by C. A. Harms
“Um…” AJ shrugged with a little laugh. “Never been ‘um’ before.”
Without another word, I moved forward, cupped her cheek with my palm, and pressed my lips to hers. She gasped, her lips parted just a fracture, and I took full advantage of it. My tongue dipped in just enough to seek hers, and together they rolled so seductively.
I reached around to place my hand on her back and pulled her body to mine, pushing my hips forward just enough to prove my point. “That’s all you,” I whispered before kissing her again. “You’ve got me all tongue-tied, babe.”
She smiled wide as she gave me that sultry look of hers, the one that was a mixture of just enough sweet and sex that it made my head feel like it was spinning.
“Is this new?” I asked as I used my fingertip to trace over the exposed skin between her breasts. I could literally see the contour of her tits in the center, and I still wasn’t sure I liked the idea of others seeing it too.
“I got it yesterday."
“I’m thinking we need to find April and get your jacket back.” When she frowned, I dipped my head and brought my lips near her ear. “I’m afraid that if I don’t cover you up soon, I’m gonna get myself arrested for taking you right here.”
She moved her head just enough that our lips were now hovering near one another’s. “That sounds intriguing.”
I shook my head, still trying to tame the beast inside of me that wanted to drag her ass to my truck and bury myself inside her. “The problem with this is, if I’m thinking this nasty thought, then so are half the men in this bar. Not sure I like the idea of you being the one they decide to fantasize about tonight.”
“But you have me,” she assured me. “So why hide me?”
She lifted herself up, pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “Later, you’re the one getting what’s beneath, and only you.”
Suddenly she was using the weight of her body to back me up, and then she was tugging me toward the bar where the rest of our group hovered. I felt myself growing territorial as a few of the men we passed raked over AJ much like I had just done myself. I sneered at them as we went by, and my girl looked back and gave me a knowing look. She knew exactly what she was doing.
“Hey, AJ,” Mikey said, leaning in to offer her a hug. She accepted willingly, and he tossed a smirk in my direction, which only managed to irritate me more. Asshole was only attempting to get a rise out of me. The problem was, it was working.
When she stepped back, I hooked her waist and pulled her body back flush with my own. Mikey chuckled as he sat on the bar stool shaking his head. Asshole was eating this up.
“What ya drinking?” I asked as I skimmed my lips over the shell of AJ’s ear. When she shivered against me, I smiled.
“I already got it, handsome,” Raven said as she reached between Mikey and AJ to set some type of fruity drink with a cherry on the top of the bar. I don’t miss how Mike watched Raven as she moved back. It would appear that someone had gained the attention of Mr. Hard Ass military-slash-doctor. I made a mental note to mention it later when he and I were by ourselves.
I did my best to shelter my girl, keeping her close and blocking the view of the half-drunk idiots who, even though she was in my arms, still lingered. I could feel myself growing even more pissed off each time I saw them talking amongst themselves as they looked in her direction.
A few drinks in, I could sense when she had begun to feel the effects of the alcohol. Her hips began to sway, and her ass shifted suggestively against my throbbing cock. It was hard enough to remain tamed, then she had to go and throw this shit in the mix.
“Let’s dance.” Maddison reached out for AJ, and I glared in her direction. “You gotta let her go sometime tonight, big boy.”
“No, I don’t,” I assured her, curling my body protectively around AJ, making her laugh. “In fact, after this beer, I plan on scooping her up and taking her home with me.”
“You are not.” Maddison placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at me. “You need to tame your ego, mister, and allow her to have a little fun. So what if she’s gaining a little attention? It’s you she’s going home with.”
Allison turned in my arms and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Just a few songs,” she whispered before kissing me softly. “After that, we’ll plan our escape.”
“A few songs,” I repeated, “and if you’re not back here ready to walk out those doors, I’m coming to find you.”
“I like the sound of that.”
I leaned in to snag another kiss, and instead of accepting, she moved back away just out of my reach.
I was forced to sit on a bar stool and watch as the four girls danced around the center of the floor. I could fucking swear the guy operating the music continued to play the seductive songs on purpose. He was practically foaming at the mouth.
“What the hell are you moping about?” I looked away for just a second to see Terrance and Collin step up near the bar. “You look like at any minute your head’s going to go shooting through the roof from all the pent-up frustration rolling through you.
“AJ’s been teasing and taunting the poor fella for over three hours now,” Mikey answered for me. “I don’t think it’s gonna be the head on his shoulders that blows off.” The asshole chuckled at his own joke as Terrance began to scan the bar. I noticed the moment that he spotted my girl. I also observed how his eyes started high and scanned low, before rising up once more.
“Fuck this,” I said as I got off my stool and sat my bottle of water on the bar. I had two beers and then switched to water shortly after the girls arrived. There was no way in hell I was gonna take a chance of being out of it with her looking the way she was.
“Where are you going?” Terrance asked as I moved past him.
“I’m getting her, and we are getting the hell out of here so dicks like you can’t do what you just did over and over while I’m forced to sit back and watch.”
“What did I do?” he asked, though when I looked over my shoulder to find him smiling knowingly, I knew there was no point in answering him.
AJ was lost in the music, but April and Raven saw me coming. Both gave the “oh shit” look, eyes wide, smiles big enough you could see all their teeth. Without a second to pause, I moved in between them and kneeled down to scoop AJ up. She let out a squeal but didn’t fight me as I tossed her up and over my shoulder. “Rhett,” she said, though I could hear her laughter. “Where are we going?”
“My place.” I fished my keys from my pocket using my free hand, and the bouncer at the door saw me coming. He pushed open the door and held it wide, allowing me to pass. I offered him a nod and he shook his head with a smile.
“What if I don’t want to go to your place?”
“Tough shit,” I said, pressing the unlock button on my key fob. The lights of my truck flashed in the darkness and my legs began to move faster.
“Rhett Jackson, you put me down.” She wiggled around, and I gripped her tighter. “You are such a bully.”
I chuckled at her words; they were slurred, and her choice was humorous. “A bully?”
I lowered her to the ground at the side of my truck and she immediately crossed her arms over her chest. The movement was meant to look as if she was pissed, but it was hard to focus on anything but her chest. I found myself hoping that what I was seeing now hadn’t been seen by anyone else as I marched her out of Lucky’s.
“What are you staring at, you perv?”
Her choice of words made me smile. I took a step toward her and she took a step back, quickly realizing she had nowhere to go. She was up against the side of my truck, and I had one hand on each side of her, caging her in just as I dipped lower and sucked on the exposed skin where her shirt parted. The entire side of her left tit was hanging out of her shirt and damn near her nipple with it.
Without a word, she placed her hands on my shoulders and pushed her chest outward. I lifted my finger and moved the material over even more as I traced along the s
ide of her breast before moving higher to suck on her neck. “I’ve spent the last three hours in complete hell.”
I bit at her neck before sucking on the same spot.
“You’ve managed to turn me on so fucking much that I feel like I’m losing my mind.” I pushed my hips forward to emphasize my words and she moaned when she felt my erection. “In fact, I’m not sure that I can even make it back to my place before I rip off these tight pants of yours and bury myself inside you.”
“I like that,” she panted. “I choose that option.”
I smiled, knowing that what I was about to say and do was only going to piss her off, but I did it anyway. “Nah,” I said, reaching over to pull open my truck door. “I think now it’s my turn to drive you fucking crazy with need.”
When her mouth fell open in surprise and her eyes narrowed, I chuckled, because hell, why not? She was already irritated. Why not go for broke? “You wouldn’t.”
“I would and I will.” I grabbed her around the waist, lifted her up, and practically tossed her into the cab of my truck. “Buckle up, sweetheart, I may take the long way home.”
I missed what she had to say in return as I shut the door and walked around the front of my truck. But the moment I opened the driver’s door she started up again. “I’ll just start stripping right here and right now.”
“That would be hard to explain when I pull up in my driveway and my parents are sitting on the porch swing.” Her eyes widened, and for a minute she just stared back at me as if running over her options in her mind.
“Just drive, you tease.” AJ crossed her arms over her chest and turned to face forward. Damn, she was adorable when she pretended to be mad.
Chapter Seventeen
AJ
I gripped the sheets as I buried my face in the pillow below me. I tried my very best to hold back the screams of pleasure that were ripping through me, but with each thrust of his hips it was only growing more difficult.
It had been two weeks since Rhett carried me out of Lucky’s. Two weeks of him reminding me that my body belonged to him. Apparently, he had not yet figured out that his actions only made me want to continue to wear revealing clothes. If this was the punishment that I would get, then I would take it willingly, over and over…and over again.
“Wider, Allison,” he instructed as he continued to push into me harder and faster. “Open up.” I did as he asked, and he reached around and lifted my hips higher. His movements picked up, and I could feel my body reacting to the assault. The yummy, tantalizing, pleasurable assault.
“You are so fucking perfect,” he growled in my ear as he slammed forward harder and faster. “Let me hear you, baby.” Rhett moved my hair from my face and cupped my chin. “I wanna hear you scream.”
I bit my lip to hold back and it only managed to drive him further. Though his walls were insulated, I still feared someone in his family hearing me. Not like they didn’t already know what was taking place when they woke to find my car had been in the driveway all night long. I didn’t need to remind them by giving them verbal confirmation.
“Let me hear you, Allison,” he said again, and I shook my head, attempting to hide my face once more. “I’m not gonna give you what you need until you give me what I need, and that’s to hear you cry my name.”
“Rhett,” I whispered, hoping it was enough, but he slowed his movements which was the exact opposite of what I needed from him. “No,” I whined.
“Then let me hear it.” He pushed inside me deep and swiveled his hips as I arched my back and looked over my shoulder at him. When our eyes connected, it was the look on his face alone that drove me over the edge. That sinister look of dominance, the one he gets when he knows I can’t resist him. I felt my body begin to tremble, and just when I felt like I’d started to regain control, he gripped my hips and really started to move.
“Let go for me,” he directed. My thighs began to shake as I started to push backward to meet his movements, then the pleasure took over and suddenly I was screaming out his name, demanding more.
He could control my body with one touch. It was almost as if I was made for him, and no one had ever been able to draw out the pleasure he could.
I sagged against the mattress below as he moved harder and faster before his own body went still. Little jerks and shivers were all that passed between us as we continued to ride out the after effects of our orgasms. My god, I could swear this man was going to kill me.
***
The best part of waking up next to Rhett was the feeling of safety and security it brought me. The way he held me in his arms wasn’t just when we were falling asleep, it was throughout the night too. Also like he knew the moment I slipped away, and instead of allowing me to go, he simply followed along. We always somehow ended up on the far-left side of the bed, his body curled around mine while I lay on the very far edge of the bed.
It always left me with a huge smile on my face.
My second most favorite part was waking up before him. That moment when I could simply listen to him breathing as I watched him close—his chiseled jaw, with just the right amount of scruff. There wasn’t a part of this man I didn’t adore.
There were plenty of times he made me frustrated, and I wanted to throttle the guy, but there were more times that he melted my heart. He had a soft sweet side that I felt lucky to be the receiver of. The way he watched over me when he didn’t think I was looking but believe me when I say I felt it.
There were those simple little touches too; those meant so very much. His finger skimming over my shoulder while we sat on the couch watching a movie. Or the way he would reach across the center console of his truck to rest his hand upon my knee. To some, they may seem like no big deal, but to me they meant the world.
And then there were the kisses, those on my forehead or even my temple. Talk about melting your soul and leaving you weak—those kisses they were the ones. Now don’t get me wrong, kissing Rhett was off the charts, but those simple kisses shook the ground beneath my feet every single time. Because they were sweet and almost instinctual for him, to me that was my own form of perfection.
I’d gone to that place where I’d allowed myself to imagine a life with Rhett. One where we lived in a big beautiful home, much like the one his parents lived in. A life where we had two kids and a dog, and shared game nights before he and I would sneak off after the family was in bed for some alone time.
Rhett owned my heart; there was no way to deny it. Though I kept that fact hidden deep, I was pretty sure he knew. This man hung the moon, the stars, and the sun. He was my everything.
Chapter Eighteen
Rhett
“Spread it around the stall.” I stood in the doorway and watched AJ as she used the rake to move the scattered hay around. The rake alone was almost as big as she was, but she insisted on helping out.
I tried not to laugh when she struggled. She didn’t let it faze her in the slightest as she continued to move from side to side. Her hair was wrecked, haphazardly sticking out everywhere. Yet even despite all that, she still made my heart race. How many girls would show up voluntarily to work without pay, and clean and refill eight stalls?
“You need my help, babe?”
“Nope,” she grunted as she used the rake to snatch up the next pile of hay. “I’ve got it.” I could sense her struggle, but she refused to give up. “But just so you know, you will be buying me dinner tonight, and dessert.”
“I’ve got your dessert,” I assured her, and she shot a glare at me.
“I meant a real dessert, you perv.”
I loved the comfortable atmosphere the two of us had fallen into. It was a friendship, with the amazing perks of lovers. We had it all.
“Fine. What if I offer ice cream, and chocolate syrup, hot fudge maybe?”
“Let me guess.” She grunted more as she continued on with her back facing me. “You are only offering those items because you expect me to offer up myself as a serving dish.”
A large hand cupped my shoulder, and I looked to my left just in time to see Uncle Gavin step up to my side. He was wearing a smile with an intrigued look in his eyes. Of course, AJ didn’t even know he was there and she just continued on as if it was only the two of us.
“I was referring to an actual dessert, Rhett, one we eat off a plate or out of a bowl, and not one we have to wash your sheets to clean up.” She huffed. “Last time I swear to it, I found syrup in places syrup should never be in and—” She spun around, and instantly her words fell silent. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open.
“Please do go on,” Gavin said, waving his hand out in front of him.
I bit my lip to keep from laughing and AJ glared at me. “You knew he was there and you just let me carry on?” I shrugged innocently, but she didn’t buy it. “You, Rhett Jackson, are on your own.” She leaned the rake against the wall, ripped off her gloves, and tossed them at me. “I’m leaving, and on my way home, I’m stopping for cheesecake. Which I will each alone after a long, hot shower.”
She huffed past me, stumbling over a huge pile of hay in the process before quickly regaining her composure.
“Oh to be young again,” Gavin said with a chuckle. “I remember the time Maria and I—”
“Stop right there,” I told him, holding up my hand in the air. “There are some things I never need to know, and your dirty adventures with my aunt are among those things.”
I moved into the stall and grabbed the rake. “Since you’ve managed to run off my help, grab a shovel.”
“I didn’t run her off,” he added as he stepped in and began to help. “But I know what it feels like to be in the doghouse, so I’ll help ya out. You’ve got some groveling to do.”
***
I showed up at AJ’s house with a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream in one hand and cookie dough in the other. They were both her favorite and there was no way I was taking a chance of bringing the wrong one.