by Mari Carr
“In fact,” Pop wiped his mouth and turned to Riley, “it’s time you and I got downstairs to give Ewan and Tris a hand, missy. The lunch rush is probably gearing up by now.”
“You’re leaving? Now?” Teagan asked, cursing the alarm in her voice.
Pop looked at her strangely while Riley rolled her eyes with frustration. “Later, sis,” she said dismissively, shooing her father along.
Clearly Riley was not going to be helpful in her attempts to fight temptation in regards to Sky Mitchell. She watched Sky as he rose from the counter with a wicked grin on his face. Yep, he had her number all right.
“Don’t look so scared, gypsy. I’m not the Big Bad Wolf and I’ll only bite when you beg me to.”
He continued coming toward her and she fought against taking a step away. “Don’t hold your breath, rock star. Pleading is something you’ll never hear from these lips.” She grinned, pleased with the strength of her denial. She could do this.
He reached out and pulled her toward him. She reached up, intent on grasping his ear, but he’d grown wise to that move and he captured her hands, pulling them behind her back. Her breasts were pressed flat to his chest and she wondered why the fear that had plagued her since dawn suddenly evaporated. Something about being held in Sky’s arms felt right, comforting. God, she really was lost.
“Sky.” She meant the word to be chastising, but it fell short of that mark when his intent became clear. He swallowed her next breath with his lips, claiming her mouth in a manner that was the complete opposite of last night’s easy explorations. Today, he laid siege, plundering and demanding her surrender. He wasn’t taking prisoners. He was playing to win.
She fought against his grip on her wrists until he relinquished her hands. Once free, she wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his thick, dark hair. Her touch spurred him on and she felt him pushing her backward, toward the couch. Neither of them came up for air as she lay on her back on the sofa, Sky’s large frame covering hers in an instant. Every part of their bodies touched as he continued his assault on her lips. His hands moved under her blouse and she gasped when he enveloped the sensitive globes with his palms, pushing against her tight nipples until she wanted to scream. The sensations he evoked with his lips and hands traveled down her body and her hips gyrated wildly against his denim-clad cock, her pussy demanding attention.
One of his hands left her breast and she whimpered until she felt the material of her skirt being lifted. Sky’s hand brushed the side of her thigh and she felt the knowledge of what he intended to do crash down on her.
Holy hell. What was she doing?
“Stop.” She turned her head to the side, fighting to say the word when his lips descended on her neck. “Sky. Please stop.”
Her words, stronger this time, seemed to penetrate through the thick sexual air that surrounded and threatened to choke them. He leaned up on his elbows, the sensuous feeling of his weight on her body driving her mad.
No, she thought.
“No,” she said.
“No?” he asked, clearly confused by the multitude of mixed signals she was sending. She’d let things go way too far.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I just can’t do this. Not with you. Not here. Not now.”
He seemed to consider her words and she was relieved when a crooked, amused grin covered his face. “Maybe I am the Big Bad Wolf. I sort of jumped on you, didn’t I?”
“I wasn’t exactly fighting you off. Guess I’d make a lousy Little Red Riding Hood.”
“I don’t know,” Sky said as he pushed himself away from her. She missed the sensation of him lying on top of her the instant he reached down to pull her into a sitting position. “You sure do have the coloring for the part.”
They sat together on the couch in silence for several moments and Teagan sensed he was trying as hard as she was to pull it together, to beat down the horny beasts clamoring for release.
“I don’t jump into bed with strangers,” she said when the silence became unbearable. Then she instantly regretted her words, realizing how they sounded. “I mean, I’m not implying that you do. I’m just saying that I don’t.”
“I understand, Teagan. In fact, I think with that line you sort of solidified my respect for you. It’s been growing since last night and dammit, now you’ve got it—hook, line and sinker.”
She laughed at his apparent disgruntlement. “Respect is a bad thing?”
“I really want to fuck you.”
“Now you’ve lost me.”
“I got out of a shitty relationship a while back. Since then, I’ve been keeping my affairs light, emotionless. Rather disrespectful of me, I guess you could say.”
“Not if the women you were—” She struggled to find her next word. She was certain Sky was discussing sex, but she couldn’t bring herself to imagine him with another woman in that way. “If the women you were dating knew it was all just for fun, then that’s not really disrespectful.”
“They knew where I stood,” he said. “I just don’t think that stopped them from wanting and hoping for more.”
“Ah, I see.” She’d been right to stop him. Her body was currently reading her the riot act, but her mind was sighing with relief. She’d obviously had a near miss because, after talking to Sky, she knew there was no way she could give her body to him and hope to retain her pride as well.
But, dammit, she was chomping at the bit to learn more. Riley was right. There was no doubt in her mind Sky could teach her all sorts of things she desperately wanted to learn. “I think I may be in over my head here.”
“Join the club,” he murmured.
The awkward silence descended again.
“So what do we do now?” she asked.
“Now, I guess we write music.”
* * * * *
When Sky glanced out the window, he was startled to realize night had fallen. He and Teagan had thrown themselves into their work and it dawned on him the pent-up passion of their unfinished interlude this afternoon seemed to have made its way out and onto the pages before them.
Teagan wasn’t just a good songwriter. She was a brilliant one. He’d worked with countless musicians in the past, but none of them had her talent, her ability to create words and melodies that jumped off the page. He was also enthralled by her skill with the guitar. He’d spent the better part of the day watching her fingers strum the strings with a soft touch that left his cock stiff as a pike. A few minutes in the shower would have relieved at least a bit of his need, but he couldn’t make himself leave her for even that long. He was afraid of breaking the spell surrounding them. He’d written more music in the past six hours than he had in the last six months. She’d broken through his writer’s block and he felt rejuvenated, refreshed, ready to take on the world. They’d made decent headway on at least three songs and he was certain each and every one of them would be a hit.
She put the guitar down and reached up, kneading her neck in an attempt to rub out some of the stiffness. He rose and stepped behind her, massaging the kinks.
She leaned her head forward and groaned. “I can’t tell you how good that feels.”
He grinned, and then looked toward the stairs that led to the pub below. Her siblings had come up at various points during the day. Riley had brought them both a plate of tonight’s dinner special. He looked at the empty plates on the coffee table and tried to remember consuming the food. At the time, they’d been so engrossed on finessing the words of the chorus they’d been working on, he honestly couldn’t recall now what they’d eaten.
“What time is it?” she muttered as he continued to rub her delicate neck. She was soft, her skin so pale she was almost translucent. He glanced at the clock on the wall.
“Just after ten.”
“Pop and Riley should be up in a bit,” she said. “Tris and Ewan will keep the pub open until midnight. Guess we should clean up.”
He looked around at the living room. “How the hell did it
get so messy?”
She laughed. “You seem to share my bad habit of scattering paper everywhere when you write. My family goes mad when I’m in the zone because I tend to lay waste to every room in the apartment.”
“In the zone? Is that where we were?”
“Wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess it was. I generally do my writing alone. I don’t think I’ve ever been in the zone with another person.” He had composed a few lighthearted numbers with the other members of The Universe, typically when they were drinking on the tour bus and feeling punchy late at night. They’d even released a couple of them and they were quite popular party songs. All the serious music the band performed, he’d written on his own.
“I’ve never been there with someone else either.” She rose from her chair and turned to face him. “It was nice having the company in there.” She rose up on tiptoe to place a soft kiss on his cheek. For reasons he couldn’t explain, the platonic nature of her light buss pissed him off. When she began to retreat, he reached out and pulled her back to him, roughly.
“Sky.”
“There are limits to everything, gypsy.” They were nose to nose, but he refused to let her go.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You don’t want to have sex. We won’t. But that doesn’t mean I won’t kiss you. Real kisses. I have limits, too, and the main one is I can’t sit beside you day in and day out and not touch you. It’s just not possible.” He bent down and punctuated his words with a hard, deep kiss.
“So we’re going to draw a line in the sand and hope the tide doesn’t wash it away? I don’t think I can handle this, Sky. I’m not as experienced at casual affairs as you are.”
“Even if I promise it’ll be fun?”
She laughed at his joke, as he’d intended. He wasn’t about to get into a discussion of casual anything with her. For one thing, he was really starting to like her, which was playing havoc with his plans to seduce her. He hadn’t lied about respecting her. She was one of the most genuinely giving people he’d ever met. Her work at the preschool and the nursing home proved that and he’d spent most of the morning listening to her sister and pop sing her praises. The funny thing was, he didn’t think they even knew they were doing it. They’d just drop these little tidbits about Teagan into normal conversation without realizing they were drawing a picture in his mind of an incredibly kind woman.
Teagan needs to find someone else to serve at the soup kitchen Saturday.
Did Teagan remember to take back the laundry she’d done for the widow across the street who’d had her water turned off?
Mrs. O’Malley called to see if Teagan would pick up a prescription for her on the way home from the preschool.
All day long he’d listened to their commonplace chatter and with each word, he found himself more and more fascinated. He nuzzled his nose into her neck, breathing in her scent—honeysuckle?
“You’re incorrigible, Sky.”
“Incorrigible in a ‘you can’t keep you hands off me’ kind of way?”
“Argh,” she groaned. “Why do I have the sneaking suspicion if I looked up ‘player’ in the dictionary, I’d find a picture of you?”
“If that’s true, then it merely proves my point. This will be fun. Play with me, Teagan.” His words came out more seriously than he’d intended. He’d meant to keep things light and fun and he fully intended to ignore the part of him that said he wanted to be closer to her for reasons far more important than just sex.
“I want a promise from you, Sky,” she said, resisting him when he tried to pull her in for another kiss.
“What promise?”
“Promise you won’t let things go too far. I mean, I know how to say no—”
“So I’ve learned,” he interjected.
She grinned. “Promise you’ll always stop when I say we’ve gone far enough.”
He loosened his grip on her waist, reaching instead for her hands. “Teagan, I would never take advantage of you. Never take you without your consent. I promise.”
“Okay. Teach me something fun.”
Her words—followed up by her lips rubbing against his cheek—opened the floodgates and the desires he’d been holding at bay all day emerged with a vengeance.
“What about your pop and sister?” he asked.
She glanced back at the clock. “It’s ten fifteen. The restaurant closes in fifteen minutes and then they’ll clean up. We have about an hour.”
He grinned, thinking of all the things he could do to her in an hour. “Just the same, I’d prefer to give us a bit of leeway should they finish early.” He took her hand and led her to her bedroom. It was tidy and tastefully decorated considering how different she and Riley were. He’d almost expected to find a line drawn down the middle, one side covered in peace signs and flowers, the other decorated with pictures of naked men on Harleys.
“Which bed is yours?” he asked.
When she hesitated, he touched her face, drawing her gaze to him. “I meant what I said. I stand by my promises.”
She pointed to the twin bed on the right and he shook his head. It was going to be a tight fit. He let her lead him to the bed, nearly choking when she sat down in front of him. Her face was level with his cock and he watched with disbelief as she reached up to stroke him through the tight jeans.
“Looks crowded in there,” she said, grinning up at him.
“Yeah, well, it’s gonna have to stay crowded. You let him out and all bets are off. Tonight is about teaching you how to play. How to have fun.”
She looked as if she wanted to argue so he cut her off at the pass, kneeling before her and pulling her into a long, wet kiss. He loved the taste and texture of her mouth. Her soft lips and sweet smells reminded him of Sunday dinners at home after months spent on the road. Her hands caressed his face and he savored the rough feel of the calluses left on her fingertips from years of playing the guitar.
He decided to do a bit of exploring and slowly slid his hands beneath her loose shirt, his palms itching to hold her breasts again. They filled his hands nicely, the perfect size, and he swallowed her cries when he lightly cupped and squeezed the fleshy mounds. He continued the kiss, playing with her breasts until the temptation, the need to see them, grew too great.
“I’m going to take off your shirt,” he whispered when he pulled his lips away to taste her cheeks, her neck. Grasping the hem, he pulled the filmy material over her head and was greeted by the vision of some of the sexiest underwear he’d ever seen.
“Jesus,” he murmured, a smile escaping as he studied her deep violet and pink bra. Her breasts were pushed up and peeking over the top. She was a veritable rainbow even under her clothing. A flush covered her chest and he glanced up at her face, watching as the blush colored her cheeks as well.
She put her hands on her face to hide it. “Curse of a true redhead. Damn blushing.”
“I like it,” he admitted. It had been a long time since he’d made a woman blush. The innocence of the gesture was captivating.
“The bra or the blush?” she asked, her voice laced with humor.
“Both, Ruby.”
She giggled at his irreverent use of her father’s pet name. “Leave it to you to take something sweet and innocent and twist it into something completely sexual.”
He slipped the straps of her bra off her shoulders, tugging the lacy material down until her rosy nipples slipped out. “Jackpot,” he whispered. She started to laugh, but the sound was cut off on a harsh gasp when he took one of the tight nubbins into his mouth and sucked.
“Oh God,” she said. Her hands clasped his head, her fingers threading through his hair almost painfully. It was clear she didn’t know what she was doing, but he felt even more blood rush to his rock-hard cock. Damn, but he loved it rough. He sucked on her nipple harder and was rewarded with a sexy groan. He reached up and pinched her other nipple, wondering if she would be averse to a bit of the rough stuff herself. She threw her head ba
ck as he squeezed and he wondered for a moment if she wasn’t actually on the verge of an orgasm.
“Teagan?” he asked.
“That feels so good,” she said before he could question her response. “No one’s ever—”
Her words faded away on a loud gasp when he repeated the motion. He switched sides, sucking on the opposite breast. When he nipped at the tight tip, she nearly bucked off the bed. The woman was a firecracker, poised and ready to blow.
He moved quickly, dragging his hands under her skirt while sucking on her breast. He wondered if she realized what he was doing until she spread her legs apart, offering herself to his wandering fingers.
He could feel the dampness of her pussy through her panties, but he didn’t trust himself to remove them from her completely so he merely thrust the material between her legs aside, dragging two fingers along her drenched slit.
She trembled and moaned, but he was determined to hold to his promise. “Teagan.”
Her head rested on his shoulder, her body shaking with need. He wanted to give her what she wanted, but he had to be sure. “Teagan, look at me.”
She lifted her head, the green in her eyes reminding him of a forest at dawn. “I want to make you come with my fingers. Just my fingers, I promise.”
“Hurry,” she whispered and he grinned. He kissed her lightly as he slowly pushed one finger into her pussy. She cried out and he marveled at how tightly she clamped his finger. For a moment, he cursed the promise he’d made. This woman would feel like heaven around his cock.
He pushed his hips against her bed, trying to find some pressure for himself, something to relieve the ache building in his balls. He pulled his finger out and added a second, using the two digits to slowly fuck Teagan into oblivion. It only took a few shallow thrusts and the pressure of his thumb on her clit to push her over. Her climax seemed to radiate from every part of her body as she trembled in his arms. Her inner muscles throbbed almost painfully against his fingers and he pressed his cock into her bed frame harder, her orgasm threatening to push him into one of his own.
