Last Chance

by Natalie Ann

“I like purple. All shades of purple. But this is called eggplant. Make sure you store that away if I ask you what color it is again someday.”

  He laughed. “What I’m going to remember was I had a smoking hot woman in front of me wearing hardly anything at all.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you’ll remember some more.” She tugged him up and quickly dropped his shorts for him, then gave him a little shove back on the bed.

  He went to lie back, but she shook her head for him to stay. Then, without saying a word, she dropped down on her knees in front of him and decided to do what she wanted to that first night. When she wanted to test his control and he stopped her. There would be no stopping her tonight.

  Her fingernails were neatly trimmed and bare of polish, but long enough for him to feel them teasing his flesh as her hands roamed up his outer thighs, then inner.

  He liked to say his bedroom needed to be a place that was calming, something to put him at peace, but he wasn’t calm now. His muscles were tense. His hands were flat on the bedspread, but his fingertips were white.

  She brought her tongue out for a taste and his body jerked back slightly. Not a lot, but enough for her to know he was anticipating something.

  No need to make him wait. Not when she didn’t want to hold off herself.

  She didn’t lick this time, and she didn’t hesitate. She took him all, she took him whole, and his hands went right to her head holding her in place. No pulling her back, no making her wait. Looked like they were both going to get what they wanted.

  He tasted good. He tasted strong and hard and like a man. She didn’t want to control him; she wasn’t trying to do that. What she wanted was to give him something back.

  She was moving up and down, sucking and swirling her tongue, and his hands were telling her what he liked and what he didn’t, so she listened to what he was trying to tell her. She was a fast learner and when she wanted something, she gave it everything she had.

  What she wanted was to blow him away. To show him it wasn’t all about her. That it was about him, too. That it was about being equals.

  She heard his breathing in the deep recesses of her brain, the faint noise that was telling her it wasn’t going to be much longer. That she was pushing him as far as he could go. When he went to pull her head back, she shook his hands off. She’d push him further because she was willing to go there herself.

  His hands dropped away and she knew she was on her own now. A sign he understood? Of maybe he just had nothing else left to hold back.

  She brought her hand around him, nice and slick now and moved it in the same motion with her mouth. His legs were shaking next to her, her knees a little numb, but she wasn’t stopping. Not until she was done. Not until he was finished.

  When his hips lifted higher into her mouth, she knew he was there and added more pressure and more speed until she heard him grunt and then swear.

  ***

  If it wasn’t for the familiar blue walls surrounding him, Trevor would say he was in heaven right now.

  He’d thought she was a wildcat before, but damn, that was nothing compared to what she just did to him. What she just made him feel.

  He heard her throaty laughter before she stood up in front of him, then pushed him onto his back. He was perceptive enough to scoot up the bed this time while she crawled over him and settled onto his hips, her legs spread wide.

  “Am I to guess you aren’t done?” he asked her.

  She smirked. “I’m just getting started.”

  He was going to die tonight. He knew it. “Don’t let me stop you,” he said.

  “I didn’t think that you would.”

  She was rubbing herself up and down the length of him now. The silk of her panties bringing him right back to life. He also realized it was a thong, the feeling of hot wet flesh mixing with cool material doing one hell of a number on him.

  “Am I allowed to touch you?” he asked.

  “I never said you couldn’t.”

  He moved his hands up her ribs, behind her back, unhooked the bra that was holding and lifting her in place, and tossed it to the side. “I like what you’re wearing a lot, but it’s got nothing on what’s inside of it.”

  “You’ve got a smooth way, Trevor.”

  “Speaking of smooth,” he said, his hand moving down between her legs. Damn, he loved that. “Is this something you keep or was it just for me?”

  “Let’s say it was for both of us and something I plan on keeping for a while.”

  “You won’t hear any complaints from me.”

  She laughed again, a little wickedly this time. “I didn’t ask. I wouldn’t. I do what feels good to me when it comes to my body.”

  Since she was sliding all over him while she talked, he was thinking she was telling the truth.

  “I want you to feel good.”

  “Did you?” she asked. “Feel good just now?”

  “I’m surprised you need to even question that.”

  “Just want to be sure,” she said, her own breath catching now.

  He started to pinch the nipples in front of him, watched her close her eyes and enjoy what he was doing. She was a sensual creature, for sure.

  “You better grab a condom quick,” he said, “because I’m not sure I’m going to want to stop to reach over and get one.”

  “I’ve got it covered,” she said.

  “How?”

  “The front of my panties have a little pocket.”

  Talk about being prepared. He pulled it forward and saw the little foil wrapper sitting neatly in the hidden pocket. “You’re full of surprises tonight.”

  “I told you,” she said, taking it out of the pocket before he could grab it.

  She scooted down his legs, opened the wrapper and covered him, then moved back up. “Aren’t you going to take your panties off?”

  “No need,” she said, reaching down, putting her fingers between her slick folds, and moving the material—more like itty-bitty string—to the side. “Easy as pie.” Then she slid right down on top of him before he could say another word.

  There was no time to talk, no time to even think. She was rising up and down on him, controlled and steady. Looking more stable than he was feeling, for sure.

  He brought her forward, put his lips to hers, kissed her swiftly, kissed her hard, and said, “I want you to be loud. No one can hear but me.”

  “You too,” she said. “Give it back to me the same. Equals.”

  He could do that. It’s not like he thought he had much of a choice. Not when she was bouncing up and down, her speed picking up, her thighs squeezing his, her teeth on his neck.

  His hips were rising to meet hers, both of them in sync, both of them pacing themselves for the building up that was going to erupt. One that was so deep inside of them at the moment that it seemed it could never be reached without each other.

  He grasped her hips and was forcing her down on him harder and faster, slamming up at the same time. They were both out of control and neither seemed to mind.

  She was starting to moan, until it turned into more of a screech, then he rolled her over quickly and pinned her down, and gave it to her as demanding as he could, lifting her legs and spreading her wide. Her back arched and her nails started to bite into his thighs.

  Nothing mattered other than hearing her shout out his name, or the swear words that left his mouth.

  He was out of breath, completely spent, not able to do much more than collapse on the bed, rolling back over so she was sprawled on top of him.

  All that could be heard was their heavy breathing until she asked, “What color am I wearing?”

  “Eggplant.”

  He’d never forget.

  An Independent One

  Riley rolled over and found herself alone in Trevor’s bed. She stretched her arms up, realizing there was a grin on her face.

  It had been a wonderfully blissful night that didn’t end with one, not even two orgasms, but a record three for her. She didn�
�t know if it was a record three for Trevor and didn’t want to ask. All he said earlier was he had to even the score; then he went to work and wore her out.

  There was no clock in Trevor’s room and her phone was still in her purse downstairs where she left it next to Trevor’s keys. The sun coming through the window told her it was early.

  She got up and walked into his bathroom, found her toothbrush in her bag, and then cleaned up as best she could in the sink, splashing water on her face and pulling her hair back.

  Rather than dress, she walked back out and found a T-shirt in one of his drawers, then pulled it over her head. She found she enjoyed wearing his clothes.

  He was probably making breakfast for her again, so she went downstairs in search of him, planning to help. Only she didn’t find him in the kitchen or in the living room.

  His keys were in the bowl by the door; she’d noticed that when she checked her phone for messages. Nothing for her to see, no one was bothering her, and that was even better.

  The last place she thought to check was out back. There she found him sitting on his deck with a mug in his hand, his workout shorts on again.

  He turned his head and looked at her, his eyes traveling over her wearing nothing but his shirt, her hair in a ponytail. “Morning,” he said, his sleepy-eyed glance cheerful.

  She walked up behind him, put her hands on his bare shoulders, then bent down to run them over his chest and kissed his neck. “Is this how you normally start your day?”

  He grabbed one of her hands, and twirled her in front of him, then onto his lap. “I try to. I have to say, this is starting out better than most, though.”

  “It is a nice way to wake up,” she agreed, kissing his jaw. He had a nice amount of stubble this morning that she was glad to see. Now she was thinking the rough look was much better than the cleaned-up one.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked. “Or do you want to just sit here for now?”

  “I’m good right where I am.” She looked around at the houses close by. Not right on top of each other, but close enough that someone could see them if they walked outside.

  He caught her gaze, then said, “They’re retired on both sides of me. No one is home. Both are visiting family for the week.”

  “Are they nosy?” she asked. She remembered her neighbors in the apartments she’d lived in. It was half and half. Some were so nosy it drove her insane; others just looked the other way, even in the elevator with you. There never seemed to be a happy medium. Hardly anyone just said hi and went about their day. It was almost like you were invisible there.

  “They can be. They were closer with my parents. Older than them, but still closer. They probably report back to my parents now and again, too, but they leave me alone for the most part.”

  “Thank you for yesterday,” she said.

  “What are you thanking me for exactly?”

  “Going to the party with me. Not expecting me to hold your hand the whole time, or even be by your side.”

  He laughed. “I’m not sure the last time someone held my hand for anything in life. Maybe my mom when she walked me to kindergarten that first day, and even then, I fought it.”

  She could see that. “You’re an independent one, aren’t you?”

  “I like to think so. The same could be said about you, I’m guessing.”

  “Very much. Though I did let my mother hold my hand the first day of school. I might have for a few more years after kindergarten, too.”

  “Only because you didn’t want to hurt her feelings,” he said.

  “Good guess. But it gave us both comfort, and that’s the most important thing.”

  “You put other people first more than you want to let on.”

  She didn’t like that he could read her so well. To see parts of her that others never saw, or that she didn’t want them to see. “I’m not selfish,” she said.

  “I never thought you were. There’s a difference between wanting to get your way and being selfish.”

  “And I already told you that I don’t always want to get my way,” she said.

  “You did say that. Which also leads me to believe there is more to you than you want anyone to ever see. Why is that?”

  She wasn’t ready to say too much right now. “I’m like a puzzle,” she said, laughing. “With lots of pieces. How good are you at fitting things together?”

  “Good enough,” he said, then kissed her again, letting it drop.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure. Do I have to answer it?”

  He might not want to. “I’d like you to, but understand if you’d rather not. What did Cole mean when he said you could be a trooper anytime you wanted? That it was a given. Is it because you’re the chief of police?”

  “You heard that? And no,” he said. She could see he was weighing his words. “I’d have to take a test just like anyone else. My current job has nothing to do with it.”

  “You’d pass it with flying colors and you know it. There is more to it than that.”

  “I told you. This is where I want to be.”

  She took a risk. She wanted to know. “Is it because you’ve got a certain skill set that they want you for?”

  He sighed. “I’m assuming you know I was in the service.”

  “An Army Ranger. A sniper,” she said when his eyebrow lifted. “It’s a small town.”

  “It is. Yes, I was an Army Ranger. The sniper part is more a rumor than anything.”

  “So it’s not true?”

  He held her stare, then said, “It’s common practice to not broadcast someone is a sniper. There is a stigma to it. Snipers’ jobs are shooting. Killing, most times.”

  She didn’t fully grasp that until he said it. He didn’t acknowledge he was one, and she wouldn’t push. But she saw it in his eyes, and understood his need to not say much more. “So someone specialized like that would be in high demand,” she said. She could keep it in the third person for now.

  “They would be. And there isn’t much of a need for one in this area. Not often enough to be here permanently.”

  “And this is where you want to be,” she said.

  “It is. I’ve not made a secret out of it. Look around you. It’s hard to give up this beauty. Waking up like this. Having this whenever you want. Knowing it’s always waiting for you to take it. I’d never give it up again.”

  “Again?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Did you know exactly where you wanted to be and what you wanted to do at eighteen?” She nodded her head. “Then you’re one of the few. I wanted out, but soon realized it wasn’t what I needed. This is what I need.”

  She looked around, then settled her eyes on him. “Yes, it would be hard to give up this beauty. I’m glad to know it’s here waiting for me.”

  “It is,” he said so softly that if she weren’t looking at his face, she wouldn’t have heard him.

  ***

  Trevor wasn’t sure what to make of the conversation they were having. Deeper than he wanted for this early in the morning, that was one thing.

  The other was giving out more information than he wanted to, than he’d intended to this early on.

  But she was asking. And she was unsure, he could see.

  As confident as she was in life, for some reason, she was hesitating over him. He wanted no hesitation at all. He wanted her to know what he could tell her. What he felt comfortable with sharing, hoping to make her comfortable, too.

  She knew what he was saying, without coming out and admitting it. He was watching her eyes and seeing her reaction to his specialty in the Army.

  But there was nothing. No reaction. No repulsion. No confusion. Just acceptance. It might have been the first time he’d seen that in a woman’s eyes when they heard rumors about him.

  Most of the time, they either thought it meant he was sexy and dangerous, but not the settling-down type. Or they were scared. Said they could accept it, but really couldn’t in the end.

 
Not just the risk of his job. That was always part of it. Not even the hours on the job.

  No, it was that he had been a killer. It was hard to put the stigma of that behind you, no matter how much he tried.

  Didn’t matter that he’d had no choice. It didn’t matter that he was on the good side of the law. All they saw was someone that took another person’s life.

  He’d been through it enough with women in the past that he got to the point he held himself back. Played it out to see how it went, and if things started to get close, he’d find a way for them to know. Hint around and get reactions. Sometimes he never even had to come right out and bring it up before the relationship was over though. Sometimes just his current job was enough to end things.

  This time though, it was brought up early. Part of him was glad it was out there, the other part worried that she’d back away.

  He’d long since given up hope of finding someone around here to share his life with. And he had no plans on leaving. All those years of wanting to be something he wasn’t were long gone. He knew what he wanted, where he wanted to be. Life was too short to not follow what was meant to be yours.

  The pickings were slim here, though. Many wanted to get out of the area, but he’d tried it and came back.

  Many knew what he did in the past and didn’t want a part of it, and it’s not like he could just wipe away those years.

  Just as many hated his job and his hours. Then there were those that hated the watchful eyes that came with being the chief of police.

  When it was put all together, finding a mate was difficult.

  “How about we eat some breakfast?” he said, sliding her off his lap and standing. He wasn’t about to say he missed the feeling of her on him. Cuddling with her, the vulnerability that she rarely showed at all.

  “I find myself starving at the moment,” she said. “How about I help? You can show me your omelet recipe.”

  He laughed at her. “It’s eggs and cheese and anything else I can find in the fridge. You just happened to have a lot of good pickings to choose from.”

  “You’re no fun right now,” she said. “I’ve got a better idea. How about we go make use of that tiny shower stall you’ve got upstairs, and then we can go out to breakfast. Give the town something to really talk about.”