by Mia Madison
There's no way I could stop this now even if I tried.
Chapter EIGHT
Carina
Every time Allie and Rachel giggle, I realize Jared Helmsley and I have been gazing at each other for an absolute age.
I fire a pointed glare at Allie, then grab my drink in the hope of covering my embarrassment. Really, sometimes having a crew along does you no favors. And in this case, it serves to underline what I'm trying to eradicate – the large age difference between the man I want more than anything on earth and me.
When he speaks, my gaze fixates on his full mouth, longing for it to be wrapped around the parts of me that won't stop pulsating. When his lips slowly twine around my name, I almost melt inside. His rough sand voice rolls out the three syllables like waves on a soft shore at sunset.
What would I give to feel that mouth on my neck? My lips. The aching tips of my nipples. Why the fuck does it have to matter how many years either of us has been living?
Jared Helmsley appears to have control of the room. And himself. He doesn't wave furiously for the waiter like the guys I've dated up to now. One small lift of his wrist and more drinks appear like magic. Allie and Rachel stop asking pointed questions and retreat into chatting between themselves.
I can't tell whether they realize I need this time with Jared for myself. It feels more like he and I have built some imaginary wall around us where only we exist. I wish we could stay in our secret garden forever.
My eyes are constantly dragged back to his mouth. What would it be like to kiss him? The stubble on his ice-cut jawline would definitely rough me up. That vivid image sets off quivers between my thighs which in turn sends hot redness up to my cheeks. And Jared lifts his gorgeous eyebrows when he observes my embarrassment. God I'm a dork. And he's so perfect a man, even his eyebrows deserve admiration.
But I can't forget how he refused to come to dinner. If he liked me, or had any inkling to see me again, he'd surely have made the effort. He must think I'm completely ridiculous finding my way to his hotel under a lame pretext. No wonder he can't stop smiling at me. It must be amusing to see some kid crushing all over him like he's a Hollywood celeb.
“Okay, Rufie is gonna be here in like, ten,” Allie says. “Parking's a bitch so he said to meet us downstairs at the entrance.”
“What?” I'm jolted out of latest thoughts of Jared Helmsley's tongue licking parts rarely touched by anyone other than myself. “You're leaving?”
“I can't struggle with these bags on transit. I texted Rufus and he said he had to come right away, he's got a game tonight.”
“Damn football.” Rachel mutters “It's on every single night.”
The next minutes fly by in a disarray of panic. I won't see Jared again. He refused dinner, I can't maneuver another excuse to stalk him at his hotel and he'll go back to wherever he came from without ever tasting the yearning I have for him. All too soon, Allie's gathering her bags. It's time to leave. Every part of me is rooted to the chair, refusing to budge. Rachel reaches for her wallet and Jared waves her away.
“My treat, ladies.”
“Thank you,” Allie and Rachel chorus while I remain mute.
“I'll take Carina home,” Jared suddenly announces, his hand coming down to cover mine like a warm sensuous clamp.
Allie's eyes snap to mine, round with kind of excessive shock, even for her.
“You're not coming?” she asks.
“She'll come with me,” Jared informs her with a masterful tone that no one would cross. “I was planning to visit my old college buddy, Todd, tonight anyway.”
“Oh, okay,” Allie relaxes when she gets that Jared really does know my parents. “Call me later,” she adds with a pointed flash of eyes that means don't do anything I wouldn't.
Which from the way she smiles at Jared when he unfolds from the chair, all six three of strapping muscle rising to cheek-kiss my friends goodbye, would be absolutely anything.
Jared remains standing as the two women leave. What a gentleman. You don't see that much now. When he sits back down I am suddenly stricken with a case of tongue tied in a double reef knot. He's so stunning I can't help but notice the other women in the bar taking a peek at him. What is he doing sitting here with me? A girl almost half his age who knows nothing, has done almost nothing.
“I have to admit I was hoping for this moment,” he says, his eyes delving straight through my pupils direct to my core which is clenching.
“This moment?” I repeat, breathily, like an ingenue in a play. So dumb.
“To be alone with you. Get to know you.”
“Me too.” I murmur.
He delves so far into my eyes I feel he knows all of me.
“You didn't come to dinner,” I say in a small whine. Shit.
He says nothing and continues stripping me back to my soul. My lungs get a little smaller with every breath so that I feel like I'm starting to pant. Jared on the other hand looks like an athletic god that never gets out of breath.
“I get it,” I start to blather. “You're busy.”
“I'm not busy,” he states. His voice rich as black treacle and smooth as hundred year old Scotch whiskey.
“I thought it for the best. In case things got out of control.”
What does he mean out of control? That he might start something with my dad because clearly there's some kind of history there. Or does he mean – us?
He wouldn't be wasting this time with me if there wasn't something happening. The room is crackling with the tension between us. I can't believe the entire bar isn’t aware of it.
“Maybe out of control would be interesting,” I murmur.
Jared swivels his mid-century modern chair to me and pulls mine around to face him. His legs stretch wide to encase my knees and I can't help but gaze at his powerful strapping thighs and then wonder about what's buried between them.
“Maybe out of control would be something I could learn from,” I say.
“It would be more than interesting,” he says. “Maybe something special. Something we'd both learn from.”
I swallow a gasp into the back of my throat when his palm clasps my ribs. The side of his thumb shelves the underside of my breast and my insides turn to warm chocolate, melting and gooey.
We're sitting in a public bar that's filling up fast so I have to stop myself from dragging his large hand higher up my torso to completely cover my swollen breast. With his palm holding me firm, he must be well aware of how fast I'm struggling for air, maybe even the rate my heart is pounding into his fist.
“I'd like that,” I almost whimper.
He smiles at me, the corners of his eyes creasing lightly as his lips curl up. He leans forward in his chair, close, closer so I think he's going to kiss me. My eyes flutter shut for a moment in breathless anticipation.
“I'd like that too,” he says.
Chapter NINE
I'm on the edge of my seat. Or I would be if Jared's legs weren't stretched around my chair, caging me in, holding my full attention, my eyes fixed on his.
Shivers run up and down my limbs as I wonder what happens now. Is he going to sign the check and then take my hand to lead me across to the elevators and up to his room? Will he wrap me into his arms once the doors slide closed on us and cover my mouth in a mind-blowing kiss? Is he going to lay me down on his bed and slowly remove all my clothes until I'm naked and totally bare to his gaze?
Being that vulnerable to Jared Helmsley is an exhilarating dream even though it's something I’ve never allowed with any other guy.
Jared isn't any other guy.
I want this.
Whatever it is, a one night quickie, a holiday fling. Because it can't be anything more when we live on opposite sides of the country. But somehow, right now, we've landed in the middle to meet at the perfect moment for this.
Whatever this is. I want it. And I'm confident now that he wants it too.
But instead of signaling for the check, he orders a bottle of wine and some tapas.
There's that sinking disappointment again. His hand leaves a palm print on my ribcage, growing cool now that the heat from his skin has vanished. I want to pull him back to face me. I want to bury my face into his neck and inhale the scent of him. I'm starving but not for Spanish snacks. I want to lick across his rough skin and explore every part of him with my tongue. And I need the same from him.
“Yes,” I murmur, unable to verbalize, outside of my filthy mind, exactly what I'm hungry for.
Much as I'd like to demand he fuck me right now, Jared isn't a man to take orders. I get the feeling he does things in his own sweet time. The problem is I might lose my mind if he takes too long.
A raft of small plates arrives not long after the wine, which is excellent. I'm no expert but even I can taste the difference in a good vintage. The food is no less exquisite. Jared holds up a calamari ring to my lips.
“Here, you have to try this.”
I wrinkle my nose. I only eat squid when it's heavily doused in crispy batter. He pops it into his luscious mouth, tempting me to dive in right behind it, then lifts another.
“Open up,” he insists with a playful grin. “If you don’t like it you can spit it out in my hand. I won't tell.”
I do as he says and a delicious array of taste sensations explodes across my tongue. When I force myself to chew, the meat is tender and not at all slimy.
“Wow, that was unexpected,” I say.
I realize I need to open up to everything Jared wants to share with me and not come with preloaded expectations other than trusting him they're going to be incredible.
I want to ask him to open up too. But I resist saying, 'So tell me all about yourself', as being a totally lame conversation starter and opt instead to drink him in, savoring one fine drop at a time.
“Mellie said you went to college together.”
Wrong. What the fuck is wrong with me that I had to highlight the one thing that's holding him back from me as far as I can see. Do not bring up the age difference.
“We did,” he says, without a wince. “Todd and I were on the football team together. Mellie I don't remember if I'm honest.”
He leaves out the 'It was so long ago' part but it hangs there anyway. At least he said 'Todd' and not 'your dad' which would have made me feel hopelessly young. I want to say I don't care about years but that seems like it would only make it even more pronounced.
“So have you been to the gallery?” I change tack desperately, trying to get us on an even playing field before the age thing grows two heads.
“Not for a while, since it opened. Do you like art?”
“I love it. My favorite is the guy who does light installations. Just a few colored bulbs create an entire world.”
“Dan Flavin,” he says. “One of my faves too.”
I am so relaxed sitting with Jared in the turntable womb-like chairs, chatting about every little thing. He knows so much and has all-encompassing interests. When I bring up a book in the latest litRPG genre, he's heard of it and has no qualms about asking me to explain it to him. And all about pokemon-go which I admit to being crazy over for about two weeks. He's cool with letting me know something more than he does. Not like most guys who are always shouting over top of me and telling me what to think.
It's dark out when Jared finally gets the check. I can't believe almost six hours has whipped by like six minutes. When I stand and allow him to help me on with my coat, quivers of anticipation curl through my tummy. I don't need my coat if we're going upstairs. I'm totally ready for this. The tops of my thighs are damp I notice, my panties wet through with how ready I am.
He takes my hand and leads me through the crowded bar toward the elevator almost exactly as I imagined earlier. When he pulls me into the car going down, I snatch my hand away from him with a sulk protruding my lower lip. His eyes search mine and force them to remain buried, as he reaches for my hand again with a smile. The pout remains on my face. Instead of up, he's taking me to the lobby to show me the door.
We get out but Jared waits, one hand holding the elevator, the other holding me in his grasp. The crowd of people piles out then he tugs me back in. The doors slide shut again and as they press their last inch, that point when some latecomer could insert themselves, he drags me into his arms.
His mouth takes mine hungrily and I fall against him, my tits mashing against the rock solid wall of his bulging chest. His hands wrap my entire body, gripping me firmly as mine are everywhere, clawing at him, tugging him to me with all the needy desire I've pent up for the last week. His tongue controls my mouth, delving deeper with every commanding probe.
I want to suck him all in, the delicious taste of him, the slightly leathery aroma of his skin. His upper arms are hard swells of undulating muscle I could stroke and dig my fingertips into for a year and never have enough. Hungry, ravenous, I push my pelvis into his thighs and feel the diamond hard bulge pressing back against me.
I'm about to tear at his jeans to free the cock I'm dying to hold when the elevator doors slide gently back and we face the amused stares of three middle-aged guests waiting in the parking lot. Smooth as satin, Jared takes my hand again and leads me out, politely greeting the hotel clients before walking me through the lot toward a low-slung, futuristic-looking car the color of burnt oranges.
Chapter TEN
Jared
Kissing Carina has me pumped up like a frat boy. If I weren’t in peak condition, still as ripped as when I played pro football, heart attacks might cross my mind from the fucking pounding against my chest. Plus my cock is a freaking bull in the ring, pawing at the dust to be set roaring free.
I swear to all things sinful, if we weren't in a public elevator with only two floors to travel before the doors open, I'd have stripped her naked and claimed her delectable little body as mine right there. What the hell is she doing to me?
I'm no kid and even when I was one, I don't remember this blood-burning desire pumping at my muscles, urging me to bury myself deep inside a woman. At least not like this. I need to fuck this girl so hard but equally I need to keep her with me. I want to know her and share each day. When was the last time I sat in a bar and talked to a woman for more than fifteen minutes? Not in this decade.
The delicate blush on her cheek, whenever she looked at me with the soft stare of desire, told me I could have taken her upstairs as soon as her friends left us. And much as I wanted to with every throbbing blood cell, I needed to see more of her first. Every last thing about who she is. I wanted to draw out the delectable knowing of her so that when I finally slide inside her soft warmth, she won't be able to let me go.
She comes with me wherever I lead her, her body willing to trust me completely. When I brought her into the elevator her frown of confusion turned into a pout I wanted to bite off her lower lip. I wanted to tell her, 'We have time, my darling baby'. All the time in the world to relish the sensation of knowing the other. I even found myself wanting to admit my problem to her.
But I held back. Not wanting to scare her off. Sucking up the adoration I see in her gaze and desiring nothing more than to see that grow and swell out of control. So that when I finally lay her down, naked and breathless, she'll scream my name and beg me to stay with her forever.
When we get caught kissing on the elevator, Carina becomes giddy with excitement. Her little hand holds mine tightly as we walk across the parking garage and she reaches around to clasp my bicep with the other. I look down at her and I can't hold back. I don't think I'll ever be able to hold back.
I bring her in front of me so she's caged between the car and my body. Her pert lips turn upwards as I bend forward. She knows what's coming and she wants me to know she's ready. More than ready. Her body unfolds like so many petals. Her back arches over the low slung curve of my car so her breasts press up into my chest.
Fuck, I want to pull her coat open, her top, and pull h
er gorgeous tits out of her bra. I clasp the firm contour of her waist and stretch her so she's spread open to me. Then I bend down and cover her with my body so every inch of her is pressed into me.
We stand there for fuck knows how long. My tongue pinning hers, tasting every corner of her divine mouth. She smells like candy apples. And a hint of something floral that makes happiness flow through me. That makes me probe deeper into her mouth, hungry to extract every part of her, drink her up, claim her as mine only. Carina moans into my lips and arches her back harder, pressing her luscious tits into my abs, begging me for more.
I pull back then. Before her need pushes mine over the edge. I'd love to fuck her right here in the parking lot, spread across the top of my Aventador. But I reach into my pocket and hit the remote. Then wrap my arms around her to shift us to one side as the car door slides up like a wing.
“Wow,” she breathes as I put her inside. She looks hotter than a supermodel sitting in the exotic car.
“Sorry, it is a bit flashy,” I say, climbing in beside her.
“It's amazing. Is it a Lamborghini? You didn't drive this from San Francisco?” she asks as we exit the hotel lot, the vehicle's unique low roar already attracting stares.
“It's a rental.” It crosses my mind to keep driving out to the coast now. To carry her off and keep her with me.
“I didn’t know you could rent cars like this.”
I own the company actually. We rent exotic sportscars across the States.” I don't need to brag about having a stable of them in my personal garage.
“You own it?”
“I should say it’s one I invested in as a startup.”
“So you're like a shark?” she laughs.
A shard of panic hits my gut. That she thinks I'm some kind of predator would be unbearable.
“You know like the TV show.”
“Oh.” Relief hits me like a shot of opium. “I don't get to watch much TV.”
“Really? I love bingeing Netflix.” Her little hand covers mine as I shift gear. Like she can't keep from touching me. I move my thumb to hold her there, stapled to me. Like I can't let her go.
