by Claire Adams
"What?" I reached down and touched the side of his face. "Why do I feel like this is our last date?"
"No clue." He took my hand and kissed my palm several times before touching the side of my neck and pulling me into a long, hot kiss. I started to get out of the truck, but he pulled back and laughed. "You're a bad girl all of a sudden?"
"If it means you not letting me go before we ever get this thing started, then yes."
Sadness brushed across his features, but he forced a smile and closed my door. I waited until he got into the truck to unbuckle and move to the center seat.
"You want to grab some hot dogs from the grocery store?" He glanced over at me.
"Yeah. Anything you want." I slid my hand down his thigh as his breath caught in his chest.
"Val." He took my hand and clasped it in his. "Not while I'm driving."
"Really? You seem like the kind of guy who would be more than happy to have me touch you while you drive." I pressed my lips to his shoulder, expecting a sexy comeback.
"Why is that? Because I'm a whore? Because us poor folk have no respect for ourselves?" His tone was less than pleasant, and the sound of him verbally biting at me was a little more than I could take.
Tears filled my eyes, and I moved back as if scalded.
"No, because...never mind." I moved to the other side of the truck and buckled up again.
"I'm sorry. I've been through some crazy shit today, and-"
"And instead of including me in it, you're shutting me out. I get it." I shrugged and wiped at my eyes. "I'm not feeling this anymore. I'm sorry to be a pain in the ass, but can you just drop me off at the next gas station and I'll catch a ride home."
He jerked the truck over to the side of the road and unbuckled. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the last thing I was going to do was offend him again by flinching or appearing scared of him. Though I maybe should have been, I wasn't.
"Fuck this." He moved toward me and pulled my seatbelt off before pulling me into his lap. He forced me to straddle him as he lifted his hips a little and worked to consume my mouth.
I wanted to fight against him, to slap him instead of give in to him, but I couldn't force myself to do anything but cling to him and give every ounce of passion that I had to give.
"I want you so goddamn bad," he grumbled against my lips as his hands moved up my waist and cupped my breasts.
I moaned and pressed into his hold as I rocked my hips forward to get the full effect of his erection against my center.
"Me, too," I whimpered softly as I tugged at his shirt.
"Not here, baby. Not now. Tonight." He ran his fingers through my hair as he pulled me down for another long hot kiss.
I melted against him and sucked on his tongue as we breathed each other in and fogged up the windows of the old truck. I was no longer sure what I was mad about by the time he pulled me back.
"You're getting on my damn nerves with your bipolar shit today." I poked him in the chest. "Hurt me again and I'm outta here. I have enough people standing in line to slap me down. I don't need it from you, too."
"Never." He moved to put me back in the seat and pressed himself against me in what should have been an awkward position, but it wasn't. He pressed himself between my legs and rubbed the thickness of his body against mine as he licked and nipped at my mouth.
"Fuck," I groaned and arched my back, needing more of me pressed to him.
"God, Val. You're everything I want. I need you beneath me tonight." His tongue ran up the side of my neck, and I cried out again.
Every wet dream I'd ever had could possibly come true with the man above me, and yet I was scared for both of us. We had yet to define our relationship, and yet could easily find ourselves set on a path that could end in forever being spent together. I could see it in my mind's eye. It was the first time I could ever imagine being with anyone for any length of time.
He kissed my lips once more before crawling back into his seat. After dropping his head back, he let out a long sigh only to take another shaky breath and do it again.
I stayed in my seat, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
Tate turned his face toward me and opened his eyes. "You know I wouldn't ask you to give up anything for me, right?"
"Of course I do. I would never ask that of you, either." Confusion raced through me. "I would never ask that of anyone, actually."
"Then let's go have some fun together. Forgive me. Some shit went down at the shop this morning. I'll explain later after I work through it, okay?" He took my hand and kissed my fingers before pulling back onto the main road.
"Okay." I tried to relax, but something told me that whatever was bothering him was going to affect me much more than he was playing off.
*
Tate worked to start the fire on a small fire pit he'd brought with him. It wasn't a particularly windy night, so it wasn’t long before our blaze kicked in.
"Nice job." I popped his butt as he stood up and gave me a hungry look.
"Watch it, woman." He smirked before turning back to work on making the fire grow.
"I am, and I like it. A lot." I grabbed the hot dog wieners and put them on the sticks we'd found before handing him one. "You gonna tell me what's going on with you or am I going to have to pull it from you?"
"It's nothing. I really don't want to talk about it." He took the stick from me and wrapped his other arm around my waist. "I'd rather just enjoy tonight with you. Can we do that?"
I wanted to say no and push him into telling me why he'd been such an ass earlier, but I could see the pleading behind his stare.
"Yeah, but I'm here if you need me. You know that, right?" I moved closer and pressed my lips to his once before pulling from his hold. "Let's eat."
"I like the sound of that. I'm starving, so what you don't eat-"
"You'll finish for me. I know," I laughed and sat down on the large tarp he'd spread out. The blankets were pushed back away from the fire, but looked comfy. I couldn't help but wonder if he planned on having us spend some time underneath them. It was almost too cold for that, but I was more adventurous than I was giving myself credit for.
"What are you thinking about?" He moved to a squat next to me and stuck his stick in the fire.
"Making love to you." I extended my arm and watched the fire dance in front of me. I wasn't usually as bold as I was being with him, but I was so tired of hoping for a guy to leave me feeling like Tate did. Everything about him excited me – emotionally and physically.
"Oh yeah?" He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and leaned over, pressing his cold nose to my cheek as he breathed in softly. "I haven't stopped thinking about that since we met."
"Horny bastard." I smirked.
"You've no clue." He laughed, and the sound of it warmed me far more than the fire ever could.
"I'm not sure I want to find out." I pulled my hot dog back and blew on it before eating it off the stick.
"I was a wild child in high school, but I've chilled out quite a bit since then. I've seen firsthand what a shitty relationship can do to two people." He shrugged as if he was just rambling, but he had my full attention. "Daniel, the guy who was hauled away yesterday, wasn't always like that. He used to bring Mom flowers and take her on dates and all sorts of great shit."
"What happened?" I moved closer and slid my arm into his.
"I don't know. They got comfortable, and he got mean. He drinks too much, and that has to be some of it, but I don't know. Everything just went to hell in a hand basket. He's a vicious bastard now." Tate shivered, and I moved up to press my lips to his cheek, but he turned, catching me off guard.
I touched the side of his face and deepened the kiss, loving how right it felt to be with him. I wanted to guard my heart, but there was no use in trying. I was the polar opposite of my family and usually invited people in without reserve. I had no regard for my own emotional safety – my past choices had made that perfectly clear.
"Let's make
some s’mores and then sneak back to your dorm room." He brushed his nose by mine softly, sensually.
"I'd like that." I licked at his mouth, only to have him capture my tongue as he pulled me down to the tarp behind us. We laughed and rolled onto our sides, snuggling up and tossing our dinner somewhere in the snow around us.
"I'm not sure we're going to make it back to your dorm room if you keep sticking out that pretty pink tongue of yours." He ran his hand down my side, over my hip, and cupped my rear tightly as he scooted closer. "I wanna see you naked. Stripped bare and shivering with need on the bed in front of me. It's my deepest fantasy right now."
"We can do that, but it will be up to you to leave me shivering with need." I moved up to kiss him, my heart racing in my chest. I moaned against his lips as he rolled me over and pressed himself on top of me.
"Why do you drive me crazy, Val? No other girl has had so much control over me. I want to throw caution to the wind and dive in deep with you. Why?" He pressed his cold mouth to the side of my neck while his fingers found their way under my sweater.
I let out a short exhale as pleasure pumped through me in delicious waves. It was attraction like nothing I'd ever experienced. It was heady, and I wanted more of it.
"Because you thought I was someone else." I reached out and touched the side of his face, loving so much the way he felt pressed against me. I wanted to offer up control, to give him exclusive rights to any part of me that he wanted access to.
He moved back up, balancing himself with one hand pressed to the ground beside my head. "What do you mean? I know who you are."
"You do now, but at first you thought I was just like my family, like my parents. I'm not anything like them." I ran my thumb over his bottom lip, only to have him suck it deep into his mouth. His tongue flicked around it as he sucked it in deeper. Every part of me came alive.
"Take me back to my room. Now." I pulled my thumb from him mouth and tried to stop myself from panting, but I couldn’t seem to help it.
"Alright, baby." He kissed me once again before helping me to my feet. "Pack up the food, and we'll go back. You can sneak me in, right?"
"Yeah." I stood up with his help and started to gather everything up. Some part of me wanted to make it through one damn date without something interrupting it, but nothing was more important than getting the sexy guy beside me naked and taking full advantage of the heat between us.
I'd never wanted anyone so badly.
I prayed like hell that he felt the same.
Chapter 20
Val
The drive back to campus felt like it took damn near forever. I was a nervous wreck by the time we parked the truck and Tate turned it off.
He glanced over at me and reached for my hand. "You still alright with me coming up?"
"Yeah, I want you to." I gave him a cocky smile that I didn't feel at all before getting out of the truck and pulling my coat closer. "I texted Katelyn on the way back and she's staying with Martin, so we're good there."
"I feel like a teenager again." He moved up beside me and reached for my hand again. I was almost too comfortable being beside him, letting him touch me however he wanted to.
"Well, don't act like one." I opened the door to the house and poked my head in, listening for voices. A couple of girls were in the kitchen, but the living room was empty. "We're good. Just stay close."
"I can do that." He pinched my butt and caused me to yelp.
I jerked around and narrowed my eyes at him. "Keep it up, and you'll go home with blue balls."
"No such thing. You're so naive." He moved past me into the house and took the stairs two at a time.
I rushed to keep up with him as excitement overtook the worry inside of me. He was so fucking hot – way more my kind of guy than Paul could ever dream of being.
"Which room?" He glanced back at me.
"Last one on the left. Hurry up." I popped his butt and jogged after him as he opened the door and slipped into my room.
I moved in behind him and turned, closing the door and locking it. I pressed my forehead against it and let out a shaky laugh. "We should have gone back to your place."
"Naw, this is better." He moved up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, pressing himself to my back. "There's more privacy here."
One strong hand moved up to squeeze my breast as the other slid down into my pants just over my panties. His fingers tugged at my sex before tapping lightly. His voice was low and thick with lust.
"Besides, with those laughing girls downstairs, no one will hear you scream my name, right?" He opened his mouth and pressed it to the side of my neck just under my ear, pushing his teeth against me.
I groaned and pressed my hands to the door, pushing back against him, undulating my hips. My nipples budded tightly under his teasing, and my skin became incredibly sensitive to his touch.
"I don't care what they hear." I slid my hand into my jeans and refocused his efforts inside of my panties. A cry left me as his cold fingers spread me open and played with the sticky wet entrance of my body.
"So fucking hot, Val. I love how turned on you are." He pressed his finger deep inside of me as his cock wedged between the curves of my ass.
"Get these clothes off. Now." I pulled his hand from me and turned as he lifted his fingers to his lips and slipped them into his mouth.
He groaned as he licked at them, and I thought I might come just watching him. So confident. Cocky. Blistering hot.
"Take off your jeans and go lay on the bed," he said as he tugged off his shirt, and I reached out and brushed my fingers over the tight flesh of his defined abs. "Now."
I nodded, not caring too much about who was in control. I'd have been lying if I said that I hadn't entertained the thought of this moment since the night I was stranded on the side of the road. It was half the reason I took the car to his shop.
After pulling off my jeans, I worked my panties down my legs, trying to be sexy about it. If I didn't fall forward, I'd be alright.
A yelp left me as he grabbed the front of my thighs while I was bent over at the waist.
"Stay there or put your hands on the bed. Whichever." His voice was commanding, deep.
His fingers dug into me as he ran his nose up the back of my leg, so close to my center that my muscles locked.
"You smell so good, Val. Like vanilla and lust." He licked at my swollen flesh, and I let out another cry, half jerking up and gripping the edge of the bed. His hand slid over my ass and up to the center of my lower back as he pressed down a little. "Arch so I can see all of you."
I tried to hold back the whimper that leaked from my lips as he pressed his mouth against me fully and flicked his tongue back and forth slowly. My legs began to shake due to the intensity of his attack combined with how vulnerable I felt in the position I was in.
He grunted softly and ran his hands up under my sweater, pushing my bra up as he continued to suck and lick at my flesh. His fingers tugged at my nipples before palming my breasts and massaging softly. I thought I'd taken all I could handle when he moved up, licking an intimate line to the top of my ass.
"I want every part of you." He pressed kisses along my flesh as he made his descent back to lap at my wetness.
"Take it," I whispered through my panting.
"Come for me. Let me taste it." He slid his hands down to my thighs again and started to work me faster, deeper.
It didn't take more than a few minutes of him putting everything into it before I screamed, my eyes closing and my breath rushing from my lungs. The delicious sensation of a deep hard pulse filled me, and Tate didn't relent until I moved up on the bed and rolled onto my back.
"Oh my God. That was so far beyond good." I wrapped my arms around myself and crossed my legs tightly as the sensation continued to tease with me.
"Yeah, it was." He moved up the bed and slid his hands over my knees and down my thighs, parting them. "I want more."
"No." I lifted my foot and pressed it against
the sexy muscles of his chest. His tats were beautiful and extensive. "I want you on top of me."
He smiled before licking his lips and crawling back off the bed. "What the lady wants, the lady gets."
I rolled on my side and watched him pull a condom from his jeans before letting them drop to the ground. He wasn't wearing underwear, and I was a little surprised, seeing how cold it was outside.
His cock was thick and standing proud as he rolled the condom on. He glanced up at me while he stroked himself a few times.
"You sure you-"
"Shut up and don't ask me again." I moved to my knees and pulled my sweater and tank top off.
He was on the bed when I started to work on my bra, and he reached around me to take care of it for me.
I traced the outline of the tribal pattern that moved from the base of his neck to his thick shoulders, loving how dangerous it made him look. "Beautiful."
"Yeah, you are, and bossy as hell, too." He ran his hands up my sides and pulled me up to my knees before cradling me in the tight hold of his arms and kissing my breasts one at a time.
I ran my fingers through his hair and leaned down to kiss his ear and the side of his face. "You like dominant women."
"You think?" He flicked his tongue over my nipple before settling back on his knees. "Get up here and show me how dominant you are."
I straddled him as he pressed himself inside of me with three strong thrusts. His grip on my ass was delicious and the tension from him forcing himself inside of me almost threw me over the edge again. I kept my hold on his shoulders and moaned unabashedly as he used my body to work his.
"So damn tight." He glanced up at me before gripping the back of my neck and pulling me down for a long kiss. The taste of my own arousal ran across my tongue, and I groaned just thinking about how good it would have been to watch him fuck me moments before.
His hands squeezed as he grunted and moved back. His gaze dropped down to where our bodies met, and he pulled one hand to his mouth, licking at his thumb before positioning it to press against my clit. He stole my breath when he looked up at me. The intensity of his stare mixed with the dark lust on his face was enough. "Fuck me, Valentine. Fuck me hard."