She laughed, reclaiming her seat and curling into the blanket there. But this time, we didn’t have a six-year-old between us. I took full advantage, plopping much nearer to the middle of the sofa and tugging her closer. Wrapping an arm around her and breathing her in as she pressed play.
“Comfortable?”
She sighed and nodded, snuggling into me. Giving me more affection in a matter of seconds than I’d had in years. A blessing, this girl. A total motherfucking blessing. One I wasn’t about to let go of or take advantage of. One I was planning to appreciate.
We watched the rest of the movie in silence, her fiddling with my fingers and me completely focused on her every breath. Her every sigh. The woman was my true north, the biggest sign I’d ever been given in this life of mine. Everything I could have wanted and needed plus more. I’d take watching G-rated movies with her any day of the week because being in her presence was better than anything else out there.
But it was as the credits began to roll that things took a turn for the better. Mercy finally made a move, twisting to face me, rising up to her knees so she could look me in the eye.
“Parris?”
Fuck, but that one word on her lips made my balls tight. “Yeah?”
“You brought us dinner.”
I nodded, completely focused on her mouth. Unable to tear my gaze from it. “I did.”
“That’s sort of like a date.”
“Only sort of?”
She hummed and leaned closer, not pulling away when my hand happened to land on her ass. Not backing off for a second as I squeezed that luscious flesh.
“Was this a date?” she asked, sounding like sex and need and all sorts of good things.
I shrugged, lying back against the arm of the couch as I pulled her down to lie on top of me. Gripping her ass with both hands because it sure seemed like I could. “Do you want it to be a date?”
“I don’t know.” She bit her lip, suddenly so damn nervous. “I haven’t been on a date in a long time.”
“I’m pretty sure you don’t forget how to date. Besides, how long could it have been?”
It took her a while to answer me. Many seconds spent simply staring down at my face as her expression shifted from worried to embarrassed to something close to sad. “Not since Beckett, really.”
Six years alone. Not nearly as long as me, but still too long. This woman deserved to be worshiped, not stuck up in some apartment and forgotten about. Not relegated solely to the job of mom.
“I promise to be gentle with you,” I said, grinning and holding her in place when she nearly jumped backward. “On our dates, I mean.”
“You think there’ll be more?”
Oh, my beauty. “I fucking promise it.”
She relaxed in my arms, dropping down to rest more of her weight on me. Adjusting her legs to tease the fuck out of my aching dick without even touching the poor bastard.
“Parris?”
She was going to make me come in my pants like a teenager if she kept saying my damn name like that. “Yeah, beauty?”
Her voice dropped and softened, her words barely audible. “It’s been that long for more than just dating.”
I shouldn’t have been happy about that. Not at all. Shouldn’t have wanted to beat my chest and call her mine at the thought that she hadn’t been touched in years. I was an asshole, a selfish, hypocritical jerk who was way too happy to know that the pussy I was after hadn’t been claimed in so long.
I was also a man with the most beautiful woman in the world lying across him. Caveman tendencies came along for the ride.
“I figured as much when you said you hadn’t dated since Beckett.” I brought her closer, brushing my lips against her chin. Lightly. Softly. Trying my hardest not to break my promise to her. Not to take. But damn, did I want to taste her once more. “Ask me, Mercy Bell. I made you a promise, and I’ll stick to it. So I need you to ask me if you want this to go any further tonight.”
I ran my hands down to her knees and up to her shoulders, pressing her against me. Shifting my hips so she could feel how hard she made me. How much the feel of her fed the beast within me. She shivered, her entire body seeming to respond to my touch before she lowered her head and pressed her lips to mine in the briefest of touches. I was about to groan, about to cling to her and beg her to say the words, when she reached for the remote to mute the television. The light from the screen lit up her eyes, and the silence that fell only made me so much more aware of how hard my heart was pumping. How heavy my breaths were. And my beauty took advantage of the quiet to whisper the five sweetest words known to man.
“Will you kiss me, Parris?”
And just like that, the leash she’d placed around me snapped. I kissed her, all right—hard and fast, plunging my tongue to tangle with hers as I fisted a hand in her hair and yanked her body into a position that gave me more access to her. Her thigh dropped to wedge itself against my straining cock, and I made sure to press one leg between hers, weaving us together. Giving her pressure where she needed it and letting our bodies begin to learn one another. I never gave her a break from the kiss either. Never took it easy on her. Instead, I pushed her hard and fast and demanding. Giving her everything I had and taking from her without pausing. Without allowing her a moment to catch her breath. And she liked it, groaning into my mouth as she bent her legs to straddle my hips. To move into a position as if to ride me. Just the thought of seeing her naked and bouncing on my cock had me groaning loud and fierce in the quiet of her little apartment.
Something that made her pull away from me.
“We shouldn’t do this out here, but we can’t go to my room,” she said, signaling to me that we were about to be so much more than just kissing.
“No?” I pulled her closer again and bit my way down her neck, tasting every inch I could reach. Spreading my fingers wide so I could touch as much of her as possible. “Why not?”
She moaned, sighing softly as I slipped a hand under her shirt and let my thumb drop to caress her breast. “We might wake up Beckett.”
Jackpot. “Don’t worry, beauty. I’ll hold my hand over your mouth when I make you scream.”
She jerked back, giving me that fiery glare I’d practically fallen in love with already. “You’re so arrogant. As if you could make a woman scream. That only happens in the movies.”
Challenge fucking accepted. I flipped us over, tugging her to the edge of the couch while I dropped to my knees before her. Spreading her long legs around my shoulders.
“Oh, my beauty. You should know better than to challenge a man like me. I am going to make you scream now.”
“You can’t.”
Stubborn. My girl was so damn stubborn.
But so was I. “I can and I will.”
Those light eyes locked on mine, steely resolve behind them. “Prove it.”
Aw, hell yeah. “Done.”
Chapter Eleven
MERCY
PROVE IT.
Two words that rebounded in my head the second I said them, that ramped up the ache brewing deep within me. The man made me want, made me crave something I knew I shouldn’t have. Made me say things like prove it when confronted with his attitude. I had no idea where those particular words had come from or why I’d pushed Parris the way I had, but I couldn’t take them back. Couldn’t stop the train I’d set into motion. And to be honest, I didn’t want to.
“Done.” Parris yanked my legs apart and pulled me lower on the sofa, running his hands up my thighs. Tugging on the jeans I wore just enough to tease me of his intentions. When I arched and tried to scooch back, he held me in place. Pinning me with his eyes and his hands as he rubbed his thumb over me, hitting just the right spot with a touch that was both too little and too much at the same time.
“I’m going to strip these dick-tease jeans right off that curvy ass of yours, beauty. Are you okay with that?”
That voice—that deep rumble. It did things to me. I nodded, unable to speak. Unwilling to break t
he moment of heat and sensation growing between us. Parris didn’t seem to mind, though. He did exactly as he’d said—he unfastened my jeans then pulled them down and off, tossing the denim to the floor before spreading my legs wider. Before baring me to him even more.
The entire situation felt so out of control. From the fact that Beckett lay sleeping only a small distance down the hall, to the scratchiness of the couch fabric. From the darkness of the room—lit only by the television as it silently looped the trailer for the movie we’d been watching—to the stillness around us. Parris was the only thing that moved in the apartment, the only creature to make a noise. Breathing hard and heavy in the silence of the night as I shivered under his heavy gaze. Half naked but fully exposed.
“Parris,” I whispered as I tried to bring my knees together. The man didn’t let me move, though. Didn’t allow me an extra inch of space away from him.
“You really are my beauty,” he whispered, inching closer to run his nose up the length of my thigh. Sending shivers shooting all along my skin. “You sure you want to do this here? You might never look at your couch the same way again.”
That attitude—such a turn-on and yet so annoying at the same time. “You act as if you’re some sort of gift to women everywhere. I’m not a virgin, Parris. I’ve had sex before.”
He slipped his thumbs under the edges of my panties, teasing me. A cocky smile spreading when he made me gasp with a particularly well-placed flick. “You’ve never had sex with me, which is all that matters. And I’m not a gift to women everywhere. Just you.” He kissed my thigh, taking his time to suck gently on the flesh before retreating once more. “I’ll do anything to be a gift to you and this slick pussy.”
Those filthy words coming from that sexy mouth had me trembling. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t answer him. Could only watch as he wrapped his hand around my panties, brushing his knuckles against me.
“Tell me your secret, beauty. How wet does this pussy get for whatever toys you have hidden away?”
Oh no. I hadn’t been prepared. Hadn’t been ready for him. Not like this. Not with that sort of question.
“What makes you think I have toys?”
He cocked an eyebrow up and shot me that trademark smirk. “You’re a woman with needs that haven’t been being met. I know what that means—I bet you’ve got a cock-shaped something tucked away in that bedroom of yours. Should we go get it? Let me try it out on you?”
That thought had me dripping. Not that I would tell him that. “Why? You think you’ll need the help?”
One second, I was sprawled on the couch, still mostly dressed, with Parris’ big, bulky frame between my spread thighs as I taunted him. The next? He’d ripped my panties right off. One tug. One yank, and that last bit of protection between him and my pussy was gone. Vanished. I’d gone from mostly dressed to almost completely naked, and he looked so damn proud of himself.
“I liked those.”
“I’ll buy you more.” He brought my knees up and over his shoulders, his rough hands pulling me lower on the couch. Spreading me wider. I was on display just for him. His face was right there, his breath warming my skin. The skin with a light layer of hair over it as I’d stopped my waxing appointments years ago but refused to sport seventies-style bush.
I really should have shaved that morning. “Maybe we should—”
“Fuck, beauty. I’m going to eat you all up.”
I groaned. Couldn’t help it—not with his breath teasing me. It was a loud groan, too. Far louder than I would have liked for it to be considering he hadn’t even really touched me yet. I was a desperate, needy mess, and I was going to die of embarrassment because of that. It had been a long time since I’d had a man between my thighs, since anyone had taken an interest in me as someone other than Beckett’s mom. This was all too much, too fast. Too enticing and dangerous. Too…thrilling.
I was a mom, for fuck’s sake. Thrilling had long since said goodbye in my world.
Which was why I needed to end this, to stop him. “Parris, I—”
He ran his nose along my flesh, bumping my clit and knocking all thoughts of stopping him right out of my head. One touch, and he had me ready to do whatever the hell he wanted. Ready to ride his face or his hand, maybe even his thick erection. Didn’t matter so long as he kept touching me.
“I changed my mind—I won’t buy you any panties because it’s a shame to cover up such a pretty pussy. And to think, this has just been here waiting for me to come take care of it.” He blew over my damp flesh, chilling me to the bone even as he set every part of me on fire.
I arched into him, flexing my fingers as if to grab hold. “Parris, please.”
“My poor, lonely pussy. Let me give her a kiss, beauty. She needs some attention.” He licked his lips, pausing with his thumbs rubbing deep into my thighs. Holding me open until I met his gaze, those light eyes freezing me in place. “Give me permission to kiss you, Mercy.”
The way the man said my name. Pure foreplay. And completely irresistible. “Please.”
“I’ll take that.” The first swipe of his tongue took me by surprise. It shouldn’t have—his face had basically been in between my legs for minutes at that point, not to mention he’d flat out told me what he wanted to do. I’d given him permission—practically begged him—with that please. Still, I hadn’t expected the explosion of heat and wet to come down so quickly. Hadn’t been ready for my body to react the way it did, with shivers and trembles and sparks of sensation firing from my toes to my fingertips. I hadn’t been ready for Parris at all. But damn was I glad he was there.
“More,” I moaned as he worked his lips and tongue against me. As he teased me toward a peak I knew I wanted to fall from. I ran my fingers over his cropped hair, needing something to hang on to. Finding nothing and growing more frantic the longer he left me hanging there. On the fourth pass with still no way to secure him to me, I huffed. “You need to let your hair grow.”
Parris froze, looking up at me. Questioning. And then, without warning, he knocked all the breath right out of me with one simple move. He wiped the back of his hand against his mouth. As if I’d somehow soaked his chin.
Oh my god, I’d soaked his chin.
“What’s that?”
My mind didn’t want to focus on anything but the man’s lips and chin. The shine there. Wet. I was wetter than I’d ever been before, and he had the proof of that. I couldn’t tear my eyes from his chin, from the moisture left behind even after he’d done his best to remove the traces of my arousal. I tried to retreat—wanting to close my legs, push him away, and cover myself—but Parris refused to budge. Holding me open and keeping his thumb moving over my clit in a cruel and yet sensual little dance that had the finest hairs on my body standing on end.
“Beauty.” Parris gave my thigh a squeeze and pressed a little harder against my clit, making me gasp. “Why do I need to let my hair grow?”
If my face and neck had been any hotter, they might literally have gone up in flames. “Parris—”
“Tell me.” He pinched me. Not my thigh—oh no, that wouldn’t be like him at all to go easy on me. No, the man pinched the flesh right at the curve of my ass. His knuckles brushing against my opening. His eyebrow arching up as if to make a point. And it did.
I licked my lips and turned away, unable to look at him a moment more. Not wanting to see his reaction as I made my admission. “I want you to grow your hair so I have something to hold on to.”
Silence. Deep, heavy silence greeted me. Nothing to listen to but the sounds of the two of us breathing. For seconds, I hung out on a ledge of shame, wishing I hadn’t opened my mouth. Hoping he didn’t take that as some sort of commitment and run away. Wanting so badly to—
“Mercy Bell.” He grabbed my attention with my full name, forcing my eyes to his. That slow smile crept across his face, so arrogant and smirky. So sexy. “Quit hiding from me, woman.”
“I’m not hiding.”
Lies, and he knew that
. “Just so you know, I’ve worn my hair in the Marine high and tight for decades not because I like it, but because I never had a reason to change it.” He leaned in to give my pussy a soft, luscious kiss. “Until now. You’ve given me a reason to do something different.”
“No. I didn’t mean—”
“You want something to hang on to while I lavish this sweet pussy with my attention.” He began massaging my thighs again, spreading me just a little more with each push and pull. “I’ll give you that. I’ll also give you a reason to need to. You ready?”
“For what?”
“For me to eat you until you scream my name.”
I’d like to say I rolled my eyes and said something quippy back, but that would be a lie. Parris never gave me the chance to respond. He dove in, basically face-planting into my pussy. Lips and tongue and fingers—oh my, his fingers—driving me straight up that hill of desire without a single pause or delay. The sounds I made—the grunts and moans and squeaks as he worked me over—should have embarrassed me. Instead, I loved them. Loved knowing that he pulled that from me, that his touch was releasing something I’d kept locked up inside of me for far too long. This man did that—he pushed me to let go. Forced me to drop the tough-girl act of a single mom and simply let me be me. The me who needed to be touched and kissed, who needed to come.
My god, did I need to come.
“Parris, I can’t.” I bent my legs, placing my feet on his shoulders and pushing up, up, up. Blatantly providing him with the room to do something more. Anything more. To just…get me there. “Please, I want to come. I need it.”
Parris never missed a beat. He groaned against me, slipping two fingers inside and thrusting deep. Giving me the more I’d been craving. Filling me with a third finger once he’d gotten me good and ready for it. So full and yet not enough. Never enough.
The sounds of his invasion—the slick, wet sucking noises as he fucked me with his hand—were so much. So loud. So embarrassing. But I couldn’t care. I rocked my hips against his hand and face, chasing that release. Needing to come so badly and knowing he was going to get me there. Him—a man. A real man. Not plastic or silicone or battery-operated anything. Parris was staking a claim on my pussy, and I was all in to let him.
Sabotage: A Vigilante Justice Novel Page 11
