by Joya Ryan
Wow, impressive suite. She didn’t want to think about how much this had cost. Her single room on the second floor barely had enough room for the bed but had cost a pretty penny. Whatever this guy did, he seemed to be successful.
I wonder if his bathtub’s big enough for two…
“Would you like anything to drink or eat?” he asked. She looked at him, at the shadows playing over his chiseled jaw. He was quite a sight. Over six feet tall, since she had to look up at him, which was awesome.
But what had taken her by surprise a bit more was his demeanor. He’d asked her questions, like he actually gave a damn, or at least understood her on some level. Which was crazy, because they were strangers. What did he care? Her ex had known her for years and had never thought she merited more than polite inquiry.
But the look in this man’s eyes said that even if this was just for one night, he wasn’t her ex. The moment of silence that had passed between them when they’d both admitted to their shortcomings in so many words had been…
Heartbreaking.
No, she wasn’t broken. Refused to be. She could take care of herself. Things would be fine.
People fucked her over all the time. This wasn’t news. She just hadn’t lost so much in such a short time before.
Stop.
She’d spent too much time steeling herself against the truth of the world. Tonight, she needed to get lost from reality for a while. And she knew the perfect way to do that.
“What I’d like is for you to take your shirt off,” she said.
He looked at her, gauging her seriousness. Oh, if only he knew how serious she was. She raised a brow and stepped back, getting a better view of his entire body.
“Yes ma’am,” he said. He reached behind his neck and grabbed the collar of his shirt, then tugged it over his head, down his arms, and off. Just the motion of him taking off his shirt turned her on. But what lay beneath? Iceberg didn’t begin to describe it.
“Wow,” she whispered, taking in both his sheer size and perfection. The tattoos that she’d gotten a peek of took up the entirety of his biceps and even crossed into his chest. Every inch of him was chiseled muscle. His torso had the finest set of cut abs she’d ever seen, leading to low slung jeans and a worn black leather belt.
And the piercings she’d been so eager to investigate? He had studs in both of his nipples.
Yeah…wow indeed.
And she wanted to get lost in that wow.
She took a couple of steps forward and stopped in front of him. “Stay still,” she commanded, and he obeyed. Which was amazing, because she could feel the alpha dominance rolling off of him. Yet he let her lead. And she so needed to lead right now.
If this was a sign of how in sync they’d be in bed, tonight was going to be full of fireworks.
She ran her hands up his torso. Every part of him was hard and grooved. When her palms brushed over his nipples and the silver barbells in them, he sucked in a breath. She made a note that he was sensitive there.
She continued the trek upward, feeling his shoulders and arms, tracing the ink that lined them. His chest rose on heavy breaths and his green eyes seared hers. Even in the dim light, they shone bright like emeralds.
She wove her fingers into the back of his hair and massaged his scalp. A small moan escaped his mouth, and she zeroed in on the action, wanted to taste that moan.
“Woman,” he rasped. “I’m tired of staying still.” He sounded as if it were a chore. He was flexing, his fists balling at his sides like it was a struggle to keep from touching her. A nice thought.
She leaned in, brushed her lips against his, and traced her tongue along the seam.
“Tell me I can move now,” he said in a harsh whisper.
“Okay…” She bit his bottom lip. “Now.”
With that, he tunneled his hands in her hair and yanked her into the most consuming kiss she’d ever felt.
He plunged his tongue into her mouth, and she gasped, feeling a tiny bead of steel. He had his tongue pierced too? Another wonderful surprise.
Something else to add to tonight’s menu…
She kissed him back, and her hands explored his chest then went down to his belt. She yanked it undone, then started on the fly of his jeans. Before she could get them off, he hefted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he walked them into the bedroom.
His mouth devoured her jaw and neck and bit along the neckline of her tank top. Her whole body sped up, her heart trying to keep up with the heat and need.
“You’re not being very fair, you know,” he growled against her breast, and then he nipped the cotton again. She sucked in a breath, loving the sting.
“Forgive me,” she said as she reached for the hem of her tank and lifted it over her head. She dropped it on the bedroom floor. His fingers dug into the back of her thighs as he ran his tongue—and that piercing—along the swell of her breast.
She was definitely going to see what that pierced tongue felt like all over her before the night was over.
“Still not technically fair,” he said, then bit down on her black bra.
A zing of heat stabbed at her. Just the simplest touch had her wet and ready.
“Well, I’ve always been a reasonable person,” she said, nibbling his earlobe while taking her bra off and tossing it next to her shirt.
A low growl came from him, and he sat down on the bed with her in his lap.
“Jesus, you’re perfect,” he said, and bent his head to taste her skin.
His words hit something in her chest. Perfect? Any other time and she’d be ready to call him on his bullshit, but the way he looked at her, with such brazen desire, she knew he meant what he’d said. They both needed a little relief tonight. Maybe, for as long as they were in bed, they were perfect for each other.
She leaned back so that she could get a good view of him. Even sitting, she could see all the ridges of muscle in his chest and stomach flexing. The man was a god, something she didn’t need to say since he likely heard it all the time. Inflating his ego would only give him more of an upper hand.
More?
When had she given the upper hand away?
Maybe it had been when his mouth landed on hers and swept away all the thoughts, good and bad, and took her to a place of pleasure and longing. Pleasure she liked just fine, but longing? That was treading dangerous water.
One night, she reminded herself. Getting lost was okay, just not too lost. She’d let him borrow control for a moment, but now it was time to get it back.
She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him backwards onto the bed.
“Stay still,” she repeated.
That time she really heard him growl, but he did as she asked.
She slowly unbuttoned her pants and slid them down. He leaned up just enough to watch her. She pulled the band from her hair. The long strands fell over her shoulders and tickled her nipples. Standing in nothing but black panties, she asked, “On or off?”
“Off,” he said, before she got the whole word out.
She grinned and slipped her panties down. He hissed in a breath and stared at her, that hot gaze going down her breasts, to her legs, and up again.
“Fucking. Perfection,” he said, and there was that word again. She was far from perfect. This man could clearly get any woman he wanted, the kind of woman that had bigger breasts, a more feminine demeanor, and a softer personality. Yet he looked at her and said the word that made her feel like enough. More than enough. He made her feel special.
Man, he was good. But she wouldn’t get caught up in the façade and pretty words. Sure, she may appear perfect now and, yeah, maybe she felt special, but that was just for the moment. Not reality. Soon as they were done, he’d ditch her or she’d leave. Either way, her worth had a shelf life. That was one fact she’d learned the hard way. Repeatedly.
Okay, enough with the feel-good-self-loathing moment. It was time to get down to business.
Sex.
That was it. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Enough talking,” she said.
“Let me touch you. Taste you,” he said.
“Stay still and I will.”
He frowned, like he didn’t understand, but she straddled him once more.
Now he got it.
Though he still had his jeans on, they were low on his hips, and his cock was hard and straining against his boxer briefs. She rested her weight on his hips, put her clit against the cotton-encased steel, and rocked just enough to slide her sensitive bundle of nerves along it. And god did it feel good.
He fisted the sheets at his side, as if fighting frustration at not being able to touch her. But this gave her control. Still, he deserved a reward for being patient. She leaned over him and put her hands on either side of his head. Her hair fell like a curtain as she positioned her breast above his mouth.
“You wanted a taste?” she teased, rocking her hips and spreading delicious heat from her core to her entire body, all while she kept herself just out of his reach. Something he didn’t seem to appreciate, because he didn’t answer her. He simply leaned up enough to snag her nipple with his teeth and bit.
“Ah!” she cried out, but it was more of a moan.
“Come. Here,” he said with raw passion and intent in his voice. He opened his mouth. She leaned down and brushed her nipple along his tongue and that wicked piercing. He was still letting her lead, but now he was getting what he wanted.
The sensation of his pierced tongue against her sensitive peak was so good that she wanted to feel it on the other breast. She went to move, but before she could, he closed his lips around her nipple, refusing to let her leave, and sucked hard.
“Oh god, yes,” she groaned.
“I want to feel you wrapped around me,” he said, and that was the only warning she got. He flipped her on her back in the center of the bed and was on top of her in record time. He kissed her hard and fast and desperate.
He spread her legs wide and slid down her body, then kissed her thigh, her knee, her calf, and worked his way back up.
When he threw her legs over his shoulders and tugged her closer, she forgot how to breathe. His mouth hovered over her pussy, and now she knew what if felt like to be toyed with. Like she’d toyed with him.
Thank god his resolve faded faster than hers, because he delved into her opening and fucked her with a stiffened tongue.
“Yes!” she screamed to the ceiling.
God, she’d thought the barbell running over her body was heaven, but to feel it inside her…
The steel stud rubbed her inner walls as he devoured her. She wound one hand in his hair and reached back and pushed on the headboard with the other. She wanted more. Deeper. Harder.
She moved her hips to meet every motion of his skilled mouth, fucking that amazing tongue right back.
He stopped only to flick her clit, and the hard metal against the sensitive bundle of nerves felt amazing.
“I’m going to come, baby,” she said. She didn’t care that she called him an endearment. She was too far-gone to care about much.
“Good. Come for me. Let me taste how bad you want me.”
Hot, bubbling pleasure raced through her veins, and she split apart. Her body spasmed over and over with the most intense orgasm she’d ever had. She heard a scraping noise and realized it was her nails clawing at the headboard.
He rose to his knees, and she sat up and finished what she’d started earlier—removing his pants.
She wasn’t sated. Oh no. She was more turned on than ever.
She bit his hip and sucked his lower torso as she pushed his pants and boxers down. His cock sprang free.
She didn’t pause, didn’t wait. She wrapped her lips around the head of his impressive length and sucked.
“Fuck,” he hissed and cupped her neck. He was wide and long, and she splayed her fingers over his ass and took him as deep into her mouth as she could. “Hold on, honey. I want inside you. If you don’t stop, this is going to be over before it starts.”
She reluctantly gave up her treat and lay back on the bed. He got a condom from the pocket of his jeans and put it on. She reached out for him, and he settled between her thighs and positioned his cock at her entrance.
He kissed her long and hard and slow. So damn slow that her body thrummed from the tempo. Desperation skyrocketed, but the steady, consuming rhythm made her crazed for more. He stayed on the brink, refused to push inside.
“I said I wanted you wrapped around me,” he reminded her, running his big hand up her thigh and winding it around his back. She did the same with the other leg, running her heel along his inner thigh. “Don’t you take this sexy body of yours from mine. Not until I say so. Understand?”
She nodded and clutched his back.
Keeping his eyes on hers, he pushed inside her in one fluid thrust.
She gasped out. He hit the sensitive spot inside effortlessly, and it about made her come again right then. He was big and stretched her in a way she’d never felt.
“You’re so tight,” he rasped. “You okay?”
She looked at him. He was still, waiting for her to tell him to continue. Like he…cared. Such a difference from their hectic pace a moment ago.
“You feel so good,” she whispered and clung to him tighter. He smiled and kissed her softly on the lips, retreating out of her all the way and plunging back in. “Ah, yes, like that.”
He did it again and again. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him closer. The tiny barbells on his nipples gently scraped her, and the feel of his bare skin against hers was drugging.
He pounded harder, faster. Her moans turned to screams as he took her to the edge of pleasure.
“You like it hard, woman?” he said between gritted teeth, fucking her with—she was sure—all his strength. And she gave all her strength back, taking everything he had.
“Yes. Hard. Deep. Don’t hold back.”
As if something had been unchained, he took her further, slammed into and consumed her impossibly harder. He bit down on her shoulder, and the sting of his teeth only heightened her pleasure.
Lost.
This was the lost she was looking for. A lost she’d never felt, because somewhere in her foggy mind, she realized she was losing herself to a man. That had never really happened. She’d never clung so hard to anyone. In any sense.
She tried to ease her grip but couldn’t. She was right there, on the edge, taking everything he was and loving every second of it.
Just one more moment. A little longer. Then she’d let go.
“Come with me, honey,” he rasped in her ear as he moved his body so fluidly over hers that it ate up every one of her nerve endings. Somehow, he was the one giving orders now, and all she could do was obey.
Her body tensed so tight that she thought her bones might snap from the intensity that engulfed her. She gasped, but no words came out.
“Ah yes, I feel you,” he said. “Come on, you can give more.”
Her nails scoured down his back, and she rode out the overwhelming orgasm. His cock thickened further inside of her, and his own release took over.
He pumped in and out, stilling after each thrust for a moment as her inner walls gripped and milked him. As if he was trying to draw out this last moment of ecstasy and really feel her.
At least she hoped, because that was what she was doing. Trying to feel every single cell of him.
He rested more of his weight on top of her and breathed in deep. Smelling her hair? His hand ran up her side as he stayed buried inside her and kissed her hairline.
“Perfect,” he whispered, and that word again tightened her throat.
She needed to get a grip, and fast. He was a stranger, and this was a one-night stand.
She wiggled, and he let her up.
“Be right back,” she said and headed toward the bathroom. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him sit up, throw his hands behind his head, and watch her.
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��I’m telling ya, woman. You walking away is heartbreaking.” The most amazing smile she’d ever seen lit up his face, and it made her smile like a moron right back. The urge to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear and sway was—
No.
Jesus, what the hell was wrong with her?
She made it to the restroom and looked in the mirror. Splashing some water on her face, she gathered her goddamn nerves and prepared to walk back and get her clothes.
When she came out and made her way back to the bedroom, she saw the large, beautiful man fast asleep with a sheet covering his waist, his handsome features relaxed and at ease. For a moment, she thought about what this would feel like on a regular basis, to stay and revel in the after-bliss. She’d never cuddled with anyone, but right then, she was pretty sure she wanted to hop back into bed and be his little spoon.
Then she remembered that her value had an expiration date. Yep, that was her. Somewhere between dairy products and lunchmeat.
Even with her ex, they’d do their thing, then she’d leave. There was no intimacy. So whatever it was about this stranger, it pulled at something in her chest that she didn’t recognize.
She knew better. Knew the kind of man he was. She was losing it to think he’d want her to stick around for a little after sex cuddle.
Hell, she didn’t even know his name. Whatever connection she imagined was just the alcohol or her exhaustion. Because a man like him was the sort that wouldn’t want more from her than the erotic encounter that had sent him into unconsciousness.
And she wasn’t the kind to stick around and have that pointed out.
It was better this way. She got what she wanted. He got what he wanted. No harm done.
But as she stepped into the elevator, she couldn’t figure out why her chest felt a little more hollow than before.
Chapter Two
“It just had to be pink,” Autumn said, staring at her newest nemesis—her bridesmaid’s gown.
It hung there, short and billowy and taunting her. It was a far cry from what she normally wore—jeans and tank-tops, usually covered in grease and grit from the car engines she worked on.
