by Maya Banks
Even when he began to soften, he stroked in and out of her, gentle, less demanding. When he finally slipped out of her body, he backed up a step and gathered her in his arms.
Finally he let her slide down his body until her feet met the shower floor. He reached down for the showerhead and quickly rinsed them both off before replacing it above.
“I can’t even walk,” she said wryly. “I think you’ve crippled me, Cam.”
He smiled and kissed her, his lips lingering over hers in a sensual dance.
“Then I guess I’ll just have to carry you out and dry you off. I don’t mind taking care of you in the least.”
She sighed and let him do his thing. The entire world was a nice sparkly haze after three orgasms. Who needed drugs? This had to be the sweetest high you could experience.
“Does this mean I’m forgiven for last night?” she managed to say as he rubbed her down with a towel.
He straightened and dropped the towel on the counter.
“There’s nothing to forgive, Reggie darling.”
He kissed her then pulled her out of the bathroom. He swatted her playfully on the behind before heading toward the door. “I’m sure Hutch has breakfast ready by now. Get dressed and come on down. We’re planning to leave right after we eat.”
She got dressed with a smile, letting contentment . . . and peace . . . roll over her, bathing her with their warm, heady glow.
When she was done, she hurried down the steps, eager to start the day.
Sawyer was sitting at the bar, wolfing down an omelet, and Hutch was standing at the stove. Wanting to be at ease with Hutch, she walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist, burrowing her head into his back.
He turned with a smile and wrapped his arms around her, holding the spatula away from her back with one hand.
“Good morning,” he murmured.
She leaned up to kiss him, letting her body melt into his. She loved how they fit, how he accommodated her with such ease.
“Still mad at me?” she murmured against his lips.
He leaned against the oven, pulling her with him.
“I love you,” he said simply.
“Then feed me,” she said with a grin.
He dropped another kiss on her upturned mouth then shoved her toward the bar. “Sit and I’ll dish it up in two minutes.”
She headed around to sit by Sawyer just as Cam walked into the kitchen. He strolled over to take his place on her other side with a lazy contentment that she herself felt.
He gave her a loving smile before sliding onto the stool next to her.
“Noisy shower this morning,” Sawyer observed, his mouth full of eggs.
She laughed and managed not to blush. But she reached over and squeezed his knee. He grinned and glanced sideways at her.
Yeah, things were okay again. The sense of rightness settled more firmly into her chest. And with it came hope. Fluttering, budding. Like a flower unfurling in the spring.
Hope and acceptance. New, but strong.
CHAPTER 29
They were up to something. There was an air of expectancy as they turned into the dirt road leading up to the house. That and the smug grin that adorned each of their faces.
Regina viewed them suspiciously from her perch in the backseat of Cam’s SUV. They topped the hill, and the three guys looked toward the house. She followed their gaze to the vehicles parked outside the garage.
To her astonishment, there beside Hutch’s truck was a shiny, silver RAV4. Her mouth dropped open as the guys’ smiles got even broader.
Cam pulled to a stop but she just sat there staring at the brand-new Toyota sparkling in the sun. Dealer tags still on it.
Then she turned to them and gaped.
“Well, get out and look at it,” Hutch said beside her.
She scrambled out of the backseat and slammed the door behind her.
“You didn’t,” she said. “You freaking didn’t!”
“We did,” Sawyer said smugly.
“Oh my God,” she breathed. “Holy hell.”
She threw open the driver’s door and inhaled the new car smell. The key dangled from the ignition and on the seat was a pile of papers including the manual. She yanked up the top sheet, the title, and saw her name typed in the space for the owner.
She let out a squeal of delight and then turned and promptly pounced. Cam was closest, and she launched herself into his arms.
He laughed as she peppered him with kisses. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed mercilessly. Then she tackled Hutch, who stood there grinning like a loon.
Sawyer was standing away from the other two, and when she started for him, he backed away, hands outstretched to ward her off.
She took a running leap and landed smack in the middle of his chest. He stumbled and then fell, his arms around her. They landed on the ground, her on top, him flat on his back.
He let out a groan about the time she smothered him with a flurry of kisses.
“Are you trying to kill me?” he complained. But his grin told her he didn’t mind at all that he was lying in the dirt with her perched atop him like a mad hatter.
“I love it!” she shrieked. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you guys.”
She kissed him square in the forehead as his hands settled comfortably at her hips, his grip possessive.
Cam and Hutch were laughing in earnest, and Sawyer shot them both glares.
“Felled by a woman half his size,” Cam snickered.
“You could get off me and go look at your car,” Sawyer complained.
She scrambled off, leaving him to pick himself up. She all but danced around the vehicle, inspecting the trim, the paint job and all the nooks and crannies in between.
“How on earth did you get it here?” she asked.
Hutch rolled his eyes. “Uhm, we called the dealer, told him what we wanted and where we wanted it and voilà.”
She sniffed and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Ah shit, Reggie, don’t start crying for the love of God,” Sawyer muttered. “We can take it back.”
She shot him a glare. “You don’t touch my car. Oh my God, my car.” She wanted to pounce on them all over again, and they must have seen it coming because they all backed hastily toward the house.
She rolled her eyes then reached in to grab the keys before following them up to the porch.
“So you like it?” Cam asked.
“Like it? I love it! I was so upset that my other one got destroyed. I saved for that car forever.” Then she frowned as she realized that unlike her other vehicle, she hadn’t paid for this one. They had. They hadn’t even waited to see if her insurance covered the old one.
This time Sawyer rolled his eyes. “You’re as easy to read as a book, Reggie. Don’t even say it. This is a gift. It stays.”
“Yeah but this isn’t something like flowers or chocolate. It’s a freaking car.”
Cam threw an arm over her shoulders as he herded her into the living room. “Yeah, but we knew you’d appreciate this more than flowers or chocolate. Besides, you’re not a flower kind of girl.”
She grinned. “You know me so well.” Then she turned to hug him again. “Thank you. I love it.”
He hugged her back. “You’re quite welcome.”
She stood back while Sawyer and Hutch carried in the few bags they’d brought to Houston.
“I’m going to head to the grocery store since we’re about out of food, and I never made it the other day. You want to go with?” Hutch asked Regina.
“Uh, no. I think I’ll stick around here.” All the better to catch Sawyer by himself hopefully. Maybe then she could remove whatever stick he had up his ass when it came to making love to her.
“I’ll be back with food later then,” he said and dropped a kiss on her cheek as he headed for the door.
Regina gripped her bag and headed for the stairs. She’d unpack, and if she knew Cam, he’d hole up in the office and wor
k for a while. Which left Sawyer to her mercy. An evil grin worked over her face. She rather liked that image.
It was sick that she was so nervous, but the butterflies had been doing cartwheels in her stomach since Hutch left.
Just go down there and seduce him, you weenie.
Yeah, piece of cake. Not.
He wanted her. He vibrated with desire every time she came within a foot of him. But he kept all that need tightly leashed.
Well, she was about to tap into the beast. Set him free and hope he ravished her.
With a grin, she headed for the stairs to look for Sawyer and found him in the kitchen.
He was making a halfhearted attempt to unload the dishwasher. Part of the deal. Hutch cooked. Sawyer and Cam split cleanup duty.
She snuck up behind him, slid her arms around his waist and squeezed. He tensed for a moment then relaxed and cupped his hands over hers.
“You coming to help with the dishes?” he asked.
She snorted. “Ah, no thanks. I had something different in mind.”
He rotated in her arms, leaned back against the sink and eyed her curiously. “Do tell.”
“I wanted to talk to you,” she said.
Amusement centered in his eyes, and the corner of his mouth lifted. “Is this one of those girl talks that make all men quake with fear?”
She shrugged. “Could be.”
His face fell. “Ah hell. It is.”
“Pick me up,” she said.
Surprise flashed in his eyes. “Huh?”
She started to climb up his chest, grabbing at the back of his neck for leverage. “Pick me up.”
He slid his hands underneath her legs and boosted her up until she straddled his hips. Her hands hung loosely at his neck, and he eyed her warily.
“Much better. Now I can look down at you,” she said mischievously.
“What did I do?” he asked in resignation. “Whatever it is, I apologize. I was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, and you were right, right, right.”
Despite the actual gravity of her proposed topic, she laughed. “You’re so full of shit. You don’t even know what I want to talk about.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said solemnly. “Men as a species are wrong. We’re better off admitting it up front, taking our punishment and then hoping for good makeup sex.”
“Hmm, well actually sex is what I want to talk about. Still interested in being wrong?”
He perked up. “Sex? Um, sure. If me being wrong gets me sex, then sign me up.”
She frowned. “That’s just it, Sawyer. I get the impression you don’t want sex . . . with me.”
The look of absolute what the fuck on his face cheered her considerably. He looked so stunned by her statement that he went slack against her, and she nearly slid down his thighs. She scrambled upward, and he caught her behind again, hoisting her back up.
“Not want sex with you?” he said in a strangled voice. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, woman, where did you get that dumbass idea?”
She gazed down at him, all attempts at teasing gone. “Why do you hold back with me, Sawyer? Don’t you think I’d figure it out? You haven’t exactly been subtle. I know you. Maybe better than anyone. The two times you’ve made love to me, you haven’t once actually penetrated me. Well, unless you count a blowjob.”
He stiffened at her bluntness. Unease crawled across his face, and this time he actually did let her slide down his legs until she was back on the floor, standing in front of him again.
“You think . . . you think it’s because I don’t want you?” he asked hoarsely.
She shrugged. “Honestly? No, I don’t think that, though it’s easy to see why I would. What I really think is that you’re holding back out of some misguided fear of hurting me.”
There was a flash of acknowledgment in his eyes that told her she was definitely on the right track.
Sawyer sighed and tried to turn away, but she nailed him in the chest with her finger.
“Oh, no you don’t. You’re not dodging this one, buddy.” She grabbed handfuls of his T-shirt and pulled tight. “Talk to me, Sawyer. Please?”
Troubled blue eyes stared back at her. Regret. Fear. Shining like beacons. Her stomach knotted.
“It’s not because I don’t want you, honey,” he said gruffly. “Hell, I’m a walking hard-on around you.”
“Then why?” she prompted.
He looked down. “I’m not like the others, Reggie. Not smooth like Cam. He’s all cultured and sensitive.”
“You make him sound like a pussy,” she said dryly.
Sawyer ignored her. “And Hutch is all lovey and tender. Shit, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were his first and only.”
“Second,” she corrected.
“I rest my case.”
“But Sawyer, what does that have to do with anything? So Hutch hasn’t slept around much. So Cam prefers the Learning Channel to sports. We’re not all joined at the hip. It’s okay to be different.”
“Because you deserve better. I’ve slept with a hell of a lot of women. I’m not proud of it, but I’m not torturing myself over it either.”
“You’re not?” she asked pointedly.
“Let me finish,” he said impatiently. “I like sex. I like sex without commitment. I’ve had sex with a lot of women who were on the same page as me. But you’re different, Reggie. With you . . . it matters.”
He cupped his hands over her shoulders and stared earnestly into her eyes.
“You deserve to be made love to.” He shifted uncomfortably and relaxed his hold on her shoulders. “I’m not good at that.”
“So what are you good at?” she asked calmly. “Are you saying you suck at sex?”
She had to work to suppress the grin when he bristled. There was only so far you could push the fragile male ego.
“I do not suck at sex,” he growled. “What I suck at is the gentle lovemaking stuff.”
“So what are you good at? The hot, sweaty, make-you-scream type sex?”
His eyes glittered. “Yes.”
“And if I want hot, sweaty, make-you-scream sex?”
“Hot, sweaty, kinky, make-you-scream sex, Reggie. I like it hard and rough.”
“And if I want it that way?” she prompted again.
His eyes narrowed with a predatory gleam. “What if I told you that I fantasize about bending you over the couch and taking you from behind. Hard. Fast. That I’m not satisfied with just taking your mouth or your pussy. That I want all of you.”
Her breathing shallowed and came in rapid spurts as warmth seared through her body. Her nipples beaded and tightened painfully, spearing the thin T-shirt she wore.
“And what if I told you that what I want is you? Not a watered down version, Sawyer. You. All of you. I don’t want you to change. I love you. I don’t want a pale imitation of Cam or Hutch.”
His mouth crashed down on hers, his tongue plunging deep. His teeth nipped at her full bottom lip, and he sucked it deeper into