by Tatum Throne
A pinch of envy rained down on the night. Brine missed having a family. She missed the dinners, the laughter, the love. Right then, she was angry with herself for being so foolish with her heart. She wanted what she knew she could never have again.
She wasn’t angry with Thane. He just didn’t know the entire story of her past. She was quiet on the drive back to her place. She knew she had to say something.
“Why didn’t you tell me we were having dinner with you sister?”
“You wouldn’t have come.”
It was true. She felt manipulated for all the right reasons. Even more reason for her to put distance between her and Thane. It wasn’t safe for her emotional well-being. Men like Thane didn’t stick long. Not when the relationship started out with sex.
When Thane pulled up on the street outside her house, he didn’t bother shutting off the engine. She could take a hint. She could see that he was still upset by the news of Andrew’s infidelity to his sister.
“Thanks for dinner. It was lovely.”
He leaned across the seat, threading his fingers through her long hair. He pulled her close and gave her a passionate kiss on her mouth. “I’ll call you, okay?”
She knew he wouldn’t, but she hoped he would. That one kiss left her feeling dizzy. “Night, Thane.”
Chapter Ten
He didn’t call. She didn’t expect him to but she couldn’t stop herself from wanting him to call her. She was tired of jumping every time the phone rang. Brine was finally heading back into work to talk with Fred. A three-day cool off was plenty of time for Fred to simmer down. At least, she hoped it was.
Her cell phone was ringing by the time she found a parking spot at work.
Thane.
She hated the longing she now had to hear his voice. She put the car in park and grabbed her phone. It was Fred calling. Disappointment spiraled through her body before she put it in check. Thane had gotten what he wanted. Sex. There was nothing else for them to do together.
“Hey, I was going to come up and talk to you. Thane’s going to drop filing the lawsuit. I apologized, and he accepted,” Brine said.
She heard Fred let out a sigh on the other end. “I’m sorry, Brine. We can’t un-ring this bell.”
“I did what you said…there has to be something.”
“Not this time. I’m sorry. I’m going to have to let you go.”
Pain slashed through her body. She really had screwed this up. “I understand. I’m sorry for the trouble, Fred.”
“I’m sorry things had to go this way, too. Take care, kiddo, okay?”
“I will.”
Brine shut off the phone and closed her eyes. Tears flooded her eyes. She wasn’t angry with Fred. He was only doing his job. At this point, she had a better chance at getting struck by lightning than getting another journalism job in this town. What was she supposed to do now? Move? She didn’t want to do that. She would if she had to though.
Having the day off would give Brine way too much time to think about Thane. She started her car. She was heading to the gym to workout.
She needed to do something to make her body forget all about her fleeting time with Thane. She parked her car. Brine felt her hose snag on the corner of the upholstery as she scooted out. She never wore the damn stuff, but the first time she did in years, she managed to have a tunnel running up the back of her thigh. She twisted around, lifting the hem of her skirt. She adjusted the black nylon and it sprinted around her calf. For the love of…
She grabbed her yoga bag from the trunk. If she was lucky, she’d make the Ashtanga yoga class. She needed the rapid movement between poses to keep from thinking and the endurance training to keep from wanting. She’d be exhausted after the two hour class.
The gym was busy with renovations. With the woman at the front desk distracted, Brine headed straight for the women’s locker room. Distracted with thoughts of Thane, Brine pushed open the locker room door and went around the corner to the dressing area.
A man was coming out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist at the same time. He ran into her with a thump.
“Oh!”
Strong hands gripped both of her upper arms. “Brine?”
She looked up into a stormy gaze. “Thane? What the hell are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing. You are in the men’s locker room.”
She pulled away. “I work out here.”
“In the men’s locker room?” he asked.
“No. I…I’m in the wrong room. I must have gotten turned around in the construction detour.”
He looked her up and down. “I see that.”
“Well?” she asked.
He ran a hand through his wet hair. “I work out here, too.”
She couldn’t help but look at the corded muscles on his chest. Water made his eight-pack glisten like oil. That damn tattoo was like a mandala she could meditate on for hours. She was certain that she’d discover all the secrets to the meaning of love if she kept looking at it. Heck, forget meditation, she wanted to be enslaved by him and taken to his castle. She could feel her cheeks flush.
“I should go. I am in the wrong room.”
She turned and he stopped her with a hand on her elbow. “Not so fast. We need to talk.”
“I don’t think there’s anything else for us to talk about.”
“How’s work going?” he asked.
She didn’t say anything. So, he came in close, spinning her around. “Are you still there?”
Their gazes locked. Brine felt something beyond her control pushing them together. “Thane…it’s complicated right now. I can’t talk about it.”
“So this is how you want things to be?” he asked.
He let go and she felt suddenly off balance. “Yes, this is how I want things to be.”
His hands moved up over her arms. “Brine…why won’t you trust me? You can talk to me.”
“I can’t…I have to go.” She pulled away from him and practically sprinted for the door.
He was too tempting, too dangerous. She didn’t make it far before he snatched her around the waist and carried her into a dressing room. Brine’s heart was hammering as he set her on her feet and pulled the curtain closed. They stared at each other for several beats within the shadowy darkness. A heavy bulge pushed against the cotton towel.
“You said you were going to call me,” she said.
“I’ve been busy.”
“Too busy to pick up the phone? I’m not buying it,” she said.
“Janis needed help kicking Andrew out. That okay with you?”
Brine bit her lip. There was a dangerous look in his eyes that she knew she shouldn’t challenge, but sometimes she didn’t know when or how to keep her mouth shut.
“I suppose it is this time.”
Thane flicked the precarious tuck and let the towel fall to the floor. Brine gasped as his hard, thick cock sprang out so fast that it hit his thigh with a solid thunk of skin hitting skin. She reached out and grasped his hard length giving it a twisting stroke. She tugged on him, leading him to the back of the dressing room where she could sit on the wooden bench.
Brine rubbed the tip of Thane’s cock head, stroking out a diamond of dew. He groaned deep within the back of his throat. She reached out and cupped his heavy balls, pinching them up against his skin. His heavy-lidded gaze was intensely watching her every move.
“Brine…”
The sound of her name was a warning whispered between them. This was a dangerous game she knew she was going to lose if she wasn’t very careful. She ringed her fingers and thumb just under the ridge of his cock head. She leaned forward and licked out with her tongue to catch the pre-cum from the tip of his cock.
He shuddered and reached out to thread his fingers through her hair. She sucked in the tip of his head and lavished it with hard sucks. Brine felt her pussy tingle and her nipples harden as they brushed the silken texture of her bra. She stroked her hand down and swirl
ed her tongue around. Thane tightened his hand in her hair, but she didn’t hurry her seduction. Thane growled as she scraped her teeth gently over the tip. Her lips tightened and she sucked harder as she stroked him again. She sensed him bracing his legs wide. She felt his cock pulsate from the erotic attention she was lavishing on it.
She teased his sensitized flesh into a frenzy with her tongue, lips, and hand. She reached around his thigh with her free hand and dug her nails into his ass. He rutted up and Brine felt her thatch quake in anticipation. Thane stilled her head with his fisted hand in her hair. He was throbbing to the point of explosion. After a few seconds, he pulled his wet cock from her hot mouth.
He kneeled down in front of her, smoothing his hands up her legs as he did. His finger caught on the run and he took advantage of the rip. Their gazes locked. She bit her lower lip in anticipation. He dug his fingers into the nylon. He leaned down and ripped them with his teeth and fingers. The nylon ripped down to her ankle and up the inside of her thigh. He tore the nylons from her legs and pushed her skirt up over her hips.
He spread her legs, opening her dripping, wet pussy to his gaze. He licked his tongue over his lower lip.
“You’re my dirty, dirty lover running around with no panties on. You wanted me to find your naked pussy, didn’t you?”
She whimpered in passionate desire as he licked out with his searing tongue over her throbbing clit. He twirled her clitoris with his tongue, sucking it between his teeth. Her pussy contracted.
He lifted his head to look at her erotically. “Answer me.”
The heat of his breath scorched her swollen sex. She nodded. “Yes.”
He licked out one last time with his tongue. “Stand for me.”
She stood on shaky legs. Thane picked up her nylons and ripped them at the crotch. He tied the end around her left wrist and wrapped it around a hook above her head before tying the other end to her right wrist. With her arms above her head, he lifted her left leg and positioned it on the bench. He tied her ankle to the bench with the other piece of nylon. Brine was breathing wrongly as he reached up unbuttoned the first three buttons of her blouse to expose her heaving breasts.
He reached out and pinched her nipples through the red lace, making her body arch up from the wall. Her belly struck his hard cock. He kissed his way over her ear.
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
His tongue dove in her ear, then his teeth nipped at her lobe. “I don’t know…Oh my. What are you doing to me?”
“Concentrate.”
It was too hard to even remember her name when his hands were unsnapping her bra. “What?”
“Tomorrow. You’re coming over to my place at ten sharp.”
She couldn’t think when he slipped his cock back and forth over her slit. “Tomorrow. Okay.”
“If you don’t show, I’ll hunt you down.”
She shivered at the seductive rumble of his voice. “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.”
He reached around and grabbed her ass with both hands, lifting her other leg up around his hip. He centered his cock head on her pussy. “You will.”
He plunged his hard cock into her, making her groan. His mouth swallowed her cry of pleasure before anyone would hear them. Their tongues flicked against each other as he held their bodies tight. She tried to buck but he kept her body still. He muscled his cock around the inside of her pussy without stroking her sex. Brine moaned and broke her lips away from his mouth. He really was talented with his cock.
“Move,” she begged.
“I am.”
“You’re torturing me.”
He stroked out slow, taking his cock all the way out and thrusting up hard again. He ground their bodies together. Her orgasm built strong and fast, taking both of them by surprise. Her eyes were wide on his as she exploded down his shaft. He pumped her, owning her sex in a passionate and rough way. He grew rock hard inside. She felt erotically powerful as he took control of their fucking. He rammed inside one last time sending her pussy over the edge again. His sex pulsed, hardening to steel. Warmth shot up into her sex as he came. God bless the feminist movement for giving women birth control, she thought.
Thane held her close as they both came down from the ride.
Thane used his teeth to untie her wrists. The nylon fluttered around his shoulders as her arms linked around his neck. He lowered them both to the bench where he untied her ankle. Brine sat cowgirl style on him. His hands brushed through her long hair.
Brine sighed as she put her head against his. She felt content. She felt safe. That scared her terribly. She shouldn’t have done this with him again.
“I can tell you’re pulling away from me again.”
Locks of his midnight dark hair tickled her cheek softly. Gentle hands hypnotically massaged her back. She sighed, letting her eyes flutter close. She inhaled the musk of his skin. “I should go before someone catches us.”
“What are they going to say?”
She shrugged. He was right.
“I’m holding you to tomorrow.”
She kissed his neck. His grip tightened around her waist. “I’ll be there.”
“Good.” He centered her mouth in front of him and kissed her passionately. “I want you there.”
Thane helped her back into her heels and helped her dress. Brine picked up his towel and wrapped it around his waist. She was curious about tomorrow, but the sound of a locker slamming made her shy away from questioning him.
He grinned. “Let’s sneak you out of here.”
Seeing Thane tomorrow felt like a gamble she wasn’t sure she wanted to take. The risk was high, but would the return be there? There was too much at stake. She couldn’t hand over her heart to a man who wasn’t interested in anything other than a quick fuck in a changing room. A man that couldn’t even remember to call her.
Brine wasn’t like other women that could shut off emotion during sex. No, when Brine had sex, her heart was always in it, and right now Thane was thoroughly playing with hers. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
Chapter Eleven
There were six cars and a large, black cargo van in front of Thane’s house. She missed her ten o’clock arrival by almost an hour. Nerves had her fretting over what she should wear. She went for casual in jeans. Brine knocked on the front door but there wasn’t any answer. She looked through the front windows and saw the French doors open to the deck. What the hell?
Brine opened the front door and walked around black cases through the living room. On the gallery, photography equipment was positioned around. A professional photographer was taking shots of Thane. Off to the side, a blonde woman had her ear plastered to a cell phone. She stopped midstride in her pacing to look Brine up and down.
Outside, the photographer positioned Thane around and had him cross his arms. Thane smile. He exuded charm and sex appeal. Brine scooted around to catch Thane’s attention. His gaze turned sexual when their eyes met.
“That’s perfect!” the photographer shouted. “I think we got it!”
The woman with the cell phone snapped it shut and came to stand next to Brine. “Please don’t tell me you’re his girlfriend.”
“I’m not his girlfriend.”
The woman laughed. “That’s a relief. I’m going to use Thane for the cover of our magazine. He’s one of the West Coast’s hottest and most eligible bachelors. He’s our number one on our online poll.”
“What magazine?” Brine asked.
“The Environmental.”
Brine knew all about the magazine. They were known for profiling businesses that were environmentally friendly. “Really?”
“Yeah. It took me weeks to convince him to do my interview. Thane doesn’t like to do interviews. He’s humble about what he does. He doesn’t see what the big deal is.”
Oh, ouch. How did she know so much about him? Brine studied the woman more closely. It was obvious she was interested in Thane for more than professional reasons. Her blouse hung open, s
howing lacy lingerie.
Thane looked sexy in his dress pants and button-down shirt. The collar was open just enough to show a hint of his fabulous chest. Brine knew that if she unbuttoned one more she’d get to see his dark chest hair. He came toward her and gave her a kiss on her cheek.
“I’m glad you made it,” he said.
Brine felt irrationally jealous for no reason at all. Why didn’t Thane grant me an interview? She smiled even though it felt forced. “Me, too.”
“Daphne James, I’d like you to meet Brine Torin.”
“Pleasure,” Daphne said. “You ready to do that interview?”
“Let’s get it done.”
Why does he want me here? Brine felt out of place and like an outsider trying to pretend to fit in. Thane and Daphne went to sit down in the living room. A slit in her skirt went up to the middle of her thigh. She sat with her knees nearly brushing the side of his leg on the couch. She pressed a small recorder and started firing off questions. They were laughing and she was touching his knee by the third question. Brine rolled her eyes and moved out of the way as the photographer packed away equipment.
Brine watched Thane closely as Daphne continued to throw herself at him with every curve, flutter, and exotic part of her body.
“Tell me what is it you want in a woman? Or a man,” she added as an afterthought.
Brine felt her shoulders stiffen as Thane’s gaze moved over Miss Tits Perfect in that heavy-lidded, erotic way. She wanted to smack the charm right out of him.
“I think any man would say what he thinks is the right thing to get a woman.” Brine cringed as Daphne laughed. “What I like though isn’t what every other guy is going to like. I like a woman that’s a risk taker and intelligent. Sexy isn’t bad either.”
Brine wanted to stick her tongue out at him.
“What about marriage and kids?” Daphne asked.
“I want both…eventually.”
“Is there a special someone?”