by Lena Lucas
“You’re thinking pretty hard.” His husky voice broke through the silence, and I looked over at him once more. We were stopped at a red light, and the way he looked at me, his stare intense, speared right into me.
I tingled all over.
I cleared my throat and ran my hands over my jean-clad thighs. “Sorry, I was just… thinking.” Duh. God, he said that. I bit my lip and looked out the window again when the light turned green. I gave him directions to my place. A left here. A right there. My voice was tight, threadbare.
“Pepper?” He said my name softly, and I swore there was something laced in that lone word, something deep, powerful… something that rocked me to my core.
His voice, the way he spoke, was emotion-filled.
I glanced at him, my heart in my throat. He looked at me then, his jaw tight, every part of him seeming hard, as if he was tense. He parted his lips like he meant to say something, but then as if he changed his mind, he locked his jaw and faced forward again.
We sat in silence, the drive seeming to take an eternity even though I lived fairly close to the truck stop. I didn’t press through, because I was just as closed-off right now as he was.
The rest of the drive was silent, but I felt the tension, wondering if it was all one-sided, if I had wedged this weirdness between us. And then he was pulling onto my small road, my heart racing the closer he got to the two-bedroom home I’d grown up in. The place was small, in desperate need of updating and maintaining. It looked worse for wear, like the poor structure had been ridden hard and put up soaking wet.
“Right here,” I said softly, pointing to the house. He pulled to a stop at the curb. I stared at the house I shared with my father but had really lived alone most of the time. My father hadn’t been a horrible man. He just hadn’t been… there.
My throat burned, tightened as I stared at the little house I’d grown up in. It had been such a lonely childhood, a cold one, because my father had been constantly gone, driving his big rig, sometimes weeks at a time. He’d haphazardly leave a wad of cash on the table, expecting his child to fend for herself. I learned early on how to cook, clean, and take care of myself. I made sure to get to school on time, bathe, to only rely on myself.
“I’m sorry,” I finally said, watching as one of my father’s friends stumbled out of the front door. He braced his hand on the banister, his other one holding a bottle of beer. He weaved slightly, his drunkenness clearly visible, making my stomach churn and become sour. I wanted to tell Sloan this wasn’t unusual, but my embarrassment was strong and fierce as I watched the man brace against the side of the house and proceed to vomit.
“This is normal,” I said defeatedly, then tightened my hand on my bag, about to leave, to say thank you, knowing after this he’d probably keep a wide berth from me.
Tears pricked my eyes, and I hated myself for that. Here was one part of my life, on the other side of this vehicle, the ugly, hard reality of what my past had been like. But then there was Sloan, sitting quietly beside me, no doubt seeing how hard this was for me, how tight my body was, knowing how drunk my father and his friends probably were in that little house. He gave me his support without saying a word. It was in the way he watched me, the silence comforting. He knew I was in pain, embarrassed by this, but he said nothing and wished for me to tell him something, anything, in my own time.
“Pepper,” he said my name softly, and when I looked at him, my breath caught at his expression. It was so damn… soft and compassionate. He stunned me even more by reaching out and cupping my cheek, his palm huge against the side of my face, his skin warm, the feeling of slight callouses telling me of the manual labor he did. “It’s okay,” he whispered, and although those two words weren’t anything special in the grand scheme of things, they meant the world to me right now.
He understood. He knew what I needed, and right now, that was him understanding.
And it was in that moment that I realized what I felt for him went deeper than my body heating when he was near. It went so deep I actually gasped from it.
He reached out and slipped his much bigger hand over mine, that strong, silent support that had my heart racing and everything in me melting. I wanted him. I needed him to know that.
I. Just. Needed. Sloan.
And as I stared into his eyes, saw something deep and profound as he stared at me, I knew what I felt for Sloan wasn’t one-sided. Forget the intense attraction I felt pouring off of him as he looked at me. Ignoring the way he watched me constantly for all these months when he was near. None of that mattered. None of this had anything to do with the physical aspect of wanting someone.
No, this had to do with a man who felt something more. Like I do.
“Take me to your house.” God, had I actually just said those words? Yes, yes I did. Did I mean them? I sure as hell do.
“Take me away from here. Make this night better, Sloan.” I didn’t care if I begged, if I pleaded or even sounded like I was desperate. I am. For him.
I could see my words shocked him, didn’t even think he was breathing right now.
Just say the words. Tell him. This isn’t about him taking you from home. This is about finally giving yourself over to the only man who ever made you feel… alive.
“Take me to your place,” I repeated.
He closed his eyes, and a deep sound left him. When he opened them again, I knew he was about to say something pretty important. I saw that reality in his expression. “You want to go home with me?”
I licked my lips and nodded. “Yes,” I whispered. “I want you.” Yeah, the words were out in the open. The ball is in your court, Sloan.
For long moments, he was silent, staring at my house, the sound of the music my father blasted coming through. “I’ve wanted you since last year, Pepper.” He exhaled, and I felt my heart jump at his admission.
I’d known he wanted me, felt his desire every time he came into the diner and watched me. But I didn't know he wanted me for a year.
“Maybe it’s wrong, because I'm so much older than you, because I watched you for the last year, not making a move or my intentions known, but that’s the truth of the situation.” His jaw was clenched as if he were trying to control himself, or maybe the situation, and still I said nothing, because I wanted him for just as long.
He lifted his hand and rubbed his eyes, as if the conversation pulled something deep and emotional from him. I knew exactly how he felt. My emotions were thick and suffocating, and hiding them had taken a toll on me. I was done trying to fight them or push them away.
“I want you too. For just as long.” It felt so good to say the words, and the way his nostrils flared slightly had a rush of arousal filling me. My body prepared for Sloan, my pussy getting wet, my nipples budding under my shirt.
This low rumble left him, and that’s all the warning I got before he cupped the back of my head, pulled me in close, and claimed my mouth in the way I always dreamed of it being taken.
I knew then he wouldn't deny me, because he couldn't deny himself either.
7
SLOAN
Everything in my body tightened, came alive as I stared at the most beautiful woman in the world. And she’s in my house, wanting me, aching for me.
My cock had been so fucking hard as soon as she told me to take her back to my place. And although I could see the discomfort on her face as she gazed at her house, seeing the drunk prick stumbling out, all I’d wanted to do was take her from there so she never had to look back.
I wanted to comfort her. Hold her. Whisper in her ear that I’d never let anything hurt her.
And I would have just held her and talked all night, listening to her tell me about her life, yearning to hear every detail. But now here we were, Pepper looking at me like she craved something only I could give her. I’ll be the only one to give her what she needs, to slake her desires.
“Sloan,” she whispered, her big blue eyes wide as she stared at me, her hands pulling at the end of her shirt
.
How in the hell could I control myself, especially when she looked at me that way? I can’t. I don’t.
How could I rein in my feelings when all I wanted to do was claim every part of Pepper until she couldn’t walk comfortably the next day, until my cum was slipping from her tight little pussy, leaving a wet spot on the bed… my bed?
God, my thoughts were filthy, some even calling them perverse. I’d never had them before, never for anyone in my life.
I’d never been with a woman in the sexual sense, never thought it would be a priority in my life. But taking Pepper, claiming her, felt so right, so powerful, that I knew this was the only woman for me. I knew she was the female I was supposed to spend my life with.
I’d make this night good for her. The best. I’d make it special, memorable, so monumental in her mind that after it was said and done, she’d know that no other man would have her but me.
“I want you,” she whispered.
“We can go slow. Just talk.” Fuck, saying those words out loud seemed so wrong. Everything in my body wanted to please her, to make her feel good.
“I need you.” She took a step closer to me.
I groaned, unable to stop the sound from leaving me. The instinct in me roared to ease my woman, and she was… mine.
“Please, Sloan.”
I closed my eyes, my body swaying from the way she said my name. When I opened my eyes, she was right in front of me.
“Don’t deny me.” She lowered her gaze down my body, and I knew she was staring at my cock, which by now was so big and swollen the fucker lay ramrod straight down my thigh and pressing against the denim of my pants. The bastard wanted out. The fucker wanted in her. “I can see how much you want me,” she breathed before flickering her eyes back up to mine.
I groaned again.
All I wanted was to pull her in close, tear away our clothes, and bury myself in her giving, willing body. But I wanted her to know how special this moment was for me, not just because I was with her, but because I’d never done this before. She was my first. She’ll be my only.
“Baby,” I grunted when I got a heady inhale of the sweet scent that clung to her. “I… I’ve never been with a woman, never given my body over that way.” I swallowed, my throat suddenly tight. I saw a flicker of surprise pass over her face before this slow, sensual smile played over her face.
“How?” Her eyes were wide as she looked me up and down. “You’re gorgeous.”
I could have chuckled at that, because she sounded so shocked that I was a virgin. “I’ve never had the desire to give myself over to anyone. I was busy with work, keeping my father’s business afloat, that having any kind of relationship wasn’t something I wanted or needed.” I lifted my hand and cupped her cheek, smoothing my thumb along her silky smooth skin. “I’ve never felt strongly about anyone to give myself over to them.” Until now. Until you.
“But now it is something you… need?”
I clenched my jaw as pure lust slammed into me after she said that. “Oh. Yeah.” I moved closer, my chest nearly touching hers. She was so much smaller than me, so fragile compared to my brute strength.
“I’ve never been with anyone either, Sloan.”
I closed my eyes again… my body swaying once more. She’d never know how much that pleased me. She was untouched. So was I. We’d give ourselves to each other, and it would be forever. Of course that was a conversation I wouldn’t have at the moment. Surely that would scare the hell out of her.
But she will know. I’ll tell her how I feel, that I fell in love with her, that I’ve been in love with her for the last year.
I swallowed the thick, suffocating lump in my throat. I loved this woman. I love her so much, and that’s abundantly clear as I stare into her blue eyes, knowing she wants to give me her virginity, knowing she wants me desperately.
“I’m never letting you go.” The words came out of me before I could censor them, but she gave me this dreamy smile and leaned into my hand. My mind was moving at a fast pace, all the things I wanted to tell her coming out of me before I could stop them. “When it concerns you, Pepper, I feel irrational, the need to protect you, my possessiveness of you, claims me wholly.” I cupped the other side of her face, holding her close, my lips tingling to claim her mouth. “The very thought of another man having any part of you makes pure rage blind me.”
She was breathing harder, the look on her face stringing me tight. I wanted to hear her say it back, wanted her to tell me I never had anything to worry about, that there would never be any other man for her.
Only me.
“I don’t want anyone else, Sloan.”
I could have roared with pleasure at her words. I stared down at her lips, every part of me so attuned to this woman that I knew no one would ever hold a candle to her; no one would ever love her like I did.
I slid a hand down and smoothed my thumb along her bottom lip, unable to stop myself. She gasped slightly but didn’t push me away. Pepper looked up at me with wide eyes, her breathing ragged, her pupils dilated.
“Are we really doing this?”
I leaned in and kissed her then, unable to stop myself, not even about to try. “There’s no way I can stop myself.” I ran my tongue along her lips, memorizing how she felt against me, taking in her scent. She gasped, opening for me, letting me in. And I took advantage of her eagerness, her willingness. I growled against her lips, unable to stop myself. “And I’m not letting anyone else have you. Ever.”
“I’ve only ever wanted you.” The fact that she admitted that had male pride and lust slamming into me.
I groaned again and kissed her harder, tilting my head and really kissing her, letting her feel all I had to give in that one kiss. I needed to control myself, to go slow and savor this. I might have never done this before, but I fantasized—jerked off—to thoughts of Pepper more times than I wanted to admit. And my mind came up with some very vivid, obscene things to make this woman cry out my name in pleasure and abandon.
Hell, I wanted to make this special for her, take her out on dates, show her off. I wanted her on my arm, so everyone would see that she was mine, that I had the most beautiful woman at my side and that she wanted me.
I pulled back but was still so close that our lips were only inches apart.
“Are you sure?” I asked, feeling her give herself totally to me but wanting her to say the words.
Pepper looked into my eyes, and I felt that love I had for her growing exponentially.
“I was sure you’d be my first from the moment I saw you that very first time, Sloan.”
8
SLOAN
I cupped the back of her neck, pulling her closer so I could devour her mouth. I’d never tasted anything so sweet. Pepper was giving, molding against me, opening up her mouth so I could plunge my tongue in and out of the hot, perfect depths.
She had her hands on my chest, her nails digging into the fabric-covered flesh. I hissed, wanting more of the delicious pain she caused, which indeed made my pleasure even stronger.
“Sloan,” she moaned. “I want more.”
I kissed her hard and deep. I wasn’t going to stop until she was mine in every conceivable way, until both of us were so satiated we couldn’t walk, let alone think clearly.
I was going to make her realize I was never letting her go.
That she was mine.
Pepper speared her hands in my hair, tugging at the strands and bringing me closer as if she couldn't get enough. The small noise she made in the back of her throat made me delirious with pleasure, this growl leaving me as I fucked her with my lips and tongue, spearing the muscle in and out of those hot depths and mimicking what I’d be doing between her thighs.
I swallowed the sound, needing more of it, wanting her to be loud, to scream my name because of how good she felt. “I’m not going to let anyone else have you.” I shouldn’t have said the words, but they spilled from me before I could control them.
She bro
ke the kiss and looked at me. Her lips were swollen, red, and wet from my ministrations. That had one hell of a heady sensation moving through me. She moaned out softly when I moved my thumb along her cheekbones, her skin so soft… like silk. I didn’t stop myself from leaning in and kissing her again, but this time it was soft, a simple kiss that said without words I cared for her, that this wasn’t just about sex.
I slipped my hand behind her head, curling my fingers around her nape, her flesh warm, the soft sound of pleasure leaving her making me grunt in ecstasy. God, even that small sound affected me so deeply.
She broke free then, grabbing hold of me even harder. And as I stared into her eyes, I knew I was about to let the words that had been trapped within me for so long just tumble out. “You’re all mine.” I knew tonight she’d know how I felt in all its rawness. Her mouth was parted, her pupils dilated, and when she licked her lips, I felt all my self-control leave.
I kissed her again and again, hard and consuming, had her gasping against my mouth and clutching me tighter.
That’s it. Hold on to me, baby. I’m never letting you go.
I felt her desperation for me. Could she feel mine as well?
I kissed her harder, with more desperation. Our tongues slid along each other frantically, heated and full of need. I was hard, so fucking hard that I found myself grinding my erection into her belly to ease the ache. But that didn’t help. It made it worse.
“Sloan,” she whispered against my lips.
Pepper pressed her breasts against my chest and murmured sexy little things against my mouth, ones I couldn’t understand fully, but it didn't matter. They turned me on regardless.