by JM Stewart
His touch on her skin soothed as much as the rain pattering the windows lining the bathroom wall. They moved together, their bodies in sync, like they’d done it a thousand times. He didn’t feel like a stranger at all, but a longtime lover her body knew on instinct. She hadn’t expected that. How was it possible with a man she barely knew?
Except she did know him, deep down where it counted. She knew he liked to read erotica but preferred Stephen King. Knew he liked his coffee with cream and sugar, light bondage turned him on, and at the end of the day he preferred to relax with either a good book or the news, sometimes both. Cats made him sneeze and work took up ninety percent of his day.
She needed to set their relationship—however they chose to define it—back on track. Put a cap on it so it wouldn’t get away from her. A man like him wouldn’t have any use for a woman like her. They were from two different worlds, and if she allowed herself to get too involved, she’d find herself in love with a man who’d toss her aside like yesterday’s underwear.
She had to admit, though, she wanted more than one night with him. Okay, so she didn’t date much, but no man had ever looked at her or touched her the way he did. He made her feel beautiful. She could become addicted to that. She drew the line at two weeks, though. Any more time with him, and she had a feeling a broken heart lay in her future.
She turned and let him wrap the towel around her, using the position to her advantage. She didn’t know if she wanted to see his expression when she said the words. “No strings. No dates. No emotions. So nobody gets hurt. Just sex.”
He held her for a moment, hands resting on her shoulders. “Agreed.”
Despite his agreement, unease hung between them, heavy and tangible. Their rules provided a harsh reality to something as intimate as sharing your body with someone. Online, she could turn her computer off and pretend she liked her single life, pretend lying in bed alone after sharing something so intimate with someone didn’t feel wrong. Pretend it didn’t hurt that he wasn’t there with her.
And so it did then as well. Cade released her and yanked the second towel from the rack, wrapping it around his lean hips, then strode from the room without a backward glance. He obviously needed a bit of space to gather himself, so she took her time drying herself off and finger-combing her hair. Her makeup had drooped a bit, but she had to admit, her skin had a glow it hadn’t had in a while.
She hung the towel back up and donned one of the robes on the back of the bathroom door, then joined Cade in the bedroom. He sat on the side of the bed, beside the nightstand. She froze in the doorway, feeling like a stranger again, stomach tied in knots, and he looked up as she entered. For a moment, neither said anything. They’d become caught somewhere between strangers and lovers. The unease reminded her of the awkward way she and Dane had related to each other a few months before he admitted to seeing someone else. She hated she had the same feeling with Cade, too.
“I didn’t know what you liked, so I ordered a little bit of everything. We won’t have to go out for a while.” He smiled, warmth in his eyes.
Hannah’s stomach did a little flip, a million giddy butterflies taking flight. Oh, Cade McKenzie had most definitely wooed a lot of ladies with that smile.
He held his hand out, and the power of his gaze pulled her to him. She went without question, crossing the room and slipping her hand into his. He used the purchase to pull her onto his lap, then wrapped both arms around her. “Nervous?”
Settled against his chest, he didn’t feel so much like a stranger anymore. She shrugged. “A little.”
“Me too. We’ll get used to each other.” He kissed her, gentle and languid, as if it were the first time all over again. Her stomach dipped and swayed with the nervous tension still fluttering inside of her. Tension continued to sit like a wall between them.
Cade cupped her head in the warmth of his large palms and tipped her, deepening the kiss. Hannah lost herself in the softness of his lips, in the gentle restless play of his tongue in her mouth. His kisses melted her defenses, and she couldn’t stop herself from leaning into him. Beneath the thick robe, her nipples tightened, aching for the brush of his skin against her.
A quiet moan rumbled out of him. His cock hardened beneath her, digging into her bottom. Despite her recent orgasm, she grew moist all over again, her pussy clenching in anticipation. She ached, more than she could ever remember, to feel him inside her again, pumping into her.
Cade turned her in his lap, laid her back on the bed, and stretched out beside her. One muscled thigh wedged between hers. He undid the sash of the robe, pulled open first one side, then the other, leaving her bare to his gaze once again.
She wanted to hide. He now had full view of the scars dotting her torso. The large one in her abdomen where the doctors had to stop internal bleeding. The others where shrapnel from the twisted metal and broken glass had cut into her skin, leaving small but permanent scars.
“The accident?” His voice came low and distracted as he followed the marks with his fingertips.
Hannah turned her head, stared at the white wall opposite, and nodded. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything. She didn’t want to know what he thought, couldn’t bear if revulsion filled his eyes.
When his hot tongue traced the long, thick scar on her abdomen, she almost jumped out of her skin. She looked down in surprise to find him bent over her belly, grinning at her. He shifted, sliding over the top of her, and settled between her thighs, holding himself on his elbows. He kissed her once, then moved down her body inch by inch. His soft lips skimmed her jaw, down her throat and to her chest.
He moved from tiny scar to tiny scar. Gaze locked on her, he kissed each one, wickedness flashing in his eyes as he traced each one with the tip of his hot tongue. Every touch made her gasp, ramped up her desire to a level that left her squirming on the bed. Nobody had ever made her scars something arousing rather than shameful.
By the time he made his way back to her breasts again, her breaths came in short raspy pants, her embarrassment forgotten in the wash of hunger flooding her. Not giving her time to recover or form a coherent thought, one large, warm palm slid over the curve of each breast, cupping and massaging them.
“You’re a perfect handful. Full and round. So beautiful.” He let out an appreciative murmur, bending to swirl his tongue around each one.
Hannah gasped, a shiver running through her. He rolled the elongated tips between thumb and forefinger, then sucked on each one, and an outright needy cry erupted out of her. Her back arched off the bed, her breasts pushing themselves into his hands. She’d always had sensitive nipples, and his soft strokes and pinches made her crazy.
One hand left her breast, skimmed down her belly and over the inside of her right thigh. Her body stiffened as she waited for his touch to venture farther, for him to touch her where she needed him to.
“I’ve thought of touching you for months. I want to enjoy every inch of you while I have you, and I’m going to start by tasting you.” He moved over the top of her, flicked his tongue along her lower lip, and kissed his way down her body again. All the while his hands stroked here and there, his touch so light he left goose bumps. By the time he settled between her thighs, she shivered and panted. Her body stiffened, waiting on the edge of a precipice for him to make the first, luscious stroke.
Tipping his head to look at her, he nudged her thighs apart, then leaned in and inhaled. His breath whispered over her sensitive flesh, and a quiet moan slid out of her. When he leaned in to taste her, a teasing little flick of his tongue along her slit, she shuddered.
He seemed to ignore her agony, or maybe he enjoyed it, for instead of diving in, his thumbs caressed her outer lips, soft and light, once, twice, before opening her. His hot breath whispered across her flesh. His tongue flicked out, grazing her swollen clit, the touch so light a helpless gasp left her. Every inch of her, every nerve ending, came alive, as if a livewire ran through her system. Every touch made her shudder, with an aching
so keen she wanted to weep. He set a blaze inside of her.
She grabbed fistfuls of the comforter beneath her and squeezed her eyes shut. “Oh God. Cade, please.”
“Please what, baby?” He pressed his mouth to her, scraping his teeth over the top of her mound, then blew a light stream of air over her exposed flesh. “Tell me what you want, Hannah.”
The contrasting sensations, the cool air against her hot, wet folds, along with his teasing touches and the light flicks of his tongue, skirting away, never quite making contact, became too much to bear. Her hips bucked off the bed in desperate search of the contact she needed like she needed to draw her next breath. “Please!”
A deep rumble of laughter drifted from between her thighs. “Am I driving you crazy?”
Damn the man. He enjoyed tormenting her, the same way she had him earlier. She reached down, slid her hands into his hair. “Yes. Oh God, I’m at your mercy. Please, I need this.”
“All right, baby. I’ll put you out of your misery.” He dipped his tongue inside, lapping at her inner folds in one long stroke.
Hannah thought for sure she’d explode right there. Oh, he was good at this. A desperate, needy moan slid out of her, her hips already rocking to the rhythm. “Oh, God, yes.”
Cade moaned with her. “You taste good, baby. I always knew you’d taste sweeter than a summer peach.”
“Ohhhh.” His hot words pushed her to the edge. A shudder of heat swept through her, deep and intense. “Cade…”
When he stroked her clit again, flicking back and forth with the lightness of a butterfly’s wings, her fingers curled, fisting in his hair. He had her riding a fine, sweet edge. Every muscle in her body tensed, her clit so swollen, so sensitive she’d shatter at the slightest touch.
When he sucked the swollen nub into his mouth, a long, desperate moan ripped out of her. Her hips rocked forward. She let out a litany of muttered pleas, holding him to her and riding the press of his mouth, desperate to quench the fire. “Oh God, oh God, oh God.”
Cade let out an outright growl this time. “Jesus, I can’t stand it.”
Any and all sense of teasing fled. He cupped her butt in his hands, lifting and angling her, and buried his face in her heat. His enthusiasm might have awed her had she not be so damn grateful. He sucked and licked at her swollen clit with wild abandon and like a flash of lightning, her orgasm struck, jolting and intense. Her body went taut, her legs stiffening. Hannah screamed. Her hips bucked against his mouth.
Cade held her firm against him and rode the wave with her all the way, his tireless tongue never once stopping, until she went limp, collapsing back into the bed, exhausted and spent. He kissed the inside of one thigh, then moved up beside her and pressed a tender kiss to her lips.
His breaths blew as harsh and ragged as hers, and his lips tasted of her. “You’re delicious, baby. Getting to watch you come…God you’re incredible.”
She slid her hand up his thigh, palmed his cock, and stroked him once, then again. He moaned low in his throat, full of need, his hips rocking into her hand. Grateful for the gift he’d given her, she sat up, pushed him back and slid over top of him. It was his turn now. Hands braced on his chest, she straddled his hips. His cock lay hard and heavy against his stomach, caught between her slippery folds. With a roll of her hips, she slid along his length, riding him back and forth. Super sensitive post-orgasm, every soft stroke jolted through her, building her need all over again.
He leaned over, fishing a condom out of the nightstand drawer where he must have stashed them earlier and handed one to her. She slid down his body, rolled it on, and straddled him again. She wanted to take her time, to enjoy him, but she needed him too much. She lifted up but couldn’t resist teasing and held herself there, poised over him.
His hands slid up her thighs, his fingers digging into her skin. “Don’t tease.”
Where she’d begged, Cade, clearly a dominating alpha male used to getting his way, demanded.
“As you wish, Master.” Hannah smiled. She hoped he’d recognize the tease from their chats and sank down, taking him in one hard thrust. She aimed to give them what they both ached for, but she wanted him to see stars. He was easily the best lover she’d ever had, and she longed to give him what he’d given her.
“Holy mother of God.” The words left his mouth barely a murmur. His eyes rolled back in his head before closing altogether. His hands moved to her hips. “You’re like hot velvet, baby, so damn tight and slippery.”
She lifted up until only the tip remained inside, then sank down hard again. His whole body quivered. His jaw clenched, the muscle jumping. Hannah did it again, rising and sinking hard. The ruthless rhythm pushed her past her limits. His thick cock hit every sensitive spot inside. Every thrust sent her reeling. Her thighs quivered as she teetered on the edge with him, her breaths coming hard and fast.
His fingers curled into her hips, digging into her skin. “Baby, you’re killing me. Faster. Please, God, I need to go you faster.”
His pleas filled her with a sense of freedom and power. Unable to resist, she grinned, rose up and sank again. This time, his hands clamped down on her, holding her firm. He began a punishing rhythm, hammering up into her again and again. The sounds of their heavy breathing, their bodies straining together, filled the room around them. Every time he filled her, he jarred the sweet place inside, sending a shower of hot sparks blazing through her with every flick of his hips. Her smile fell. She braced her hands on his chest and gave herself over to him.
Her climax struck out of nowhere, hot and blinding. Hannah cried out, her hips bucking against him of their own accord, riding the wave as it washed over her and sucked her under. Beneath her, he let out a long, agonized groan, his hips jerking as he found his own release.
She collapsed on his chest, her breathing harsh and erratic, and buried her face in his neck. His familiar, sexy scent filled her nostrils with every ragged breath. He wrapped his arms around her back, crushing her to him.
Then and there, the decision made itself. One night would never be enough to get him out of her system. It would be breaking a rule, but she needed this time with him. Her body responded to his in a way that rocked her world. She enjoyed him, all of him. She deserved to let herself have this time with him? Didn’t she?
“Two weeks.” She murmured the words into his throat, unable to bear releasing her hold on him even enough to meet his gaze. “No more, no less. When it ends, you go home and this doesn’t happen again. No more phone calls. We go back to what we were.”
She wanted sex, a fling with someone real and solid, but neither was she ready for more. Heck, hadn’t he told her that very thing? And if she allowed this to continue, she’d no doubt become attached. She always did. No, it was safer for everybody involved if this was a one-time experience.
Cade went silent for a moment; then his arms tightened around her. “Agreed.”
* * *
Several hours later, dressed once again in what she’d arrived in, Hannah tiptoed across the darkened bedroom. She paused in the doorway, one hand on the frame, unable to resist looking back. The digital alarm clock on the nightstand read 2:01. The bright moonlight streamed in through the windows lining one wall, illuminating the space. Cade lay on his back in the bed, naked, the sheets and blankets covering him from the waist down.
She couldn’t help a soft, wistful smile. He looked peaceful. She’d woken because of the strangeness of his body beside her. She’d slept alone for so long that his physical presence beside her seemed odd in the otherwise routine of her life.
She left, however, because she liked it. Too much. She ached to crawl back up on the bed and curl around him. His body was large and solid and warm, and lying beside him filled her with an addictive sense of safety and rightness.
They’d made love off and on for hours, pausing to eat and chat or fulfill basic needs. Only to make love some more. His passion roused hers and over the course of a few hours, the uneasy tension they’d st
arted with had dissolved. The comfort they’d found in their online chats opened between them here as well. Talking to him still came as natural as drawing her next breath. She’d forgotten her scars, and for a few blissful hours, he’d made her feel sexy and wanted.
Which was exactly why she was leaving.
She turned back around, moved through the room, and picked up her sandals off the floor where she’d dropped them in the living room. She made sure to close the door behind her as quietly as possible, so as not to disturb him. The silent hallway beyond unnerved her. She hadn’t expected their exchanges to feel this natural. So she forced herself to leave, as she said she would. She’d have to be careful with him and make certain to draw her boundary lines. No matter how good or right being with him felt, this was only sex.
Right?
Chapter Five
Well, good for you.” Several feet down the counter from her, Maddie stuck her leg out, nudging the toe of Hannah’s sneaker. “It’s about time you peeked outside the box you keep yourself in.”
“I know, but can you blame me?” Hannah kept her gaze on her book. She had no desire to know what played on her best friend’s face.
She sat on a stool, a few feet down the counter from where Maddie stood beside the register. The morning had been slow. As usual for early spring in Seattle, dark clouds blanketed the sky, a light rain misting the earth. With such a dreary day, people had kept indoors, and the call of the books around her had become too much to resist. She ought to be doing something more constructive. Perhaps if she’d decided to sort and shelve the new box of used books a woman had donated today, she might have avoided this exact conversation with Maddie.