by Marie Harte
She turned over and scooted toward it, but as she grabbed a few packets, she felt his hands on her ass.
“Give them to me. I’m going to calm down and give you a back massage. How’s that?”
She handed the packets to him. “Are you sure you took an anatomy class, ever? Because your hands are not on my back.”
He was kneading her glutes, and she moaned at how good it felt.
J.T. chuckled. “Such a smart-ass. Don’t worry. I’m just slowing us down a bit.”
“Whatever you want,” she said and closed her eyes, her head tilted to the side. “Because that feels amazing. I still want to have sex, but now I’m thinking I want more of a back or butt rub first. Mmm.”
He worked her glutes, her hamstrings, and back up to her lower back, rubbing out tension she hadn’t realized was there. Then he slowly lowered himself over her, and they touched, skin to skin.
She hissed at the contact, feeling overpowered—and loving it.
“God, don’t move.” He groaned. J.T. leaned up on his hands and kissed her shoulders, her back. Then he kissed her cheek before whispering, “I’m wearing the condom. I want to fuck you so hard. Over and over.”
He rocked against her as he said it, and her body went up in flames, anticipating when he’d turn her over.
“This first time will be quick, baby. I’m sorry about that.” He eased up and pulled her into a kneeling position, on her hands and knees. He nudged her legs wider. “Our first time should be face-to-face. With me eating that golden pussy, licking you up, teething that clit. But I can’t wait.” He ran a hand down her flank and curled it around her thigh. His fingers slid through the dew gathered between her legs, her body slick and ready to receive him.
A thick finger eased into her, and she arched up.
“Easy.” He was breathing hard, sliding that finger in and out, but so slowly. “Oh fuck. You’re ready, aren’t you, baby? Ready for a fast fuck.”
“Yes,” she moaned. “I really want you.”
“Damn. I wanted to wait, but I can’t.” He withdrew his finger, gliding over her sensitive clit. “Oh, you’re hard, aren’t you?” He gave a hoarse laugh. “But not as hard as me.”
Then he was sliding inside her again—with something thicker and longer than his finger. He moved slowly, so big, and so incredibly filling. She was impatient to feel all of him.
She tried to shift under him, but he held her fast, continuing to penetrate with a torturously slow progression.
Until he was balls-deep and could go no farther.
“Oh fuck. Fuck. Don’t move.” He lifted up, and the motion pushed him deeper still. “I have to… I can’t stop from…”
“J.T., fuck me already,” she ordered.
When he pulled out and slammed back inside her, she lost all control.
The ecstasy of his taking couldn’t be denied. She felt so close to him as her body clamped down, letting him get two more thrusts before she pulled him with her. He yelled as he climaxed, filling the condom and clutching her hips hard enough to leave bruises.
The tiny pulses as he jerked inside her set her off again, and for the first time in her life, she thought she experienced multiple orgasms. She couldn’t stop coming.
When she could finally breathe again, J.T. slumped over her, still joined, kissing her wherever he could reach.
“Oh, baby. So damn good.” He released a tremulous breath. “Fuck. That was out of this world.” When he withdrew, she felt bereft. God, she wanted to cry. It had been a crazy surge of powerful emotion, a cathartic experience, even. As in, spiritual.
I’m losing it from great sex. So sad. She trembled on her hands and knees.
“Be right back.” J.T. left the bed, and she collapsed face-first into it.
By the time he returned, she’d managed to roll herself over and stared at his ceiling. One of the bulbs had burned out in his overhead light. “You should replace that.” She pointed.
“I’ll get right on it.” He leaped over her onto the bed, then rolled onto his side and leaned up on his elbow. “You okay?”
“Hold on. I’m trying to get the last brain cell I own working again.”
He smiled, his gaze tender. “Me too.” He stroked down her cheek, her throat, to her breasts and lingered, cupping her, petting her, then lightly pinching her nipples and sending streaks of fire to her core. She gasped, and his grin widened. “Sensitive there, eh? Me too.” He leaned down to take her nipple between his lips and sucked.
“Oh.” She clenched his head to her, then realized she was the one keeping him there.
He pulled back to watch her as he continued his sensual exploration down her body. He left no part of her front untouched, even caressing her toes.
When he returned to her face, he kissed her. “Hope, I just…” He sighed, leaned his forehead against hers, and closed his eyes.
“I know. Me too.”
Neither spoke again for a while, but they didn’t have to. Both knew something unexpected had happened. Not talking about it seemed the safest thing to do. They lay, him caressing her, her accepting his petting, for a while.
Before any awkwardness settled between them, J.T. nudged her with a returning erection.
“Um, I hate to ruin the mood, but I’m ready for round two.”
“What took you so long?”
He laughed, and the emotional intensity of the moment gave way to joyous laughter once more.
Chapter 13
After finally making love to her face-to-face, J.T. let her sleep for a few hours. He’d clearly tuckered the poor girl out, a fact he planned to throw in her face tomorrow. Well, after they succeeded at her parents’. He didn’t want to super stress her out.
He’d watched her sleep for a long time. God. He had it bad. And what the hell was wrong with him, taking her from behind for their first time ever?
So romantic. She was lucky he hadn’t pegged her ass and followed with an I love you. He snorted, but the thought of the l-word had him choking back panic, for real. J.T. had never been so close to a woman before. Oh, not physically. But emotionally.
He felt so in tune with Hope in so many ways. They had a lot in common. And he liked the fact that she was honest enough with herself to realize how immature it was to want to trick her mother. Yet she was doing it anyway to prove a point. Tenacious? Um, yeah.
Sexy, fun, adorable?
Yep.
She rolled toward him in her sleep, and he drew her closer to his chest, tucking her in tight.
That funny ache in his heart returned. He stroked her hair, loving the feel of her in his arms. Fuck, but he’d never had such deep feelings for a woman before. Not romantic feelings, at least. He loved his sister, his cousin, his aunt. He loved his dad’s Sophie too. Like a mom. But the need to protect, to care for, to help Hope was like a goddamn prime directive. He couldn’t ignore it, and he kind of wanted to.
Fucking—no, making love—to Hope had been better than anything he’d imagined. She fit him to perfection. His second orgasm had been even better than the first. Not as desperate, and he’d watched her come when he did, the two of them staring into each other’s eyes.
Romantic as shit.
He closed his eyes and groaned.
And that’s when he felt clever little hands cupping his dick and reminding him that he had a naked and willing woman in his arms.
“Hope,” he whispered. A glance at the clock on his bed showed two a.m. They’d both be tired tomorrow, but he could handle a fuzzy Friday. He had a bit of touching up today and some sketching appointments with clients. Nothing major.
She nuzzled his chest and kept stroking him with her hands. Her fingers moved down, soon cupping his balls, and he moaned and spread his legs wider, easing onto his back and taking her with him, now resting her on top of him.
“Hmm. Tast
y,” she said with a throaty chuckle. But instead of kissing him on the mouth, she proceeded to kiss a trail down his body, ending at his cock.
“Hope.” He tugged her by the shoulder. “Turn around, baby.”
She didn’t listen and started licking him. Her lips tugged at his cockhead before slipping over his shaft, taking him in her mouth.
He groaned her name and surged deeper, not meaning to, but his body had a will of its own. “So good. Oh yeah. Eat me up, Sexy.”
She moaned and sucked, caressing his sac while she did. And his arousal grew fast and furious.
“Hope, turn around. Let’s see who comes first, huh? Winner gives the loser a massage tomorrow. Winner’s choice.”
She pulled away to grin up at him. “You’re on. Think I can swallow another mouthful before you do?”
“I can’t wait.”
He helped her turn, and then her pussy was in his face, her mouth over him once more, and he buried his mouth in heaven.
He licked and sucked, nibbled on her tight clit and prayed he had the strength to last. He’d already come twice a few hours ago. He’d had a long day and should have been tired. But she energized him, was all he could think. Because his cock was as hard as it had ever been, his balls tight and needing a release.
The thought of coming down her throat was enough to get him really going, and he increased his attention to her honeyed sex. She tasted damn good. J.T. knew a woman’s body. He’d made getting to know it an art form. But he’d never had anything so fine as Hope Donnigan. Curvy, soft, yet toned in all the right places.
He loved the tiny moans she made as she neared completion. Loved the sweetness of her responses, the lack of artifice in her affection. Because every kiss and caress had meaning with Hope. None of this damn fake relationship was casual.
And the thought of having enough of her trust to go skin to skin helped get him to the edge. Especially when the sly woman used her teeth on that sensitive part of him, just under his cockhead.
He lapped her up and added a finger, pumping inside her with faster movements, his end too near to ignore.
He moaned a warning, unable to stop thrusting up while she bore down with those ripe lips. He ground her pussy against his mouth, trying to get more of her, to get deeper inside her.
He had half a mind to yank her off him and come up inside that hot pussy.
And he lost it. He cried out as he came in great bursts of pleasure, nearly blacking out as he drew her clit in his mouth while he came down her throat.
Then she was there with him, flooding him with an intense orgasm that seized around his finger like a vise.
Hope pulled away and keened, the waves of repletion now ripples as she eased into a euphoric glow. She turned around, still on top of him, and kissed him.
He tasted himself on her mouth and thought it the sexiest thing.
“I taste me on our lips,” she said, as if reading his mind and mirroring the sentiment. “I like it.”
“Not as much as I do. Your pussy is fine, baby. So damn sweet.”
She blushed prettily. “Is this where I say I think you were right? It is nine inches. I measured.”
He laughed. “Told you.”
“Yep. Hung like an elephant. I think you bruised my throat.” She paused. “We should do it again until I get it right.”
And right there. He stumbled again, one step closer to losing his mind and falling in love.
* * *
No amount of telling herself to relax worked. Standing with J.T. on her parents’ doorstep, Hope tried to squash the bundle of nerves taking root inside her.
“Easy. We’re not facing a firing squad,” J.T. teased and rubbed her back.
She glanced at the flowers in his hand. “I’m still not sure that’s a good idea.”
“What? Coming as myself and trying to make nice instead of wearing a bandana and an eye patch, and smoking some weed to show them how badass I really am?”
“Not funny.”
He laughed. “It is. Can you see me dressing all gangster—minus the eye patch, ’cause that’s just stupid—and throwing down with your mom?”
She grinned. “Okay, that is funny. But I’d still bet odds my mom would pin you before you could say ‘uncle.’”
“Nah. I’m king when it comes to wrestling.” He leaned closer and whispered, “Like I pinned you early this morning. Remember?”
She blushed, recalling all too well their sexual marathon. Still unsure if sleeping with J.T. would end up being the biggest mistake of her life or the best sexual experience ever, she turned to tell him to behave and froze, caught by the strange look on his face. Not sexual or teasing, but intense…longing?
She cupped his cheek, trying to see what he didn’t say.
The door opened. “Ahem.”
She turned to see her father standing there.
Hope blushed and dropped her hand. “Oh, ah, hey, Dad.” She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. “This is my friend, J.T.”
“Hello.” Her father held out a hand, and J.T. shook it.
They stood nearly at eye-level, with her father a tiny bit taller but not nearly as broad. Dressed conservatively in a short-sleeved collared shirt and jeans, J.T. exposed enough muscle to be impressive. But then, she found him impressive with or without clothes.
Crap. I have got to stop thinking about stuff like that and get my head on straight.
“I know you,” her father said as their hands parted. “J.T. Webster? Del’s brother?”
“Yep.” J.T. smiled.
“That’s right. We met you at the wedding.” He shot Hope an amused look. “Come on in. You have to meet my wife.”
“Oh, joy,” she muttered as they followed him inside.
“Hope, be nice,” her father counseled.
J.T. smirked at her. “Yeah, be nice, or else.”
“Or else what?” Landon barked.
“Well?” Gavin said.
Terrific. Her brothers. Just what she didn’t need.
She turned to see Landon, Gavin, and Theo—who had yet to speak, his mouth stuffed with food—watching her.
“Oh goody, the gang’s all here,” she deadpanned.
J.T. coughed but didn’t manage to hide all his laughter. “These are for your wife.” He held the flowers to her dad.
“That’s nice of you. Hey, Linda. Hope and her boyfriend are here.”
The word boyfriend gave Hope a start, but she hid it well. She still felt boneless from their time together. Which is good, she told herself. That will make us seem more real. She sure the heck felt like they had something going. Last night had been a turning point. Even J.T. was acting differently. He’d picked her up from work earlier and had planted a long, lingering kiss on her that started a slow burn that had yet to fade.
And the proprietary hand on her back, the arm around her shoulders, or like now, the hand holding hers as he held flowers out to her approaching mother. All gestures of shared intimacy and possession. But was he acting or being real? And why did it bother her so much to think he only played the part she’d assigned him?
Linda studied him, then slowly looked down to their joined hands. “So you’re the boyfriend?”
He nodded. “And you’re the mother.” He mirrored her inspection. “Man, you sure are pretty.”
Linda blinked, accepted the flowers with polite thanks, and turned without saying anything more.
“She’ll put them in water and be right back.” Van rocked back on his heels, and Hope had the feeling he was amused. “So you and my daughter are dating, hmm?”
“That’s fascinating,” Landon said. He stood next to their father, his arms crossed, wearing an attitude to match his USMC Proud T-shirt. The ex-Marine major could be a bulldog when he wanted answers. And he clearly wanted to shove his big nose in her business.<
br />
As did Gavin, the second oldest. Dark-haired whereas Landon was blond, he took more after their father in looks and disposition. He smiled but didn’t seem as friendly as she might have expected. “J.T. I haven’t seen you since the wedding.”
“Can you believe my sister has been a Mrs. for over two solid months now? How crazy is that?” He squeezed Hope’s hand. “Hell, I remember when she used to get me to braid her hair for her.” He shook his head. “And we played fix the scooter with her plastic tools. Ah, the good old days.”
Theo came up behind Hope and squeezed her in a hug that lifted her off her feet.
“Theo.”
“Hi, big sis.” He set her down and grinned. “Hi, J.T.”
“Hey, Theo.” J.T. smiled. “How’s the flower shop treating you?”
“Good. I’m getting better tips. Since I quit the coffee shop, I have more time to look for a better second job.”
Van frowned. “You quit the coffee shop?”
“Ah, can we talk about this later?”
Gavin sighed. “He broke up with his girlfriend, and it got awkward. There. No need for a convo later.”
“Gavin.” Theo glared.
“What? It was supposed to be a secret?”
Hope turned to J.T. “How did you know he worked at a flower shop?”
“I ran into Theo one day while I was picking up flowers for—”
“One of your many girlfriends?” Landon interrupted, playing the role of protective big brother.
J.T. answered, “I have a stable of about five of them, and I rotate roses and lilies to keep my women straight.” He snorted. “No, dumbass. They were for my dad for Sophie. It was supposed to be a surprise.”
Landon scowled. “Dumbass?”
“I don’t have girlfriends. I have one girlfriend, and you’re looking at her.” J.T. scowled back, not at all intimidated by her brother. She wondered if they went toe-to-toe, who’d win. They looked evenly matched. For all that her brothers excelled in the Marine Corps and taught self-defense, J.T. had a wealth of knowledge he’d learned on the streets growing up.
Hope grinned. “Ha. That’s what you get.”