She peered at him over her shoulder and found his focus on her ass and not her top. She grinned. “You don’t like denim?”
He frowned. “That skirt is so short if you bend over, you’ll give the world a view of your pussy.”
“You wish you got a view of my pussy.” She turned away, knowing he’d have a hard-on in a few seconds, just like last time. Adding a bit extra swing in her hips, she crossed to the couch and sat down. For some reason—no, she knew the reason—she felt deliriously happy. “What’s that box?”
He followed the line of her sight to the item in question. The brown metal casing had rusted, and she suspected it had started out a different color. Age and maybe ill treatment had created dents and tiny holes in spots.
“I found it in Dad’s closet, hidden beneath some floorboards he must have torn up and reset.”
Her eyes widened as she stared at it. “What’s inside?”
“I don’t know yet. Probably just some old junk from his past, but that’s not what’s important to me right now.”
With effort, she removed her attention from the box and looked at him. “What is?”
“You and me.”
Heath took time to get a button up shirt from his room and handed it to her. She thanked him, welcoming the warming material and his lingering scent. She waited until he glanced away before she took in a deep breath.
“Deja, I want to be with you. Let me make that crystal clear.” He sat down beside her, but he didn’t reach for her. She felt lonely not touching him, but she recognized his need to get what he had to say out before they moved on. “I’m sorry I hurt you before, giving you the impression I agreed with Buck. I don’t. I was worried about you being comfortable with me, and I admit I did think about what Buck said, but only to be sure it wasn’t me. It’s not. I’m still concerned about our friendship, but I’m more worried about your happiness.”
She sighed. “You try to protect me too much, Heath, and it’s annoying. I’m a big girl, and I can take care of myself.” She reached for his hand and stroked the rough palm and the callous or two on the tips of his fingers from working nonstop. He was everything she wanted and more. “We can be together if that’s what you want. I…I want it.”
He tugged her onto his lap, and she settled into his chest. “You’re stubborn, but that’s why I like you.”
Deja flinched. She’d told him she loved him in the past, but as a friend loves a friend. She meant more then, but he chose to interpret it wrong or was too ignorant to get it. He hadn’t said it back as a friend or otherwise, and that hurt. What an idiot he is. When he thinks he doesn’t hurt me, that’s when he does it the most.
“So we’re clear,” he said, and his voice rumbled above her head. “We’ll be lovers, and it’s exclusive.”
“Damn,” she teased.
He put her from him and scowled at her. “You weren’t really interested in Hank, were you?”
She shrugged. “Well, he is big.” Let him interpret that wrong.
“Big. What do you mean? His body?”
She stretched on his lap and then stood up. “You interrupted my dinner. I’m getting a snack from the kitchen. I don’t suppose you have any chips?” She took a step, and he snatched her back.
Deja struggled in his hold, but went stock still when he sealed her to his chest with one arm and reached down to jerk her skirt up. He curled fingers in her panties, and she thought he intended to rip them apart. “Heath, what are you doing?”
“I have the right to see now. Take off your panties.”
“What, before you rip them off? Where’s the gentle boy I knew?” She pretended to pout.
“When was I gentle?”
“Oh, that’s right. You were the clumsy, stubborn oaf.” That shocked him enough for her to get away, and she ran for the hall. He caught her yet again before she could leave the living room and swooped her off her feet. What every woman wants. He carried her to the couch and dumped her onto it. Towering above her, Heath was like a hungry wolf, and she the little sheep about to be devoured.
“Are you going to eat me, Mr. Wolf?” she queried with a straight face.
Heath’s gaze arrowed between her legs. “Yes.”
Just like that with no teasing. Her breath caught in her throat with both excitement and nerves. She sat up and inched away from him. He reached out to catch an ankle. When he removed her shoes and tossed them on the floor, then used his thumb to massage a circle on her skin, a moan escaped her. Their gazes met and locked. She licked her lips. He shifted his attention there, and she remembered how it felt when they kissed. Everything inside her wanted that and more, right now, as fast as she could get it, but she couldn’t move. Once it happened, there was no going back. Looking at Heath wouldn’t be the same no matter how hard she tried. He would never be just her best friend. Not from tonight.
Heath dropped to his knees and spread her legs, but he didn’t try tasting her. He stared and breathed deep. He uttered a moan so low and deep it echoed in her chest, and her teeth chattered. What the heck was wrong with her? She’d had several lovers, but with him, she felt virginal. What if—no, Deja, don’t go down that road.
“I know what a woman smells like down here,” he said, pointing with a finger on her inner thigh, but not venturing higher. To demonstrate, he leaned in and drew in another breath. “But you… You’re a drug, Deja. One I want to get hooked on. No, one I am hooked on without tasting you yet.”
She shivered. “Um, did you take your medicine yet?”
He focused between her legs and caught the ends of her panties. “I took it. Don’t change the subject.”
“I wasn’t.”
Her panties slid down her legs, and he paused to study the lacy material. Damn, she’d left the fancy stuff she and Brenda took so much time picking out back at home. Heath put her underwear on the table and bent to kiss her inner thigh. When he licked her there, her head went back and lashes fluttered. She scratched at the couch under her.
“Heath, maybe we should—”
He ventured up the other thigh and caught the skin between his teeth, tugged gently, and then released it. He moaned and kissed her warm skin that was getting hotter by the second. “Do you know how many times I imagined you naked? And how many times it pissed me off when another man got to see you and not me?”
She gasped. “But you never showed it. You were always nice to my boyfriends.”
“What right did I have?” He jumped to his feet and pulled her up with him. With nimble fingers, he undid the buttons on her blouse and yanked it over her shoulders and down her arms. The skirt followed, but he fumbled with the clasp on her bra. She realized he was almost as nervous as she was. Something told her his agitation had more to do with a hunger to see her naked than anything else.
Deja pushed his hands away and did it herself. When she dropped the last article of clothing on the floor, she waited. Heath ran both hands over his head, gaze unwavering except to sweep her from head to foot over and over. He back pedaled a few steps, and air hissed between his teeth.
“Damn,” he murmured.
“What is it?” She shifted her weight from one leg to the other and ran a hand over her arm. The house wasn’t as warm tonight as she liked, and her nipples beaded from the chill. Heath dropped another curse, and she almost laughed, recalling how he said his first awareness of her as a woman came when she started growing breasts. Her unconscious move had squeezed her boobs together, and along with the pebbled nipples, it turned him on.
“Here I am,” she said, and turned slowly. She didn’t point out the obvious flaws with her figure. Let him focus on the good stuff, like her boobs and her ass. When she faced away from him, she stuck it out a bit more and watched his eyes light up. Heath came closer as if he would grab her, but she held up a hand. “Oh no, big boy, how about you drop yours?”
He grinned. “For you, of course.” Heath had nothing to be ashamed of. She’d known that for a long time. He yanked his shirt over h
is head and threw it aside. Deja feasted her eyes on his chest, the muscles straining and bulging with every stir, but she got to do that every day. She wanted a lot more. He kicked his shoes and socks off and started on his pants. She put a fisted hand to her mouth, trying for a casual stance, but so eager her movements turned jerky.
Heath lowered his zipper. She strained on the balls of her feet. A flash of his cock shape passed through her mind as it had been when she’d teased him the other night. Would it be average length or thin? Was that night an illusion or a fluke? More often than not in terms of size and thickness, the men she dated in the past were not that impressive. She never dumped a man because of it, but she dreamed of better—for once. At the same time he drew his pants and boxers down, Heath bent down to shove them along his legs. He obscured her view, and she could have smacked him. The man didn’t seem to notice she felt antsy to see it all just like he did. When he straightened though, words could not express her impression. The first thought that came to mind, similar to his complaints, was this bastard was giving all that to other women and not to her. The second thought was what could she do to keep on getting it, because it was for damn sure she wouldn’t give his cock up without a fight—him or anyone else.
His cock jutted from his body, already hard. He took hold of it and began stroking, making her realize how long it extended. Almost to his navel, it had to be a good nine inches, and the thickness…getting her fingers all the way around would be a challenge, but hell, a woman had to try.
“You’re messing up the view,” she told him, approaching.
He glanced down. “Oh, you mean this? You want some?”
She reached him, leaned into his chest, grabbed his hand, and knocked it away so she could play. Heath lowered his head, and their lips met in a hot kiss that set her aflame. She parted her lips to let his tongue in, and they both moaned. Deja stood on her toes, and Heath’s arms came around her. His cock slipped from her fingers to push between her legs. Her cry of pleasure couldn’t be held back, yet he hadn’t entered her.
He raised her legs to wrap around him and carried her to the couch. When he sat down, he took her with him on his lap, facing him. They tasted each other, tongues curling together, and then she slid hers along the warm, moist depths of his mouth. How many hours can I kiss him before my lips go numb? Will he keep tasting this good? Mm, don’t stop. Just don’t stop.
He drew back, but she jerked him to her and claimed his mouth again. Heath chuckled against her lips, but he let her explore him further. When she disapproved her theory that her lips could hold out for hours before going numb, Heath raised his head. His eyes twinkled so much she could almost believe he loved her the way she wanted him to. Brenda had said he did, but Deja didn’t dare broach that subject. They’d gotten to this point with a struggle, and it might be too soon to talk love.
“I want to hold them,” Heath told her. He followed his words by cupping her breasts and letting their weight rest in his palms. His thumbs grazed her nipples, tightening them more, and when he pinched the sensitive tips, she arched into him and moaned. “So beautiful. Deja, do you know how incredibly beautiful you are?”
“Am I?”
“You know you are.” He lowered his head and swiped his tongue over one nipple. She bit her lip and gasped. He pulled at the tiny bud, let it go, and chased after it again. The repeated attacks had her pussy clenching over and over. She squirmed on his lap, and he put a hand between her legs to press there.
“I want to eat your pussy too.” He kissed the swell of one breast, stroked it with his cheek, and kissed it again. “Your skin is soft and smooth. The color, like sienna, drives me out of my mind. Are you sweet down there too?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never tasted it.”
Deja stuck a finger into her wetness and drove it deep. Her murmur of pleasure stilled his movements, and she felt his stare. She pulled her digit free and held it up. He seized it like a rare gift and stuck it into his mouth.
“Mm, yes, just as I thought.”
Deja found herself flat on her back and Heath between her legs. This time, he didn’t fool around with kissing her thighs. He went straight for her treasure, parting her folds and thrusting his tongue into her channel. His nose teased her clit, but he focused on eating as much of her dripping come as he could get. She whimpered and whined, writhing under him. With her fingers tangled in his hair, she coaxed him closer and pumped against his mouth. “Yes, Heath, it feels so good. Eat it all. I’m going to come.”
He gripped her hips, squeezing them until she ached, but he never stopped burying his tongue inside. When she could take it no longer with the sensations rising and falling, cresting and then receding, she drove him back and pinched her clit. A tug had her thighs quivering.
“That’s what you want, honey?” He nudged her hand aside and replaced it with his lips. When he bore down, she screamed, and her orgasm rushed over her, draining the energy in its path. She reeled in the aftermath, but Heath’s satisfaction hadn’t come yet. He picked her up and flipped her over. He ran a hand over her ass cheek, squeezed, and kissed it. “A black girl’s ass.”
Deja laughed and raised her hips. He grunted, apparently liking what he saw. All jest ran out the window when he swept a hand between her legs and skimmed fingers over her pussy lips. She shuddered.
“I don’t know if I should eat it or bury myself in it.”
“Do what you want.” She reached behind her and grabbed his cock. Precome moistened her fingers. She licked them clean and let him watch. He leaned in to allow his shaft to graze her ass. Deja nuzzled into him. “Why are you tormenting yourself? Come on and get yours, baby.”
“We’ve got all night. I want you to wake up in the morning knowing you’ve never had sex with a man like you’ve had it with me.”
“So you want me addicted, is that it?”
A cocky grin spread over his face. “You’re already addicted.”
“Bastard,” she joked.
He corralled her hips between big hands and thrust forward. Deja clenched her teeth as his massive cock stretched her all around it, assaulting her channel. She never thought of it as narrow until he invaded, yet she welcomed the combination of pleasure and pain.
He went still, gasping for breath. “You’re not a virgin, Deja?” Fear and anguish mingled in his tone.
“No, you’re so big. Don’t pull out. It feels good, Heath. Push it all the way in. Yes, yes, I think I can come again!”
He pumped in and out with deliberate movements, taking his time until her muscles unwound. She began pumping back on him, riding his shaft and delighting in each thrust. Tugging at her clit, she approached the brink of another orgasm, but Heath stopped her. He wanted the lead to take her over the edge. She let him have it as he used his middle finger to rub in a circular motion across her clit. They found a cadence that took Deja all the way to the top. She gave one brief shout, and then her orgasm hit hard. Heath wound an arm around her waist and drove her back to him, slamming his cock home. She let him drive, whispering sexy comments she knew would make him hotter.
He sat back, taking her with him, and with her on his lap, still facing away from him, they made love. His kiss consumed her as much as his cock. She arched into his touch when he handled her breasts. Each pinch of her swollen buds sent bolts of delight tearing down to her core. After a long, amazing time, when she’d come once more, Heath released inside of her. His hot come flooded her channel, and when there was nowhere else to go, it dripped down his cock and out of her pussy to wet her inner thighs. She curled in his arms, eyes closed, and unwilling to move for the next century.
Chapter Five
Heath didn’t know what happened. One minute they had the most incredible night of passion, and the next they avoided each other. He aimed to be addicted to Deja, and oh, had he ever succeeded. He craved her night and day, and it robbed him of sleep. No matter how many times he jerked off, whether in bed or in the shower, the intense longing, the dissati
sfaction would not go away. The worst part of it was, he knew all he had to do was call her and ask her to come over or he could go to her house, yet, the morning after, they were both awkward and clumsy. Neither of them argued or said words that would take back what they had done. All he could put it down to was they needed to adjust to the change in their relationship. Years of friendship didn’t just disappear or morph without making a mental shift.
“Boss—boss!”
Heath shook himself from his reverie and recalled that he was at work and he needed to focus. Over the last week, he had thrown himself into it—this time because of Deja. The loss of his father still hurt and left him bereft, but each day grew easier. He’d be okay, and Deja wasn’t gone. They just needed time to accept what this was between them. He hoped.
“Yeah, what is it, Karl?” he asked his ranch hand.
“I haven’t seen Buck.”
“Probably late. Let me call him.” Heath frowned, annoyed. Ever since their argument, he and Buck were not on the best of terms, but he continued to come to the ranch and work hard. In the last few years, he’d never been late and only absent twice for sickness. He didn’t wish the man sick, but he’d rather the problem be that than Buck gave up on helping him without notice. The line rang and went straight to voicemail.
“I don’t know where he could be,” Karl continued. The sun-weathered face creased more in worry. Karl appeared more like thirty-something than his age of twenty-six. “We always go down to the bar after work, but he never showed up last night.”
Heath frowned. “You do?” He hadn’t known that about Buck. Not that it was a bad thing, but he realized his own free time tended to tie in with whatever Deja was up to, if he wasn’t too worn out from work. Maybe he and Buck were not as close as he once thought.
“Yeah, I went to his house, but he didn’t answer, and his truck was gone. Guess he had business to take care of,” Karl mused. “Could have told somebody, though.”
Heath had to work double time with Karl to make up for Buck being missing. He called all morning and into the afternoon. Eventually, Buck’s phone refused to take voicemails, and he had to give it up. When his workday was done, he walked to the house. His dad’s box still lay where he’d left it. He’d found another bottle of his pills in the top of his father’s closet, an odd place, but he figured that gave him another thirty days. The visions had not lessened. If anything, they were more intense, and he considered taking an extra dose of the meds. Tomorrow night for sure, he would go through the papers.
Tiger Bound Page 4
