by Nicole James
The next thing she knew, her back was to the mattress of a big bed, and he came down on top of her. His weight settled over her, one leg thrown across hers, his upper body supported by his elbows, giving her enough room to breath.
His mouth ate at hers, nipping and licking, his tongue sweeping inside again and again until she was lifting her head to follow his, wanting more every time he retreated.
It was a mating dance as old as time. Her hands slid over his broad shoulders to twine around his neck, pulling him down for more.
His body moved against hers, and she felt the proof of his desire. It rubbed against her thigh, long and hard. Suddenly it was as if no time at all had passed since last they’d been together in his LA hotel room.
He lifted his head and one hand brushed the hair from her face, his eyes tracking the movement of his palm. “I love your hair. It’s so soft and silky.” He threaded his fingers through it, then grabbed a handful, tipping her head back for his kiss.
She loved the control he took and willingly gave it over to him.
His mouth trailed down her neck, his lips pressing soft kisses along her skin.
She exposed her neck further to give him better access. His warm mouth closed over a vulnerable spot and sucked deep, and her eyes fluttered closed as she reveled in the sensation. She knew there’d be a mark there tomorrow, but she didn’t care. She wanted his mark.
A big warm palm closed over her breast and squeezed, and a low moan rumbled up from her throat. His fingers went to the buttons of her shirt, making quick work of them. A second later he’d tugged the cups of her bra down, and her breasts popped free.
“Beautiful,” he murmured, and when he did nothing more, she tipped her head down, her eyes opening. He was motionless, his gaze locked on her chest. Then slowly, his hand moved over her skin, his thumb brushing softly over her nipple. Once, twice, three times.
Velvet’s breath came in soft pants as her nipples tightened into buds of tightly bundled nerve endings. The anticipation of his mouth on them was sweet torture.
Finally, he leaned down, and the flat of his tongue swiped over one red bud. Then he blew, and the sensation had her writhing and thrusting her chest up for more.
“You’re nipples are just as responsive as I remember.”
Their eyes met as images of the night they’d spent together flashed between them.
He grinned and lowered his head, giving her what she longed for. His mouth closed over her nipple and tugged deep and long.
Her back arched, thrusting her breast up even farther, and her hands clawed at his sides, wanting the sensation to go on forever.
A jolt of erotic response shot straight to her pussy, and she knew she was drenched for him.
As if he read her mind, his hand moved down her body and his palm cupped her inner thigh, spreading her wide. He slid his thick fingers to the juncture of her thighs where he kneaded and rubbed and teased. All the while, his mouth sucked and licked and nipped, first one nipple, then the other until she was a puddle of need writhing under him.
Suddenly he raised off her and stood at the foot of the bed. He grabbed her knees and yanked her forward until her legs dangled off the mattress. He worked at the fastenings of her jeans and tugged them off her.
She shrugged her blouse off her shoulders and pulled the bra free.
She lay there in just her panties while he tore his shirt over his head.
God, she’d forgotten how gorgeous his bare chest was. She barely had time to take it in before he bent, shoving down his pants and dropping to his knees between her legs.
His hands stroked slowly up her thighs, his gaze on her panty-covered pussy.
She lifted her hand to him, wanting him to come up the bed and fuck her. “Please, baby. I need you.”
He shook his head. “I’ve waited too long for this, angel. I’ve lain awake too many nights remembering the taste of you on my tongue to rush this now.” His eyes bore into hers. “You gonna let me take my time?”
She nodded, eager to please him. Her response came out soft and needy. “Yes, baby.”
“Good girl.”
His fingers curled around the scrap of lace that was all that hid her from his eyes, and he dragged them down her legs.
When she was bare to him, he pressed her thighs wider, making room for those broad shoulders of his as he moved closer. His thumbs brushed over her pussy, and her hips shot off the bed in response.
He dipped and kissed his way up her thighs, her eyes slid closed, and she drowned in the sensations of his beard and tongue tickling their way up her leg. With every soft press of his lips, with every lap of his tongue, she fell a little more for him.
He had a way of teasing and tormenting her body until she’d do anything… give anything to have the release he held just out of reach. God, she couldn’t trust her body, the way it responded to him. He had more control over it than she did.
He paused, his mouth hovering just over her pussy. She trembled, trying not to move an inch, not even daring to breathe.
His hand came up, and he lightly traced her pussy with his thumb. “I’ve waited a long time to taste you again, Velvet. Dreamed about it night after night.
Her body vibrated until every nerve ending was alive with anticipation.
“Are you going to tease me all night?”
“If you want me to, I will. For hours, baby; just say the word.” His thumbs played until wetness flooded down. He dipped his head and lapped at her, then lifted with a groan. “Goddamn, I’ve never tasted anything so fucking good.
“I need you so bad.”
“Just relax, baby girl. We’ve got all night.”
What seemed like hours later, her pussy was swollen from his attention and her thighs were tingling from his beard. She was a melted pile of mush, unable to move, her skin slick with sweat and her chest heaving. God, she had no idea orgasms could be like that. No other man had ever been able to draw one after another from her body like Liam did.
“Please, Liam, no more,” she panted.
He slid up the bed, his weight settling on top of her at long last.
He brushed the hair from her forehead and dipped down to kiss her lips. Pulling back, his eyes locked with hers. “You ready for me, beautiful?”
Her breathing was still coming fast, but she smiled up at him. “So wet, so ready.”
His eyes darkened at her words, and his hips lifted. A moment later he thrust inside her. When he was fully seated, he stilled. “My dick’s been hard for you since you walked in the door. Been taking my time, making this so good for you, but this, babe? This is where I’ve wanted to be again since the morning you walked out that hotel room door.”
Before she could formulate a reply—not that it was easy to form words with all the sensations zinging through her body—his mouth closed over hers, and he began to move, drawing slowly out and thrusting in just as slowly, dragging along every nerve ending, drawing out the sensations as artfully as she remembered. The man was good at this, superb, a damn master at it. He stroked her skin with one hand, moving over her chest and hips while his other cradled her head. He pressed kisses along her temple, her cheekbone, her jaw, and down her neck to eventually climb her breast to her nipple.
Gradually his pace picked up, and his head dipped, his eyes focusing on where their bodies were joined. As he watched, his movements became more urgent. Soon his skin was slick with sweat as his strokes went on and on.
Big hands slipped under her, palms closing over her ass cheeks and tilting her hips up. The new angle had each long stroke rubbing over that very sensitive bundle of nerves inside her while he reached around and brushed his thumb back and forth across her clit.
The combination had her gasping and panting as she chugged closer to the top of the roller coaster that would soon bring her to the precipice and over the edge.
“Oh, yes. Yes,” she moaned. “Right there. Don’t stop.”
“I won’t, Velvet.”
His body slammed into her, again and again, dragging across all those nerves, and the whole while that big calloused thumb of his kept at her clit in slow tight circles until she couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Come for me, sweet Velvet.”
At his soft command, her back arched and she felt her body explode.
As she floated down from ten thousand feet in a long gentle free fall, he shifted, hands grasping her hips. He pounded into her until he too climaxed with a roar.
When his body collapsed down on top of her, she wrapped her arms around him, stroking his back as he breathed heavily from the exertion.
After a few moments of her tender caresses, he pressed soft kisses along her collarbone. His arms tightened, and he rolled until he was on his back and she was tight to his side, his arms wrapped around her.
She skated her fingers over his chest, tracing the colorful lines of his tattoos until his hand came up and closed over hers, stilling her movements and bringing her knuckles to his mouth for a kiss.
“That was so good,” she whispered.
“That was better than good, angel. Best I’ve ever had.”
“Me, too.”
She smiled against his skin, and when he tipped his head, she knew he’d felt it. She tilted hers up to see that fact confirmed by the happy grin on his face.
“Don’t go getting all smug on me,” she teased.
His hand flattened on his chest. “Me? Smug? Not a chance. I’m just over here bein’ all grateful and shit.”
“Grateful, huh? Not exactly the emotion I was going for.”
“How about devotion, adoration, worship?”
She slapped his taut stomach lightly. “Quit teasing.”
He jumped as her palm connected and chuckled, then rolled her to her back again. “You want teasing, I’m all too happy to oblige, lady, if you think you can take more.”
“No, no. No more. I’m worn out.” She giggled.
He smiled down at her, his fingers lightly rubbing her forehead until her eyes slid closed. “You look happy.”
She indulged in the feeling of his fingertips trailing over her skin a moment longer. “I am.”
“Good. I plan to keep you that way.”
She opened her eyes and met his gaze. “Do you, now?”
“If you let me.”
She searched his face. It would be so easy to let him.
When she didn’t reply, he prodded, “We gonna do this?”
Her teeth nibbled on her bottom lip, and his eyes dropped to the motion. “I don’t know, Liam.”
Her response had his eyes flicking up to hers. “What don’t you know?”
Needing an excuse, she glanced away and lied. “I’ve been hurt before.”
“I’m not looking to hurt you, Velvet. Far from it. I just think we have something here, and we owe it to ourselves to see where it goes.”
Her eyes shifted to his hypnotic gaze, and she got lost in the depths of the warm brown orbs. God, he could talk her into anything if she let him, and in this moment, she wanted to let him.
When she stayed quiet, he finally asked, “You don’t feel the same?”
She couldn’t bear the look of doubt that flashed across his face. “I do.”
He brushed the back of his fingers down her cheek. “I’m not gonna let you run again.”
She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d come to regret those words. “I don’t want to run.” And in that she was completely honest. Running from him was the last thing she wanted to do.
He grinned, and she loved to see happiness on his face and to know she’d put it there. “Good, because you’re spending the night.”
“You going all alpha again, bossing me around?” She pretended to object, but deep in her heart she loved him taking control.
“Gonna try, but somehow I’ve got the feelin’ you’re the one who’s gonna end up with all the power in this relationship.”
She traced her finger along the groove made by his grin and returned his smile, truly happy for the first time in a long time.
CHAPTER TEN
Velvet strolled hand-in-hand with Liam out of the bakery that occupied the storefront under his apartment, stepping out into the bright morning sun and sipping a to-go cup of hot coffee. She met his eyes over the rim, thoughts of last night dancing in her head. He winked at her as if he’d read her mind. It felt good. It felt warm and wonderful, and it filled her with joy—the kind she hadn’t ever known. He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the tips of her fingers then tucked her up against his side as they moved down the street.
“Know what I was thinking?” his deep voice rumbled softly in her ear as he dipped low, his beard tickling her cheek.
She tilted her face up to his, not hiding the joy that she was sure sparkled in her eyes. “What’s that?”
“That I could get used to this.”
“Used to what?”
“Sharing coffee and walking you to work every morning.”
She let out a soft giggle. “Oh, could you, now?”
“Yes, ma’am. Sure could.”
“Hmm. I could get used to it, too. And those fried doughnut things we just had were amazing.”
“Yep. Can’t forget Mrs. Heinzelmann’s Spritzkuchen. Makes the best in town.”
“I’ve never had them before.”
“Girl, you’ve been missing out.”
Her eyes moved over his happy face. It wasn’t the doughnuts she was thinking of when she answered, “I do believe I have.”
“I mean to change all that, Velvet, if you let me.” Something in the way he said those words and the suddenly serious expression on his face had her believing him. This man could change so many things for her if she would just let herself be open enough to trust in what they had.
When she didn’t answer right away, he turned to face her, backing her to the wall. His solemn eyes pinned hers. “You gonna let me?”
Staring up at him, she could do nothing but acquiesce. No words of denial would come from her mouth. “Yes, Liam. I’ll let you.”
“Good. Glad we got that settled.” A broad grin spread across his face, and it absolutely lit up his whole expression. He dipped his head and touched his lips softly to hers, then stepped back and tugged on their linked hands. “Come on, pretty girl.”
By the time Velvet had finished the last of her coffee, they had arrived at House of Ink. They paused outside. Liam’s expression darkened as he looked up at the signage and briefly at the plate glass window.
She tried to release his hand but he tugged her a step closer, refusing to let her go just yet. He captured her eyes, bringing his face inches from hers.
“You’re off tomorrow, right? The shop’s not open on Sunday, is it?”
“No, it’s not open.”
“So, you’re off then?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’m taking you somewhere.”
She couldn’t hide the happiness from her face. “Oh, really. Where?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“What time are you picking me up?”
“Well, since you’ll be wakin’ up in my bed, I guess we won’t have to worry about that.”
“Well, aren’t you the presumptuous one?”
“Makin’ up for all that wasted lost time, which, by the way, was totally your fault.”
“Haven’t I made up for it by moving to your town?”
He gave her palm a kiss. “It’s a good start. I’ll come up with some other things you can do to make it up to me.”
She grinned and looked behind her. “I really should go inside.”
He glanced at the hours on the door. “See you at nine.”
“Ten,” she corrected. Then laughed at the pout on his face. “I have to go home and get a change of clothes at least. Anything I need to bring for this adventure tomorrow?”
“A jacket and sunglasses.”
“Hmm, a small hint. So we’ll be outside, I take it?”
“The
lady is quick.”
“Don’t you forget it.”
“No chance of that.” He caught her face in his hands and tugged her flush against him, dipping his head for a kiss. It was longer than the last one but shorter than either of them would have liked. He broke off and kissed the tip of her nose. “See you tonight, Velvet.”
“Goodbye, Liam.”
She turned and let herself into the store then relocked it. Liam waited until she was safely inside before he turned and walked away with a final wave.
She returned his wave with a smile, then walked to the rear of the shop and set her purse down at the small cubicle Vano had set up for her. She was touching up her lipstick when she heard Vano come in the back door. She turned.
“Hey.”
He glanced over at her. “Good, you’re here. Come with me. I’ve got a deposit I want you to take to the bank. First Federal two blocks down on Third Avenue. Know where that is?”
She nodded and followed him into his office. He knelt by the safe and twirled the tumbler. A moment later he had it open, and her eyes widened when they fell on the stacks of cash inside.
He grabbed some, counted out an amount, shoved it in a zippered deposit bag, and locked the safe.
“Why do you have so much money in the safe, Vano?”
His stern eyes pinned her. “I’ve just let it build up, is all. Haven’t taken a deposit in a while. I think it’s time you take over that job. I hate doing it. It’s a pain in the ass.”
She supposed his explanation made sense. Still, it seemed like an awful lot of money.
When he rose to his feet, he bent over the desk and filled out the deposit form. “It’s $9875.00 Just below the daily limit of ten thousand.”
“Why does that matter?”
“Anything over that has to be reported.”
“Reported? To who?”
“The Feds. Homeland security shit. We can thank terrorism for that bullshit.”