by Morgan Fox
She smiled. “Yes, human…and weak.”
His hard look revealed just how much he was taken back by what she’d said. “Janie, the last thing I thought was that you were weak. In fact, it’s just the opposite.” He sighed, glancing down at the steam coming off his coffee. “Look, I can’t lie and say I know exactly how you feel. I don’t. But I do know what it’s like to sacrifice things.”
She wanted to laugh. What on earth could he have needed to sacrifice in his life? Victor had everything.
“Don’t think I didn’t take note of that little eye roll you just sent in my direction.”
Janie opened her mouth and then closed it, realizing that she’d done just that. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. But to look at you…you’ve got it all figured out. A great job, nice things, financial worries seem to be a thing of the past...”
“Yes, I earn a good living now, but I’m now responsible for an office filled with people. If I don’t do my job and do it well, I could end up back—”
His abrupt pause in their conversation had her instantly wanting to know more, but she’d never been one to pry into someone’s life. She didn’t like it when people did that to her, so she was certainly not going to do it to others.
“People struggle all the time, Janie, and you never really know about a person’s past. Everyone has secrets. Everyone has their own demons to fight.”
Listening to Victor she realized that he was talking about himself. What secrets was he referring to? What demons?
“So you and Josh had a pleasant conversation, I take it?” she asked, somewhat switching gears.
“He’s a good kid and he cares about you.” His focus was on her as he said, “He seems bothered by the fact that you were the one who carries the burden of your parents’ deaths.”
A sadness washed over her. She’d always hoped that she’d protected him enough to keep those feelings from impacting him. “Did he tell you that?”
He nodded.
She wasn’t sure what made her do it, but she opened herself up to Victor. “I was just a kid when my father got sick. I can’t even remember the number of chemotherapy treatments he endured. Each time it wiped him out, stripping away the man I once knew. It killed me to see my father so fragile.” Her eyes watered, the pain so fresh in her mind. “What sucked was far too soon after my father lost his battle, my mother had a sudden heart attack and died.”
“You were eighteen at the time?”
“Yes. My mother always worried about us kids. When my dad got sick, she made sure the will was sound. By the time his medical expenses hit, there wasn’t much left of the insurance policies. I had enough money to get us by for a bit, but I had to sell the house and find an apartment for the three of us. It was hard to let go of all of that. I think that’s what hurt Joey the most.”
“The brother who found solace on an oilrig,” Victor added.
“He’s never been the same since my parents died. Thankfully Josh didn’t run from me the way Joey did.”
“Josh looks to you like a second mother.”
Janie laughed. “Did he say that or are you making that up?”
Victor raised his hand as if to pledge an oath. “His words. Honest. He’s thankful for everything you do for him, Janie. I think it makes him sad that you have to work so hard.”
She shrugged. “Someone has to do it. Besides, he’s going to be a successful man someday and I couldn’t ask for a better reason to do it.”
“How about doing something for yourself.”
She raised her coffee, feeling strangely lighter than she had before she’d revealed a bit about herself. “That’s what today’s for, right?”
Victor smiled. “Exactly.”
Chapter Ten
Once Victor and Janie finished their coffee, he drove them to the theatre. “When’s the last time you saw a movie?”
She rounded her eyes and laughed. “Maybe fifteen years ago.”
“That dry spell is about to end,” he said matter-of-factly. He took her by the hand and led her to the box office for tickets. “Do you prefer action, comedy, or—”
“Action,” she cheered, cutting off his words. “Definitely action.”
He grinned, liking the way she thought. “Perfect. Me, too.”
As they entered the theatre, he couldn’t help but watch her eyes swell with excitement. The fresh smell of popcorn engulfed them and drew him in its wafting direction. “Please tell me you eat popcorn.”
She released a devilishly sexy laugh. “I only eat popcorn smothered in butter.”
He could think of other things he’d eat smothered in butter, but he kept his words clean. “I can handle that.”
She laughed again, as if already knowing his thought traveled on the naughty side.
“What?” he asked, as they closed in on the concession stand.
“I still can’t get over this version of you.” She swiped her hand through the air indicating the full length of him. “It’s weird.”
“Thanks,” he muttered, wondering if she liked the casual version, the one he kept locked away in the closet and only allowed to come out when no one else was looking, better than the suit and tie.
You’re not hiding from Janie. That was true. He was showing her more about himself than even his business partners knew.
They reached the counter and he quickly rattled off to the attendant that he wanted a large popcorn and two large diet sodas. He placed a twenty dollar bill on the counter. When he looked in Janie’s direction, she was hungrily staring at him.
His body stirred as he tried to decipher her expression. “What?” he finally asked, his pulse thumping at his temples.
“While I find the suits you wear at the office sexy as hell, this side of you is strangely arousing.”
For a moment, his mouth formed a giant O. Maybe I shouldn’t have kept his words clean after all. “Okay,” he murmured. “Perhaps I should’ve suggested we go back to my place instead.”
The attendant returned with the popcorn and Janie quickly took a piece off the top. She moaned as it hit her taste buds and he couldn’t help but watch her mouth. Then, she leaned toward him, and whispered, “I’m surprised you didn’t.”
There was no way to fight the smile that slapped his face as he followed her. She chose a seat in the back and he wondered if it was a strategic move. He could only hope. There was no mistaking his need to be with her again. He’d enjoyed every seductive second of sex with her. She was fearless and deliciously tempting.
For some reason, Janie was haunting every one of his waking and sleeping thoughts, and now that he was learning more about her, he was only more interested.
When he sat beside her, she whispered, “Theatres are not great places to enjoy conversation, you know?”
“It is when you come early.”
Instantly she glanced around the theater. They were the first to arrive. She grinned, taking a sip of her drink.
“What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not trying to save the world one paycheck at a time?”
She glared at him as if he’d kicked her. “Funny.”
He chuckled, enjoying her wicked, but playful glare. “Seriously though, what kinds of things do you enjoy doing?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m not like most girls, I would assume. I don’t get my nails or hair done. I don’t date, so I don’t bowl, or go out to eat much, and I don’t go to arcades, or even hang out at the gym.”
“So you’re a home body?” he clarified.
“I guess.”
“But you enjoy riding your motorcycle.”
“True,” she replied.
He shifted in his seat, raising the armrest that separated them. “Did you like riding with me?”
He wasn’t sure why it was important to know the answer to that question, but it was. It might’ve had something to do with the fact that he liked the way it felt to have her arms around him as they rode. The connection between them w
as startling at times and even overwhelming. But it was a feeling he was craving more of.
Before she could answer, someone entered the theatre. “Ask me again when you take me home tonight?”
A rush of desire rippled through his veins. “My house or yours?”
“Depends on if I like the movie or not,” she told him, glancing over at him with a smirk. “You better hope it’s a blockbuster.”
He laughed, offering her the popcorn.
* * * *
If this was dating, Janie liked it. Victor had caused her head to whirl about and her heart to glimpse something tender and warm. She couldn’t tell if the suit-wearing snob was the real him or if the motorcycle rider in jeans was. They were so different from one another. Secretly, she liked both sides of him and she wasn’t lying when she told him he was sexy as hell in his suits. He was. Dangerously so. But in his jeans, sporting his laid back attitude, he was an unavoidable temptation.
“I haven’t been to a movie in a long time,” he admitted. “I was using you as an excuse to see one.”
She laughed softly. “I bet you’re a curl up in front of the home theatre with a drink in your hand, kind of movie watcher.”
He frowned. “I—okay fine. That’s what I do, but I eat microwave popcorn when I do that.”
She laughed again, this time a little louder. She covered her mouth. “Stop making me laugh,” she muttered to him.
“Stop making it so easy to make you laugh. Besides, I thought girls liked guys who could make them smile and laugh.”
A strange flutter rolled about in her stomach. “Are you hoping I’ll like you, Victor?”
A serious gleam flickered in his eyes and he brushed his fingers over her hand. “Yes.”
Before she could say more, the movie previews began to play. She didn’t want to be rude to those now sitting close to them, so she held her thoughts for later.
During the movie, he’d slid his arm closer, taking her hand in his. It was so natural to lean against him, nestle up against his shoulder, and rest her head. She hadn’t held a man’s hand since high school and she never remembered it feeling so good.
Sadly, her mind was so caught up in the hormonal urges plummeting through her body that she couldn’t keep focused on the movie. Her attention had solely been on Victor—the scent of his body, the warmth of his touch, and the stirring thoughts of the night she wished to spend with him.
There were a million reasons why another romp in the sack was a bad idea, but at the moment she didn’t want to think about them. She liked the way he looked at her, even appreciated his sexual whispers, and heated looks. The week would be over before she knew it and since she’d already slept with him once and proved they could work together, what was the harm in another night of passion?
Even if the biggest red flag waved merrily in her face, she planned to ignore it. There was no mistaking how little she ever did for herself. She gave everything to everyone else and took nothing. Tonight, she’d get what she wanted and not care about consequences. She needed Victor more than she realized. He offered her conversation, time to be herself without worry, he made her feel sexy and desired—something she couldn’t remember ever feeling.
The credits began to roll and she could already feel Victor staring at her. When she meet his gaze and teasing smile, she knew why he was grinning the way he was. “Did you like the movie?”
“I honestly don’t know,” she admitted with a breathy laugh.
He frowned and the sight only made her laugh more. “Did I miss something?” he asked.
They both stood to leave. “No, you didn’t miss anything. I’m the one who did.”
“What do you mean? Did you fall asleep or something?”
She considered telling him exactly what had been ravaging her thoughts the entire movie. She took a moment and realized he wouldn’t hold back, so why should she. “I wasn’t watching the movie on the screen, but rather remembering the way you touched me in the pool.”
A slow, confident grin teased his delicious mouth and the sparkle of victory consumed his eyes.
“I have to work tonight.” She closed in on him, wrapping her hand around his waist to grip his ass. “Think you could handle giving me a ride back to your place and then up to Iron Horse.”
He cupped her face and kissed her, loving her mouth the way she’d hoped he would. Things between them moved at record speed, but what did she expect from the whirlwind way they’d been thrust together. Time was of the essence and she had to capitalize on the limited time they had left.
She gasped as he broke the kiss, took her hand, and led her back to his motorcycle and straight to his house. She hopped off the back of the bike as he tossed his helmet onto the grass beside him, and then pulled her toward him for a hard kiss. She moaned as his fingers worked over the flesh of her body. He tugged her shirt free of her pants and yanked it up over her head. Then he hauled her up onto his lap as he straddled his bike.
Moaning, she couldn’t stop the need to feel him. There was power in the way he held her, possessed her as if nothing in the world would stop him from having her. In fact, his need for her was so consuming he didn’t seem to care that they were still outside.
She broke the kiss to catch her breath. “Should we go in?”
“Why? No one can see us,” he said as if she should already know that.
She brushed her hand over his jean covered cock, arching a brow. “Think you could at least get off the motorcycle so I can get to this?”
He chuckled. “I think we can handle that.” He put the kickstand down as she stood and he slid off the bike. He didn’t let her get far, pulling her back into his arms. He had her bra off in seconds and her pants unbuttoned. When he shoved his hand inside her jeans, she whimpered. No one had ever demanded so much from her, tearing at her as if not to have her would mean certain death. She understood the feeling well. Her lungs couldn’t capture enough air as she struggled to feel more of him.
“Oh, God, please get out of these clothes,” she begged.
Before she could blink, his shirt was off and tossed onto the lawn beside the sidewalk to the main entrance of the house. He lowered her hands to his buckle and had her work it off. Without guidance, she unzipped his pants. He hissed the moment her hand grasped his hard cock.
He pressed her up against the front door and without looking, entered the code on the security keypad to enter his house. When the door unlocked, he shoved it open. They crashed into the foyer table, sending a vase shattering to the floor. Janie pulled away from the kiss.
“Victor, I’m so sorry,” she cried, covering her mouth with her hand.
“Don’t be.” He kissed her again. “I never really liked it anyway.”
He kissed her hard again.
“Seriously?” she mumbled as he kissed her.
Breathlessly easing back, he confessed, “I didn’t pick it out. An interior decorator did.”
“Zerina, one of the girls at Iron Horse, the bar not the grill, is an interior designer. Maybe she could help you find something you do like.”
He kissed her, biting her lower lip and dragging it into his mouth. “What I’d like is you naked on top of me.”
She looked down. All she had left on was a pair of panties. “You’re almost there.”
He kicked out of his boots and worked his jeans and briefs down his legs. Tearing off his socks, he helped her out of her panties. Naked and ready, he wrapped her in his arms, lifting her up to carry her to the sofa in the living room. He sat her down on the leather cushion and encouraged her to spread her legs as he dropped down to his knees. The second his mouth clamped onto her clit, she was panting. She couldn’t remember a time she’d felt so insatiable. There was no other way to explain the way she felt with Victor.
He licked at her pussy, thoroughly tasting her. He suckled her clit, loving it slow and steady. The pressure was building fast in her womb, and there was a tingle flickering at the back of her mind that shot straight thro
ugh her body to her toes.
“Yes,” she cried out, shattering into a million pieces.
Her mind foggy, she covered her face with her arm and tried to regain her breath. Cool air greeted her body as Victor left her for a moment. When his warm mouth latched onto one of her nipples, she moved her arm to look at him. His eyes were dark and she knew the look well. She leaned forward, eager to stroke his cock.
“You mentioned something about me naked and on top of you.”
He arched a brow, moving to sit on the sofa where she had been. She straddled his lap, slipping down on his now condom-covered cock. He felt good as he stretched her. He was the perfect size for her liking. Not too thick. Not too long. Just right. His penis curved wickedly, brushing over the bundle of nerves in her pussy that had her vibrating with sensations that could only be called epic.
She rolled her hips, over and over again, taking him deep. She arched her body and he sucked on her nipples, loving each one equally. His hands massaged her back and sides, cradling her waist as he drilled upward to intensify the thrust.
“Oh, yes! Do that again,” she begged and he did, several more times until white blotches filled her vision. She fell forward as a fever filled orgasm hit her.
Victor’s primal groan soon followed and he pulsed his hips upward one final time.
“Wow,” she muttered on a breath.
“I agree,” he replied, his head falling back onto the sofa. When she went to move off him, he held her tight. “Don’t move yet. Just let me hold you.”
A wave of nerves settled in her belly as she looked at him. He seemed content to hold her, be with her, and it felt right. She knew that things between them would never be serious, but it felt good to pretend otherwise. A strange whisper filled her mind, one she had to ignore. One that had her wanting more from Victor than she should.
Chapter Eleven
“It sucks that you have to go to work tonight,” Victor told her, wishing they had all night to be together. Janie had become a temptation he craved and wanted more of—the awareness was both alarming and soothing. “I can think of some other things that I’d like to do with you.”