by Anara Bella
She tried casually extricating her hand from his, but Cain refused to take the hint, and before long she was caught up in lively anecdotes from his travels around the world. By the time they got to his room, they were laughing and joking as if the past ten years had never happened.
The sneaky devil knew what he was doing, which reminded Thea just how dangerous he could be. But that was okay, she could handle it. All she had to do was keep things light. A challenge she was more than up to meeting.
The Victorian bed and breakfast where he was staying was by definition old-fashioned, but when she stepped into his room, she was struck by how out of place a big strapping guy like Cain looked with the old-world décor surrounding him. Lace doilies dotted the room, a comfy quilt was turned back on the plush-looking bed. All of it felt warm and homey. In fact, the entire place looked like it was taken straight from a Victorian movie set.
She tossed her purse on the antique dresser closest to the door. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d be comfortable staying in a room like this. Why didn’t you stay at the Holiday Inn?”
He shrugged. “I’m sick of cold lifeless hotels, and Mom’s apartment is too small for me to stay with her. This place at least feels homey. It’ll do until I get my own place.”
And what a good reminder that he didn’t actually live here in town. There was absolutely nothing keeping Cain in Forsythia Falls. He could pick up and leave at any time. And more than likely would once he got bored with life in their little corner of hicksville.
And with her.
Chapter Nine
Cain felt the frosty chill emanating from Thea the second it happened. He knew what had caused it too. She didn’t believe he was in Forsythia Falls for the long haul, and he didn’t blame her. But all the words in the world weren’t going to convince her he was here to stay. The best thing he could do was show her. Use what he had at his disposal to keep her close.
Sex could be a powerful tool. Since it was the only thing she’d agreed to having between them, he had no qualms about using it without mercy. In fact, he’d enjoy every second of it, and make sure she did too.
He stepped in close behind her and swept aside her long red hair, enjoying the silky strands as they ran through his fingers. Nuzzling the exposed downy skin of her nape, he breathed deep of her unique scent mingled with the citrusy perfume she wore. He loved how she smelled, always fresh and clean. Sexy as hell.
And that’s all it took. That’s all it ever took.
A delicious tingling zipped down his spine like an arrow headed straight for his groin. Every cell in his body sang with the joy of being this close to her again, and all at once, tasting her soft skin was imperative.
As he nibbled his way up to her ear, he felt gooseflesh break out under his lips, and he smiled in silent satisfaction, knowing he’d succeeded in distracting her from her thoughts. That he finally had her undivided attention, had her fully focused on him. On them.
He nipped the lobe of her ear and the delicate skin just below it. Sliding his hands down her arms, circling her waist, he pulled her flush against him, relishing how good, how right she felt in his arms. He knew she felt it too, her shivery response setting his blood racing, and his skin on fire. “I missed you today.”
Her breath scattered into a weak giggle. “We’ve been together almost the entire day.”
He reached up and cupped her breast, kneading the soft plump flesh filling his palm. “Correction. We were beside each other, which I thoroughly enjoyed. But you were too far away.” He let her feel his already burgeoning erection, but stayed on topic. “We make a good team, don’t you think?”
She turned and looked askance at him, her brow arched in surprise. “I guess we’re okay. In a work setting.”
A thrill of triumph burst through him at her unexpected admission. “I enjoyed watching you work. I was very impressed with how efficiently you run the bar. You’ve turned into an impressive businesswoman.”
He wasn’t exaggerating. She ran a tight ship, knew everything that was going on, and handled problems in an authoritative manner.
“Thanks, I’ve worked hard at it.”
“It shows. And you know what else is hard?” He nudged her with his erection again. “My cock has been pining for you since this afternoon.”
She grinned up at him, her expression turning playful. “Pining? We can’t have that.” She reached behind and grasped his ass with both hands, squeezing him with surprisingly strong fingers, pulling him closer to her body. “It’s a shame the bar was so busy today. I would much rather have been doing this all day.”
“Me too.” He raced to undo the buttons on her sundress, even more impatient than he’d been before. “Although, you may have been right about the delayed gratification.”
She stopped his busy fingers, then turned around, and stepped out of range, redoing her buttons. “If you want to test that theory, I could leave right now.”
He grabbed her hands and kissed both palms while staying her with his eyes. “You’re not going anywhere until I’ve had my wicked way with you, darlin’.”
To show her just how serious he was, he made short work of the remaining buttons on her dress, and in one smooth flourish relieved her of it.
Standing before him, all but naked, proud, strong, she was utterly beautiful. And he’d never loved her more.
Holding his gaze, she unclasped her bra, letting it join her dress on the floor, reminding him just how much he loved her boldness. The way she forged ahead, never waiting on him for anything.
Shit. Everything about her was so fucking hot. Every drop of his blood went straight to his dick, making it throb with wanting her. He couldn’t snatch off his clothes fast enough.
Her eyes blazed, her breath fast and furious, as she watched him disrobe, and he knew she was as turned on as he was. Which made him burn even more.
And then her breath caught and she stilled. Her gaze focused on his upper right arm while she reached up and gingerly traced the lettering on his tribal armband tattoo. “You didn’t remove my name.”
Her whispered sentence was laced with wonder, the question unasked but implied. Her profound surprise, clearly evident in her voice, pained him to his core. She didn’t believe in what they once had, or that it was still there.
He’d broken that trust and now he had to fix it. “No, I didn’t, and I never will.”
Her gaze shot to his. “But why?”
“We made some great memories, darlin’. Why would I want to erase any of them?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I just thought your other girlfriends wouldn’t like it.”
He wouldn’t have cared if they had. “None of them ever mattered.”
She didn’t comment but it was obvious she was taken aback by the fact that he hadn’t altered his tattoo.
“Thea, I’ve never stopped loving you or thinking about you. This tattoo represents what we had together. What we could still have if you’d just give us a chance.”
Before he could blink, she pushed away from him, snatched up her bra and hurriedly put it back on.
“What are you doing?”
She snapped up her dress and shook it out. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m going home.”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t deal with this right now.”
Damn. She was running. “Please, don’t go.”
He put his hand over hers to stop her. She paused in pulling up her dress. “Let go.”
“I didn’t mean to scare you off.”
Her back stiffened. “I’m not scared.”
“Then why are you leaving?” He threw her a wicked grin for good measure. “Come on. I could dazzle you with my manly charms.”
She shook her head at his nonsense and after an agonizing moment, the corner of her mouth kicked up in an answering grin. Her eyes crinkled at the corners, mischief sparkling in their depths. “I’m just playing hard-to-get.”
Relief flooded his str
ung out nerves. He raised a brow. “Hard-to-get?”
She ran an idle finger down his chest, stopping way too far away from where he wanted her hands to be. “Yeah, you know the concept. I run, you catch me.”
Pure relief ran through him that she’d decided not to leave. He let go of her hand to reach behind her, unsnapping her bra with a deft flick of his fingers. Her breath hitched as he slid the straps down her arms, and grazed the backs of his fingers across her nipples until they hardened to lovely points that begged to be kissed.
His mouth watered at the thought. “Yeah, I think I do.”
He leaned in, laved the taut peak and then blew across it, watching it harden further.
She shuddered.
He grinned before taking the sweet peak between his lips, tonguing and sucking until her moan told him he had her complete and undivided attention once more. At which point he switched breasts to give the other the same treatment. He pulled back and blew across her wet skin giving her gooseflesh, making her nipples glisten in diamond-hard points.
He angled back and admired his handiwork. “So, am I doing it right?”
She took a shuddery breath. “Passably.”
“Let’s see if I can do better.”
He went to kneel, but before he could move, her fingers grazed his fully engorged cock, making it jump in eager anticipation of more attention. He held his breath, wanting, needing, aching for her touch. And to his utter relief, she did, squeezing him in her warm, soft hand, just once, lingering for a heart-stopping moment during which all he wanted was for her to do the kneeling and take him into her hot moist mouth.
She hesitated, long enough for him to hold his breath. And then she let go of his cock, instead moving her hand down to caress his balls before moving her hand away.
Damn.
She was going to suck his cock, he was certain of it. Ten years ago she would have, but she’d stopped herself and he knew why. She was holding a part of herself back. Driving home once more all he’d lost with the choice he’d made so long ago.
He shook off his disappointment. He needed to concentrate on her. Blow jobs and his pleasure were not his real concern right now. She was. She was here, and she was naked. He’d make the most of what he did have—her beautiful body. The rest would come with time.
He bent on one knee, slipping her panties down her silky legs, kissing his way down every inch of her thighs as he went. When she kicked the panties aside, he pushed her legs farther apart, widening her stance so he could access her sex.
A few tentative laps had her moaning, and in no time she was shuddering. “Better?”
“Better.”
“Then you’ll really like this.”
Cain let his fingers glide up her body as he stood. Picking her up, he carried her over to the bed, and placed her onto the mattress. For a few moments, he drank his fill of the gorgeous sight of her splayed out before him, a precious sight he thought he’d never see again.
Beautiful.
With her legs outspread, he had a first-class view of her already-dripping pussy. She was all he’d dreamed about for years, and all he could ever want in a woman. He positioned her on the edge of the bed and kneeled before her, intent on feasting on her succulent flesh. He nuzzled his way up her silky inner thighs before settling in to eat her out.
With his thumbs, he spread her folds for easier access, ran his tongue along the pink flesh in lazy laps, like a cat enjoying a bowl of cream. She was so hot, so sexy, his cock was ready to explode from just the intimate kiss alone.
Her sweet moans rose from barely there to deep and guttural as he worked the tender flesh and teased her clit over and over with light flicks of his tongue. Building the tension in her body like a virtuoso, using everything he remembered she loved.
When her writhing threatened to break his contact, he held her in place, and then pressed first one, then two fingers into her snug channel, working them in and out as he continued toying with her clit. When she was almost there, he sucked hard on the sensitive knot of flesh until she came all over his tongue in a beautiful orgasm, hands clenched in the quilt, back arched, mouth open, screaming her release. He rode her with it until the spasms gentled, and finally died down.
Cain kissed her thighs and then stood, gazing at her flushed cheeks, feeling satisfied, proud and hungry all at the same time. She had one arm thrown over her eyes, the other hand still gripped the colorful quilt she was lying on. Breasts heaved as she gasped for breath.
There wasn’t a more beautiful sight known to man. Not to him, anyway.
He knelt on the mattress and lifted her arm away. He wanted to see her eyes but she refused to look at him.
So he tickled her.
“Hey! You’re seriously interfering with my post-orgasmic bliss over here.”
He grinned at her teasing. “That was the point. We’re not finished yet.”
She peeped up at him. “I’m finished.”
He chuckled. “But I’m not, and neither are you. I have a hard cock here that’s weeping from lack of attention, so turn over.”
She groaned. “I don’t think I have the energy.”
“Yeah, you do. Now over you go. Hands and knees. I want to see that pretty ass of yours up in the air.”
Putting action to words, he helped her roll over and with the aid of a pillow, positioned her just the way he wanted her with her sexy ass in the air and her glistening pussy on glorious display.
His cock jerked at the gorgeous sight. “Fuck. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
She burst out laughing, the sound somewhat muffled by the bedding. “You would say that when you’re looking at my ass. Does this mean you like me better when you can’t see my face?”
He ran his fingers down her back and along the crease between her ass cheeks. Her body tightened while he took a moment to enjoy teasing the little puckered rosette hidden there, before burying his fingers into her slick folds. “No, it means I think everything about you is beautiful. And also that I’m enjoying the current view a helluva lot. Now stop distracting me.”
She mumbled. “Wouldn’t want to do that.”
He placed a soft kiss on her right shoulder blade and slid his lips over to the left one. “No—” a trail of moist nibbles down her spine followed next, “—you really,” he finished by teasing the dimples above her ass with his tongue, “—really wouldn’t want to do that.”
Thea felt the shiver start at her scalp and race down her entire body until she literally shook from it. God, the way Cain used his tongue was so deliciously carnal. And the rasp of his whiskers made the sensation even more intense, more all-encompassing, more visceral.
Just plain more.
All of a sudden his enticing touch was gone, and she glanced back in time to see him roll a condom over his large, lovely cock. “Is that bad boy all for me?”
“All for you.” He slicked his fingers through her folds, then teased her rosette again with his wicked tantalizing touch, causing her to hold her breath in anticipation of what he might do. But then he moved back to her pussy, and Thea didn’t know if she was disappointed or relieved.
The moment was lost when he continued to work her flesh. Over and over again, he brought her to the very edge and then backed off until she thought she’d go out of her mind if he didn’t fill her.
Finally, finally, he moved in behind and with firm, steady pressure pushed his way into her channel, inch by heart-stopping inch, with slow determination until he was fully seated inside.
“Oh God.” No one filled her like Cain did.
He started to move, thrusting with slow, sure strokes, stoking the fire that was already burning inside of her until it raged out of control.
She pushed back against him in counterpoint to his thrusts, building, building, building the delicious friction until she thought she’d go mad. His heavy balls slapped against her as he pistoned in and out of her greedy pussy.
His callused hand squeezed and twea
ked her nipples, bringing her closer, making her reach for that elusive thrill she so desired. She groaned and clenched at the sheets beneath her. She was almost there. Almost.
At last, he zeroed in on her clit, and with one touch every muscle in her body clenched and she flew over the top. Her contractions milked his cock until at long last, and with a deep guttural groan, Cain let go and joined her.
He collapsed against her as they both struggled to catch their breath.
If she’d thought she was worn out before, she was completely wrung out now.
Cain pulled out the pillow still wedged beneath her and dropped down beside her, pulling her into his arms. She rested her head against his broad chest while he held her close to his side.
She was so relaxed, she couldn’t have moved if her life had depended on it. Jumping out of bed and heading for home was the last thing she wanted to do right then, but she knew she should. No, she knew she had to do it. It was the smart thing to do.
And it was exactly what she would do. Just as soon as she gathered the strength she needed to move.
She just needed to rest her eyes for one teensy weensy second. That’s all. Just. One. Second.
Chapter Ten
Thea’s eyes flew open.
The first thing she focused on was the lace doily gracing the bedside table beside her head.
That told her she wasn’t in her own bed.
The second thing her eyes lit upon was the time.
Shit.
It was morning. Why the hell was she still in Cain’s bed? She’d intended to go home last night but clearly nothing had gone according to her plan. If it had, she’d have woken up in her own bed, not all cozy and relationship-like here in Cain’s.
She froze, not wanting to wake Cain. And then she realized it was awfully quiet in the room. With careful movements, she turned onto her back and felt around beside her but the bed was empty. After making visual confirmation that she was indeed alone in bed, she heaved a sigh of relief, quickly followed by a rising sense of ire.