by Denise Wells
“You’ve practically fulfilled your end of the bet already, Rem. I mean, you’ve been on how many dates. You only needed to last a month. One guy, once a week,” Kat says. “So your shoes are safe. But I think it’s time to decide where you want this to go.”
Her end of the bet?
One guy once a week?
Wait, was I a bet?
A nine hundred dollar bet?
I am worth way more than nine hundred bills.
Of all the fucked up... I mean shit, at least in my bet she’s worth over two grand. Clearly, I’m the more generous of us two.
“I don’t know. Sometimes it’s so good that it freaks me the fuck out,” Remi says softly.
Okay, maybe this all isn’t such a bad idea. She said we’re good. So good.
“You slept with him?” Kat asks.
It does my ego proud knowing Cookie automatically associates ‘so good’ with me as being sexual.
“No, not yet.”
Fist pump! She said yet.
“But I’m not going to be able to hold out much longer. It’s like I lose my head with him,” Remi says.
“Nothing fucking wrong with that,” Kat says.
“Easy for you to say, you’re with the love of your life and he just put a ring on your finger, for the second time.”
“Bauer is a good guy, Remi. What’s wrong with just seeing where this goes?”
“Everything. I’m not a relationship person like you or Lexie. I don’t want to have someone get to know me so well that they can anticipate my needs or finish my sentences.”
“Why not?” Kat asks.
“Because that sounds like my own personal form of hell.”
“Do I look like I’m in hell?”
“No,” Remi sighs. “You look happier than I’ve ever seen you.”
“Well then.”
Remi whispers whatever she says next, and I can’t quite make it out. But Kat whispers back, “I know.” And I hear them move, and maybe hug? I move back toward the end of the hall and make like I’ve just arrived. I look in the room as I pass and see that Kat is hugging Remi.
“Now that’s what I like to see,” I say. “Hang on, I’ll shut the door and put my phone on video mode. You girls just continue with what you were doing.”
Remi looks at me and rolls her eyes. I walk over and give her a kiss on the cheek and squeeze her waist lightly. Not sure if displays of affection are okay in front of Kat.
Kat gives me a hug and says, “It’s nice to see that in this ever-changing world, Bauer, you’ve managed to stay the same.” I laugh and kiss her on the cheek as well.
“Cookie, where’s Romeo?” I ask Kat.
“He’s on tonight. So it’s just me, myself, and I as a third wheel on your date. Yay, you.”
“I’m digging the hair, Cookie. It’s very bad-ass.”
“Why thank you, kind sir.” She bats her eyelashes at me. I smile back.
Remi clears her throat, then asks, “Did you just get here?”
“Yeah,” I say. “I was looking for the restroom.”
Kat points it out to me, and I leave the women alone. When I return, it’s just Remi in the room. She walks toward me with a look in her eye that I can’t quite identify. And it doesn’t matter, because the next thing I know, she’s got her arms around my neck and her lips against mine, in a real kiss. I grab her around the waist and pull her to me.
God, she feels good against me. I will never get tired of this.
Her tongue slips into my mouth, meeting mine, and I groan. I can’t help it. I feel her smile against my lips. I continue the kiss until she pulls away slightly.
“Hi,” she whispers.
“If I leave and come back will you greet me like that again?”
She laughs and gives me a quick peck on the lips, then leans back to wipe what I’m assuming is her lipstick off of them.
“I think I missed you,” she says, still in my arms.
“That’s convenient since I think I missed you too,” I rest my forehead against hers.
I love the light that puts in her eyes. Such a simple thing to say, yet it seems to have an impact. Until I remember, that this is a bet for her too.
“Hey, can we talk about something?” I ask. Now’s the time to tell her the truth. She has her own bet going on, she will totally understand.
“Uh oh, that doesn’t sound good,” she says.
“It’s not a big deal,” I say. “I just—”
Lexie pokes her head in the door. “Starting the movie, get your butts in there.”
Remi looks at me questioningly.
“We’ll talk later.” I take her hand in mine and lead her to the barrel room where Lexie is showing the movie.
“What movie is it, again?” I ask.
“Casablanca,” Remi says.
She grabs an open bottle of wine, two glasses, and some popcorn off the end of the bar and we enter the darkened room.
Chapter 26
Remi
He gets up on the barrel first, then grabs my hand and pulls me up. His leather jacket is open, so when I lean back against his chest, it’s just my blouse and his tee that separate us. I use my poncho as a blanket for my chest and arms, and my blanket to cover my legs. Chance has his arms around my waist, the warmth from his body feels good.
We munch on popcorn, drink wine, and watch the movie. And for the first fifteen or twenty minutes, that’s great. But the more time that passes, the harder time I’m having concentrating. This close to Chance, feeling him, smelling him, it’s distracting.
I think about earlier in the evening, so I can avoid thinking about how much he turns me on. I’d gotten to movie night early so I could hang with Kat and Lexie a little bit beforehand.
Kat and I were talking about Chance when he popped his head in and made a joke about Kat and I hugging.
Then she flirted with him.
I mean, what the actual fuck?
It’s little times like that where I think I might be jealous. Even though I don’t get jealous. Why would I be jealous of Kat? That’s crazy. She’s got Brad. She’s not interested in Chance. Except that I know she’s fantasized about him before. And I know he wanted to fuck her.
My God, is this what vulnerability feels like? No wonder people hate being in relationships. This is an awful feeling. The constant doubting of one’s self-worth and feelings. Never knowing where you stand, always having to rely on outside knowledge.
Then I remember that most people don’t hate being in relationships. They like them. They gravitate toward them. How odd must it be when your goal is to illuminate your weaknesses, so someone else can exploit them, for the sole purpose of ‘sharing’ your life with another person.
Except Kat’s not weak. If anything, she’s ten times stronger with Brad back in her life.
So, which is it? Does love make you weak or make you strong?
Whoa, wait. Who said anything about love?
Jesus Christ, Remi.
There’s the deep end and you’ve just gone the fuck off it.
How is it that he fits in so well with everyone else? I mean, Kat and Lexie both adore him. If I have to pick someone, shouldn’t it be someone that Kat and Lexie love?
I couldn’t stop myself when I’d kissed him earlier. He looked so sinfully good in his standard jeans, t-shirt, leather jacket, and motorcycle boots outfit. I think that outfit was created with him in mind. His ass, his cock, his pecs, his thighs. I walked up to him and kissed the fuck out of him. A real kiss, with tongue and hip grinding. I couldn’t help myself. This man is going to be the death of me.
If that’s not bad enough, then I told him that I missed him. Because I’m a fucking sucker. But when he said it back, I felt like I was floating on happy clouds. Relationships make you bipolar, that’s what happens. Jesus, I need to pay attention to the movie so I can get a dose of reality from Bogie and Bergman before I lose my fucking mind.
I snuggle back against Chance and he rests his chin on my
shoulder. My blouse has ridden up slightly on one side and he starts running his thumb up and down the side of my belly. It’s a tiny bit ticklish, but more than that it’s a straight up turn-on. The skin on skin contact makes my breath catch. My body heat rises, it feels like we are in a cloud of warmth, like when a fire first ignites and that wave hits you.
I know he feels it. I can feel his cock hardening against my ass.
Chance uses his chin to move my hair from my neck, then kisses it softly. That was pretty fucking smooth. No hands at all.
And, oh shit, that feels good. His lips on my neck, his thumb at my side, his chest against my back, and his thighs surrounding mine. My heart pounds. I close my eyes. His other hand snakes up slightly and he runs his thumb along the underside of my breast. My panties soak. My nipples harden. I can smell my arousal.
I shift on the barrel as he bites my earlobe softly. I put one hand on his thigh and squeeze tightly.
“Stop!” I hiss.
Kat looks over at us and attempts to wink. It’s a terrible look on her, but it makes me laugh and helps break up the sexual tension a little bit.
Everyone else turns around, it was not an amusing part of the movie. Which makes me laugh more. I can’t help it. It’s like all the sexual tension in my body from the last thirty minutes is releasing itself through laughter.
I hop down from the barrel and leave the room, so I don’t interrupt the movie. I get out to the tasting room and head toward the bathroom. A hand grabs my arm before I can get there.
“You okay?” Chance asks, turning me to face him.
“Fine,” I say, heading back toward the restrooms. But then change my mind. “Actually, no I’m not. You confuse me.”
“I do?”
“Yes, I feel like we have all this chemistry that I don’t quite know what to do with and it’s frustrating. And then at the same time, you’re just all normal. Why haven’t we fucked. Don’t you want to fuck me?”
He looks a little surprised at that. “Yes! I do. I want to fuck you every minute of every day. But we need to talk first.”
“No more talking.”
“It’s important,” he says.
“You aren’t married?”
“No.”
“Fucking someone else?”
“No.”
“Then I don’t care.”
“Are you sure?”
I nod my head.
He hesitates, as though he is trying to decide what to do. I lean into him, fisting his t-shirt to help me stretch up slightly and align our lips. He moves in closer, I can feel his breath, another inch and I’m pressing my lips to his. His tongue flicks at the seam of my mouth, demanding entrance. I open for him, and he pulls me in closer.
My entire body tingles and my head spins like I’m on one of those carnival rides where the little cages spin and turn and roll at the same time. His lips ghost across my jaw and move down my throat, the scrape from his whiskers sending goose bumps down my spine. I don’t want this to end.
Ever.
This right here must be why people are in relationships. To experience this every day.
“God, Chance.”
I slide my hands up his chest and cup his neck, bringing his mouth back to mine. I want to take the kiss even deeper, but he has other plans.
“Okay, let’s go,” he practically growls against my lips, his decision obviously made. He grabs my hand and pulls me toward the front door, and I stumble after him to keep up.
He follows me back to my place. It’s all I can do to concentrate on driving there without wrecking my car. I’m so excited by the thought of getting him in my bed. I pull my car into the garage, he pulls his bike in beside me. I push the button to shut the door and am out of the car launching myself toward him before he’s practically off the bike.
Our mouths meet, I’m desperate to feel him. I push his jacket off his shoulders and it falls to the floor, then I push his t-shirt up, licking and biting my way along his abs up to his nipples. He pulls my face to his and takes my mouth in a kiss that is nothing like the others. This kiss being weeks of pent-up frustration and sexual energy pouring out from his lips to mine.
His hands travel from my ass up my spine, he grabs the back of my blouse and rips it in half.
Literally.
It falls from my shoulders down my arms. I look up at him.
“I could have taken it off,” I laugh.
“I’ll buy you a new one,” he says.
“It was vintage,” I whisper.
“I’ll buy you a new vintage.”
“That’s not…”
He runs his hands up my bare belly and cups my breasts. I stop thinking about my blouse. He pulls one bra cup down to release my breast, and laves the nipple with his tongue, biting lightly.
“So good,” I moan.
He reaches behind me and unsnaps my bra, it falls to the ground beside my blouse.
I need to feel him against me. Nipples to chest hair.
“Shirt off,” I say, tugging at his. He reaches behind his head to grab the shirt and pull it off. The motion makes his abs contract, I run my hands along them.
“Ah!” He jumps, then giggles.
Giggles!
“Don’t do that, it tickles,” he says.
“Don’t do what?” I ask. “This?” I run my fingernails lightly up and down his sides. He lurches to the side and pushes my hands away. Nearly screeching. As someone who is not ticklish, I’m finding this to be entertaining.
“You sound like a little girl.” I move toward him.
“I’m warning you,” he says, backing away from me and holding his hands up, still tittering nervously.
My breasts feel heavy and full, as I advance on him; his gaze moves back and forth between my bare breasts, and my eyes, like he can’t decide if he wants to stare at my tits or block my tickle.
“What’s going to happen, Chance? Are you afraid I’ll tickle you to death?”
“That’s it,” he growls as he moves forward, grabs me in a fireman’s hold and heads for the connecting door into my house. Now I’m the one giggling. I’m tempted to tickle him from this angle but don’t for fear he’ll drop me.
“I like the feel of your tits on my back,” he says, entering the house. “Now, tell me where to go.” I direct him to my bedroom, and he throws me down on the bed. He starts pulling the belt from his jeans.
“I warned you,” he says. “You didn’t listen. Now you don’t get to use your hands at all.” He gets the belt off and crawls up the bed toward me, like a tiger toward his prey. I scramble back until I’m closer to the headboard, with most of my pillows bunched up behind me. But he pulls me back down by my ankles until I’m prone. My pants come off next and I’m left in only my panties. My completely soaked through panties.
My chest heaves. I’m practically panting, waiting to see what he’s going to do next. He pushes my legs apart to kneel between them, then leans forward, his chest inches from my lips, as he pulls my hands together above my head and wraps the belt around my wrists. It’s tight enough so I can’t break free, but not so tight that it’s chafing my skin.
He braces on his forearms and slides his body back down mine, settling his rock-hard cock against my core. The pressure of him, through his jeans, is almost enough to make me come.
I want that so bad. I want what he gave me the night of the concert. He’s the first person to give me an orgasm besides myself. Not that I’ll tell him that. It surprised me how fast it happened and how intense it was. Will it be that way every time? Can he do it again?
I moan in part at the thought of it and in part as a response to what he’s doing right now. His lips are at my throat, gently dancing across the skin. His breath is hot and heavy, as delicious feeling as the warmth of his skin against mine. His hand slides down my body and cups me through my underwear. The feeling of his fingers through the flimsy material is nothing short of electrifying.
“Ohmigod, how do you do this?” I can barely g
et the words out. He laughs against my neck.
“Do what, beautiful?”
“Make me feel this way. This good.” His fingers shift the material to the side and he sinks one inside me.
We both groan.
“This is all you, Remi. You make it feel this way.” His lips meet mine, and he speaks softly against them. “It’s never been this good.”
His lips move from mine and along my jawline back down my neck. I whimper. “Come back.”
“Nuh uh,” he says as he moves his lips down my chest, nipping and kissing as he goes. Getting closer and closer to my left nipple. I thrust forward, trying to get him to take more, but he just keeps teasing. His lips hover over my skin, as though they can’t decide where to land first.
“Please,” I beg.
“Please what?” he asks. “This one first?” He moves his lips to my left breast and takes it into his mouth.
“Oh yes.” His touch is warm and wet as he suckles, I can feel each pull from his lips down through the center of my body. My release is building quickly. It’s like he’s unlocked the secret orgasm hiding place and they are all going to come rushing out at once.
“God, Chance,” I say as it rushes over me. Wave after wave of euphoria. Stars exploding behind my eyes as my body spasms uncontrollably. My arms strain against the belt and my legs find purchase around his hips as I pull him against me to ride it out.
Holy fucking shit fuck shit balls.
I collapse back on the bed. Spent. Depleted. Stick a fork in me and all that.
But Chance is just getting started. His mouth moves to my right breast and begins the same ministrations.
“At least give me my hands back. Please.”
He stops and looks up at me. “Do you plan to behave?”
I nod.
He inches back up my body, kissing as he goes, until he meets my mouth, his lips just as demanding as the rest of him. He wraps one arm underneath me and pulls me into him. The other hand moves up to the belt, which he unclasps.
One-handed.
While kissing me.
The blood rushes back into my hands, and they tingle slightly. Chance pulls away from me to look at them.
