by Virna DePaul
“That’s not what I meant—”
He cuts me off with a finger pressed against my lips before dropping to his knees. He makes quick work of undoing the top button of my jeans. I throw my head back against the glass and stare at the wall opposite of me. This cannot be happening again. First, it was at my work, and now it’s at his.
He tugs my jeans down my thighs and presses his palm against my clit over the thin fabric of my panties, and then he looks up at me as if he’s asking for permission.
I nod, realizing I’d rather have his tongue inside me than fight with him.
He tugs my panties down my thighs so that they collect against my jeans and he wastes no time getting to work. His tongue laps against my clit and my knees weaken in an instant. The brushing of his five’o’clock shadow against my most sensitive area ignites a fire within me and all I can do to hold onto reality is to dig my fingers through his hair as he kisses my pussy intimately, passionately.
I look down at him, but all I can see is the dark hair atop his head. With a hand on each side of my hips, he digs deeper with his tongue, reveling in the way I taste in his mouth, just as I’m reveling in the way he makes my knees shake.
“Oh God...” I can't believe how amazing it feels. Men have gone down on me before, of course, but none have ever made me feel this good. He buries his tongue deep inside of my quivering pussy. “Hunter... Yes, yes, yes.”
“Come for me, Dani,” he begs, his mouth never leaving my pussy. “Come all over my face.”
Trust me, I want to. I want to so badly, and once again, I feel balanced on the edge. So damn close. My body shakes as he works me with his magical tongue.
“You taste so fucking sweet,” he growls. “So wet too.”
Hunter's words vibrate against me. My toes curl up as I press my body even harder against his face.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I immediately stiffen. Oh God, no! I want to scream.
Hunter continues doing what he’s doing, as if he hadn’t heard.
“Thomas Clarkson is here,” Trisha calls through the door.
I yank on Hunter’s hair, and even though he growls, he stops licking me and instead just rests his cheek against my thigh. “Fuck,” he breathes, obviously frustrated.
Yeah, tell me about it.
He lifts his head slowly. “I forgot about that meeting,” he says softly. Then louder, obviously talking to Trisha, he calls, “Give me a few minutes.”
“Will do,” Trisha replies.
I immediately push him away, and pull my panties and jeans up my thighs. I’m embarrassed and frustrated as I sweep my hands through my hair, trying to make myself look presentable. Hunter swipes his hand across his mouth to wipe away any moisture (from my pussy!) then takes my arms, pulling me close. “Promise me you'll come back and let me finish what I started.”
I start to protest, but he whispers again, this time more urgently. “Promise me, Dani.”
I stare at him, knowing I shouldn’t. That Trish interrupting us was a good thing. That this man holds too much power over me already and the fact my body is still pulsing with desire be damned. But instead of saying any of that, I say, “I promise, Hunter.”
His eyes light with satisfaction and he bends down to kiss me when suddenly a large man barrels into the office and jerks to a stop. Two steps behind him is a gorgeous pregnant woman, whose eyes widen when she spots me.
“Oh, um, hey. Sorry,” the man says. “We can come back…” He’s about to turn around and guide the woman out the door, but with a gentle squeeze of my shoulder, Hunter lets me go. “Thomas. Angela. Stay. I want to introduce you to Dani.”
I stare. When Chad was a teenager, his bedroom walls were covered in posters of Thomas Clarkson, pro football player. Clarkson is Chad’s childhood idol, and Hunter of all people represents him.
“Hi, I’m Dani.” I reach out my hand to greet Thomas, whose firm handshake is even stronger than I had expected, then Angela. “My brother is your biggest fan.”
They both smile warmly at me. “So nice to meet you,” Angela says.
“Yes, it certainly is,” Thomas says with a slight inflection as he glances at Hunter. “Your brother play?”
Hunter leans back against his desk. “I’m currently trying to sign him. Chad Cross.”
Thomas lifts his brows, looking impressed. “That’s amazing.” He shakes a finger at me. “That kid is going to be a star.”
“That’s what everyone says.” Of course, I’m pleased by Thomas’s praise, but I can’t help feeling leftover uncertainty whether going pro is the right play for Chad. Still, I came here (partly) because we’d decided he has to make his own choices. I can’t treat him like a kid anymore.
“You seem apprehensive.” Thomas notes. “Does it help to know that Hunter was the one who convinced me to go pro, and he’s stuck by my side ever since.”
“And now he’s basically family,” Angela adds with a warm smile. “In fact…” She turns to Hunter. “We’re here to ask you to be our future son’s godfather.” She rubs her stomach.
“Seriously?” Hunter straightens and grins wide. He looks overjoyed as he pulls Angela in for a hug, then shakes Thomas’s hand. “Oh man, I’m going to teach this kid so much about football, about women—”
“Easy now,” Thomas warns him. “Don’t make me rescind the offer.”
“Please,” Hunter scoffs, but he’s unable to wipe the smile off his face. “You know that’s not even close to being an option.”
“Now that you’ve accepted, we should probably extend an invite for a BBQ we’re having in your honor,” Angela says. “And we’re not taking no for an answer.”
“You should come too, Dani,” Thomas turns to me. “Bring your brother. I’d love to meet him.”
Oh my God. Chad would be over the moon. I glance at Hunter, though, wondering what he thinks of this invitation, and he immediately nods.
“I’d love it if you both could come,” he says.
My heart beats faster and I almost smile but I tell myself Hunter’s enthusiasm isn’t for me. He just wants his chance to schmooze with Chad.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that, my pussy seems to tell me, still throbbing and achy from Hunter’s mouth. “Sure,” I manage to say. “That would be great. Thank you.”
“Wonderful!” Thomas booms and slaps a hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “You can see what this guy is like away from the agency.”
I refrain from saying I know what he’s like. “Thanks again for the invitation. It was nice meeting both of you. I should really be getting out of here, though. I’m going to be late for my appointment.”
Hunter walks me to the office door. “I’ll text you the address for the party later.”
“Sure,” I breathe out.
“Dani,” he calls before I can take more than a few steps in the hall.
I turn. “Yes?”
“Don’t forget your promise.”
I’m too speechless to reply. Instead, I just lift my hand in goodbye and book it out of there.
Chapter Ten
Hunter
I pull open the door of the tattoo shop and lock eyes with the receptionist, Eve, who offers me a distasteful scowl. For the life of me, I can’t quite figure out why there is so much bad blood between the two of us, especially because this is only our second meeting.
“Good afternoon, stranger,” I say with a forced grin.
“She’s back there.” She points toward the black curtain behind her with her thumb. “She’s hard to miss, so you shouldn’t need any assistance.” She lowers her gaze back to the countertop, lost in a thick paperback book.
“Self-help?” I question with a smirk, peeking over her shoulder as I make my way around the desk. “Ah, Romance.” I nod, seeing the book cover with a hunky naked hero wielding a guitar.
She rolls her eyes and closes the book before turning to confront me, but by the time she’s done so, I’m already through the black curtains.
The first thing I see is Dani walking toward the back of the shop and disappearing behind the opposite set of black curtains. To my left, Rob is working on some guy’s back. To the right, past Dani’s work area, is a man with short green hair and gauges the size of quarters in either ear.
I pace toward the back of the room, toward the curtains, acting nonchalant as if I have every right to be here. To my surprise, green-haired guy doesn’t ask me who I am and Rob doesn’t put me in a headlock. I enter a short hallway, with a back door, a restroom on the left, and two doors on the right. I choose door number one, the door closest to me and press my palm against it, but before I can push it open, it swings open and out comes Dani.
She screams and drops a box of gloves onto the concrete floor. “What the hell are you doing here?”
I bend down and swipe the box of gloves off the floor and push it back into her hands. “You know, I never would have pegged you as the type of girl to get scared so easily.”
“And I never pegged you for a guy who’d skulk around a tattoo shop. You’re not supposed to be back here!”
“Why?” I lean against the wall. “Boss might get mad?”
“The health department might have something to say about it.” She combs her free hand through her hair. Her highlights look brighter, more vibrant than before.
I shrug, then reach out and tug on a strand of her pink hair. “You did something to your hair.”
She places the box of gloves on a cart and hooks her finger at me. “If we’re going to have a conversation, we’re not going to do it here.”
She leads me toward the back exit, pushes the door open and I’m hit with a gust of wind. She kicks a rock to wedge it between the frame and the door as we step into the gravel lot behind the shop.
“Is that your bike?” I point toward a Harley parked beside an old school Volkswagen van.
She cranes her head over her shoulder and offers a warm smile at the hog. “Yep,” she sighs a hearty sigh. “That’s my baby.”
“Interesting. You never purr at me like that.”
“That’s because I love her, and I’m only just starting to be fond of you.” Her eyes widen. “I mean—”
“Too late. You’re fond of me. You said it yourself.”
She rolls her eyes but I can tell she’s flustered by what she said. By how I might take it. And I admit, I take it well, meaning I like the idea of her liking me. Too much.
“What do you want, Hunter?”
“To talk. Your brother and I had our meeting today.”
She nods. “And how did that go?”
“I’d say very well given he’s all signed up to go pro.”
Her eyes almost pop out of her head. “Uh—what?”
“You heard me.”
She scowls and narrows her eyes. She wants to kill me, wants to stab me right in the eyeball. I’m kidding of course, but her reaction only makes me want to tease her more. “Really, it took no time for him to sign. I think his name was scribbled across that dotted line within five minutes of him sitting down.”
“What did I tell you, Hunter?” Her voice drops to a low growl, almost as if the same gravel crunching beneath our feet has found its way into her throat. She stalks up to me, and with each step she takes, I take one step back until my back is pressed against the exterior of the shop.
“Let’s see. It’s his decision to make and I’m going to support that, but I’m also going to be on your ass like fried rice. Or something like that. Were you not being honest?”
She presses her body against mine, but not in a sexual way. More in a This is the part where you either beg for your life, or you die kind of way. And I want to beg alright. Beg her to throw me down and fuck me right here and now. But first…
I grin and place my hands on her luscious hips. “Easy there, Killer. I was kidding.”
“You’re such an asshole.” But she actually says it with a huge smile, like she can’t help herself. Before she can step back, I wrap my arms around her waist and hug her.
“At least you didn’t punch me. I think that means we’re making progress.”
“Or it means I’m on the job and can’t get physical.”
“I think it means you’re a little fonder of me than you want to admit.”
She snorts, but doesn’t deny it outright, which makes me want to hug her tighter.
So of course I let go.
“Anyway, your brother said he needs more time to think about it, and that’s fine with me. It wouldn’t be in anyone’s best interest to rush him. Now, how about we move on to other concerns. Namely, yours and mine and the fact I owe you something.”
Her brows furrow. “What?” Then her eyes widen when she gets my meaning. She just shakes her head and laughs. “Poor baby. Your pride must be bruised for you to be so focused on that.”
“Baby, you have no idea. Now, you live around here?”
She bites her lip, then finally says, “Above the shop.”
I simply grin.
Chapter Eleven
Dani
We’re barely in the door and he’s already nipping at my neck and pulling at my clothes. He’s rushing, needing to get his fix and I understand his predicament because I’m suffering from the exact same thing.
I think about him when he’s not around, and go absolutely wild when he is. I crave his touch.
He’s still an asshole. He still manages to piss me off. But there’s something irresistible about him, and the very thought that he might feel the same fondness for me that I do for him lights a fire within me. Maybe it’s just lust. Maybe it’s something else. Whatever it is, I’m more than content to let things play out for now.
It’s all going so fast, but it’s not going fast enough. I caress the length of his arms and push off his jacket. He breaks from me momentarily, holding the lust at bay just long enough to pull his shirt off his broad shoulders and rip his tee over his head.
He’s all steel, forged with a body that would make any normal man jealous, a body that would make any woman scream. I want to scream, but my eyes shift to his pierced nipple and I can’t help but chuckle.
“What?” he questions sheepishly, his breath harsh. “What’s funny?”
“Nothing.” I rush back toward him, his head bowed down to meet mine and I kiss him. He kisses me back, pressing a gentle palm against the back of my head as his tongue darts past my lips.
This feels so right. It shouldn’t feel right. Nothing about this is right. Nothing about this makes sense, but I don’t care.
He pushes me backward, fumbling toward the bedroom door, which I kick open with my heel.
He swoops me into his big, strong arms and carries me to the edge of the bed. I land against the comforter and work to kick myself free from my jeans. He wastes no time in sliding my panties down my legs just as I’m tossing my shirt to the floor and undoing my bra.
I’m bare in front of him and his gaze drills into me, like he’s boring right into my soul. All my curves are on display. All my flaws. But there’s a glimmer in his eyes that leads me to believe he doesn’t care, or rather, he doesn’t see the flaws at all.
Growing impatient, I kick him playfully. He gets the hint and strips his slacks and underwear down his long legs in one fell swoop.
He’s bare now too, standing in front of me. The sexiest man I have ever seen in my life, and certainly the sexiest man I’ve ever been with.
His cock stands at attention, throbbing and waiting. I’m waiting too. I lock both heels around the back of his taut ass and pull him down onto the bed, on top of me. His eyes watch me carefully as one hand caresses my side, trailing a path down to my hips. He pulls me toward him, and I feel his erection against my opening, warm and ready.
He drops his head and suddenly he’s kissing me again, harder and deeper, assaulting my mouth with his tongue. I throw an arm around the back of his head and pull him deeper into my kiss. This is ecstasy right here. Excitement fills the air along with the musky scent of his body.<
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When he breaks away from the kiss, I’m left vulnerable and breathless. He’s not content to leave me waiting for too long though. He drops his head to the valley between my breasts and mouths a trail between them before shifting his attention to one nipple, sucking gently against my swollen tit and playing with my nipple piercing with his tongue.
I throw my head back against the pillow and comb my fingers through his hair as he laps his tongue around one breast, and then the other. Pressure is building inside me as I feel myself edging toward climax.
So close. So close.
His hot cock caresses my pussy. I need him inside me. I crave him like the air I breathe. I arch my hips, wordlessly pleading.
He gets the hint.
He shifts his eyes up to me as his hand falls back to my hip, lifting me slightly as he presses his hard cock against me.
I take a deep breath, waiting for the deep plunge, but instead of hard and fast, it comes slowly. So slowly. Out of this world. I feel every inch of him rocking into me, and all the while his eyes never waver from mine. My eyes want to shut, to shield myself, but something keeps my eyes open and glued to his.
There’s something about his face, something about his lips as they part gently, something about the pure ecstasy on his face as he slowly reaches the hilt, and holds himself there. He’s buried all the way inside of me, and he doesn’t move. God, I need him to fucking move. To fucking do something, but he seems intent on torturing me.
“You good?”
His inquiry takes me by surprise. More and more, I’m seeing a side to him I never would have believed existed the first time I met him, but I’m more than willing to be surprised.
And surprised is exactly what I am when without warning, he pulls back, as if he’s priming a bow. My lips quiver as I feel him shift inside of me, and I let out a scream of pleasure as he thrusts all the way back in, filling me to the hilt again. He repeats the process again and again, pulling me inside out with his impossibly hard cock.
There’s something different this time, something so different than the time before. He’s just as feral as before, his eyes are just as hungry. He’s just as strong as ever, just as horny as ever, but something… is different.