He came toward her slowly. “Are you afraid of me?”
“A little. But I’m more turned on than afraid.” She wanted to take back the words the second they slipped past her lips. How could she say something like that?
He stopped in front of her and slid one hand into her hair while the other still covered his groin. He pulled her into a kiss.
Immediately, the heat overtook her. She leaned closer, the fieriness of his body making her hotter still. She pressed her lips against his, slipping her tongue in his mouth in exchange for his. Her breathing grew heavier, and she wished she didn’t have so many clothes on.
He let go of his crotch and put his other hand at her back, pulling her still closer. She could feel his hardness pressing against her, making her wet with desire. He pushed against her and growled in her ear.
“Want to see how much of an animal I really am?” he whispered in her ear.
She moaned in response and he reached down, sliding his hand under her panties. He slipped one finger inside her, and she dug her nails into his back, growling back at him. He kissed along her neck, stopping to tug on her earlobe with his teeth before biting at her neck and shoulders.
He grasped the edge of her shirt and pulled up slowly, letting the soft fabric brush against her skin as he lifted it. She raised her arms overhead and when her shirt was at her elbows, he pulled down, trapping her arms behind her back, tangled in her shirt.
She let out another moan as he popped her breasts free from her bra and sucked at her nipples. She struggled against her restraints, wanting to grab him and caress him as he touched her.
He unzipped her pants slowly. He pulled them down inch by inch. She tried to step out of them sooner, or to push them down, but he stopped her. He rubbed his dick against her panties, her wetness soaking through. She pushed her hips forward, trying to make him press against her harder.
She struggled again to pull her arms free, but he held her wrists tight. “What do you think you’re trying to do?”
“I want to touch you,” she said.
“Do you?”
She nodded.
“Then get on your knees.”
She did as he said and eagerly took all of him into her mouth. She licked and sucked at the tip of his cock, every one of his moans of pleasure making her suck him faster and harder. He pulled back from her and turned her around, getting onto his knees behind her.
Her hands were still tangled in her shirt, but they hung behind her, and she could just reach him to stroke him while he ran his hands over her body. He pinched her nipples, then he slipped under her panties and pressed a finger inside her. She was ready to burst in bliss. As if he knew this, he pulled his hand away and kissed her neck, leaving her wet with longing.
He leaned her forward, bending her over. With his teeth, he slid her panties down to her knees, then used his tongue on her. He pushed it in deep until she moaned, then flicked around her lips.
When he pulled back, she cried out in yearning. “Please,” she whimpered.
“Say it again.” He rubbed against her, but refused to enter her yet.
“Please,” she begged.
He thrust hard inside her. She almost screamed in ecstasy. He growled loudly and pinched her nipples, slamming hard and fast into her.
The room around her spun. Each time he shoved deeper inside her, a wave of bliss flooded over her, threatening to take her down. He purred in her ear.
“Are you close?” he asked.
“Yes,” she moaned.
“Not yet.”
He slid out of her, then rubbed her in circles. She whimpered in response. He teased her, pressing in, then pulling out, pushing in only halfway. He squeezed her breasts and flicked his fingertips over her clit. She reached back for him, but he kept out of her grasp.
When she couldn’t take it anymore, he grabbed her hips and pounded her deep and hard. She cried out as the pleasure ran through every nerve in her body, crashing over her in one long wave. She quivered under him as he thrust in several more times, cried out in a roar, and fell to the ground beside her.
She panted and her ears rang. If she opened her eyes, the room would spin. She kept them closed and curled up beside him, running her fingers through the small curls of hair on his chest. He put an arm around her, dragging his fingertips up and down her arm as he breathed.
They were both so sticky with sweat, him from the fight before, then from their passionate love making.
“Want to join me in the shower?” she asked.
He smiled. “That’d be great.”
She led him upstairs and started the water. She washed him, taking care in the places he had cuts from the fight. He dug his fingers into her hair, rubbing the shampoo in and massaging her scalp. When they’d finished washing, they dried in the bathroom. She put ointment on his cuts and he slathered lotion onto her back.
They slid under the smooth, cool sheets of her bed and fell asleep curled into each other.
Blair rolled over and found her bed empty. She sat up and looked around. Had he left?
She slid out of bed and wrapped her robe around her. She was halfway downstairs when she smelled the coffee and eggs. In the kitchen, he stood naked in front of the stove. She wrapped her arms around him from behind, covering his groin with her hand.
“That’s kinda dangerous, don’t you think? One grease splatter…”
“Then, I guess you’ll have to keep your hand there.”
She chuckled and kissed his shoulder and neck as he flipped the eggs in the pan. Before they sat down to eat, she ran out to his car to get his clothes.
“You don’t have to put them on yet, though,” she said, winking at him.
He let them fall to the floor as they sat to eat. “Guess I owe you a new coffee table.”
She looked over at the two pieces lying on their side. “It looks like a wild animal was set lose in here.” She pulled her lips into a grin.
“I’ll clean up.”
After breakfast, he kept his word. He helped her scrub the blood from the floor, replaced the broken lightbulb in the lamp, and swept the pieces of broken glass from a fallen picture frame. By the time he left, the place looked somewhat livable again.
Months later, Blair popped open a bottle of champagne and poured two glasses.
“I have you to thank for this,” she said to Dax.
“Just a little creative marketing.”
She looked again at the sales book, at the huge numbers that proved the store had the best quarter of its history. A true accomplishment for her and her career. The local organic spin had taken off. With Daxton’s help, she’d found suppliers for many products and now, fully half of the products on the shelves were made locally. Of the other half, only a small percentage were not organic or whole foods. She’d cornered a specific audience and they loved her store for it.
They hadn’t seen or heard from any of the men who’d come after Daxton. Though, one time he thought he saw one in a building supply store. He didn’t know for sure because the man had run off quickly.
Blair had hired back the employees she’d laid off and even hired a few new ones, including a security guard. Daxton’s honey and soap sold well. She gave both products large displays and prominent places. The other local honey hadn’t done well at all, and she’d asked the woman who brought it in to come pick up her product. There was only one honey that Mason’s would sell from now on.
Dax winked at her as he poured some of his moonshine into their glasses. She giggled and took a sip, the sweet honey whiskey giving a kick to the fizzy champagne.
“There’s one other thing we’re celebrating tonight,” he said.
“There is?”
“Yup. It’s the first time I said I love you.”
She set her glass down to kiss him. “Do you really?”
“I do. I love you,” he said, kissing her again. “And I love your hot body,” he whispered.
“Hmm,” she said, looking around her offic
e. “We’ve never done it in here.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
They began kissing heavily until he turned her around and bent her over the desk. Lucky she was wearing a skirt today. He slid up her skirt and pulled down her panties and shoved deep inside her. In only minutes, they both cried out in pleasure and she fell into his arms.
“I like when you take your time,” she said. “But sometimes, there’s nothing like a quickie to end the day right.”
“We’ll have to remember that next we have a ‘business meeting.’”
“Maybe we’ll just need to schedule ‘business meetings’ a lot more regularly.”
“I like the way you think.” He rubbed his nose against hers, purring softly.
“I love you, too,” she said, realizing she hadn’t told him earlier. “And your wild animal ways.”
He growled at her and she growled back, then wrapped herself around him and refused to let go.
Knox
120 Proof Honey II
by
Becca Fanning
Jasmine looked across the desk as the agency employee typed into her computer. Her feeling of unease deepened as the woman kept clicking and clicking.
“Well, Jasmine. To be honest, as I’m entering in your information, there’s not much you’re qualified for. You don’t have any work experience or schooling. All you have is your experience as a housewife.”
The irony wasn’t lost on Jasmine. “Then how do I get experience?”
“You start out low and work your way up or you get some education.”
Jasmine let out a long breath, swallowing hard so the tears wouldn’t rush to her eyes. “Is there anything you can find me?”
“We’ll find something.” She gave Jasmine a resigned look. “It’ll probably involve cleaning, however. Most of those jobs don’t ask for much experience, if any.”
“Okay, that’s fine. I just need something.”
She finished typing and turned to her. “I should have some interviews set up for this week.”
Jasmine left the employment agency feeling deflated. If she hadn’t gotten married so young, or listened to her parents who said you don’t need college, just a good man, then maybe she wouldn’t be in this position. Maybe she would go back to school. But for what? She felt like a little kid asking herself, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Later that day, the phone rang with the number from the employment agency.
“I have an interview for you,” the woman said. “It’s a housekeeping position for a group of five men who live and work together. They’re looking for someone to come in everyday to do things like dishes, laundry, vacuuming, dusting, and other basic cleaning.”
“Okay, that sounds great!”
“Great. I’ll set up the interview for tomorrow then.”
Jasmine hung up, both nervous and excited. This was her first interview, her first time stepping out on her own to be responsible for things like bills. She scoured through her few items of clothing and put together a decent outfit for the next day.
Jasmine stepped off the bus and looked at her directions. She’d gone online to look at maps so she’d know where to go once she got off her bus. It took about twenty minutes to walk there, which was what she had planned. With a deep breath, after smoothing out her skirt, she knocked on the door.
A tall blond-haired man answered the door. She was a bit shocked at first, not expecting someone so close to her age, or someone so good looking and so big in size. With his thick muscles and long hair, he was nothing like her lanky ex. His eyes, too, bore deep into her when he held her gaze and they were an odd sparkling gold. He was her opposite in many ways. She was small and petite, long black hair and an olive-toned complexion. She’d spent so much time around Persian men—her father, brothers, cousins, uncles, and then, of course, her ex, that she didn’t realize someone of such a fair complexion could be so sexy.
She gulped and said, “Hi, I’m Jasmine, the employment agency sent me?”
“Yup, come on in.” He stepped aside and held the door open. “I’m Knox. This is my brother, Beck.” He gestured to a man very similar in appearance.
Knox led her to a chair beside the sofa. She sat and took a quick look around. The hardwood floors looked dusty, the coffee table had rings and crumbs. She could see into the kitchen and it looked like the dishes were piled high. A house of five men. Did she really know what she was getting herself into?
When she brought her attention back to them, Knox was staring at her. Beck looked down at a sheet of paper. His hair was shorter than Knox’s, though it hung in his face. He didn’t have Knox’s perfect thin nose, but he did have the same golden eyes. She looked back at Knox for a moment, but had to let her gaze fall when her cheeks went warm.
“So, Jasmine is it?” Beck asked.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“What experience do you have cleaning?”
She had been afraid of this question, though she fully expected it. “Well, I’ve cleaned my house for six years now, but I don’t have any employment experience just yet. To be honest, I’m new in the work force and I’m trying to gain experience. But I clean very well.” The woman at the agency had told her it was best just to be honest and that people may have sympathy for someone just starting out.
Beck nodded, made a note, and Knox watched her.
Beck continued, “We’re looking for someone to come every day. Can you do that?”
“Yes, absolutely. I’m looking for full-time work.”
“You do know there are five men who live here,” Knox asked. “We can be very messy. Is that a problem?”
“Not at all,” Jasmine said.
Knox smiled.
Beck glanced at Knox, then asked, “What about references?”
“References?”
“Someone who can vouch for your work ethic and ability, or even your character,” Beck said.
“Oh, I…” The only one who would know about her cleaning ability would be her ex or her family. No way would she list her ex, and her family was all in Iran. She had made a friend at the shelter where she was staying. “Would a personal reference be okay?”
“Sure,” Beck said. “What are the names and phone numbers?” He held a pen, ready to write.
“Her name is Sarah. I don’t know her phone number off the top of my head, but I can get it for you.”
“Okay.”
Was it just her, or did this Beck sound exasperated? She swallowed hard, ignoring the way her throat was growing thick. She glanced over at Knox and he smiled at her.
“What do you think your best skills are?” Beck asked.
“Well, I’m very punctual, I clean well, and I’m friendly. I work very hard.”
Beck nodded and made more notes on his paper. “We have several other applicants,” he said. “What sets you apart from all the others?”
Jasmine felt the panic rise in her throat. There was nothing that set her apart. She had no experience, no good references, nothing to prove that she could do this job well. She wasn’t even so sure of her own skill, to be honest. Nothing was ever clean enough for her ex, so maybe she wasn’t even very good at that. She glanced over at Knox again, who gave her an encouraging look.
Jackson (BBW Secret Baby Bear Shifter Romance) (Secret Baby Bears Book 3) Page 83
