by dlady
“What makes you think we don’t?” Iona said.
Jared’s mouth dropped open as the entire scheme became crystal-clear. He’d been played, and so had Steph, by two geriatric matchmakers.
“You knew? You both knew? This was all a setup. There weren’t any other dates.”
Iona turned to Agnes. “He’s not as dense as I thought he was.”
“You threw Steph and I together because you knew, but why the subterfuge? Why make her feel guilty for going against your rules? You know she’s a rule follower. Why lead me to believe you have the perfect match?”
“We did,” Agnes said. “And Steph is fragile yet strong. She needed to get to know you without the pressure of a relationship beyond friends. She needed to be comfortable with you, learn to trust you, see that not all men are rogues and scoundrels, and I don’t mean that in a good way.”
“If she’d known she was your match, she’d have run like hell,” Iona added. “She had to find it out in her own time and her own way.”
“You’re both connivers,” Jared said. “You knew all along.”
They both shrugged innocently.
“So we have your blessing?”
“One hundred percent,” Agnes said, “but if you hurt her, you’ll answer to us.”
Jared could only imagine. “I’ll be good to her.” He grinned, snagged a few more appetizers, and stuffed them in his mouth. Once he finished chewing, he stood and headed for the door. He paused with his hand on the brass doorknob. “Thank you.”
He left before they could respond and hurried to his car. He had a date to get ready for a woman to win over.
* * * *
Steph should’ve said no. She knew better, but she kept tempting fate.
She couldn’t date a client. She tried to justify her actions by telling herself she wasn’t going on a date. They were friends going to dinner.
Who was she kidding? Jared didn’t want to be just friends. He was just playing along to keep her from panicking.
The man attracted her like a bumblebee to a cherry tree. Just one night. One date. One moment to be normal. She wasn’t asking much. She wanted to be with Jared, to have the entire date experience, from the moment he picked her up to the moment they said good night. She wanted all the stuff in between. She even wanted—
Steph swallowed. She wanted that. She’d been thinking of nothing but for a while now, and she was ready to have sex with someone who did the things Jared did to her with just a smile. Imagine what more he could do. She shivered as she recalled the sensation of his mouth on her nipples. She wanted to feel that again—and more.
She wasn’t exactly Cinderella going to the ball, and she didn’t have a fairy godmother or a ball gown, but she’d make do.
Just one night, and once the night was over, she’d go back to being just Steph, and that would be that. No more dates with a rich, hot guy who could have any woman he wanted. No more fantasies about said guy. Okay, maybe she’d keep those fantasies. She’d allow herself that much.
She was enough of a realist to acknowledge dating Jared on a regular basis was unattainable. Even beyond the issue with her job, she’d danced for some of his teammates. Eventually, they’d recognize her. She couldn’t stand the humiliation, nor could she bear the betrayal she was certain she’d see in Jared’s eyes. He thought she was a good girl. Instead, she was a hot mess with an even messier history, and one she preferred to keep in the past and out of her present.
She didn’t know how she’d accomplish such a feat, but for now, she’d settle for taking her one night, and face the consequences afterward.
Jared took her to a small Italian bistro in the Fremont district of Seattle. Something was different about him tonight, and she wasn’t sure what was going on, but she went with it. Tonight was her night. She’d be daring and bold and so not the person she’d been before.
They ate and talked for what seemed like hours.
Jared told her about his childhood in Minnesota, the cold winters skating on a nearby pond, the summers on the lake. It all sounded so normal, and different from her childhood.
“What was your favorite childhood movie?” Jared asked during a lull in the conversation.
“I don’t have one.”
“Then name a few you liked.”
“I never watched movies as a child.”
“Never?” He seemed incredulous.
“No. My father frowned on TV and movies. He felt our time was better spent reading the Bible in the evenings and discussing passages.”
“Really?”
“I didn’t mind. My father had a way of making it interesting. He was quite the entertainer and had a great sense of humor.”
“You’re very special,” he said gently, and reached for her hand. She tried to pull it away, but he tightened his grip just enough to deter her. Her gaze fell to their interlocked fingers, and her entire body sang with joy. She had butterflies in her stomach fluttering around like it was springtime and the flowers were in bloom. Next thing she knew, she’d be bursting out in song.
“I have a confession,” he said after they finished a yummy tiramisu and were having a sweet after-dinner drink.
“What is that?” Steph asked. He didn’t appear overly disturbed by whatever this confession was. In fact, he seemed amused.
“I stopped by the McIntyre mansion this afternoon.” He met her gaze. His eyes were twinkling. This was good news, whatever it was. Her pounding heart slowed somewhat.
He had her full attention now. “You did? Why?”
“I wanted to ask their permission to date you.”
Steph’s heart attempted to jettison itself out of her chest. “What—what did they say?”
He chuckled. “Well, that’s the funny part of all this. We’ve been had.”
“Had? As in—?”
“Played. Bamboozled. Hoodwinked.”
“How so?”
“Steph, I was never stood up because the only match they had for me was you.”
She was confused. His words weren’t making a lick of sense. “I don’t understand.”
“They contrived everything to throw us together. If you’d been told up front that you were my match, what would you have done?”
She thought about his question for a moment. “I’d have run.”
“Exactly. They’re cleverer than we give them credit for. We started out as friends. No pressure on you or me, and this thing between us grew naturally until neither of us could deny our feelings anymore. At least, I can’t. What about you?” He reached for her hands across the table and held them tightly.
“This is all too much.”
“Steph, I’m crazy about you. Fucking nuts. Looney tunes. I think about you all the time. I want you so badly it’s painful, but a good kind of pain. When I’m with you, my entire world is so much brighter, and I can’t imagine not having you in my life.”
She listened to his words, absorbed them, mulled them over in her mind. Finally, she squeezed his hands. “I feel the same way.”
He grinned from ear to ear, both dimples showing. She grinned back.
“So we can date?” she asked.
“Oh, yeah, the form was bullshit to make you feel comfortable and safe around me.”
“I do feel comfortable and safe around you.”
“I hope so, because I’d never purposely hurt you, Steph, emotionally or physically.”
She believed him so very much. He was everything she’d ever wished for. He was her dream come true. And she wanted so much more—
“And Jared?”
“Yeah?”
“I want you too. Why don’t you pay the bill, and I’ll show you how much?”
She’d never been so sure of anything in her life, and she’d prove it to him.
Chapter 13—Scoring Chance
Jared couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. Surely, she hadn’t meant what she’d said. Steph said the wrong things without realizing it. This was probably one of those ti
mes. He decided to take the high road instead of the dirty, nasty road he really wanted to take.
“How much are you going to show me?” he asked.
“Everything?” Her voice dropped a notch, and he found himself searching her bright eyes for the answer. He knew that look. Or, at least, he knew that look when it was on other women’s faces. Steph couldn’t be that much different, could she? His heart stuttered in his chest, while his dick rose and shouted to the rooftops.
“Everything?”
The desire darkening her eyes was all he needed to know.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
She nodded. He rose abruptly, tugging on her hand. After paying the bill, Jared hustled her from the building and into his car.
They drove out of the parking lot in silence until Jared realized with near panic that they couldn’t go to his place. Not only was it a dump, but it was a messy dump. He didn’t want to explain why he lived in such a place any more than she wanted to explain her past.
She was right. Some things were best kept where they belonged. In the past. And out of the future.
“Let’s go to your place.” He grinned and hoped he didn’t sound overeager in case he’d misinterpreted her earlier words.
“Okay.” She looked at him through lowered lashes, so adorable and innocent.
He focused his eyes on the road ahead, knowing if he allowed himself one look at her, he’d be pulling over and taking her under the nearest streetlight.
“I’ll make it good for you,” he promised.
“You have to know I’m not a virgin.”
He nodded. “I guessed as much, since you lived with that dickhead.”
She swallowed and stared out the window. Who was the dickhead now?
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just hate that guy so much.”
“It’s okay. You don’t know the half of it, and you don’t want to know.”
He left it at that. One thing he’d learned about Steph was not to push her. She had a stubborn streak and wouldn’t tell him any more than she wanted him to know.
“Steph, we don’t have to do this. Me being with you doesn’t hinge on us having sex. We can do this at any speed you want. You’re in the driver’s seat.”
“I want this. I’ve wanted it for a long time.”
He glanced at her in the dashboard light. He could make out a barely there smile.
“Me too. Thoughts of getting you naked have been keeping me warm on road trips.”
She reached for his hand and squeezed it. “I want to be with you. I can think of a million reasons to wait, but not one of them makes any sense. I don’t want to wait. I was going to proposition you tonight even before I knew about the sisters.”
“Wow.”
Jared pulled into the Blacks’ long driveway and parked off to the side near her stairs. When he turned toward her, she was watching him with trust in her eyes. Her expression hit him deep in the gut, and he pulled her into his arms over the console. Desire took over, and his mouth was on hers before he could do anything to stop himself. Steph didn’t seem to mind. She buried her fingers in his hair and pulled his mouth harder against hers. Their tongues tangled, and their lips meshed. Her breasts rubbed against his chest, and he groaned.
God, he wanted her. To see her naked. To be inside her. To make her scream and beg for mercy. To give her the pleasure he suspected she’d never had before.
Yeah, he wanted that, and if they didn’t stop soon, they’d be attempting to do it in this car with Coop and Izzy as possible spectators—or even worse, Riley.
Jared extracted his mouth from hers, holding her at arm’s length. “Let’s get inside and finish this.”
She nodded, her eyes half-lidded, her lips well kissed.
They took her stairs two at a time. She fumbled with the key while he rained little kisses on her neck and ran his hands up her thighs to her hips to the curve of her breasts.
Finally, they were inside and falling all over each other. Clothes were flying as they stumbled around her screen partition to the queen bed behind. The bed was so her, all pink and frilly, but he barely noticed as he tossed Steph on the bed and paused long enough to look down at her.
She’d stripped to her panties, and while they weren’t necessarily sexy, on her they were. So practical and so Steph. He drank her in, his gaze locking on those heavenly breasts of hers. They were large, with stiff pink nipples begging for his mouth and hands.
“You’re so fucking beautiful.”
She ran her gaze down his body and back to his face. “So are you.”
A smile tugged at his mouth. He’d also stripped to his underwear, much to his dick’s relief. It’d been strangled inside his tight jeans. He liked this side of her. She might still be a little uncomfortable, but she wanted him. His ego had taken such a big hit from his ex, who’d wanted every man in a pro sports uniform, and wanted him less and less. He couldn’t understand at first why he’d come home from road trips and instead of doing it like bunnies, she’d used every excuse in the book to avoid being intimate with him. Now he knew. She’d been someone else’s bunny when he’d been gone. While she did let him fuck her at times, the passion they’d once shared was gone. Instead, he got the feeling it was just a chore for her, much like vacuuming or taking out the trash. Not that she did either of those things.
He shook himself mentally. Why was he thinking of Candy when he had a woman like this staring up at him with raw desire and absolute trust?
“Steph.” He slid up her body and kissed her mouth, unable to get enough. Neither could she. In short order, they were making out like teenagers. He groaned and shifted his weight to his elbows, so he could explore farther downward. He kissed his way down her body, certain he had to be the luckiest man in the world. Steph had a body built for sex, not skinny with fake boobs, but curvy without having any excess weight. And those breasts. He would worship at their altar all night. He cupped one in his hand, squeezing gently while he bowed his head and took the other in his mouth. Her nipple tasted incredible. Like honey.
She writhed underneath him. Her hands slid down his back as she attempted to pull him closer. He’d have none of that. As difficult as it might be, she’d get foreplay from him. He’d make her beg, maybe even come for him before he got his own satisfaction.
He ran his free hand down her body until he found heaven. She whimpered when he brushed his fingers over her curls and found her wetness.
“You want me,” he stated smugly.
“You want me,” she shot back, drawing a chuckle from him.
“I guess we’re even.”
“I guess—”
He parted her and circled her opening.
“We—” She gasped. He’d almost rendered her speechless. Almost. He pushed a finger inside gently, taking care not to go to fast.
“—are,” she managed to blurt out, and he chuckled once again.
“Maybe I’m wrong. I think you want me more.” He was teasing her now, even as his finger pressed deep inside her.
“You want”—her hips bucked as he started to push in and out—“me more.”
He grinned. He did want her so badly his body ached, and his dick screamed for release, but Steph came first, and she would come first.
He would see to it.
* * * *
Steph’s body was no longer her own. Jared owned every little piece of it in a way that Gino never could’ve. Only Jared let her keep her mind and her soul.
As he continued his sexual onslaught, her orgasm built inside her. She’d never really had one before. She’d faked them, and Gino hadn’t noticed or cared because it’d been all about Gino, not her. This glorious but scary-as-shit feeling built like a choir, starting out slow and building to the end in a dramatic fashion. Her body wasn’t hers. Even her mind had deserted her to soar to the sky, as if it’d left earthly bounds and never wanted to return.
But return she did, floating back down on a cloud of pure b
liss. She lay sprawled and sated, drained of all energy, and left in wonder at the power of what Jared had done with his fingers.
What could the man do to her body with the rest of him? She closed her eyes and waited.
She didn’t have to wait long to find out. She felt him move off the bed, heard the rustling of him taking off his boxer briefs, felt the bed sag as he climbed back on it. She opened her eyes to watch him tear open a condom he’d pulled from his wallet and roll it onto his hard, thick erection.
“I really need you. I can’t wait much longer,” he said through gritted teeth. His expression was feral but, oddly, didn’t frighten her. Instead, the desire on his face woke up her slumbering female parts with a call to action. Despite having just finished a marathon hike, they stood at attention and were ready to go again.
Who would’ve thought this man could bring out the woman in her she hadn’t known existed?
“Take me now,” she pleaded, and reached for him. He didn’t hesitate, and came to her, his larger body covering hers as he pushed inside her. He took it slow, as if worried her might hurt her, for which she was grateful. Jared was large enough that her body needed time to adjust. He gave her that time. She could see how hard it was for him to hold back. His teeth were gritted and his jaw clenched. His eyes were dark with lust.
She marveled at her lack of fear of this man, even though he was powerful and built like a male fitness model, with hard muscles and well-defined abs. His biceps strained with the strength it took to hold his body above hers.
He filled her, not just her body, but every other empty place, and she welcomed him. Steph rolled her head back on the pillow, reveling in how he felt inside her. When he started moving, she swore she’d come apart again, but if he could control himself, she would control herself.
His thrusts came slow and deep. How he did it, she would never know. She wrapped her legs around his thighs and her arms around his waist. He lowered his head and kissed her, claiming her with his mouth at the same time he was claiming her with his body.
She gave herself up to him, all of her. She’d never done that before, and she hoped he recognized her surrender for the gift it was. Jared’s thrusts came harder and faster, and Steph moved closer and closer to the edge one more time. She welcomed her release this time instead of fearing the overwhelming tide of emotions. Jared pushed a final time. His body went rigid, and he shouted her name. Steph came too. This time fireworks flashed behind her closed eyelids. The Fourth of July would never look the same to her.