by Liv Brywood
“How’s that possible?” she asks.
“He kept pushing me and pushing me to find a mate. I don’t want a mate. I want to live out my life in peace and quiet. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows for everyone.”
“Wow, you are broken. I feel sorry for anyone who has to spend any lengthy amount of time with you. It’s really your loss. I’m fucking amazing and you’re going to miss out on what I have to offer.”
“Really?” I lean against the couch and cross my arms over my chest.
“Really!” She tosses off the blankets as she gets to her feet. “You could have had all of this hotness, but you’re too much of a jerk to appreciate it.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
“How?” She’s stalking toward me, apparently feeling much better. It’s as if her anger has warmed her from inside.
“I do appreciate how sexy you are,” I say, hoping to throw her off. The way she’s swaying her hips is making me hard and I don’t have anywhere to hide.
“I’m a good kisser too.”
“I don’t believe it for a minute,” I taunt.
The air is thick with anger and lust. The scent of her arousal deepens as she straddles me. My hands slide up to caress the silky skin on her thighs. She’s wet. I don’t even have to touch her to know she’s hot for me.
She leans down. Her perfect, creamy breasts are inches from my face. I resist the urge to grab her and pull her against my mouth. I don’t know how far she’s willing to go with her teasing, so I wait.
She braces her hands against the back of the couch. I’m caged by her body, and by her beauty. Last night when she arrived, I tried not to get too close, or look too long. But now, every inch of her curvy perfection is on full display. I have no idea how we ended up like this, but when she leans down to kiss me, I don’t care.
I grab her waist and pull her hard against my body, trapping my cock against the mound of her pussy. Her breasts press against my chest. Her mouth slants across mine. I part my lips in surprise. She slips her tongue inside to explore the contours of my mouth. The whole situation is overwhelming. I haven’t kissed anyone in years. Not since—I banish the thought.
Warm and wet, her kisses become an intoxicating blend of angry passion. She’s still simmering. I can tell by the way she bites my bottom lip. She’s aggressive. Fierce. Maybe furious, but definitely hot.
Her teeth scrape across my jaw and along the edge of my throat. I moan, unable to pretend this isn’t affecting me. It’s killing me, to touch her like this and not drive my cock into her pussy. I want to skewer her. It’s a good thing I have self-control.
She slithers deeper into my lap and rakes her nails down my chest. I hiss a breath and grab her wrists. I pin them behind her back. She tosses her hair in defiance. It whips across my face, but does nothing to reduce the lust burning in my core.
I release her wrists, grab her waist, and roll her under me. Her eyes flare wider before narrowing with desire. She licks her bottom lip. I can’t look away from her dark green eyes. She’s like a cat, toying with her prey. I’ve never been prey before, and I think I like it.
It’s my turn to drive her wild. I start with sizzling kisses across her lips before sliding down to take one plump nipple into my mouth. I suck and lick and twirl the hard nub until she’s whimpering. Her other nipple doesn’t escape my soft bite. She cries out and laces her fingers in my hair, pulling me closer.
Sucking, licking, and rubbing, I find all of her secret erogenous zones. The backs of her knees, the insides of her thighs—nothing’s off limits. And when I dip even lower, she hooks her feet on the coffee table and spreads her thighs.
I kneel in front of her delicate pink flesh. There’s no shame in the way she’s pulling my head toward her. I push her legs wider and rub my nose against her soft flesh. She’s dripping wet. I smear her moist heat all over her pussy. Her juices coat my tongue, making me hungry for more.
I tease and tickle her with light strokes before delving in to suck on her hard clit. As I linger on the sensitive peak, she slides down the couch, changing the angle. I lavish her with whirling sweeps of my tongue before nipping the inside of her thigh. She gasps. Her eyes fly open and her mouth forms an “O”. It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
My cock jumps. Precum glistens on the tip. I want to drag her down onto my cock, but she needs to come first. I can’t wait to make her regret running away from me. This won’t change anything about our relationship, or lack thereof, but she might as well see what she’s missing.
As I tongue her sweet pussy, I slip one finger inside. She squirms and leans into my touch. I ease in and out, opening her to a new wave of pleasure. Her jaw goes slack. The angry fire in her eyes is gone. Dark embers of desire burn in her gaze. Heat coils into my balls. Sparks of pure need flash down my spine. I don’t know how much longer I can go on without taking her.
I increase the friction with my tongue and fingers. Her moans become deep, guttural in their intensity. She writhes on the couch. I grab her hips to hold her still.
“Jagger,” she whimpers.
“Come for me.”
She rolls her head to one side. A low keening spills from her lips. Her muscles tense in my hands. She stills for a split second before she comes in a thrashing, screaming mess of orgasmic ecstasy. I lick her quivering flesh until she shoves my head away.
“Wait,” she gasps.
I lean back and enjoy the way her hooded gaze sweeps across my body. It’s agony, waiting for her to recover, but I do it because I’m not done with her yet.
Apparently, she’s not done with me yet either. She leans forward to graze my chest with the tips of her fingers. As she runs her fingers across my belly, it clenches. A burst of breath whooshes from my lungs. Her trailing fingers reach lower to encircle my cock. I’m still on my knees and her touch is making me lightheaded. I crawl up to sit next to her. Before I can stop her, she’s on her knees and my cock’s pressed against her lips.
“Damn,” I mutter.
Her tongue whips out to lash across the head. Little licks sail down the shaft. When she flattens her tongue and drags it across my balls, I shudder. She doesn’t miss a single nerve ending as she claims every inch of my cock.
By the time she sucks me deep into her mouth, I’m lost. My brain is absolute jelly and I can hardly form a coherent thought. As long as her mouth’s on my cock, the past doesn’t matter. Failed relationships are irrelevant. The matchmaker’s insistence that I give Angela a chance is insignificant. Even my brother’s relentless hounding about finding a mate is inconsequential. I don’t need to think now, all I need to do is feel.
Chapter 5
Angela
One minute I’m freezing to death in a cave convinced I’m going to die, and the next, I’ve got Jagger’s cock shoved halfway down my throat. I must have frozen more than a few brain cells. I’m still pissed, but he’s so damn sexy. If he hadn’t been sitting on the couch—naked—I wouldn’t have totally lost my mind.
Maybe it’s been too long since my last sexual encounter, or maybe I really did kill off the part of my brain that’s responsible for logical decisions. Either way, it’s too late to turn back. And even if I somehow came to my senses, there’s no way I’ll letting him leave me this horny and wet. He owes me.
As I explore the soft planes and hard ridges of his cock, his eyes close. All of the tension in his face is gone. What started as an angry competition has melted into something I don’t want to acknowledge. This is just sex, nothing more. I’d be a fool to think anything else. Still, I can’t help but wonder if I was wrong. Maybe he really did have to go into town for some reason. Maybe Gerri was wrong. Maybe he wasn’t running away.
I shove all conjecture aside. We can talk about it later, preferably when I don’t have his cock in my mouth.
With a quick flutter of my tongue, I elicit a moan from his lips. His fingers dig into the couch cushion as his hips lift. I lick him from base to tip before drawing him
back into my mouth. I pull him deep, reveling in the way his eyes squeeze closed. His teeth tug at his bottom lip. Tension enslaves every muscle in his body. I relish complete control over his pleasure. He’s mine now.
His throbbing cock slips from my lips. I lean in to reclaim it, but he suddenly reaches under my arms to hoist me to my feet. He scoops me into his arms and carries me down the hall to his bedroom.
Sunlight streams into the room. The curtains are wide open and anyone looking in could see us. I panic for a second before I realize there’s no one around for miles. Being able to make love in natural light is amazing. I’m used to artificial light in an otherwise dark apartment. This is glorious.
He lays me down in the center of a huge wooden sleigh bed. An ornate carving of a bear decorates the headboard. The thick quilt beneath my body is cold. I shiver.
“I’ll be right back,” he whispers.
I snuggle under the blankets as he starts a fire in the fireplace. I love his room. It’s masculine in its shades of brown and dark green, yet it evokes the feeling of being in nature.
Within minutes, the fire crackles and heat fills the room. He slides under the blankets and pulls me into his arms. His lips taste like me. His hands are everywhere, stroking, caressing, kneading the tension from my muscles. I melt into his carnal kisses.
As he rolls me onto my back, I open for him. He presses against my body, covering me. When he nudges my thighs apart, I tremble in anticipation.
He rubs his cock against my wet lips before slowly easing in to fill me completely. I wrap my arms around his back and pull him closer. He groans into my ear.
Slow, rhythmic thrusts carry me along the sweet path of pleasure. His strength and beauty unravel my last bit of resistance. Bound together in the most intimate embrace, I can’t tell where he ends, and I begin. We’re fused together as one, moving as one, making love as one. It’s more than just sex. I can feel it in my bones. The intensity of our connection scares me. I bury my face in his shoulder.
“You’re breathtaking,” he whispers in a smoky, intense voice.
I moan in response.
“Wrap your legs around me.”
I do and he pushes deeper. He nuzzles my breasts and sucks on my nipples. I shake as he drives harder and faster. I arch, giving him everything he wants. Each thrust pushes me closer to the edge. My pussy clenches around him. I dig my nails into his back and urge him to destroy me. He undulates into me until I can’t stop the rush of pleasure. I break into a million little pieces and cry out his name.
Shuddering and screaming in ecstasy, a surge of liquid fire burns me to the core. He roars his orgasm, joining me as we crash into erotic paradise. I’m lost, totally consumed by him and delirious. If we weren’t still connected, I’d be afraid of floating away.
We lay locked in an embrace until he finally slides free. He rolls onto his side and pulls me into his arms. I close my eyes. My limbs are liquid. I can’t lift a finger, let alone roll to face him. I don’t know what any of this means, but we need to talk. Later.
***
When I finally wake up hours later, I find Jagger by my side. He’s propped on one arm, watching me.
“I thought you might sleep all night,” he says.
“I might.” I smile. If he thinks I’m getting out of this bed, he’s wrong. I couldn’t move a muscle if I’d wanted to.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“A little.”
“I’ll go cook something.” When I try to sit, he adds, “Don’t get up. We’ll have dinner in bed.”
“Okay.” I bite the edge of my lip as I watch him walk toward the hall. He’s still totally naked and semi-hard.
“You’re staring,” he says without turning around.
“I like the view.”
He chuckles before disappearing.
I flop back against the pillows and sigh. Now what? I have no idea where we stand. Hot sex aside, we haven’t talked about anything. Does he still want me here? Is he planning on taking me back to the airport tomorrow? Did he change his mind and decide we might still have a chance? Do I want to risk a relationship with someone who’s unsure?
My head starts to ache. I slip out of bed and check the medicine cabinet in his bathroom. I pop two aspirin and go back to bed. I close my eyes and drift off until Jagger returns with a tray.
“It’s macaroni and cheese with ham.” He sets the tray on the bed before crawling in beside me. “I hope you don’t mind. It’s all I could manage without taking a long time. My legs are a bit wobbly.”
When he flashes a sheepish smile, my heart melts. This man deserves love. Scared or not, he might just need a little push toward it.
“It looks great.”
I grab a steaming bowl of pasta and scoop a spoonful into my mouth. Flavors explode across my tongue. This isn’t macaroni and cheese from a box. This is magic.
“This is so good,” I manage to say between bites.
“It’s my mother’s recipe.”
“I thought it would be the boxed kind.”
“God, no. I mean, that’s great when you’re in a super big hurry, but it takes about the same amount of time to make this. I grated gruyere and cheddar into the sauce, then tossed it all together with shredded mozzarella. And ham. I had some already cooked.”
“It’s really good.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
As we eat in silence, the tension between us returns. I’m careful not to drop any macaroni onto the quilt and nervous about where we go from here. I want to bring it up, but I want him to go first.
We finish eating. He sets the tray on the floor next to the bed. As he leans back against the headboard, I hold my breath. I release it when he closes his eyes. Maybe we’re just going back to sleep?
“I was running,” he says softly.
I can’t believe he admitted it. I was right. I keep my mouth shut, unsure of what to say.
“Gerri was right. This wasn’t my idea. It was my brother’s and I went along with it.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Have you ever been pressured by your family to do something you didn’t want to do?”
“A few times.”
“What did you do?” he asks.
“I told them to mind their own business.” I smile. I’m not one to let people push me around.
“I wish I could do that.”
“Why can’t you?”
“I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Your brother might bitch and moan for a few days, but he’ll get over it.”
“I doubt it.”
“He will,” I say. “People will leave you alone once you set boundaries. You can’t let your brother walk all over your life. It’s your life, not his.”
“He keeps saying he only wants what’s best for me.”
“That’s what they all say.” I snort in the most unladylike fashion. Oops. “Don’t let him control your life. No one can truly control your life unless you let them. It might suck at first, but once you stand up to him, you’ll be free.”
“You’re a smart woman,” he says as he caresses my shoulder. “I’m sorry I did this to you.”
“What? All that hot sex?” I joke, knowing full well what he means, but looking for a way to lighten up the conversation.
“Not that,” he laughs. “You know what I mean.”
“I do.”
“So what should we do now?” He turns to look at me and a spike of desire strikes my heart.
“Other than have more hot sex all night?” I ask.
“Other than that.” He grins.
“You could send me home tomorrow.” When he frowns, I add, “Or, you could let me stay for two weeks and see if anything develops between us.”
“I don’t want to give you false hope.”
“It wouldn’t be false hope if you were actually willing to take a real shot at seeing if we could be mates. If you’re totally unwilling to try, then send me home. You’d only be wasting both of our
time. But, if you want to try, then we should.”
He’s silent for far too long. What little hope I clung to is dashed, but at least I tried.
“It’s okay. You can take me to the airport tomorrow.”
“No, wait.” He gently grasps my arm. “I’m just… this isn’t easy.”
“Why not?”
“The last time I let myself care about anyone, she broke my—she broke me.”
“We’re all broken in one way or another.”
“I think I’m broken beyond repair,” he says.
He turns his face away as if ashamed. I gently grab his chin and turn his face toward me.
“There’s only one way to repair yourself,” I say.
“What’s that?”
“Find someone else to love.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“It’s not easy, but it’s worth it,” I say. “Heck, I was willing to come to another state to find love. The least you could do is make an effort.” I raise a brow, hoping he’ll know I’m half-joking.
He tackles me and tickles me until I’m laughing and about to barf up dinner.
“Stop before I hurl,” I yell.
He’s laughing as he pulls me up into his arms. He gives me a gentle hug before pulling me into his lap.
“You make me want to try.” His tone is serious. “Stay with me. Let’s see where this might go.”
“I was hoping you’d say that,” I whisper in a husky tone.
Our lips meet. He tastes like salty cheese and ham. I know he’s scared, but the fact that he’s willing to try is worth any potential heartbreak. We might not end up finding love together, but at least there aren’t any secrets between us anymore.
His soft kiss turns sensual as his tongue slips between my lips. I groan and turn to straddle his lap. I can’t wait to have him inside me, so I grab his cock and guide it into me. I rock my hips with primal urgency. He’s velvet over steel, and he’s hitting all the right places.
I toss my head back to get my hair out of my face. He palms my lower back and lavishes my nipples with warm kisses. Pleasure radiates from every place he touches. Soon, I’m consumed by his desire. We move faster, frantic to reach the ultimate peak together.
