by Mandy Baxter
As he pulled into a parking space, Jase’s gut bottomed out. The thought of just dropping her off and calling it a night was unbearable. He wanted her. Right now. Right in the fucking front seat of this truck if he thought he could get away with it.
“Thanks for the ride,” Avery said as she unbuckled her seat belt. “I’m sorry my car is loitering in your driveway. I’ll get it towed out of there first thing in the morning.” Jase moved to unbuckle his own belt and she said, “Oh, you don’t have to walk me, Jase. I’m a big girl.”
If only she knew the action had less to do with any show of gallantry and more to do with his plan to get a hell of a lot closer. “Don’t worry about your car. I’ll have it taken to a shop tomorrow.”
“Oh, no, thanks. Really, don’t.” She seemed appalled that he’d offer. Well, that was too bad, wasn’t it? “I can’t let you do that. It might be a while before I can afford to have it fixed. I don’t want it sitting at a garage for who knows how long.”
He scooted across the bench seat. A couple of inches. A couple more. Avery’s lips parted, her bottom lip just a little too full and practically begging Jase to take it into his mouth and suck. Another inch. Two. Jase stretched his arm out on the headrest and her eyes darted to the motion for the barest second. “Jase…”
She averted her gaze, her body drawing in on itself. What did she have to be so self-conscious about? Did she not realize how fucking beautiful she was?
“Avery, look at me.” Her eyes met his, curious. “Now don’t move.”
“Why?” she whispered.
“Because I’m going to fucking explode if I don’t kiss you right now.”
FOUR
Holy cats, Avery, this is happening right now.
Avery had never been the super-confident woman. Oh, she knew she wasn’t bad looking, but guys weren’t tripping over themselves to ask her out. And likewise, she was such a klutz that it tended to turn people off. When Jase looked at her with such intensity, such longing, it made her feel like maybe she could be that girl. The confident one. Someone who knew her worth and wasn’t afraid to own it. Jase took his time, studied her face for the briefest moment before tracing his fingers from her temple to her chin. And then, he cupped her face, holding her still as though she were made of glass. When his lips met hers it was an unhurried, deliberate kiss that she felt in every nerve ending of her body.
A slow tease, his lips met hers in a rhythmic dance that flooded Avery with a heat that she felt right to her core. Desire ignited inside of her, raging like a fire through dry timber as Jase’s thumbs stroked up her jaw, feathering over her earlobes and Avery shuddered as a pleasant chill chased down her spine, meeting the heat of her body in a way that made her feel as though she’d become a gossamer thing, steam swirling in the clashing temperatures.
Jase’s breath mingled with her own as he continued to kiss her. His tongue played at the seam of her lips, as measured as his kiss, coaxing her to open for him. Avery’s lips parted, but rather than deepen this kiss, he continued to take his time. The tip of his tongue flicked out at hers, the contact so innocent and yet so intimate that it caused Avery’s breath to hitch in her chest. No one had ever kissed her like this. And the fact that she barely knew the man who shared this wonderful thing with her left her feeling rattled and unsure. She didn’t want to be used and discarded by Jase. Treated as though she wasn’t worth the time for an honest-to-god first date let alone a second one.
But that didn’t mean she possessed the desire or the willpower to stop him, either.
Jase abandoned her mouth, kissing the corner of her lips and across her jaw. She tilted her head to one side and he continued on, his lips blazing a trail across her flesh as he settled his mouth at her pulse point and sucked.
Wow. Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow. Avery let out a quiet moan. She couldn’t help herself, it just felt so good. The little sound seemed to urge Jase on. He groaned into her skin, a low rumble that she felt all the way to her pussy. If Jase Blackwell played football half as well as he kissed, the Cowboys were guaranteed a Super Bowl win this year.
“Jase,” she breathed. “That feels amazing.”
She felt him smile against her skin. “Sugar, that isn’t even my best effort.”
Cocky. Her lips curved into a reluctant smile as he took her earlobe into his mouth and sucked. Her sex clenched with need and her hips gave a shallow thrust as though acting of their own volition. “I don’t warrant your A-game, Blackwell?” Her shield of snark shot up, protecting her from feeling anything that might eventually hurt her. “That makes me sad. It really does.”
He nipped at her throat, soothing the sting with the wet heat of his tongue. Avery didn’t need to be naked to know that her sex was slick, her lips swelling around her throbbing clit. Could she go through with this? Her body was 100 percent on board, cheering her on like it was the home stretch and she was mere feet from the finish line. Avery could think of worse decisions than inviting Jase inside her apartment. They were both consenting adults, after all. It’s not like she was the first woman in the history of sex to contemplate the appeal of a one-night stand. And though she’d spent all week convincing herself of why being with him was a bad idea, right now, she couldn’t think of a single reason to stop.
“I can’t show you all my tricks at once, sugar,” Jase murmured against her skin. “No self-respecting athlete goes into any situation without a carefully planned strategy.”
Jase made his way back to Avery’s lips and she released a contented sigh. He kissed her deeper this time, though no less methodically, his tongue plunging deep into her mouth, stroking along hers in a slippery caress before withdrawing and plunging back in again. Another wave of heat stole over Avery’s body. The way he was kissing her now was downright lewd. Using his tongue to fuck her mouth with painstaking precision.
If he kept kissing her this way, she’d come before he even laid a hand on her.
“I could kiss you for days,” Jase said against her mouth, the vibration of his words tickling her lips. “Weeks. Just kiss you and kiss you until we both passed out from exhaustion.”
Avery’s stomach fluttered. No one had ever said anything so sweet to her. If it was part of his plan to ply her into sleeping with him, it was working. She was getting closer to that point of mindless need that superseded common sense and caution. “Jason Blackwell,” she whispered. “Are you trying to manage me?”
“That depends,” he said in a husky tone. “Is it working?”
He was as charming as he was sexy. Avery was helpless against him. Why not give in? Live out a fantasy with a man built like a warrior. She could have the experience of her life as long as she didn’t allow herself any sort of emotional attachment; she wouldn’t have to worry about having her heart broken when Jase moved on to someone else. And she had no doubt that he would. Men had emotionless sex all the time. Why couldn’t she?
Decision made, she reached down to flip the lever and moved the bench seat back. If she was going to keep this emotionless, inviting him inside wasn’t an option. With their combined weight, as soon as Avery released the latch, the seat fell backward with a jolt. Jase’s gaze met hers, his lips quirked in a half-smile and a brow raised in question. Rather than explain herself, Avery put her finger to his lips. He took the digit into his mouth, enveloping her finger with the warmth of his mouth as he sucked. His tongue traced the underside of her finger and Avery’s lids drifted shut for a blissful moment.
It was now or never.
Thanks to the club cab—and the fact that she’d moved the seat back—Avery had plenty of space to move in the spacious truck. She swung one leg across Jase’s waist and settled onto his lap. He bucked his hips, scooting over fully onto the passenger side, and Avery sucked in a sharp breath as the hard length of his erection rubbed against her core. Even through his jeans she could feel every long inch of him and it sent a thrill through her body at the thought of having him deep inside of her.
Jase’s brow furro
wed as he looked at her. Avery began to unfasten the buttons on her white work shirt, her heart racing in her chest. “I think you’re doing a pretty good job of managing me.”
He sucked in a breath as she shrugged off the shirt, leaving her bare except for the lacy fabric of her white bra. His gaze heated, the whiskey brown of his eyes glinting with hints of molten honey. Avery leaned back, her lids drooping as the angle only helped to press his erection firmly against her. She shifted her hips just so, releasing a quick breath at the sharp stab of pleasure that shot through her from the friction.
“Jesus, Avery.” Jase’s nostrils flared as he gripped her waist in his hands. “What are you doing to me?”
Her stomach flipped as confidence surged through her. No man had ever made her feel so brazen. “That depends,” she said. “Is it working?”
“Hell yeah,” he said on a groan.
* * *
Jase’s cock pulsed in his jeans, so fucking hard it was a wonder the damned thing hadn’t ripped through the denim. With every meeting of their lips, he wanted more. With every touch, he craved another inch of bare skin. And when she climbed up on his lap, any common sense he might have had took off like a spooked mare. He couldn’t have thought in a straight line if he’d wanted to.
The woman tied him into knots.
She leaned over him, the short curtain of her hair brushing over his face. When her mouth slanted against his, he sighed into her mouth, their breaths mingling until they were one. Slowly, he slid his palms up her rib cage, her skin like satin on his calloused palms. He cupped her breasts, flicking his thumbs over the pearls of her nipples through the fabric and Avery let out a low moan that shot straight through Jase’s shaft and settled in his balls.
He’d never wanted a woman the way he wanted Avery. Passion clouded his thoughts until Jase was consumed. He needed every inch of her exposed. Wanted to suck, and lick, and fuck her until she screamed his name. Was dying to feel her pussy clench around his cock as she came. In a frenzy, he tugged at the cups of her bra, freeing those full, beautiful breasts from the restraining fabric. Their weight in his palms was heaven, the heat of her skin branding him. Tonight Avery would surely scar him, leave her mark permanently upon his body. And Jase couldn’t wait to feel the burn.
In the dark interior of the cab, only the streetlight outside illuminated Avery’s body. Her skin was like cream, pale and smooth, the dusky nipples standing proud and erect as he pinched them.
“Oh god,” Avery gasped.
Her response only spurred him on and he eased her back, cradling her body in his arms as he bent his head to suckle her. He took her nipple into his mouth, rolling it with his tongue and Avery let out a soft, mewling sound that sent the blood racing to Jase’s cock. So much for having anything left over to support brain function. Her skin was sweet with just the slightest salt tang and smelled of ripe clover. With each pass of his tongue, each nibble of teeth, her cries grew louder and more desperate, filling his ears with the sweetest sounds he’d ever heard.
Avery braced her hands on his chest, her palms kneading his pecs before her fingers trailed down his ribs. His stomach clenched reflexively and his breath caught in his chest as her fingers grazed his fly and she fumbled for the button. God, how was he ever going to keep it together? He’d go off the second she took him into her hand.
As she popped the button and eased the zipper of his jeans down, Jase switched to her other breast, taking as much of her into his mouth as he could and drawing on the flesh with deep, hungry sucks. He pulled back slowly, clamping his lips down on her nipple and Avery cried out, “Jase, oh god, Jase.” His name on her lips was heaven. He wanted her to say it again and again.
She eased him back, and Jase craned his neck forward, stroking the tip of her nipple with his tongue. He was rewarded for his effort with a tight whimper just before Avery put her weight behind her actions and settled him back against the seat. Their eyes met, and those green limpid pools consumed him, the expression so heated Jase thought for a moment he might be dreaming. She was so responsive, so passionate. Perfect.
Avery shifted her body so that her ass rested at the edge of Jase’s knees. In the close quarters of the truck, she leaned back against the dash for support as she finished pulling his zipper down. Slowly, she slid her fingers past the waistband of his underwear and his abdomen twitched. When she took him into her hand, his head rolled back on the rest and Jase’s eyes drifted shut. “Ah, sugar,” he moaned. “Stroke me. Nice and slow.”
He looked up to find her studying his expression. She appeared unsure, her brow furrowed as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. He placed his hand over hers, urging her to take him in a firm grip and guided her hand to stroke down from the swollen head of his cock, right down to the base. Jase’s thigh muscles went taut as pleasure shot through him. He released his grip and she stroked back up, slowly, and then rubbed her thumb over the crown, spreading a bead of moisture over the engorged head before stroking back down. Jase shivered at his sensitivity. “That’s it, sugar. Just like that.” If she kept up her pace, he’d come in her hand and there wouldn’t be a damned thing he could do to stop it. On and on it went, the torture delicious and unrelenting. All the while, she kept her gaze locked with his, her lips parted and eyes wide in silent wonder.
Sweet Jesus, she was too good to be true.
Jase slid his palms up her thighs as he dove beneath the hem of her skirt. His thumbs brushed the juncture between her legs, the silk of her underwear already damp with arousal. “Avery.” His voice was a harsh whisper in the quiet cab of the truck. He swallowed against the dryness in his throat. She moaned as his thumbs brushed against her clit, so swollen he could feel the little bud through the fabric. He wanted inside of her. Now. Buried as deep as he could go. He wanted her to ride his cock until they were both too exhausted to move. He needed to fuck her like he needed his next breath. “I want you. Tell me you want me, too. Tell me to fuck you, Avery.”
“I do.” Avery slanted her mouth over his in a desperate, feverish kiss. “I want you, Jase. Fuck me. Now.”
Haste took on a new meaning as he fumbled, one-handed, with his jeans. Jase dragged his wallet out of his back pocket, while shimmying both the pants and his underwear down off his ass. Avery rose up on her knees, head bent in the crowded cab as she helped to pull the denim past his knees. He fumbled with his wallet and gave a sheepish laugh. “Jesus, sugar, I want you so bad I can’t even get my hands to work right.”
Avery smiled, her expression lighting up like the sunrise. With a last triumphant tug, Jase managed to free the foil packet from the wallet and he tore into it like his survival depended on it. He rolled the condom over his erection and cupped Avery’s face in his hands before kissing her with renewed vigor. She threaded her fingers through his hair, the scrape of her nails causing pleasant chills to cascade over his shoulders and down his back. He took her tiny waist in his hands and she rose up on her knees, settling herself over the engorged head. Jase’s fingers once again brushed the dampened silk of her underwear and he groaned into her mouth before jerking the fabric aside.
He wanted to pound into her, bury himself to the root. But Jase waited, giving Avery control of the situation. His body shook with both restraint and passion, his mouth greedy for hers in an insatiable way that he couldn’t explain. When her slick heat brushed his cock, Jase sucked in a breath.
“Avery.” Her name on his lips was like a fifty year old scotch, heady and intoxicating.
“I know, Jase,” she murmured against his mouth. “I feel the same way.”
FIVE
Was she really going to go through with this?
She’d never been so forward with a man, so completely wanton. It went against her nature, but Jase was just too commanding. His touch, addictive. He was a force of nature that Avery was helpless to fight.
Jase’s thighs twitched against hers, the muscles unyielding stone. His fingers dug into the flesh at her hips, gripping and releasi
ng, gripping and releasing as though it took all of the self-control he could muster not to impale her body on his cock. Avery’s abdomen tightened at the thought, another rush of wet warmth spreading between her thighs. She didn’t know how he did it, but being with Jase made her feel brave.
Slowly, she rocked over the head of his erection, the shock of heat from the contact causing every nerve in her body to ignite. Jase reached up and peeled his T-shirt from his body, offering up another distraction as Avery took in the sculpted form of his pecs, the narrow ridges of his abdomen and the tight taper of his waist. Hesitation warred with need, common sense and self-preservation scratching at the back of her brain. How could she keep this encounter emotionless when every look, every gentle touch made her feel so much? The desire to put her palms on those hardened hills and planes nearly distracted her from the moment. Would acquainting herself with his body—all of it—be a mistake?
Oh, who the hell cared!
Avery braced her palms on his shoulders, her attention focused on the way he felt beneath her hands, the contraction and release of each individual muscle, the smoothness of his skin. She rocked against him once again, this time lowering herself on top of him. A tortured moan vibrated in Jase’s chest as his head leaned back on the headrest. “Just like that, sugar. Oh, shit that feels so good.”
His words urged her on, the strained timbre of his voice vibrating every tendon in Avery’s body. She took him deeper and stilled, giving herself a moment to adjust to his size. She was so wet, so ready for him, that her own impatience won over and she took him fully inside of her as she settled down onto his lap.
He cupped her breasts as she rode him, his palms so large that they engulfed her. With gentle precision he massaged her sensitive flesh, kneading and working his way to her nipples, which he rolled between his fingers, sending a pulse of sensation straight though Avery’s core and into her throbbing clit.
“Harder, sugar. Don’t stop.”
