Twenty Times Tempted: A Sexy Contemporary Romance Collection

by Petrova, Em

  The bed made a slight squeaking noise and suddenly the TV was cranked up. Too late she realized part of her mind was fixed on Levi, wondering what he was doing in the other room and if he could hear them.

  Well, of course he can hear you.

  Abe reached between their bodies and stroked her hidden pearl once. Twice. Pulling back the hood and grinding the hard core into her body as he plunged deep into her pussy.

  In a blinding burst, she splintered. Her world narrowed to a single point, and in that minute, she poured all her love into a kiss. Her moans filled his mouth as she twirled her tongue with his.

  “That’s it, baby, come on my cock. Go on. Give me all that cream.”

  Her pussy pulsated again and again. He slowed his thrusts and then grasped her calves. He drew her legs up until they were in front of him. Holding her ankles in one hand, he drew them upward even higher before him, keeping them tight together so her sex was a tight sheath.

  “Oh, fuck, that’s good. Damn, baby, you’re so wet.”

  Her nerves pinged as he pumped into her over and over. “More,” she gasped.

  His mouth twisted into such perfection, her breath caught. He was a cross between a celebrity hunk and the bad boy every mom warned their daughters about. And he was hers. All hers.

  In the other room, a chair screeched across the floor and the TV silenced. The banging screen door heralded Levi’s exit.

  Abe positioned himself on his knees and ground his cock so far it felt as if he was against her womb. Her nipples pinched hard at the sensation. Again, he slid his thumb over her slick nubbin, sending fire straight to her sex. She cried out as her world crumbled. Explosions of pleasure shook her to the core of her being.

  With a throaty growl, Abe stiffened. And emptied his hot come into the condom. Each spurt heated her. She gripped the sheets and rode her crashing orgasm to the last contraction.

  He released her ankles and collapsed against her with a grunt. She opened her mouth against his shoulder, bulky from hours of wielding a heavy saw. Her heart rejoiced with the fact that she had this amazing man in her life.

  As her senses returned, she opened her eyes and caught his far-off expression. When he realized she was staring at him, he rearranged his features. His gaze softened and he chafed his beard scruff deliciously over her cheek.

  “Stay the night with me. I can’t sleep without you in my arms.”

  She considered his request. At least this time when she came home with her panties in her back pocket, her dad wouldn’t be there to confront her. Then again, she’d have to run through the living room to reach the bathroom with Levi on the sofa. Whoever had designed this house definitely hadn’t taken into consideration a woman’s needs. Let alone a girlfriend who didn’t have a proper nightgown here.

  She shifted. “I don’t know, Abe.”

  He tightened his grip on her, holding her prisoner. “Say yes. I want you with me.” “But Levi—”

  “What about him? He doesn’t care, and if he does, that’s his problem. This is my house.”

  “I know, but I don’t want to make him feel uncomfortable.”

  A slow smile tipped the corner of his mouth. “You mean when you trip through the house bare-assed to the bathroom?”

  A scorching blush climbed her face. “That sums it up.”

  He gave a short laugh and planted a moist kiss on her lips. “I’ll give you a long shirt, baby. See? Easy.” He stroked her hair off her forehead.

  The thought of sleeping in his arms was so enticing. She slept like the dead when he was near. Letting him guard her dreams always felt right.

  She ran a hand down his spine. “All right, I’ll stay. But I need that shirt. And don’t be surprised if Daddy calls in the middle of the night.”

  He rolled off her, disposed of the condom, and flipped onto one hip to examine her closely. “Why? Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, everything is. He’s back to his usual controlling self. Even a near-death experience couldn’t keep him down.” She mentally shook herself. Sometimes when she talked to Abe about her father, she felt as if she were betraying her only family. Yet she needed to vent and Abe understood.

  “Never mind,” she said. “He’s recovering. Tomorrow I’ll take him a few items and get to work on my new contract.”

  He perked up with interest. “Something new came in?”

  She leaned on an elbow and traced the hard planes of his face with her gaze. “You can’t tell.”

  “Who would I tell?”

  She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Okay, I’ll tell you. I’ve been working on a brand new contract with KeerSaw.”

  “KeerSaw!”

  “Shh,” she cautioned with a mind to Levi. “Daddy doesn’t know and I’m working this alone. I got all the details smoothed out. Abe, it’s big.”

  His dark brow arched. “Yeah?”

  “Real big. I’m excited to negotiate this on my own because it will finally prove to Daddy that I know what I’m doing. I want to take on more of the responsibilities.”

  He studied her for a long minute with admiration clear in his gaze. “I’m proud of you, Chapel. You’ve got it all together. Blue Jay couldn’t operate without you.”

  She dropped her gaze and toyed with the edge of the sheet. “That’s not what my dad thinks.”

  Abe sighed and pulled her into his embrace. His chest was warm and comforting beneath her nose. She inhaled deeply.

  “Your dad knows, baby. Don’t let him get you worked up. We all need you. But no one as much as me.” He claimed her mouth once more in a long, sucking kiss. She let him draw her atop him and position her over his hardening cock once more.

  Thoughts of her father fled. She forgot about the KeerSaw deal and the fact that she was hiding the entire thing from her dad.

  But as she heard Levi slam the front door again, she couldn’t block the fact that the intriguing man was back in the house.

  ***

  Shocks of exertion ran up Abe’s forearms and into his shoulders as he sliced through the tough tree bark. Falling was a game of precision, and he was good at it. Some said he was the best in his field, and he took much pride in that distinction. He’d come from a long line of loggers in his family—his father and uncles had each taken him into the woods at a young age and taught him most of the skills he still applied today.

  He cut halfway into the tree and then gingerly pulled the blade free. Sweat poured down his face and neck, raising an itch in him. He glanced up at the clearing, where Levi stood off to the side waiting for the tree to crash down so he could run up and cut it into smaller logs.

  Levi gestured toward the place the tree would hit and Abe nodded with a grin. As he lifted the saw to the cut once more, he considered his new housemate. In the few days Levi had stayed with him, he’d firmly implanted himself. Whether he was grilling steaks or stocking their fridge, he had definitely proved he wasn’t going to sit back and enjoy a free ride. This morning after he saw Chapel to her Jeep, Abe had even noticed a dead bush he’d started to dig up half a year ago had been successfully removed and the ground smoothly raked.

  Sawdust sprayed around his hands and the thick wedge he’d cut in the tree dropped to the ground. The tree shifted in the slight breeze, angled toward the exact area Abe planned for it to fall. After this, he only had half a dozen or so more trees to cut and the job would be done. This was good, because from what Chapel told him, he’d be dropping logs for KeerSaw as fast as he could to meet their deadline. If they liked Blue Jay’s work, they’d contract more with them and that meant security for her.

  He scanned the woods again to ensure no one was in the vicinity when he made the final cut that would send the old oak thundering to the earth. What he saw made his heart jerk.

  Levi was off to the side, talking to Chapel. They leaned casually against her Jeep.

  Abe wasn’t surprised he hadn’t heard her engine between his hearing protection and the saw, but he was shocked by the body language Levi
and Chapel displayed.

  They leaned toward each other, standing a bit too close to be mere friends though they’d met only a few days ago. And Chapel was doing that thing with her hair— twisting the end between her fingers and thumb as she talked.

  A popping sound alerted Abe to the fact that his tree was about to fall, and he couldn’t possibly cross the clearing to them with a half-tilted tree. “Fuck.” Tearing his gaze from them, he hoisted the saw, set the blade in the cut and ripped it through the remainder of the trunk like a hot knife in butter.

  It fell slowly, arcing beautifully, the branches rustling as it ripped through the air. It struck with a crash and he looked up in time to see Chapel and Levi’s heads jerk up at the sound.

  As if no one existed but them.

  A hot coal settled in Abe’s gut as he shut off his saw and set it down. Heading toward them, he was a little disconcerted that Chapel didn’t step away from Levi. It was as if she didn’t realize she stood too close to him. Hell, if the kid took one step, his body would be up against hers.

  Abe’s stomach clenched and a strange trickle of warmth ran through him. As this unfamiliar heat hit him, his step faltered. What the fuck was that about?

  Chapel’s bright gaze centered on him and a radiant smile stretched her luscious lips.

  Lips she’d been biting.

  Abe tore off his hard hat and rubbed the short hairs on his scalp. He’d never seen her chew her lips except in his presence. When he was about to kiss her. Or enter her.

  “What’s going on?” He stopped before them and looked from one face to another, aware of the moisture on Chapel’s lower lip and a fleeting look of guilt crossing Levi’s face.

  Levi backed up a step.

  Chapel wrapped her arms around Abe and snuggled against him. He instantly relaxed at the touch of her warm flesh against his.

  You’re imagining things, man. She’s yours.

  He gave her a quick kiss on the mouth. When he straightened, he glimpsed a flash of Levi’s eyes before the man twisted away.

  Or maybe not imagining things.

  Abe stared at his housemate for a long minute, assessing everything about him in a way he hadn’t before. Yeah, he was built, with thick muscles and broad shoulders. He looked dangerous as hell too, with two days’ worth of growth on his jaw. That morning he’d refused Abe’s offer to give him a new razor, saying he’d grab one next time he headed into town.

  How many times had Chapel told him she adored his scruffy shadow? One time she’d begged him to apply it to her inner thighs before he went down on her.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  She blinked at the roughness in his voice. “Just came by to say hi. I’ve just been to the hospital to see Daddy. That’s what Levi and I were talking about.”

  Suddenly Abe felt like a cad. Here she was discussing her father’s health and Abe was acting like a jealous lover.

  He searched her chocolaty eyes and saw a hint of sadness. His protective side reared up, knowing she had probably just battled her father and most likely taken a slash to the thin fabric of her self-esteem. Abe had no idea why her father treated her this way, but he often did. Chapel was kind, intelligent and talented. But Jay never told her that.

  Though she made Jay’s life smooth and comfortable, he didn’t express gratitude. When she recently won the state fiddle championship in her class, he’d simply said, “Good thing I gave you all those lessons.” Nothing she did seemed good enough for that man.

  Which was part of why Abe was burning to take her away. He vowed to treat her the way she deserved. But first he had to get his debt under control.

  “How is your father?”

  She laughed. “Mean. Giving the nurses a hard time. They’d dressed him in an orange gown, kind of like a prisoner would wear.”

  Levi made a sharp gesture and took another two steps away from the group. “What does that mean?” Abe asked.

  “That he’s argumentative. The nurses can’t take his blood pressure without him pitching a fit. He questions everything the doctors are doing and says an ice-cold beer and his recliner are all he needs to recuperate.”

  Abe couldn’t help but smile at that. He could almost hear the old man’s words. Despite his problem with his treatment of his only daughter, Jay was a solid guy. The men liked him and respected his knowledge. And there were times when he slipped and a tender expression crossed his face for Chapel. Those times Abe actually liked him.

  “Glad to hear he’s doing better,” Levi muttered. “I’m going to get back to work.” He turned and loped off through the clearing to where his saw still sat.

  Chapel watched him go, a gentle look gracing her features as if she were daydreaming.

  You’re trying to put something there between them when there isn’t.

  Was he?

  She shook herself and focused fully on Abe. When she shot him the special smile he adored, his heart soared. He pulled her into his arms and dropped his lips to hers, capturing them in one demanding bite.

  She melted against him—soft limbs and softer mouth. The crush of her breasts made his balls draw up tight and his cock harden. Last night he’d loved her long into the night, giving her orgasm after orgasm with his tongue and fingers and cock. And she’d given him a blowjob that had almost wiped his mind clean.

  Dark desire barreled through his body at the memories, and he’d be lying if his need wasn’t tinted with an urge to mark her somehow as his own. A primal sensation as old as man drove him. He gripped her face and tilted it up, running his rough jaw over her throat and downward to redden the pale flesh between her breasts.

  Her small, squeaking gasps inflamed him. He shoved her against the side of the Jeep and ground his cock against the space between her legs.

  “Abe, you’ve got work to do.”

  “That’s right, baby.” He nipped her earlobe with his teeth, sending a shiver through her. “You’re my work. I’m going to splay you out for everyone to see.”

  His words took him by surprise. He’d never experienced a compulsion to have sex in public. Then again, they were miles out in the middle of nowhere. The majority of the operation was going on down the road where the crane was busy loading trucks. Levi would be the only person to see them.

  Chapel caught his face in her hands and forced his head away from the top of her breasts, which he was spattering with wet kisses. Her gaze was blazing. “You know I want you. Always. But this isn’t the time. Levi’s right there.”

  His cock strained against his jeans, demanding release. At that moment, he didn’t give a damn if Levi was standing a foot away. He wanted to sink into her wet pussy. Now.

  He angled his body so he protected her from Levi’s sight, nudged her thighs apart with his and cupped her mound through her jeans.

  She issued a hissing breath against his throat and then sank her teeth lightly into his flesh. Her entire body strained toward him. He stroked her warm heat through the layers of clothing, his body singing at the thought of stripping her and taking her now.

  “Let me fuck you,” he growled against her ear. She shivered. “Abe… Later, when we get home.”

  “I can’t wait. I want to feel you wrapped around my cock.”

  Her voice was weak. “Can you wait until lunch? We can take the truck up one of the back roads.”

  He popped the button of her jeans and eased down the zipper. Swishing his fingers over the lace of her panties made his cock as hard as ancient oak. Her scents were rising to him—feminine musk and crisp body wash. His mouth watered to go down between her thighs and taste her pussy.

  She gasped when he plunged two fingers into her soaking slit. A groan filled his chest as he discovered how badly she wanted him.

  “I want to bend you over the hood of this Jeep and drive into your core.”

  She clung to him, grinding her hips rhythmically into his hand. “Can’t. Levi…”

  The saw roared to life, which meant Levi was tackling the tre
e Abe had just felled. “He’s busy.”

  “Oh God, Abe.”

  He prodded her clit with a forefinger. Juices slicked the nubbin. “Don’t tell me you don’t want me deep inside you.” He sank two fingers into her tight sheath. She stiffened and cried out.

  “I do, oh, I do. But I don’t feel right about being in the open. We’re not alone.” She wrapped her fingers around his forearm and tried to pull his hand away from her sensitive folds even as her body rose and fell on his thrusting fingers.

  He understood the passions warring in her, and also her hesitation. “Okay, I won’t throw you over the Jeep and fuck your brains out. But I’m going to finish what I started here.”

  He dragged his fingers over her clit again, ripping a moan from her. Fresh cream flooded his hand. Gathering it, he circled her straining pearl, moving around the perimeter but not touching the needy center. She pushed her hips into him, seeking more.

  Swooping in, he claimed her mouth and swallowed her cries. He split her lips with his tongue and drove deep into her delicious cavern, tasting the moist inner walls as his finger explored the depths of her dripping pussy. He felt the telltale quiver deep in her pussy that meant she was on the edge of release.

  In a split second she’d gone from resisting to wild. Each muscular flip of her tongue against his fed his desires—desires he could hold on to and savor the ache in order to give her what she wanted.

  With two fingers buried in her honey hole, he applied his thumb against her swollen clit. One stroke, two…and she splintered. She quivered, strung out on the ropes of bliss as he fingered her pulsating pussy and ravaged her luscious mouth.

  As she jerked against his hand, he slowed his attentions, aware of her hypersensitive state.

  She sagged against him. He lifted his head and looked around the clearing, following the sound of Levi’s saw. Through his haze of need, he realized Levi was standing stock still, his saw in hand, staring at him and Chapel.

  A bolt of triumph speared Abe’s chest, followed by a quickening in his lower belly that he couldn’t explain.