Reckless (Nashville Nights)

by Cheryl , Douglas

  Avery knew inviting Ty back to her place was a bad idea, for a dozen different reasons, but she couldn’t have resisted him if her life depended on it. The man oozed sex from every pore of his body and that voice... Lord have mercy. Chills raced up her spine just thinking about it.

  She turned to look at him. The man was gorgeous, tall, dark, and sexy, but too rugged to be considered classically handsome. “You ever sing to a woman in bed?” she asked suddenly.

  He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and laughed. “I can’t say that I have. Why?”

  “Because I think just the sound of your voice could get me aroused,” she said, embarrassed by the admission.

  He wiggled his eyebrows. “We’ll just have to put that to the test now, won’t we?”

  The short drive to her condo was silent, but she could tell from the set of his jaw and the way he gripped the steering wheel that Ty was wound as tight as she was.

  Her skin was so hot and tingly. She couldn’t wait to shed her clothes.

  She didn’t have to direct him to the building since he’d been there before, the previous night. She remained quiet, her mind racing. She knew she should tell him about her doctor’s appointment, but she couldn’t. She didn’t want to worry him, or build up his hopes, depending on his reaction, until she knew whether or not she was pregnant. She had no experience to draw on, had never tried to get pregnant before. She couldn’t imagine they would conceive a baby the first time they had unprotected sex, even if the timing seemed ideal.

  “What’s wrong?’ he asked. “You seem kind of quiet. You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

  She winced, wishing she weren’t so transparent. “You know this is a really bad idea, right?”

  “Why is it that everything that’s bad for you always tastes so damn good?” He grinned. “It’s no wonder people can never stick to a diet.”

  She flushed at his implication. She knew he was trying to get her to relax and enjoy their time together instead of overanalyzing and feeling guilty. “I just wish...”

  He reached across the seat to grab her hand, brushing his lips against the back of her fingers. “What? What do you wish?”

  She released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. What did she wish? That she was pregnant? That he could be a father to their baby? That he wasn’t trapped in a marriage he didn’t want? That he wasn’t getting ready to embark on a new chapter of his life without her? Or did she wish she hadn’t walked out of his life two years ago? Maybe if she stayed when she should have, they would be starting a new life together by now. “Nothing. I guess it’s true what they say about timing. It really is everything.”

  She looked out the window. The sky was darkening and raindrops were falling in an erratic pattern against windshield.

  He pulled the truck into her parking lot and found a spot before cutting the engine and turning toward her. “Hey, if you don’t want to do this now, I’ll understand. I don’t want you to feel pressured into doing something you don’t want to do.”

  He was so sweet, so considerate, a good man who would make a wonderful father and husband someday. “No, I want this,” she whispered, deciding to take advantage of what may be her last opportunity to make love to him, to show him, without words, how much she cared about him. “I want you.”

  He smiled and kissed her hand again. “I was hopin’ you were gonna say that.” He got out of the truck and walked around to her side to help her out.

  She took the hand he offered. “Your mama sure did raise you right, McCall.”

  He winked. “She’d slap me upside the head if I didn’t act like a gentleman.” He pulled her close to his side and whispered in her ear, “I sure am glad she has no idea what I’ve got in store for you.”

  She shivered, barely able to contain her anticipation. She couldn’t wait to feel his big, strong hands giving her what she needed. “You’re too much,” she muttered.

  “That’s what they all say.”

  She looked up, realizing a man as attractive, talented, and kind as Ty must rarely be without a woman at his side. “Have you had a lot of lovers?”

  He stumbled on the sidewalk, clearly taken aback by the question. “Why the hell would you ask me that?” He paused. “I’m not sleeping with anyone else right now, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  She shrugged. “I know, you said you were a one-woman man. I believe you. I guess I was just curious.”

  He opened the heavy glass door for her. “In that case, I haven’t been a monk, but I haven’t been a player, either. I enjoy the company of beautiful woman, though I have to admit, not nearly as much the last couple of years.”

  Her heartbeat kicked up a notch. “Really, why’s that?”

  He watched her slide her access card through the electronic unit. “I think you know the answer to that.”

  She wanted to believe he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head. She’d certainly thought about him a time or two. “Tell me.”

  He said nothing until they stepped onto the elevator. Then he promptly crowded her against the back wall, trapping her with his big body. Even wearing high heels, he was a still a head taller than she was. “You wanna hear me say it?” he asked, wrapping his hand around her neck. “You want me to tell you that I closed my eyes to kiss another woman and I saw your face?”

  “I, uh...”

  He kissed her, nipping her bottom lip. “You want me to tell you it was your name on my lips whenever I made love to another woman?”

  She shook her head, pressing her palms against his hard chest. “No, I don’t want you to say that.”

  “Why, darlin’?”

  She looked up into his intense blue eyes. They were so striking, so captivating. “Because I don’t want to think about you with another woman,” she admitted, wishing he didn’t look so damn smug.

  He leaned into her until she could feel his arousal pressed against her stomach. “You want me to be yours… all yours?”

  The idea of having him all to herself, in her bed every night, was appealing, but impossible. “You and I both know that’s not possible now, is it?”

  He leaned his forearm above her head, resting his forehead against it. “We’re back to Abby again? Really?”

  “She’s your wife, Ty. Whether you want her to be or not, that’s just the way it is.”

  He sighed. “I don’t want to let this ruin our day, okay? Can we just forget about Abby and babies and my career and just enjoy each other, please?”

  She tensed when he mentioned babies. How would he feel when he found out she’d lied to him? Or at least lied by omission? Would he lump her into the same category as Abby, assuming she was an opportunistic gold-digger who was just trying to trap him with a baby?

  He punched the button for the elevator. “I’m gonna take that as a yes. ‘Cause quite frankly, I can’t stand the thought of you saying no right about now.”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest. “Make me forget,” she whispered. “I just want you to make me forget about everything for a while.”

  Chapter Eight

  Being with Avery is like going on a roller coaster ride, Ty thought. One minute he was up, the next minute he was down. He feared he might get hurt, but he still wasn’t willing to get off. He wanted her, needed her enough to take that risk. He knew she was still guarded and uncertain, but as long as she was willing to give him her body, he knew there was hope that she’d one day give him her heart.

  Once inside her apartment, he flattened her against the door. He placed hot, open-mouth kisses up and down her neck as he eased his hand under her sweater. He caught the front clasp of her bra between his thumb and forefinger and clicked it open, caressing first one nipple, then the other as she writhed against the door. He was content to continue the sweet torture until she decided to give him a taste of his own medicine.

  She reached between them and cupped his arousal, applying just enough pressure
to warrant a sharp intake of breath. “What’s the matter, cowboy? You can give it, but you can’t take it?” She applied just a little more pressure as she reached for his belt buckle with the other hand.

  He grabbed her wrists to still her. “I, uh, damn it...” He couldn’t even string a cohesive sentence together when she touched him like that.

  “I want you,” she whispered, sucking his earlobe between her lips.

  He winced. His jeans were getting tighter by the minute. He had to get them off or run the risk of permanent damage. “Bedroom now.”

  She laughed. “What’s wrong with right here?”

  “We need a bed for what I have in mind.”

  She grabbed his belt. “Oh no, I get to call the shots today, honey.”

  He was dominant by nature. He had never allowed a woman to take control in the bedroom, but he couldn’t deny that the thought of letting Avery have her way with him did have a certain appeal. He knew if he admitted as much to J.T., his kid brother would have him horse-whipped.

  “What do you say?” she asked, smiling. “Do you trust me or not?”

  He realized he did, not just with his body, but with his heart and that could prove to be a hell of a lot more dangerous. “Sure, I’m game.”

  Her eyes darkened as she took his hand and led him to her bedroom. “Just relax,” she whispered, stepping behind him to remove his leather jacket. “Close your eyes.”

  He did as instructed, waiting to feel her hands on him again. He didn’t have to wait long before she pulled his shirt out of his jeans and begin undoing his shirt, slowly, too slowly. He wanted her to tear their clothes off so he could sink inside of her, but this was her deal and he had to be willing to relinquish control, at least for a little while.

  She spread his shirt and he felt her lips on his chest, placing feather light kisses across his flat nipples.

  He sucked in a breath as her mouth moved lower and he heard her drop to her knees on the hardwood floor.

  “I’ve been waiting to do this forever,” she whispered, undoing his belt.

  He heard the rasp of his zipper as she lowered it. He clenched his fists at his sides to keep from thrusting his hands in her hair and forcing her down on him. He couldn’t wait another second to feel her hot mouth on him. “Please, Avery, honey. God, you don’t know what you’re doin’ to me.”

  Easing his jeans down, she helped him step out of them and his boots. She grabbed his hand and led him to the bed, pushing against his chest until he was lying down. Climbing over him, she left a trail of hot, wet kisses from his chest to his abdomen. When her mouth dipped lower, he thrust his hands in her hair to guide her head.

  She looked up at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Ah ah, hands to yourself.”

  He groaned. “I can’t not touch you when you’re doin’ that to me, baby.”

  She leaned up and pulled her sweater over her head, taking her bra with it as she tossed the garments to the floor. She shook her hair out until it fell in full waves around her shoulders. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way, McCall. You decide.”

  He watched her unzip her high-heeled boots and ease out of her skinny black pants, tossing them aside.

  She stood before him wearing only a lacy black thong and they both knew he would do anything she asked of him. She slipped the thong off and tossed it at him.

  He grabbed the flimsy fabric, gritting his teeth. “Fine,” he muttered. “I’ll keep my hands to myself, for now.”

  She grinned as she climbed on top of him again. “Glad you see it my way,” she said, skimming her nails down his bare chest. “Now where was I?”

  “Uh, I think you were...” Before he could finish the sentence she was going down on him. He groaned and fisted the sheets, barely able to contain the urge to force her down on him as she took her sweet time kissing and licking him without ever taking him fully in her mouth.

  “Please, Avery,” he said, knowing he sounded as desperate as he felt. “Please baby, I need...”

  She made little purring sounds deep in her throat. “What? What do you need, Ty?”

  His heartbeat throbbed in his ears. He took a deep breath. “I need you to take me in your mouth, deep...”

  “Like this?” she asked, demonstrating.

  He moaned and held on to the headboard. “Yes, oh God, yes. Just like that.”

  She moaned, deep in her throat, creating a vibration that nearly sent him over the edge in record time. “Oh God. Don’t do that,” he whispered.

  She did it again, taking him deeper in her mouth.

  He squeezed his eyes shut. “Keep doing that and we’re both gonna be sorry.”

  She looked up at him, grinning. “You’re so big and tough and strong. I love that I can make you so weak and vulnerable.”

  That’s exactly how he was feeling, at her mercy. She made him feel weak and defenseless, and that scared the hell out of him. “God, I love the way you make me feel.”

  “I’m glad, ‘cause I’m just getting started.” She went down on him again, this time at a furious tempo, as though she were a woman with a purpose.

  “Oh God,” he muttered, gripping the headboard harder. “You’re gonna make me... ahhh.”

  She pulled back, allowing him to her coat her flat abdomen. She smiled when he finally opened his eyes. “I’m just gonna grab a towel. Be right back.” When she returned, she rubbed a soft, terry towel over him and instructed him to roll over on his stomach.

  “Why?” he asked, feeling too content to move a muscle.

  “Just do it. I promise you won’t be sorry.”

  Curiosity beat out fatigue, prompting him to roll over. He watched her reach into her nightstand and extract a small bottle. “What’s that?”

  She sighed. “Would you just relax?”

  Deciding to relinquish control, at least temporarily, he remained quiet. He watched her draw the room darkening curtains and light candles before pattering over to a small sound system tucked away in the entertainment unit. She selected a song he recognized immediately. It was a song from his demo.

  “Where’d you get that?” he asked.

  “Luc gave me a copy of your demo a while back. He wanted my opinion.”

  He leaned up to look at her. “And? What’s your opinion, pretty lady?”

  She gave him a saucy smile and put a little more wiggle in her hips as she walked back to the bed. “I already told you what your voice does to me. You think it’s a coincidence that disc is in my bedroom?”

  The thought of her touching herself with his voice surrounding her in the darkness was making him hard all over again. “Come here. I need to touch you.”

  She shook her head, standing just out of arm’s reach. She closed her eyes. “God, I love this song.”

  “I was thinking about you when I wrote it,” he said quietly.

  Her eyes opened, glistening in the candlelight. “Really? You wrote this song for me?”

  He shook his head, feeling a little apprehensive about exposing the truth. He didn’t want her to think he had been harboring some sick obsession. “Most of the songs were written shortly after that night we spent together. I was going through a tough time.” He fixated on the flicker of candlelight instead of trying to read the expression in her eyes. “Writing music has always helped me work through things.”

  “Wow,” she whispered. “I’m going to listen to these songs in a whole new way now. I had no idea.”

  He braved a glance and instead of seeing fear or disgust in her eyes, he was rewarded with a look of awe. “You really like it?”

  “I love it.” She reached out to take his hand. “Thank you.”

  He smiled, grateful that he’d had the courage to tell her the truth. “It’s going to be the first single on my new album. We’re going into the studio to record it next week. Luc wants to release it ASAP.”

  She eased down on her knees on the floor, leaning over the bed so they were face to face. She stroked his cheek. “I’m so happ
y for you. You deserve this. You know that, don’t you?”

  He wanted to believe he did, but he knew there were hundreds, if not thousands of musicians in Nashville who were equally as talented. He knew that luck had also played a role in his good fortune.

  He took her hand and kissed her palm. “Thanks for saying that, sweetheart.”

  She climbed on the bed and straddled his waist as she reached over to grab the small bottle she’d left on the nightstand. “Okay, now I want you to close your eyes and relax.”

  He chuckled. “Honey, when you’re sitting on top of me, naked, I’m not really thinkin’ about winding down.”

  She laughed as she slapped his back. “Be quiet. I want to hear this song. Close your eyes and just enjoy the music.”

  He frowned. “Baby, listening to the sound of my own voice doesn’t really do it for me.”

  She rubbed up against him, proving to him how aroused she was. “But it does do it for me, in a big way.”

  He got hard instantly. “Okay, whatever you want, you got it.” He heard her rubbing her hands together.

  She began to massage his shoulders. Her hands were slick and they slid over his skin easily as she rubbed and stroked his tense muscles.

  He sighed, enjoying her masterful touch. “God, you’re good at that.”

  “I took a few night courses for fun while I was in college.”

  “I don’t even want to know why you have that shit in your bedroom,” he said, trying to block out the image of her doing to another lover what she was doing to him.

  She laughed. “I give all my men the royal treatment, Ty.”

  He flipped over quickly, catching her by surprise as he seized her waist. “Don’t do that, Avery. Don’t mess with me like that.”

  She frowned, looking confused. “I’m sorry. I was just teasing.”

  He closed his eyes, feeling like an idiot for overreacting. “I’m sorry. I just can’t stand to think of you being with anyone else like this.”