Stubborn Hearts (Timid Souls #1)

by Melanie Munton

  One side of his mouth lifted in a smirk, but it wasn’t his normal cocky one. This was more inquisitive but not condescending. “And what were you expecting exactly?”

  Again, I went with honesty and lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Maybe something a bit bigger. I thought your parents had money.” I had heard talk from around the office about who his father was and the type of background he had come from.

  His jaw clenched and he responded in a somewhat cold voice. “They do. But I cut myself off from them years ago.”

  That was all he said and I could tell he wasn’t going to offer more on the subject. Apparently, there was no love lost between him and his parents.

  And now I felt like a real jackass. I didn’t usually make assumptions like that, especially with the upbringing I had, and I was ashamed that I had with David. Regardless of the fact that we didn’t typically get along, it was wrong of me to form any preconceived notions about his life without knowing the facts first.

  “I’m sorry,” I said meekly. I was embarrassed more than anything.

  “Wow,” he said, making my head snap up to see him smiling at me. Again, the smile wasn’t mocking but actually looked genuine. “I actually got Claire Stevens to apologize? We should probably hurry this up because I think the world might be coming to an end.”

  I wanted to be annoyed but I couldn’t be. So I laughed instead.

  I deserved that.

  David took off his suit jacket and slung it over one of the chairs around his kitchen table and started to further loosen his tie. I was suddenly distracted by the prospect of him undressing for me, which I don’t even think he noticed he was starting to do.

  “Would you like a drink?” he asked, making his way over to the refrigerator.

  “There’s only one thing I’d like right now.”

  His hand froze on the door handle when he heard that. Then, he started slowly, ever so slowly, turning around to face me. His eyes were burning and there was a distinct bulge in his pants that practically made my mouth water. That bulge definitely didn’t look small.

  I reached back to unzip my dress but he shook his head at me and slowly walked toward me. “If one night is all I get with you, I want the feeling of taking off your clothes.”

  That sent a jolt straight between my thighs. His deep voice was like smooth whiskey, the sound caressing my skin and igniting fires everywhere it touched. Then, he actually touched me and those fires flared to blazing infernos as his fingers slid up my arms and over my collarbone. He walked around and stood behind me, his warm breath on my neck sending shivers down my spine.

  Every inch of exposed skin that his fingers touched broke out into goosebumps. And when he leaned down and laid hot kisses down my neck and across my back, I truly thought I was going to lose it. They were open-mouthed, scorching kisses, and when I felt his tongue snake out and travel the length of my spinal column, I thought I would detonate right then.

  He had gotten me soaked and ready for him in three point five seconds.

  A commendable skill, to be sure.

  My heart started to pound as I felt his fingers reach the zipper of my dress and pull it down, painstakingly slowly. I hadn’t planned on this happening tonight, but thank God I had opted for a hot matching lingerie set. My strapless bandeau bra was white and lace with a matching thong. I didn’t even have time to become self-conscious about David seeing me naked for the first time because before I knew it, my dress hit the floor and my ass was completely exposed to him, with the exception of the tiny strip of material.

  I felt his presence leave me and I looked over my shoulder to see what he was doing. What I saw turned me on even more, if that was possible. His eyes were roaming over my body while he touched himself through his pants. For me, a man touching himself while looking at me was one of the sexiest things he could possibly do.

  But, you know, not in that creepy, leering way as I passed him on the street or something. Just in the context of the bedroom.

  “Turn around,” he whispered.

  I did as he instructed and was struck with a heavy dose of pride when he groaned aloud as my front was presented to him. He took his time as he stared at me but I was starting to get impatient. I wanted to see him, too.

  I was about to say exactly that when he started forward and again walked behind me. One of his hands went to my hip while the other grasped my ass, squeezing roughly at first and then kneading my cheek more gently. I didn’t care how rough or gentle he was because any way he touched me was heaven.

  His fingers started to undo the four clasps of my bra, one by one. Whereas I couldn’t wait to feel him inside me, he didn’t seem to be in any kind of hurry, taking his time as if he were savoring every moment. Finally, my bra fell away and both of his hands immediately cupped my breasts, holding them almost reverently, but also teasingly as he pinched my nipples.

  Both of our breathing picked up and the air around us became more heated. It felt as if he had touched me a thousand times before, knowing precisely how I preferred it, what gave me the most pleasure. It was like a dance that we didn’t need to learn the steps to. Our bodies just automatically knew the movements.

  His mouth was at my neck, kissing, licking, lightly biting the skin. I tipped my head to give him better access, at which point his mouth came into direct contact with my ear.

  “Do you know how long I’ve wanted this?” he asked, his voice reverberating throughout my entire body. I hoped he wasn’t expecting an answer because my brain cells weren’t functioning properly when his mouth was working me over like that. “Ever since that first night when you called me a cocky bastard. I knew then that you were fiery and sassy. And I wanted you. Bad.”

  I couldn’t respond, couldn’t think about the first night we met. I couldn’t think about anything other than what was happening in this moment. Where his hands were and how good they felt on me.

  “You drive me crazy at work with your damn skirts and your dresses, teasing me with this body. This body that I’ve waited to see like this for months.”

  His words were becoming raspy and broken, like he was having difficulty verbalizing them. That was fine because I didn’t plan on us talking much longer, anyway.

  I made a move to turn around and get started on removing every stitch of his clothing, but his hands on my hips kept me in place. Those nimble fingers of his took hold of my thong and started to pull it downward. He knelt down as he did so, his mouth following the path that the panties took down my legs, kissing every part of me, consuming me from head to toe.

  Then, I was completely naked for him.

  And it was time to reciprocate.

  David allowed me to turn around this time to face him. His heated eyes locked onto my bare chest for a few seconds, then my exposed sex, before flicking back up to my face. Even though I desperately wanted to feel his naked skin against mine, I took my cue from him and began slowly unbuttoning his shirt. I wanted to torture him as much as he had me.

  I pushed the shirt off his shoulders and was finally able to take in David’s sculpted form for the first time. His body was lean, with sharp lines, every muscle perfectly outlined. How he found time to work out with his busy schedule I had no idea, but you could tell he put work into his appearance.

  And it had paid off beautifully.

  He didn’t stop me when my hands reached for his belt and started loosening it, pulling the leather through the buckle, the clank of it hitting the hardwood floor filling the deafening silence of the room. His arms remained at his sides as I flicked open the button and zipper of his pants, but those gray eyes didn’t leave mine once. I wasn’t even sure that he had blinked since I started touching him.

  And I couldn’t look away if I wanted to, even as those pants pooled around his feet on the floor. He started shifting around and I could tell he was kicking off his shoes. But again, he didn’t look away once. Now, all that was left were his boxer briefs. Though with the tent he was pitching underneath clearly visibl
e, he may as well have already been naked.

  I watched him as my fingers grasped the waistband of those briefs and yanked them down, careful not to be too rough as I got them over his hardened length. He didn’t react, just intently watched me in turn, probably waiting for my own reaction to finally seeing him in the buff.

  So, I stepped back and let my greedy eyes roam over him, taking in my fill because I told myself this was the only time that I would allow myself to do so. And I would enjoy it as much as I possibly could while I had the chance.

  Oh my God.

  He was incredible.

  I could understand—just a little—why this man was so cocky. He had what I had always pictured to be the perfect male form. Strong, firm, and cut, every inch displaying his masculinity. There were no soft areas; I doubt he even had any body fat at all. He was my fantasy guy.

  Except for the fact that he drove me insane.

  But he really hadn’t tonight.

  Tonight, he had actually been charming and kind and considerate, which was throwing me for a huge loop. I wasn’t used to this side of him and frankly, I didn’t know how to handle it. I liked it and I didn’t want to like it. When he was like that, it made me think about things, made me feel things. Things that I hadn’t felt in a long time and never to that degree.

  But I didn’t want to think about Nice David.

  What we were about to do didn’t require either one of us to be nice. Feelings weren’t a prerequisite to pleasure. Those thoughts would have to be analyzed another time. Or you know…never.

  All of a sudden, he started walking forward, pushing me back toward the kitchen and stopping in front of his kitchen table. I expected him to start kissing me so we could get down to business—not the most romantic notion, I know. But instead, he grabbed my shoulders and spun me around so I once again had my back to his front. Then, he put his hand on my back and bent me forward slightly, my breasts pressing up against the wooden surface as he took my hands and placed them on the table so I could support myself.

  “Don’t you want to go to the bedroom?” I asked, a little surprised that we hadn’t but not denying that this position was definitely working for me.

  “We’ve got all night, Claire. And this may not be the hood of my car, but I’m going to make you forget about all those other ‘non-boring’ assholes. By the time we’re done, you won’t be able to remember anyone but me.”

  Well, hot damn.

  Claire, meet Sexy David.

  That was when he finally took my face in his hands, twisted it to the side, and smashed his lips down onto mine, spearing my mouth with his tongue with breathtaking passion. It was clear his control was finally snapping and I couldn’t have been more thrilled. Despite how arrogant he always was and how insane he drove me, I had never actually seen him lose his cool.

  I wanted him wild with me.

  Unrestrained, just letting his need take over.

  I got my wish when I felt him at my entrance. And with his mouth still sealed to mine, he thrust into me, stealing my breath and driving my whole body forward.

  And if he was serious about us having all night, this was only the beginning.

  ##

  Chapter Seven

  David

  Five months ago

  May

  Coming to the office anymore was really starting to feel like its own form of torture. It had barely been a month since my night with Claire and I still found myself thinking about it constantly, as if it had just happened. Especially when I saw her around the office, and when I was at home, and in my car, and even in my dreams.

  I couldn’t stop re-living that night over and over in my head. I had known it was a bad idea even before I ever agreed to it.

  But you show me a straight man who says that he could have resisted Claire’s offer that night and I’ll show you a liar. Or a fool.

  I had agreed to it and I was still the fool.

  The night had been everything I had hoped it would be and way more. She was unreal in every way—physically, sexually—and no other woman could compare. She had taken what I’d given her and begged for more. Three times, in fact.

  And she’d been gone by the time I woke up the next morning.

  Surprisingly, she had actually left a note. Though I wasn’t sure if it stemmed the blow of her dismissal of me or not. It had said:

  Had a great time. See you at work. Thanks.

  Okay, first of all, who thanks somebody for sex? It was as if she was thanking me for coming over to fix her sink or something. I didn’t know how to take that. And the whole “had a great time” was frustratingly vague. Had she enjoyed it as much as I had? Could I coax her into a repeat performance? Regardless, the note didn’t specify whether or not she was firm in her decision of one night only. Needless to say, I’d had hopes whenever I arrived at the office that next Monday.

  But those hopes had died a swift and painful death when she had basically ignored me.

  She had given no reaction whatsoever to our night together and it confused the hell out of me. When I stopped and thought about it, I had no doubt that she had liked it. Maybe even loved it. She had more orgasms than I did, so I knew I had at least done my job. But it appeared that my attempts at convincing her to consider more than just sex with me had failed miserably. It seemed that she was more than happy to go back to being all business with me and my mind was all messed up about it.

  And she was about to become my personal assistant.

  Starting today.

  Which meant that I would be her immediate boss, would have to have frequent meetings with her, would be attending events together, and would more or less be spending every day, all day together.

  I was already cursing myself for my stupidity at letting this woman get too close.

  Especially when particular memories of that night popped into my head.

  Just when I thought the woman couldn’t get any damn sexier, she comes strutting into my bedroom with nothing on but my shirt—which was only held together by one measly button—and my glasses.

  Hottest thing I had ever seen.

  A slightly blurry sight since she was wearing my glasses, but not enough that I couldn’t make out the curves of her ass or the hint of her breasts peeking through the opening of my shirt.

  I had just taken her for the second time on my bed, after the first time when I’d plowed into her at the kitchen table. They were part of my goals tonight, to prove to her that she was so wrong about me if she thought I couldn’t be one of the “non-boring” types. What had she said? Up against the wall, bent over the hood of a car, and making her scream until she was hoarse?

  Well, two of those had definitely been accomplished. The car was just replaced with the table.

  And the third was on its way as soon as I re-charged.

  “What do you think?” Claire asked as she adjusted my glasses on her nose. She could totally pull off the glasses look. Hell, she could pull off any look.

  “Mmm…I’ve always been partial to the sexy librarian look,” I replied, leaning back with my hands underneath my head to give me a better view of her strutting around my room in barely more than her birthday suit. “Or secretary.”

  “What about assistant?” she asked pointedly.

  Silence.

  We both knew what she meant by that, and I don’t think either of us wanted to acknowledge it. Because to discuss her becoming my assistant meant that we would have to address our complicated work relationship, which we both realized couldn’t involve sex after this night. And it was still too early in the night to shove ourselves back into reality.

  And as I watched Claire and her reaction to her own question, I saw something pass over her face that I wasn’t expecting. I could hardly believe it but I knew for sure what I was seeing was uncertainty, maybe even fear. I had never seen Claire look so vulnerable before. She always had this tough outer shell to her, this sassiness that wouldn’t allow anything through except unflappable determination
and steady confidence.

  My chest constricted right then, seeing her like that. It made me want to reach out and take her into my arms. Not to try out the next position I had in mind for us, but to hug her. Comfort her. Reassure her that everything would be okay and let her know that I would be there for her if she wanted me to be.

  But I didn’t do that.

  She didn’t want it.

  Luckily, I didn’t have to contemplate such thoughts any longer because she changed the subject.

  “Have you ever thought about contacts?” she asked, kneeling down on the bed at my feet.

  I lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. “I tried them years ago but they irritated my eyes too much, so I just stuck with glasses.”

  She smiled. “I think that was the right choice, anyway. You look hot in these.”

  I beamed at that. I had never been an insecure man by any stretch of the imagination. But I had to admit that a sincere compliment like that from Claire felt pretty damn good.

  “You think I’m hot, huh?”

  She rolled her eyes which made my smile grow. I loved teasing her. “You know you are,” she grumbled but didn’t sound angry. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have an ego the size of Texas.”

  I burst into laughter, possibly for the first time ever around her. We had never been this way with each other before. Carefree and relaxed. It was different but it was nice. Very nice.

  I saw her crawl forward out of the corner of my eye and she started pulling down my boxer briefs that I had slipped back on after round two. My laughter was abruptly cut off which I think was her goal. Her fingertips grazed my thighs as she continued to slide them downward, but I halted her progress when she eventually threw them to the floor.

  Quick as lightning, I sprang forward and hauled her skinny body over my shoulder, making her squeal, a sound I had certainly never heard her make before. I smiled and smacked her ass, eliciting another squeal from her, followed by the most adorable giggle I had probably ever heard. It wasn’t high-pitched and annoying like I would expect from some women. No, it was smooth and melodic.