Dirtiest Little Secret: A Quick and Dirty Romance (Quick and Dirty Collection)
Page 5
The head of his cock stole her breath. With the toy still inside her, his cock felt like an impossible fit. Pressure stretched and stung her sex. Her breath caught. She was about to back off when the head of his cock finally filled her and pleasure washed her pelvis. Ava panted and shivered. She dug her fingers into his sides.
“If I was any other guy from that bar,” he said, his voice quiet and breathless, but somehow still menacing, “I’d fuck you outright. I’d tear into you. No time to adjust, no possibility of fighting back.”
Ava felt drunk. Her head floated. Her body tingled. Isaac’s hands stroked up her sides, then gripped her face hard. The aggressive move startled her.
He pulled her down until she was an inch from his. “No matter what you said, how loud you screamed, they would do whatever they wanted to you. And none of it would bring pleasure.”
She grimaced and closed her eyes. “Okay.” She couldn’t catch her breath. “I get it.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“I could get more graphic if you—”
“Stop.”
“Yeah, that word right there. That word wouldn’t work with anyone in the bar but me. Do you want me to stop?”
She huffed, frustrated beyond words. Opening her eyes, she looked down at him and softened her voice. “Don’t ruin this. Please.”
“I want you to promise me, right here, right now, you will never go back to Grind.”
“I promise.”
“Promise me you’ll never go anywhere with anyone you met there.”
“I promise.”
“Promise me you’ll never fuck another biker. Any other biker.”
“I promise.”
His hold eased. He spent a long, silent, intense moment staring into her eyes. Then he dragged her down and kissed her hard.
Even though they were strangers, even though he was rough and rude, he kissed like a lover. A true lover. With passion and reverence. Like he was here, with her, in the moment. Not back at the office, not with a different woman, not inside his own head.
Isaac broke the kiss with a breathless “Ride me.”
She pushed against his chest, slowly straightening, and sinking even deeper onto his cock. Sensations erupted through her sex, her belly, her chest. Her breath caught.
“Find the muffler pipe with your feet,” he told her. “And use it.”
Ava followed his direction and tested the security of her footing by pushing against the metal. She lifted off his body, easing his cock out of her, just an inch. Even that small movement radiated a pleasure-pain through her body that made her whimper.
She used his chest for balance and looked down into his handsome face as she moved. Sweat glistened on his chest and neck. His expression was fierce and hungry. His hands traveled her body, touching and teasing. All it took was the pressure of his thumb on her clit and Ava climaxed. The orgasm took her by complete surprise and shook her to the core. She cried into the night and fell forward, onto his chest.
Isaac’s hands fisted her hair, pulling her head back. He kissed her, deeply, erotically. He gripped her waist and took over the movements, spurring her on. He slammed her hips down, driving his cock so deep, she felt like she would split in two. The sensation added something new and unfamiliar to the sex, lifting her to orgasm after orgasm until she lost all track of time or place.
“Isaac…” she finally panted when he showed no signs of slowing. “Can’t. No more.”
He growled, curled into a sit-up, and captured her mouth in a hard kiss. His hands stroked over her back, around her belly, up her chest. His thumbs stroked across her nipples, and his palms caressed and squeezed. Ava turned her head to escape his mouth and pull in air. He gripped her waist as he kissed and nipped a path over her neck, down her chest, to her breast.
And while he had her back arched, her nipple between his teeth, he pumped his hips, driving his cock hard and deep until he made a liar out of her and another orgasm ripped through her body. Her moans drowned beneath the sound of Isaac’s own pleasure. Ava was still shaking when Isaac’s release hit. He buried his face against her neck and uttered guttural curses against her skin.
And when he lingered there, one arm tight at her waist, the other combing through her hair, his hot breath prickling her skin, Ava smiled and silently thanked the universe for Matthew’s idiocy.
6
Isaac pulled his Harley into the driveway of his parents’ multimillion-dollar home in Greenwich. Dominic and Delia Banks had worked hard all their lives, and it soothed Isaac to see the fruits of their labor providing security and comfort for his parents.
He shut down the engine, pulled off his sunglasses and looked around. Same old neighborhood, even if the homes now worth three million had been worth three-hundred thousand when he was a kid. Isaac couldn’t say it wasn’t beautiful. Couldn’t say he’d had a lousy childhood. Couldn’t say he’d had shitty parents either. But nor could he say he missed this life. A life of expectation, pressure, façades, and shallow relationships.
All he could say was that every time he came home, he wished he’d made different decisions a year ago.
Isaac climbed off the bike and started along the flower-lined stone walk to the porch. In the distance, their neighbor, Walt Henry, watered his prize begonias. Isaac paused on the steps, wearing his leather jacket and carrying his helmet, waiting for Mr. Henry to look up. When he finally did, Isaac lifted a hand and waved. “Hey, Mr. Henry.”
The man just glared.
His mother opened the front door. “What are you doing?”
“Annoying Mr. Henry,” he told his mom, grinning as he waved again. “Lookin’ good there, Mr. Henry. Your flowers too. Bet you win another blue ribbon this year.”
That earned him another glare.
His mother stepped onto the porch and glanced toward Mr. Henry, grinning. “You might have gotten more of a reaction if you’d loosened your muffler.”
Isaac barked a laugh and wrapped an arm around his mother’s narrow shoulders. “I’ll try that next time.” He looked down into her familiar blue eyes. “Hey, Mom.”
She gave him that smile filled with unconditional love that said everything from God, it’s good to see you to you don’t come around often enough. “Hey yourself, son.”
He gave her a squeeze, then let her go ahead of him into the house. “Where’s Dad?”
“In the backyard, fiddling with the pool filter.” She crossed the formal living room, passed the formal dining room, and made her way into the kitchen with an attached family room. A space that was bigger than both Isaac’s house in the country and his loft above the garage put together. “And before he comes in, I have to tell you the big news.”
She glanced out the window toward the yard to make sure he was still outside, then turned a bright smile on Isaac. “Your father’s been nominated for the International Excellence in Architecture Award.”
Isaac’s mouth dropped in surprise, then snapped into a grin. His chest filled with pride. “No fuckin’ way.”
“Fuckin’ way,” she said.
Isaac laughed and dropped to a stool at the breakfast bar. Delia opened the fridge and turned back with a Guinness for Isaac, then slid a bottle opener across the granite.
“He doesn’t know yet,” she said. “They’re going to present him with the news at the meeting next week. I’ll email you the date for the award ceremony when we find out.”
“Hot damn, Mom, that’s so awesome. Which bridge?”
She rolled her eyes to the ceiling, wincing. “Oh gosh… Let me see if I can say this right. Zhujiang Kuàdù?”
“Oh my God.” Isaac shook his head as he opened his beer, laughing. “You butchered it.”
She gave a good-natured shrug. “Well, I know it spans the Pearl River, and I know it’s in China. You two spent far more time there than I did.”
His months living in Guangdong running that project felt like a lifetime ago. Or maybe in a whole different life.
“He does. How’s business?”
“Busy. Real busy.”
“Did you find a replacement for Penny yet?”
He groaned at the thought of the sixth assistant he’d fired in as many months. “Let’s talk about something else.”
“You’re not going to grow if you don’t—”
“I know, I know. But I’ve also learned that hiring someone lousy only adds to my workload.”
“You know I’d be happy to help out until you find someone good.”
Isaac smiled. “That’s sweet, but Dad would kill me before he’d give up his entertainment goddess.”
“Pffft. It wouldn’t kill him to take his clients out a little more often.”
“No, but it might kill you. I know how much you love entertaining.”
“I love cooking. The entertaining part is a necessary evil.”
“Well, you’re damn good at both.”
She smiled wistfully. “Years of practice, son. Years of practice.”
“Thanks for the offer. I’ll find someone. I just need to keep looking.” He took another swig of his beer. “Honestly, I can’t believe the caliber of applicants I’m getting. The hourly is well above average, but I’m still interviewing women who show up in shorts, pop and smack their gum while we’re talking, and have to take a cigarette break every fifteen minutes.”
“Oh, honey. I’m sorry.” She gave him a sympathetic look as she tore lettuce for a salad. “But that reminds me—and you’ll never believe this—Carol’s husband is motorcycle hunting.”
“Little late for a midlife crisis,” he teased.
“I think it’s more like a bucket list. Would you talk to him if I gave him your number? Maybe share some pointers on what to look for?”
“Of course.”
A bucket list. Maybe Isaac should think about a bucket list. Only he’d have to add seeing Ava again to that list, and that would go against his promise to himself to stop thinking about her.
And then, “How’s Jerry?” came out of his mouth.
“Jennings?” his mother said with a little frown. “He’s having some heart problems. Marla says he’s going to retire soon.”
Marla and Delia had been friends since Dominic and Jerry started working together, decades ago.
“What’s he going to do with the company?” Isaac asked.
“Their kids will take it over.”
He lifted the beer to his lips. “Even the daughter? Guess I’m surprised a steel company would interest a woman.”
“Oh, Ava. She’s had a rough time lately. She broke off her engagement to Matthew Brauer.”
Isaac’s throat tightened around a swallow of beer, and he choked.
“Are you okay?” his mother asked.
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat, but a fist remained clenched in his gut. “Engagement?”
“Yes. Your father and I received the invitation just last month. You’ve met Matthew, haven’t you?” his mother asked. “Wasn’t he with Jennings Steel when you worked with Dad?”
“Maybe, but I don’t know him.”
“Apparently, he was in management. It sounded like he was being groomed to take Ava’s place when she took over the company with her brothers. But I guess she caught him cheating.” Her mother tsked. “Have you seen her lately? Oh, she’s such a pretty thing. And so sweet. She was at the Mother’s Day luncheon with Marla last year. Men. They can be such idiots. What possible reason would a man have to cheat on a winner like Ava?” She smirked at Isaac. “I have to admit, I always wished chemistry would spark between you two when you were younger.”
Oh, our chemistry sparked all right. Just much later and more fleetingly than he preferred.
“I had it bad for her growing up. She just didn’t know I existed.” She also didn’t know he’d been the one to push all her boundaries and drive her to heights of pleasure. And that made their night together the best dirtiest little secret ever.
“It’s too bad she’s had to go through that shit,” he said.
“She seems to be faring all right. She fired him and broke off their engagement. You know I like a girl with grit.”
Isaac smiled. He liked girls with grit too. And this news heightened his respect for her.
“Marla says she’s been killing herself while they search for a replacement for Matthew. Out of all their children, I’ve always thought Ava was the most dedicated.”
She was mired in the very life Isaac had walked away from. That alone should squelch his interest. But he found himself hoping her pressures at work were what kept her from contacting him again, not disinterest.
“Have you ever considered going back?” His mother stopped fidgeting with the salad and met his gaze. “You know, to the firm, with your dad?”
Isaac understood her desire to have her family under the same corporate roof again. He understood his father’s desire to leave a legacy for his son. Isaac even missed the work sometimes. But it wasn’t the right place for him anymore.
“Life’s short, Mom,” he told her honestly. “I don’t want to live my life surrounded by all that bullshit.” And he shouldn’t be thinking about a woman whose life was steeped in it. “When did all this happen with Ava?”
His mother fluffed the lettuce leaves with her fingers. “Let’s see, I have a hair appointment next week, which means I was in Julie’s chair when I first heard. So that would put the breakup about a month ago.”
Which would have predated her appearance at Grind by a couple of weeks. And that meant Isaac hadn’t been a fuck on the wild side. He’d been a rebound fuck. And didn’t that just ruin the plans he’d come with to get Ava’s number from his mother and give her a call. Set up a real date.
For the best. He didn’t fit into her world, and he didn’t want to. Their erotic night boiled down to absolutely nothing. He’d known that going in, but the new weight in his gut told him his subconscious had been hoping for more.
His mother added the rest of the salad fixings onto the lettuce and smiled at Isaac. “Go say hi to your dad and bring him in. Dinner’s almost ready.”
Isaac pushed to his feet and shook off the disappointing news about Ava. Hell, she’d probably already forgotten all about him anyway.
7
Ava shouldn’t be doing this. She really shouldn’t. She knew that—logically. Emotionally… That was another story entirely. Which was exactly why she shouldn’t be letting her emotions direct this drive.
But she just kept following her iPhone’s GPS directions to Revival, Isaac’s bike shop in Devil’s Den, because, well, to get right down to it, Ava was damn sick and tired of doing what she should be doing—placating her father over the loss of employees, calming her mother over the canceled wedding, doing all her own work and the work of the three people she’d fired.
She was sick of being who she’d always been—the perfect daughter, the most loyal employee, the achiever, making her family proud.
But what could really come of this attempt to find Isaac? She didn’t know anything about him. Hadn’t even known he’d owned his own motorcycle repair shop until she’d stopped at Grind to ask where she might find him. Hell, he could have a girlfriend. Or worse, he could be married for all she knew.
He hadn’t asked for her number when he’d dropped her back at the bar after hours of sex by the lake. Hadn’t mentioned seeing her again. He’d just cupped her cheek and scanned her face with the strangest expression—a mix of intrigue, melancholy, and resignation—before he’d kissed her one last time and said, “Remember your promise.”
Her stomach squeezed with stress. She’d thought he’d been concerned for her safety, but maybe…maybe she’d missed his point. Maybe that was his way of warning her not to come back to see him?
“Crap.” She felt like a naïve idiot. Why hadn’t she
thought of that possibility before now?
Ava rolled down her window and breathed deep of the cool country spring air. She was confusing the hell out of herself.
What was she expecting? It had been weeks since she’d seen him at the bar. What could really come of this visit? Best case scenario, another round of great sex. Worst case… Humiliation if he didn’t want anything to do with her. Shame if she discovered she’d slept with a committed man.
Her stomach sank a little lower.
Ava forced her mind off Isaac, trying to appreciate the beautiful weather, the lush scenery, and the quiet country road. She hadn’t seen another car in either direction for miles and relished the serene sound of birds in the trees. She’d been through hell at work. She deserved a break. Maybe she ought to just look at this as a simple drive in the country. Maybe she wouldn’t even stop at the shop but just drive on by and consider this nothing more than a spin to relive a great memory, then return to…
To what? Real life?
Real life was what had sent her on this drive in the first place. To escape the pressure of training new employees and the embarrassment of the innuendos floating around the office. Matthew might have lost his job, his apartment, and his wealthy, well-connected fiancé, but he’d gotten her back by pinning her with the reputation of an ice queen.
If it weren’t for Isaac, she’d believe she deserved it. But he’d proven Matthew wrong. Isaac had seen the heat inside her, stifled and dying, before Ava had even known it existed.
She wanted that again. Wanted to feel the burn.
She turned the last bend toward Revival, holding her breath. She didn’t even know if the shop was open on Saturdays. And she had no idea where he lived. If this didn’t pan out…
Around the curve, a building came into view on the left—an old gas station resting at the base of a hill. Ava’s heart jumped. Then she spotted an open bay door to the garage and excitement surged, pushing her mouth into a smile and her heart into a tap dance.