Bad Boys After Dark

by Melissa Foster

  Nothing else mattered.

  Except the fact that he hadn’t thought this through well enough. He was sweaty from running and he probably stunk. Christ, she’d really gotten to him.

  As their lips parted, he snickered at himself for being such an idiot and glanced down at his sweaty shirt, earning one of her gorgeous smiles. “I was out for a run when I decided to come over. I should probably shower before we…”

  “Lucky me,” she said with a sultry expression.

  She toed off her shoes and pulled off her socks, and he did the same. Then, without a word, she led him through her bedroom, bringing another wave of unfamiliar emotions as sinful memories consumed him. He’d thought of her sucking him off last night so many times, he’d taken things into his own hands to find relief. But there was no escaping his desire for Sophie, and jerking off had only made him crave her even more.

  “I was at the gym,” she said, pulling him from his reverie as they entered her too-small bathroom. “I need a shower, too.”

  He drew her into his arms, his body already on fire from their insatiable kisses. “Babe, you have no idea what the idea of you working out does to a gym rat like me.”

  “Really? Why?” She tilted her head curiously.

  “I don’t know. It’s such a big part of my life. I just like the idea that it’s something we have in common.” There he went again, saying shit that was so far out of the norm he had no idea where it came from. Those feelings he’d gotten the other night in his chest and in his head were happening again. The smile his response earned was worth every confusing second.

  “I love running and working out with weights. It helps get rid of stress.” Her eyes darkened, and she said, “Maybe you’d like to see my running shorts?”

  Jesus, she ran, too? He’d never had a list of what he might enjoy in a woman beyond sex, but if he had, she’d just nailed the two things that would come right after being close to her family and honesty. That made her four for four.

  What the fuck am I thinking? Four for four? He was starting to sound like Dylan, the brother who was most in tune with his emotions, while Brett spent a lifetime trying to avoid them.

  Sophie stripped from her sweats and made a dramatic show of tossing them into a hamper in the corner of the bathroom, leaving her in the tiniest pair of black and pink shorts he’d ever seen and a pink workout bra. He couldn’t have held on to a thought if he’d wanted to.

  He hauled her into his arms. “You go out in public in this?”

  “You like?” she asked with feigned innocence.

  “Yes, I fucking like, but I’m sure every other man who sees you does, too.” He clenched his jaw against the jealousy spiking through him. Her shorts barely covered her ass, and they rode so low on her hips, they were only slightly bigger than a bikini bottom.

  She pushed up at the hem of his shirt. “I really don’t like to wear clothes while I work out. They’re too confining.”

  He tore his shirt over his head, trying not to let the growl in his throat escape. “You should work out at my place.”

  She turned on the shower. With her back facing him, she peeled off her bra. “I’m pretty sure sex doesn’t count as a workout.”

  “Not for sex,” he snapped as he stripped off his clothes. The thought of any other man seeing her in that outfit sent fire through his veins. “I’ve got a full gym at my house. You can work out there.”

  “According to some very wise women I know, the Bad men never take women back to their place. Better be careful or I could get the wrong idea.” Giggling with her tease, she bent at the waist, slid her shorts and panties down, and stepped from them. Then she put one hand in the shower, wiggling her fingers under the water, and glanced over her shoulder with a come-hither look in her eyes. “Nice and hot.”

  Christ, she was every wicked fantasy he’d ever had come true. He followed her under the warm shower spray, wrapping his arms around her from behind as she poured soap into her hands. His cock rocked against the seam of her ass. She ran her hands along his arms, down his thighs, and reached behind her, soaping up his erection.

  “You’re a little tease,” he growled as he fondled one breast and slid his hand down her stomach to the juncture of her thighs. She was already aroused. “Aw, baby.”

  She ground her ass against him, leaning back so he could kiss her neck. “I’ve been thinking about you all morning, and then you showed up and—”

  He pushed his fingers inside her, earning one of those cock-hardening sounds that had ricocheted in his dreams last night.

  “Kiss me,” she pleaded.

  Another sound that had haunted him all night, her plea for his kisses.

  She craned her neck, and their mouths came frantically together. She put her hand over his, holding it between her legs as she rode his fingers. He cupped her breast with his other hand and felt tremors climbing up her body as warm water rained down on them. She grabbed his head, keeping his mouth against hers as she went up on her toes, grinding against his cock as her climax claimed her.

  “Brett!” she panted out.

  He knew how much she loved kissing and reclaimed her mouth, refusing to relent, even as she sank down on her heels and turned toward him. He kissed her deeper, backed her up against the tiles and devoured her mouth. Her fingernails dug into his chest, and when their lips parted, he went back for more. She was deliciously addicting.

  “Want you,” she said against their kisses, and slid lower, taking his hard length in her hand and gazing up at him. “I should have asked yesterday. Anything I should worry about? Diseases?”

  Jesus, why did that make him feel guilty? She shouldn’t have to ask. He reached down and caressed her cheek. “No, baby. I’m clean.”

  “Good, because I told you I wanted everything, and I have a really long list.” She lowered her mouth and took him to the back of her throat.

  Sparks lit beneath his skin. He leaned one palm against the tile, watching as his shaft slid in and out of her lips. She bent lower, licking his balls as she stroked his cock, oblivious to the water raining down on her. It felt so fucking good, and she looked so sexy, he couldn’t stifle a groan.

  “Careful, babe. You’ll make me come,” he said between gritted teeth.

  Her eyes turned fierce as she dragged her tongue along his full length. “Take my mouth the way you took me last night.”

  She watched him as she took every inch of him into her mouth. He grabbed her head, pulsing his hips slowly, so as not to hurt her. Her brows knitted, her eyes pleaded, and she bobbed her head faster, snapping his last shred of control. He pumped his hips, earning a smile around his cock that made him move even faster, rougher. Good God Almighty, nothing came close to this incredible woman. He reached down with one hand and took her nipple between his finger and thumb as he fucked her mouth. And then her hand dropped between her legs, and holy fucking hell, she worked herself over. Her eyes closed, and her moans vibrated around his shaft. Heat streaked down his spine at the sight of her sucking him while she fingered herself, spurring him on. He pinched her nipple and she grabbed his ass, holding him in her mouth as his orgasm crashed over him. He felt the head of his cock rubbing against the back of her throat. Sophie’s sweet sounds of pleasure made him come even harder.

  He leaned against the tile as the last of the aftershocks rumbled through him. Sophie rose to her feet and said, “Kiss me.”

  He lowered his mouth to hers. The first taste of her mixed with the taste of his arousal, bringing a shock, as he’d never kissed a woman after she’d blown him. But as quickly as the shock came, it subsided, and he lost himself in Sophie’s delectable kisses and the feel of her wet body against him. He pushed his fingers inside her, determined to make her come. When she moaned into the kiss, fondling his balls, his shaft greedily rose to the occasion. She reached between them and went up on her toes, trying to guide him inside her. He lifted her into his arms and her legs wound around his middle.

  When the head of his cock sl
ipped into her tight heat, he tore his mouth away and said, “No condom.”

  “I don’t have any.” She pressed her hands to his cheeks and ran her tongue along his lips, making his entire body throb. “You can pull out, can’t you? I need to feel you inside me.”

  Fuck. Tack another first onto the Sophie chart. Their mouths came together as he lowered her onto his shaft slowly, reveling in the feel of her tight heat engulfing him. The pleasure was pure and explosive as they moved in perfect harmony.

  “Christ, Sophie.”

  Her hands moved over his cheeks and into his hair as she met each of his thrusts with a pump and grind of her own.

  “I want to disappear into you,” he said as he backed her up against the tile so he could thrust harder, take her deeper.

  She grabbed hold of his shoulders. “Don’t come yet,” she begged. “I love feeling all of you.”

  Her words, her voice, her sweetness slayed him. He crashed his mouth over hers, struggling against the pressure building up inside him. He kissed her harder, thrust in deeper, and she cried out into his mouth. Her sex squeezed him like a vise, pulsing around him. He tore his mouth away gritting his teeth against the urge to come as her orgasm went on and on. He didn’t want to stop, didn’t want to miss a second of being close to her. She moaned and mewled, clinging to him until she collapsed in his arms. He pulled out, still holding her against him with one arm, and stroked himself through his powerful release.

  They were both panting for air as she slid down his body. The evidence of their passion spread over her thighs and that sweet tuft of hair between them.

  “Damn, baby. That was too close. I pulled out in time, but the last thing either of us needs is a kid.”

  “Sorry. I’ve never wanted anything in my life as much as I wanted you. I wasn’t thinking.”

  Her words pierced his chest, bedding down beside his heart, and guilt set in. “I should have done the thinking for both of us.” He lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her slowly and tenderly, and vowed to be more careful with her in the future.

  Holy fuck, another first. He wasn’t ready to give her up.

  Chapter Five

  BY MIDMORNING, SOPHIE was relaxing in Central Park, enjoying the peaceful sounds of leaves swishing in the gentle breeze, people milling around the lawn, and the warm sun on her face. Hanging out in the park reminded her of home, and when the world, or thoughts of Brett, overwhelmed her, it was her go-to relaxation spot. She set her new Kurt Remington novel on the blanket and lay on her back, thinking about her morning with Brett. He’d sought her out again, which she wanted to believe meant something special. But how could she know? The gravity between them had pulled her right out of careful-Sophie mode and into some sort of sexual-wild-woman persona. She couldn’t have held back if Brett had been wearing a neon warning sign that read DANGER! AFRAID OF COMMITMENT! The way he’d kissed her with so much passion, she’d felt it soaring through her, and the things he’d said had made her believe he’d been right there with her, thinking they might have something more. But after their shower, things had gotten a little awkward, and she was still trying to come to grips with that.

  She thought about calling Grace and getting her two cents, but she didn’t want to share their morning with anyone else yet. She was still reveling in it like a cozy blanket. She knew it wasn’t smart, especially since after their shower he’d put on his running clothes, given her one last incredible kiss, and then left without saying anything about seeing her again. In those wordless last seconds, she swore she saw her own emotions mirrored in his eyes, but she knew that was wishful thinking, too.

  She watched the afternoon clouds move in front of the sun and wondered if that was a sign that she should stop seeing things that weren’t really there. They both knew he’d come over just for sex, regardless of her hopes. But how could she not romanticize after he’d shown up like that for a second time? Had she read too much into his taking her to meet Kurt, too?

  Regardless of whether it was stupid or not, she treasured this morning’s encounter even more than last night’s. Last night she could have been his challenge, but he’d already conquered her before showing up at her apartment this morning.

  The sun broke through the clouds, and she closed her eyes, letting the warmth on her face bring back the sting of his whiskers on her cheeks and the heady taste of his arousal. She rolled onto her stomach and opened her book, needing an escape from her rising emotions. Overromanticizing or not, being with Brett felt more real than anything ever had.

  She tried to focus on the story, and eventually the horrific killer in the book overtook the hot man in her morning shower. As the afternoon passed, she was vaguely aware of people walking by and the sun appearing and disappearing like waves of the sea. Her heart raced as the villain snuck up on his unsuspecting prey.

  She was a million miles away when the hard press of a body came down over her, sending fear surging inside her. Instinct brought her fist back, smacking into a man’s face as she rolled out from under him.

  “Shit, Soph!” Brett said, one hand covering his eye.

  “Oh my gosh! I didn’t know it was you. I’m so sorry!” She crouched in front of him, shocked he was there and feeling horrible about hitting him. “I thought you were a pervert.”

  He smirked, and she swatted his arm.

  “Man,” he said with a playful smile as he lowered his hand. “You’re vicious.”

  She winced at the redness beneath his eye. “What would you do if you were me and a guy just lay on top of you in a park?”

  “Fair enough. How does it look?”

  She studied the tender spot and met his honey-brown eyes. “Like you got hit by a girl. It’s a little red.”

  “Good thing I like you fierce.” He flashed a cocky grin.

  She clung to that statement tighter than she probably should have and tried to push back the urge to wrap that compliment up and tuck it away. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

  “I was…um…” His gaze darted away, then back again, with a hint of aha in his eyes. “I was out running errands and felt like going for a row in the lake. I remembered you were headed here and figured what the hell. I thought we could hang out for a few minutes. I know how you forget to eat sometimes, so I brought you a few things in case you need to power up after this morning’s workout.”

  He reached for a bag she hadn’t noticed, and she didn’t even try to calm the happy dance taking place inside her. She sat down as he placed a sandwich, apple slices, a container of yogurt, and a bottle of her favorite drink, unsweetened mint honeysuckle Runa, beside her.

  Overromanticized, my butt. He’d definitely thought of her. “How did you know I sometimes forget to eat?”

  He focused on unwrapping the paper from around her sandwich and said, “I’ve been in your office often enough to know you work through lunch a lot.”

  She didn’t think anyone other than Amanda and Mick had noticed.

  His gaze flicked up to her as he handed her the sandwich with a slightly uncomfortable smile. “Turkey, lettuce, light mayo.”

  “Thanks,” she said, a little awestruck. She didn’t want to be one of those girls who thought they knew what was going on in a guy’s head, especially Brett’s head. He hadn’t pretended to want more with her, despite the fact that he kept showing up. As he unwrapped his own sandwich, she knew she needed to get some answers before she drove herself crazy wondering where they stood.

  “Brett, why are you really doing this?”

  “I told you.” He bit into his sandwich. He must have seen something in her expression, because he added, “Look, if you hadn’t punched me in the eye, we’d probably be making out right now, so don’t overthink this, Soph.”

  “I’m not,” she lied, trying to dodge the sting of his hurtful words pinging through her. She picked up her sandwich, but she wasn’t hungry anymore and set it back down. Brett was watching her with a serious look in his eyes, making it even harder for her to avoid the
pain of his words. Needing another distraction from her conflicting feelings, she opened the yogurt.

  “Not hungry?” He handed her a plastic spoon from the bag.

  “Not very, but I appreciate you bringing lunch.” She noticed the redness under his eye was still there. Good.

  Ugh. She didn’t want to hurt him. She just wished he didn’t want to hurt her, either. The trouble was, he probably didn’t even realize he had. Why should he? He wasn’t leading her on. He’d been nothing but honest with her. She was the one with the runaway dreams.

  “So, you’re going rowing?” she asked to keep from picking apart her thoughts.

  “Beautiful day. Why not?” His lips curled up, and he waggled his brows. “Gotta keep the old bod in shape for my extracurricular activities.”

  She didn’t enjoy how that comment made her feel like one in a long line of activities.

  “How’s the book?” He reached for it, and his arm brushed against her chest, sending a different sensation skittering through her despite her heartache. He flipped open the pages and read what Kurt had written.

  Having read too much hope into Kurt’s words, she’d memorized the inscription. Sophie, you must be a very special person to have gotten my buddy Brett in for a reading. Maybe you can bring him over to the literary dark side. I hope you enjoy the book. Kurt