Her eyes met his for a brief moment, glimmering with what he read as playfulness. She stripped the t-shirt off, baring her front to him. His eyes fell immediately to her pert breasts and the two rosy little buds that were hardening beneath his gaze. He moved his hands up to them, weighting them in his palms. He circled each of his thumbs around her areolas. She tilted her head back and thrust her chest forward into his touch, letting loose a breathy sigh.
Her hands moved to the front of his jeans, undoing the button and zipping them down with surprising ease. She tugged them down, pulling away from his fondling as she dipped down to her knees. She pulled his boxers down too, freeing the rock-hard erection that had been straining almost painfully against his pants.
He wasn’t prepared for the sensation of her tongue swiping quickly over his tip. He felt his cock twitch in response. Ashleigh continued to tease him, her sweet mouth lavishing kisses on that sensitive spot, driving him mad. His balls tightened painfully as she worked him over, her mouth occasionally moving down to lick up the length of his shaft before moving up to suck him back into her hot mouth. She moved a hand up to cup his balls. He almost lost it when he felt her warm fingers close around him.
“Shit, Ash,” he groaned, his voice hoarse. “Slow down a little.”
He glanced down just in time to see her bobbing head look up at him, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Am I going too fast for you?”
Fuck, even her eyes turned him on. He was so close to coming already. If he didn’t want to end this too soon, he was going to have to get that beautifully wicked mouth away from him.
Cobra grabbed her by the wrists and hauled her up to the bed, knocking her bag out of the way as he went. She let him, a devilish smile still playing at the corners of her lips. God, there were so many things he wanted to do to her.
He unbuttoned her jeans. She lifted her hips off the bed, arching back onto her shoulder blades, and he slid them off of her, leaving her in just her lacy black panties. She lay with her back on the bed, her arms spread wide above her head. His position kneeling in front of her gave him perfect access to her pussy.
Cobra pushed her knees apart, planting a kiss on each, then dove into the apex of her thighs, pressing his face against the lacy material that covered her slit. He inhaled deeply, relishing the musky, unique scent of her.
He heard Ashleigh giggle. Her hips moved a little with the force of her laughter. He lifted his head so he could fix her with a questioning stare.
“The hell is so funny?”
“You, you pervert,” she teased him. “You always loved sniffing my panties.”
He grinned at her crookedly. “You smell good.” He tugged her lacy panties down. She lifted her hips again, still smiling at him. “Not as good as you taste, though.”
Before she could respond, he delved back between her thighs, licking up the length of her slit in one long, slow stroke. He felt her tense beneath him and he smiled into her, loving the way he remembered her body. She tasted like musky honey, sweet and erotic as hell. He lapped along her puffy labia, tracing her folds and searching for more of her flavor.
He felt her thighs close around him, urging him on. As he continued teasing her, savoring the experience of exploring that intimate space, he felt her growing more and more restless beneath him. She squirmed, her hips bucking a little against him.
Fuck, even the sight of her getting hot was making him painfully hard again. He pulled back, which brought a disappointed moan out of her.
He fumbled around for his jeans, knowing he kept an extra condom in his wallet.
“What are you doing?” Ashleigh demanded, her voice cracking with need. “Is this payback for last night?”
“Give me a second,” Cobra grumbled, digging through his wallet. He found the little package he was looking for. He tore it open and hastily unrolled it down the length of his shaft.
Ashleigh sat up on the bed, trying to see what was going on. “You need some help?”
Cobra stood back up, raising an eyebrow at her. “Did I tell you to get up?”
“I didn’t know I needed your permission.”
Cobra pushed her gently back onto the bed, snaring her wrists and pinning them high above her head. Her legs parted automatically, spreading her glistening folds wide for him. Cobra lined himself up at her entrance, circling his tip around her. “You want this, baby?” he murmured.
Her green eyes scorched through him. The answer was clear there. But he wanted to hear her say it.
“Yes,” she groaned. “Don’t play this fucking game.”
Cobra pushed into her a little, moving in slow, shallow thrusts that he knew wouldn’t satisfy her. “What game? If you need something, just tell me.”
Shit, she felt so good. Hot and tight. He could feel her clenching around him, trying to pull him in deeper. It felt cruel to deny her, but he loved drawing this out, dancing on that painful edge between overwhelming animal need and pure ecstasy.
“Son of a bitch,” he heard her mutter, the words soft and strained.
Why the hell was her frustration so delicious? God, he loved egging her on. He loved the way she pushed back, the way she didn’t take shit from anyone, even from him. It was so fucking beautiful.
“Alex, for the love of God, stop torturing me.”
“How?” he pressed. “Just tell me what you need.”
“You,” she hissed as he slid the tip of his cock up to her clit. He stroked against it, light enough to stimulate but not satisfy. “Inside me. Now.”
“Whatever the lady wants,” he grunted, and he obliged, pushing deep into her in one long, powerful thrust. She fit over him so perfectly, sheathing him like she’d been made for him, or him for her. He withdrew slowly against the force of her contracting muscles, relishing the tightness and the way her body milked his. He could feel the pulsing of her body around him when he was buried so deep in her.
He thrust harder, faster, working in tandem with the small, natural movements of her hips. He continued to build the tempo as he got closer and closer to his own climax, pushing into her hard and fast. She was sopping wet, and moving in her was like sliding through hot butter.
He knew she was close too. Her wrists strained against his. Her eyes had half-closed and taken on a dazed, dreamy look that he remembered all too well. He freed one of her wrists and dropped a hand down to massage her clit along with his thrusting, knowing the extra stimulation would push her over the edge.
It didn’t take long. She moaned softly, her lips just barely parting, and she spasmed hard around him, the intensity of her orgasm rocking through her into him and carrying him to his own climax. He came harder than he had in years. The force of the sensation seemed to temporarily dislodge him from reality and push him into a place where all he could feel was Ashleigh—her body melding into his, his body claiming hers.
He came down slowly, the sound of blood rushing in his ears subsiding to his own panting breaths and the gentle rise and fall of her breasts beneath him.
She smiled blearily up at him. She was still feeling the aftershocks of her orgasm, he knew. He could feel the small contractions around his shrinking cock.
Cobra withdrew from her and carefully slipped the condom off. When he’d disposed of it, he returned to the bed, dropping down beside her in the same position that she was in, back against the bed and feet against the floor.
Ashleigh turned over lazily and curled against him, nestling against his shoulder as he draped an arm over her.
Cobra closed his eyes. “I missed this,” he told her.
“Me too,” she mumbled into him.
He didn’t miss the uncertainty in her voice. She’d always been easy to read. She was usually more guarded around everyone else, but when they were alone, she wore everything on her sleeve.
“What is it?”
Ashleigh didn’t answer right away. After a few moments of silence, she replied, “It’s nothing.”
Cobra heaved a sigh of frustration. �
�You know I hate that shit. You don’t have to lie to me. What’s wrong?”
Ashleigh turned back onto her back, though she didn’t entirely withdraw from him. “I almost died today. And just a few days ago you were still out of my life. It’s just…I’m afraid that all this is me making bad decisions because I don’t know what the hell is going on in my life. This was good, Alex, but it’s like a night of binge drinking, you know? I’m afraid the hangover is still coming.” She shook her head slowly to herself. “I don’t know what any of this means. For me, for us—“
“I told you not to worry about that. I meant it. We’ll figure all this shit out later. I don’t want to hurt you, Ash, not again. And I’m not going to.”
She didn’t answer.
And he knew what that meant. She didn’t believe him. And there wasn’t a damn thing he could say to change her mind.
He pulled his arm out from beneath her, stood up, and started pulling his boxers on.
“Where are you going?” she asked from the bed.
“I need a smoke.” Cobra pulled his jeans on and moved over to the dresser drawer, searching for his pack of cigarettes.
“Those things will give you cancer.”
“Everything gives you cancer,” he retorted. He fished out his pack of Marlboros and a lighter and headed for the door.
“Those give you a lot of cancer, though.”
“Guess I’ll have to die young then.”
He sensed Ashleigh rolling her eyes, though he couldn’t see it from the way she was lying on the bed.
“Yeah, you always struck me as the James Dean type.”
“Who the fuck is James Dean?”
“He was in East of Eden.”
Cobra stared at her blankly.
Ashleigh sat up. “Seriously? Rebel Without a Cause? Ringing any bells?”
Cobra continued to stare at her.
She frowned at him. “You’re making it really hard to mock you, you know. God, I think I even made you watch that movie.”
“Guess it wasn’t very good if I don’t remember it.”
Ashleigh snorted. “It’s a classic. Better than the glorified car chases that you think pass as masterpieces.”
Cobra pulled out a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth. “I only appreciate the highest forms of art,” he told her. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to fill my lungs with some good, wholesome cancer.”
“You could do that. Or you could come take a shower with me.” Ashleigh stood and rolled her shoulders. The small movement caused her breasts to lift and fall just the slightest. The sight of her, completely naked, was incredibly enticing in spite of the fact that he’d just had her.
Cobra took the cigarette back out. “Are you trying to bribe me into quitting?”
Ashleigh smiled wantonly at him. “Maybe. Is it working?”
“What happens if I join you, then come back out and go for my smoke?”
Ashleigh shrugged nonchalantly. “I guess I shower alone for the rest of the time I’m here.”
Cobra grinned at her. “You still know how to manipulate me, huh? Fine. I give in. I know a good offer when I see one.”
Ashleigh sauntered over to him and pecked him on the cheek. “I’m glad you think I’m better than cancer.”
Chapter 13
Ashleigh
Ashleigh found herself once again lying awake in his bed, listening to his deep, even breathing. It was early in the morning, just before the sunrise. She glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. Almost seven. She’d have to get up soon. She needed to pick Penny up, and then she’d have to see about talking Alex into helping her keep her bakery open. There was no way she could take another day of zero profits.
She didn’t want to leave the bed. Last night had been too perfect. It had been such a long time since she’d been able to throw her responsibilities to the wind and just do whatever the hell she wanted.
For six years it had always been pushing through the daily grind for Penny, spending every last cent she had on the few extra things she could afford for her daughter. She didn’t resent it, of course, but denying herself even little indulgences for so long had taken a toll on her.
And then the bakery. She’d thought opening her own business would be the answer to all her problems, but it was a logistical nightmare from the very first day. She didn’t know of anyone who might act as a partner, and she didn’t want to try to blindly find someone only to discover later that she’d chosen poorly.
So she’d been left to work her two jobs, squeezing research and perfecting her business plan in her spare time. Then there had been the setup, tracking down equipment, practicing and perfecting her recipes. She poured half her soul into the place, and the other half into raising her daughter, and at the end of the day she’d been left hollow and joyless.
And then last night. Maybe she’d made a poor choice in giving in to her baser instincts, but hell, it had felt so good to just lose herself in him. To forget every last anxiety-inducing worry tangled in her mind for just a few hours in his embrace. It had been a few fleeting moments of freedom, and she couldn’t fault herself for giving in, even if it meant that she’d now have to deal with the consequences.
Ashleigh shifted onto her side so she could watch Alex again. He lay on his side, turned toward her, an arm stretched above him up against the headboard. His face was so smooth when he slept. He looked younger. Even his scar seemed less pronounced, though she knew that had to be a trick of the light.
He’d promised her that there weren’t any strings attached to last night. That he would back off if that was what she needed. She wanted to believe him, but she knew him too well, and she doubted he’d changed much in the past six years.
When he wanted something, he went after it. He was capable of dogged determination when he felt the stakes were high enough, and that had always been something that she’d admired in him. And she knew that if he wanted her, he wasn’t about to give up.
And she would capitulate. Maybe not immediately, but eventually. It was too much to say just yet how strong her feelings were for him, but last night hadn’t just been an escape for her. It had felt right—like the thing that had been missing from her life.
For the first time since he’d left, she’d felt genuinely happy. Whole. Wrapped in his arms, lying at his side—even afterwards when they’d just curled up on the couch with another couple of beers to watch sitcom reruns, she’d felt totally at ease.
She felt a twinge of guilt at it now, because there was no real reason for her to relax so easily when her livelihood and her life were in danger. Worse, she was opening the door to letting him into her life. She’d even begun to consider the possibility as she’d drifted off to sleep beside him.
And she knew that could never happen. It wasn’t a matter of proving that she could trust him, but him proving that he could be good for Penny, and she wasn’t sure he could do anything to show her that. She sure as hell wasn’t about to give him the chance.
But Christ, did she still love him? And if she did, how could she possibly stay away from him? She couldn’t keep doing this—giving in to her urges with wild abandon before suffocating in shame for having put her needs before her daughter’s safety. She couldn’t handle being pulled between those extremes. It was hell to be up so high one minute and down so low, drowning in guilt and anxiety, the next.
At least for now, lying beside him, she could push all those worries away because the day hadn’t really started yet. She could allow herself a few more peaceful moments of shelter from the real world.
Alex inhaled deeply, breaking the steady pattern of his breathing. She watched him stretch and flex his body beneath the tangled sheets and slowly open his eyes. They focused on her, and a small smile broke across his lips. “Morning.”
“Morning,” she murmured. “Glad you’re finally up.”
“Mm.” Alex reached over to her waist and dragged her against him, lowering his lips down to hers for a surprisingly t
ender kiss. “I had to take a late call from Zane last night. I think I deserve to sleep in.”
“I didn’t even hear you get up.”
“You were out pretty hard, baby. You had two beers, and you know you’re a lightweight.”
“Oh, shut the fuck up. I wasn’t drunk.”
“Well, you sure as hell slept like you were.” Alex pressed another quick kiss to her lips before she could reply, then rolled out of bed.
Ashleigh stood up to follow him. “I wanted to talk to you about today.”
Alex paused at the door. He turned back to her and leaned against the frame. He only wore his boxers, which hung low on his hips. She couldn’t help but appreciate how sexy he looked then—lean and powerful. She’d missed the little things like being able to enjoy the sight of his bare body in the morning.
BAD INFLUENCE: A Dark Bad Boy Romance Page 37