by Mari Freeman
“Gay,” Craig chimed in as he sat next to Becky on the bench. Samuel stood before them. “At that point I really knew it would only garner more publicity for the festival. No such thing as bad publicity, right?” He was looking for agreement from her. He looked as sad as the pug at his feet. When she didn’t agree with him, he continued. “When I got home and saw one of the news reports, I freaked. They made it sound as if the festival would be all ‘porno in the park’ and I thought people would stay home.” He hung his head. “That’s why I came back out and called in a couple huge favors with a friend at the station to get another reporter or two out here so I could show everyone it was all fine.”
Becky felt for the poor guy. “Jeez, Samuel.” She didn’t want to get him in a huge amount of trouble over this, even if she was furious at all the trouble he’d caused. How it would affect the festival, no one would know until tomorrow. And tomorrow was coming fast. “Go home.”
“What?” He picked up Farrah. “Aren’t you going to throw me in the clink?”
“No.” She stood and looked to Craig for the okay. He nodded. “It’s late. We’ll figure this all out in the morning.”
He stood quietly for a moment. “Okay then. Good night.” He started toward the street, but turned back. “Becky?”
“Yeah?”
“I really didn’t mean to do any damage. I just wanted to be judged for my art. I wanted the kids to benefit from my art, not my lifestyle. I’m sorry I completely lost it.”
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“I know that. I do. We’ll figure it out in the morning, Samuel. Get some rest. I expect you here tomorrow.”
Craig put his arm around her waist as Samuel walked away with a puggy tail wiggling under his arm. “Likely, all this will bring in more people.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “You think?”
“Oh yeah. It’s New York. We love our drama large and real.” He turned her so they were facing one another. “Now. We are going to get some rest.”
She was beat and she was hungry. His body pressed to hers felt delicious and she decided she was in no mood to argue. “Are there truffles still in the hotel room?”
“I believe there are.” He kissed her forehead.
* * * * *
An unfamiliar sound roused her. Becky opened her eyes in an offended squint. Morning light was pouring through open curtains. Why hadn’t she remembered to close them before drifting off? Hell, she didn’t remember going to sleep. She remembered a shower, a few bites of chocolate, a sip or two of wine and Craig offering to rub her back. Bingo.
His warm body was sleeping soundly next to hers. He was on his stomach with sheets pulled over him just enough to hide his ass. Becky rolled over, resting her chest on his back and her check on his shoulder. She caressed his other shoulder with lazy swirls of her fingers. The smooth feel of his sheet-buffed skin was heaven. Her nipples automatically hardened. He smelled wonderful. Spicy. Sexy. She let her fingers trail down to where his skin stopped and the sheets began. He moved his leg a bit. She pushed the sheets down and tickled his cheeks with her fingertips. Craig eased his legs apart. “Lower,” he mumbled into the pillow. She followed his orders. Her fingers lightly caressed his inner thighs, brushing his balls every few strokes. He let out a groan and resituated again, moving his legs farther apart, inviting more interaction. “Lower.”
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She scooted down his body so she could reach all the way to the mattress through his spread legs. She continued to trace swirls and circles up his thighs, over his ass cheeks and down to tease his balls. She kissed his back where her head still rested, truly enjoying the intimate feel and the lazy nature of the experience. Squirming of Craig’s hips told her the laziness was about to come to a screeching halt. He turned a little to let her know he wanted to roll over and she reluctantly removed herself from the heat of his back and let him come face-to-face with her. His hard cock throbbed against his belly. “Good morning.” He brushed her curls off her face.
“Morning.” She reached for his cock and continued stroking him. His stomach had wrinkles from the sheets. He rolled all the way over onto his back. Becky couldn’t resist the tempting morning wood. She maneuvered over his body and took him into her mouth slowly, making him grasp the sheets. He pushed up and she let him fill her. He pulled back until his head was just inside her lips. Becky watched his face as she ran her tongue around the head. She ran her fingers up the inside of his thigh, feeling the strength there. She reached for his balls and cupped them in her hand. They were tight and close to his body. She fondled them, squeezing and massaging as she ran her tongue over the head of his cock. She knew the sensation was becoming too much when he grabbed her head and pushed farther into her mouth. Again and again he thrust into her mouth, the muscles in his abdomen flexing. The view of his body and the sexy sound of his groans were turning her on. It wasn’t long before she was sure he was going to come. She could feel the swelling and tightness of his cock.
She pulled away, breathing hard from the excitement of hearing him and seeing his body writhe in the pleasure she was providing.
She shook her head. “Nope. You’re not getting away that quickly.” She looked over to the nightstand. On it were the remnants of the last couple days. Two empty 95
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wineglasses, rumpled wrappers from the truffles, a bottle of lotion from the backrub that had put her to sleep…and the thing she was looking for. A pack of condoms. As she worked to tear one off the strip and open it, Craig caressed her back, ran his hands over her hips and down her outer thigh. Then, leaning up, traced his fingers up her inner thighs and through her wet pussy, his touch igniting her further. He found her clit immediately and flicked the tip of his finger back and forth across the swollen bundle. Distracted from her task, she dropped the package to the floor. Shit. She had to lean way over the edge of the bed to reach for it.
“What a view,” he said. “Maybe the best in the city.”
Becky managed to get the condom and glanced out the window as she straightened up. The view from this room was the side of another building. She laughed at herself for missing his meaning. “You like that? Ass in the air?”
“Oh. Yeah. You have no idea.”
She pushed him back down and grabbed his cock again. “Too bad.” She squeezed.
“I want you this way.” She leaned over him and continued opening the package.
“I object.” He lifted his hips to hurry her along.
She rolled the condom over his shaft. “Overruled, counselor.” She positioned his cock at her opening. “My court. My rules. My ride.” She slid down, allowing him an inch or so of entry.
He closed his eyes and let his head fall back. “By all means. Your rules.” His voice was strained.
She lifted, pulling him out before inching back down over him a little bit more. “No lifting. No pushing back. I do all the work. Got it?”
“Uh-huh.” He gripped the bottom of the headboard—and it shifted precariously. Becky chuckled. She’d already discovered the thing looked like a standard headboard but it had no legs. Instead, it was mounted on the wall like a picture.
“Oops,” Craig said and grabbed the sheet instead of the loose headboard.
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She lowered herself all the way to the hilt. He filled her completely. She bent forward slightly and put her open hands on his chest, loving the sprinkling of hair, the rise and fall from his labored breathing and the smell of wine in the room. Her pussy was throbbing. Damn, the man felt good.
He was watching her face, really paying attention to her as she lifted up. His eyes, those eyes the same color green as hers, were open and caring. His heart was too. She knew it. She needed him. She needed to believe she could find something lasting. She needed to feel she could achieve that level of happiness. Ebenezer Craigsen Hill made her want it, made her feel it was possible. For the first time in a
long time, Becky let her emotions be part of the lovemaking. She looked in his eyes as she rode him. She gripped his shoulders; let herself revel in her own moans and groans. She buried her face in his chest and had a mind-shattering orgasm.
He pulled the headboard from the wall.
Apparently Craig hadn’t even realized he’d grasped it again. They both froze as he attempted to hold the thing aloft, and prevent it from sliding between the head of the bed and the wall. Becky scrambled up his body to help hold it.
“Can you keep it there?” he asked as she pushed it against the wall to keep it in place.
She was already laughing. “Yep.”
He scooted from beneath her straddling legs and rolled off the side of the bed, grabbing an end and taking most of the weight. He peeked behind it. “It hangs on a little ledge. I pushed up too hard.”
“I’d say so.”
He reattached the headboard to the wall and crawled back into bed, wrapping her in his arms and snuggling her to his chest. They avoided kisses since, in their haste, 97
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neither had brushed their teeth yet. She just wanted to feel his body and get lost in his scent. To get lost in him.
After a few moments he broke the comfortable silence. “The festival started an hour ago. Do you need to be there?”
She did. She’d already thought about it. Everything was all set but she still needed to be there with him this morning, if only for a few minutes. However, Becky the project manager would have to wait on Becky the woman to figure out her emotions. The festival would go on without her. “I do. We’ll go in a bit. Besides, once we get there, we’ll have to deal with Samuel’s stunt.” She looked up at his face. “What are the legal ramifications for Samuel if Mr. Tenfold doesn’t press charges?”
He shrugged. “He’ll still get slapped with a charge from the police for filing a false report. That’s only a misdemeanor, but it comes with a pretty steep fine and some court costs.” He kissed her shoulder. “If he has a good lawyer.”
She snickered. “You think Tenfold could be talked out of charging him?”
“By you? Yes.”
She snuggled even farther into the sheets and his warmth, content for the moment, feeling connected. “I’m sorry.”
He rose and propped his head on his hand. “For?”
“The Love Doctor stuff. It was rather rude and unfeeling of me to presume anything about your life.” She worried about what he thought of her, since he knew her history of empty relationships. She’d never worried about what anyone thought of her.
“Well, what has further investigation told you about me?”
She glanced at those green eyes. This was harder than she’d imagined, but it had to be done. “Look. I know you don’t need fixing.” She rolled onto her stomach. It was easier to study the painting on the wall than watch those eyes change from warm afterglow to dull disappointment. She had hoped he’d gotten over his hurt feeling and had come back to her for meaningless Love Doctor sex. If that was indeed the case, she 98
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didn’t want to see his face when she embarrassed herself. “I’ve figured out I was the one with the issues all along.”
He didn’t respond or move.
“I just needed to apologize for how I treated you. I can’t believe you came back over last night. That’s all.”
“Someday, I want you to actually explain all that to me. I don’t need the details, but I’m lost in this conversation.” He ran his finger down the slope of her back. Someday? She was leaving, going back to Texas in the morning. This was her only shot. “Craig, I…um…”
He pulled her shoulder, moving her until they were facing one another. “What is it?”
“You know I live in Dallas, right?” She had a hard time looking him in the eye, so she chose to watch his chest rise and fall with his breathing.
“Yes.”
So…he is done with me. Fine. I can deal. Becky rolled away from him and out of the bed. “I need to get to the festival.”
He rolled out and grabbed her shoulders, turning her again to face him. He was so freaking sexy, all naked with the morning light behind him. “Yes. I know you live in Dallas. I’ve been aware of the fact you’re leaving since you handed me that vibrator remote. I’ve been dreading it.” He took in a large breath. “Even knowing you were intending on a short fling, I had no intention of letting you get on a plane…of letting you leave for good. I was going to suggest you stay a few more days.”
Becky felt her heart lighten in a way she’d not experienced in a long time. Love?
He kissed her jaw. “I was going to suggest you stay with me for a few more days.”
Becky felt goose bumps rise across the skin on her back as he peppered tender kisses over her shoulder. “I was even going to suggest that the Love Doctor give me 99
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some intensive therapy. But since you seem to think you need it more than I do…
Doctor, heal thyself.”
Becky wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling their bodies close. They felt good together. I feel better already.
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About the Author
Mari Freeman lives, disguised as a normal suburbanite, in central North Carolina. When not penning romantic erotica, she enjoys horses, hiking, traveling, good food and friends. An outdoors girl at heart, you can often find her at the lake with laptop fired up, fishing line in the water and her imagination running wild. In her previous lives, she’s held an interesting array of occupations. She’s been a project manager, a software-testing manager, sold used cars, pumped gas at a truck stop and worked in a morgue.
Mari’s favorite stories include Alpha females in love with even more Alpha males. She finds the clash of passionate, strong-willed personalities fascinating. She writes contemporary, paranormal and a little science fiction/fantasy.
Mari welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email
address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Mari Freeman
Beware of the Cowboy
Birthright
Cougar Challenge: Sin on Skin
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