by Layla Nash
Fire consumed me as his mouth traced a heated path between my breasts and one hand slid under my thigh to tease my center. I jumped, desperate for more contact, but he held me steady and teased. His voice grew rough. "Don't move."
I growled my frustration and he chuckled, a warm rumbly sound. He stroked through the wetness gathering between my legs, letting me feel a hint of what was to come, as his cock slid between us. My head fell back as his teeth grazed my nipple, and it took every ounce of control I had not to tear free, grab his cock, and fuck him. Hard.
He kept teasing, letting the hard line of his cock ride against my slit until I moaned and writhed. Pleasure burned higher and higher with the slow tickle of his fingers and the soft stroke of his tongue, until I hovered on the edge. I just needed a little more. Of anything. Of him.
"Please, Carter," I said, hands tangled in his hair. "Oh my God, please."
"Please what?" His grip tightened on my waist, hard enough to bruise.
A thousand replies flew through my head as I struggled to move against him, and none of them were sufficient. Until..."Please, love me," escaped, and I meant it.
He made a savage sound and lifted me, positioned himself, and plunged in with one smooth motion. I shattered. The world grew dark around the edges as every muscle in my body convulsed, and my core gripped him, held him tighter. Carter growled and purred at the same time, thrusting up at me even as his hold on my waist pushed me down. His hard length dragged from me, sparking tremors through my entire channel, and I cried out.
His thrusts grew jerky, uncontrolled, and his arms tightened around me until his face pressed between my breasts and I could lock an arm around his neck. I rode him through my climax, then another, and into his, until we both shook and panted and lay boneless in each other's arms. I rested my forehead against his as Carter leaned back in the chair, taking me with him, and his fingers traced my spine in a lazy journey.
Carter rested his head on the back of the chair with his eyes closed. "I will always love you."
I smiled against his cheek. Being in his lap, in his arms, was warm and safe. Exactly where I wanted to be. Protected when I needed, and supported always.
His hand drifted south so he could squeeze my ass and then smack my hip, though he didn't open his eyes. "Even when you're very bad and don't follow directions."
I wiggled in his lap and sighed with pleasure as his body stirred, lengthened inside me, and a wave of ecstasy rolled through me. I rolled my hips and tried to drag his mouth back to my breasts. "I wanted you to cut to the chase."
Carter groaned as his arms tightened around me, holding me in place as he thrust half a dozen times, then he withdrew, picked me up, and tossed me onto the mattress. He stood over me and I shivered with excitement. His voice grew deeper as he caught my ankle and dragged me to the edge of the bed. "What should your punishment be?"
My heart raced as I watched him, not sure if I was ready for the consequences of what I wanted to say. But I threw caution to the wind and let my arms fall onto the sheets above my head, laying fully exposed and open to him. "Surprise me."
He laughed, a deep and dark sound, and his hand slid up my leg to caress my thigh. "Are you sure?"
"No," I said, and closed my eyes. "But I trust you."
"Good girl," he murmured, and then he spent the rest of the night surprising the hell out of me.
Epilogue
The bar rang with the clamor of patrons packed into the main floor. We hadn't been that busy in months. Our new chef slung orders left and right in the kitchen, and even Natalia, seated at the bar, looked impressed with the girl's attitude. Maybe there was a new challenger for iron chef. I pulled my last pint for the night, and folded my apron behind the bar.
Carter squeezed behind me to take my place, though his hands settled on my waist and I bumped my ass into his crotch just to get his attention. I did, enough that he almost jumped me right there, and Natalia covered her eyes. "Dude, you guys. Seriously."
I laughed and untangled myself from Carter's grip, though I jerked my chin at Logan, right next to her. "He doesn't mind."
"He doesn't get morning sickness," she said under her breath. "I can barely keep toast down and you guys canoodling around only makes it worse."
"Morning sickness?" Carter rolled his eyes and handed menus out to the few people who squeezed through the crowd at the other end of the bar. "It's almost midnight."
"It's morning somewhere," she said, and mustered enough dignity that I almost bought it.
But Logan finished his beer and hugged her against his side to kiss her forehead. "I'm with you, babe. Watching Carter kiss Ruby is like watching a kitten kiss a bulldog."
I looked at him, arms folded over my chest, and Nat looked horrified. "Logan."
"What?" He looked at Carter, who was shaking his head and saying, "Dude" over and over, then at me. I wanted to rip his throat out, and it felt like the vein in my temple might burst. Logan scowled. "I meant fierceness, not looks. Jesus. Take a compliment, Ruby."
"Calling a woman a bulldog, for any reason, is grounds for an immediate ass-kicking," Eloise chimed in, as she and Benedict made their way to the bar. The half-gorgon leaned her elbow on the bar and waggled her eyebrows at me. "Want me to stun him for you? I could paralyze him. Just a little."
"Don't," Carter said, even though I was tempted. Carter kissed me again and patted me on the butt to send me on my way. "Not until after the Alphas Council. You both need to be…capable, if you're going to face off with Evershaw."
"Not a problem." I smiled at him as Rafe came out of the office, shrugging into his jacket. "The coyotes are not behaving themselves, so Evershaw is having to dig them out of trouble one hefty fine at a time. He's less and less interested in taking charge of all wolves and coyotes in the city. Hopefully at this meeting he'll retract the motion, and we can all figure things out."
"Besides," Logan said, breaking away from the scolding Natalia gave him. "We have bigger issues. The Auction is coming up and none of us want to see it go forward like it did last year. There are always a few cases of women offered against their will. The bears think they have a strategy for how to deal with it."
"A strategy?" Rafe snorted as he glanced at his watch. "Their strategy is usually to crush everything in sight. Period. End of story."
"They are not known for subtlety," Benedict said. The lawyer also checked the time, then scanned the bar once more. "Is Edgar coming?"
Conversation around us hiccupped, and I held my breath. Something hadn't been right with the Pride second-in-command since Nat and Logan's wedding, but no one would say exactly what. Logan just shook his head. "He needed a break. I'll fill him in when we're done. Are we ready?"
I nodded and turned to get my coat, but found Carter holding it for me already. As I shrugged into it, he wrapped the coat and his arms around me. Carter kissed the side of my neck as the rest of the family headed for the cars, Natalia talking loudly about watching teenagers make out, and Carter murmured, "I'll stay here to keep an eye on things. If you call me when you're on your way back, I'll meet you at the apartment."
"We're really busy," I said, a little doubtful. "Wouldn't it be better…"
"I bought strawberries today," he said. He kissed the other side of my neck and I closed my eyes, let my head fall back on his shoulder. "And I think you're in desperate need of a hot bath. And probably a spanking."
I laughed, slow and lazy, as desire kindled. "Really?"
"Really," he said. His palm slid over my stomach to hold me tighter against his chest. His voice dropped and grew husky, a hint of a purr in each syllable. "Wear your high heels to the apartment. Leave them on. Clothes off before you walk into the bedroom. Hair down."
"Whatever you say." I wanted to ignore Rafe gesturing at me from the door, but he looked impatient. We couldn't afford to be late. I started to untangle myself, even though Carter's purr grew louder. He loved it when I mostly pretended to obey him. Of course, he loved it even more whe
n I didn't. I shivered.
He leaned his elbows on the bar as I shouldered through the crowd, and I didn't have to look back to know he watched me leave. Just like I knew he would be waiting with a hot bath, the strawberries, the spanking, and at least a couple of surprises. I smiled as I got into the car and we headed for the Council building. Turned out I really enjoyed the surprises.
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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed Cut to the Chase. If you'd like to be notified when Chasing the Dream, Edgar’s story, is released, please join my mailing list by clicking below.
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Thanks!
Layla
Also by Layla Nash
Thrill of the Chase
Chasing Trouble
Storm Chaser
Cut to the Chase
Chasing the Dream (Coming November 2015!)