Bring It On (The Exes #5)

by Cheryl Douglas

  “He wouldn’t let me. Didn’t want to pleasure me that way either,” she said before taking me deeper.

  I was about to lose control and not because I was hovering on the cusp because of the wicked things her tongue was doing to me. I was gonna lose it ‘cause she was still thinking about another man when she had me in her mouth. I hauled her up and backed her into the couch. I’d drive all thoughts of that fucker out of head. Literally.

  “Lie down,” I said, kicking off the rest of my clothes. I reached for her jeans and unsnapped them before hauling them down her legs along with her panties. “Top off. Now.”

  Her eyes were wide, but she didn’t hesitate.

  “Bra too.”

  She snapped the front closure before tossing it aside.

  “You don’t get to be with me and think of him. That’s not the way this works, Jazzy.” I leaned over her, edging my thighs between her legs as I supported my weight on my fists.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

  “You don’t think it tears me up, knowing you left me for someone else?”

  “I didn’t leave you for him. I—”

  I cut off her claim with the hard, rough, possessive kiss she’d asked for earlier. I was taking back what was mine and I’d destroy anyone who tried to get in my way. She needed to know that. I needed her to feel that, to experience it in every touch, in every word I said and didn’t say. She needed to know she was mine.

  I cupped her mound possessively as I kissed her, swiping my finger between her wet folds. “Mine,” I growled. If I’d said that before, maybe she wouldn’t have been so quick to think she could leave me without a second thought. It still irked me that she’d tossed me away so easily, as though all the months we’d spent together meant nothing to her. “This sweet fucking body is mine, Jazzy. You got that? You don’t get to come here and use me… use my body to forget him. If that’s what you want, there’s the door.”

  Offering her an out was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do, but I wasn’t going to let her break my heart again.

  She shook her head slowly as though she was trying to make sense of what I was saying. “I don’t want to do that.”

  “He doesn’t exist when you’re with me. You cry over him on your own time.” I sounded like a heartless bastard, but I’d make sure she was so caught up in me, she didn’t have the time or energy to cry over him.

  “I’m done crying over him.”

  No, she wasn’t. I’d dried her tears tonight. But I wouldn’t do it again. She wouldn’t cry over that prick in my presence again.

  “And if you think this is a one-and-done deal, think again. You want this, you want me, it won’t be just one night. You’ll be mine.” I didn’t give her a chance to respond before I kissed her again. My weight pressed her back into the soft cushions, overwhelming her, reminding her that when we were together, no one and nothing else existed. “You want that, baby? You wanna be mine?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, curling her leg around my mine, digging her heel into my spine.

  “I can’t hear you,” I said, tugging her hair just enough to give her that bite of pain and pleasure I knew she loved. “Say it.”

  “I want to be yours.” She shuddered when she said the words, as though saying them cost her so much.

  I curled my hand around her breast, tweaking her rosy nipple. “This is mine?” I flicked my tongue over the peak before drawing it into my mouth. “All mine?”

  She arched her back, forcing herself into my mouth. “God, yes.”

  “And this is mine?” I asked, letting my free hand trail down her body to that delicious apex between her thighs. I teased her with my fingertip, grazing that sensitive bud and making her cry out, begging for more without saying the words.

  “Yes.”

  “Tell me.” I wasn’t letting her off easy. Not this time. I’d made that mistake last time. I’d made it too easy for her to walk away. If I let her know this time how much I wanted her, how much I needed her, maybe she wouldn’t walk away again.

  “Yours,” she whispered on a broken sob. “Please, Carter. God. I need to feel your hands, your mouth on me.” Her hand seized my wrist, her eyes wild. “I need you to be buried so deep inside of me, I can’t breathe.”

  Fuuuucccckkkk. She was killing me. I wanted to be in control, but that was just an illusion with this girl. She owned me. She just didn’t know it yet. A few words and she could make me say or do anything she wanted.

  I dropped wet kisses all the way down her torso as her nails grazed my scalp. My sofa was a sectional, giving me plenty of room to stretch out and get comfortable… between her legs. I inhaled deeply, taking in her unique scent. My dick twitched in response. I felt as if every cell of my body remembered this girl and wanted her back.

  “Carter…” She was begging with that one little word. My name. And I fucking loved it.

  “Don’t worry, baby.” I kissed her soft inner thighs. “You know I’ll take care of you. I always do.” And loved every second of it. Being between her legs, whether it was my big head or little one, was my favorite place on the planet to be.

  “I need you. Carter. God. I’ve never needed anyone like this. My body…” She ran her hands over her full breasts. “It’s so hot. You’ve barely touched me and I’m already so close, like I’m tingling all over.”

  I loved knowing she was as turned on as I was. My girl loved sex almost as much as I did, and when we came together, it was explosive.

  “I want you so hot you’re burning up, gorgeous.” One long swipe of my tongue made her yelp, and another made her scream. “I want to watch your sexy little body tremble…” I hooked a finger inside her, watching her silent scream with satisfaction. “I want to taste you on my tongue, throbbing…”

  She moaned, circling her hips as she tried to force me to go down on her.

  My mouth was watering, but I believed in taking the upper hand when it was given to me. “Telling me who you want, Jazzy. Who you need.” I spread her, circling her with my tongue.

  “You. God, Carter, it’s always been you.”

  That little admission earned her another finger. “Yeah? Tell me more, baby.”

  “I’d touch myself and think about you.” She was beginning to see how this game worked. She gasped when I thrust my fingers in and out, stretching and filling her when I added another finger as I worked her over with my tongue.

  “More.” I wanted to hear every last detail. I wanted to know she’d spent as much time thinking about me as I had her. I wanted to know it was my body she fantasized about, my arms she wanted to feel wrapped around her when she woke up in the morning.

  “I’d come thinking about you. All the time.”

  “Fuck.” I didn’t know if I should be turned on or offended that she’d fucked her fiancé while thinking about me. But as far as I was concerned, that sealed the deal. She didn’t need another man who couldn’t satisfy her or couldn’t be faithful to her. All she needed was me. That was all she’d ever need.

  Chapter Three

  Jasmine

  I couldn’t breathe and didn’t want to. If my heart stopped beating right now, I’d die happy… with Carter’s gorgeous face buried between my legs and making me feel like the sexiest, most desirable woman he’d ever seen. That was what I’d missed the most about this man. The undivided attention. When he was with me, he was with me in every way. He wasn’t scanning his phone or pretending to listen. He wasn’t interested in sex for a one-and-done orgasm. He was all in. And I fucking loved it.

  “Don’t stop,” I pleaded, rolling my hips as I dug my fingers into his silky dark hair. It was thick and slightly wavy, curling over his collar or sticking out of the back of his helmet when he glided around the ice.

  “Never,” he whispered, lapping at me.

  I knew he meant it. Carter always put my pleasure first. He was the most generous lover I’d ever had, hands down, and being with him again made me wonder how I’d ever left him.
/>   “Babe… oh… fu—”

  I didn’t have to tell him. He knew. I felt it in the way his grip intensified, as though he wanted me to surrender to pleasure instead of fighting it. He didn’t let me move. I had to stay still and let it roll through me, gripping me hard and tight before finally releasing me.

  He dropped kisses everywhere as he moved up my body before finally claiming my mouth. I wrapped my arms around him and held on tight, kissing him until tears were slipping down my cheeks again.

  He pulled back and touched my cheek. His fingers came away damp. The look on his face was dark and dangerous when he said, “Jazzy, I swear to God, if you’re crying over that bastard again—”

  “I’m not,” I whispered, grazing the stubble on his jaw with my fingertips. “This has nothing to do with him. This is about you. And me. And how good it feels to be back here…” In your arms. And your life.

  A grin transformed his face. “I still don’t want to see you cry,” he said, brushing my tears away with his index finger. “But if you’re telling me these tears are because I make you happy, I can live with that.”

  “They are.” I smiled. “And you do.”

  He’d always made me happy. That had never been our problem. I’d cut ties with him because I was getting in too deep and if I allowed our relationship to continue any longer, the damage to my heart would have been irreparable. I knew I was taking the same risk now, but after all I’d endured with Alex, I felt stronger, like no man could ever break me again. Unless I let him.

  “You’re beautiful, Jas.”

  His smile was soft, his beautiful caramel eyes sincere, and I didn’t wonder how many women he’d said that to. I just reveled in the compliment and the way it made me feel. “Thank you.”

  His lips skimmed my cheek, making me shiver. “Shall we take this to the bedroom?”

  “Hmmm, sure.” That was where I’d always felt closest to him. Where I’d fallen asleep and woken up in his arms. Where a few times, with the morning light streaming through the window, I thought I’d seen something akin to love in his eyes… until he cracked a joke and tapped my ass before slipping out of bed.

  He got up and took my hand, pulling me against his chest. He was huge in every way, making me feel protected as he wrapped his strong arms around me. I sighed contentedly against his chest, wrapping my arms around his inked back. He was hard and so obviously aroused, but he seemed in no hurry. He just held me, as if that was as important to him as being inside me.

  “Let’s go, baby,” he said before kissing the top of my head. “I need to lie down beside you, to wrap my arms around you again. God, I’ve missed that.”

  I’d missed that too. Alex hadn’t been much of a cuddler. He liked to lie on his back and always rolled away when I tried to slip into his arms in the middle of the night. Ugh! Carter was right. There was no place in my mind for my ex when I was with him.

  I paused in the doorway of his large master suite, taking in all the changes. The designer had added beautiful mismatched pieces of furniture to accent the large four-poster bed. Nightstands, an upholstered bench at the end of the bed, two chests of drawers, a creamy white duvet, and silk curtains. Even a few framed photos of family and friends, with stacked books and lamps.

  “I love it,” I said, smiling. The room now looked comfortable and cozy, like the perfect place to wake up on a Sunday morning. Not that I wanted to get too far ahead of myself. Carter had made a lot of noise about “claiming” me, but for all I knew, that could be for effect, to get me more turned on. As if that was necessary.

  “I’m glad.” He brought my hand to his lips. “I’m kind of hoping you’ll want to spend a lot of time here with me.”

  I giggled, trying not to let his words get to me. “I bet you say that to all the girls, Wells.”

  “Hey.” He shifted so he was standing in front of me. “Listen to me, I don’t bring other girls home. And they sure as hell don’t share my bed.”

  “What?”

  He must be joking. Surely he didn’t mean to imply I was the last woman he’d had sex with in this bed? That was impossible. We hadn’t been together in three years!

  “In my position, you can’t just bring random girls home. I told you, I haven’t had a girlfriend since you dumped me.”

  “Carter, I didn’t dump you. We weren’t even, well, you know.”

  He frowned. “No, I don’t know. You can’t tell me weren’t in a relationship. We talked and texted all the time. Saw each other a couple of nights a week, more during the off-season. We were having sex. What the hell is that if it’s not a relationship?”

  He had a point. We’d even gone out on dates. Sometimes double dates with his friends or mine. I’d even met his family and he’d met mine. Shit. Maybe we had been in a relationship and I’d been too blind to see it because I’d convinced myself he was fucking other girls on the road.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, feeling like a bitch for leaving him high and dry. “You deserved better. You deserved an explanation. I shouldn’t have just stopped returning your calls, but…” I felt so vulnerable. We were standing in the middle of his bedroom, stark naked, and we hadn’t even had sex yet. I needed to be hidden under the covers for this conversation. “Um, do you mind if we talk about this in bed?”

  “Sure.” He moved to the bed and pulled back the covers, gesturing for me to get in.

  I crawled in on my side of the bed. He’d always slept closer to the door while I’d taken the window. I’d teased him that if an intruder ever broke in, they’d get to him before me. And he said they’d have to go through him to get to me ‘cause he’d never let anyone hurt me. Not gonna lie, that made me swoon a little.

  He rolled onto his side, facing me. “You were saying?”

  Okay, so he wasn’t going to let this go. I’d thought maybe once we were in bed, he’d be reminded of all the fun we used to have here and be too distracted to talk. “I was just saying how sorry I was for—”

  “I don’t want an apology. I want an explanation. Was he the reason you stopped seeing me?”

  “No, absolutely not.” I’d never want Carter to think I left him for someone else. “I didn’t even know Alex when I stopped seeing you.”

  “Then why?” he asked, letting his frustration bleed through. “Why the hell would you just stop taking my calls? Stop seeing me? I thought we had something pretty special—”

  “We did,” I said, taking his hand. “It was. That was part of the problem.”

  He pushed his hair off his face roughly, pressing his hand against his forehead. “I don’t get it. Why was that a problem?”

  “Because that’s not what we agreed to. We signed on for fun and casual, right?”

  “Well, yeah, but things change, Jas. When we met, I didn’t know I was gonna fall for you as hard and fast as I did.”

  “You fell for me?” I asked, feeling a little blindsided.

  “Of course I did. How can you not know that?” He cupped my cheek. “Jazzy, didn’t you feel it every time I touched you? Every time I made love to you? I may not have said it in so many words, but I thought it was pretty obvious you had my heart.”

  I’d had his heart? What? He’d definitely had mine, but I’d never imagined I had his. “But I thought you were seeing other women too. Weren’t you? I mean, when your team was one the road… all those puck bunnies?”

  “Why would I give a fuck about puck bunnies when I had you?”

  Yeah, melting here. Damn. How had I been stupid enough to drive this man away? I was so angry at myself for making assumptions and not giving Carter the benefit of the doubt. He deserved better than that. He deserved my trust. And the truth.

  I bit my lip, trying to force words past the lump in my throat. “I was falling in love with you, and that scared me.”

  “Jesus.” He pulled me close, burying his face in my hair. “Girl, don’t you know I was right there with you? I would have told you if you’d given me the chance.”

  “I’m
so sorry.” I’d been so afraid of the risk, I hadn’t even considered the potential rewards. We’d wasted three years being apart when we could have been together. I’d almost married another man… a lying, cheating—No! I wasn’t going to go there. There was no room for that dumbass in this bed with us.

  “Don’t be sorry,” he said, smiling against my lips. “Just don’t ever do it again. From now on, you and me, we’re gonna talk this shit out. But let’s lay some ground rules here and now, okay?”

  I wasn’t big on playing by the rules, but I’d hear him out. “Okay.”

  “If we do this tonight, make love, there’s no one else for me… or you.”

  I smiled. “Are you saying you want me to be your girlfriend?”

  He grinned, catching me off guard. He was so intense most of the time that his sexy, crooked smile felt like the sun breaking through the clouds on a rainy day. “Call it what you want, baby. But you’re mine.”

  “And you’re mine,” I challenged, thinking how crazy it was that I’d gone from a jilted ex-fiancée to someone else’s girlfriend in the span of a week. But Carter wasn’t just someone. He was the man who’d owned my heart once before. And he could again.

  “Absolutely.” He slipped his hand under the duvet. “I don’t know about you, but I’m all talked out.”

  I rolled onto my back, opening my legs when he nudged them apart with his hand. “Oh yeah. Done talking.”

  At least for now. I knew we’d have a lot to work out, but for now, I was exactly where I wanted to be—back in Carter’s bed.

  “So sexy,” he whispered, sliding his fingers over my sex. “I love how responsive you are, baby. So wet and ready for me. Always.”

  It wasn’t hard. One look at him and I was hot. And it wasn’t just his athlete’s body or the ink decorating his back. It wasn’t the faint scars from fights on the ice that gave him that rugged look. It wasn’t those caramel-colored eyes that made me melt, or the flash of white teeth that made me smile. It wasn’t his husky laugh or his confidence. It wasn’t his big fat contract, fancy condo, or fast car. It was the way he looked at me as if he’d never known anyone quite like me.