by James Tate
The shower shut off, and my heart kicked into overdrive. I needed to get out of there before Steele left the bathroom, otherwise things were going to be supremely—
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked as my hand reached the door handle, and I froze.
"Uh..." I didn't turn around. I couldn't. My face was probably pinker than my hair, and I felt like such a creeper. Then again, he should have closed the damn door! It was my bedroom, after all. I had every reason to be in there. "I was just going to grab a glass of water," I lied. Lame.
"Madison Kate," he said, and he was so close I almost jumped out of my skin. How'd he get so close? Damn soft carpet. "Turn around."
Nope. No way.
"Um..." I couldn't think of a damn thing. Certainly not a good reason why I couldn't turn around and face him. All I could think about was the sight of his fist working over his hard cock and how badly I wanted it to be mine.
Fuck me.
"Turn around, Hellcat," he murmured, stroking his fingers through my hair and tugging teasingly on the ends. "Or are you afraid?"
Yes! I am!
But also, damn him. He knew I'd never admit that, certainly not to one of them.
Gritting my teeth and mentally reminding myself that I was a grown-ass woman and not a slave to my hormones, I turned around to face him.
He was still dripping wet, like he'd just stepped straight out of the shower and simply tucked one of my glittery pink towels around his waist. Good lord, it was a good look on him. Not the pink sparkles—those wouldn't suit anyone—but the whole naked and wet thing? Yep, Steele was rocking that.
A slow smile curved his lips, and I snapped my gaze up to his face. I'd been blatantly checking him out, and he knew it.
"Were you running away from me, Hellcat?" he teased, leaning in close and bracing his hands on the door to either side of my head. My pink towel was tucked so loosely around his slim waist it surely wasn't going to hold much longer. Surely.
I licked my lips and forced a bit of iron into my voice. "I don't run from anyone, Max Steele. Certainly not you."
His smile turned to a smirk, and he leaned closer still, pausing only when his lips were a bare inch from mine. "Prove it."
Oh, for all the coffee-loving gods. I groaned inwardly. He was waving a red flag at a bull, and I was powerless to resist the urge. I closed the gap between us.
32
Steele's towel dropped about three seconds after I started kissing him. It was a satisfying sound, hearing that heavy fabric hit the floor, and I grinned into his kiss with satisfaction.
"Did you enjoy watching me?" he asked when our kiss broke off. He trailed hot, open-mouthed kisses along my jaw, then dragging the metal of his tongue stud down my neck. I gasped as he found my sensitive point, right at the back of my neck. His mouth sealed to my skin, and he sucked that patch, probably marking me. Not that I cared. After what seemed like an entire night of teasing, I was—regardless of what I’d just told myself—most definitely a slave to my desires.
It took me a second to remember his question, then I groaned. "Yes," I admitted, my mind flashing those images at me again. But I didn't need the mental replay; I had the real thing right there in front of me. "But if you didn't want me to watch, you really should have closed the door."
I ran my hands over his body, sliding my fingers into his short, wet hair. He smelled like me. Like my shampoo and my body wash. It was kinda crazy hot.
"Who says I didn't want you to watch?" Steele countered, moving back just enough that he could meet my gaze. His eyes were bright with desire and excitement, probably reflecting my own, and his lips were lush and swollen—begging to be kissed. So I did.
I could probably be happy for the rest of my life just kissing Steele. He had the kind of kiss that met me, challenged me, and demanded more but didn't take anything I wasn't already giving.
His hands found my waist, and he lifted me, carrying me easily across the room and depositing me down on my floral-pink bed—all without taking his mouth from mine.
I still had my black high heels on, but as they had an ankle strap, there was no way I was stopping Steele so I could fuck around with the fiddly buckles. Nope, they could stay on for all I cared. Besides, I was already sans underwear, so what did they matter?
Steele moved his hand to my thigh as he settled his weight between my legs, sliding up and under my short dress.
His hand paused, and he let out a small groan, breaking his lips away from mine. "Do I even want to know what happened to your panties tonight, Hellcat?"
I bit my lip, guilt washing through me. "I don't know. Do you?"
He seemed to think about it for a moment, then shook his head. "Nope. All I want to know..." He trailed off as his lips found mine again, kissing me with renewed intensity as he pushed my dress up. I raised my hips so he could get it up over my ass, then wriggled it over my head and tossed it aside.
"What do you want to know, Steele?" I asked, breathless as he unhooked my bra and peeled the lace cups away from my body. His breathing was ragged, and he was more than ready to go again, despite having just come in the shower.
He didn't answer immediately, taking his time to kiss my breasts. His lips closed over my sensitive peaks, sucking and biting playfully until I was thrashing and panting beneath him. The hardness of his tongue piercing teased me in ways I’d never even imagined.
"All I want to know right now, Madison Kate," he finally continued, releasing my breast and sliding his hand across my flat stomach. Then lower. "Is whether you have any condoms in this little girl’s room. Because I need to fuck you more than I need to breathe right now."
His fingers found my clit, circling it teasingly before sliding lower to my soaking core. My breath hitched, and my hips pushed forward, silently begging him to enter me, but he continued to tease.
I wracked my brain, desperately trying to remember if I had any condoms stashed somewhere in my room. I hadn't had sex in over a year, but it was simply a good habit to always have protection available. Just in case one of your drop-dead gorgeous, male-model housemates wanted to fuck you stupid, obviously.
"Yes," I replied on a groan. "I think so, anyway." God, I hope so. "Hang on a sec."
I wriggled out from under him, rolling over onto my stomach and reaching for my bedside drawer. I yanked it open—a little wider than I'd intended—and fished around for the handful of condoms I vaguely recalled tossing in there while unpacking all my things a few weeks earlier.
Steele's hands clasped my naked butt cheeks, squeezing them and making me groan as my fingers frantically searched the seemingly endless drawer. It didn't help that Steele hitched my hips slightly off the bed, then slid one long finger into my cunt from behind.
Yep. Pretty sure my brain short-circuited for a moment there.
"Any luck?" he asked with a small chuckle, and I mentally slapped myself to stay on task, a job made so much harder as he added a second finger inside me and stroked them in and out.
My fingers touched a squishy foil packet, and I exhaled in relief.
"Found one?" he asked, but I wanted more of what he was doing. I wriggled my hips, backing up onto his hand desperately. His lips kissed my back, and I felt his weight shifting on the bed as he made his way up to the back of my neck. Still, his fingers lazily stroked my inner walls, and I writhed under his touch, my breath coming in short, sharp gasps.
Steele made a small sound of surprise as he settled against the pillows beside me. His fingers withdrew from my throbbing cunt—dammit—to take the condom from me, but it was the contents of my open drawer that had his attention.
"Madison Kate, what have you got there?"
I propped my head up on my hand, giving him an exaggerated eye roll. "Clearly, my vibrators. Don't act like you've never seen sex toys before, Steele."
His grin was broad as he ripped the condom wrapper open and rolled the rubber down his shaft. "I have," he admitted, his own voice a little breathless as he closed his
hand around his erection. "I'm just curious, why so many?"
I smiled back at him, sitting up and pushing him back into the pillows so I could straddle him. "Variety is the spice of life, Steele. Why choose?"
Reaching down, I grasped his hot length and lined him up to my desperate, pulsing cunt. He didn't wait for me to sink down onto him slowly, though. He grabbed my hips and pulled me down onto him, thrusting up to meet me and fully seating himself in my pussy with that one stroke.
A cry escaped my throat, but he swallowed the sound a second later as his mouth found mine for a hot, open-mouthed kiss. Our tongues met and slid together in an echo of the way we fucked, meeting halfway and matching each other's desire equally.
"Fuck, you're incredible," Steele muttered some moments later when my mouth moved to his neck, nipping with teeth and sucking dark marks as I went—repaying the favor.
Seconds later, he let out a low growl and flipped us over.
My back met the mattress, and Steele slammed back into me, forcing the air from my lungs for a second before I sucked in another deep breath and cursed.
He just chuckled, though, one of those deliciously masculine sounds that made my toes curl.
"You have no idea how many times I've jerked off over you, Hellcat," he murmured, kissing me lightly. "But the reality is a million times better."
I groaned, remembering him in the shower again. "That's..." I kissed him back, then held his eyes with mine. "Kind of creepy. But also insanely hot."
He laughed, bracing his hand on the bed beside my head and pumping his thick cock into me with an unhurried pace. My orgasm teased me, fluttering around in the shadows but dancing just out of reach every time I thought I had it. It was utterly infuriating, but at the same time I never wanted it to end.
Steele hitched one of my knees up, pinning it to the bed with his weight and increasing the depth of his cock inside me.
"Ah, fuck" I cried out as his broad tip rubbed over my G-spot and my whole body quaked. "Yes, fuck yes, Steele, don't stop." He listened, thank all the gods, he listened, repeating that same movement over and over until I shuddered and screamed into his kiss. My back arched and my cunt tightened with the intense orgasm, forcing him to slow his thrusts until my climax passed enough for him to move freely once more.
"Fuck me, Hellcat," he groaned as my legs trembled with aftershocks and my arms looped around his neck. "That was the hottest thing I think I've ever seen in my life." He kissed me again, his cock still pumping into me slowly, lazily, giving me a minute to come back to Earth. "I want to see it again," he declared, his voice a little savage as he withdrew completely, then flipped me onto my stomach.
There was no way in hell my arms or legs were holding me up yet, but he seemed to understand that. He swiped two pillows from the head of my bed and tucked them under my belly, propping my ass up in the air.
A low groan came from him, and he positioned himself behind me on his knees, then grabbed two handfuls of my ass. He spread me wide, then drove back into my cunt with a grunt, making me whimper. I was still throbbing and sensitive from my intense orgasm, but he was determined to make me come again.
He'd get no objections from me.
Curses fell from his lips like a whispered prayer as he fucked me hard. I tangled my hands in the stupid floral comforter, holding on for dear life as he quickly brought me back to the edge of orgasm.
"Hold on, baby," he whispered to me, his voice husky and hot with arousal. He slipped a hand around in front of me, wiggling it between the pillows and my body until he found my clit.
That's when the fireworks detonated.
His long, talented-as-hell fingers worked me like I was his own miniature piano, and I came harder than I thought I'd ever come in my life. Sparks erupted behind my eyelids, and my throat hurt from moaning. My legs trembled uncontrollably, but now I had just one thing on my mind.
Steele's hands shifted to my hips, his pace increasing, and I knew he was close. I needed to move quickly.
"Wait," I panted out, licking my lips and trying to pull all the scattered pieces of my soul back together. "Wait, don't come yet."
He made a pained sound, but his thrusts slowed and his fingers flexed on my hips. "Madison Kate..." It was a desperate plea, and I snickered, wriggling out from under him and sitting up.
"Shut up, Steele," I teased, pushing him with a hand on his lower abdomen until he climbed off the bed. I scooted forward and sank to my knees on the carpet in front of him, then peeled the condom off his shaft and tossed it aside. "You're gonna complain about coming in my mouth?"
His jaw was slightly unhinged, his eyes hooded as he gazed down at me. "Fuck no," he muttered. He stroked his hand through my hair, then tangled it around his fingers as my mouth closed over his tip and my hand came up to circle his shaft.
Steele groaned low in his throat as I took him deeper, sucking and licking his thick cock exactly the way I'd pictured it when I'd seen him in the shower. He didn't let me play for long, though. Within moments, he took control, using his tight grip on my hair to hold my head so he could fuck my mouth. With every thrust, he pushed harder, deeper, testing my limits and choking me with his dick until eventually, he pushed in as far as he could possibly fit and his hot come pulsed down my throat. I swallowed greedily, taking it all and licking his entire length as he released my hair and eased out of my mouth.
For a moment, we just stayed like that, me on my knees in front of him, looking up with teary eyes as he stroked my hair. No doubt my mascara had run black streaks down my cheeks—being face-fucked tended to do that to a girl's makeup—but the look of utter worship on his face made it all so fucking worthwhile.
"Holy shit, Hellcat," he finally breathed out, tugging me to my feet and kissing me long and hard. I still wore my high heels, and it put me close enough to his height that I could reach him with my head tilted back. "That was intense."
I had nothing to say in response because he was dead right.
That was one for the ages.
33
My dreams that night were filled with blood and violence, scenes of a tattooed gang member on his knees while someone pressed a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. Blood and gore splattered the ground, then it was my mother lying dead on the ground in a spreading pool of blood. Her violet-blue eyes stared at me, lifeless, and dark bruises marred her perfect face and neck.
I woke up at some stage, my heart pounding and sweat coating my skin, but seconds later a set of strong, warm arms circled me. He pulled me in tight to his hot, hard body, and the tension melted out of me instantly.
My thundering pulse slowed, and my breathing evened out as my face pressed to his chest, letting the rhythmic thump of his heart lull me back to sleep.
When I woke again some time later, those nightmares were just shadowy remnants haunting my mind and setting my nerves ever so slightly on edge.
I stretched out my body, feeling the delicious ache of some seriously good sex, then snuggled back into the warm body embracing me. Reality was slowly creeping back in, regret over everything that’d happened the night before starting to tighten my stomach, but I wasn't ready to face it yet. Maybe if we stayed in bed just a little longer...
Devilish plan in mind, my eyelids flickered open and I pressed a kiss to inked swallows and roses on his chest.
Wait.
Jerking back a couple of inches, I blinked the sleep from my eyes.
"Kody?" My voice was rough and my throat scratchy. "What...?"
I frowned, blinking again a couple of times and trying to remember when the hell Kody had switched places with Steele. Last I remembered, I'd fallen asleep in Steele's tight embrace with the aching glow of incredible sex still rolling through my body.
"Go back to sleep, MK," Kody mumbled, not bothering to open his eyes as he tugged me back down to his chest and lazily stroked my tangled hair. "It's too early."
But my room was bright with sunlight, so I doubted it was all that early.
"Kodiak Jones," I murmured sternly, not bothering to move from his chest. He was comfy as hell to sleep on. "You've got three seconds to explain why you're in my bed."
I was still naked, I could feel that much, but the rough brush of fabric against my thighs said Kody at least had some underwear on.
"You were screaming," he mumbled, raising a hand to rub at his face, then ruffle his platinum hair into some seriously sexy bedhead. "I came in thinking you were in trouble, but you were still asleep and thrashing around. So I figured I'd just lie down with you for a bit, until you went back to sleep properly."
Unease pricked at my skin, ghostly flashes of those nightmares coming back to me. The scenes had felt so incredibly real, so much more detailed than my dreams usually were... more like memories than figments of my imagination.
"But you're still here," I commented. I wasn't mad—far from it. He was the one who'd chased my demons away and allowed me to sleep dreamlessly the rest of the night, and I couldn't be angry about that. Even if I was still naked.
Kody mumbled something, then yawned. "You wouldn't let go of me. But also, show me a man who'd willingly leave your bed, and I'll show you a damn fool."
I laughed softly, then a wave of disappointment ran through me. "Where's Steele?"
Kody's arm around my waist tightened, and he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. "I said willingly, Madison Kate. Steele wasn't given much choice."
He traced gentle patterns down my bare arm, making my skin tingle, and when he reached my hand, I linked our fingers together on his chest. "You gonna explain that, Kodiak?"
"Zane received our message," he told me in a grim tone.
I sucked in a deep breath, releasing it slowly as my thumb stroked over his bruised and scraped knuckles. The violence of what they’d done to that Reaper should have me running for the hills. It should repulse me to touch hands capable of inflicting such brutality.
It didn't.