Promise Me Once

by Paige Weaver

  “Shit, man. Take him out, why don’t ya?” some guy said on my right before taking a drink of his beer.

  I didn’t bother responding. The peckerheads could kiss my ass.

  I returned my attention back to the guy on the ground. I stood over him, my boots inches from his ribs. Sniffing back a drop of blood, I glanced around then squatted down by him. The guy was groaning, rubbing his belly like he had the mother of all bellyaches.

  “You okay?” I asked, my voice hard but calm. My gaze stayed on the onlookers but my words were spoken low, only for him. I wanted to beat him to a pulp just knowing that his big, beefy hands had been on Cat, but I fought fair and square, treating my enemies with respect.

  “Screw you!” he hissed, spittle coming out of his mouth as he held his stomach. “Motherfucker!”

  I nodded and reached out, patting him on the chest. “You’re good.” I started to get up but stopped. Leaning toward him, I added one more thing. “By the way - stay the fuck away from Cat.”

  Before he could say anything, I rose to my feet and pulled the brim of my hat down low. I turned to walk away, knowing the guy wouldn’t try anything again, but a voice that had cried out in orgasm while I fucked her on a bathroom counter stopped me.

  “What the hell are you doing, Cash?”

  I glanced over my shoulder. The moon was bright enough for me to see Cat push her way through the onlookers. She stopped inside the circle, frowning but still looking gorgeous doing it. Crossing her arms over her chest, she glanced down at her ex, now being helped to his feet by a friend. Her gaze shot to mine, running over the blood dripping from my nose and my bruised face. Her eyes filled with something I didn’t expect.

  Worry.

  I watched as she raced toward me, determination on her face. Oh, hell. I hadn’t been afraid of her ex but shit, I was afraid of her.

  She grabbed my hand as she walked by, never slowing down or messing a step. Her strides were long and rushed as she led me to the truck. Her hand fit perfectly in mine, small and dainty in my large and rough one.

  I knew at that moment that I would follow her anywhere.

  At the tailgate Cat stopped. She let go of my hand and took a step closer. Her eyes roamed over my face under the moonlight.

  “You’re bleeding,” she said with concern.

  Not one to take things too seriously, I wiped my nose and looked down at the drop of blood on my hand.

  “Yep,” I said, trying my hardest to keep my gaze anywhere but on her lips.

  Cat reached up and ran a finger along my chin. It was gentle, almost tender. Nothing like what I expected from her. It caught me off guard and made me weak in the knees, but a second later the girl I knew returned.

  She grabbed the brim of my cowboy hat and pulled it off my head. Before I could react, she grasped the front of my shirt and yanked me to her. Her lips found mine. My heart found hers.

  She wrapped a hand around my neck, dragging me closer. Her tongue started playing tag with mine. My hat still dangled in her hand but she could have the damned thing. I would give her everything I owned if she just kept on doing what she was doing with her mouth and tongue.

  When she licked the corner of my mouth, I lost it. I grasped her upper arms and hauled her closer, kissing her with greed and harshness. I swept my tongue into her mouth and tightened my fingers on her, afraid either she would run or I would bolt. We were just that wrong for each other. She was a helluva long way from what I needed.

  But she was what I had to have.

  Cat drew my tongue deeper into her mouth, sucking on it. Damn, the girl knew what she was doing. I dropped my hands from her arms and grasped her waist instead, pulling her flush against me. I was probably holding her too tight but she wasn’t complaining and I wasn’t letting go. Never before had a girl drove me so damn crazy. And never before had I wanted to fuck a woman again so soon after the first time.

  Cat must have read my mind because she tore her mouth from mine, breathing heavily.

  “I think I need to be reminded where you belong,” she mumbled, her green eyes vivid with need. “Show me again, cowboy. Teach me a lesson for forgetting.”

  I moved one hand down her waist to her inner thigh. “You are so goddamn bad. You think you can handle me again so soon?”

  She bit her lower lip and peered up at me through her long, dark lashes, her face flushed under the moonlight. “Oh, yeah. Just promise me you won’t be gentle.”

  My cock threatened to bust my zipper. Time to get serious.

  “Princess, I’ll do whatever the hell I want. But if you don’t get in the damn truck, what I did to you in the restroom is going to look G-rated compared to what I’ll do to you out here.” My voice sounded hoarse and demanding. Nothing like myself.

  “Promise?” she asked with a smile on her face.

  Damn, I wanted in her.

  With a teasing grin, she put my cowboy hat on her head and pulled the brim down low, tipping the hat at me like I had done so many times to her. I watched with a dry mouth as she turned and walked away.

  God, she was sexy. She gave me a look over her shoulder that promised heaven in a hell of a bad way. I was unable to take my eyes off her body as she headed toward the passenger door. Her dress swung from side to side, the edge of it dangerously close to her ass.

  I ran a hand over my jaw as I watched her, feeling another drop of blood ooze out of my nose. I could be lying on the ground with a bullet in side - drawing my last breath and about to meet my maker - and I would still stare at Cat in awe, amazed that a woman could look as perfect and desirable as her.

  When she reached the passenger door, she turned and smiled again at me. Her lips were full and a deep rosy pink, the perfect shape and size for every man’s wet dream and darkest desire.

  And her eyes? They turned up at the corners just like a cat’s, framed by long lashes that were the color of midnight. It was the look in them that rocked me to the core. It promised all kinds of things and none of them sweet or nice at all.

  “You coming, cowboy, or you just gonna stand there and stare at me all night?” she asked, raising one finely arched eyebrow and smiling at me seductively.

  I grinned. There she was again – the Cat I had come to know and expect. What the hell I was doing with her I didn’t know. What the hell I expected, I had no idea. All I knew was that I couldn’t keep my hands off her.

  And I was tired of trying.

  Chapter Eleven

  Cat

  My dad once said that if a man loved a woman, he would take a hit and get back up, willing to shed a little blood and lose a little pride for the woman he loved. I’m not sure my dad had ever done anything like that for a woman, but Cash had just done it for me. I knew he didn’t love me and never would, but seeing him on the ground, with blood dripping down his nose, something melted in me.

  I couldn’t help but stare at him as he climbed into the driver’s seat. His profile was all sharp angles and smooth planes. His jaw was sculptured. His jeans were dirty and grass stains marked his knees and thighs.

  It made me squirm with need, remembering his legs between mine in the restroom. The roughness of jeans had rubbed the sensitive skin of my thighs, driving me nuts. I wanted to feel them again between my legs, moving against me as we made love.

  I bit my lower lip, wondering what the hell I was doing, contemplating having sex with him again. Something told me one time with Cash was a fluke. Twice was trouble.

  I reminded myself that he was just another roll in the hay. Another man to use to take away the pain. It was who I was. Who I had to be. I had managed to bury my emotions for a year now. I had used men that were sweet and men that were assholes. Men that were looking for love and men that didn’t even want to know my name. Each and every time I walked away unscathed. Unattached. Unattainable. And being with Cash would be no different. I would make sure of it.

  Time to prove it.

  As soon as he slammed the truck door closed I was in his lap, str
addling him.

  “Fuck waiting,” I groaned. I lowered my head and kissed him, taking his mouth with desperation. His cowboy hat was still on my head, shadowing our faces from the outside world.

  His body was hard under mine, feeding my desire for him. I deepened the kiss, craving more and wanting to prove my crazy racing heart meant nothing. He was just a guy and I was just a girl. We had chemistry and it was just a matter of experimentation. We fed each other’s needs. Nothing else.

  I urged his tongue into my mouth. I could taste blood from his cut lip and it just turned me on more. I moaned, wanting his hands on me. Needing his hands on me. But they stayed by his sides, resting on the seat.

  I ran my tongue over his split lip, reaching down for his hand.

  “Touch me,” I whispered against his mouth, placing his fingers on my hip.

  Pleasure pulsed through me when his palm slid up my side to my ribs, spanning my entire side. His thumb rested right below my breast, left braless and bare under my dress.

  “Where do you want me to touch you?” Cash asked, his voice rugged in the quiet of the truck. “Here?”

  He made a slow pass across the bottom of my breast with the pad of his thumb.

  I sucked in a breath. “That’s good, but higher.”

  “Mmm. Yes, ma’am.”

  His thumb moved higher, gliding over my nipple. The sensation traveled through my body like a bolt of lightning through my veins, electrifying me.

  “God, that feels good,” I whispered, arching into him. “Do it again.”

  My words must have sent him over the edge. He reached up and yanked his hat from my head then threw it to the seat beside us. With roughness born out of need, he thrust a hand into my hair and yanked my head down.

  But he didn’t kiss me. His lips didn’t touch mine. Instead his gray eyes stared at me with raw intensity.

  He ran his thumb over my nipple again, slow and sensual, taking his time. I shuddered, every nerve ending in my body going haywire. Every ounce of me hungry for more.

  I tightened my legs around him, a reflex I couldn’t stop even if I tried. The muscles in his legs were hard and powerful against me. My dress rose higher, the silky material too abrasive against my overheated, sensitive skin. I wanted it off now. I couldn’t take it anymore.

  I grabbed a handful of his hair and kissed him again, unable to resist. My body fit against his too well and my heart thundered in my chest too fast to not take what I wanted.

  I wanted to scream with frustration and tear him apart with anger when his thumb stopped traveling over my nipple. But then he cupped my breast. Oh, god. He didn’t just cup it. He owned it. It drove me crazy and left me senseless, aching for more.

  I moved higher up his body, wanting to get closer. Wanting to feel the hardness under his zipper. Wanting him to give my neglected breasts some much deserved attention.

  “Not here,” he whispered against my mouth, his hand squeezing my breast gently.

  I sucked in a breath as his thumb made another pass over my nipple.

  “Then where?” I asked around a moan as heat flared in me. “I’m about ready to fuckin’ implode.”

  Cash chuckled and dropped his hands to my thigh. “Such a dirty mouth for such a beautiful girl,” he said in a husky voice, sliding his fingers under the edge of my dress. “What else can it do?”

  I drew a sharp breath. “Oh, all kinds of things. Why don’t you take me somewhere and find out.”

  He let out an animalistic growl and captured my mouth again with frenzy. His lips were demanding as they forced mine apart. I grasped a handful of his shirt again and held on tight.

  His hands slid from under my dress and grasped my hips firmly, holding me still when I tried to rock against him. I moaned with irritation and tried it again. He clenched me harder and tore his mouth from mine.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he said in a strained voice, lifting me off him like I weighed nothing.

  I plopped down next to him, surprised. There was no pride or satisfaction or a crap load of arrogance in his eyes like most guys had when they knew they were going to get some from me. There was only calmness and that did something significant to me.

  He shifted his gaze away and started the truck. The engine rumbled and my body vibrated. I was flushed and warm and just wanted to get alone with him.

  He threw the truck into reverse and backed out of the parking spot, spinning the tires just a little. The silence between us hummed with eagerness. Anticipation made me squirm in my seat.

  I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. His wrist rested on the top of the steering wheel casually as he maneuvered the pickup through the maze of parked vehicles. The muscles in his arm were all angles and rugged ridges, sinew and strength in every line. I wanted to reach out and touch them, feel the power under my fingertips. But I resisted for now.

  He caught me staring and turned to look at me. There was craving in his eyes. Pure unleashed hunger. His jaw tightened. Sexual energy arched between us.

  He focused back on driving and I refocused on breathing normally. In seconds we were barreling down an old country road, leading us further away from the bonfire but keeping us near the lake’s edge.

  The woods became thicker, the country road narrower. Just when I thought we would drive forever Cash turned the wheel. The truck’s headlights flashed across the lake, visible through the trees. He stopped the truck and cut off the engine, plunging us into darkness.

  Cash reached for me but I beat him to it, straddling his lap in seconds. My lips met his with desperation, hurried and frantic.

  He thrust his fingers into my hair and held on to me tightly. His teeth clashed against mine, bruising my lips and making me whimper.

  “Sorry,” he whispered, softening the kiss and loosening his hand from my hair.

  “Don’t be gentle,” I said breathlessly. “Take me, cowboy.”

  My words sent him over the edge. He groaned and fisted my hair painfully. His tongue slipped past my lips and into my mouth, ravaging me. It drove me mad. I was at his mercy, his to conquer and control. It’s what I wanted and he demanded to get.

  I kicked off my heels and wiggled in his lap, hating his jeans. They hid what I wanted under them. I hated my dress also. It kept my slick wetness away from him. I hated clothes period. They should be outlawed around him.

  I reached for his belt buckle. “Take it off,” I demanded, tugging at the piece of metal.

  “No,” he whispered against my mouth, his fingers digging into my hips.

  I moaned, frustrated. “Why the fuck not? We’re alone. We’re horny. Let’s do this,” I whined, my lips brushing against his. “I want you in me. I think I’m addicted to it.”

  Cash tightened his fingers on my hips. “I fucked you in a fancy restaurant, Cat, but now I want to fuck you under the stars. That’s more my style, sweetheart. You had yours and now it’s my turn to have mine.”

  I wiggled against the hardness under his jeans. “I don’t give a damn where we do it—”

  “But I do, Catarina.”

  He let go of my hip and opened the driver’s side door. I looked out into the darkness, seeing nothing but woods and the distance glow of the bonfire through the trees.

  Before I could ask what he had planned, Cash lifted me out of his lap and sat me down in the seat next to him. He got out of the truck but then stopped. His gaze ran over me, stopping at the hem of my dress. It was riding high on my thighs.

  Feeling naughty and impatient, I reached down and pulled the dress higher and higher, not stopping until the edge of my panties were showing. As soon as they were, I ran my hand down between my thighs, tempting him. Men didn’t call me a tease for nothing.

  Cash’s eyes burned. “I don’t think so, sweetheart.”

  His hand snapped out and grabbed my ankle, yanking me toward him. I squealed in surprise as he dragged across the seat, the leather hot against my naked thighs. As soon as I was near the edge, Cash hooked a finger in the
waistband of my panties and yanked them down.

  I gasped but he didn’t stop until the little stitch of lace was off of me. He flung it to the floorboard next to my heels. With a growl, he stepped between my legs and buried his hand in my hair, dragging my mouth to his.

  Every nerve ending in my body quavered and quaked as his lips dominated mine. His tongue thrust inside to prove just who called the shots and who was in charge.

  “More,” I rasped, reaching for his belt buckle. “Give me more.”

  His fingers tightened in my hair, pulling my head back.

  “I knew you were spoiled,” he hissed, lowering his mouth to my neck.

  His hand delved between my legs but the only thing I got was frustration. His fingers stayed on my thigh, denying me what I wanted but driving me senseless anyway.

  My neck was arched and he took advantage of it. He kissed the sensitive skin, alternating between licking and biting my neck. I thought I would die a slow, painful death, waiting for him to do something with his fingers, but he just kept them inches away from my wetness.

  “Cash, touch me dammit,” I demanded, wrapping my arm around his neck and drawing him closer.

  His mouth left my neck and traveled up over my jaw to my lips again.

  “Little Beauty Queen’s begging? Why do I think this is a first?” he whispered against my mouth, his fingers oh so close to my opening.

  “Damn you,” I said breathlessly, unable to control my breathing.

  Cash chuckled, low and throaty. “Sweetheart, I was damned the moment you walked in that bar.”

  I snapped my eyes open, ready to raise hell, but he wasn’t going to let me argue. He took my mouth with violent need, ravishing it. Any thoughts of being angry disappeared as he kissed and sucked at my lower lip, sending spikes of desire through me.

  He moved his hand down to the back of my knee. His fingers caressed the sensitive skin there, sending a tremor over me. I was lost in the feeling when suddenly he grasped the underside of my knee and lifted my leg, parting me even more.

  Please, oh, please fuck me. The words never left me but I tingled and burned, waiting for him to touch me. To fill my pussy with his fingers and then with his cock in me.