by C. A. Harms
“Gunner.” I can immediately sense the surprise in Sadie’s voice.
“Looks like I’m gonna need your help once again,” I confess, feeling guilty that I have to take it to this level. But my time is running thin and I’ll do what I have to in order to keep Blair away from my family.
“But you said that if I got her to the bar and helped convince her to take the job that you’d do the rest. You told me that’s all I had to do.”
I did tell her that. But things just changed, and I know I can use her for what I need and there isn’t a damn thing she can do about it.
“Yeah, I did. But you also told me you were gonna get your shit straight and steer clear of my brother, but I think we both know that you lied. So, as I said, I need your help with something. You either cut the shit or I’ll make sure that Blair knows just how involved you were with Nate.” I hear her deep intake of breath and know I have her.
Blair has no idea that one of her best friends is a junkie. Or the fact that she had been screwing her boyfriend for free drugs for the last year of their relationship, either.
So using those things to get what I want doesn’t make me feel guilty in the least.
Sadie doesn’t deserve Blair and her friendship. When this is all said and done, I’ll do whatever I can to make sure Blair realizes what her friend truly is. But for now, I have to make her believe her secrets are safe until I get what I need from her.
“Answer your phone when I call. I’ve got to work some things out first.” I hit end without waiting for her reply.
Chapter Five
Blair
I’ll admit, I’m nervous about going to work after the night I’d shared with Jake. I’m fearful of how he’ll react. But those fears are quickly wiped away when I step through the back door and feel myself being pulled into a set of strong arms.
“Shh,” he whispers against my lips while walking me back toward the small office. Once we are safely inside and the door is closed, he pins me against it using the weight of his body to ensure I remain in place. “Hi.” How one simple word that I have heard a million times can make my heart race shouldn’t come as a surprise. I know Jake could say anything and it would gain the same reaction.
“Hi,” I say in return, and watch as his eyes roam over my face before once again locking on mine.
“You’ll have to forgive me but after last night, I can’t seem to help myself.”
“And here I was worried about things being strange between us.” I feel the heat rise in my cheeks when he arched his brow at me. “One night doesn’t mean anything.”
“You’re wrong.” Jake cups the side of my face, using his thumb under my chin to ensure he holds full access to my lips. “It meant something.” Chills break out over my chest and arms. “To me, anyway.”
He doesn’t give me the chance to agree or admit that I feel the same. His lips cover mine in a slow tantalizing kiss that I swear to god I feel in the tips of my toes. I may have even whimpered.
“I love that sound,” he grins against my lips. Yep, I whimpered.
Jake continues to kiss me, my body still pinned firmly to the door behind us. Our hands are exploring each other again, much like they did last night when he rocked my world.
“I’m pretty sure you’ve ruined me.” It’s my turn to smile triumphantly. Oh, how I hope his statement is true. I don’t want to go back to the way things were before our night together—watching him flirt openly with girls, having them paw him, and giggle like school girls whenever he’d toss a wink in their direction. “I told you things could get messy.”
I lean out of our kiss and look up at him. He wears a perplexed look on his face, still staring at me. There is something unreadable in his eyes, a sad look, almost like he is fighting an urge or even a desire.
“Messy, how?”
A few silent seconds pass, and my heart begins to race at the thought that he regrets us taking things too far. I remember the words he spoke when he asked me to tell him to stop.
“I just hope you don’t rely too much on those tips you get from those horny guys that think they actually have a chance with you.” My pulse quickens when he shifts his hips forward, ensuring that I feel how worked up he is. “Because I’m about to shatter their hopes and dreams.”
When he steps back I immediately feel his absence. I want to demand he come back and keep rubbing against me, but understand we can’t. We are at work and on the opposite side of the door is a bar full of people.
Jake rakes his eyes over me, taking in my appearance. I’ll admit I chose my outfit with him in mind. Short skirt, tight low-cut shirt, topped off with my favorite and most comfortable pair of heels that accentuate my long longs. His eyes get that heavy-lidded look, the one I’ve noticed he gets whenever he is turned on.
“Watch out how you bend over.” He reaches out and glides his finger along the flesh of my thigh just beneath where my skirt hits. “I don’t share.”
A knock on the door makes my body jerk forward. Spinning around I look at it with eyes wide. I hear Jake’s deep chuckle just before I feel his body press against my backside. “Let’s go get this shift over.” I close my eyes, fully taking in the sound of his husky voice. “Then afterward, I think you should show me what it is you’re wearing under that skirt.”
He cups my ass, and I squeeze my thighs tightly together. Memories of him moving inside me less than twenty-four hours ago hit me hard.
I feel the gentle brush of his lips over my temple just before he steps around me and opens the door. I don’t get the chance to see who is on the opposite side. I only see Jake walk out of the office as I reach out for the chair at my side to support my weight.
Like I said before, there is no way to prepare one’s self for a man like him. No way at all.
We are down to the last hour of the night. The band is playing, the bar is at capacity and that leaves very little time to interact with Jake. But it doesn’t stop him from looking in my direction every chance he gets. He winks, smiles, and a few times I catch him looking me over ever so slowly. It doesn’t seem to matter how big or how small the gesture, I’m on edge, and I think he knows it.
I busy myself with a round of drinks for a couple of guys who are sitting at my end of the bar. I am fully aware of the fact their eyes are glued to my ass and tits with every move I make. It never bothered me before last night, but now I feel like I just want to cover myself up.
“Hey, Blair.” I look up and see Tom, a regular, step up to the side of the two guys. “Can I get two drafts?” He holds out a ten and I reach out to grab it, but the blond guy at his side snatches it before I can.
“How about I tuck this right here,” he pushes the ten into the front pocket of his jeans, “and you come around here to my side and get it?”
I step back, crossing my arms over my chest only to bump into a firm body behind me. I don’t even have to turn around to know that it’s Jake. I can already smell his cologne.
“How about you put that bill on the counter and treat the lady like a fucking lady?” I shiver at the tone of his voice and wonder where this side of him has been hiding. “Or I can come around on your side and you and I can take a walk outside, you choose. You got two fucking seconds before I decide for you.”
The blond man shares a glance with his friend and after a few tension-filled seconds he reaches inside his pocket and pulls out the bill. “I was just messing around.” He holds up his hands in surrender.
“You wanna mess around, I suggest you try that shit on another girl.” Jake places his hands on my hips and pulls my body back closer to his. “This one is off limits.”
I have just been claimed.
Chapter Six
Jake
I hold on to Blair, my fingers digging into the flesh of her hips. My body shakes with irritation and I know my actions are only giving those who watch more fuel to burn me. But I couldn’t rein it all in—the need to protect her, the desire to keep her sheltered from the fucked-up assho
les who surround her.
“You good?” I ask Blair, still staring a hole into the guy who now refuses to look up at me. He’s swiveled around facing the band, tapping his foot, long since forgetting the altercation he was seconds away from being the center of.
“I’m okay,” she assures me, placing her hand over mine. “But I think you should know that this caveman side of you is very sexy.”
I drag my stare away from the guy and look down to see Blair looking back over her shoulder. Her chin tilts upward, a smile tugging at her lips. It was impossible not to smile in return.
“You’re trouble,” I tell her before placing a quick kiss to her lips.
I see the surprise in her eyes when I step away and move back toward my end of the bar. I shouldn’t have kissed her, I know, but I was unable to stop myself. Blair has me saying and doing all kinds of shit I can normally refrain from. But her goodness, the sweet girl she is, makes me want everything she has to offer.
Part of me wants to tell her everything then convince her that the safest thing is for her to run off with me, only I know that can’t work. They would find us, and we would both pay.
The rest of the night goes by fairly quickly and without any further need to deem Blair off limits. In fact, most of the guys who need drinks come to my end of the bar instead of hers. Each time I look in her direction and smile as if I’d won the battle. She doesn’t seem to mind though, there is a glow to her almost like me announcing our connection was the best possible thing I could have done.
When closing time came, I lock the doors and Blair, Tom, Marla, and myself move around cleaning and closing things up. The band gathers their equipment and loads it into the van that sits right outside the back door. I can feel myself growing more impatient with each passing minute. I want nothing more than to throw them all out and get some much-needed alone time with Blair.
I feel off-kilter, unsettled, and maybe even a little agitated.
When Marla and Tom tell me they are done and ask if there is anything more they can do to help, I tell them much too quickly that Blair and I can handle the rest. By the knowing smile on Marla’s face and the smirk on Tom’s, I can only assume they know the thoughts running through my mind.
The band manager tosses me a nod before ducking out the back door and I’m quick to lock up behind him. That feeling of being a kid again returns as I spin to face Blair. Excitement hits me like a freight train as she looks up through her long lashes and tries her best to fight the smile tugging at her lips.
I pause for a few seconds, simply taking her in. I love the way she looks at me; no one has ever eyed me the way she does with that simple gesture alone. She doesn’t seem to see me as a Gunther; she doesn’t fear me, and that feels better than anything I have ever felt before.
I see the way her chest begins to rise and fall faster as her breathing grows more ragged when I approach. Just when she thinks I’m going to reach out for her, I step around and go to the jukebox instead. I swear I hear her sigh in defeat and fucking love the idea of her wanting me to touch her so badly that when I don’t she is disappointed.
I glide my finger over the choices, taking my time to pick the one with the right mood. Sexy yet meaningful, one that will allow me to hold her close, but with just enough depth.
When the beat of the song begins I close my eyes for only a few seconds before turning to face her. Holding out my hand for her, I feel my heart rate spike when she places her palm in my own. With a quick jerk, she lets out a squeal before her body slams against mine.
Her laughter is infectious; the sound of it seems to make the hell of my world escape so easily. When Blair places her other hand against my chest just over my heart before looking up to me, I swear it skips a fucking beat.
“You are so beautiful.” The words seem to burn my throat. I know it is because I have never meant anything more.
“So are you.”
I chuckle, and she buries her face against my chest almost like she is embarrassed.
“That’s a new one,” I tell her, forcing her to look up at me once more. “But I like it.” Beautiful to me means something of innocence, something of purity. Call me a fucking pansy for loving the idea that she saw me as such. I know if she knew who I truly was she wouldn’t be thinking the same.
Our gazes lock on one another, no words needed as we continue to move together like we’ve been doing it forever. Dipping my head just enough to bring my lips to hers, she accepts my kiss without pause. What I intended to start as nothing more than a simple kiss quickly changes to more. I have never been able to get so lost in one person before, but with Blair, I do. She makes me forget so easily the last job I was sent in to complete; she helped me forget the man I was born to be. She gives me hope that I could be something more, be something great.
The song ends and as the next one begins I grip her hips and begin backing her toward the office where we’d started this very thing earlier tonight. Ever since I stepped out of there and left her behind, I’d been swarmed with visions of her perched over my desk or straddling me in my chair. It was hard to concentrate all night, and I found myself hiding my erection on more than a few occasions.
Just as we reach the doorway, I slide one hand around her waist and lower it to the hem of her skirt. Only I don’t stop there; I reach beneath and trace over the edge of her panties on the inside of her thigh. Finding that she is as turned on as I am only made it that much harder to fight the animalistic urges that race through me. The tip of my finger tucks beneath her panties as I slide smoothly over her entrance; she is wet and so warm. Wasting no further time, I push my finger inside her from behind and she pushes back opening herself even more.
“You drive me so crazy.”
The feeling is mutual. Crazy is light in comparison to the emotions and feelings racing through me. I want this: her and me and us. I want to feel this way every single day and night.
I remove my finger from her wetness and she groans in protest. I see a disappointed look take over her gorgeous face. But when I lift her skirt, hook one finger on each side of her panties, and begin to lower them, her eyes glaze over.
Her body rests back against the edge of the desk, as if to gain leverage and stability from her trembling legs. Lowering her panties to the floor with ease I remain kneeled before her. I can smell how aroused she is and it makes me crazed. Leaning in, I kiss her exposed thigh before moving to the next. Blair's legs only begin to shake even more as she reaches out to place one hand onto my shoulder. I smile against her thigh, knowing that what I am about to do will throw her over the ledge.
So very slowly I graze her clit with the tip of my tongue and a deep guttural moan falls from her lips. Holy fuck she is amazing. I can’t seem to get enough of her, and I’m not only referring to the way she is displayed before me now. I mean “enough” in every sense of the word. Her eyes, her smile, her laughter, and the way she touches me even when she is just brushing past me behind the bar. Her purity and the sweet gentle way about her make me feel so unbelievably safe and real.
Unable to control myself any longer, I rise and loosen the buckle of my jeans. Freeing my cock, I quickly sheath myself and move forward to graze over her wetness. Another whimper followed by a whispered “Yes” leaves me as desperate as she sounds.
I slam inside her, Blair’s back arches up off the desk, and she grips the edge so hard her knuckles appear white. I try to pace myself, go slow and take my time enjoying each drive, each withdrawal, or the way her body squeezes me so perfectly, only I cannot seem to. All that races through my mind is that I want this with her every fucking minute of every fucking day.
When I look down, starting at the place we’re joined and scanning over her body then upward toward her gorgeous face, I find a look in her eyes that matches my thoughts. She feels it too, I know she does. This connection we have. One I shouldn’t be feeling or allowing to take place, but am unable to fight.
I have never felt anything like it before in my lif
e.
Immediately I feel her tighten around me, and I grip her hips tighter, doing my best to drag out her pleasure. Her eyes roll back, she bites her lips, and suddenly I feel her let go. That is all it takes to drive me over the edge. Together we share what is one of the most intense and intimate moments of my life.
I don’t want the moment between us to end, but I know I’ve already pressed my luck. Any second, one of my father's men or hell even my brother could show up, and that is the last thing I want. So I reluctantly pull free and clean myself up. I can hear her moving around behind me, I’m sure doing much of the same.
With my pants now once again in place, I fasten my buckle and look up to find her looking anywhere but at me. Quickly I reach out, forgetting my pants and hook her around the waist, pulling her body against mine. Her eyes widen in surprise just before I press my lips to hers.
“You have no idea how much every second with you means to me.” I rest my forehead to hers, still keeping my eyes closed. “It’s like I can’t breathe it’s so consuming, every look you give me, the way you touch me. I’ve never been this reliant on anyone before, like I can’t get enough.”
“Me too.” Her whisper is like another squeeze to my already aching heart.
We stay this way for what feels like forever, but I know it’s only a few seconds before I back away.
“We better close this place up.” And continue this back at my place, or yours. I want to say the rest, but I know I need to check in with my father. If I don’t, I’ll find him or one of his assholes seeking me out instead.
We finish shutting off the lights and step outside, locking the back entrance. I link my hand with hers and together we walk toward her car, parked only a few feet from my own. When she looks at me, her head tilted to one side and a smile tugging at her lips, I can’t help but smile in return.
“I think you and I need to plan a getaway.” I know to stick around here is something I can’t chance. “Someplace I can have you all to myself.”