by Emerson Rose
“Good girl, now, I’m going to give you some orders. This is very important and it might be difficult, but you need to do exactly what I say.”
He looks very serious, my heart gathers speed and I swallow past a lump forming in my throat. What now? I’m already juggling a possible rape, the loss of an entire night of my life, public scandal and keeping Drake a secret from Jayden.
“You’re going to relax, drink your beer, eat your food and let me worry about this for the rest of the evening.”
I slump back against the booth and sigh. That I can handle.
“Yes, sir, those are some orders I can follow.”
“Good.”
As if on cue, Donna appears and places our food on the table in front of us. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until now. I’ve never been one of those girls who picked at her food because she was eating in front of a man and I’m not interested in starting now.
Donna hasn’t taken two steps from the table before I pick up half of my sandwich and take a bite so big that it’s hard to manage. I chew forever and reach for my beer to wash it down when a group of tween girls comes giggling through the front door.
Donna, serving as hostess, waitress, and cashier shows them to a table near us and I hear their soft-spoken comments about the hot guy in the booth in the back.
“How old are you?” I blurt out when I’ve swallowed my bite.
He cocks his head and narrows his eyes, “Why?”
I lean forward and crook my finger for him to do the same. When he does I jerk my head toward the girls, “Those little girls think you’re the shit.”
A mischievous smile spreads across his face that makes me think all kinds of dirty thoughts all at once.
“That’s because I am the shit. And I’m thirty-seven, eleven years your senior.”
Thirty-seven? I thought he was closer to Jayden’s age.
I snort and arch one brow high at his arrogance and take another bite of my sandwich. He may be cocky but not without reason, he doesn’t look a day over thirty and he’s got the body of a twenty-five-year-old athlete. I’m not about to stroke his ego, though, I think the table full of blushing pre-teens next to us has done a pretty good job of that.
“What? You don’t think so?”
Ah, there is a morsel of insecurity in there after all. Good.
“I never said that,” I say between chews.
“You didn’t have to, and don’t talk with your mouth full.” He continues cutting his steak.
I swallow and ignore his bossy comment not because I don’t have a million sassy comebacks but because it stirred something in me that I’ve never felt before.
It stirred the desire to please.
It’s not like I’ve never wanted to make somebody happy. I got good grades in school to please Jay and Aunt Marla and I worked hard at work to please my boss. I’m a people-pleaser, but I’m not a man-pleaser.
The men I’ve dated in the past didn’t demand respect. They never had a presence about them like Drake does. I could blame it on him being a Marine but I’ve known a lot of Marines. Not one of them made me tingle from head to toe or send my heart racing out of my chest with a parental comment like chew with your mouth closed.
“Sorry.”
“Apology accepted.” He slides his fork past his lush full lips and I think I’m jealous of that damn bite of steak but there’s that bit of bristle that makes me stretch my neck a bit at his choice of words. I’m not going to be sassy. I will not take his bait.
“I’m glad you trusted me with your problem.”
“Don’t make me regret it.” Damn it! Why? Why does my mouth spit things out at the speed of light when my brain is only going 50 mph? I wasn’t going to be sassy.
He smirks as if he knows what he’s done and continues to eat. We make nice and chit chat for the rest of the meal drinking two more beers apiece. Drake’s presence and the alcohol have me feeling more relaxed than I’ve felt in weeks. He puts me at ease and I wish Jayden didn’t have it out for him so I could spend more time feeling this way.
“You’re glowing,” he says after telling a borderline dirty joke that has me laughing.
“I feel good. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to let my guard down and laugh, thank you.”
“The pleasure is all mine, believe me.”
“Are you always this charming?”
“Yes, unless you’re a Marine, then I’m a different kind of charming.”
“Oh yeah? What kind of charming is that?”
“The manipulative, always in control commanding officer kind.”
“Maybe I should enlist.”
His eyes darken and his expression changes from playful to seductive. I’m playing with fire and I need to stop.
“You’d like to be manipulated and controlled? Somehow that surprises me.”
“It does? Why is that?”
“At the risk of ruining what is the best evening I’ve had with someone in years, I’m going to answer that question. You’ve proven on more than one occasion that you are sassy and independent and stubborn.”
“Not always.”
We’ve been here a while, he’s sitting cockeyed with his knee up on the seat and his lean tanned arm stretched out along the back of the booth. His T-shirt strains against his chest outlining his pectoral muscles and I have a flash daydream about peeling it off and exploring every hard ripple hidden under the deep red material.
“Not always.” He repeats my words with interest. “Under what circumstances are you not?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
“Don’t tempt me, sweet girl. I’d love to but there’s no doubt that would push your brother over the edge.”
I roll my eyes but he’s right. We both know it, yet here we sit flirting with each other like he doesn’t exist.
He wags his finger at my mouth, “You’re pouting.”
“I am not.” I raise my hand and touch my pouting lip proving myself wrong.
“You are, and it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. If you were mine, I’d do things all day long to make you push that lip out and to see that bit of frustration in your eyes.”
If I were his.
Those four words ignite a fire that’s been smoldering since the moment I first laid eyes on this man, two short days ago. I want him. I want him to throw me over his shoulder and haul me out of here. I want him to manipulate and control me all night until there’s not a pout left in my lip.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here.” He slides out of the booth and takes my hand pulling me to my feet. I’m standing in front of him so close I can smell a hint of his earthy cologne and the fabric softener on his shirt.
“Where are we going?”
“Home.”
I deflate faster than tires on stop sticks. He’s taking me home to my brother. It’s probably for the best but that doesn’t make it any easier to swallow.
He takes my chin in his hand and lifts my eyes to his. “My home.”
My heart flops in my chest and my sex aches between my thighs. His home, so we’re really doing this?
His gaze is expectant as if he’s asking me instead of telling. I nod and he squeezes my chin. The gesture makes me feel like a child and a sex-kitten simultaneously. I follow him out of the diner and down the street in public holding his hand praying no one sees us and blabs to Jayden.
What am I doing? Talk of me having dinner with Drake is probably spreading through the gossip mill as we walk. Like a game of Telephone, every person who talks about it will embellish it a little bit. By the time it gets back to Jay, it’ll sound like my wild night at The Aquarium in New York. They’ll say I was dancing on the diner bar naked grinding on Drake with a martini in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just little towns, ya know? Everybody talks about everybody and this is front page news.” I hold up our linked hands.
“Let them talk.”
“But what about…” He stops and places a finger on my lips.
“Shush.” I’m about to protest again when he pushes me into a dark alley between a clothing boutique and the barbershop. Tucked out of sight, he presses me up against the brick wall, slides his hands down my arms pinning them at my sides and leans in close.
“It’s taking every ounce of restraint I have not to fuck you right here in this alley. I don’t care if people see. I don’t care if people talk. I don’t even care if your brother finds out. He’ll get over it. What I do care about is you. So, let’s stop talking and go to my house and release some of this pent-up energy we’ve been trying to suppress for two days, shall we?”
I nod, because what is there to say? Everything is crystal clear now. The magnetism between us is mutual and we’re going to his house to fuck, Jayden and Jewel Falls be damned.
“Good girl. Let’s go see if you really like giving up control.”
He moves even closer and brushes his lips against mine in the faintest kiss. That one kiss packed more punch than all of Mason’s rolled into one. In fact, Drake has more animal magnetism in his pinky finger than Mason did in his entire body. This is exciting, this is thrilling, this is dangerous.
Chapter 14
Drake
I know it’s wrong but I can’t stop myself. There is a short list of things I can’t live without and she is now one of them. Every breath she takes every word she speaks is mesmerizing. When we are alone together I can hardly focus on anything but her full bee-stung lips and her bicolored eyes. Not having her is not an option.
Jayden will be angry but when he realizes she’s more than a fly-by fuck to me, he might be more accepting. His only valid concern left will be my impending blindness and that is something I can’t blame him for being angry about.
No one wants to see their sister get strapped with someone that has more baggage than a twenty-six-foot U-Haul. Hell, I don’t want that for her either but I simply cannot stop myself.
“Around back,” I say to her when we approach my house in the dark. It’s easy to slip inside my house unnoticed from the deck in the back. I feel like a teenager sneaking my girlfriend into the house for a secret make-out session.
But this is going to be much more than that. I’m going to do things to this woman that will make her never forget this night.
“The lights are still on, Jay’s probably waiting for me.”
“Well, he’s going to have to wait a lot longer. Maybe you should text him and let him know you’re having fun and won’t be home until late.”
“Good idea, how late?”
“The tomorrow morning kind of late.” I wink at her and even in the dark I know she’s blushing. Her body temperature goes up when she’s excited, I can feel the heat emanating from her body.
“I don’t know, Drake…”
“It’s okay, you will.”
I watch her blush harder in the glow of her phone screen as she types out a message to her brother.
I open the back door and we slip inside unnoticed. I lead her through the house and upstairs not turning any lights on along the way. I don’t need them and I don’t want anyone to know I’m home.
My bedroom takes up nearly the entire second level of the house. I push open the door and lead her by the hand to the edge of my bed. It feels odd to have a woman in my room, in my house for that matter. When I have sex it’s purely physical and always at the woman’s house or a hotel. One sure-fire way to keep a woman from showing up or calling is not to give her your address or phone number.
Tiana knows both but I would have brought her here even if she hadn’t. She’s different. She makes me feel something different. I don’t know what it is but I’m willing to risk losing my best friend and exposing my blindness for her so it’s monumental.
“I know you’ve been through a lot lately. I’m going to take all of that away for a little while now, okay?”
Her eyes are wide in the dark when she nods in agreement. I grasp the back of the collar of my shirt and pull it off in one smooth movement. Her hungry eyes wander along my shoulders down my chest to my well-defined abs. I hook my finger under her chin and bring them back to my face.
“I’m going to undress you now.” She’s trembling when I begin to unbutton her blouse. The soft material quivers under her skin and her chest is rising and falling with her quick short breaths.
When her shirt is unbuttoned, I place my hand on her hot skin over her heart.
“Breathe in.” I take a deep breath and she copies me. “And out.” We blow out our breaths slowly and repeat the process two more times.
“Better?” I ask and she nods. I push her pink shirt off one shoulder and bend down to kiss the dip above her collarbone. I pause and breathe in her peach and vanilla scent trying to fill my lungs with as much of her as possible.
Her hands come up to touch my waist but I place them back at her sides and begin kissing a trail from one shoulder to the other and up the creamy soft skin of her neck. God, she’s incredible, a part of me wants to push her down on the bed and take her roughly and hard… a big part. But more than that, I want to keep listening to her appreciative sighs and feel her body quiver under my touch.
I take her face in my hands and cover her mouth with mine. Her lips part and our tongues swirl together making my cock so hard it’s painful. I’m not one for taking my time. I always make sure my partner is satisfied, but it’s never my top priority.
Tiana’s pleasure is my only priority. I want to explore every inch of her inside and out. I want to make her come harder than she ever has before.
Her hands slide around my waist but I need her to understand that I’m in control of her pleasure journey tonight. I release her face and move her hands back to her sides a second time without breaking our kiss. She whimpers and I pull away until we are nose to nose.
“Do you trust me?”
Her sultry eyes open a sliver, “Yes.”
“Then let me show you how good it feels to give up control. I’m going to take you to paradise, baby.” I push her blouse off her shoulders and unhook her lace bra. She lets it fall to the floor and I take a moment to appreciate her full lush breasts.
I kneel in front of her and slip her pretty feet out of her heels. I unzip her jeans and slide my hands around to cup her ample ass. I moan and lay my head against her flat belly for a moment collecting myself.
She’s in excellent physical condition and I know she’s got stamina after running with her this morning. She was never out of breath the entire run. I’ve never slept with a woman who could outlast me. I may have met my match.
I lean back and peel her jeans down her legs to her ankles. I take her hand and place it on my shoulder for balance and she pulls her feet the rest of the way out.
When she’s free, I remove her hand and put it back at her side. With only her lace panties separating us, I pull her a step forward and press my face between her legs smoothing my hands up the backs of her calves and breathing her in.
She smells like heaven and she feels like a dream but I’m willing to bet she tastes better than both. I slide my hands up her hips and under her panties to cup her ass once more before dragging them down her legs. I press a kiss on her navel and when the black scrap of lace hits the floor I press another an inch lower and another and another.
Her hands are balled into tiny fists at her sides and she’s shaking harder than a flag in a hurricane when I rise to my feet. I toe off my shoes and unbuckle my belt when she asks, “May I?” She nods her head toward my jeans.
“Yes, you can take them off but don’t touch.” I like that she asked and I want her to be comfortable but I’m in charge of her tonight.
She kneels in front of me and lowers my zipper and then my jeans. I kick them aside still wearing my black boxer briefs and she looks up at me through her dark lashes. Her eyes are powerful and seductive, she could ask me for anything right now and I wouldn’t deny her. Except for control, I
keep the control.
She is bare but for an elastic band around her wrist. I scoop her hair off her shoulders into a ponytail and take the elastic from her to wrap it around the thick mop of curls. She cocks her head to the side and looks at me thoughtfully. I’m sure she’s going to say something, but then she places her hands on my hips and slides the last barrier separating our bodies down my legs. My cock springs free brushing against her cheek, she moves just in time to obey my command not to touch.
Being with her is almost too much. I don’t do this, fucking is fucking. There is no intricate foreplay or feelings involved with other women. No soft kisses or silky touches, just fucking followed by release.
Not with Tiana, never with Tiana. I reach out and take her hand to help her up and surprise her when I lift her up and wrap her legs around my waist. Instinctively, her arms fly to my shoulders and the soft sound of her gasp when she feels my cock pressing against her is a potent aphrodisiac.
She looks at me straight on and I lower my eyes avoiding the uncomfortable reminder that someday I will not be able to see her at all. I move toward the bed and sit on the edge with her in my lap. She lowers her arms and the small show of obedience makes me crazy. I cover her mouth and devour her pulling her soft ample breasts against my rock-hard chest. My cock twitches between us when I feel the erect peaks of her nipples against my skin.
I slide my hand up her spine and break our kiss. Lowering her, I hold her steady and leave a trail of kisses down her throat to one of her perfect nipples. Her head falls back and she moans as I circle the sensitive nub with my tongue.
“Oh God, Drake, … Please…”
“Patience,” I say against her skin as I slide my hand between her legs to her smooth mound. I cup it in my hand, making her wait a few seconds longer for what she’s craving before I slide two fingers into her soaking wet folds.
“You’re a very good girl, Tiana, so wet, so ready, so responsive. I’m going to make you feel things you’ve never felt before. I’m going to take you to paradise and back over and over.”
I slide my fingers in and out and scrape my teeth against her nipple. She’s mine now. No one else will explore these curves, taste her sweet skin, or feel the hot slick wetness between these legs.