. I played sports. Learned to like football and hockey. In college I majored in business, even though my soul yearned for interior design. And when I turned fifteen, I began working in the family business. I started in the mailroom and worked my way up.

/>   “I kept working after my father remarried a woman with three children. Two of them boys—the sons he’d always wanted. I even kept working when he renamed Devine Building Corporation to Devine and Sons Builders.”

  Beck ran the back of his knuckles softly down my cheek and leaned forward, placing a kiss on my forehead.

  “After I graduated Summa Cum Laude, I thought I’d get the position I’d been training for in the sales division. Man, was I a dreamer. Or delusional. He gave the job to my stepbrother who graduated with a 2.73 and majored in frat parties. I was demoted to the job of my brother’s assistant. I got to do all the work, and my brother got to take all the credit and the pay raises. That’s when I finally walked away.”

  “And started your own business. Good for you.”

  “I really should thank my father and stepbrothers.” A clap of thunder shook the windows as if I’d upset the cosmos with that thought. Boy did I get it.

  “What the hell for?”

  “Because my burning desire to prove to them that I’m smart and talented and was worthy of that position has been a big part of Devine Design’s success.”

  “You should be proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

  “Thank you.”

  “And some people shouldn’t get to be parents. Never ever.”

  There was a tone in his voice that tugged at me. Something raw and deep. I didn’t know what it was, only that I wanted to pull us both out and into a brighter place.

  “Beck? I don’t want to talk anymore,” I whispered.

  He leaned forward and touched his lips to mine. I kissed him back. Softly, he nibbled his way around my mouth, ran his tongue along my bottom lip, then took a soft bite. Surging liquid heat swirled low in my belly. I could be locked up like this for weeks…months…

  “Sounds like the power’s out,” he whispered, his lips making their way from my mouth and over my cheek and down until he scraped his teeth at the sweet spot just behind my ear.

  “Who needs power?” I felt electrified right now as a matter of fact, running my hands over his chest in slow strokes, enjoying touching him.

  “We will if we keep this up,” he said, kissing his way down my neck and along my collarbone on his way—I really hoped—to my breasts. “Not that I’m complaining, mind you, I just might need some air conditioning to control this powerful heat between us.”

  “You have a point.” I thought our options over, and nothing seemed better than my top option—make love to Beck again. “How about we worry about the power in about ten minutes?”

  “Ten?” He licked the underside of my breast, looking up at me, his eyes glittering in the dimness. “Have a little faith, woman. Make it thirty.”

  I moaned as his lips captured my nipple. “Okay, slowpoke, I guess I can wait thirty minutes.”

  “I’ll make it worth the wait.” His lips trailed down my belly. Hot fiery kisses that had me on edge for where they were heading. “I promise.”

  He kept his promise.

  Chapter 16

  Samantha

  The next day, by the time we got out of bed the second time—which led us back into the shower— the power was back on. It had probably been restored in the wee morning hours, but I hadn’t been paying attention. I’d been otherwise preoccupied.

  But here it was in the clear light of day, that awkward morning after, and I didn’t feel awkward at all. Beck set the bag with our last day of food delivery on the counter, then wrapped an arm around me from behind, brushing my hair off to the side so he could kiss the nape of my neck. My sweet spot. It hadn’t taken him long to find the one place guaranteed to weaken my knees.

  “Breakfast is here.” His deep voice against my neck vibrated a low hum through my limbs.

  “I’m starving,” I said but not so starving that if he wanted to have sex on the counter first, I’d happily postpone the breakfast tacos.

  With one last caress of his hand on my stomach, he pulled away to deal with our food. Which was the better idea anyway because we had work to do. Time to focus, Samantha.

  We took our food to the table on the back patio to eat before the sun rose above the tree line. It was cooler this morning after the storms had rolled through overnight. I was sure we weren’t the only two in the city hoping the heatwave had finally broken. I dug in to my tacos, sipped fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice, and ran my gaze over Beck every chance I got. Oh, pull it together, Samantha.

  “Ready to get to work?” I delayed asking as long as I could because honestly, I loved the place we were at right now. The shared intimacy had left us in a safe space. A friendly connected place, and I didn’t want it to disappear.

  “Yes. It’s our last day without a crew around so let’s get to it.” He stood, gathering both of our food containers, and we moved inside. “I don’t know about you, and if you repeat this, I’ll deny every word, but I’m feeling a different energy between us. Positive. I’m not talking post sex afterglow either. I mean like Lila’s chi energy. Weird, right?”

  “Maybe Lila’s on to something.” I shrugged. But it was weird. Not weird in that “I didn’t agree with him” weird. But weird in an “I felt it too” weird. I didn’t want to jinx anything though, so I just focused on the job trying to stay as open-minded as possible.

  * * * *

  The day flew by. We started out by taking our laptops and my sketchbook and pencils back to bed. No seriously—to work. Propped up on pillows and our computers on our laps, we sat next to each other and went through the job room by room.

  “Let’s start with one of my rooms. In the spirit of newfound appreciation of each other”—I glanced at Beck in time to catch his sexy grin—“let’s first list all the positive things in each design. Then the other person will offer three of their own ideas for each space, and the designer must incorporate two of those into each design.”

  “I like it.” He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss, catching me off guard.

  Breathlessly, I began.

  I brought up my rendering of the kitchen on my laptop, turning it so we both had a good view. “Okay, here’s what I like about it. I like the enlarged window over the sink—a triple window over a kitchen sink is a weakness of mine. I brought the sills all the way down to countertop level. I love how it opens the space, especially when that space gets filled with plants.”

  Beck nodded. “I like the look. As you know, I like a backsplash behind the sink because of water issues, but I’m willing to accept that we can take care of that with good grout and sealers. So, in this case form and function can be equal partners.”

  “Thank you.” I leaned over and kissed him. This was a point we’d argued over ad nauseam. I wanted him to know how much I appreciated his being flexible on that. I was very appreciative, so it took a few minutes of kissing before I pulled back. “Okay, moving on.”

  “Take as long as you like,” Beck said, his voice in a darker place than it had been a few minutes ago.

  We discussed more positive aspects to the kitchen design, and I could see he’d never disliked it on the whole. Something I hadn’t understood before.

  “Okay, what are your three additions?” Yes, my stomach clenched, because this was where the rubber met the road. This was the real place where we were either going to blend our designs—or not. He must have felt me go tense because he reached out and rubbed my thigh while he examined the screen.

  “I think a bolder light over the eating nook would bring the ceiling down some, making it feel homier. Not too modern or bold, but simple and solid. Next, I think the floors should go darker to balance the space better. And my third suggestion is to think about concrete countertops instead of granite. I think the marble baking counter on that short run still works with the concrete.”

  My gaze ran over my design, ping-ponging over to my sketch pad and back to the computer screen, looking at all the angl
es and picturing each of his suggestions in place.

  “Well?” he asked, lightly squeezing my thigh. “How much did that hurt?”

  “Pretty painless, actually.” I looked at him, at his relaxed features, looking all sexy in the morning sunlight slicing across the bed. I let my computer slide off my lap and rolled him on his back. Kissing his chin and along his jaw. “I believe we deserve a reward.”

  “I like this new way of working, if you were wondering.” His hips pressed up against mine and I was in no doubt. We took a short mental health break.

  * * * *

  And that’s how the day went. We worked our way through each room of the renovation, finding places we agreed and finding ideas from the other we could blend into our designs. We didn’t stay in bed all day. At some point we moved back down to the kitchen. And out next to the pool. We discussed the plans for the backyard and pool house while we floated on rafts side-by-side in the water. When the heat got to us, Beck upended my raft but made sure to find me under the water and offer me mouth to mouth.

  At the end of the day when we gathered our things, ready to wrap up our three-day lock-in, I thought through all the progress we’d made, amazed how that had happened.

  “I have a confession to make,” I said. “I didn’t think Lila’s idea of a lock-in was going to work. I didn’t. But I feel good about the work we did today. In fact, I can honestly say I think your added input is going to make my rooms better. It’s added a depth to them that I didn’t see before.”

  His blue gaze held mine, the look intense and heated. “I like the work we did together. But I’m not so sure it has much to do with Lila’s woo-woo theories on karma, or chi flow. Sex can be damn powerful.”

  “So you think this was all because of the sex.”

  “Not just sex, but amazing sex.” To prove it, he leaned down and kissed me, and the touch of his firm lips on mine had me melted and leaning up against the counter in record time. I might have oozed down to the floor if he hadn’t held me up. I had to hang on to the counter when he pulled away. “I think maybe the sexual tension between us was creating a wall, and giving in to it finally busted it wide open.”