by Alexa Riley
Just as I reach the door, it’s pulled open for me and I walk straight into the club. Oak is by my side now, and I tell him what I need.
“I’m looking for my girl. Redhead, curvy, name’s Tessa. She’s here with a regular, her name’s Harper.” He looks around for a second and then points across the dance floor. I spot her in half a second, something pulling me to her. Moving towards Tessa, I toss a thanks over my shoulder to Oak and make my way around to her table on the other side of the club.
There’s a sea of people here, and it’s loud as fuck, but I don’t take my eyes off my girl.
She’s leaning back in the booth, the small table in front of her littered with empty glasses. Her head is resting on the back of the bench, her dark auburn hair piled up, revealing her neck. Even from across the room, I can see she’s got a ton of make-up on. Jesus, has she been crying? It looks like the dark black around her eyes has run down her cheeks a little. As I get closer, I can see she’s wearing something strapless, but her lower half is covered by the table. I grit my jaw tighter when I see the amount of cleavage she’s showing. No one should get to see that but me. I’m ready to stab out every eye that so much as looks her way. That is only for me to see, and I know who came up with the outfit.
As I get even closer, I look around her table and see Nick is there. Clenching my fists, I continue to push through the crowd, trying to get to them, pushing off anyone who tries to grab for me. It looks like just the two of them are at the table, and I see him leering at her. Just as I approach, I see hands come up around his waist from under the table and realize that must be Harper under there.
I don’t want to scare Tessa, but I need her out of here, and I won’t negotiate. She turns her fuzzy eyes to mine, and I see the moment she realizes it’s me. The shock is clear on her face.
I pull off my leather jacket and lean down to help her put it on. I don’t say a word to her, and she doesn’t fight me.
I help her up out of the booth just as Harper comes up from under the table. Nick looks at me, and if I didn’t have Tessa in my arms, I’d fucking shoot him dead.
“Hey, where are you going with her? We were having fun!” Harper’s words are slurred, and I can tell she’s just as drunk as Tessa.
“Yeah, stay awhile. We could all share.” Nick wraps his arms around Harper as his eyes roam over my Tessa, showing that all the offhanded comments he’s been making about her are bullshit. He wants her. I can’t blame him, but it doesn't mean I won’t stab him in the throat if he tries to have any part of her. And I do mean any.
If I have to choose between killing him in the middle of a club and getting Tessa out of here, I’m taking care of my girl first. I can kill him later. And as much as I don’t like Harper, I don’t want to leave her here with him. I know if something happened to her, it would rip up my girl’s soft heart.
I can see his words about getting at Tessa hit Harper harder than she expected, and I see her grabbing her purse and moving away from him.
“Do you need a ride?” She doesn’t meet my eyes as she stands up and nods her head. I’ve got Tessa wrapped up in my jacket, and I want to carry her from here, but even as long as my jacket is, her bare legs are showing. I can’t even think about how short that dress is and who saw her in it.
I hold her to me, still not speaking a word as I help her from the club and to my car at the curb. I open up the passenger door and let Harper climb in the back, putting Tessa in the front.
As I lean over her and buckle Tessa’s seatbelt, I feel her lips whisper against my ear.
“I’m sorry.”
“Not now,” is all I can say in response as I walk around my car and get in the driver seat. I see Nick come out of the club just as I pull away. Both of us know this isn’t finished.
“Take Plymouth up to Trent. We’re two blocks up,” Harper says from the back. Her voice is tired, and if I’m not mistaken, it sounds like she’s more than angry.
I look over at Tessa and see her leaning her head against the door, and her eyes are closed. She passed out within seconds, and I’m relieved I got to her just in time.
We ride in silence to their apartment, and when I pull up out front, I get out of the driver’s seat and let Harper out from behind me.
She gets out, but before she walks away, I stop her with my words.
“I’m taking Tessa with me tonight. I want her safe.” Harper looks at me for a second and then just shrugs, like she’s giving up on Tessa, too. “For what it’s worth, Nick’s a piece of shit, but he’s a smooth talker. He can get pretty much talk anyone to do what he wants. You didn’t do anything wrong. He’s an asshole.”
She doesn’t meet my eyes, just nods her head and looks away. She takes a step but stops. “Hang on here a second, I’ll be right back.”
I watch as Harper goes into the building, and I lean into the car to check on Tessa. I push back some of the hair that’s fallen over her face, and I see her face is indeed streaked with make-up and tears. I need to know what made her cry and fix the problem. I can’t stand the thought of her being hurt by anything.
Tessa turns into my hand and blinks her sleepy drunken eyes at me. Suddenly, she has the biggest goofiest grin on her face, and it’s as if she’s just noticed I’m here.
“Hey, hot lips,” she slurs. The nickname brings a smile to my face.
“Hot lips, huh?”
“Oh yeah. Yous got like the best lips. I’ve never had lips before you. But yous the best. I’m sure.”
I let out a little laugh as she hiccups. “Is that right?”
“Yup. Big thick ones. Makes me wanna nibble.” She closes her eyes and slowly opens them. “Best first kiss ever.”
Her words knock me in the chest. I was her first kiss? Jesus, why does that make my cock hard? If I’m her first kiss, then I’m going to be her first…
“Here.”
I look up to see Harper holding out a bag, and I reach out to take it from her. “What’s this?”
“It’s some of her stuff. Girl shit.” She rubs her arms like the cold is getting to her. “Just, you know, take care of her.”
“I will.” With that, I put Tessa’s bag in the back seat and get behind the wheel. I watch as Harper goes inside the building, and then I put the car in gear.
“She’s a real bitch,” Tessa slurs, and again I laugh. I get the feeling she’s never said that out loud before.
She’s utterly adorable when she drinks, though I’m still not inclined to let her get this far gone again. It’s easy to forget about the danger she put herself in when she’s being cute and trying to sing the song from The Little Mermaid.
“What’s a fire, and why does it…what’s the word…”
Her silly hiccups keep interrupting her singing, and I reach over, holding her hand the whole way to my place.
Pulling up to the warehouse, I hit the button on my visor and the garage door opens. When I park, I shut the garage door, locking us in. I grab her bag and go around to the passenger side, opening up the door to help her out. Tessa shivers at the chill in the garage and proceeds to sing a song from the movie Frozen. I try to bite my lip so I don’t laugh, and I reach down, scooping her up in my arms.
I carry her through the door and into the main warehouse. It opens up into a living space and kitchen, but I don’t stop there. I carry her down a long hall that leads to my bedroom, and I take her to my bed.
After I lay her down on my bed, I turn on the bedside lamp. She lets out a deep breath as she snuggles into the covers, trying to escape the soft glow. She makes no protest at the fact that I’ve just taken her home with me. She just snuggles into my bed like she’s been doing it forever.
I get a washcloth from the bathroom and wet it with warm water. When I go back to the bed, I sit on the edge and start to wipe away the make-up on her eyes. She’s got so much on, she doesn’t look like my Tessa.
After a few swipes, it’s mostly gone, and I can see the fresh-faced beauty I’ve been craving. She lo
oks so perfect here in my bed.
Leaning down, I place one soft kiss on her cheek, wanting more, but not able to let myself take advantage of her. No, when I take her for the first time, I want her looking into my eyes and begging me for more.
As I lean back and look down at her, she whispers my name as she falls asleep.
Now all I’ve got to do is take her clothes off like a gentleman and keep my hands to myself. Shouldn’t be too difficult, right?
Chapter 10
Sean
I give the dress a little tug and it does nothing at all. Trying a little harder, I yank with a little more force, making her big honey eyes pop open at me. I expect her to maybe jump or wonder where she is, but she just smiles at me. Trusting. A trust I’m going to shatter, but I’m going to enjoy it while I still have it. Soak up as much of it as I can. Hold on to each sweet moment.
“Harder.” Her voice is husky, and I growl at the simple word. I know she means yank on the dress harder, but all I can picture is her below me as I thrust my cock into her virgin-tight pussy while she begs me to fuck her harder. To give her something only I can. Telling me I’m the only man she’ll ever let have her. That she’ll be mine forever.
She licks her lips and a sweet little giggle pops out of her mouth as she catches what she said. Her little giggle alone makes my cock ache with need. Fuck having blue balls, I’m going to have a fucking blue body. I don’t just want to fuck her. I want to rub every part of me all over her.
“Come on, handsome. I’m sure you rip clothes off women all the time.” She reaches up and her finger traces the hair along my jaw before she grabs a handful off it. Yeah, I’m never shaving again; I like her grabbing onto me like that.
“I don’t recall ever ripping clothing off of a woman before,” I admit. Fuck, I can’t even remember the last time I’d been with a woman, let alone who it was. When I was younger and just started getting my hands dirty, I played, but as time went on I quit that shit fast.
I don’t think I’m cocky when it comes to my looks, but I know I attract a lot of female attention. Add that to the fact that I don’t treat women like shit like a lot of the men do in the places I hang out. Women would get attached to me, and then I’d still end up hurting them. That was something I took no pleasure in. I’ve been keeping to myself since, focusing instead on stacking my bank account. My hand did the job just fine when I needed the release, and that approach came with fewer problems.
I’d always wanted to settle down one day, but I knew I had to get my hands clean. That was something I planned to do after this score, but sweet little Tessa stumbled into my life a few weeks before I was ready. She fell right into my path, and there’s no turning around now. The goal is still the same, there are just a few added parts to it now. And the end goal is bigger and better than I could have ever dreamed of. No, I didn't think perfection and sweet innocence like her even existed.
“Oh, I can be your first.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “You can be my first, too.” She parts her legs, and I can’t stop myself from looking as she shows her simple white underwear. I thought maybe having too many meetings in the back of strip clubs had jaded me. I’ve seen women in what’s supposed to be the sexiest lingerie, but the sight of her in simple white panties has me wanting to cum in my pants.
I know the truth, though. It’s not about what she’s wearing. It’s her. Everything about her seems to do this to me. This little curvy slip of a girl can turn me inside out without even trying. No games or batting her eyelashes coyly at me. It’s simply her. Everything about her just does it for me. She’s utterly perfect. Like she’s made for me. Made to drive me utterly crazy.
“I’d be your first what?” I bait her, wanting to hear her say it. She parts her legs a little more, showing me her panty-covered pussy.
“Everything. Go ahead. Ruin me.” She giggles again, and I’m not sure what to make of her comment.
Ruin her. I like and hate the idea all at once.
“I’d never ruin you.” Make her want only me? Fuck yes. But ruin her? Never. It already kills me that I might jade her a little. She’s so trusting and sweet. I’d hate for her to lose that. I hate that I might be the one to make her lose that.
If only I’d met her another way. She could have kept all the innocent trust she has because she’d have me to protect her and to shield her from everything that could shatter it. Make sure nothing touched her so she could keep it.
Her hand drops from my face and runs down my chest. I lean into her hand, liking her touch.
“Oh, I’m sure you’d ruin me. I think I could cum just looking at you.” She keeps running her hand over my chest and brings her other hand up to join in. Fucking hell, she’s so cute when she’s drunk. Gone is the shy girl, and in her place is someone who doesn’t think before she speaks, and I love it. I love the shy blush that hits her cheeks, but I enjoy this just as much.
“What if I told you that you’d already ruined me?”
“Liar. Take off your shirt. I want to see how far those tattoos go.” She’s changing the subject, even when she doesn’t realize she’s doing it. My girl seems to have a problem with thinking she isn’t hot or some shit, but we’ll work on that over time. She’ll soon see how fucking serious I am about us. She won’t have a doubt her in mind about the lengths I’ll go to to have her.
Actions speak louder than words, and she’ll be seeing that very soon.
Reaching over my head, I grab the collar of my shirt and pull it up and off, giving her what she asked for.
Her sharp inhalation makes me want to puff out my chest. She wiggles around, still rubbing her hands all over me. I need to get her under the covers and asleep before I have her legs over my shoulders, with me in between them.
I won’t risk her not remembering our first time together. I want her to remember every detail of it. I want to hook her into me and show her all the ways I can please her. I want to give her what she needs.
I reach down and tug at her dress again. “I hate this fucking thing.”
“You don’t like it? I thought I looked sexy for once.” She pouts up at me, her bottom lip sticking out, making me want to bite it.
“You're always sexy.” I grab the top of the dress and do as she suggested. I rip it. “But I don’t like other people seeing you with so few clothes on.”
She gasps as the material easily comes apart in my hands, leaving her in just her panties. I throw the dress behind me, not caring where it lands.
“Holy shit, that was hot. Can we do it again?” Her wide eyes are filled with excitement.
“You got another dress around here I don’t know about?” I tease her.
She just shakes her head, that happy excited look still pasted across her face. “I’ll buy you more and rip them off you if you really want me to, but you only wear them in the house.” No way is she ever going out dressed like that again. I’d end up doing life in prison.
“I’ll wear whatever I want.” She thrusts her chin up smugly, but it’s too adorable to be threatening. I have no idea how someone can be smug and adorable all at once, but she’s doing it, and I just smile at her as I try not to laugh.
“You want me to walk around in public without a shirt on?” Her fingers, which were busily trailing my chest, following the lines of my tattoos, stop and dig into me in a possessive manner. It makes my cock jerk, and I fucking love the feeling.
She glares at me.
“No need for that, little fox. It’s all yours. I’m just showing you how it makes me feel.” I grab the blanket and pull it over her. Hiding her body from me. It takes everything in me not to look at it, but I know my control would probably shatter if I did.
“I’m going to get you some water and something to stop your headache before it starts.” I pull myself from the bed and make my way towards the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and a few pills for her. When I turn around, I nearly trip over her.
She’s standing in the middle of my kitchen with just her pant
ies on.
“I thought you were going to ruin me.” She says it so matter-of-factly, no shyness at all.
She pushes her body up against me, her naked chest hitting mine. Her curves melt into me. Reaching up, she locks her arms around my neck, and I have to bend a little for her to reach, even though she’s on her tiptoes.
All control snaps.
My hands go to her face, dropping the water bottle and pills, letting them hit the floor as I take her mouth. Her sweetness hits my lips, and the taste of her reminds me how desperate I am for her. It’s like being trapped in the desert for weeks and finally having water. I can’t stop myself from wanting to drink her down. One sip will never be enough. Thrusting my tongue into her mouth, I try to devour her. I never knew lips could be so soft. They yield to me just like all of her curves.
Her body wiggles against mine, her moan filling my mouth.
Fuck.
I let go of her face and grab her hips, easily lifting her to me. Her legs wrap around my waist. Before I know what I’m doing, I have her back in my bed without having broken the kiss. I’ve somehow got my pants and underwear off, and my naked cock is pressed against her sheathed pussy. When I realize what I’ve done, that I’ve taken it too far, I pull back and rest my forehead against hers.
Get it under control, Sparrow. You can have her in the morning.
“Please.” She moves her hips against me. Her warm pussy rubs my cock, testing every bit of control I have. I feel cum leak out the tip, and I have to bite the inside of my mouth to stop myself from cumming. No way would I cum before her.
“I’ll give you what you need, little fox. Then you’ll go to sleep like a good girl.”
“Just do it. Take me. I’ve been thinking about it all day. Come morning I’ll be too shy to ask.” She moves against me more. I know she’s right. In the morning she will be too shy to ask, but I won’t let her pull away. I’ll bulldoze right through all those walls she might try to erect. Any self-doubt she might have, I’ll shatter.