by HELEN HARDT
“Damn.”
She continued sucking me, making me crazy, until I couldn’t hold off any longer. I grabbed on to her head, forcing her down upon my cock and then up and back down, up and back down. I ached to come down her throat, to watch my semen wet her mouth, watch her lick my saltiness from her lips.
No way. I was coming in that hot little pussy of hers.
I had planned to take her from behind, doggy-style. That way I wouldn’t have to look at her face, but suddenly I wanted more than anything to see those eyes when I came inside her and as she shattered again around my hardness. I grabbed her hair and forced her off of my cock, and laying her down on her back, I spread her legs. Her red pussy lay beckoning, already swollen from her first orgasm. How easy it would be slide right in, find my solace within her sweet body.
But I wasn’t looking for solace. Solace didn’t exist for me. What I needed now was release, pure and simple—an end to my aching need.
So instead of sliding into her, I thrust into her harshly, taking her. Taking what she was giving me, what she had told me to take.
And my God, she fit me like a fucking glove. The suction around me, every little ridge inside her cunt, the edge of her cervix—all of it had been created as a perfect mold to my cock. She was milking me, and I hadn’t even pulled out and thrust in again yet.
I was so on edge. I could spill at any moment. How would this help my need if I couldn’t make it last?
“Please, Talon. Please fuck me. I need it. Now.”
Her words were my undoing. I pulled out and thrust back into her, finding in her body the release I needed. Only one more thrust and—
The convulsions started at the base of my cock and in my balls, traveling at light speed through my arousal as I filled her with my come.
What was I, a fucking teenager? Two thrusts and I’m coming? A thirty-five-year-old guy who couldn’t hold his spunk?
She didn’t get to come again.
What a fucking failure I was.
I pulled out, my cock already going limp. And I had forgotten to look into her eyes. That filled me with the most sadness of all.
She gently cleared her throat. “Are you…done?”
Embarrassment flooded through me. But what the hell did I care what she thought? This was just a fuck, after all. If it hadn’t been to her liking, oh well. She had come at least once. It wasn’t a complete loss.
“I’m…” was all that came out. I rolled over so I was lying on my back, next to her.
“You’re what? Sorry? Why? It was wonderful.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“Who’s lying? No one’s ever gone down on me like that before. And my nipples are still quivering from the treatment you gave them.” She leaned up on one arm and pressed her lips across mine.
Tenderness. She was giving me tenderness. And I didn’t deserve tenderness.
I didn’t want tenderness.
I’d done what I wanted to do. I’d fucked her. Yeah, I’d wanted it to last longer, but it hadn’t.
It was over.
It wouldn’t happen again.
Chapter Nine
Jade
He didn’t respond to my kiss.
My skin tingled all over, and my pussy was still throbbing. His cock hadn’t been inside me for long, but God…for the few seconds he had penetrated me, I’d felt complete in a way I hadn’t ever.
Or maybe I was just horny.
I was wildly attracted to Talon Steel. No denying that. But on the other hand, how much of this was the rebound thing? I had just been left at the altar.
And now I had to live here in the same house with him. Had this been a complete mistake?
But as I looked at him lying on his back, his arm over his forehead and his eyes closed, I couldn’t think it had been a mistake. Perhaps it would be awkward between us from now on, but I would never regret this.
I couldn’t help a smile. He had come very quickly. That meant he had wanted me, or at least that he found me wickedly attractive. I’d take either at this point.
Now what? It was the middle of the night. Should I get up and go back to my own room? Did he want me to stay?
I wanted to stay. Talon Steel was so… I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. All I knew was I had an overwhelming need and desire to offer him comfort. I had no idea what might be comforting for him, but something in me knew he needed it.
Slowly I trailed my hand over his forearm. He jerked at first.
“Shhh,” I said softly. “Let me.”
He relaxed slightly. Though still tense, at least he didn’t make me stop. I feathered my fingers up his forearm, his upper arm, to his shoulders. Then down over his abdomen, tracing gentle circles around each of his nipples. I glided my hand down his chest over his abs, down to his dark thick patch of pubic hair. I entwined my fingers in it, purposely avoiding his cock. This wasn’t about sex. This wasn’t about turning him on. This was about giving him comfort.
I sat up a little so I could move my hand down his thick muscular thigh, his calf, all the way down to his ankle and his foot, I gently trailed my fingers over his instep and then moved to the other foot, the ankle, the calf, the thigh back up to his pelvis, his beautiful torso, to his shoulder and then his other arm, all the way down to his hand. I squeezed each finger gently and then went back up his arm across the shoulder and back down his other arm to the hand near me.
I pulled the blankets over our bodies, entwined my fingers with his, and lay back down next to him on my back.
I would stay until he told me to leave.
* * *
I was sitting in a plush seat of the Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver, my fingers weaved around Talon’s. I massaged his thumb with mine. He looked at me and smiled. Smiled! A symphony orchestra was playing Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. The music drifted toward me, the beauty and gentility of spring…lovely. And then summer. The birds singing through the fields, the sweet summer breezes, and then the violent lightning storm of cellos.
I opened my eyes.
Oh! I was still in bed next to Talon. The music was coming from his phone. He must have set the alarm. Still he lay, not moving, his arms haphazardly strewn over his forehead. Our fingers were still intertwined. Roger lay sleeping at his feet.
Now what? Should I wake him? Should I get my clothes on and leave?
That would be the easiest course of action. Put on my clothes quietly and sneak out before he woke.
But if I did that, he might never acknowledge that last night had taken place. So I gathered my courage, gulped, and gently nudged him.
He shot up in bed. “What?”
“Calm down. It’s just me.”
He turned to me, his eyes full of smoke. “What are you doing in here?”
“Don’t you remember? We fell asleep together after we…”
He raked his fingers through his disheveled hair. “Oh, shit.”
Not exactly what I’d wanted to hear. “You sweet-talker, you,” I said.
Talon grabbed the covers, tented them, and looked underneath. “Fuck.” He swung his legs over to the side of the bed, got up—God, his ass was great—found his pajama bottoms, and quickly put them on. “Listen. Last night never happened. You got that?”
Was he fucking kidding me? “I hate to tell you this, Talon, but last night most definitely did happen. And quite frankly, it was pretty awesome.”
He ambled across his bedroom, darting his gaze from here to there. Most likely he was purposely avoiding mine.
“Last night meant nothing. It was a mistake. I… You mean nothing to me. Nothing, you got that?”
His words cut through me like a dull butcher knife. He had wanted me. I had seen it in his eyes, felt it in his touch. Heck, he had said the words. It might’ve been a fuck, but it wasn’t just any fuck. Maybe it hadn’t crossed the line over to lovemaking, but it was more than just a quickie. Something had happened between us last night, and goddamnit, he was not going to get away with this.
“I don’t believe you,” I said.
“Well, start believing. Last night meant nothing to me.”
I sniffed back some tears that threatened, rose, and stalked toward him, still naked. “You wanted me as much as I wanted you.”
He still refused to meet my gaze. “Wanting has nothing to do with anything.”
“Perhaps not, and maybe I don’t mean anything to you. If that’s the truth, I will accept it. But you have to convince me with something other than your harsh words, because your body sang an entirely different tune last night.”
He huffed, saying nothing. He continued stomping around his room, looking for God knew what.
I figured that was my exit cue, but damn it—no. If he wanted me to leave, he was going to tell me so. I walked back over to the bed, sat down, and then—crap. I had to work this morning. Ryan was expecting me over the winery. What the hell time was it anyway?
“What time is it?” I asked Talon.
“Six a.m.”
“Six a.m.? Are you crazy?” I didn’t have to be at work until nine. “What are you doing up so early?”
He turned, finally looking me in the eye. “In case you’ve failed to notice, I have a ranch to run. We start early around here. All this finery didn’t just appear. We’ve all worked really hard for it.”
Bam! He sure as hell knew how to make me feel insignificant. Again, tears threatened, and I tried hard to will them back.
To no avail. One trickled down my cheek. I got up and lowered my head to hide my tears from him. I grabbed my boxers and tank top, got them on as quickly as I could, nearly stumbling as I did so, and left the room without saying anything. I couldn’t say anything. I was too choked up. I walked briskly down the hallway, past the kitchen, and down the other hallway to my own bedroom, where I shut the door, threw myself on the bed, and cried into my pillow.
Chapter Ten
Talon
What had I done? Why couldn’t I control my desire? What was it about her that got to me? I wasn’t used to wanting something. I never had to want women. They always just appeared, throwing themselves at me. I wasn’t stupid. I took them up on it most of the time. Why not? As long as I used a condom, I was safe.
Fuck!
I hadn’t used a condom with Jade.
Damn, how irresponsible was she? She didn’t know me from Adam. I could be carrying around all sorts of crap. I wasn’t, of course. If anyone practiced safe sex, it was me. After what I’d been through, I didn’t take any chances. I was damn lucky I hadn’t been infected a long time ago.
Now I’d have to talk to her. She was a smart girl. Definitely not stupid, that one, which didn’t make sense. Why hadn’t she insisted on a condom? She was probably on the pill or something—otherwise she would be worried about pregnancy. But what about disease? What had she been thinking? Did she have indiscriminant sex often? Should I be worried?
Goddamnit.
I pulled a T-shirt on and left the suite, walking quietly to the other side of the house to her room. I knocked. No response.
“Jade?” I knocked a little louder.
“Go away,” she said, her voice muffled.
“We need to talk,” I said.
A minute later, the door opened and she appeared, her eyes streaked with tears.
A brick hit me in the gut. What had I done? I flew into a rage, wanting to beat the shit out of anyone who made her cry.
And then it dawned on me.
I had made her cry.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Can I come in? I need to talk to you.”
“Sure. Yeah, I agree. We should talk.” She opened the door wider, turned, walked back to her bed, and sat down.
I thought about sitting next to her on the bed, but I couldn’t be that close to her. I didn’t trust myself. So I grabbed an armchair from the corner and scooted it toward the bed.
“So what did you want to talk about?” She grabbed a tissue from her nightstand and blew her nose.
“Well…about last night…”
She nodded. “Yeah?”
“I want to apologize for…”
She arched her eyebrows.
“For not using a condom.”
Her eyes popped open into circles. “That’s what you want to apologize for?”
“Yeah. It was really irresponsible. And I want to make sure—”
“Let me guess,” she cut in. “You want to make sure I’m not harboring some disgusting disease that I might’ve infected you with.”
“Well, yeah…”
“Jesus Christ.” She shook her head.
“What did you think I wanted to talk about?”
“Oh, I don’t know. The fact that we just had sex, perhaps? The fact that you basically told me it meant nothing? The fact that I know that’s bullshit?”
“So you’re saying that safe sex isn’t important?”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Talon. Of course safe sex is important. You have nothing to fear from me. I have been monogamous the last seven years, and I’ve been on the pill for the last ten. You know I just ended a long relationship. I’m the one who should be concerned about you.”
“You certainly weren’t concerned last night, because you didn’t insist that I use a condom.”
She let out a huff. “Absolutely right. I got lost in the moment. It was stupid, and it was irresponsible. But I promise you, I do not have HIV. I do not have herpes. I do not have gonorrhea or syphilis or chlamydia. I do not have any other disgusting little mite growing down there.”
“All right.”
She was telling the truth. I knew it. Her face had turned pink, and more tears flooded her eyes.
I was a jerk.
“But since you’re so concerned,” she continued, “why don’t give me a rundown on your sexual history? I would bet it’s way more exciting than mine.”
My sexual history… She had no idea. But I was clean. I always used condoms, and I got tested for everything every six months, whether I’d been active or not. Maybe it was a little OCD, but I couldn’t help it. “I was last tested two months ago. I can show you the results if you’d like.”
“The results don’t mean jack shit if you had sex with someone other than me in the last two months.”
I had. A cocktail waitress had thrown herself at me in a bar in Grand Junction about a month ago. But I’d used a condom that night, as well as the next night when I saw her again. Other than that, I hadn’t had any encounters since my last test. A little slow for me, but it wasn’t like I ever went out looking for it. They usually came to me, and as long as the woman didn’t look dirty, I allowed it. A man had needs, after all. I took what was offered.
I didn’t want to tell Jade about the indiscretion, but I had just fucked her. She had a right to know she was safe.
“Only a couple of times in the last two months, and all with the same woman. I used a condom every time.”
A look of distress cast a shadow over her pretty face, but only for a split second. “Then why didn’t you use a condom with me? Surely you keep a good supply on hand.”
I did. She was right about that. What could I say to answer question? That I’d wanted her so badly I’d lost my mind? That I’d been so crazy with desire I had forgotten to be safe? That had never happened before, even in Iraq, where everyone was so needy and was looking for comfort wherever he could find it. If I didn’t have a condom on me, I didn’t do it, no matter how beautiful or desirable the woman was, no matter how much my cock wanted release. I never had intercourse without a condom. Ever.
Until last night.
“I guess I just…forgot.”
She nodded. “I see. And I understand.”
“No, you don’t understand. You think I just wanted you so much that I forgot. That’s not the case at all.”
“It’s not? I readily admit that’s absolutely the case with me. I knew I was safe from pregnancy, and I knew I was disease-free, yet I knew nothing about you. But I wi
ll admit to you, Talon, that I wanted you so much, I was so star-crossed with desire for you, that I forgot to be careful. I don’t condone it. I’m embarrassed to say it. But that is the goddamned truth.”
My cock stirred. She had worked up quite a head of steam, and her body flushed all over a shade of pink so perfect… I wanted her again.
How was this happening to me?
I knew. I had come so quickly that I hadn’t had enough of her to ease my ache yet. I would have to fuck her again.
Now seemed like an opportune time.
I stood and stalked toward her.
“What are you doing?”
“What we both want right now.” I bent down and kissed her lips.
She turned away from me, my lips sliding across her cheek.
“How dare you? You just said I meant nothing to you. That last night meant nothing. You came running into my room, worried that I have given you some horrible, disgusting, blistering disease. And now you want to fuck me again?”
“Yeah. I do.” What else was there to say?
“Get the hell out of my room.”
“I think this is actually my room, since you’re living in my house.” Had I really just said that? Christ, how petty.
“You’re going to play that card, huh?” She rose. “That’s fine. I feel like I’m imposing on you guys anyway. I’m making a little working for Ryan, and as soon as my bar results come in, I’ll find a job as an attorney. If not here, in Grand Junction. I think maybe I’ll go into town this morning and find my own place to live.”
Now what had I done? The thought of her leaving tore me in half. “Look, Marjorie wants you here.”
“But clearly you don’t.”
“The ranch is one quarter mine, but it’s also one quarter Marjorie’s. So if she wants you here…”
“If she wants me here, what? You’ll put up with it? How noble of you.”
“I want you here,” I whispered under my breath.
She kept moving about the room, so I knew she hadn’t heard. Thank God.
She walked into her adjoining bathroom and said over her shoulder, “I need to get ready for work. Please let yourself out.”