Say You Love Me : An Enemies to Lovers Romance

by Sarah J. Brooks

  “Four? You trying to kill me, woman?” Jeremy asked, shaking his head.

  “Maybe I’m just trying to get you drunk so I can take advantage of you.” I gave him a wink and he seemed delightfully surprised by my forwardness.

  He leaned closer and dropped his voice to a whisper. “Just so you know… you don’t need to get me drunk to take advantage of me. I’m more than willing.”

  And here we were again, balancing ever so delicately between joking around and seriousness. I was never quite sure what side of the line he fell. Ever since things became complicated between us last year, I tended to dismiss his flirting as just that—flirting.

  Yet I couldn’t forget how he had put aside the schmoozy charm and acted like a decent human being. How he had walked me home and kissed me in the doorway of my apartment building. And what a kiss it had been. My trusty vibrator got a workout that night thinking about all the other things I wished we had done.

  Then he froze me out and acted like those hours of decency never happened. He had gone back to screwing around and throwing out banter like I hadn’t mattered.

  Maybe I hadn’t.

  But I wasn’t sure I could believe that.

  I laughed, for once not getting annoyed with his over the top remarks. I quickly drank one of the vodka shots, motioning for him to do the same. Then I picked up the other two glasses and walked toward the pool tables. “Come on, Wyatt. Let’s hit some balls.”

  “Ouch. That sounds painful,” he said, following after me.

  I pulled four quarters out of my wallet and put them on the side of the pool table. “It might be. For you. Let’s rack up.”

  Jeremy took two pool cues down from the wall and handed one to me. I chalked up the tip while he placed the balls in the rack. “I’m not much of a pool player,” he admitted when he was finished.

  I leaned against the cue, giving him a saucy smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll take it easy on you.”

  Jeremy’s look was positively smoldering. It made my toes curl and my insides hum. “Please, don’t,” he said, his voice husky.

  Shit. I drank my last shot, feeling the alcohol rush through my system. I was feeling happy and warm. And the company wasn’t too bad either.

  “Ladies first.” Jeremy swept his hand and I bent over the pool cue to line up the shot.

  I heard Jeremy let out a low groan behind me. I looked over my shoulder to find him staring at my ass. I raised an eyebrow. “See something you like?” What the hell was going on with me? I was feeling a little reckless... and I liked it.

  Jeremy’s eyes lifted to meet mine and I thought I’d burn up in his gaze. “You have no idea,” he murmured. My legs almost buckled, and my lady bits started to tingle.

  This was bad. This was so, so bad…

  I turned back around, sticking my ass out, my pencil skirt riding up my thighs, and hit the white ball as hard as I could. Three-striped balls sank into the pockets. I stood up slowly, taking my time, letting him get an eyeful before making my way around the side to line up another shot.

  “Let me guess, you’re also a pool shark in your spare time,” Jeremy smirked, his cheeks flushed and his normally well-groomed hair slightly mussed. He had taken off his tie and his top two buttons were open. He was literally the hottest man I had ever laid eyes on. And normally I loathed him.

  But not tonight.

  Tonight felt like something different.

  I knocked another ball into a corner pocket and downed Jeremy’s second vodka shot, quickly ordering two more from the waitress as she walked by. “Not even close. But Adam and I used to play pool on the weekends when we were younger. There used to be a teen center at the old Wrangler plant on the far side of town. It closed down years ago but when I was in my teens, it’s where everyone hung out. Adam and Kyle were the pool sharks and they made sure to teach me everything they knew.”

  Jeremy cocked his head to the side, a goofy smile on his face.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I like hearing stories about you from when you were young,” he said, sipping on the vodka Brad brought over.

  “Why? It’s not as if my childhood was that interesting.” I felt strangely vulnerable.

  Jeremy laughed, mostly to himself, shaking his head.

  “What is it?” I demanded with a smile.

  He let out a breath. “Everything about you interests me, Lena.”

  Well, damn...

  Feeling frazzled, I missed my next shot. Jeremy picked up the cue ball and tossed it in the air, catching it. “My turn.” He bent over and hit the yellow ball. It rolled across the felt, neatly falling into the far pocket.

  I slow clapped in appreciation. “Nicely done, Mr. Wyatt. We might just have a game on our hands.”

  Jeremy gave me a bow before lining up his next shot. When the next one sank easily, I gazed at him suspiciously. “Why do I feel as if I’m being punked? Otherwise, that’s some serious beginner’s luck.”

  The look Jeremy threw my way was sexy and coy and just a tiny bit dangerous. “I may have played more than once.”

  I stood back and watch him expertly work his way around the table. I couldn’t even be annoyed. I was enjoying the sight of his well-formed ass every time he bent over. He stood up, looking over his shoulder to where I sat perched on a stool sipping on a beer. I was well past buzzed and on the fast train to drunk and I wasn’t trying to hide it. But Jeremy was right there with me. I could tell by the brightness of his eyes and the two red patches on his cheeks. “I get the feeling you’re looking at my ass, ma’am,” he drawled slowly.

  “What makes you say that?” I demurred, staring pointedly at his bum. He laughed, joining me to drink his lager.

  “So, where did you learn to play pool?” I asked him, our knees brushing against each other as he sat down. We let a couple of guys who had been waiting to play have their turn. I wasn’t really interested in playing the pool anymore. I was way more interested in the gorgeous man beside me. I propped my chin in my hand.

  Jeremy peeled the label from the bottle absentmindedly. “It was one of the few things I remember doing with my dad that we both enjoyed. He wasn’t much for father/son bonding.”

  There was a distinct note of bitterness in his tone. Normally I wouldn’t have unpacked the baggage that was obviously there. Jeremy and I didn’t have that kind of relationship. But tonight, I was feeling like I could. That he wanted me to. That he was peeling back his layers and letting me have a glimpse inside.

  “He taught you to play pool then?” I prompted.

  Jeremy let out a breath, his eyes drifting around the busy bar. “My dad and I aren’t close.” His jaw was set, and he had tensed up. This was clearly not a happy topic. “Honestly, he’s a fucking asshole.” He drank the rest of his beer, setting the bottle down a little too violently. “Actually, he’s an abusive son of a bitch who likes to knock my mom around when he drinks. He used to take it out on me when I was around, but now that I’m not, my mom gets the brunt of all of it.”

  “Why does she stay with him?” I asked softly, knowing it was a dumb question. There were a million reasons women stayed with their abusive partners. I didn’t mean to be insensitive but this was the first time I had ever heard Jeremy mention anything remotely personal and I realized I wanted to know more about this man beside me.

  “Why does a woman ever stay? Because she loves him. Because she’s financially dependent on him. Because he’s twisted and contorted her emotionally for years to the point that she thinks she can’t survive without him.” Jeremy scratched at a spot on his chin.

  “I’m sorry.” It was such a lame thing to say. And completely inadequate. But for once I was at a loss.

  He shrugged. “It is what it is. I hate the fucking bastard, but I love my mom. She’s the only family I have. So even though it kills me that she puts up with his shit, I’ll never turn my back on her. She deserves to have one person in her life that loves her unconditionally.”

  Without thinking,
I reached out and put my hand on top of his. He slowly turned his palm and laced his fingers with mine. I squeezed. He squeezed back. “You’re a good son,” I told him, meaning it.

  Jeremy laughed without humor. “I don’t know about that.”

  “I do,” I argued. “And actually, I’m starting to think you might be a good person too.” I scooched my stool closer to his. I wanted to be near him.

  Jeremy gave me an incredulous look. “Now that’s just crazy talk, Ducate.” He slid a piece of my hair behind my ear, his fingers trailing down the side of my face until he came to cup the side of my neck, his thumb resting over my rapid pulse. “You hate me remember? It’s probably best you hate me.”

  I bit down on my lip, watching the way his eyes dropped to my mouth, the endless blue turning liquid hot. “Why?” It was a simple question and one that demanded an answer. I angled my face closer to his, my lips a breath away from touching his mouth. I saw him swallow. I could hear his breath go ragged. His fingers on the side of my neck dug into my skin. “What if I don’t want to hate you? Just for tonight?” I said softly against his lips.

  “Lena,” he groaned, his other hand sliding around my neck so that he held me still. “This is such a bad idea.”

  “The worst,” I murmured before his mouth was on mine. There was nothing soft and sweet about this kiss. It was all lust and fire. I parted my lips and felt his tongue against mine. He devoured me whole, his fingers tangling in my hair. I slid my hands around him.

  We kissed as if the world were going up in flames.

  He pulled back, staring at me with something that looked like wonder. “You’re drunk.”

  “So are you,” I pointed out.

  “You’ll regret this in the morning.”

  I gripped his shirt in my hands, tugging him toward me. “No, I won’t,” I promised before kissing him again.

  My body turned to jelly, and I knew, without a doubt, that kissing wasn’t going to be enough.

  “I don't want you to think I’m taking advantage of you in your vulnerable condition,” he murmured against my mouth.

  I laughed. “When have I ever been vulnerable, Wyatt?”

  He considered my statement before nodding. “Fair point.” Then he was kissing me again. We went on like this forever until we were in danger of stripping down in the middle of the crowded bar.

  We broke away, both panting. I looked over to where a group of guys was hooting and hollering. “Okay, time to put an end to the show. What I want to do to you is best done without an audience.” Jeremy’s mouth was swollen, and my skin felt raw from his stubble. I took his hand and got to my feet. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

  Without a word, he followed me out of the bar.

  The beauty of alcohol was it was impossible to overthink things when you were drunk.

  All I could focus on was how much I wanted to get Jeremy Wyatt naked. I had been waiting four long years to run my tongue along the length of him. I ached to feel him everywhere. Part of my irrational hatred towards him was mired in my irrational attraction. I wanted him with every fiber of my being.

  Tonight, I was going to get my wish. I was going to boink the hell out of that hot piece of man meat.

  I’d deal with the fall out later.

  Chapter 8

  Lena

  We couldn’t stop touching each other on the cab ride back to my apartment. We hadn’t discussed whether to go to my place or his, so I made the decision for us. Besides, my apartment was much closer to Sweet Lila’s.

  And considering I couldn’t go thirty seconds without sticking my tongue down his throat, that made it the obvious choice.

  “Mmmm,” I moaned into his mouth, not caring that the poor cabbie was getting a hell of a show though Jeremy was being entirely too PG-13 for my liking. His hands were staying strictly above clothing, no matter how many times I pushed his hand between my legs.

  “Lena, baby, we have all night. We don’t need to get started in the back of a taxi,” he chuckled as I sucked on the skin beneath his ear.

  “I’m horny,” I whined, squirming against him.

  “Yeah, I got the memo.” He kissed me again, slower this time. Softer. I didn’t want soft. Or slow. I wanted hard and fast and I wanted to come all over his face.

  He gently took my shoulders and set me away from him. My head swam with the movement of the car. “Good things happen to those who wait,” he lectured teasingly.

  “Oh, fuck off with your folksy sayings,” I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

  He laughed again and took my hand, lifting it to kiss my knuckles. When we pulled up in front of my apartment, I pushed open the door and all but flew out of the back. Jeremy paid the guy and followed me to the door.

  He took me in his arms, gripping the back of my neck, and kissed me long and deep. My arms went up around his neck and I almost kicked my leg up behind me like a girl in an old-fashioned movie. The man sure could kiss.

  I sucked his tongue into my mouth as I fumbled for my keys in my bag, blindly shoving them in the lock and pushing our way inside. He smacked my ass as we ran up the stairs to the second floor. And then he was kissing me again, pressing my back against the wall.

  “We need to get inside. Right now,” Jeremy groaned as I ran my hand down the front of his pants, massaging the rigid erection straining against the seam.

  I lowered the zipper and snaked my fingers inside, stroking the length of him through the thin material of his boxers.

  “Fucking hell, Lena,” he moaned, his fingers digging into my hip.

  “Call me Marlena,” I ordered, unbuttoning the top of his trousers so my hand could gain better access.

  He stopped kissing me and looked at me in confusion. “You hate it when I call you by your full name.”

  “I know,” I said, knowing I wasn’t making sense. I pulled his trousers and boxers down and fell to my knees, not caring that we were standing in the hallway of my apartment building and my elderly neighbor could walk out and find us at any moment. The possibility of being caught only made the whole thing hotter. I took his cock, which was just as massive as I pictured it to be and wrapped my lips around him.

  He buried his fingers in my hair. “Christ, Marlena.”

  I took his dick into my mouth as far as I could take him, so deep that he touched the back of my throat. My mouth stretched around his girth as I slid my lips up and down. Up and down. The tasty salt of him was driving me wild. He moaned loudly, then stopped himself.

  “What if someone comes out here?” he whispered.

  I looked up at him and gave him a wicked smile. “Then you’d better come quick.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “That has to be the first time I’ve ever been asked to do that.”

  I licked the pre-come from the head of his penis. “You can take your time later.” Then I took him in my mouth again. I worked him over, my hands running up and down his thighs, I took his balls in my hand, massaging them. I swirled my tongue around his width, loving the feel of his velvety skin in my mouth. I moved faster. Up and down. Up and down. All the way back, sucking slightly.

  “I’m going to come, Lena. Fucking hell, I’m going to come.”

  But I wouldn’t stop. I wanted to take all of him. So I continued to fuck him with my mouth and when he came, I swallowed every last drop. He lifted me to my feet, pressing his forehead against mine. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” I assured him, unlocking the door and leading him inside.

  I turned on the living room light and started to kick off my heels when Jeremy stopped me. “Leave them on.”

  We didn’t make it very far before we were wrapped around each other again. My head was fuzzy, and I was still very drunk, but that didn’t matter.

  In a tangle of limbs, I backed him up toward the couch and pushed him down. He stared up at me as I slowly unzipped my skirt and wiggled out of it. I groped around for the stereo remote and turned on som
e music. Motorhead blared from the speakers, shocking both of us.

  “This is some interesting mood music you have going on,” Jeremy remarked.

  I fumbled with the buttons until the music changed to Barry White. Jeremy chuckled. “Original, Ducate. Very original.”

  “Stop talking and touch me, Wyatt,” I snapped, kicking my skirt out of the way.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He gave me a salute and stood up in front of me, pushing my hands out of the way. “Let me do that,” he insisted. He unbuttoned my blouse slowly, his fingers brushing my skin through the opening. He lowered his mouth to my collarbone, kissing and sucking as he peeled the shirt off me and threw it to the floor.

  “You’re gorgeous, Marlena. So goddamn gorgeous,” he said in awe, his eyes worshipping me. He made me feel so wanted, so desired. “I’ve never wanted a woman so much in my life.’ He seemed to be saying it more to himself. He was lost in the moment, his gaze feasting on me. He reached around my back and expertly unhooked my bra. I refused to think about how many times he had done that before.

  Not now, Lena. Don’t think about that now.

  He looked at my breasts, palming them, massaging my nipples with his thumbs. “It’s my turn,” he murmured, dropping to his knees. He hooked my panties with his pinkies and lowered them to the ground.

  I was still wearing my heels, per his request. He lifted my leg and kissed the side of my ankle. Slowly he made his way up my leg. When he reached my thigh, his tongue replaced his lips and I started to shudder in anticipation. He draped my leg over his shoulder, his hands cupping my ass as he made his way to the apex of my thighs. His breath was hot on my core. “You’re going to want to hold on,” he warned before his mouth covered me.

  My knees buckled and I had to grip his head to stop myself from falling. His tongue plunged inside me. His lips sucked my clit. He lapped at me relentlessly. After a while, I couldn’t keep myself upright and he slowly lowered me to the floor, my legs bent at the knee, his face buried in my pussy.

  “You taste incredible,” he sighed as he pushed his fingers inside me and licked my clit. He pushed me harder and higher. My legs trembled as I felt the stirrings of my orgasm.