by Quinn, Taryn
“Why don’t I?”
His mouth came down hard on mine, his lips warm and soft and oh so hungry, and all I could think was finally.
Fucking finally.
Eleven
Murphy
Cabin Fortress: Dream Girl Alert! Flatline imminent. I may not survive.
I cupped her face, my entire system humming and crashing at the same time.
This woman was everything. I wasn’t lying about that. And I was terrified that she was going to disappear now that she knew I was Cabin Fortress. The rage in her eyes was nothing next to the hurt.
Things had just gotten even more crazy and convoluted, but I wanted to be her baby daddy and her lover. I wanted even more than that if I was truly being honest. But she wasn’t ready for that level of honesty.
I was way ahead of her. Had been for well over a year.
But I had right now to convince her that we were worth the chance. Worth a gamble.
Her legs rose to hook around my hips and I knew I had one chance to get this right.
Bring every A-game you ever had in your life, son.
I lightly wove my fingers into her hair. It was soft as cornsilk and just as fine. A rainbow explosion of colors twisted and flowed over my wrists as I pushed through the little clips and twists she had had going on. She was forever braiding and pinning her hair back because of the work she did.
I’d always wondered just how soft it would be and it was even better than I could have imagined.
She groaned into my mouth and I deepened the kiss, turning her lightly so I could taste every last inch of her. I wanted to know everything about her. Every nuance, every breath, every gasp. I wanted to swallow her whole and let her know just how much she was wanted.
Before I could pull her closer, she wrapped her arms around my neck and hoisted herself up so we were eye-to-eye.
“Nice guys don’t kiss like that.”
I squinted at her. “First of all, did you just quote a movie at me?”
She licked her lips with a devilish smile. “Maybe. And because you’re Mr. Sneaky, you should know what movie it’s from. I told Fortress on one of the first nights we chatted.”
I smiled and shifted her tighter against me. Bridget Jones’ Diary. I didn’t know the exact line, but I figured I was damn close. “Who told you I was a nice guy?” I asked against her mouth before I went in for a second round.
She laughed into the kiss and then we were both sunk. We kissed like we’d known one another for years, not weeks. And while Murphy had known Veronica for a damn long time, it was the deeper, quieter connections between Vee and Fortress that had finally pushed both of us beyond our shyness.
Beyond the social barriers that wouldn’t let us get past the polite pleasantries of customer and barista.
There were no awkward glances and fumbling touches now.
I cupped her perfect ass and fit her against my very hard, very happy cock. Finally, he was going to get a little bit of heaven. Well, if I totally didn’t screw everything up.
It felt like I’d been waiting for her forever.
Probably because I had been.
“Off,” she said against my mouth. “Too many clothes.”
I leaned back enough to drag my hoodie over my head. I had a chambray shirt under it, but she was already worming her way under it to get to my chest.
“Goodness.”
“Veronica,” I said with a laugh as she got tangled in the shirt. Then there was no more laughter when she ripped the shirt open and buttons rained down around us. “Holy shit.”
She raked her nails through my chest hair. “Nope, that’s my line. Look at all this gloriousness you’ve been hiding under your layers. For shame.” She peered up at me with lust and excitement in her gaze.
“I…” And then I was a goner when her mouth buzzed along my pecs down to my belly. I tried to suck it in and she gripped me harder.
“So strong and big.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that one. I wanted to preen, but that wasn’t me. That was my brothers and others I knew. I wasn’t the guy who got naked in the middle of the kitchen with all the fucking lights on.
But right now, I felt amazing. And strong and sexy. At least that was how she saw me and that was enough.
My belly quaked as she ran her nails down the arrow of hair that led to the snap of my work pants. “Programmers don’t have bodies like this,” she said and jerked the snap open.
“They do if they’re part time carpenters.”
“I’ll have questions about that later, right now?” She pushed me back a step and slid off the counter to reach into my pants. “Right now, I want to see all the goods.”
I swallowed and groaned as she tightened her super fucking strong fingers around my very hard dick. Of course, she wanted me for this. I was a tool to reach her very clear goal.
A baby.
She drew me out of my boxer briefs and licked her lips. “Tell me you have a condom.”
I blinked before my hands came back up to rest on her hips. “Condom?”
“Yeah. We haven’t had the baby daddy talk and tests and all that other stuff. Right now, I just want this.” She squeezed me firmly and coasted her thumb over the sensitive ridge of my head. “Inside me. It’s been a damn long time, Fort–Murphy. It’s been a long time since I wanted to do this with anyone. Added to the fact that it’s been a crazy few weeks where I wanted to do it with two men.”
I lowered my forehead to hers with a groan as she found the little drop of precum her words had caused. “It’s been a fair bit of time for me too, Veronica.”
She closed her eyes for a moment before her endless lashes fluttered back open. They weren’t caked with makeup either. Soft and natural with a little bit of something to make her green eyes glow.
But it was all her.
No artifice.
Just the girl of my freaking dreams.
“The way you say my name makes me crazy. No one ever uses my full name. Heck, they even call me a million different ones, but never pick the right one. No one but you.”
“Ditto, girl. Not even my mama calls me Murphy.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t like Moose. Not that they aren’t perfectly majestic creatures, but it has a whole different meaning the way people say it. And you’re not a moose. You’re Murphy. My Murphy,” she said and pulled me back down to her mouth.
I growled out her name into the kiss as she stroked me, making me even more insane. I’d wanted her for too long to have her going at me like this without some serious repercussions. I would not be coming in her hand like an untried teenager.
No fucking way.
I tore my mouth away and whipped her soft shirt over her head. All her hair was down and the colorful waves danced around her shoulders and down her back. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with your hair down.”
She shook it back and her surprisingly full breasts pushed at the lacy cups of her bra. I traced the back of my knuckles down the slope of one before lowering my mouth to the tight tip pushing against the fabric.
She slipped her fingers into my hair and held me tight as I sucked her through the stretchy cup. I curled my arm around her waist and hauled her up so she could wrap her legs around my middle.
I shifted her higher and nudged her bra away from one nipple and groaned around the soft skin before I circled the taut peak. She held onto my shoulders and arched to give me better access.
“God, yes.” Her voice broke through the silence of the room and urged me to do more, cover every inch of her chest and neck.
She giggled at the rough scratch of my heavy two-day’s growth. I flicked open her bra and it hit the kitchen floor.
Latte yelped and raced for the lace. He immediately tangled himself in the straps.
“Oh, no.” She held onto me, but was hanging down to try and help the puppy.
Me? I was still trying to get around the fact that Veronica was naked in my arms. And her unbelievabl
y perfect breasts were dragging across my chest.
“Murphy. Help him.”
“Right.”
I set her on the kitchen island and scooped the dog up with her lacy strappy bra thing. He was trying to gnaw on the straps. “Okay, okay. No, sir. That’s not yours.”
I brought him into the living room and set him on the couch with the blanket he’d commandeered. Evidently, he liked the Sherpa-like underside of my cozy plaid blanket.
“Give a guy a break, huh?” I squeezed one of his half dozen toys and the pup attacked the little pink elephant.
“That’s right. Kill it.” I looked over at Veronica with a smile and held up the bra I’d saved. “I don’t think he hurt it.”
She waved it off and swung her legs where she sat on the edge of the breakfast bar. She leaned forward enough that her breasts swayed lightly and my damn tongue went bone dry.
Don’t say bone, man.
I turned back to her, my pants bunched around my hips, my dick tenting my boxer briefs. “Tell me the moment wasn’t ruined.”
She crooked her finger at me, and I returned to her as casually as my bunched pants allowed. “No way. Unless we have to run into town for a condom because I so don’t have one in my purse.”
I dug my wallet out of my pocket. “Would you think less of me if I admitted I’d purchased a fresh pack after you started talking dirty to me on the internet?”
Her smile widened. “Even when you knew I might not be cool with knowing Cabin Fortress’s alter ego?”
“Gotta say that my dick really wasn’t thinking it all the way through. And I was hoping you wouldn’t hate me when you found out. If we ever got there.” I fished out the condom and set my wallet on the counter.
She hooked me closer with her ankle and plucked the condom out of my hand. “I like a man who knows what he wants.”
“This man wants you. So very much.”
She swallowed and I wondered if I had gone too far, too fast.
This definitely wasn’t going exactly the way I’d planned, but it was perfect for me. “I can put the food on warm and take you back to my room. I’ll show you just how much I want you.”
She reached between us, down to where I was still as hard as a damn tire iron. “I’d like that.” Then she bit her lower lip. “For the second round.”
“Girl, you’re killing me.”
Her smile widened. “I kinda like when you call me that. It’s always Veronica.”
“Veronica,” I said softly as I traced my fingertip around her nipple.
She closed her eyes and sighed, then her eyes popped wide when I tugged not-so-gently on the tip. I didn’t want her to think I couldn’t play.
That this couldn’t be wild and intense.
I wanted to be careful with her, but if I could get her riled up, maybe she wouldn’t notice that I’d probably only last marginally longer than a first timer.
I lifted her butt and dumped her flat on her back. I took the condom from her and set it to the side. She made a little yip and laughed as she struggled to get up on her elbows. “You can watch,” I murmured, “but right now, I’m just glad I don’t have any neighbors that are close.”
Her eyes widened. “I knew it, you are going to murder me.”
Murder her pussy maybe, but I didn’t think that would come out right. I tugged at her tight jeans as I arched a brow. “Murder? You came out here thinking I might not be safe?”
“Well, it’s always the quiet ones. And now that you can fess up to knowing about our Murderino discussions, you know why I’d think so, pal.”
Her jeans slid free once I got them past her delectable ass. I tugged off her tennis shoes, then tossed her jeans over my shoulder onto the nearby dining room chair. “Now, now. Don’t get all worked up again. I thought I was forgiven.”
“You kissed me quiet.” She tapped her pink unicorn-socked foot against my shoulder. “Big difference.”
I curved my hand along her calf. Freaking knee socks. Only this woman could make striped pink unicorn socks sexy. And they were, dammit.
I was so leaving them on.
I kissed my way along her ankle to her knee and flicked my tongue along the skin there before easing her knee over my shoulder. “Well, then let me beg for forgiveness.”
“On a kitchen island?”
I dragged my nose along the soft skin of her inner thigh. “Yep. All clean even. Well, until I’m done with you.”
“Where did this cocky guy come from?”
I grinned against her skin, then nipped the fragile flesh at the top of her thigh. “I’ve got the girl I’ve liked for a damn long time here with me. I’m going to make the most of it.” I lowered my mouth to the cotton panel covering my target and blew lightly against the fabric. “If you’re okay with that?”
She swallowed but didn’t stop watching. “Can I have that towel to cushion my elbows? I’d like to watch.”
“Damn, girl.” I reached for the fresh towel beside the tiny prep sink I’d built into the island.
Keep it light.
Keep it light.
Jesus, I wanted to devour her.
I tossed the towel on her belly, then covered the little wet spot on her panties with my mouth. I would damn well make it a larger one.
One step at a time.
My cock was a fucking flag pole under the counter I was leaning on. But this was about her right now. And I wanted her screaming my name. If there was one thing I was good at, it was pleasuring a girl.
When you were a guy with a less than desirable body—at least back in the day if not now—you made sure your techniques were top of the line. And I’d never had a girl complain. Thank Jesus.
Though it was a little disconcerting that she was watching so intently.
Was it because she wanted to soak it all in just like me?
Or was she testing me?
She sat up a little and cupped my cheek, then trailed her finger down my jaw. “My serious Murphy is coming back. I’m not sure if I missed him or want him to go back into hiding.” She rubbed her heel along my back like a cat. “Whatever you do, I’m going to like it.”
“Is that right?” I traced my tongue along the elastic edge of her panties.
She licked her lips. “Oh, yes.”
“Because it’s been awhile?”
She tipped her head to the side. “Because it’s you.”
“Fuck, that is not helping.”
Her smile came back. She opened her legs a little wider. “Does that help?”
Leaning back a little, I dragged her closer to the edge of the counter to get my hands under her ass. I peeled her panties away and she yelped.
“Cold.”
I splayed her open with my shoulders. “You’ll be warm in a second.” Then I put my lips where I’d been dreaming of placing them. I licked her as if she was a popsicle on a hot summer day. Not a damn drop wasted.
She arched up under me and I held her down, clasping my fingers together over her narrow waist as I learned every corner of her. From the little places that made her shake, to the singular combination of suction and tongue that made her curl up around me and scream my name.
I focused on my directive.
My goal.
And the number of times I could get her to yell my name.
Her flavor became part of me, like a brand-new strand of DNA in my bloodstream. Nothing had ever tasted as sweet and spicy as this woman. Her thighs shook around my head, and I swore I was probably missing a handful of hair, but damn, it was worth it.
I finally looked up from her swollen pussy to find her eyes still on me. Her chest was rising and falling as if she’d just run a marathon and her cute pastel rainbow-tipped hair stuck to the light sheen of sweat on her chest.
I couldn’t help myself, I rolled up to my full height and pulled her up to meet me. I groaned into her mouth as her slightly chilled skin met my chest.
She reached between us to find me still hard as hell. “Are you done?” she
asked between pants and kisses. Then she pulled me even tighter and kissed me harder. “Because I don’t think any man has ever done such a complete job before.” She scraped her teeth down my chin. “Ever.”
I licked the last bit of her off my lower lip. “I could go for days, Veronica.”
She let my erection go and laced her hands behind my head. “Normally, I’d call your bluff, but I think I believe you. And I’m not sure I like it.”
I frowned down at her. “Why not?”
“Because you’re far too controlled. I was losing my freaking mind, and you’re as cool as a cucumber—pardon the pun.”
“Oh, there’s nothing cool about me.” I hooked her tighter around me and fumbled along the granite for the condom I’d pulled out before. “I just wanted to make sure you knew I was worth it.”
She shifted back to study me. “Worth it? Because your mouth is more talented than my entire repertoire of baking skills?”
“I doubt that.”
She curled her nails into my shoulders. “Seriously, Murphy. I don’t need you to impress me with your oral prowess. I just want to have fun with you.”
I frowned and touched my forehead to hers. “And you’re not?”
“Of course I am, but it’s not all about me.” She laid her hand on my chest. “It’s about us. Together.”
I clutched the condom. “It had to be about you, or I’d go off in a hot second.” I closed my eyes and pressed my lips into her shoulder. “I want you too bad.”
“Then show me.”
I thought I had been. I’d just have to work harder.
She pulled my hand between us and pried my fingers open to get to the condom. She ripped it open and slipped it free. “Even ribbed for her pleasure,” she said with a laugh.
“It’s all about you.”
“Us.”
I stared into her eyes. I wasn’t sure there had ever been a woman quite like Veronica in the whole of my life. “Us,” I agreed.
As she rolled the latex on me, I tipped back my head at the pressure of her touch and the stupid latex. But I was also so glad it wasn’t about creating a baby.
