Crowd Pleaser

by Marie James

  “The cameras aren’t rolling any longer,” I remind him.

  “Good point,” he growls.

  The next thing I know, my naked body is against his shirtless chest, his fingers are tangled in my messy hair, and his mouth is covering mine. I’ll never get enough of the swipe of his tongue against mine or the playful way he nips at my lips. It’s like he knows I feel the echo of it in my core.

  “What was that for?” I pant, breathless and shaking in his arms. Scared is the best word for how I’m feeling right now. Scared of what I feel, scared of what Jake means to me, scared of how broken I’m going to be when it’s over.

  Jake leans his still sweaty forehead against mine. “Let me buy you a drink?”

  I chuckle, running my hand down the rough stubble on his cheek. “The drinks are free for us.”

  “Then I’ll buy you two.” He beams, the bright white smile contagious until I’m smiling back.

  “Seriously, baby.” Fuck, I love it when he calls me that. “I want to dance with you. Do more than just fuck you in front of these people.”

  “So romantic,” I say, mouth parting for his tongue when he leans in closer. “How can I ever turn down such a glamorous offer?”

  He pecks at my lips one more time. “Get dressed, and I’ll grab drinks.”

  He kisses me again, almost like his lips against mine is a compulsion he’s unable to fight.

  “Meet me on the dance floor.”

  “Aren’t you going to put on another shirt?” I ask following him around the partition into the main area of the bathroom.

  He turns that amazing smile back in my direction as he reaches for the doorknob. “Some chick managed to get away with it.”

  I’m laughing and dressing as quickly as I can, the need to have his body near mine again making me clumsy. I end up with my arm through the neck hole of my tank top, but before long I’m clothed and heading out of the bathroom.

  “Hot as fuck scene tonight,” Joey says pushing himself off of the wall when I exit. “I gave Jake your cut of tonight’s door. Didn’t think you’d mind.”

  “I don’t. Did you see which way he went?”

  Joey points into the throng of people before telling me to be safe and wishing me a good night. I find my messy-haired lover leaning against a concrete column with a drink in each hand.

  “You didn’t roofie me did you?”

  His smile falters for a brief second before he turns it into that mischievous smirk that is only second best to the cocky one I love so much.

  “Are you saying I’d have to drug you to get between those exquisite thighs of yours?”

  “Never,” I say walking into the circle of his arms when he opens them for me. “I’d be insane to run off that miraculous cock of yours.”

  We kiss like we have all the time in the world. Nothing exists except the two of us at this moment, much like when we were on the bed earlier. I’m drunk on his lips by the time he pulls his head back a few inches.

  “Take this so I can get my hands on you.” He offers me what looks like a cosmopolitan if the color and martini glass are any indication.

  “No thanks,” I tell him and set the glass on the table on the other side of the column we’re leaning against.

  “You can trust me,” he vows. “I wouldn’t drug you. I saw the cranberry juice in your fridge when I was over there. I took a leap, but if you want something diff—”

  Pressing the tip of my finger against his lips, I stop his words. “I didn’t pregame with Joey, and I don’t want a damn thing clouding my mind tonight. I want to be drunk on you. Your mouth.” I kiss him and pull his own drink from his hand and set it beside mine on the table. “Your hands. The hardness of every inch of your body. I don’t want anything in my system but you.”

  He groans when I cover my mouth with his, hands finding the nape of my neck to grip and dictate the force of the kiss I started but he’s hell-bent on finishing. His hips begin to move, and it isn’t until he pulls away so we can both catch our breaths that I realize he’s in perfect rhythm to the beat pounding out of the speakers around the room.

  “You’re not bad,” I praise as he dips lower and slides his thigh between mine.

  I’m practically on my tiptoes even in my heels because of our height difference.

  “I need to apologize.”

  I shake my head, having too much fun for it to be ruined by that serious of a conversation. The last thing I need is for him to confess his regret over what he told me in the diner.

  “I shouldn’t have ignored you this week,” he continues anyway. “I shouldn’t have been an asshole earlier at Naughty Bits.”

  I press my face into his sweating neck, wondering if he can feel the smile on my face.

  He lifts his shoulder, indicating that he wants my attention. Little does he know he has every bit of it. He commands my body, on this dance floor, in private, in any SCP staged scene. He fucking owns me.

  Seriousness marks his brow when I lift my head and look into his eyes. “Forgive me?”

  One brief nod of my head is all I manage before his mouth crashes against mine. In the next second, he’s lifting me, forcing my legs around his waist and my back against the nearby concrete column.

  “I want to be inside of you,” he murmurs against my lips.

  My hands are working the zipper on his jeans before he can even get the full sentence out.

  “Not here,” he says pressing hard enough against me that I can feel the throb of his erection against my trapped hands. “Take me home with you.”

  My smile is the only answer he needs before he’s carrying me through the warehouse and out to the parking lot.

  The only words that are spoken are to confirm that he rode with Hunter and where my Rover is parked. My breaths are so deep on the drive to my condo, an attempt to keep myself from forcing into a parking lot and fucking him senseless, my window is fogged up to the point I can no longer see out of it by the time we arrive.

  We don’t touch, not even the brush of a hand as we climb out and walk to the door. There’s not a whisper between us as I unlock it and gain entry.

  But, the second that door closes us in, I’m in attack mode. My hands are toying with the light dusting of hair on his bare chest, my mouth angled perfectly for his.

  “Randi,” he groans against my mouth. I know he’s feeling it too, but then his hands are gripping my upper arms and rather than pulling me against him or ripping my clothes off my body, he’s easing me away. “Let me walk the dog.”

  “We can do it later,” I insist, my mouth inching closer to his.

  “He’s throwing a fit.”

  “Seriously?” I don’t even bother to hide the disappointment in my voice.

  “Baby.” I lean into the brush of his hand as he pushes a lock of hair behind my ear. “Once I get started, I’m not stopping until the sun is cresting over the horizon. It has to be done now.”

  I bite my lip to keep my smile from spreading the full width of my face.

  “Now go grab a quick shower, but don’t bother getting dressed. Wait for me on the bed.”

  I don’t even acknowledge the destructive puppy as I haul ass past his living room kennel on my way to the bathroom.

  Chapter 28

  Jake

  “Do you even have any idea how gorgeous you are?”

  Soft, sleepy eyes peer up at me from behind a cloud of dark hair. “Careful, if you keep telling me that I’m going to start believing it.”

  “Most girls would either take the compliment or fish for more.” I push her hair behind her ear, exposing more of her face.

  “I guess I’m not like most girls then.”

  Pinching her chin between my thumb and forefinger, I tilt her head up until she’s looking back at me.

  “You are unlike any woman I’ve ever met.”

  A weak smile is all she manages, and I can see sadness floating in her eyes.

  “And this Randi is very different from Cici.” She winc
es, but I continue. “The dirty talking chick that rode my cock last night in front of hundreds of people has nothing on the woman I made love to last night in this bed.”

  “The dirty talk and roughness get my partner harder. They like it hard, and since they come quicker than if I were taking a leisurely ride on their dicks, I give them what they want.”

  She pulls her face from the tender pinch of my fingers, and I’m left staring at her naked back as she leaves me to go into the bathroom.

  “What the fuck just happened?” I mutter to myself.

  I stew on the bed, running our conversation through my head until I hear the shower cut on. Listening to the water lasts less than a minute before I’m on my feet and walking into her bathroom like I own the place.

  “Privacy much?” she asks with brows drawn when I step around the tiled wall of her private shower.

  “Nice,” I praise, more her nakedness than the custom shower with multiple showerheads as I step into her.

  “Some luxuries I just can’t live without,” she confesses.

  Her body stiffens when I press against her, but I refuse to let her pull away from me.

  “Why did you storm off?”

  She shakes her head, the refusal to answer just another way she’s putting emotional distance between us.

  “Tell me that you know I’m nothing like the other guys you’ve made videos with,” I urge.

  She turns in my arms, giving me her back and remaining silent.

  “For the record,” I breathe against her wet shoulder. “I like it rough and fast, but I also love it soft and slow.”

  My hands bracket her waist before meeting on her stomach and inching lower. Smiling against her damp hair, I hold her closer when she leans into me. I know she can feel the length of my cock, hard and ready against her back. The slow circle of her hips beg me to touch her from the front and fill her from the back. I won’t do either. As much as I’d love to sink inside of her, the physical part of our relationship isn’t where the roadblocks are.

  “Please,” she pants, nearly breathless under the cascading water. “Touch me.”

  “You didn’t answer my question. Why did you storm off?” My fingers press against the jut of her hips bones.

  She sighs, trying to step away from me. I allow about six inches of distance before I press the front of her body against the wall.

  “Talk to me,” I plead in her ear.

  “Why can’t I be both?” she finally answers.

  “Both what?” I ask confused.

  “The wild and dirty girl and the soft and slow girl.”

  “Are you not listening to me? I said I love them both. The hard and fast.” I punctuate my words with quick circles on her clit before slowing them down and whispering my thumb over her. “And the soft and slow.”

  “Yes,” she moans.

  I continue the pattern, teasing, toying, and tormenting her for long minutes before finally letting her come. She’s boneless in my arms, so I do the only thing I can think of, turning her around and kissing her until she’s begging me to take her back to her room.

  “We can spend the day here,” she suggests.

  “We need to get out of this apartment,” I counter. “I’m starving.”

  She raises her eyebrow, teeth digging into her bottom lip.

  “If I could live off of eating your pussy, I’d never leave,” I vow. “But I’m hungry, Havoc needs to go for a walk, and that sweet cunt of yours is only going to get sweeter. We might as well knock out the first two issues before I spend my evening in, on, and devouring the third.”

  Smiling, she reaches past me to turn off the water. “Fine, but we grab the food to go.”

  I chuckle, following her out of the shower and taking the fluffy towel she offers.

  “Son of a bitch,” she mutters. Bending down, I watch her pick up a scrap of lace from the floor. “Havoc is going to end up at the pound if he doesn’t stop this shit.”

  “He’s pulling your clothes from the hamper?”

  She glares at me over my shoulder. “He’s eating the crotch out of very expensive lingerie.”

  “Have you smelled your pussy?”

  She rounds on me, hands clenched into fists as if she’s about to knock me out.

  Dropping my towel, I hold my hands up in surrender.

  “I just mean, it’s fucking fantastic. I’m human, and even I’ve been tempted to eat your panties.”

  She snorts. “Ridiculous.”

  ***

  “What’s this?” Randi asks when I hand her the envelope.

  “Your part of the cover charges.”

  Holding it low in her lap, she opens it and counts. “I’d forgotten all about this. I’ve never once thought to ask for part of the cover charge. Thanks for that.”

  “Be thankful I’m an honest person,” I joke. “I could’ve used it as a down payment on that motorcycle I’ve been eyeing.”

  She smiles at my words, eyes still counting the money. “This is over six thousand dollars.”

  I swallow when she looks up at me. A smile is playing on her lips, but I don’t miss the confusion in her eyes.

  “They were charging a crazy amount at the door,” I offer with the hope that she’ll just let it go. “Too bad it wasn’t electronic. It’d make it easier to pay on the condo.”

  “That’s true, but I can drop it off at my bank. Cash deposits are immediate.” Questions averted, I watch as she shoves the thick envelope into her small purse. “What are you going to do with yours? Six thousand is a pretty hefty chunk. You can still get that motorcycle.”

  “We’ll see,” I say noncommittally as I reach down to scratch Havoc’s head. “I’m thinking of the bacon cheeseburger. Anything catch your eye?”

  Randi looks back down at her menu, teeth toying with her lip as she decides. Luckily, the small café we stopped at didn’t blink an eye when Havoc joined us on the patio. The dog, having been chastised to the point of lowering his ears, hasn’t acted up once since we left her condo. He’s a lot smarter than she gives him credit for, and he’s very aware that right now isn’t the time to press his luck.

  She sighs, pulling my eyes from the colorful menu. “Why do I always want soup when it’s so damn hot?”

  “I’m the same way, sort of. I never want ice cream until the ground is frozen in winter.” I shrug.

  Over the course of our lunch, she receives several texts. I don’t realize the distance still between us until she laughs and smiles down at her phone, but never offers to tell me what’s so funny or share anything with me. The distance she insists stay between us is gut-wrenching. I know she may not be doing it purposely, but I’m very aware of it.

  I grin when she laughs, unable to help the curve of my lips at her girl-like giggle. I want to bring up the after, but I fight the urge to continue the conversation we had weeks ago about her plans going forward when our contract is up. I don’t imagine anything has changed for her.

  I slip Havoc another French fry when he whimpers for the third time.

  Eventually, her phone goes back into her small purse, and she looks up at me.

  “I just remembered we were supposed to get this food to go.” Tongue sweeping her lower lip, she grins. “I recall some promises you made about how our day was going to go.”

  My cock thickens in my jeans. Of course it does. She’s ridiculously sexy, and my brain can conjure the sounds she makes when she comes right out of thin air with little to no effort, but as much as I want to sink inside of her right here at this outdoor café, I’m already too invested to let everything be just about sex.

  Paying the bill, we begin the fifteen-minute walk back to her apartment. Havoc, failing to get between us on the sidewalk settles for walking beside Randi. Her fingers toy with the t-shirt I borrowed from her. I wanted to question why she even had another man’s shirt in her condo, but I pulled back at the last minute because I know that type of jealousy will only solidify her already strong anti-relationship feelings.<
br />
  “Why are you stopping?” she asks when we reach the threshold of her condo and I don’t make an attempt to go inside with her. “The bed is calling us.”

  “I’m not climbing into bed with you.” I peck her lips to ease the rejection.

  “The couch? The dining room table? Kitchen counter? I’m down for any of it,” she offers.

  “I’ve had something come up,” I lie. “I’ll have to take a rain check.”

  Frowning, she studies my face. “Yeah, I guess that’s for the best. Don’t want to waste another fuck in private. Might as well save it for SCP’s cameras.”

  Talk about stabbing me in the gut. Fuck sticks and stones, those words just gutted me.

  Is this how the chicks feel in the morning when Hunter shuffles them out of my bed? I sure as fuck hope not because this sucks.

  “Goodbye, Randi.”

  I do my best to walk away. I even make it so far as to have my back turned in her direction, but my need for her is stronger.

  Before I can question my actions, my hands are tangled in her hair, my lips commanding hers. She whimpers when I press her against the doorframe, the sound shooting straight to my cock. The crazy thing is, it’s the soft way her hand feels against my cheek as my tongue battles with hers in slow sensual licks that commands my focus.

  “Bye.” I pant as I pull my mouth from hers.

  “See you at work,” she offers my back as I walk away.

  Chapter 29

  Randi

  “Why do I even bother?” I ask the mirror as I apply another swipe of dark shadow to my smoky eye. “It’s not like he’s even bothered to call or respond to a damn text message all week.”

  Havoc barks in solidarity.

  “Exactly,” I mutter, my agitation strengthened by just saying the words. “He didn’t have to bother playing games. I signed the damn contract. Jake’s an asshole just like the rest of them.”

  Whimpering, Havoc lowers his head as if he’s refusing to agree with my statement.

  “Traitor,” I accuse before swiping on bright red lipstick and grabbing my keys.

  I look over the apartment, making sure there isn’t anything laying around that he’ll tear up.