by Stacy Finz
“No,” he said. “But to be totally sure I’d need to see you naked.” He didn’t wait for her to slap him, just walked to the diner and held open the door.
Ricki, another woman he didn’t find attractive—not because she wasn’t but because she hated his guts—sat them in a corner booth.
“This isn’t my section,” she said, and looked directly at Win. “You’re welcome.”
“I think she’s the only female on the planet who isn’t in love with you.” Darcy opened her menu.
“What about you?” Win stuck his between the salt-and-pepper shakers.
She looked up. “That would be suicide.”
“That’s kind of a crappy thing to say.” He’d heard it enough times before but it still stung. Basically, women didn’t think he was a good bet. Given his history, they were right. “Then why’d you want to know if I thought you were attractive?”
Her face went pomegranate red like it used to when he’d first met her. She stammered, “Uh, I just wondered how the opposite sex viewed me is all.”
He stared her down because that sounded like a load of hooey to him. Win figured under his cool hard gaze he could squirm her into telling the truth.
She cracked. “Since my split with Lewis … well, uh, I haven’t been asked out on any dates.”
He started to tell her that’s because she didn’t put herself out there but decided why should he help her snag a man? It’s not like she’d helped him snag a house. It needs a lot of work. Besides, he didn’t want her to snag a man. Because … ah, fuck.
“You’re hot so that’s not the problem,” he said. “So maybe we have to look at your personality.”
“I’m hot?” She asked it as if he was trying to play her, which pissed him off because the one thing he wasn’t was a liar. Or at least not in this case.
“Don’t believe me?” he said. “Look in a goddamn mirror.”
Chapter Fourteen
Darcy didn’t know what made her do it but right after work, she grabbed her purse and drove to Win’s apartment. He’d said he was coming home after lunch so she assumed he was here. She scanned the street for his Jeep but didn’t see it.
That doesn’t mean anything, she told herself. Maybe he’d walked home from GA or parked his car in one of the junky garages in his apartment complex, though she doubted either of those possibilities. She forced herself to get out of the car and knock on his door anyway.
When there was no answer she waited. No sense trying again. It’s not like he wouldn’t have heard her in his sprawling seven-hundred-square-foot studio. She had just started to give up and walk away when he came to the door, his hair smooshed as if he’d been sleeping on it.
“Did you bring me more pie?”
“No.” She brushed by him, went inside, and sank down on his ugly corduroy couch. At least the only thing on it today was a crocheted afghan.
He’d actually cleaned. The apartment was spotless. No piles of clothing, no dirty dishes in the sink, no sports gear lying around. There wasn’t even a cobweb in sight.
“Come on in, make yourself comfortable.” He followed her to the sitting area and sprawled out on the chair opposite the couch.
“My husband never had sex with me.”
That seemed to wake him up. “Never? Or not as much as you wanted? Because that’s been a problem for me in the past.”
She stood up. This had been a colossally bad idea. To think someone like him would understand or be sympathetic… well, she was just compounding the problem.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” He latched on to her arm and pushed her back onto the couch. “Start from the beginning.”
“That was the beginning … and the middle … and the end.”
“Never?” He rested his elbows on his knees and leaned toward her.
“Exactly twice. The night of our wedding and six months later after I got him drunk and … well, you don’t want to know the details.”
“Was he gay?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Well, did you ask him?”
“No. But there weren’t men as far as I know, he just wasn’t interested in me.”
“Then why the hell did he marry you?”
“I don’t know.” Because she took care of him and all his needs and she was cheap. “The only reason I’m telling you this is to explain the other night and the weird questions.”
“It’s him, not you,” Win said with absolute authority.
“How do you know?”
He looked at her. First her face, then he lingered on her breasts, and his eyes did a slow slide down the rest of her body to her legs, which she’d caught him staring at on the ride to Reggie’s. After he got his fill, he looked again, his gaze so heated it made her toes curl. He reached for her hand and placed it on his lap. “Feel that? That’s how I know.”
She felt a hard ridge pressed against the fly of his shorts and swallowed. He looked into her eyes and lifted a brow.
“For the last couple of weeks, ever since you showed up in my bed, all I’ve thought about was you. Naked. Under me, on top of me, in front of me, any way I could get you. I want you, Darcy. Any man would be crazy not to. So Lewis is definitely crazy—or asexual.”
She swallowed again because she could feel him growing even harder under her hand. “Then why did you turn me away?”
“Because I’m trying to change, become a better person.” His gaze took a turn around the studio and the corner of his mouth tipped up. “I even cleaned.” He crooked his finger. “Come here.”
He brushed her lips with his, kissing her soft as a feather. She wanted more but the sensation of his mouth moving over her like a whisper was hypnotic.
“Are you just being nice to me so I won’t feel bad?” she said, leaning into the kiss so that she was nestled against his chest. She loved the feel of him. Strong and solid.
He got up, closed the shades, and tugged her off the couch. “I’m doing this because if I don’t I’ll probably die.”
She highly doubted that. But she wanted to believe he wanted her and didn’t think he could fake his physical reaction, which felt as real as it got as he pressed into her. And there was no question she wanted him. The yearning was so bad she could feel it in every fiber of her body.
He pulled her halfway to the bed and whispered in her ear, “Take off your dress.”
The command both shocked and thrilled her. “You sure? I don’t want to—”
“Shush. Just take it off.”
She started to unzip the back as he watched her and then became self-conscious. “Turn off the light.”
He closed in on her and took over, letting the dress slither down her legs. “I don’t want to turn off the light, I want to see you.”
His mouth was on her neck, kissing and sucking. It felt so erotic, standing there in nothing but her bra and panties with the hot pull of his mouth on her skin. He stopped kissing her long enough to survey her body, from the swells of her breasts to the curve of her hips. And she suddenly felt nervous and covered herself with her hands.
He gently pried them away. “This is even better than the red teddy and that was a freaking fantasy.”
She started to relax a little. “I’m not very good at this.”
“Nah, you’re just out of practice. I hear it’s like riding a bike.” He continued to nuzzle her throat. “What you don’t remember, I’ll teach you.”
“Okay,” she said in a voice so breathy she hardly recognized it.
“It’ll be good, I promise.” He stuck his face in her cleavage. “You smell good.” Then he kissed the swells of her breasts and traveled upward, letting his lips graze her ear, sending a shiver up her spine. His hands made a slow journey down her sides and then pulled her hard against him, pressing his erection against the vee of her legs.
He walked her backward until she hit the bed and buckled. Somewhere a window was open and a cool breeze licked over her. But nothing could stop the heat from sp
reading. She was on fire.
Win straddled her knees and played with the lace on her bra. “Take it off.”
Her shaky fingers reached for the front clasp but couldn’t seem to unlatch it. Impatient with her fumbling, he did it himself in one smooth move. He held both her breasts in his hands and kissed them, his tongue making slow circles around her nipples.
Her head fell back and she moaned as hot shards of pleasure passed before her eyes. “Oh God.”
“Good?” But he wasn’t done.
Win made fast work of her panties, leaving her in nothing but her high-heeled sandals. He kneeled and his head disappeared between her legs.
“Win.” She tried to jerk him up because no one had ever done what he was doing before and it embarrassed her. “You don’t have to …”
“Shush. I want to taste you.” His eyes flicked up at her, silently begging permission. “Come on, I’ve been dreaming about this.”
She leaned back on the bed and let her legs fall open. He licked and she trembled. And when his mouth covered her she almost died. Nothing had ever felt this good and any shred of self-consciousness she had left vanished in the pleasure he was giving her.
“Oh God … Don’t stop.” She moaned.
His hands were everywhere, fondling, touching, and rubbing. Nothing about him was gentle. He took what he wanted and she reveled in it, her entire body hummed.
“Good?” He slipped a finger inside of her and she saw colors. Reds and blues and oranges and greens.
“So good … I can’t take any more.” Her voice came out like a croak.
“Then let go,” he whispered, never stopping all the wonderful, naughty things he was doing.
He slipped a second finger in and she was gone. Her muscles convulsed around him, her body quaked, and she yelled out his name. She fell back on the bed, trying to catch her breath while staring up at the ceiling. So that’s what she’d been missing all this time. There was no way to describe the sheer intensity of it but she knew she wanted more. She wanted him inside of her.
Win hovered over her, his lips traveling across her tummy, over her breasts, up to her throat until he latched onto her mouth. She could taste herself on him.
“You ready for more?” he murmured against her lips. “Please say yes.”
“Yes,” she stammered because she could barely talk. But she didn’t want this to end. She didn’t want him to stop.
He stood up and she immediately missed the contact of his body. Darcy propped up on two elbows and watched him shuck off his shirt and cargo shorts. She couldn’t take her eyes off his abs. They were flat and muscled with ripples like a washboard. Seriously, he had the kind of stomach you only saw on men in exercise magazines after a great deal of airbrushing and photoshopping. How a person could be that fit was a mystery, especially given his doughnut intake. But she’d seen him in action. There was no physical activity Win didn’t do and didn’t do well. Including of course what they were doing now. She wasn’t the most experienced in the bedroom but she didn’t think it was farfetched to call him a masterful lover. He’d certainly rocked her world and she was getting the feeling that that had just been a preview of what he was capable of.
When he slipped off his underwear she sucked in a breath. Oh my! Even though he’d pressed his erection against her, seeing it now … well, it was thick and long and hard, and very impressive.
“Lay the other way,” he said because she was crossways and if she stayed that way his legs would hang off the edge of the bed.
She quickly scooted longways and he joined her, picking up where they’d left off. Except this time, they were both naked and the skin-to-skin contact was like a whole new aphrodisiac.
“I’m, uh, not on anything,” she said as he played with her breasts.
One hand slipped between her legs. “I’ve got you covered.”
Of course he did. The man probably had a closet full of condoms, which was good, she told herself. Exactly what she needed. A Don Juan to make her feel desirable and teach her the ropes. And with Win she was finding that she could let go of her inhibitions. Instead of judging, all he seemed to care about was making them both feel good. Cherished, even. It was liberating to be able to drop her guard, instead of feeling like someone was cataloging her every shortcoming. In fact, he emboldened her to be more outspoken, braver, even brazen. And …
She could no longer think because he was doing things to her that should’ve been indecent, except they were … wonderful. She whimpered as he rubbed his length against her.
A drawer scraped open, and he suited up and entered her a little harder and faster than she was expecting. She flinched.
“Shit.” He pulled out.
“No, no.” She tried to guide him back in. “Just go slow.”
He kissed the side of her throat and inch by inch slid in. “Better? I don’t want to hurt you.”
“It’s good.” She ran her hands over his back and felt his muscles bunch. “You can move a little more.”
“You sure?”
“Uh-huh.”
He picked up the pace, pistoning his hips. It felt so amazing she thought she might spontaneously combust. She tried to find a rhythm that would match his strokes and when she wrapped her legs around his waist he moaned. It made her feel sexy and just a little bit powerful.
He picked up speed, pumping harder. “Ah, jeez, that’s good. So good.”
“More,” she said because the fullness of him and the friction was driving her mad. This exceeded anything she could’ve imagined. And her hands began to slowly explore, touching all those hard-as-granite muscles and stroking all the parts of him that had intrigued her for so long.
“That’s … ah … keep going,” Win called out, giving her the courage to take the full tour of his body, feeling and weighing and kissing until they were both so worked up she thought they would detonate. “You’re killing me, woman,” he said, his voice trembling as if he were on the brink.
It made her heart smile. All those pent-up years of sexless nights had turned her into a wanton. And Win … Win was perfect. He made her feel perfect and sexy—and free.
He reached under her bottom and went deeper and harder, pulling out and pushing in over and over again. The tempo made her wild and she started thrashing her head from side to side, scraping her nails down his back and squeezing his firm, muscled ass until he was grunting. His caresses only heightened the pleasure, leaving her breathless.
And just like that she began to shatter. It was even more potent than the first time, her whole body shuddering while white stars exploded in her head. She couldn’t be sure but she thought she heard herself calling out his name.
A few seconds later, he threw his head back, his face taut with strain, and let himself go, collapsing on top of her in a heap. He was heavy but his weight felt good, like a warm blanket. And despite his climax, he was still hard inside of her. Summoning the last of his energy, he pumped a few more times, then slowly withdrew.
“You okay?” he said into her neck.
“Yes.” She was beyond okay. Fulfilled, sated, euphoric were just a few of the words that came to mind. And she was proud of herself for finally getting what she wanted, even if it was just for one night. “How about you?”
He lifted up on two hands, looked down at her, and curved his lips up into that signature heartbreaker smile of his. “Good. Really, really good, though you made me relapse.”
“Sorry about that.” But she wasn’t, not even one tiny drop. She actually wanted to howl at the moon, she was so happy.
“No worries. It was totally worth it. I’ll get back on the program tomorrow.” He winked. “Let me get rid of this.” He motioned to the condom and disappeared inside the bathroom.
She got up, collected her clothes, and started getting dressed. Her head was still muzzy and her body still thrummed and she never felt so satisfied in her life. Yes, it was good to be alive. And tomorrow she’d deal with the ramifications. But for now, she just
wanted to revel in the afterglow of incredible sex.
“What are you doing?” Win came out of the bathroom, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was stark naked. Either that or he had zero inhibitions, which was more likely the case. And why should he when he had the body of a Greek god? And the stamina of a bull.
“Getting dressed.”
“Why?” He swiped his shorts off the floor and put them on.
“So I can go.” She turned away from him for a modicum of privacy. Silly, since he’d gotten more up close and personal with her than any man ever. And he’d truly been turned on by her. No way could he be that good of an actor.
“Go? You don’t want to cuddle?”
She couldn’t tell if he was being facetious. That was the thing about Win, you never knew when he was joking or being serious. In this case, she strongly suspected sarcasm.
“Book club.” Darcy checked her watch. She was definitely going to be late.
“Jeez.” Win ran his hand through his bed hair and finished getting dressed. “You’re running off for that? I thought you’d at least buy me dinner.”
“Maybe next time.” She took one last longing look at his chest. It was simply cruel to put a man that beautiful on God’s green earth and set him free to destroy hearts wherever he went. At least she was made of stronger stuff.
She grabbed her purse off the ratty couch and took one more look at his newly cleaned apartment. Win followed her out to her Volkswagen. She started to get in her car, then did an abrupt about-face.
“Hey,” she said, catching up with him as he returned to his apartment, barefoot.
He turned and his lips curved up. “Already back for more?”
That arrogant smile, so quintessentially Win, tugged at her heart and she tried to tamp down a rush of tenderness that claimed her. On tiptoe, she stretched up and kissed him. “Thank you for rocking my world.”
She was surprised when he didn’t fire back with his usual bravado or make a wisecrack. Instead, he stood there, his hands shoved in his pockets, at a loss for words. If she didn’t know better she would’ve sworn there was a bit of rawness in his eyes. Finally, he said, “The pleasure was all mine,” and just like that he was back to being Win.
