Redline Lover: Take Me, Lover, Book 1

by Charlene Teglia

  “Bald is sexy. You want proof? Vin Diesel.”

  “Stop. He’s a man. Men and sexy are not concepts I put together.”

  “Women think he’s sexy. Am I right, Maggie?”

  Maggie? Adam bit back a curse. He’d meant to stop in time to clean up before she arrived.

  “Right about what?”

  Yes, that was Maggie’s voice. His body reacted to it instantly.

  “Vin Diesel. Women think he’s sexy. Tell Adam over there that bald is beautiful.”

  “I don’t think Adam is going to shave his head even if I tell him how many times I rented The Fast and The Furious.”

  “No. He’s not going to shave his head.” Adam pushed his way clear and stood. “And you, Mr. Clean, can tell me how beautiful it is to be bald in January when you can’t find your wool hat.”

  His eyes swung to Maggie. She was wearing jeans and a striped Oxford style shirt that buttoned almost to the collar. She’d left it open at the throat with the shirt untucked. He wondered if she knew she looked like an invitation to undo the rest of those buttons and see what was underneath.

  “Maggie.” He’d meant to say something more than her name but what, exactly, escaped him.

  “Adam.” She tried to smile, and it looked as stiff and uncomfortable as her movements had been last night. Pete became very busy with his task, almost comical in his attempt to be inconspicuous.

  “Come on.” Adam jerked his head in the direction of the stairs and led the way, trusting her to follow. If Maggie had changed her mind, she wouldn’t have shown up. Maybe subconsciously he’d expected her to back out, so he’d kept working past the time he should have stopped. But she was here. And after he’d told her what to expect if she came.

  Every part of him felt tight and on edge as he thought about having Maggie, rough and hard and right now. His hands curled into fists to keep himself from reaching for her.

  He stopped at the top of the stairs and stepped to the side, letting Maggie be first to go into his apartment above the garage. Then he followed her in. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll just be a minute.”

  Then he went to strip off his coverall and make himself presentable.

  When he went to rejoin her, Adam found Maggie standing in the bedroom, her arms wrapped around her stomach as she stared at the bed.

  “You don’t have to do this, you know.” Part of him wanted to take the words back, to push her down on that bed and trap her between the mattress and his body, but if she had any reservations he’d rather find out now. Before he got his hands on her.

  “Yes, I do.” Maggie turned to face him and reached for the first button on her shirt. She undid it and moved on to the next.

  He watched in silence as she undressed herself for him. He fought the urge to take over the task. Her way guaranteed that she’d be able to button the shirt back up when she left. His way, she’d have to borrow one from him and that would erase any doubt anybody might have about what they’d been doing during his lunch hour.

  Maggie finished with the shirt and moved on to her jeans, then her bra, her hands quick and efficient despite their visible trembling.

  “You can leave that if you want,” Adam said. His voice came out harsher than he intended, and Maggie’s head came up, her eyes wide. She froze with her hands behind her back where her bra hooked.

  “Adam?”

  She sounded uncertain, and he wanted to kick himself for making her even more nervous. “I’d rather see you naked, but if you want to keep that on, you can.”

  Yeah, that would put her right at ease. Christ.

  But Maggie finished freeing the hooks and let the bra slide off her arms and away, giving him an unimpeded view of her bare breasts. While he feasted his eyes on her, she slid her panties down her hips and stepped out of them.

  For a minute, he didn’t dare move. The sight of Maggie naked in his bedroom made him ravenous and wild and he didn’t trust himself to get any closer to her.

  He realized his silence and immobility were making her more nervous when she wrapped her arms around herself again and cupped her hands to shield vital parts from his view.

  “No. Put your hands down.” His voice was still too rough, but that couldn’t be helped.

  Maggie complied, then turned and climbed into the bed. She pulled the covers up and sat there, looking at him. Her eyes looked huge in her pale face. Then her lips compressed and her jaw tightened.

  “Stop looming,” she said, jerking her chin at him. “You said come at lunch time. You said you wouldn’t be gentle and I shouldn’t come if I couldn’t handle that. Fine. I’m here. I’m naked. Why are you still dressed? If you don’t want me anymore, Adam Richards, I’m going to throw something at your head for standing there and watching me take it all off just so I’d be more vulnerable when you rejected me. If this is your idea of payback for that stupid note—”

  His mouth cut her words off. His kiss cut her breath off. His hands found the covers and yanked them down so he could pull her close without the barrier of too much fabric between them. His clothes were still in the way, though. Adam broke off the kiss and let her go long enough to get naked.

  He caught the way her eyes dipped down to take in all of him, the flush that spread over her skin, and the sweep of her tongue over her lower lip as she stared unabashed at the rigid proof that he still wanted her, right now, right where she was. It made him harder and left him hanging on to the last shred of his control with an iron will.

  “Maggie. Drawer.”

  She blinked at him, comprehension in eyes gone passion-dark, and reached over to open the bedside table’s drawer where he’d put a box of condoms last night. She pulled out a packet, ripped it open and rolled it onto him without offering it to him. Taking the opportunity to touch him.

  “I should be doing that,” Adam gritted out as she cupped the base of his cock and stroked the length.

  “I thought you wanted me to.”

  “Not the condom.” Adam put his hands on Maggie’s shoulders and urged her down onto her back. “I should be touching you. Getting you ready.”

  “Oh.” She sank down and slid her legs apart in silent invitation. Adam planted his knees between hers and settled the length of his body over hers, covering her with himself.

  “Oh” was right. Adam kissed her again. Her lips were so soft under his. All of her was soft under him, and one part of her was softest, slick and inviting and ready for him after all. His cock nudged between her legs and the head of his shaft pressed into her folds, her readiness easing the way.

  That was all the encouragement he needed to drive all the way inside her. She could have polished technique later. Right now she’d just get him, hard and fast and raw.

  His lips devoured hers. His body took possession of hers as he buried his cock deep into the tight clasp of her cunt. And Maggie gave herself up to him, opening wider, taking more of him. Her legs wrapped around his back and her hands fisted in his short hair. She kissed him back with fierce hunger, arched up into him, lifted her hips to meet his thrusts.

  Maggie. He thought he might have growled her name against her mouth. His kiss turned harder. He took her with rough urgency, fierce possession, claiming and taking everything she had and then demanding more. He felt her break under him, her body bucking against his, the tight inner muscles of her sex gripping his shaft. His own orgasm followed instantly, the release so violent the pleasure was almost pain as he pumped himself into her.

  Afterwards he stayed on top of her, inside her, his forehead resting on hers while they both fought to breathe and slow the thunder of their racing hearts.

  “Maggie.”

  “Adam.” She whispered his name through bruised lips. He levered himself up and touched the soft flesh that was reddened and puffed and swollen from kissing him. Any man who saw her would know what she’d been doing with that mouth and that it belonged to him. He felt a surge of satisfaction at the sight, as if he’d branded her as his, however temporari
ly.

  He kissed her again, gently this time. A tasting, testing kiss, exploring her mouth, coaxing her to explore his. Maggie kissed him back, easily and openly. Her hands moved on him, touching, holding, telling him she liked the feel of him.

  Adam rolled with her until he came to rest on his back, their positions reversed. He speared his fingers into Maggie’s curls and cupped her head, holding her in place while he took the kiss deeper.

  Somewhere in the middle of it, he realized what he was saying to her with his mouth and hands and body. Missed you.

  Adam ended the kiss abruptly and set Maggie away from him, then rolled out of the bed. “You can get dressed now.” He left her blinking at him, her eyes dazed and dark, her red curls wild from his hands and his sheets.

  He took enough time in the shower to scrub away any trace of her lingering on his skin and allow her ample opportunity to be gone when he came back.

  Maggie sprawled in the bed, a tangle of hair and limbs and confusion. Was it over? She had little aches in all the right places and the sort of physical high that came from either great sex or Thanksgiving dinner. But whatever she’d expected from their arrangement, wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am wasn’t it.

  Did Adam expect her to be gone when he came back? She’d thought he wanted to go for seconds until suddenly he stopped. Not in the mood for more? Not enough time? Just…not interested? Once more was enough and she was out of his system now?

  He hadn’t exactly been informative when he told her she could get dressed now. Maybe he was planning to leave her a note. Payback after all. Although why he’d be upset about that, she still didn’t know.

  She narrowed her eyes at the empty doorway Adam had made his exit through and threw the covers back in a burst of determination. She marched after him and pulled open the bathroom door, then opened the shower curtain enough to stick her head in without letting water splash all over his bathroom floor.

  “Hey.”

  Adam was facing away from her, turned into the shower’s spray. He looked over his shoulder at her sharp word. “What?”

  “You tell me what.” She jerked her chin up. “Was that it? Is it over? Or were you planning to call me later to schedule our next appointment to fuck?”

  Chapter Four

  Instead of answering her, Adam turned and pulled her into the shower with him, then backed her up against the tile. It felt cold against her back, and he was hot against the front of her. The contrast made her hyper aware of the press of Adam’s body into hers, his skin heated and slick from the water.

  “What’s the matter, Maggie? You don’t like being left to wonder?”

  She frowned at him. “What do you mean? Was that supposed to be foreplay? You know, drawing out the uncertainty, keeping me guessing?”

  He stared at her, then shook his head, his face unreadable. “No hidden message. I just need to get back to work.”

  “Oh.” Maggie nodded her understanding. “Got it. Owning the place means you have more responsibility, not less. You can’t just go off for a long lunch when somebody needs their car to get to work tomorrow. Sorry. I should’ve kept better track of the time.”

  When Adam said nothing, she frowned again. “What about lunch? Are you going to eat something? I didn’t mean to get in your way, Adam. You can’t go getting low blood sugar or anything like that. You might let a jack slip and drop a car on your chest.”

  Adam leaned into her and gave a low laugh. “I won’t get low blood sugar, Maggie. I might have a problem with lack of blood to my head if you don’t leave, though.”

  “Oh.” His erection pressed into her belly, hard and fully engorged. “Right. Okay. Well, later, then. Thanks. It was good. Seeing you again, I mean.” She winced and bit her lip. “The sex was good, too. I’ll just shut up and leave now, okay?”

  Maggie reached up to kiss him goodbye, a quick brush of lips on her way out. Adam made a low, growling sound and kissed her back, hard. “Damn right the sex was good.”

  His kiss and the sexy rasp in his voice made her legs go wobbly, so she had to hold onto him for support. Sex with Adam wasn’t just good, it was intense. A whole-body experience that demanded all of her attention and concentration. Sex with Adam was the only thing that had ever left her utterly satisfied and at the same time craving more.

  Like a drug, Maggie realized as she clung to him. First one’s free. Then you’re hooked, and pretty soon you’ll do anything to get your fix.

  She let go of him and fumbled for the shower curtain and escape. “Okay, well, you need to get back to work. And we don’t have a condom in here with us, so I’d better leave now.”

  “There are things we can do without a condom, Maggie.” Adam planted his hands on either side of her, his leg to the outside, boxing her in so she’d have to get past him to get out of the shower.

  “Things.” She stared at him, feeling her eyes go wider and her mouth go dry as she imagined one or two possibilities. “Well, Adam, the problem is that all things with us tend to turn into naked Twister and certain parts have a way of fitting together, so maybe we should just explore those things later, with a box of condoms in easy reach.”

  “You think I can’t take a shower with you without needing a condom?” Adam’s eyes went dark, his face hardened along with his voice, and a warning shiver ran along Maggie’s spine.

  “That wasn’t a challenge or an insult, Adam. I’m just saying we should be safe.”

  “If you want safe, Maggie, stay the hell out of the redline.” Adam’s jaw scraped against her cheek as he spoke. He wedged his other knee between her thighs and pushed forward and upward until her sex gave against the invading pressure. “If you wanted safe, you wouldn’t have come here today and taken off all your clothes. You wouldn’t have been so wild for me in the sack that you didn’t need any foreplay, and you wouldn’t have followed me into the shower, either.”

  “Okay.” She let out her breath and the lack of it left her feeling light and dizzy. “You’re right. Maybe this isn’t safe or smart, but, Adam, that doesn’t mean we have to go for insane just so we can say we have a trifecta.”

  “Maybe smart, safe and sane are overrated. I’m willing to bet that doing what’s safe, or smart, or sane doesn’t leave you feeling satisfied, Maggie. You like the risk. You like what I do to you. And nobody else does it for you like I do. Isn’t that right?”

  Adam’s dark words rasped in her ear as he rode his leg between hers in a deliberate parody of something more. The indirect stimulation of his thigh against her sex, still sensitized from orgasm, made her want him all over again. His chest rubbed against her nipples as he moved. He was touching her everywhere and it wasn’t enough. She wanted his hands and his mouth on her breasts. Wanted to spread her legs wide while his thick shaft filled her pussy.

  Maggie didn’t try to answer. She just reached down and closed her hand around the rigid circumference of his cock. His skin felt velvety soft against her palm, stretched taut with arousal. She explored him with her fingers, tracing the ridge of the head. The first heated rush had been all about urgency. Now she wanted to lose herself in rediscovery.

  She stroked him from head to base, then let her hand glide lower to cup his balls. Her fingers skated over sensitive skin, caressing without exerting pressure, and reached back to stimulate the spot just behind the sac. Adam groaned as his cock jerked in reaction. Knowing she could still affect him the way he affected her was as much a rush as the thrill of physical contact.

  She wrapped her fingers around his shaft again and stroked in rhythm with his leg between hers, both of them moving together without joining their bodies. Adam reached down to search out her clit while she pumped him with her hand. She let out a helpless moan of pleasure and need, grinding her sex against his thigh and his hand.

  “Told you we could do things without a condom,” Adam said. His teeth raked the curve of her neck. Then he moved down. His lips caressed the curve of her breast. His tongue lapped water droplets from the tight bud of
her nipple. He shifted from side to side, teasing each nipple in turn, all the while circling her clit with his fingers, stroking just inside her, drawing away before she gained the amount of pressure or penetration she needed.

  “Things that drive me insane,” Maggie answered, her voice ragged. She took her revenge by varying the tempo of her strokes, fast, slow, harder, tantalizingly soft, not letting him build up to release, either.

  “Sanity is overrated.” Adam kissed his way down to her belly, then lower. Her hand fell away as he kneeled in front of her, cupping her ass with his palms. His mouth replaced his hand between her legs. His tongue flicked hard against her clit, then thrust inside her folds as he tasted her deeply.

  “Adam.” She clutched at him and let his hands and the wall hold her up as he drove her over the edge. She was still quivering with aftershocks when he stood and urged her down, hands tangling in her hair as he guided her mouth to his penis. She parted her lips and he thrust between them.

  Maggie angled her head to take him deeper, loving the taste of him and the slide of his smooth, hard flesh as he rocked in and out. She rimmed the ridge of his head with her tongue, licked the crown and tasted the pre-come that pearled there, tightened her lips around his shaft to heighten the sensation as he fucked her mouth.

  “Maggie.” His hips moved faster and his thrusts grew more urgent. “Suck harder. Suck me while I come.”

  He was already coming as he rasped out what he wanted from her, pumping himself into her. Maggie increased the suction she was giving him, her mouth tight around him as she relaxed her throat to take him deeper. She swallowed, then let her mouth open a little as she continued to lick and suck while he shuddered from the intensity, pushing himself between her lips as if he couldn’t get enough.

  He cradled her head in his hands and stroked her hair while the water beat down on them both. When it started to run cold, he shut it off and pulled her to her feet. She moved into his arms as he wrapped them around her, and for a long minute they just stood there, holding each other. Maggie pressed her cheek against his chest, listening to his heart, feeling the warmth of his skin and the strength of his body against hers, still tasting him on her tongue.