Hot to Touch

by Valentine, Layla

  “I like dogs fine, as long as he doesn’t bite or anything.” I followed him up onto the porch and waited while he unlocked the door.

  “Oh, Benny would never,” he reassured me as he pulled the door open.

  At once, a massive white pit bull bounded out and shot past us, making an ecstatic circuit of the yard before racing back toward Ace and play-bowing in front of him. He wagged frantically as Ace gave him a good scratch behind the ears.

  Benny was so brimming over with happiness that he didn’t even seem to notice me at first. I finally got a wet snuffle in my palm before he went back to dancing around Ace as we walked inside.

  Inside was more of what I had expected of a man like Ace. Neat and clean but stuffed with masculine toys: entertainment center with multiple video game consoles, big screen TV, speakers scattered everywhere, a kitted-out computer desk the size of a small boat. The dining room was full of exercise equipment. He had a beer fridge.

  He filled the dog’s bowls as Benny did his business in the backyard, then firmly locked the doors and checked the downstairs windows briefly, in a gesture I was familiar with.

  “You’re from the big city,” I said.

  He laughed. “I’m from Chicago. Guess old habits die hard.” He finished up, leaving the dog slurping up his dinner hungrily, and came back to take me in his arms. “Now, where were we?”

  His hot, agile mouth silenced my answer.

  I hadn’t expected him to be gentle, but he was: gentle but firm, his power held in check as he kissed and caressed me.

  I dropped my purse somewhere on the way to his bedroom as he nuzzled, nudged, and finally carried me down the back hall. I dropped my shoes and blazer along the way too.

  Dizzy in the best way, I pulled him against me eagerly, arms hooked under his and hands spread over his broad back. I felt the tightness of his muscles, the tremor in them when I ran my hands over his back—and then felt nothing beyond another of his ferociously tender kisses as he lifted me off my feet.

  I wrapped my legs around his waist and felt his breath shudder against my cheek as he walked me through the door to his darkened bedroom. He had one arm around me, supporting me easily as he reached back to close the door.

  He pinned me against the wall by the door, leaving me to cling to him, and stripped off his shirt, then peeled off his tank top to show his powerful chest. The tattoos ended in curves over each shoulder blade; as I wrapped my arms back around his neck and looked down the long, muscled sweep of his back, I glimpsed rose vines intertwined with barbed wire.

  I felt him unbutton my blouse and fought down a stab of anxiety before helping him peel it off of me. His arms slid around me again; he kissed my neck and the tops of my breasts as they peeked out of my bra. The feel of his tongue stroking over my tender skin made my nipples tighten painfully.

  I barely even noticed him unfastening my skirt until he pushed it down over my hips. Then I had to stand a moment to let it slide down. Ace pressed against me again, kissing me fiercely as he sandwiched me between his body and the wall; the cool air of the bedroom made my freshly bared skin prickle as I stood there in my underthings.

  He didn’t give me time or room to be self-conscious. This time when he scooped me up, it was one-armed, the other pushing my bra up impatiently. I had no time to tense or protest before his hot mouth closed over one of my nipples.

  “Aah!” One of my hands flailed, the other gripping his shoulder hard. I grabbed at the air, at the wall, then finally his soft, unruly hair as he sucked and nibbled and licked.

  My back arched, desperately pressing my breast against his mouth as his free hand cupped and kneaded my other breast. He kept me there, panting and trembling while he pleasured me, until my hips started rocking impatiently against him.

  Only then did he carry me to his bed, a broad swath of navy-blue quilt over the biggest mattress I had ever seen. I went eagerly, offering my mouth for his deep, hungry kisses as he peeled my bra all the way off and dropped it along the way.

  He laid me on the edge of his bed and stepped back, kicking off his hiking boots and then unbuckling his belt and letting his jeans slide to the floor. His cock sprang free, and for a moment, the sight of it intimidated me enough that I almost hesitated. He was huge; right then, with him looming over me and his massive tool rubbing against his belly, he looked as big around as my wrist.

  He stepped out of his jeans and opened a drawer on his dark wood bed stand, pulling out a condom. I lay there propped on my elbows, panting, my panties sticking to me as I watched him roll on the latex sheath. Then he came back to me, parting my thighs and pulling my panties down and off me.

  I bit my lip as he fit the head of his dick into me, already beyond speech; from his low, hoarse panting and the fever in his eyes, so was he.

  And yet, he restrained himself. A tremor went through him as he entered, but he stayed that way, not pushing in yet. Instead, he laid his hand on my aching mound and started stimulating me, kneading firmly until I started to tremble again.

  He entered me very slowly, rubbing me until my hips rocked upward on reflex, sliding in a fraction more each time. His eyes were squeezed closed, his chest heaving, droplets of sweat breaking out across his chest as he forced himself to go easy and slow.

  By the time he sank into me that last inch, groaning through his teeth, the work of his hand and the pressure of him inside of me had left me whimpering.

  I wrapped my legs around his hips, lifting myself to meet him as he started to move, drawing out of me and sliding in again in long, slow strokes as his thumb slid between the top of my lips and started rubbing me directly.

  I was so wet and turned on that I clenched over him, feeling my pleasure ramp up slowly as I dug my fingers into the tops of his hips.

  My whimpers bloomed into moans, and Ace opened his eyes to watch, his burning gaze sweeping over me as he drowned me in sensation. I felt like I was about to go crazy; I ground my hips against him faster, trembling more and more violently as my muscles started to tighten.

  I felt him start to shudder as he thrust, speeding gradually, breath rasping and then turning into little grunts of pleasure.

  The tension inside of me ramped up and up as we moved together; I heard my cries go loud and desperate, and with my last bit of sanity found myself glad that we were out in the woods.

  He moved faster, faster, switching to the heel of his hand to keep his surging hips from driving his thumb too hard against me.

  I squealed, shimmying, thrashing, as he pounded into me, slowly losing control of his strength. His free hand grabbed my ass as he started to shout blissfully; his eyes closed again, and his head fell back.

  The explosion took me, all that tension unraveling in long spasms as I arched and rolled my hips and dug the back of my head into the mattress. His hand moved as tirelessly as his hips; he sped again, and my spasms just kept coming as I hurt my throat screaming and didn’t care.

  I heard his deep voice break up into long, animal groans as he went rigid and then thrust into me as deep as he could go. His hips rolled spasmodically; I felt his hot length jerk inside of me as he spent himself, panting hoarsely and then letting out a last moan of contentment.

  I opened my eyes in time to see him leaning over me, a look of bliss on his face as he panted for breath. Then he collapsed over me, barely catching himself in time.

  “Holy shit, that was good,” Ace panted into my shoulder.

  I could barely manage a whimper of agreement.

  My head spun. My eyes started stinging a little as I came down, my body feeling like it was floating as I struggled for air. I had never had sex like that in my life. In fact, I had never had an orgasm with another person in the room in my life.

  I was too relaxed for a mood crash, but the wistfulness that washed over me hurt badly enough. I had just gotten my first taste of what I had been missing for years. It made me wish I had been luckier in love, and less shy…or maybe that I had just met Ace sooner.

&
nbsp; It also means that the two guys before him were absolute duds in bed.

  “You okay?” he panted.

  I nodded mutely before burying my face in his shoulder.

  “Okay, then.” He stroked my tangled hair back from my face and then got off me, hanging onto the condom as he pulled out. “I gotta go take care of this thing. Be right back.”

  I managed to climb onto the bed properly, even as shaky as I was. I lay there staring at the ceiling while he puttered in the bathroom for a few minutes. I had caught my breath finally by the time the door opened. I had also pulled myself together emotionally and was smiling again.

  I may need to visit Aspen more often.

  When he came out, he was still nude, his amazing body still gleaming with a light film of sweat. “I need a shower,” he said cheerfully, sounding not at all tired. “You want to join me?”

  “I can’t walk quite yet,” I said.

  He chuckled and came over to scoop me up.

  “Not a problem. You’re nicely portable.” He drew me against his chest and nuzzled my hair as he walked me over to the bathroom, making me giggle.

  “You probably think a safe is portable,” I teased.

  He laughed as he stepped through the bathroom door, holding me up one-armed while he pulled the shower door open. “If you can’t carry a whole human plus all your gear, you can’t become a firefighter.”

  We rinsed off in the warm spray, my legs a little wobbly under me at first as I leaned on him, but eventually I recovered enough to stand on my own. At least until he turned to me and started kissing me again.

  This time, he moved slowly, almost lazily, caressing my wet skin as he kept kissing me like he was breathing the life back into me.

  Tired as I was, my body still responded right away, nipples tightening and breath going short. When he started kissing my breasts again, I almost swooned; he turned off the water and half-led, half-carried me back to his bed.

  He took his time with me, not entering right away though I was already aching for it. Instead, he explored every inch of my skin, his rough hands sending tingles through me as he ran them over my ass, up my spine, over my shoulders and down my chest.

  His tongue lashed eagerly against me as he traced the same path with his lips; his fingers dipped into my wet passage, teasing me while he sucked my nipples until I was gasping and shivering under him.

  I came when he entered, stretching under him and moaning into his throat as ecstasy rippled through me in slow, soft waves. His gentle movements kept me keyed up; I squirmed and whimpered as Ace forced himself to stay slow.

  He did so until the very end, when his shuddering grew violent and every breath that came out was a growl. His trembling peaked—and then he settled over me with a contented sigh.

  It took him a while to roll off of me; his weight pressed me pleasantly into the mattress, and his warmth made me even more sleepy and relaxed. Finally, with a small noise of disappointment, he drew himself up and went to get rid of the condom.

  I was completely slack, barely able to move. I managed to get under the covers, but that was it. By the time I felt Ace’s weight settle onto the bed next to me, I was already drifting off.

  Chapter 6

  Naomi

  I woke slowly, so warm and relaxed that I didn’t want to move. That was unusual just by itself. Normally I woke to a shrilling alarm clock, way too early, and had to force myself out of bed to get gym time in before work. This time, for the first time in months, I woke naturally.

  The next unusual thing: I was naked. I lived in a penthouse loft with a ton of windows. Living in that goldfish bowl, I didn’t do anything naked besides shower. But I could tell, even before opening my eyes and seeing my clothes trailing toward the door of an unfamiliar bedroom, that I didn’t have a stitch on.

  Third: there was someone else in bed with me.

  Half the reason I didn’t want to move was the enormous, muscular form pressed warm and firm against me from behind, one massive, tattooed arm wrapped around me. It was cool enough in the room that we weren’t stuck together, but he was still like a furnace, his heat seeping into me as his musky scent teased my nostrils.

  Ace. Oh God, that’s right. Last night’s delirious pleasure crashed back into my head, and my mouth went dry.

  As I woke fully, I found myself conflicted as hell. I had duties to attend to back in Denver, not the least of which was starting the ball rolling on getting Ian chucked out of his position. If I waited too long on that one, it would give him time to pull a defense together.

  And yet…

  Suddenly my heart started aching. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay here, in the warm circle of Ace’s arms, and blow off the rest of my week with him. Here. Not back in Denver, where the only men around were either openly hostile or simply refused to treat me as an equal. Denver felt so cold right now, and here, I was warm. Safe. Relaxed.

  I could just quit. I could stop fighting and leave. They’ll take a huge hit if I walk away with my talent, my money, and my patents. Hell, at this point, I could never work again and still live like a queen.

  It wasn’t the first time I had thought such a thing, but it was the first time I didn’t dismiss the idea out of hand. Normally my pride didn’t let me think of anything like that for more than a few seconds. It felt too much like giving up.

  Like giving those bastards at Archimedes exactly what they wanted.

  I had always fought. Fought for my father’s love, his attention, his recognition of my accomplishments, and he had always refused, but I had fought on. I would earn his respect somehow, if I could get nothing else. His board was exactly like him—a bunch of sexist old men who wouldn’t give me my due simply because I was a woman.

  So I had fought at Archimedes too, all the way up to CEO on pure merit and persistence, working two, three times as hard as the men around me, with half the reward. But my father had never acknowledged my hard work. And by the time that I had made CEO, he had been in the ground for six months. I already had more degrees, more patents, and more accomplishments than him. My fortune was now a hundred times his. But somehow, living well wasn’t enough. It had never been enough. I still had something to prove.

  Today was the first morning that I had woken up and truly questioned any of it. And handsome, easygoing Ace—sleeping sweetly, completely oblivious to the effect he was having—was part of why.

  How long has it been since I met a guy who was worth staying with, even for a weekend? The sharp contrast between him and the men I worked with—men like Ian—made it even harder to think of leaving his bed and going back to my life in Denver.

  But the world wouldn’t wait. My life wouldn’t wait. And Ian’s comeuppance certainly couldn’t wait.

  At least I won’t have to ride back with Ian snoring in my ear the whole way.

  It was cold comfort as I got out of bed, gathered my clothes, and stepped into the shower. I cleaned myself up, got dressed, and checked the time on my phone. It was surprisingly early. I should be able to catch a flight back and be in by nine with time to spare.

  I let the dog out in the fenced back yard for his morning business, let him back in, and made sure the door was locked before ordering an Uber and taking off.

  As I stood on the porch waiting for my pickup, I looked back many times. I had left my phone number on the notepad in Ace’s small office and had his card in my wallet. I definitely wanted to see him again.

  But for now, I had my life to deal with.

  * * *

  The flight into Denver was choppy, but the storm wind at our tail cut our time. After a white-knuckle landing, I rushed home to change my clothes and jewelry. No way was I coming to work in the same clothes as yesterday; Ian would notice, and I wouldn’t hear the end of it. He was just that petty. And I was just that much of a stickler for looking professional.

  I chose a high-collared burgundy blouse with my suit, carefully concealing all the lovely little marks that Ace had left on my ne
ck. Just thinking about last night made me dangerously sweaty. I needed to focus—and I didn’t want any of those marks to be seen.

  I thought about Ace while fighting traffic, just as I had done the whole flight. I had never had sex like that in my life. It hadn’t just been the pleasure of it either—it had been the tenderness. His care for me. His efforts to spoil me completely, until I was so exhausted that sleep had been the only option. Sleep in his arms.

  Damn it, I thought as I downed my day’s first coffee while jammed up at a stoplight. I need to get focused back on work.

  Even if I discounted presenting my file on Ian to the board, I still had the mess he’d made in Aspen to take care of. I wasn’t as concerned with making Archimedes Gears look good despite Ian’s blunders as I was simply making sure that they had a safe and successful rollout of the new cable car system. I kept my promises, and despite Ian’s best efforts, this project was my baby.

  Unfortunately, I discovered something unpleasant the moment I walked through the door of the main office. Ian was there, still in the same clothes he’d worn on the plane, rumpled in his rush to get in as early as possible. Spreading his lies before I could come with the truth, like a bratty little boy who wanted to sway his dad before the sister he’d stolen from could come with her complaint.

  I knew it at once, looking through the transparent cubicle dividers to see Ian standing with Don Rumpole, the oldest and most “traditional” of our board members. I could already imagine the lies he was telling. As I drew closer and closer, my blood pressure rising with each step, all I heard was confirmation.

  “I told her we didn’t need all that testing, or the backup system, or anything like that. It would have cost us twice as much if we had gone by her specs. She’s the chief engineer on that project. She knows that system inside and out. She must have sabotaged it somehow. It was petty revenge for me taking the reins and actually getting things done.” His voice was high and wheedling, and Don nodded along with his arms folded, his expression closed.