Necessary Roughness

by Julie Brannagh

  “I’m not an expert, so I rely on those that are.” He took a sip of ice water. “I asked them for a case of red and a case of white to take home. The woman I was talking with looked like I’d suggested cutting down the grapevines outside the front entrance.”

  “Did they let you buy some wine?”

  “Of course. After she quit teasing me about Two Buck Chuck.”

  “She did not.”

  “Yes, she did,” he said. “She asked me which wines I’d enjoyed drinking previously and what I was planning on doing with it—was I serving it right away, was I putting it in the cellar to age, that kind of thing.”

  “What did you end up with?”

  “You’ll have to check it out when we get back home,” he said. “Hell if I know.”

  She knew he wasn’t telling her the truth because he didn’t want her to think he was a pompous ass. Mostly, they were talking again, and she was relieved. The server returned to their table to open the bottle of wine Tanner had ordered.

  “Let me know what you think of this,” the server urged as he presented Tanner with the cork. He poured an inch or so into Tanner’s wineglass.

  Tanner took a sip, swirled the wine on his tongue, and swallowed. “It’s very good.”

  “Would you like me to pour?”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  After pouring their glasses of wine, leaving the bottle, and telling them dinner would be served shortly, the server hurried away.

  “This is not the stuff I get on the sale table at the grocery store,” Jordan said.

  “There’s a box of wine in my refrigerator, you know.”

  “There is not,” she said.

  “Bet me,” he said.

  ***

  JORDAN WAS GLOWING with happiness tonight. The soft lighting emphasized her sparkling eyes, and he couldn’t stop staring. After some awkward moments when they first got to the restaurant, she teased him as she always did. The conversation was as lively as if they’d been sitting on his couch at home. Sunset was stealing over the sky outside the window next to their table. The breeze was picking up too. He’d agonized over whether he should ask for an indoor table tonight. He was glad he’d made the right decision.

  He was hungry, but he was having a tough time paying attention to his food. He watched her in fascination.

  “Did you decide you’re not hungry?” she said.

  “It’s good. I—I was enjoying the conversation.”

  “I’ll bet you say that to all the women.”

  Words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. “No,” he said. “I don’t.”

  She ducked her head. He could see a blush moving slowly over her cheekbones. Maybe they should get their half-eaten entrées boxed up and they could leave.

  “I don’t know what to say,” she murmured.

  They were both quiet for a minute or two. He reached across the table to take her hand.

  “Would you like some dessert?”

  “I haven’t eaten most of my dinner.”

  “I think the clean-plate rules are suspended for tonight,” he said.

  “Is it weird and tacky to ask for a box for my leftovers?”

  “I want one too,” he said. “We’ll be weird and tacky together. Which dessert would you like?”

  “All of them,” she said with a laugh. “Well, the chocolate one. I’m so full, though, I’m not sure I could eat it right now even if we ordered it.”

  A few minutes later, the server appeared to whisk their plates away to package up the leftovers, and Tanner got to his feet. “Will you excuse me for a few moments?” he said.

  He reached out for his cane and set off in the direction of the men’s room. He needed to make a pit stop before the ride home, but he hoped he could intercept their server without Jordan’s seeing him.

  Maybe he should try this later or just forget it. He still couldn’t move fast enough that he could get to the kitchen without attracting her attention.

  “Mr. Cole? Is there anything I could help you with?”

  “Will you add one of the chocolate desserts to our takeout bag? I’d like to surprise my guest later. Please add it to our bill as well.”

  “Of course.”

  Tanner could hardly wait to see the look on Jordan’s face when she opened that box. It was corny, but he hoped she would love the little romantic gesture.

  The server turned and headed back to the kitchen, and Tanner took care of things in the men’s room. He made the slight turn into the restaurant’s main dining room and spotted Jordan. She was staring out the window at the vivid sunset, chin in hand and smiling. He couldn’t stop staring at her, either. If he didn’t watch where he was going, he’d crash into someone else’s table.

  He knew he was still an ass. She’d seen him at his worst. He’d been embarrassed by his own behavior more than once since they met. He wasn’t sure how he could ask Jordan to put up with him, but he was going to have to make some changes. It hit him like a bolt of lightning: he still had to win her, but he couldn’t lose her.

  She glanced up at him as he sat down in his chair across from hers. “It’s beautiful out there,” she said.

  “Almost as beautiful as you are” came out of his mouth before he could stop it. He saw the surprise in her eyes and, seconds later, the glimmer of tears. He reached out for her hand again. It felt small and cool inside his. It took her a minute or two, but he spied the moment her expression turned from stunned to teasing.

  “I’ll bet you say that to all of your dates,” she said.

  “Only to you.” He glanced around for the server. “Shall we?” he said.

  ***

  TANNER WALKED JORDAN to his front door like they were still in high school. He wasn’t walking fast. She knew he was still in pain from walking more than usual tonight. He seemed in no hurry, however. He dawdled as stars twinkled overhead, the scent of flowers surrounded them, and the sweet summer night wrapped them in mystery. The closer they got to his front door, the more her heart pounded.

  “I had so much fun tonight,” she said. “Thank you so much for dinner.”

  “Thank you for coming with me,” he said.

  He set the shopping bag of leftovers down next to his feet and slid his arm around her. She pulled breath into her lungs as she leaned forward to rest her cheek against his. She slipped her arms around his waist.

  “Aren’t we supposed to hate each other or something?” she said.

  “I thought that was our deal,” he said. “Maybe we should come up with a new agreement.” He stroked her cheek. “How about we only hate each other on days that end in y?”

  “Too many,” she said.

  “Weekends?” He cupped her cheek in his hand.

  “Everyone does that.”

  “Monday, Wednesday, and Friday?”

  She tried to tell him he had a deal, but she couldn’t get a word out before his lips touched hers. He wasn’t rushing this, either. He trailed small, soft kisses over her mouth as he pulled her closer. She was already a trembling wreck, and he hadn’t gotten to the good stuff yet. He dragged his mouth off hers long enough to say “DP.”

  “Yeah?”

  “May I kiss you good night?”

  “I thought that’s what you were already doing.”

  He let out a chuckle. “I haven’t even started yet.”

  His mouth covered hers again. His tongue slid inside, tasting and teasing. He lingered. He savored. He’d kissed her before, but this was a whole new thing. He must have studied up since the last time he’d kissed her. That was great, but this was indescribable. Her knees knocked. She reached out to grip one of his arms so she wouldn’t fall over. He tasted like the wine they’d both been drinking. She wanted to keep kissing him forever.

  He pulled his mouth off hers, rested his forehead against hers, and said, “What should we do now?” If this was his idea of foreplay, she wondered what else he’d come up with next. “How do you feel about going inside the house?” />
  “I’m in favor of it.” She swallowed hard. “You might have to sit down. Your knee must still hurt.”

  “Oh, definitely. I think it hurts so much I need to lie down.” He grinned at her. “Want to lie down with me?”

  She laughed out loud. “I’ll consider it.”

  “What could I say or do to help you make a decision?”

  “We’ll see,” she said. She slipped her fingers through his. “Come on.”

  They pulled each other into his house. He stopped kissing her long enough to put the bag of leftovers into the refrigerator, but she wrapped her arms around him again. She slid her fingers through his hair as he braced them both against the kitchen island.

  “Your place or my place?” he whispered into her ear.

  “I thought we were in your house already. Anyway, Sadie sleeps in my room now,” she said.

  “My room. Let’s go.”

  They jammed themselves into the teeny elevator. The only reason they arrived upstairs still fully dressed was because they could hardly move around. The elevator stopped, Tanner pulled the protective door open, and they pushed themselves out. He reached out for Jordan’s hand again.

  “Did you ever see those old pictures where people tried to see how many people they could stuff into a phone booth?” she said. “They should try it with your elevator sometime.”

  He could never be sure how they made it from the hallway into his room. If his knee was in better shape he would have picked her up and carried her. It was something to shoot for in the future. Right now, though, they backed into his room, attached at the lips. He needed to get his clothes off, but he didn’t want to stop kissing her long enough to do it.

  “Tanner,” she said.

  “What?”

  “How about I strip for you?”

  Every drop of blood in his body must have pooled below his waist. He couldn’t have formed a sentence right now if his life depended on it, and Jordan had bent down to slip off her shoes. She dangled the sexy little sandals from one finger before letting them drop to the carpet. She reached up to unhook the back of her dress. He heard the zipper moving slowly down her back. She shrugged the dress off her shoulders. It slid down the front of her and ended up in a pool on the carpet as well.

  He dragged his eyes over her body. She wasn’t wearing a bra. He stared at perfectly formed high breasts with pink nipples. She wore nothing but a tiny pair of black panties. He let out a groan. God, he wanted to touch her more than he’d wanted anything in his life.

  “I’ll bet you’d like me to take these off too,” she said as she hooked one finger through the side of the panties.

  He made an unintelligible sound. He wasn’t sure where his sweet little Jordan was right now, but he could get used to this.

  “I know it wasn’t a long striptease, but hopefully it was memorable,” she said. Her eyes sparkled. “I could put everything back on and try it again.”

  “No. No. It’s great,” he said. “I—I gotta get my clothes off.”

  “Maybe I could help you with that,” she said.

  He started pulling his clothes off as quickly as possible. Buttons flew. His jacket ended up across the room. He kicked his shoes off, pulled his belt off, and unzipped his pants in one motion. He couldn’t take his eyes off those tiny black panties, either.

  “I want to take your panties off with my teeth,” he whispered. He reached out to pull her closer to him.

  She licked her lips. His dick sprang to attention.

  “How’s your knee?”

  “What knee?” he said. He hadn’t had sex for eight months now. He’d cut his knee off if he had to. Then again, the gore wouldn’t exactly be a turn-on.

  He saw her frown. What happened to his sexy times? She wanted to know how his knee was? No. He needed some attention eighteen inches or so higher.

  “Let me take a look at it,” she said. She knelt in front of him. “We might have to elevate your leg and put some ice on it.”

  “That’s not going to happen right now.”

  “You were really hurting earlier.”

  “Do you have any idea how badly I want you? You’re feet away from me, you’re almost naked, and if you’re interested, I’ll spend all night showing you how much.” He let out a gusty breath. He probably sounded like a college freshman who hadn’t lost his virginity yet. Begging was never a good look, but he was prepared to do it. “I want you.”

  She reached out for his hand. “I want you too. I need to look at your knee first, though. At least your pants are already off. This shouldn’t take long.”

  He thought she was serious until he saw her mouth curve into a smile and the guilty flush on her cheekbones. “Let’s see here,” she said. She traced his knee with a fingertip. “Does that hurt?”

  “No.”

  She kissed his knee. “How about that?”

  “It’s fine.”

  “That’s good. Let’s keep going,” she said. She kissed her way up the inside of his thigh. Slowly. She nipped him a few times too. “Did that hurt?”

  “Shit, no.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” she murmured as she used her tongue on the crease between his upper thigh and his abdomen. He let out a groan. She reached through the slit in his boxer briefs and took his balls in her hand, gently manipulating them in her palm.

  Her voice was low and sensual. “You’ll tell me if anything hurts, won’t you?”

  “I—I—”

  He wasn’t sure how much time passed before she yanked his underwear off. Her lips closed around him. She licked around the head of his dick as she pumped him with her small fist. He slid his fingers into her hair as she worked him with her mouth and her hand. He wasn’t thinking about his knee at all. He was almost there, and it wouldn’t take much.

  She leaned forward to whisper in his ear, “I want you to fuck me.”

  His DP knew how to talk dirty. He came so hard he almost blacked out.

  ***

  HE STOOD UP to pull the blankets on the bed down, grabbed her around the waist, and tumbled them both onto the mattress. She landed on top of him, which he didn’t seem to mind. She rolled over so she could see his face. He reached out to brush the hair out of her eyes.

  “What should we do now?”

  “Your idea from a few minutes ago works for me,” he said.

  “I’m into it too, but there’s one problem.”

  “What’s that?” He palmed one of her breasts. His thumb moved slowly over her nipple.

  “I’m not sure how we’re going to—I can’t think when you do that,” she gasped out.

  “Too distracting, hmm? I wonder what will happen when I do this, then.” He pulled her nipple into his mouth. He licked, he sucked, and she let out a moan. “It must be working,” he teased.

  “Wait,” she said. His head popped up. “Your knee. We’re going to have to use a position that doesn’t put pressure on it.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Well, yeah,” she said. “I don’t want to reinjure you. I—”

  She heard him laugh. “You worry too much, DP.”

  “We have people in the clinic all the time that have trouble resuming their sex life after an injury.”

  He reached out to grab her hand. “Let me show you something.” He laid it on his now-hard penis. “I think we’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out.” He rolled her onto her back. “Ready?”

  He kissed her until she was gasping for breath, her heart was pounding, and she wrapped her legs around his hips. He licked his way down her neck, nibbled at her collarbone, and moved lower. He took her nipple into his mouth again. This time, though, he started slowly. He licked and sucked while he played with her other nipple with his fingers. She wriggled against him. He sucked a little harder, and she rubbed herself against him.

  “I want to come,” she choked out.

  “Not quite yet,” he murmured. He pulled his mouth off her nipple and moved down her belly, licking all the way. He slid
his hands under her hips, opening her legs as he went. He felt her squirming away from him a little as she twisted her upper body. She was trying to grab something out of the bedside table drawer. “Is something wrong?”

  She held up a foil-wrapped condom like a trophy. “Got it,” she said. She waved it around a bit.

  “Is this your way of telling me to step on it?”

  “No. No. I was—helping.”

  He managed to pull her panties off with his teeth. He did it slowly. She deserved it. She let out a long moan as his mouth came down on her clit. He licked. He sucked. He slid one finger inside her, then two. She spread her legs wider. She moved her hips as he thrust his fingers inside her. He breathed in the scent of her arousal.

  “Want more?” he said.

  “Oh God, yes. Please. More! Oh. I—oh.”

  He knew she was close. Seconds later, he felt the first ripples of her orgasm. She let out a shriek. A short time later she lay sated, and he moved up the bed to lie down at her side. She was still trembling a little. He reached out to pull her into his arms. She wrapped herself around him.

  She finally tipped her head back a little to look into his eyes. Her hair tumbled around her face. She was flushed, joyful, and irresistible. More than that, she was sexy as hell. He kissed the small patch of skin behind her earlobe.

  “How’s your knee?” she whispered.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What should we do now?” he said.

  “Let’s make out,” she said.

  A few minutes later, he was rock hard again. She pulled herself onto her knees next to him, ripped open the foil, and rolled the condom over him. “Scoot over a little,” she said, indicating the center of the bed. She pushed him onto his back. “I think we can do this without reinjuring you.”

  “What’s another surgery?”

  She let out a laugh and straddled him. She covered his injured knee with a pillow. “Let’s try this. If it hurts, we can stop,” she said.

  It wasn’t going to hurt him unless she tore his leg off and beat him with the wet end, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. She sank down slowly onto his dick. She rose up again, sank lower, and moved a little on him. He let out a groan.

  “Did that hurt?”

  “Shit, no,” he said. He took her hips in his hands. “Ride me.”