The Set Up

by Kim Karr

  I knew it.

  “Listen, I have to go—he’s coming out of his office. I just wanted to let you know.”

  I twirl a piece of hair around my finger. “Thanks, Vince, I appreciate it. Let me know if you hear anything else.”

  “I will. And Charlotte, for whatever it means, I don’t care what your last name is. I miss you in the office.”

  Sadness creeps over me. “I miss you, too, Vince,” I tell him and hit End.

  Warm hands are on my hips. “Is Vince someone I should be worried about?”

  A delicious shiver ripples over me as his breath whispers across my cheek. Loving the feel of him so close, I twist in his hold so I can face him and look up into his brown, brown eyes. “Jasper Storm, you are the only man occupying my every thought lately. There is no room for anyone else.”

  Slowly, he backs me up until I’m pressed against the workbench and instead of laughing like I thought he would, he becomes super serious. “I’m glad to hear that, because listening to you say I miss you to another man is making me a little crazy here.”

  I put my hands on his chest. “Jasper, he’s just a guy I used to work with.”

  Stepping even closer so that there’s no space between us, he takes my face in his hands and looks at me with those eyes that make me melt. “Tell me you’re mine.”

  I suck in a breath, my world spinning at how fast this thing between us is developing and at how much I want it. So much so that the words just spill out of me without thought. “I only want you, but I worry a girl like me isn’t enough for you.”

  Jasper shifts a little and moves his hands so that his arms cage me in. “You’re wrong. So wrong. You’re more than enough for me. Sometimes I think too much.” His chest heaves with emotion. “I can’t get enough of you. I want you all the time.” His voice is guttural, with so much feeling it makes me ache deep inside my chest. “Every time I look at you. Every time you walk into the room. Every single time I see you, I want you. Even when I’m not with you, you’re all I can think about. And that worries me. It worries me because just yesterday you were going to walk away from this and I don’t want to lose you. Not when I just found you again.”

  Friendship, intimacy, we have that—but even if I am enough for him, can we overcome the tragedy of our past? For now, I have to believe we can because if I don’t, it might just shatter us both. So with my hands shaking, I take his face in my hands. My sweet, sweet, adorable friend who is no longer a boy, but now a man that I, too, can’t get enough of. I tell him what he wants to hear. “I’m not going anywhere unless you ask me to. I promise.”

  “Never going to happen,” he practically growls, and then suddenly his arms are around me and his mouth is on mine.

  His kiss isn’t gentle.

  It’s wild.

  Wanton.

  Primal.

  His lips press harder against mine, his tongue now licking and stroking mine in the wettest, deepest kiss that I can feel all the way to my toes. And with my declaration, I cling to him, kissing him back just as passionately, until I’m breathless and have to stop for air. When this happens, I bite playfully at his lip. “I have to tell you what I just found out.”

  He groans into my mouth. “Is this about Vince?”

  I laugh. “Yes, but I already told you he’s just a guy I worked with.”

  Jasper presses harder against me and I can feel every inch of him. Every. Single. Inch. “I’m listening.”

  I tilt my head back to look at him. “This caveman thing is a turn-on, but I have some information I think you’ll find interesting.”

  “Caveman,” he mutters, and I can hear the amusement in his voice as he effortlessly hoists me up onto the workbench and then looks up at me with a grin. “Talk, woman.”

  Laughter bubbles out of me. I guess I deserve that. Now that I have his barbaric attention, I tell him everything that Vince told me.

  “Fuck me, do you think he really could have been the one that killed her?”

  “I don’t know, but with what Vince just told me, it would seem they had a volatile relationship.”

  “You have to convince him to tell the police.”

  “I can’t do that. He doesn’t want to be involved.”

  “Then you have to go to Detective Hill and tell him what Vince told you.”

  “I can’t do that either.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because he won’t believe me.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I do. I already told you I didn’t tell him about Eve and Cole’s affair when he asked me if I knew about any of her relationships. If I go there now and tell him this, he’s going to know I lied before or he’s going to think I’m lying now.”

  Bracing his strong hands on my shoulders, Jasper says, “You didn’t lie. You just weren’t forthcoming. Let me call Todd tomorrow and get his advice. Get him to help us figure out the best way to handle this.”

  “Jasper, I can’t afford an attorney.”

  He runs his fingertips down my bare arms. “You don’t have to.”

  I’ve never been in a situation like this before and I hate it. “You are not paying for my stupidity.”

  Jasper’s palms land on my thighs and he spreads my legs apart so he can step closer. “It wasn’t stupidity. It was loyalty, and Cole Reynolds could learn a thing or two about it.”

  “Call it what you want, that doesn’t change the situation I’m in and you are not—”

  Lips slam against mine. “No more talking about this, Charlotte. You’re my girlfriend and I’m going to take care of you.”

  At that I give in and kiss him back. I have to. He’s just too hard to resist.

  Girlfriend?

  I’m his girlfriend?

  That means he’s my boyfriend.

  My boyfriend.

  My heart swells so big I can see it beating.

  Hear it pounding.

  Feel it growing a little more whole.

  SET THE PACE

  Jasper

  CHARLIE AND I had only three rules for the race to my house from the corner playground.

  One: No brakes.

  Two: No looking back.

  Three: No telling.

  The first one to drop his or her bike on the sidewalk before my driveway was the winner.

  It was simple.

  And neither one of us ever broke the rules.

  Somehow, I was always the faster one. I won every time, even though I gave her a few seconds lead. It was easy, because I was the one who always said, “On your mark. Get set. Go!” so I had the leeway to stall, to hold back and not take off right away, and I did just that.

  Hence, the no looking back rule.

  She never knew the purpose of that rule and I never told her.

  Charlie didn’t like it when I thought of her as a girl, but I did anyway, and because of that one undisputable fact, I thought I was faster than she was.

  I’m not so sure anymore.

  Reflecting back, I have to wonder if she had been letting me win.

  Maybe even at eight she knew what I needed, and gave it to me.

  We’re walking down the hallway to my apartment and with the thought fresh in mind, I turn to look at her. “When we were kids and used to race on our bikes, did I win fair and square or did you let me win?”

  She looks at me for a long while but says nothing.

  I point my finger at her. “You did, didn’t you?”

  She tucks her hair behind her ear and then holds out her hand with her fingers pinched together as she eases out her words. Slow and low she says, “I might have. Just a little.”

  Now I have to ask, “Did you let me win when we went biking last Sunday?”

  She closes the distance between her thumb and index finger. “Maybe. But just a little.”

  Thump right to the ego! “Are you kidding me?”

  She shakes her head and those curls bounce everywhere. A sight I can’t get enough of.

  And then I s
tart laughing. “And here I thought I was always the one setting the pace.”

  She cannot stop smiling.

  Hand to my heart, I pretend to be wounded, and that just makes her smile wider.

  Instant arousal.

  Making her happy causes desire to speed through my veins. My door is only a few feet away, but I can’t resist stopping and pushing her up against the wall. It’s like I can’t get enough of her. Still, I have to bring Jake his car back, so I can’t get lost in her right now. Even though I really want to.

  Her moan muffles noises in my mouth and I groan. “We don’t have a lot of time.”

  “We can be fast, especially now that you know I’m faster than you thought,” she purrs, taking a nip at my lip with her teeth.

  “You’re so bad.”

  “No. I’m just nice.”

  I raise a brow. “You can show me just how nice you can be when we get back.”

  In less than a heartbeat, her mouth finds mine. “I was thinking I could show you right now.”

  I gently bite down on her lower lip before sucking on it. “We can’t do this right now. We need to get the car dropped off.”

  She makes a noise of disapproval and then seals her mouth to mine.

  I groan. I think watching me under hood was a big turn on because she’s not usually this aggressive.

  Maybe I should get a job a garage like I had years ago but this time have her sit beside me all day?

  She takes that as a green light and tangles her fingers in my hair. “I don’t want to wait.”

  “We don’t have time.”

  “I think it’s my turn to set the pace.”

  I smile at her. “Isn’t that what you’ve been doing all along?”

  She shrugs. “I think it’s been a little of both, and does it really matter? I want you.”

  I move forward. She moves back. “I know, but Jake is going to cut my balls off if I don’t get him his car back.”

  “I said we can be fast, and I know you can do fast.”

  We’re outside my door now and I don’t have to even think twice about it. She’s right—I can do fast. “Okay, I’m easy. Let’s hurry.”

  Hiding her triumphant smile, she’s already undoing my belt and my zipper, too. “You’re just plain easy.”

  “Never said I wasn’t,” I say, chuckling.

  She laughs.

  Before I fuck her right here in the hallway, I quickly unlock the door and we’re stumbling inside. Once I turn the lights on, I cup the back of her neck and tilt her head to look up at me. “How could you ever think you wouldn’t be enough for me?”

  She bites on my tongue and then flutters hers against the tip of mine . . . driving me insane. “Because I’ll never be able to share you. I couldn’t stand the thought of another woman touching you even if I’m there.”

  I pull back and look into her eyes. “Charlotte, I am not looking to have a threesome ever again. I only want you. Tell me you get that.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I nod, filled with too much emotion to talk right now. How could I have ever allowed myself to do the stupid things I did? I vow to myself right now that moving forward I will think before I act. I will consider the consequences of my actions for once in my life.

  For her.

  And for me.

  With that, she takes my hands and presses them against her breasts. “Come on, Jasper. We’re in a hurry. Remember?”

  I laugh. “I remember,” I tell her around my laughter.

  She kisses my chin, moving down to my neck, and slides her tongue over to my ear.

  Putting myself in gear, I slip my hands up the front of her shirt, which has come untucked, and feel her soft skin. It electrifies me. Running my mouth down her neck, I undo each button of her shirt with my teeth. When I get to the last one, I pull her shirt open and quickly lift her tiny bra. The cool air makes her nipples harden and when I close my mouth around one, fondling the other between my fingers, she moans loudly.

  I look around and then pull her shirt together. “Come with me.”

  “Why did you stop?” she questions softly.

  “Because I’m going to fuck you in ways I never have—and I don’t want Jake busting in on us.”

  “Oh.” She giggles and follows me as I stride quickly into my bedroom. “But I thought we were in a hurry?”

  “Fuck that,” I say.

  “But Jake?”

  “He’ll be fine,” I lie, knowing Jake hates when anyone is late. “I’ll text him.”

  Once we are on the other side of my bedroom door, I slam her against it and run my hands all over her body. I’m hungry for her, starving. I walk us backward toward the bed. “Take your shirt and bra off,” I growl.

  “See, you are a caveman,” she teases with a giggle, stripping out of her clothes.

  “Please,” I add.

  She unclasps her bra and tosses it at me. “Much better.”

  Turned on beyond belief, I fall to the bed and toe my boots off. “Come closer. Let me look at you.”

  Eyes blazing with fire, she slowly steps toward me. “You’ve seen me like this a bunch of times now.”

  I lean back with my palms flat on the mattress. “And I want to see you like this every time. Every time I want to see all of you before I take you. You’re just so fucking beautiful you make me want to slow down.”

  As if she knows what I’m about to say next, she strips out of her shorts and her panties and then steps a little closer.

  My cock throbs harder than it ever has. It’s screaming to be free, to be closer to the sweet pussy that isn’t that far away. Finally, when I feel like I’ve seen every inch of her beautiful skin, I lie flat on my back. “Come here. Let me kiss you.”

  She leans down to kiss my lips.

  “Not there, Charlotte, not right now anyway.”

  “Oh.” She flushes.

  “Come on. Come here.”

  Tentatively, she crawls over me.

  “Come to me.”

  Slowly, she lowers that sweetness right on top of my mouth. Wet. She’s wet. So responsive to my touch. I kiss her, small, light kisses, from her ass to her belly button, and then I stop.

  I need to get naked.

  The breath rushes out of her when I set her beside me. Unusually quiet, she falls onto her back and watches me as I quickly take my clothes off. Her eyes are so filled with desire I can’t wait to hear her scream in ecstasy.

  Once I’m naked, I crawl over to her and find her mouth. Pulling back, I stare at her gorgeous tits. I run my hands up and down her chest, holding each breast, squeezing it, pinching the nipple between my fingers. Bending toward her, I nuzzle one before licking and pulling it in, sucking on it.

  She arches her back and moans. “Jasper.”

  My pulse is racing. “I like it when you don’t wear a bra.”

  “I know you do.”

  “Don’t put one on when we leave to go to your place.”

  “Only if you don’t wear underwear.”

  My grin is wicked. “Deal.”

  Unceremoniously, I sit up and take her with me. I want to finish what I started. Setting her on her feet, I lick my lips. “Your pussy tastes so sweet, I need some more.”

  The pink in her cheeks is adorable. I wonder if she’ll always be a little embarrassed when I talk about her pussy.

  I think she will.

  And it turns me on so much.

  She stands before me, completely stunning, and I can’t help but think she’s all mine. My mouth goes slack as I see her hooded eyes gazing down at me. Then without warning, I slip one finger inside her, then another, and then just one more. Stretching her, fucking her with my fingers. Her body starts to shake and as she cries out in pleasure, I remove my fingers and replace them with my mouth. Her hands grip my shoulders tightly.

  “Jasper!” she screams when I find her clit with first my lips, then my tongue. I pull her closer to me. I don’t just want to eat her . . . I want to devour her. Her
body trembles and she calls out my name louder and louder with each passing second. She tries to pull away, but I hold her tight. “Just feel it, Charlotte. Just feel it,” I manage, stopping to blow on the small nub that I plan to devour again tonight.

  Her grip tightens on my hair and she cries out, “Oh, yes, Jasper, oh yes!” Those words have my cock throbbing to be inside her.

  I pull away and stand up. She’s wobbly but somehow manages to wrap her fingers around my hard cock, and the feeling is so good that I start to tremble. I take a few minutes to let her stroke me. While she does, I look at her smooth, pale skin, her seductive, stormy eyes, the cute sprinkling of freckles across her nose, her lush lips, and those small breasts—all Charlotte, all things I will never get enough of.

  “Did you like what I just did?” I ask her.

  “I liked it,” she moans.

  “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes,” she gasps.

  “Turn around then. I want to fuck you from behind.”

  Without question, she moves across the bed and goes on all fours.

  My chest is pounding. I’ve kept the sex pretty simple until now. “If you don’t like something, just tell me, okay?”

  She nods.

  “I want to take you to places I know you’ve never been, and this way I can.”

  I’m on my knees behind her and slowly I rub my cock against her entrance. Every muscle in her body is tense and atremble. I soothe my hand down her spine. “Relax.”

  The smell of sex fills the air and our mingled breathing grows loud. I stop and stare at her tattoo and for a moment I’m rendered motionless. I hate this tattoo. Hate what it means. How could everyone in her life forget her?

  I kiss her tattoo and realize for the first time one of those stems was probably meant for me. Now I hate it more.

  “Jasper?”

  “Shhh . . . relax,” I tell her. Snapping out of it, I run my hands from her ankles, up her calves, and to her thighs in one swift motion.

  She gasps out such a pleasurable sound that she has my hands moving faster up her ass. Knowing I don’t have a lot of time, I still want to do it right, so I bend to kiss the places my hands have just been. Her body relaxes but tenses when I flick the underside of her ass cheeks with my tongue. “Tonight, I’m going to taste every inch of you,” I tell her. And just in case she doesn’t understand what I mean, I run my tongue up the seam of her ass.