Can't Touch This

by Pepper Winters

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  Ryder

  JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH.

  I wasn’t a praying man, but I didn’t have the words for what just happened. What did just happen? Did I seriously kiss her and end up almost coming just by dry humping her leg?

  I’d expected a shy response. A timid tongue stroke. A gentle moan. I thought I’d have to take her hand and put it onto the cock I’d told her multiple times she could touch. However, that was definitely not the case.

  I wasn’t prepared for the she-devil who attacked me just as hungrily as I attacked her.

  Her lips had been bloody handcuffs, her tongue the best tripping acid.

  Instead of letting me hold her and do what I wanted—she fought back and touched me in return.

  Goddammit, I couldn’t control myself around her—couldn’t control my thoughts, my heart, or rationality.

  I traced a shallow cut on the flesh above my butt where she’d yanked up my t-shirt to scratch my back. Her nails had been sharp; she hadn’t sheathed them.

  She’s a bloody hellcat.

  That thought both terrified and electrified.

  I’d wanted to get her into bed before. Now, I could barely walk and talk like a normal man without losing all coherent thought and throwing her against a wall.

  Fucking her wouldn’t just be pleasure. It would be life changing.

  “Your place or mine?” Even my voice was off—gruff and crackly.

  She sat stiff in the front seat of my car. She hadn’t tried to touch me; didn’t even look at me as we’d made our way back to the entrance of Tag Team Target and shed our bulls-eye and weapons.

  The kid had taken one look at us and decided not to say anything about how fast our session had ended or the fact that Vesper had won two to nil.

  He was smart.

  Vesper’s pulse hammered in her neck as I stopped for a traffic light. The roar of the Mustang that I’d splashed out and bought last year deafened the impatient voice of my desire.

  She took her time answering. In my head, doubts started swirling.

  My shoulders rolled as another second ticked past. I answered for her:

  I’m tired, maybe another night.

  You know what? This was a mistake. No one should experience a kiss like that. It’s too dangerous.

  I don’t want to see you again.

  So my jaw dropped when her gaze met mine. The baby blue of her irises were now navy with smouldering lust. “Which is closer?”

  I’d already thought of this. “Yours.”

  “Mine it is.”

  My foot pressed on the gas before my brain even told it to. Somehow, my cock had overridden my inner processor, deciding it would be faster to bypass my command and take charge instead.

  We didn’t say another word as I drove safely (but as fast as the speed limit permitted) to her tiny apartment in one of the few duplexes in town. I would’ve much preferred to take her back to my place. Then again, it wasn’t the lap of luxury with ladders, paint buckets, and tools all over the place.

  At least hers had functioning doors and locks.

  No, hers is better.

  For now.

  The journey took forever, but finally I slammed into the guest parking space outside her building and unbuckled. I didn’t look at her. I couldn’t. If I did, I’d grab her nape and yank her lips to mine.

  Launching myself from the car, I let her unbuckle before opening the passenger door and made sure I kept a safe distance between us.

  No matter how much air resided however, the crackle of awareness and spark of electricity built like a storm from her to me.

  Slamming her door and pressing the central lock on my keys, we headed up the garden path, through the front security door, up the staircases to her apartment, and edged around each other until we were both safely ensconced in her home.

  I took a few steps into her lounge while she threw the deadbolt and chain home.

  The cat leapt from the couch and tore into the bedroom.

  The kitchen light switched on then dimmed, casting the room in romantic shadow.

  I turned to face her as she took a step toward me.

  Uncertainty and nervousness tried to butt its way into the sexual mist we’d lived in since I found her hiding in that damn tepee. But by some unspoken agreement, we didn’t let it change our direction.

  There were no awkward questions. No small talk or offer of a drink. No comment about the weather or if this was still want we wanted.

  We knew this was what we wanted.

  Everything else didn’t fucking matter.

  Taking another step toward me, she murmured, “I can finally talk at a normal decibel and not have to scream.” She rubbed her throat, stealing all my attention and locking it on her neck. “My throat is still a little scratchy from the flu.”

  Remembering her sickness a few days ago did nothing to cool my libido. Unashamedly, I rearranged my cock. I didn’t care that I was touching myself in front of her.

  I think we were passed that stage. Flew past it actually—we’d shot past go and didn’t bother collecting two hundred dollars.

  “Oh yeah, you have things you want to say?” My voice strained. I had no idea why I hadn’t attacked her yet, but for some reason, I enjoyed the way she stalked me.

  She nodded, biting her lip. “Plenty to say.”

  My heart leapt into my mouth. “Like what?”

  Once again, I waited for her to be coy and avoid the question but she locked eyes. “Like how good your cock felt in my hands.” Her gaze dropped to where my erection lurched in my trousers like a dog yanked to heel. “When you told me I could touch it, I wanted to tell you there would never be a chance. I told myself I didn’t want to touch it. That I would never ever want to do that.”

  My hearing faltered as my heart formed its own brass band and made me pant. “And now? I take it you’ve changed your mind?”

  She smiled. “Changed my mind? Oh, I’ve changed my mind all right.” Crossing the final feet between us, she whispered, “I’ve decided I want to taste it.”

  Oh, sweet Jesus.

  I snapped.

  Grabbing her by the back of the neck, I wrenched her forward. Instead of squirming or pulling away, her fingers dug into my t-shirt and jerked me as hard as I jerked her.

  Our lips crashed together, our tongues fighting for supremacy before we’d even wrapped arms around each other.

  She moaned.

  I groaned.

  Our kiss became a warzone as our head’s danced, tongues licked, lips bruised.

  We tried to crawl inside each other.

  Her leg came up over my hip. My hand went under her ass, half picking her up to do—fuck if I knew. If I could somehow tear away our jeans right here, right now, I would. I’d climb inside her and never leave.

  However, the only things that could connect currently were our mouths.

  And shit, did they connect.

  I didn’t know who kissed harder, but we both cried out as teeth crashed and tongues tied we licked so deep.

  “Christ, Vesper.” Dragging her over to the couch, I was thankful the cat had vanished because he would’ve been a flat cat as I let gravity yank us downward.

  Turning her around, I fell backward blindly, taking her with me. She landed on my lap with a gasp but our lips never untangled.

  Her hands landed in my hair and mine copied hers. We didn’t cradle each other’s heads, we fucking mauled them.

  She wasn’t gentle.

  I wasn’t gentle.

  All my life, I’d shielded how feral I could get in sex. I’d never let my guard down. Sure, if the woman I was with asked me to spank her a little, I did. But I never went where I wanted to go. Most of the time, a woman said she wanted some fun which meant a light swat and some cum on her tits.

  This woman?

  I was in dangerous territory because I didn’t know if I would be able to stop. But I had to because I didn’t want to scare her off before I’d even had her

.

  Grabbing a fistful of her long blonde hair (and yes, I’d noticed it was straight not curly, thank you very much), I grunted, “What exactly is going on here?”

  What am I doing?

  I’m the talker now?

  She blinked, almost blind with lust. “What? What do you mean?”

  “I mean, are we going to rip our clothes off and fuck like bunnies or is this more of—”

  She tossed her head back, rocking on my cock. “Oh my God, that sounds divine.” My jaw locked together as her hands went to my belt.

  I sucked in a breath. “That’s what you want?”

  “Yes. So many yes’s. I want to be a bunny. I want to fuck like bunnies.”

  My heart literally stopped. Vesper Fairfax was the holy grail.

  In public, she was sweet and intelligent. In private, she had a gutter mouth and sexual drive that made me get on my knees. How had I not sensed this minx beneath her scrubs? How did my cock not figure it out like some tuning fork hunting gold?

  Because she was gold—more than that—she was a damn treasure chest full of surprises and awesomeness.

  “Just so we’re clear…you’re good with this, right?” I fisted her hair tighter, yanking her head back and biting her throat. Letting myself go just a little, I deliberately left a mark, sucking hard. “That’s gonna bruise and everyone at work is gonna know what a naughty, filthy girl you are.”

  She trembled, her skin growing impossibly hotter.

  Fuck, she liked dirty talk, too?

  Pushing her (who was I kidding?) pushing myself to limits I’d never let myself go, I growled, “Do you like this?” I spanked her. Hard. Swatting her ass as she hovered on her knees, pushing her tits in my face.

  I almost came.

  I’d never been so close to coming in my entire life without being touched.

  “Yes, hell yes. Do it again.”

  “Again?” I hit her. Not abusively hard but not a pesky slap, either. This wasn’t about violence but it was laced with no inhibitions and rules weren’t known yet. “Keep surprising me like this and I’ll embarrass myself.”

  She gasped, purring beneath my hand as I stroked the fire I’d left behind on her ass. “It’s a bit of a surprise to me, too.”

  “You mean? You’re not normally this…wild?”

  She laughed huskily. “I wouldn’t call it wild, but yes, I’ve never just let go before and asked for things I want. I didn’t even know I wanted those things until you kissed me in that damn laser strike.”

  I smiled, peppering her cheeks with vicious kisses as my hands kneaded her breasts. “Perhaps there was some voodoo in that place that made you into a hellcat.”

  “Careful, I have a cat. I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate being referenced to the devil.”

  Her lips landed on mine again, stealing conversation in favour of a wet hungry kiss.

  I groaned as her nimble fingers undid my belt and unzipped my trousers. Pulling aside the waistband of my black boxer-briefs, her forehead crashed against mine as her fingers touched me for the first time.

  Touched my naked skin. Smeared the embarrassing wet crown that I hadn’t been able to stop leaking every bloody time she kissed me.

  “Holy shit.” My fingers turned to pincers as I grabbed her nape, yanking her mouth back to mine. My hips moved on their own accord, thrusting up, giving her everything she wanted.

  She shivered as her thumb swirled around the top, no doubt feeling the throbbing excitement she’d put me in. “Wow, it feels bigger with nothing between us.”

  “Jesus, Vesper.” My head fell back as she squeezed.

  She panted, “How quickly can you get naked?”

  My eyes flared open. “Is that a trick question?” Tossing her off my lap and onto the couch, I stood up, kicked off my shoes, shoved my trousers and boxers down my legs, ripped them off with my socks, and then grabbed my t-shirt over my head.

  Two seconds flat, I was in my birthday suit.

  I smirked. “How’s that for speed?”

  She laughed. “Impressive. But I should probably have told you to close the curtains first.”

  My hands shot between my legs, hiding the piece of me that had no other worries but her. Sure enough, to my left the front windows leading to the street were wide open and the kitchen light to my right painted me in perfect silhouette.

  “Goddammit.” But then…I didn’t care. If old busybodies wanted to see my bare ass as I plunged into this incredible woman, who was I to stop that subscription to a show better than Netflix?

  I moved toward Vesper on the couch.

  But she held up her hand before dropping it to her jumper and teasing me with the hem and a sliver of her bare belly. “If you think I’m getting naked for Mrs. Lesley across the street, you’ve got a screw loose.”

  “Screw?” I laughed. “Yes, please. I accept your invitation.”

  Her face darkened with lust as she sat on her knees and tore the jumper over her head, leaving her in a black tank and jeans. Her hands dropped to her waistband, teasing me like a demon with her zipper. “It is. If you close the curtains.”

  “Christ, woman.” Keeping a firm hold on the stiff plank between my legs and doing my best to hide the twins, I stalked toward the window and made the mistake of looking down.

  “Oh, shit.” I ducked to the left, wrapping myself in the lemon daisy curtains. “She saw me.”

  Vesper giggled like crazy moron on the couch. “Told you we didn’t want an audience.”

  A raspy voice sailed up from the street. “Vessie? Is that you?”

  I slapped my forehead with my palm as Vesper laughed louder and climbed from the couch to place herself squarely in the window—after all, she could. She wasn’t naked.

  Witch.

  “Hi, Mrs. Lesley. Out walking Gumball, I see?”

  “Yes, child. Nice evening for a stroll.” She cleared her throat while I hid in the yellow curtain. “Was that a man I just saw, child? A man with his twig and berries exposed?”

  Vesper snorted, doing her best to control her mirth by plastering a sympathetic mask into place. “It was. Unfortunately, he’s my cousin.”

  What?!

  She drew a circle in the air by her temple. “He’s not all there, I’m afraid. He likes to get naked. It’s a problem.” She shot me a look, enjoying this way too much. The moment the town gossiper had vanished, Ves would be getting a whole lot of crazy with me punishing her.

  I groaned as I pictured her on her knees and my cock in my mouth. Or better yet, her on her back and my face between her legs.

  My hand lashed out to touch her hip, not caring if my dick was noticeable through the lemon cotton for Mrs. Lesley and her overly fat chocolate lab to see. “Goddammit, I can’t wait much longer.” I lowered my voice, hoping it was more of a seduction than a beg. “If you don’t get rid of her and come here, I’m gonna jizz on your curtains.”

  Her eyes flashed to my cock as I fisted it in a death grip. My quads vibrated with the urge to come.

  “Don’t you dare.” Her eyes narrowed. “I like those curtains.”

  “Get rid of her then.”

  A twinkle appeared in her gaze. “Or what?”

  Holy fuck, this woman was too much for me. I’d seriously struck jackpot. I was so intoxicated that if it meant proposing marriage to make her shut out the world so we could have some sexy time, I would do it. I would shackle myself to this luscious vet for the rest of my life and have no regrets.

  None whatsoever.

  Don’t you dare propose marriage for sex.

  I swallowed hard. “Or I strip you while you’re standing there all smug and haughty and press your against the glass for the world to see.”

  Her cheeks reddened. “You wouldn’t.”

  “Wouldn’t I?” My eyes dropped to her jeans. “Try me, Ves. You don’t know what I’m capable of when a sexy-as-hell woman torments me.” Brushing my finger along her jaw, I whispered, “You have five seconds to get rid of Mrs. Nosy Parker.”

  I kept my body against the wall, but I couldn’t stop my arm from being visible to peeping toms on the street.

  “Vessie, is that your cousin touching you like that? Not very appropriate for a young, naked man of your relation to be so close.” Mrs. Lesley shouted from below. “Do you want me to call your parents, child? The police?”

  Vesper bit her cheek to stop from laughing. “No, it’s okay, Mrs. Lesley. I’m just going to put him to bed and he’ll be fine in the morning.” Not waiting for a reply, she opened her arms, grabbed the sides of the curtains and ripped them closed. “Goodnight!”

  The second we were blocked from view, I pounced. “About goddamn time. You’ll pay for that.” Wrapping my arms around her, I spun her around and slammed her against the wall, trapping her in daisy print. “Going to put me to bed, huh?”

  She smiled. “Yep, like the naughty boy you are.”

  “I think the naughty one here is you.” I kissed her nose, inhaling subtle perfume of vanilla and something floral.

  “Me?” She pouted dramatically. “How so?”

  “You called me your cousin. I think incest is frowned upon.”

  Her face turned serious. “Believe me, if you were my cousin, I don’t think I’d have the willpower to turn you away based on a few drops of DNA.”

  I froze, even as my cock grew impossibly harder. “You’re saying you want me that much? You’d break a few laws to have me?”

  Her hand cupped the back of my neck, bringing my mouth to hers. “I’m saying I would break all the laws in the universe just to feel you inside me.”

  “Shit, you are a naughty, filthy girl.”

  She squealed as I picked her up and carried her to the couch. Throwing her down, I attacked her jeans, undoing the button and zipper and tearing them down her legs. “I can’t believe you’d sleep with your own cousin.”

  “Not just any cousin.” She jabbed my chest with her foot as I turned my attention to removing her tank top. “Just you. And only for one night.”

  I paused, unable to tear my eyes away from her dressed in black lace bra and panties. “Hold up. Just one night?”

  She nodded. “Just once.”

  “You wound me.”

  “Hey! You’re my cousin. I’m allowed to be reckless once and put it down to bad decisions. But to do it again? Not allowed. I’m not a sicko.”

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