His lips thinned. “Yes, there are cowboys there.”
“But you don’t do that?”
“I’ve been known to rope a bull or two,” he admitted. “Why? You got a thing for cowboys?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, I’ve never really thought about before, but I probably could have one.”
That made him smile. “Oh, yeah? What else could you probably have a thing for?”
Their eyes met and she shook her head, coming out from behind a side of beef to stand in front of him again. “Nope.”
“What?” he drawled innocently, knowing exactly what she meant, but wanting her to say it out loud.
“I’ve never had a thing for football players.”
“Good thing I’m not a football player.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Sure do,” he agreed. “You don’t want to admit you have a thing for me.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I have a thing for you? You’re the one panting after me all day like a starving dog.”
He laughed. “I mean, characterizing me as a dog is a little harsh, but I concede your point. But then, I don’t have any problem letting you know I have a thing for you. As I’ve mentioned, that seems to be your problem.”
She didn’t look impressed, so he continued, taking a step toward her. She took a step back, straight into the beef, and let out a high-pitched scream. The sound was muted in the soundproof space. Nevertheless, it was funny as hell.
“Don’t worry, it’s already dead,” he informed her, laughing his ass off as she wiped at her arm where it had touched the raw meat. Any parasites had been killed off in the initial freeze or else he would have suggested a joint shower for her to get properly sanitized.
“Okay, I think I’ve cooled down enough,” she declared in a huff, marching toward the door.
He stopped laughing and everything in his being wanted to just block her path, but he was a big guy and his size was intimidating so he was very cautious of using it like a weapon. He stepped aside, allowing her to pass, but before she got to the door, he said, “So when are we going for that celebratory dinner?”
Turning on her heel, she speared him with a serious gaze. “You know it’s not a good idea.”
“Is it because you kind of work for me now?” he asked, just to send her off again. He wasn’t ready for her to go yet, enjoying their game.
“I do not work for you at all,” she growled, her head tilting forward in irritation.
“Sure feels that way to me,” he continued. “I’m making your product. I’m selling it and giving you money. Is that not how business works?”
“You’re the worst,” she muttered, her hand on the doorknob. “And FYI, that actually makes it sound like you’re working for me.”
“And I’m glad to do it,” he told her. “I’ll stop teasing if you agree to dinner with me.”
“It’s not even worth it,” she grumbled to herself, head down.
Then facing him head-on, she pulled off the T-shirt of his personal mental torment, treating him to a strip show he would have paid good money for. “You want me, Hugh? Come and get me. I honestly don’t know why I’m resisting anymore other than the fact that you’re an impossible human being.”
He got caught up staring at the two glorious mounds of flesh pressing out of her sheer, pale yellow bra. He was definitely going to lose his mind if he didn’t touch her as soon as possible.
But then he saw her shiver and jolted into action.
“Come on,” he growled, grabbing her hand and her shirt from the floor, “you’re going to get hypothermia.”
He led them next door to the pantry and snatched his own shirt off as well, tossing it carelessly to the floor.
Her eyes locked on his chest, she fanned herself. “Maybe we left the freezer too soon.”
“This up to your standard?” He was messing with her because he knew exactly what he looked like. And worked out nearly every day to get there.
“On closer inspection, your abs could use a little work,” she told him, meeting his eyes again.
“Get over here, Parker,” he ordered. “I’ve been waiting too long to get my hands on you again.”
She slowly made her way toward him and he braced himself for what was to come. He could easily take charge of this whole thing, but he had a girl who’d just stripped in a meat locker so despite the fact that he couldn’t trust her, he quickly decided that he was going to do every damn thing to make this a regular event until she left.
“You are sexy as hell,” he said, finding it hard not to watch as her breasts jiggled the slightest bit with every step she took.
The pantry was dark, just a hanging trio of shaded lights over a steel table in the middle of the room, but he could see everything he needed to. He hoped to hell the table was sturdy because as soon as Parker got close enough, he scooped her straight up in his arms and sat her down on it.
Maybe it was wishful thinking to imagine he could let her be in complete control. Next time. And he would make damn sure there were some next times.
She leaned in and dropped a kiss on his collarbone, making him shiver against his will. “You’re sexy, too,” she said, her voice soft. “An ass, but also sexy.”
“Aw, sweetheart,” he purred, “you’re too nice to me.”
And then he finally took her mouth, those sweet bowed lips softening under his own. He tangled his hands in her hair, the strands on her neck slightly damp, which really got his dick pulsing with need. He hauled her closer, her legs wrapped around his back, and he pressed into the waiting warmth between her thighs. Heaven was in his pantry, he swore to God.
Her tongue breached his mouth and he grunted, grinding his hips against her. Their fire was rising fast and furious, her nails biting into his back as she explored his mouth. He let her, loved feeling her small tongue against his, the sensuality of it, the intimacy. He’d missed that a lot since his breakup, being part of someone. She tasted like sweet diet soda and smoky barbecue, the perfect summer combination, and he pulled on her, egging her on and bringing her deeper into him so they didn’t know where one ended and the other began.
“These fucking shorts have been driving me nuts all damned day,” he growled against her mouth when he finally came up for air. He gripped her sides and lifted her so she could slide off the cutoff jean shorts that should be outlawed on her, they were so absurdly fitted. “Take them off. Take it all off.”
He could feel her heart beating against her ribs and her eyes locked with his as she slid the jeans off onto the floor, along with her yellow bra and panties. “That’s right, sweetheart,” he murmured, not quite ready to look down at what she’d uncovered. “You like doing what I tell you?”
Her eyes flared, but he just raised an eyebrow because they both knew the truth. “You can tell me what to do, too,” he taunted her, biting down on her tender earlobe. “I promise I’m very obedient.”
She snorted and he sat her back on the table, taking her mouth again. He allowed her no room to think, took her over, inhaled her, ate at her mouth until she was limp in his arms, yet still pulling at the hair at the base of his skull.
Reaching into his pocket, he took out his wallet and dropped the condom on the table, meeting her eyes. If she wanted to stop this, now was the time.
Instead she rocked against him and he fucking loved it.
“How do you like it, Parker?” he murmured, gaze sliding down the sickest fucking body he’d ever seen. Her waist was pinched and it flared out into hips that were made for his big hands to grip. He pulled her closer into his waiting cock, grinding against her until her wetness darkened the front of his shorts.
He cupped her perfect globes in his hand, leaning down to take an unimaginably soft nipple into his mouth, sliding his tongue in circles around it until gently sucking the tip, the quiet sound ero
tic in the silent pantry where nothing else existed besides them.
“Gentle?” he suggested when she didn’t respond to his question, running a thumb whisper-soft over her nipple.
“Or not?” he posed, giving the nipple a good twist, her whimper of pleasure making his cock throb spastically against his pants.
Switching nipples, he took the beaded tip into his mouth, sucking ever so slightly on it, barely running his tongue over it, her hips grinding into him to get closer.
And then he pulled it hard into his mouth, feeding off her groan.
“Hard it is,” he murmured, applying the same treatment to the other nipple.
She reached down and unbuttoned his shorts, pulling him out of his underwear.
Parker watched as he got larger with each stroke, the flesh hardening in her hand. The feel of her around him was so damned good, he wasn’t sure how long he could make this last. Taking her nipple again, his tongue explored every ridge of her, the smooth skin of her breast, tugging and shaping the elongated point, gently nibbling at it until she’d abandoned his cock and was digging her nails into his back.
Wrapping his hands in her hair, tugging just the slightest bit, he tilted her head down as his other hand ran down the middle of her stomach and into the silky folds he’d been sense-remembering on his fingers since their night at Structure. He held her there, wanting her to see every bit of it.
Their eyes were both focused on his finger as he slowly slid it inside her, watching it disappear into her soft channel. He crooked it and she shivered as he found that rough patch there, rubbing tenderly over it because his control was ready to snap. Two fingers were next and he pumped them inside, loving when her hips began to move and her breathing grew audible in the room.
Spearing three fingers inside her, he leaned down to take her mouth, swallowing her little moans of pleasure. She tasted like smoke and sugar and he was near bursting. “Tell me what you want now,” he ordered, running a thumb over her budding clit. She was close to the edge, he knew that much. Her legs were locked tight around him and her breathing was tense and short.
Watching her, but still tilting her head down, he ran his hand up and down her slit, bathing it in her arousal. Then he gripped his cock, coating himself in her as he stroked himself.
Her intake of breath was satisfying and she grabbed back at the condom, but he shook his head. “Tell me what you want.”
Eyes clear, she matched his gaze. “I want you inside me right now.”
Smiling, he grabbed a kiss and then stepped back from her.
“Too bad,” he told her, raising an eyebrow. “Because I want you to suck me.”
If he thought she’d be irritated with his purposeful about-face, he was wrong, because she immediately slid off the table to her knees in an effortless move.
Cupping his sack, which alone had him locking his knees for support, she licked up the underside of him from root to tip, the vision of that pink tongue driving him to the brink. When she pulled his tip into her mouth his hand shot out to grip the table, his knuckles going white as she took the rest of him into her mouth. She was so fucking good at it, tugging and sucking with alternating pressure and contact, sometimes sliding him all the way out so just her tongue was tracing the slit, lapping up his pre-come.
“I want to do filthy, unspeakable things to you, Parker,” he growled, pulling her up before he came. He was going to be inside her when that happened.
Her smile was feline and satisfied. “Good.”
He picked her up, loving her yelp of surprise, and laid her out flat on the table with her legs dangling over the edge, all of her bared to his gaze at once.
“Arms up,” he commanded, watching as she obeyed, her fingers curling over the edge of the steel.
He ripped open the condom and rolled it on, not sure if he could wait any longer to be inside her even though the need to torture her mindless was also powerful. In the end, though, he couldn’t wait.
“You ready?” he asked, placing himself at her entrance, his hips moving of their own volition as he pushed just the merest fraction of an inch into her.
“Do it, Matteson,” she demanded, hips lifting.
A smile on his face, he slammed into her, praying she could take it, waiting for and reveling in her grin as she did. She was liquid heat around him, living, breathing sex made for him. Every move she made, every sound that left her mouth, enveloped him like a lasso of dirty lust and desire, pulling and tugging on his insides as he pumped into her.
With every stroke, his sack tightened up, that knot in the small of his back gathering pull as he slid in and out, her satin muscles clinging and clamping over him, expressly designed to drive him to the pinnacle of pleasure.
“Fucking hell,” he gritted, running a thumb over her clit, the resulting jerk of her hips a counterpoint to his thrusts. “You’re so damned tight.”
They went at each other then like animals, bucking and grinding, but he held her hands down the whole time, needing the anchor, wanting her to feel the full force of what they were together, which was a conflagration unlike any he’d ever experienced. She let go, her back arching and her insides gripping him until he exploded, darkness shuttering his eyes as all his muscles tensed up and then relaxed, a wave of relief and bliss washing the urgency away, leaving only gratitude and intimacy in its place.
Their breathing was the only sound in the quiet room as Hugh slowly returned to earth.
Eventually, he leaned down to drop a soft kiss on her lips. “I think that makes us both winners today.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“YOU WANT ME to do what?” Parker barked into her phone at Hugh.
“Two of my head chefs are sick and the other two are out of town,” he repeated. “I need your help.”
“You want me to cook at your restaurant tonight?” she asked again, because he could not be serious.
“Yeah, I’ll pay you whatever you want for the night. I just need someone and I know you can cook.”
“You seriously don’t know anyone else in this town who could cook for you? There are tons of other barbecue places.”
“Listen, Parker,” he said, sounding stressed and agitated, “if you don’t want to do it, that’s fine. But just tell me because I really need to find someone for tonight before dinner begins and I’m totally fucking screwed.”
“Why can’t you do it?” she asked, pressing her luck.
“Because I’m a goddamn restaurant owner, not a chef!” he bellowed, which should have made her scared but instead had her grinning. She liked it when he went all quarterback on her.
She just couldn’t cave too easily, not after last night in the pantry where he’d completely blown her mind. If she wasn’t careful, he could have her doing literally anything for another taste of him. And it wasn’t even because his body put those of all other men to shame; it was because he was thoughtful, creative and just Hugh. Maddeningly bossy, fun as hell and too clever by half.
“I’ll do it, Hugh,” she finally relented. “But you have to be there with me. I’m not going in blind or alone.”
“You got it, Parker,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but right at this moment, I’ve never loved a human being more.”
She laughed. “No problem. I’ll head over there now to get a handle on what to do. I assume the meat has at least been in the smoker for the day?”
“Yep, it’s all ready to go for a regular opening time,” he confirmed.
When she got to the restaurant, it was true that the meat had been smoked, which was a load off her mind.
Hugh made his appearance in the kitchen wearing another mouthwatering suit. This one beige with peach threading, paired with a white shirt and peach tie. As usually, he looked cool and confident in a suit that on another man would have looked like he was trying too hard.
His gaze raked over her with so much heat she literally thought she might catch fire. The dude did not hide how he felt about her physically. All bets were off since last night, too. His texts were outright pornography and this morning he’d tried to initiate videophone sex, which she’d turned down because she’d had a brunch and also, what person looked their best first thing in the morning? That said, she felt the same way he did. Her thoughts were only about him. Much to her dismay, because she could not get involved with a man like Hugh who would break her heart faster than one of his quick grins. Just remembering the way he’d completely ignored that Jesse at Structure was in love with him. That’s how she’d look one day if they kept sleeping together, like a lost puppy lapping up his measliest of affections and still begging him to love her. Jesse seemed like a nice enough girl, but Parker had no interest in being one of his castoffs or charity cases. That was for her regularly scheduled life, thank you very much.
“Why no phone sex?” he demanded, stopping in front of her, eyes still hooded. “Do you know the kind of painful morning wood I woke up with after reliving last night probably a thousand times over in my dreams?”
“Well, we could be repeating that right now, but apparently I have to cook for however many people want a taste of your food tonight.”
He ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated by it, too. “Usually the manager handles this kind of shit, but apparently one of the chef’s parents died, which is why two of them are out of town at the same time.”
“You don’t have to keep apologizing, Hugh, but my payment will be high.”
He crowded her against the long stainless steel table, identical to the one he’d had her on last night. “Tell me last night is what you’re thinking about right now,” he murmured, setting his lips against hers.
“It’s one of the things,” she admitted when he let up.
“Are you against phone sex in general or just today?” he asked. “Because it’s very important to me.”
She shook her head. “You’re cracked.”
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