by S. E. Hall
I should be ashamed of myself, thinking that way.
I’ll work on it.
He follows me into the apartment and kicks the door shut, then aims a remorseful frown at me. “How much trouble did I just cause you?”
I laugh nervously. “A lot, but nothing I can’t handle. I’m more concerned with the trouble it might cause you. Rhett, Warrick’s a weasel. He won’t consider what he did to deserve it, and he probably will press charges.”
His head dips, and he rubs his forehead, sighing. “I’ll handle it. Yours, mine, any backlash. You don’t worry about anything. Maybe I went a little overboard, and I’m damn sorry it worries you, but I’m never gonna be the guy who talks about taking your hands off a lady!” He raises his head. “He can’t put his hands on you or call you names, Teaspoon. No one can.”
There they are again—the “you may burn in hell because fighting is wrong and shouldn’t turn you on, so jump him quick before you go” tingles.
“Sit down. I’ll get you some ice for your hand.” I head to the kitchen, contemplating sticking my head in the freezer for a cool down. I’m a deranged girl.
“Come back here, I don’t need any ice. I need some answers.” His tone is somber and full of unresolved anger from more than just the fight. I peek around the corner, and he lifts one expectant brow then beckons me forward by crooking his finger. “Come sit down, Reece.”
I walk over hesitantly and sit on the opposite end of the couch, for a whole five seconds before he leans toward me, wraps an arm around my back and the other under my legs, and hauls me right beside him.
“Why was he here?” he asks with an eerie brand of calmness, keeping me in his hold.
I stare at my hands in my lap, suddenly fascinated by my terrible cuticle care. “Basically, Warrick and my father are very manipulative and overbearing, always have been, always been allowed to be. When they think things should go a certain way, they truly believe that if they browbeat me, or whoever, long enough, that person will somehow magically agree and play along. Their current project is conforming me to their plan for the company. Warrick was actually being sugary sweet when he first got here.”
“And then?”
“And then I reminded him that he really shouldn’t be wandering around in public alone until doctors are absolutely sure he’s been prescribed the right medication for his delusions.”
He laughs and shakes his head, and when he settles, runs the back of his non-busted hand down my cheek.
“They think you should marry him.” It’s not a question, nor spoken with any malice.
I nod, and now know why he disappeared today and ignored my calls and texts. “He’s not my fiancé, Rhett, never has been. He did not once propose, and I wouldn’t have accepted if he had. I swear to you, I’ve never had anything with Warrick. I don’t know who told you what, but I’m telling you the truth.”
“I know.”
“You do? Then why the vanishing act today?”
“’Cause I wanted time to think, rationally, and not act on my quick temper. Which worked out well”—he chuckles—“since I ended up beating his ass anyway. I needed to be sure this, us, is more than blinding physical attraction, that I actually have trust in you.”
“And?” The word comes out a croaky gulp.
He smirks. “I’m here.”
“Don’t get so coy so fast, mister. I could be angry at you for not talking to me first, ignoring my calls, being all high and mighty, and debating my trustworthiness. I don’t do that to you.”
He has the decency to look uneasy. “Are you?”
“I haven’t decided. Did Ozzie or Jarrett know why you left today?”
Guilt flashes in his eyes. He seems to carefully deliberate whether to lie to me or betray his brother and a man who could crush his bones to make his bread. “Yes, they both heard Warrick, but”—he holds up a finger—“I didn’t say anything except I was stepping outside.”
“So why do you think they acted like they were no more sure if you’d been abducted by aliens than they were that maybe they had an inkling of what may have triggered your really long walk?”
“I know exactly why my brother did it. He knew the only way I’d ever be sure about us is if I reached this conclusion myself. Nothing, and almost no one, penetrates my surface, Reece. I don’t give away trust, it has to be pried from me. And if I walk away, I never look back. But if I decide to stay, I’ll stay as long as I’m wanted. Jarrett knows me, and when to back up and let me find my way. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you, not for a second, it was that I didn’t really know how much I did. Does that make sense?”
“Yes,” I whisper.
“And if I had to guess, I’d say Ozzie wanted to see what I’d do, if I thought enough of his girl or not. They did you a favor, Teaspoon, both of them. I don’t deserve you if I don’t know your worth.”
It’s a shame he doesn’t do pretty words. I’d really fall hard then.
I steady my breathing and scoot impossibly closer. “Now what?”
“Depends. You okay with all that? ‘Cause your argument’s valid, and I never don’t believe someone who says I’m an ass.”
“More than okay. You ‘bout done talking?” I pour sexy challenge on it.
He answers in one feral movement that has me flat on my back and pinned beneath him, his mouth claiming mine with a ferocity that rivals the building need inside me. I’m like a three-armed nympho and can’t decide where to touch first, exploring every solid, beautiful part I blindly find. Desperate and ignited, I groan into his mouth and grab his firm ass cheeks, pulling his hardness tighter against me.
He sucks down my neck and rips my shirt open in single jerk, then nips and licks across my collarbone and between my breasts. I arch up, pushing it all into his face. Anything, anywhere he wants to put his mouth, I want to feel it—I ache to feel it. He tugs down both cups of my bra roughly and lifts his head, staring at my exposed, heaving chest. One finger traces around, then over, each nipple, and they peak to pointed hardness under his touch.
“Rhett?” With a slight hitch in my whisper, I move to cover myself, but he thwarts that attempt. Is he taking so long to get a lasting look because he only plans to see them once? That is his pattern, and the thought immediately stomps out my flame. “Rhett?”
“Phenomenal, Teaspoon. Only thing not little about you.”
I scoff, trying to push him off me. “Thank you.” I roll my eyes and again try to hide myself.
“Hey, what’d I say about the pretty words? You make em’ up in your head while I make you crazy. If you don’t still feel everything I do to you tomorrow, I didn’t do it right, and then you can get pissy with me. Now, smash those beauties together for me so I can suck on both without coming up for air.”
His face’s delved in before I’ve computed his instructions as he blindly captures my hands and guides them to the sides of my breasts. We push them together, and he takes total advantage. First the left, he covers the whole nipple with his mouth, swirling his tongue around it and flicking the tip. After a long suck and nip, he slides his face to the right one and repeats the pattern as his skillful hand works between our bodies on my pants. Since my hands are busy, I can only lift my hips to help him, but he growls his appreciation around my breast and shifts his body weight, managing to get me stripped down to only my panties.
He releases my nipple with a wet pop and looks over me reverently. Wearing a wicked smile to rival the Devil himself, he skims his fingers over my flesh, tracing every curve, dip, and the edges of my panties. He’s on his knees, but lowers his upper body, eyes cast up over my tummy and pinned on mine as he hooks his fingers in both sides of the lace. He peels my panties down slowly, taking the time to lay soft, open-mouthed kisses on every exposed inch, ‘til the scrap of material’s been tossed over his shoulder.
My stomach muscles coil in anticipation as he kisses his way up my completely bare flesh. He laughs lightly along my skin, his eyes on mine so he can feed o
ff my nervous exhilaration. His hands push on the insides of my thighs, spreading my legs wide open, just as he said he’d do. The cool air hits my need and causes an involuntary quiver through my whole body.
“Now what?” he asks in an antagonistic, but feral, timbre, grinning.
Is he seriously asking me a question right now? If so, I sure hope he doesn’t expect a coherent answer.
“Tell me, Reece. I can see what you want. You’re breathing so hard your tits are jiggling, which I like very much by the way. Your skin is flushed everywhere, and you’re so wet you’re sparkling. But I want to hear you to say it.”
“I, uh…” I pant and swallow hard, my eyes clamped shut. “I assume you’ll be putting, your um, mouth down there?”
Super savvy, Reece.
His laugh is sharp and short, and my eyes fly open. “Down here?” He trails a fingertip up my thigh, over, and down the middle of my wetness. “This where you mean?” He winks, and a wave of want rolls through my stomach.
“Yes,” I whisper with a quick nod.
He scissors his fingers to run them up and down each side of my labia, finally pinching them tightly around my clit. Loud, unprecedented noises escape me, and I squirm, pushing into his touch. I hear his chuckle, my eyes closed again, and try to maneuver my body to place his fingers exactly where I want them, but fail. Tortured, frustrated, and turned on beyond reason, I throw ladylike linguistics to the wind and snarl, “Rhett Foster, you’d better eat my pussy right this damn minute!”
“Good girl,” he praises with unrestrained intensity… and his mouth covers me.
“Holy!” I wail, my hips jerking up, immediately pinned down for me.
This is nothing like I imagined; the human brain isn’t equipped to create on this level of wonder. The warmth of his mouth mixes divinely with my wetness for an added zing of heat. His lips massage all the engorged, throbbing flesh while his tongue, his indecently talented tongue, flicks and teases my clit, pushing the tight bud up and around, coaxing it to fully blossom. He hums, the vibrations helping bring my blessed explosion up from my toes.
“Mhmm, here she comes.”
His muffled purr is joined by two fingers sliding inside me fast, thrusting in and up to rub my internal walls, and I splinter into countless pieces. A frantic pulsing extends up into my belly so much so that those muscles are contracting too. The euphoria seems to go on forever, a strange but beautiful mix of wanting more so badly it hurts, yet floating through the boneless surrender of every muscle in your body. Rhett’s hoarse rumble is intoxicating as he remains where he is—fingering and sucking me—‘til I spasm with hypersensitivity.
“No, no more.” Huskiness coats my breathless plea and I throw an arm over my eyes, sated and more relaxed than a syringe full of anesthesia could accomplish.
“You falling asleep on me, babe?” He asks with reigned laughter.
Babe? Babe is new.
“No,” I answer but don’t move.
“Up you go,” he says as I’m hoisted up in a bridal hold. “Let’s get you to bed.”
Now my eyes open, and I look at him in wonderment. “We’re not done, are we?”
“Your eyes are already closing again, Teaspoon, so I’d say that’s a yes. Tell ya what.” He gently lays me on my bed and situates the covers over me. “I’m gonna use your shower. When I get back, if you’re raring to go and jump me, I’ll see what I can do about that. But if not, sweet dreams, Miss One and Done.” He kisses my forehead, lips tickling me with his laugh.
“Morning.” His breath is warm on my neck, as hot as the sexy sound of his raspy morning voice. “I know you’re awake.”
“Mhmm.” I feign a sleepy hum, my skin flushing with embarrassment as flashes of last night barrel through my mind.
“Jarrett’s here now. Got in late.”
“Okay?”
“Just warnin’ ya.”
“Warning me for what?”
He pulls me back against him and brushes my hair off my neck. “Remember the last time I slid up behind ya?”
“Yes,” I squeak, tiny explosions going off in rapid sequence in my stomach.
“This is gonna be better.” His mouth latches down on my neck as he yanks my leg up and back over his hip. His erection prods at my entrance—wonderful risk you take when you fall asleep without your panties on, I guess. “Turn your head and gimme your mouth.”
He kisses me, soft and slow, each languid glide of his tongue relaxing me a little more. I don’t know if my breath stinks, if he’s already put on a condom, or anything other than… everything quickly fades to a tranquil haziness when Rhett Foster’s near me, touching, talking, kissing, or doing anything to or with me. I angle myself up and push back into him to let him know just that. His hand caresses my cheek, and he kisses me deeper as his rigid length gradually enters me. I pull back from his mouth, needing to breathe, as the stretch comes with a beautiful sting.
“Look at me.” He glides his other hand across my stomach and pushes in only slightly more. “Reece, baby. Look at me. Relax, just feel.”
I barely manage out a trembling whisper. “I’m trying. You’re—” I stop myself.
“I’m what? Say it. I promise I’m gonna like it.”
I do look at him now, and his sexy grin is edged with arrogance, but his dark blue eyes are sincere, filled with the actual gravity of the moment.
“You’re a lot to take in.” I giggle, purely my nerves making noise.
“And you’re magnificent.” He covers my mouth with his own once more, and right when I sigh, he thrusts fast and hard, all the way inside me.
I whimper in his mouth, but he swallows it, full lips caressing mine, his hand rubbing my stomach lovingly. His hips curl and roll against me from behind in a way that feels glorious, pushing and pulling himself in and out my body like the tide. His large hand massages one breast, the slick moisture between our bodies building, dampening our skin. I succumb to the rhythm of him thrusting, surrendering as his thickness drags along every spot in me, hypnotized by the primal, almost tormented noises that clamor up, deep and tantalizing, from his chest.
“Reece, goddamn, Reece.” He groans, maneuvering my head to suckle up my neck to my ear. “Feel better now? You like me inside you?”
“Yes,” I moan, arching to press my ass farther into him.
He releases my breast and takes my hand, guiding it between my legs. “We gotta get you there, babe. You feel too fucking good.”
Together, our fingers stroke my clit just right, and within seconds, the speed of his drives into me and his grunts in my ear both pick up. The masculine sound of what I do to him, how I make him lose control, coupled with our frantic ministrations between my legs, sends me freefalling over the mindless edge.
“Rhett, oh, I’m—”
“I know, babe, I feel you. Fuckkk.” He nuzzles my neck and digs his fingers into my hip, holding me tight against him. “Your pussy, fuck me, keep going, baby. Keep coming.”
His thrusts become short, brutal stabs until he stays buried within me and I feel him twitch once, twice, before he lets out a prolonged sigh of contentment. We stay just as we are for long minutes, regaining our breath as our rapid heartbeats settle.
Suddenly he rolls on his back, taking me with him, until I lay on top of him on my back. Two large, comforting hands ease up my sides, across my breasts, and coast back down my arms to lace his fingers through mine.
“You know your shirt’s off, right?” I snicker.
“I do now.” He tickles my sides. “Quit looking for everything I do differently with you. I already told you, you are the exception. And exceptional.”
“So I shouldn’t wonder if—”
“No need to wonder, I’ll tell you. I am definitely, without question or hesitation, going to fuck you a lot more than once.”
“Oh, you and those pretty words.” I sigh dramatically.
“Get up, brat.” He shifts us and swats my butt. “Take a shower with me.”
Cab’s on its way.” Jarrett’s at the door, one hand on the knob, when I walk into the living room. “Grab your shit. We’ll be gone before she’s done blow-drying her hair.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” He rarely makes sense, but before I’ve had coffee? I won’t even attempt to decipher through his words without some caffeine, so I head straight for the kitchen.
“Dude, we’ll grab your precious coffee out somewhere. If you didn’t take those damn sleeping pills, you wouldn’t need that shit anyway.”
I don’t bother correcting him. I haven’t needed anything to sleep since… nope, telling him that would just add a whole other deep conversation to my morning.
“Rhett, snap out of it and move your ass! And you’d better hope we get our deposits back on those apartments we just had to have, Lover Boy, or you’re reimbursing me.”
Now I’m with him—before the coffee’s even done brewing, look at that. “We’re not leaving. Since you’ve obviously been tracking my recent activities, I’m assuming you also noticed I took my time in the shower? Also, this crazy thing I’m doing now,” I point at the coffeemaker, “is often referred to as ‘making myself at home.’ Cancel the cab.”
“No need, I didn’t really call one.” He moves away from the door and takes a seat at the kitchen bar. “I was just testing ya.”
“I pass?”
“Of course you did! No child left behind, bro, no child left behind.” He laughs and slaps out a beat on the countertop. “I knew Reece was different for you. Just wanted to make sure you knew Reece was different for you.”
Says the guy who gave me a shitload of grief about her in the very recent past. But much like I explained to Reece, I was way ahead of his test. I’m gonna let him have glory though.