Twenty Times Tempted: A Sexy Contemporary Romance Collection

by Petrova, Em

  Abe tucked her head beneath his chin and let her cry. His t-shirt absorbed her tears. “Damn, I’m sorry,” Levi whispered.

  “You didn’t do anything,” she said thickly.

  Abe stroked her hair and murmured soothing words until she grew limp in his hold. God, he hated moments like these. How many times did she show up at his house, irate or in tears over something her father had said or done? Too many to count.

  He’d urged her to get her own apartment or rent a house, but she refused, saying her father needed looking after. But Abe wasn’t sure that’s what held her back. Deep down, he thought she was waiting for him to ask her to move in.

  And fuck, he wanted to with every cell of his being. Waking to her every morning would be like living near the sun—starting his day with his own personal goddess would be a dream come true.

  But he couldn’t afford it. Even with Levi helping out, he refused to ask Chapel to pitch in, though he knew she’d insist. He wanted to provide for her.

  He heaved a sigh and she tilted her lovely face up to his. Her lush mouth beckoned to him. Her pouty lower lip and the bow of the upper…both too delicious to withhold a second longer.

  He captured her mouth with a low groan. She opened to him at once. He swept the depth with his tongue, tasting her sweetness mingled with salty tears. A protective thread wove through his chest and ensnared him further in her web.

  She slipped her arms around his neck and met his gulping kisses until he tasted her passion. His cock grew rock hard. He lashed her to his body and ground his hips upward into her pussy.

  Suddenly Levi made a noise. Abe’s need amped up as he remembered their friend had been in the same room, maybe looking on and growing aroused too. Abe’s cock grew steely and oozed a thin stream of pre-come. He couldn’t remember ever being this hard.

  She ran her palm over his pecs and down to his abdomen. He sucked in a breath.

  God, was she going to clamp her fingers around his rod right here in front of Levi?

  Was it depraved that Abe hoped so?

  Using his forefinger, he caressed the fine hairs on her nape, raising a shiver from her. She crushed her breasts against his chest. The thought of her soft globes in his hands drove him wild.

  Just as he reached for one, Levi cleared his throat. Loudly.

  Chapel jerked as if she’d forgotten where she was. A laugh rumbled up Abe’s throat.

  He peered around her shoulder at Levi. “Sorry, dude.”

  “Yeah…no problem,” he muttered. He snatched up the remote control and cranked the volume on the Pirates game.

  Chapel clambered off Abe’s lap and strode for the kitchen. Abe watched her curves twitch away. From the corner of his eye, he caught Levi’s gaze on her ass too. Dark heat sidled through him.

  He perched on the edge of the sofa and pondered this new development. What the hell was wrong with him? Levi was openly ogling his girl, yet Abe didn’t feel a drop of jealousy? He ran his fingers over his scalp and wondered what he was going to do with these strange new feelings coursing through him.

  “She okay now?” Levi’s deep voice penetrated his thoughts.

  He bobbed his head. “Yeah, she’ll be all right. She wears a protective armor when it comes to her father. Sometimes he tears through it, but I think she’ll close it up again.”

  “She shouldn’t have to do that.” Levi ground the words through his clenched jaw.

  For the first time, Abe saw something in his friend’s face that alarmed him. The flash of his eyes said he’d be more than capable of violence. Especially in Chapel’s honor.

  “No, she shouldn’t have to, but she and Jay have a difficult relationship. Rocky is the best description.”

  “Why do you put up with it?” Levi challenged. “Why not go after the old man and demand he treat his daughter with more respect?”

  Guilt weighed heavily on Abe’s shoulders. He’d considered this action more than once. “It’s not my fight. I’ll likely make it worse for her, especially since Jay despises me.”

  “He doesn’t despise you,” Chapel said from the doorway. She held three soda bottles by the neck.

  Abe gave a short laugh. “Well, you’re entitled to your opinion, but I’m sure he does.

  What did he say when you told him I’m part of the new crew?”

  She shrugged and came to sit on the sofa beside him. “It isn’t the crew he has a problem with. It’s the fact that I probably got us in over our heads.”

  “How so?” Levi turned down the television volume to hear her soft tones.

  She gave a breathy sigh that had Abe burning for her once again. “He doesn’t believe we can knock out this job in six weeks.”

  “How big is it?

  “A hundred-fifty acres.”

  Levi scuffed his knuckles over his unshaven face. Chapel shifted, wiggling her bottom into the sofa cushions in a way that threatened to snap every thread of Abe’s control.

  “And we’ll have all the equipment?” “Yes. Do you think it can be done?”

  Levi gave a brisk nod. “Hell, yeah. I’ve seen it done.”

  She perked up, her shoulders straightening and her face growing animated. “Really? Then I’m on the right track?”

  “I’d say.”

  Abe snagged her around the waist and pulled her back into his arms. “See, baby?

  You’re going to be fine. You’ll prove your father wrong.”

  “I hope to keep our business in the black.” She passed around the sodas and relaxed into Abe’s hold. A comfortable silence settled over them as they watched baseball. Abe’s muscle aches eased after his long day on the job.

  Levi seemed to be sliding farther down on the sofa by the second and before long he was asleep. Night fell beyond the windows, but Abe didn’t switch on the lamp beside him. Studying Chapel by the dim flicker of the television was too intriguing. Watching shadows play along her high cheekbones and darken her lips until they looked like succulent cherries was one of his favorite pastimes.

  She ran her tongue over her lower lip and caught him looking. A smile softened her features. “What is it?”

  A lump of sudden emotion clogged his throat. He stared at her glowing eyes the color of rich chocolate and tried to form words that didn’t involve a marriage proposal.

  “You’re beautiful,” he managed after a moment.

  “Oh, Abe.” She twisted in his arms and planted her sweet mouth over his.

  Instant hunger shot through him and he squelched the growl that rose up at her decadent taste. She parted her lips for his invasion, and he took immediate advantage. Tongues flipped together, delving deep, gathering all the flavors that urged him to take more from her, and now.

  Swiftly their passions raged out of control. He slid a hand under the hem of her shirt and cupped one round breast. Images of her bare beneath him flitted through his mind. He drew up her shirt until her lacy bra was exposed.

  “Fuck, you’re stunning. I want you.” The creamy swells of her breasts spilled over the tops of the pale pink lace. He kneaded each before dropping his mouth to one nipple.

  She gasped. The tiny bud hardened beneath his tongue and he lapped it through the lace, pinching it with his lips and tugging lightly. She squirmed for him, her taut belly rising and falling under her stifled gasps.

  A few feet from them, Levi slept on, but Abe didn’t give a damn if his friend was awake or not. In fact, the idea of him possibly waking to see Chapel spread out and Abe pleasuring her drove his desire up another notch.

  She scraped her nails over his shoulders as he laved each breast.

  “Let me take off your bra.” He reached around to her spine and located the clasp with practiced ease.

  She shot a glance at Levi. “Nooo.”

  “Come on, darlin’, he won’t see. Just one taste.”

  He felt her body’s assent before she gave her nod of approval. In a blink, he’d freed her mounds and they were in his palms. He rolled her petal-pink nipples betwee
n his thumbs and fingers until she writhed. Then he slowly lowered his head and sucked one after the other.

  His cock grew rigid in his jeans. A dark pressure swelled within him, larger than anything he’d known before.

  He inched his fingers down her belly to the waist of her jeans. Easily, he popped the button and slid down the zipper to reveal the V of her panties. Her soft mound was bare beneath the fabric, he knew. Smooth and luscious and begging to be licked.

  Stretching out against the back of the sofa, he positioned her next to him, then slipped a hand under her ass and moved her jeans down her hips.

  She turned her face sharply into his chest. “Levi’s right there!” “But you want me to touch you, don’t you?”

  Her belly dipped as her breathing grew raspy. “Yes!”

  Using his toe, he pushed her jeans off her feet and shoved them in a wad at the end of the couch. A low groan escaped him at the sight of her golden thighs. He wanted nothing more than to bury his face in the fragrant space between them and taste her juices.

  Through the glow of the TV, he saw her eyes grow heavy-lidded with desire. He slid his fingers under the elastic of her panties. She wriggled against him, settling her ass fully against his throbbing cock. He knew at any moment, he could pick her up and carry her to his bed. But it was too good right here. In the open. Where Levi could catch them.

  This thought spiraled out of control as Abe probed the seam of her pussy. The soft petals of her labia seemed to swell for him. He ran his fingers downward until he located a pool of cream.

  They shared a quiet moan. He put his mouth to her ear and began to whisper. “You want my fingers in you, don’t you? Stretching you. Filling you.”

  She gave an answering sigh.

  He cupped her pussy in one big hand so her panties bulged around his knuckles.

  Locating her hard pearl with his thumb, he circled it lightly until her hips bucked. “Feels good, doesn’t it, baby? I’m going to make you come.”

  She released a little whimper that made his cock shove against his fly. He nudged her knees open and eased one finger into her soaking pussy. White flames of need licked his core as her tight, wet walls hugged his finger. He pulsed it into her pussy, sinking deeper with each pass until his fingertip stroked her magic spot.

  “Mmm.”

  He flicked his tongue over the shell of her ear. “Right there, baby?” “Mm-hmm.”

  Suddenly Levi stirred. He folded his arms over his chest but he never opened his eyes.

  Chapel tensed. “No, Abe, he’s waking up.” “Shhh. Let me get you off.”

  As Levi relaxed once more, Abe stroked her needy nubbin. Juices flooded his fingers. Her breath sobbed as she neared completion.

  Levi shifted again. His head rolled to the side so his face was in full sight. Abe’s senses sparked. God, he was going to come in his jeans. Fingering Chapel in the presence of their friend was the hottest thing he’d ever done.

  Her pussy grew soaked—more slippery than the road to hell. He plunged his fingers deep into her and ground the core of her clit into her body.

  “Come on, baby. Look at Levi while my fingers are buried in you.” She gave a soft cry of ecstasy, her hips rolling to meet Abe’s thrusts. “Think about him while I make you come.”

  Her pussy pulsated around his fingers once. Twice. And she burst with a blissful moan. Hot come drenched his hand. She shuddered as her orgasm swept her. Her small squeaking cries and the scents of her desire filled the room. Abe hoped Levi was awakened by that scent and found it as mind-blowing as he did.

  “That’s it, sweetheart. Come on my fingers. Give it all to me.” To us.

  The last contractions ebbed away. Triumph exploded in Abe’s chest—a heady feeling nearly stronger than his state of arousal. Fuck, the idea of sharing her pleasure with Levi thrilled him like nothing ever had before.

  She turned her mouth into Abe’s and whispered. “Take me to bed. Fuck me.”

  His synapses fired. He flipped over her and climbed off the couch. For a moment, he gazed down at her feminine body stretched out, her breasts bared, her top ruched around her upper chest and her wet panties askew.

  Her eyes were glassy from her release and as wide as a doll’s.

  With a growl, he scooped her up into his arms and bore her off to bed. He couldn’t wait to sink into her tight sheath and unleash his passions. Passions that he couldn’t deny had been stoked by Levi’s involvement.

  ***

  Levi entered the kitchen and pulled up short. The smell of freshly brewed coffee hit his senses, and so did the sweet fragrance of Chapel. She turned her bright eyes on him.

  “Morning, you.”

  The intimate way she said this, in a slightly dusky voice, threatened to sever any control he might have gained after watching Abe finger-fuck her last night. Levi’s morning erection hardened in earnest.

  He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You look wide awake.” She smiled. “I’m a morning person. Sorry.”

  “Why sorry?”

  “Because Abe’s not. I guess… I just thought you might not be either.”

  For you, I could be anything.

  “I function pretty well at all times of the day.”

  Her gaze slid downward and took in the bulge in the front of his jeans. A shiver of need ripped through him like a tree cutting a path through the air. Wild. Unstoppable.

  When her gaze flicked back up, their eyes caught and held. That familiar throb of electricity riveted him to the kitchen floor, but he dreamt of taking two strides and yanking her against him.

  Sweet Jesus, what was he going to do? Burning fury at Abe’s performance last night overwhelmed him.

  Just then Abe appeared, groggy and slow but fully dressed for a day of work. “There he is now.” She reached for her boyfriend and kissed him square on the mouth. “I’m heading out. You boys need to get to work, and I have to be in the office whether I like it or not.”

  Levi stared at her with concern. He hated to think of her alone with her father, who might say something to hurt her again.

  “I’ll call you around lunch if I don’t see you before.”

  “I won’t be to the site today. I have too much going on. But if you guys want me, I’ll be here tonight to fire up the stove.”

  Abe squeezed her hard and Levi ground his teeth at the sight. “Sounds great, baby. Drive carefully.”

  She pulled free from Abe’s hold and threw Levi a wave on her way to the door. She disappeared and a moment later, her Jeep engine rolled over.

  Abe poured himself a mug of coffee and lifted the pot in question to Levi. Levi glared at him.

  “Wow, I’ve never seen you like this in the morning. Usually you’re raring to go.” “You’ve never seen me this way because you’ve never seen me angry.” Levi bit the words off and spat them out.

  Abe’s face grew blank. “What?”

  Levi brought his fist down on the countertop. “You heard me. I’m pissed. But that word might be too tame. In fact, it is. I’m in a fucking rage, Abe.”

  Abe set his mug down and faced him. “All right. Bring it.”

  “What the fuck were you doing last night, touching her like that with me in the room?”

  A shiver of something Levi didn’t recognize flickered across Abe’s face. “So you were awake.”

  “I’d have to be fucking dead not to catch her moans and her…her fucking scent!” Power radiated through his muscles. He’d been in his share of prison brawls, but he’d never felt such unadulterated anger as he did right now. Had Abe purposely done that to taunt him? Did he realize Levi’s feelings for Chapel ran deep?

  “Listen, man—”

  “No, you listen, you bastard! I don’t know what games you’re playing with her, but leave me out of it.”

  Abe dropped his head. “I’m not playing games with her. She’s not involved.” “How the hell can that be? Wasn’t she lying there with her thighs spread?” “Yeah, she was. But she didn’t know what I wa
s doing.”

  Levi shook his head like a dog with a muzzle full of porcupine quills. “What the fuck are you saying, man? Make sense!”

  Abe gazed at him levelly for a long minute. When he spoke, his voice was gritty. “I know you think she’s hot.”

  He narrowed his eyes at his friend and battled to keep from breaking his damn neck. Yeah, he thought she was fucking beautiful, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed being tormented by the sight of her being pleasured by another man.

  “Don’t deny it.”

  “I don’t. She’s amazing and so much more.”

  The corner of Abe’s mouth tipped up. Levi wanted to bash his smirk away. “I knew by the way you look at her.”

  “I’m sure I’m not the only man on earth ever to ogle your woman. But what the fuck are you doing, Abe? What’s your game?”

  He looked away. For a long minute, Levi didn’t think he’d reply. Then he met his gaze and blew his fucking mind. “Chapel’s attracted to you too.”

  Levi stumbled back until the counter dug into his spine. He was shaking—with rage and emotion he didn’t know how to name. Chapel? A smart, gifted and kind woman like Chapel found him even remotely attractive?

  She doesn’t know your record.

  He swallowed hard. “And it doesn’t bother you that your girl likes looking at me?” “No.”

  Levi balled his hands into fists. “What the fuck’s the matter with you? If I didn’t know better, I’d think that tree yesterday bashed out your brains.”

  “Listen, I know it sounds crazy. At first I thought it was crazy too. But I’ve realized I enjoy watching you two together. I like the fact that you’re always there for her, even when I’m not. She is an amazing woman, and she deserves everything.”

  “So you’re giving her to me?”

  Abe shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Not giving her to you. Giving you to her.”

  Confusion dulled Levi’s wits. He tried to digest the words and make them formulate some semblance of sense. But how the fuck could he do that when Abe was talking streams of nonsense?

  “You want her, don’t you? Want to do what I did to her last night? Kiss her sweet mouth and touch her breasts and feel her slick folds—”