Taking Chances (The Chances and Choices Duology - Book 1 of 2 - Contemporary Romance)

by Omasta, Ann

  Once I dried off, I donned the soft, black shirt and sweatpants that he had brought for me. The clothes were baggy and warm and they smelled fabulous. The scent was pure Sam, and I wondered briefly if I would be able to keep them as a little souvenir of this adventure. Contemplating stealing just to have a piece of him? I shook my head over where my thoughts had gone.

  Nothing good can possibly come from sleeping with Sam, I reminded myself. Well, other than the night of hot, passionate, mind-blowing sex.

  I decided that I needed to list off all of the reasons not to have sex with Sam as reminders to myself in case I was tempted to give in to my lusty body’s demand later tonight. Okay, the elephant in the room is that he’s Seth’s brother, and that’s just icky and wrong. That should be enough reason to steer clear of him right there.

  As if that weren’t enough, he treats women like objects. He doesn’t care about me. He’s probably only interested me as some screwed up way to compete with Seth. The self-conscious side of me began to rear its ugly head. Besides, I’m not nearly as pretty as the women he’s usually with. I’d probably disappoint him sexually.

  I ticked off the problems with fooling around with Sam in my head and resolved to remember them even if temptation struck. Okay, when temptation struck.

  “I can do this.” I gave myself a pep talk. “Don’t give in. He’s not right for me.” I ran through my reminders verbally, since I didn’t have my Post-it notes to put on the mirror.

  “You okay in there?” Sam knocked lightly on the door. “Sounds like you’re talking to yourself.”

  I was mortified that he had heard me. “I’m fine. You must be hearing things.” I lamely tried to put the blame back on him.

  I quickly went through my reminders once more, silently this time, before hopping on my good foot over to open the door. He looked as handsome as ever, but I had renewed my conviction to ignore how attracted I was to him, and I was determined not to give in to the undeniable, magnetic pull I felt towards him.

  He made that difficult by bending down and swooping me into his arms. “What are you doing?” I asked shrilly.

  “I’m taking you downstairs. Unless you’d rather hop on one foot or slide down the steps on that fabulous ass?”

  “This will be fine. Thank you.” I turned away from him as I said it, keeping my face a mask of indifference and ignoring the five-alarm fire that was burning inside me from being cradled in his arms.

  When he deposited me on the deep, brown leather couch, I fussed with the quilt to hide the shakiness I was experiencing from being so close to him. He gently placed my injured ankle up on the pillow of the couch, telling me it was a good idea to keep it elevated.

  Once I was all situated, he smiled down at me, then lifted the blanket and plopped down right next to me, pulling the cover over both of us. “This isn’t what I had in mind,” I grouched.

  “It’s exactly what I had in mind.” He responded, sighing with pleasure as he reached behind us for the television remote. I didn’t see the television, but he pushed a button and a huge flat screen lowered from the ceiling in front of the massive stone fireplace.

  Miss Dixie decided that she needed to cuddle too, so she climbed up on the couch and plopped down on Sam’s feet and my non-elevated foot. Surprisingly, even as big as she was, her weight wasn’t uncomfortable.

  Before long, I was warm and snuggly. Sam started a romantic comedy movie from the ‘New Releases’ section of his On-Demand library, but I wasn’t paying attention to it. All I could think about was how near he was, how comfortable it was to lie beside him and how I hoped he would touch my girly bits soon.

  Chapter 26

  His breathing settled into a regular rhythm, and I could tell he had fallen asleep. How could he sleep when I was so worked up? Men!?!

  I couldn’t focus on the movie that was playing. My mind was completely preoccupied with my proximity to Sam. He and his dog were sprawled across me as if they owned me, and it was nice. No, it was way beyond nice. It was fantastic and warm and comfortable.

  My hands were itching to touch him. I could easily reach under his shirt and run my hands over his chest and belly. Maybe I could even do it without waking him.

  What if he did awaken, though? I wasn’t prepared to deal with the idea of sleeping with Seth’s brother. Unfortunately, my Jiminy Cricket-like conscience didn’t seem to be willing to let this one slide, but my body simply wasn’t listening.

  My nipples were erect and swollen. I didn’t remember them ever being this taut for this long. They were achy and needed to be touched. I shifted slowly and carefully to lightly rub my breast along his arm. I wanted more, much more, but I didn’t dare.

  My legs were spread apart, since my ankle was elevated on the back of the couch. I could feel wetness at my core. One of Sam’s legs was sprawled across my leg that remained down. I moved slightly to the left to bring the weight of his leg closer to the pulsing need at my center.

  I was so tightly wound and turned on that if he moved his leg another inch, I was sure I would come. How did I go from being unable to orgasm to flying over the edge with a fully clothed man’s leg near my vagina?

  This attraction I had to Sam was not logical. My body was humming with excitement at his nearness. I was contemplating another stealth move, when I noticed that his breathing had changed. It was no longer the deep, regular breaths of sleep.

  I froze, wondering if he had felt me trying to use his body to satiate my need. I didn’t have to wonder long.

  “Trying to take advantage of me in my sleep?”

  “Don’t be absurd.” I answered automatically.

  He shifted to his side and I felt his erection at my hip. Before I could cover my reaction, I gulped in a breath and closed my eyes, relishing the feel of him against me. I released the air shakily.

  “I can tell that you want me, and I have wanted you since I first laid eyes on you,” Sam murmured in my ear. “Say the word, and I’ll scratch that itch for you.”

  He gently bit my earlobe and I felt it all the way down my spine. I shook my head, trying to be strong and resist him. He ran a hand up the shirt I had borrowed from him and hovered over my breast. I arched my back, yearning for him to touch me.

  His fingers were so close that I could feel their warmth, but he didn’t touch my skin. He looked directly in my eyes, “Say the word, Abby.”

  I reached out to smooth my hand under his shirt, but he used his free hand to stop me. He pinned down my errant hand over my head. Somehow, his achingly close fingers never touched my breast, even though my nipple was puckering out towards him.

  He lowered his face to mine and brushed a whisper of a kiss across my cheek. “Say it,” he demanded once more.

  I had known this was inevitable since I’d first felt this insane attraction to him. I just hadn’t been willing to admit it. I thought about trying to deny him, but knew that I just wasn’t capable of it. Having him so close, teasing me was more than my sexually charged body could take.

  I decided to completely let go of my inhibitions and doubts, for the first time in my life. I was just going to savor the pure pleasure of hot, dirty, mind-blowing sex. My body was already completely turned on, desperate for him to touch me. All I had to do was tune out the worries and negative self-talk, and enjoy the oblivion brought on by all-consuming sexual desire.

  I had the pleasure of seeing the flicker of surprise in his eyes when I looked directly at him and croaked the word. “Yes.”

  Chapter 27

  His pupils dilated noticeably, but he held back to confirm once more. “Yes? You’re sure?”

  “Yes. I want you.” I said it confidently this time. He rewarded my positive response with a dazzling, crooked grin. Then he lowered his head to run his lips and tongue behind my ear.

  I was desperate to touch his skin, but he still had one of my arms pinned. I used my free hand to raise his shirt and shuddered with pleasure as I smoothed my palm up his defined abs. I smiled when I felt his
nipples harden as I grazed over them.

  I continued my exploration of his skin with my free hand. It found its way around to his back, then down toward his rear. He sucked in a breath when I slid my hand under his jeans and cupped his bare butt cheek. With his buttock firmly in my grasp, I yanked my hand forward, pulling him into me. His thick cock ground into my side.

  “We have way too many clothes on.” He murmured the words at my ear. “I want you naked now.”

  He didn’t have to ask me twice. I fumbled with getting his shirt off, so he released my pinned hand. I quickly moved to relieve him of his jeans, popping open the buttons at his fly. Since he wasn’t wearing underwear, the tip of his cock peeked out at me. As I undid each button, more of it’s fabulous length was revealed to me. When I tried to ease his pants down, he stood to make the job easier, and I had the pleasure of seeing his entire glorious, naked body.

  His massive erection stood at attention, poking out towards me. I was aching to touch it, but my hands were occupied as Sam bent to lift the borrowed shirt over my head.

  He gazed at my bare breasts before bending to swirl a tongue around each one. I arched my back, craving more. He took advantage of my position to swoop the sweatpants down and off me.

  He had taken my panties along with my other wet clothes. So, I was completely nude. I felt slightly self-conscious at his slow perusal of my body. My angst quickly disappeared at his joyful look when he cupped a hand over me and said, “A landing strip to guide me home.”

  I smiled at the obvious pleasure in his voice. I would have to thank Courtney for insisting that I go with her to that ridiculous waxing salon. I had cursed her loudly when they ripped off the wax strips along with most of my pubic hair. In fact, it had been so painful that I had maintained the barely-there look with trimming scissors and hair removal cream just to ensure that I never had to go back to that awful place ever again.

  Sam seemed to be a big fan of the look, though. In fact, his penis looked like it had grown even larger, though I didn’t see how that was possible.

  He sat beside me rubbing his palm up and down my landing strip before plunging a finger inside me. I threw my head back and gulped in a deep breath.

  Something about this man drove me absolutely wild. I was dripping wet with anticipation and almost came just thinking about him climbing on me and replacing his finger with his dick.

  He stretched the length of his naked body along mine, while circling his fingers at my core. I used the opportunity while he was shifting to take his massive cock into my hands. I stroked up and down the length of him until he was panting with need.

  My legs were spread wide as his fingers massaged me. I was hot and ready and didn’t want to wait any longer. So, I reached down with one hand to gently cup his balls, while I used my other hand to guide him inside me.

  That was all the invitation Sam needed as he rolled on top and plunged deep inside me. He froze there enjoying the moment. I wrapped my arms and legs around him anxious for release.

  He didn’t move and I could see his jaw clenching with the effort of it. I wiggled my hips trying to entice him to ride me, hard. He grabbed both of my arms and held them with one hand over my head, then he whispered in my ear, “Try not to move, Baby. I want to savor being inside you for the first time.”

  I tried to stay still, but it was so difficult as he dropped kisses along my neck and nuzzled my ear. The full feeling of having him inside me made me desperate to move. I tried a couple of times to grind against him, but he used more of his weight to hold me still.

  When he used his free hand to tease my nipple, I let out a pathetic mewling sound and tried to arch against him once more. It was more than I could handle when he nipped my shoulder with his teeth. My body began to spasm out of control and I came violently, gasping for air.

  He let out a loud groan and released while I pulsed around him. “Oh, Ab!”

  He stayed inside me, and I enjoyed the full, heavy feeling having him there. It had been the most intense sexual encounter I had ever experienced, and we had barely even moved.

  He lifted his head to ask, “I didn’t hurt your ankle, did I?”

  “Nothing on me hurts right now.” I chuckled at my honest answer. My whole body felt fantastic.

  We stayed connected like that for a long while, and I relished the dead weight feeling of him on me. Then it was almost as if an invisible wall went up between us. I could feel the cool change in his demeanor and his distance, even though he was still inside me.

  When he spoke, his words shocked and enraged me. “My brother’s sloppy seconds aren’t usually my style, but this time it worked out quite well.”

  I was so appalled that I couldn’t even see straight. How could he have said such a hurtful, horrible thing? I was furious, and I lashed out at him in the only way that I could in our current position. “You Bastard!” I ground the words out through clenched teeth, and then I smacked his bare ass. Hard.

  His penis hardened inside me instantly.

  Chapter 28

  I wanted him off me, so I could put as much distance between us as physically possible, but he held me securely underneath him. “Get off!” My words were filled with venom.

  “I’m trying, Baby, but you aren’t being very cooperative.”

  I turned my head to the side, unwilling to acknowledge his double entendre. He used the opportunity to whisper in my ear, “You’ve spanked me twice tonight, and I liked it. Do you like it naughty, Abby?”

  Did this guy not understand English? I was working to formulate an appropriately disgusted response when he slowly slid out of me and back in. I was furious with him and appalled with myself for having had sex with him; but God help me, it felt magnificent when his penis moved inside me.

  It was all too much. I couldn’t believe that I had slept with my ex-boyfriend’s identical twin, or that he was such an unbelievable pig. I wanted nothing more than to get far away from him and lick my wounds. To top it all off, he was still inside me and my body reacted to him like a moth to a flame.

  What the hell was wrong with me that my brain could be so repulsed by someone, and my body could be so completely turned on by him?

  To my horror, the emotion I was feeling welled up, and I burst into tears. It wasn’t the cute trickle kind of crying either; but the sobbing, blubbering kind that makes a complete mess of your face.

  I was completely embarrassed, but the tears kept coming, and I couldn’t stop them. Sam had pulled back and was looking at me with that fearful look in his eyes that men get when a woman cries.

  “Don’t cry, Ab.” He tried to soothe me, but I was beyond consolation. “I shouldn’t have said the ‘sloppy seconds’ thing. I didn’t mean it at all.” He paused before adding quietly and seriously, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

  “You didn’t mean it?” The words were barely recognizable because I hiccupped on a sob as I asked the question. I wasn’t about to let him off the hook that easily, and he was probably only saying it to get me to stop crying, but it was still nice to hear him say it.

  “Of course I didn’t mean it,” he answered. Then he continued, “I’m very sorry I said it, and that I hurt your feelings.” He bent his head down and began gently kissing the tears off one of my cheeks. “I don’t know why, but I always push people away before I start to care too much about them.” He continued his sweet, soft kisses on my other cheek.

  “You care about me?” I was surprised at his revelation and wanted confirmation.

  “I care about you, Abby.” He gazed at down at me. “I care about you a lot, and it scares the hell out of me.”

  He placed a sweet, tentative kiss on my lips. I gasped in surprise. “I thought you didn’t kiss on the lips.”

  “I don’t.” His words didn’t match his actions because he kissed me on the lips again, slowly. This time his tongue dipped in to touch mine.

  “Yes, you do.” I murmured into his mouth between glorious kisses.

  For s
omeone who hadn’t had a lot of practice lately with kissing, he was amazing at it. He moved from tenderly brushing my lips with his to gently lapping his tongue over mine to a thorough exploration of my mouth. When he gently nipped my lower lip with his teeth, I felt the sensation ripple down my spine.

  “Do you forgive me?” He looked like a forlorn little boy when he asked, kissing the tip of my nose.

  I hesitated. I couldn’t handle his hot-and-cold moodiness. “Don’t ever say anything like that to me again. Not ever.” I demanded. “I will not put up with that kind of treatment.” I raised my eyebrows to let him know I meant business.

  “And you shouldn’t put up with it, Ab.” He looked down before adding, “I wouldn’t blame you if you never wanted to speak to me again.”