by Joya Ryan
Oh yeah? Game. Set. Match.
“Be careful what you ask for.”
He licked the pad of his thumb, then placed it over her pouting clit and rubbed fast.
She instantly screamed, and that was his signal to fuck her even harder. Sweat dripped from his temples and hit her legs as he kept going on and on.
Growling like an animal. He was with a lady, a classy woman, and he was rutting like a savage. Some truths he couldn’t hide from, but right then, he gave himself over to the feeling of having her wrapped around him.
“Dex!”
She screamed his name and came again, harder and longer than the first one.
He couldn’t hold off anymore. He followed her down, his climax so explosive that he went light headed and rocked on his knees.
Her leg slid down his shoulder and off. Then the other one. He lay on top of her and clutched her close as the last of his release pumped from him. He hugged her tight. Sweaty and panting.
He must be crushing her. She would push him off any second. But instead, she locked her heels together at the base of his back and hugged him closer.
As soon as his right mind returned to him, Dex knew he was in deep hell with this woman. So hopefully, clarity would give him just a few more minutes before it came busting in and ruined everything.
Chapter Eight
Michelle opened her eyes to soft sunlight shining through the window. Not her window…Dex’s bedroom window.
She glanced around. She wasn’t lying gracefully in Dex’s bed like she’d seen women wake up in movies. Nope, she was totally naked, sprawled out, arms overhead like she’d fallen on the bed and passed out that way. And Dex? His head was on her lower stomach, his meaty arms slung over her. She felt his even breaths hit between her legs, and the sensation made her tingle.
Last night had been amazing.
In a word? Wow. Few other words could really describe what had happened between them.
It made a bit more sense to her now why people chased this kind of feeling. This adrenaline, passion-induced crazy need to just go wild.
And Dex was the best person to go wild with.
But that sunshine was annoying in how it brought the light of day with it, because the light of day made things look different. Made truths become reality. Like the truth that each time they crossed something off her list, she felt more comfortable with him, more emotionally open. Which was the exact opposite reason for the list. There was no point in learning how to be independent if she attached herself to a man in the process.
Sure, someone could tell her that if she liked him so much, she could just keep seeing him. But she had good reason for avoiding a relationship, and she wasn’t going to open herself to that kind of pain again. Not when her independence and her very sense of self were on the line.
Her body felt heavy, like she was weighted down.
Following her heart had ruined her life before. She wouldn’t let that happen again.
Dex stretched and groaned and nuzzled his face into her. His stubble scratched her hip and sent shivers over her skin. She held her breath. She didn’t want to wake him…
“I know you’re awake, princess,” he said in a sleepy, muffled voice against her belly button. “I can hear you holding your breath.”
She blew out a long exhale, and he looked up at her, his sexy hair tousled from a long night’s sleep. Getting lost in those sleepy green eyes was a great way to start the day. Her heart actually thumped painfully just looking at him.
“Morning.” He smiled. And cue the dimple.
She ran a hand through his hair. “Good morning.”
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
She took a mental account of her body. She was sore. And it felt so good.
“Great,” she said.
“Glad to hear,” he said. “Would you like some breakfast?”
She shook her head. Shouldn’t she be leaving soon? This was how the whole hookup thing went, right? Meet up. Have sex. Leave the next morning. Preferably before the guy woke up. But she was new at this, so two out of three wasn’t bad.
“I’m okay.”
He gave a half shrug. “Suit yourself.”
He kissed along her lower stomach and spread her legs.
His tongue hit her sweet spot, and she jerked. “W-what are you doing?”
He glanced up at her with a frown. “I’m eating breakfast. And I’m starving.”
The only thing that could have made his words hit home more was a “duh.” He settled between her thighs again and began devouring her.
Surrounded by a hot man between her thighs and sprawled out in his bed was definitely the best way to greet the day. But it wasn’t just any hot man. It was Dex. And while the light of day was still threatening to remind her of reality, she just wanted to stay in that moment a bit longer and forget the rest of the details of life.
Her blood heated and tingles surged up her spine just as—
Ring! Ring!
Dex’s cell went off on the bedside table. He growled but kept licking.
Ring! Ring!
“You should get that,” she breathed.
He shook his head. “I’m busy.”
Oh, and she wanted him to stay busy, but his phone rang again.
“What if it’s an emergency?”
Now he really growled as he slowly kissed up her stomach and reached over her to get his phone. She liked that he seemed so interested in her. Liked he couldn’t get enough. She and Dex might not be much more than odd friends with a trainer/trainee understanding, but he was an amazing lover.
Hell, he was just plain amazing. Other men would have answered the phone because they wanted an excuse to get away from her. He was answering because he cared whether it was an emergency. Just like he cared about people around him. It was clear in how he spent his time and how he worked hard to keep people safe. He’d even hesitated to answer it, like he didn’t want to give her the wrong impression.
When he read the caller ID, he got off the bed and answered, “Hey, Mama.”
He gestured at Michelle to give him a minute, and she nodded.
It was sweet the way he answered his mother’s calls. The last time her mother had called was to tell her about her ex getting engaged. And just as Michelle had wondered if her mother could be any crueler, she’d tossed in some underhanded insults about Michelle’s “lifestyle.” A woman on her own. A woman without a country club. A woman without a husband to take care of her and tell her what to do.
God forbid there was a world beyond the Four Seasons. The sad part was that Michelle hadn’t figured out how to stand up to either of her parents. Not really, at least. They had a special power for making her feel small. Her best shot at being free was to get as far away from them as possible.
Which was why she liked Beaufort and her boutique so much. She could take pride in the life she’d built without worrying that her parents would show up on her doorstep to point out her many faults.
She watched Dex pace and say, “Yes, ma’am,” into his phone, and Michelle’s heart melted a little bit. He was a good boy. Kind and sweet and loyal. All traits that were becoming clear the more time she spent with him.
“See you soon, Mama,” he said and hung up. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at Michelle. She had a hard time meeting his eyes, because he was naked. In the morning light, he was all hard, tan muscles.
“Sorry to have to cut the morning short, but I’ve got to pick up some stuff for my mom. I can take you home if you’d like.”
Michelle swallowed hard, not sure how to handle this feeling. She wasn’t ready to say good-bye to him. Not yet. But that wasn’t part of this deal. And it was probably better that she back off when he had something so personal going on.
“Okay, no problem.”
“Shit,” he mumbled.
“Problem?” she asked.
“Yeah, I, ah, have a training type thing I want to do with you today. It’d also knock off one o
f those list items of yours. But I have to take care of this first.”
“I could just go with you?” she said before she realized the words had come out.
He frowned as if confused. “I can’t really train you until later, so you’d have to sit through a few errands and making a run to my mom’s.”
“That’s fine.”
What the hell had she just agreed to?
Okay, she couldn’t back out. Not now. But could she really go?
Think this through.
She had the day open, and this was just for training, right? So surely a few hours of running errands was okay until she could get back to her list. Because that’s what this was all about. The list and his hours. She needed to remember that.
He took a step toward the bed, a small smile tugging at his lips.
“All right then. Looks like we’re spending the day together.”
A day. The word made her chest twist a little. That was a big dose of time. But she could do it if it meant she took another step toward this independence she was chasing. And Dex had said today would involve crossing some major stuff off her list so…totally fine. Not a relationship. Not a big deal. Just sex and fun and progressing forward into her new Take Life by the Balls attitude.
He took another step, that grin widening and that cock growing.
She sat there, waiting for his response. He’d suggested it. Surely he wouldn’t back down now.
“If we’re starting today, we should start it right,” he said.
He jumped on the bed and hit her with a kiss and a little tickle just below the ribs. She laughed and squirmed.
“Uh-oh, princess, I know your weakness now.”
He tickled a little more, and she laughed. Her eyes met his, and yes…she had a weak spot. She was looking right at it. Rather, at him. And she had no idea what to do about it. Only that she knew if he could get her to open up with laughter simply with his touch, staying around him much longer couldn’t be good.
“Come on,” he said and tugged her up. With a smack on her bottom, he led her into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. “I’m going to have to finish my breakfast in the shower this morning. Any chance shower sex is on your list of things to do?”
She smiled as he pulled her under the spray, hit his knees, and had her on the brink of climax in five seconds flat.
“You know, it actually is.”
“Well then, it’s shaping up to be a productive day.”
Yes, productive.
A means to an end.
She didn’t have to call this off now. They both understand why they were here and what their limits were.
Every adventure inevitably came to an end, and no matter how lost she got, she’d find her way back to the real world.
It had been a pretty great morning. Dex had eaten the breakfast of champions and after running to the grocery store and pharmacy with her by his side in his pickup, he was feeling kind of…giddy.
Which was lame. He knew better. But Michelle with her cute dress and hair tied up in a perfect bun had him hard all damn morning. Because he knew what she was like beneath the prim and proper. She wasn’t like the women who showed up for one wild night with him and instead gave him one boring memory. There was a wild vixen in Michelle.
And she didn’t mind that the seats in his truck were dusty, or that the engine rumbled too loudly when he threw it into second gear. She smiled and hummed to the music and…hung out with him. Like it was the easiest damn thing in the world to just be around him. And he liked that idea. A lot.
But this wasn’t about hanging out. This was about him getting recertified and her getting those lists she liked so much checked off. He had a way to accomplish both today. He just had to take care of his mama first, then the fun would start again. Because that’s what this was, what he offered, what he was good for: fun. Nothing more. And they both knew it.
He wouldn’t think too much about how, between the frozen food section and the yogurt, she’d stolen a little kiss that left his chest pounding. He wouldn’t delude himself into thinking she wanted to spend time with him. Beyond the training, beyond the sex. They needed certain things from each other, and once those needs were satisfied, this was over. He’d gotten caught up in a high-class woman before. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.
When he turned down the dusty road to his mama’s trailer, nervousness set in. It was the first time he’d ever brought a woman over to his mother’s place. Michelle didn’t look horrified when they pulled up or even taken aback. She just looked at him and smiled.
Would she still be fine with this when she actually met his mom?
He killed the engine. “You’re in a good mood today.”
“You know, I really am. Who thought that starting the day off with an orgasm would be life changing?”
“Ah, if memory serves, it was two orgasms.”
She smiled and blushed. Oh yeah, he’d gotten her there twice in the shower. A wave of pride came over him, and he gave himself a mental high five.
But the way she looked at him made him think it was more than the sex. Like she’d actually enjoyed her time with him, not just his body.
It’s not! Stop thinking that way now, asshole.
He’d been internally yelling at himself all morning.
He hopped out of the truck and rounded it to open her door.
He helped her out and grabbed the grocery bag of things and the prescription his mama needed.
He didn’t make it three steps before his mother was coming through the front door welcoming him.
“There you are,” she said with a smile and hugged him. The grocery bag crinkled between his chest and his mother as she squeezed tight. She noticed Michelle right away and looked her over. “Well hello, dear.”
“Good afternoon, I’m Michelle. So nice to meet you.” Michelle was all manners and even shook his mother’s hand. Of course, his mama shot him a warning look that hopefully Michelle didn’t see, because he knew what his mom was thinking.
Her son was getting involved with another upper-class, high-maintenance woman, and clearly his mother was wary. But she was a kind woman. For the most part. He just hoped today she’d be kind enough not to say anything that hurt Michelle.
“My goodness, look at you,” Mama said, looking over Michelle. She was sweet, but he knew his mother well. She was analyzing. And Michelle seemed to know it, too, because she squirmed a little under his mother’s insistent scrutiny. Dex had to clear his throat to make the silent judgment stop.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting you to bring company,” his mother said to him, then looked back at Michelle. “But would you like some sweet tea?”
“I’m okay, but thank you for the offer,” Michelle said.
He saw his mother’s small glare and knew what was going through her mind. How dare a city girl turn down southern hospitality? But Michelle wasn’t being rude. She simply didn’t like sweet tea, and unfortunately she didn’t know his mother expected you to drink it whether you liked it or not. Even turning down the tea, Michelle was perfectly polite, perfectly pleasant, and it was that perfection that his mama was zeroing in on.
And her looks could kill.
“So you said the door was broken?” Dex asked, trying again to break his mother’s silent judgment of Michelle.
“Yeah.” She pointed to the entrance of her trailer. “The outer screen one isn’t shutting tight. Those pesky mosquitos keep coming in and eating me alive.”
“Let me put these down in the kitchen, and then I’ll take a look at the screen door,” he said.
“Thank you, son.”
Dex headed inside, and his mother stayed out in the front talking with Michelle. He couldn’t really hear what they said, so he put the groceries away quickly and started to look at the door. The sooner he finished and got Michelle out of there, the better. Because a heaviness was settling in his chest like wet cement. A heaviness that felt like…reality.
He knew what this
was, what Michelle and him were. They were nothing. They were a one night at a time kind of good time. That’s it. Well, more like he was her good time and she was his trainee. But still. He knew she was wrong for him, and he was way wrong for her. But seeing his mother’s expression made that fact sting a bit more.
That wave of pride he’d felt earlier now hit him so hard it knocked him on his metaphorical ass. Yeah, pride was the wrong thing to feel in this spot.
He still wasn’t good enough for Michelle’s kind. And now his mama knew it, too.
He’d gotten to spend all night and this morning with Michelle in his world. But somehow, everything had shifted, and the silent way his mother pointed out how different Michelle was from him had a bad feeling rising in his gut.
Michelle wasn’t so bad. Wasn’t like the other women he’d gotten involved with before. Part of him really thought she was different. Sure, she was high class and rich and a city girl, but that wasn’t all she was.
Or maybe he was making excuses to delude himself. Cruel as his mother was, it’s not like she was wrong. He’d tried mixing with girls from the other side of the tracks. It never worked out longer than a heated couple of days.
“It’s just coming off the one hinge down here is all,” he called to his mother. “I have a screwdriver in my truck, easy fix.”
“Thanks so much, son.” His mother returned her attention to Michelle. At least now he was close enough to hear it.
“So you’re new in town?” his mama asked her.
“Yes,” Michelle said. “I opened a boutique on Main Street a few months ago.”
“A boutique.” His mother repeated the word like it tasted sour. “Sounds fancy.”
Michelle’s shoulders slumped. What the hell? He hadn’t seen her this nervous before, even when she’d been facing a wilderness. She was the epitome of stubborn courage. But his mama was enough to send Michelle over the edge of insecurity. He hadn’t thought through what would happen here. And it was looking to bite him in the ass.
So much for getting in and out without a scratch.
“Well, I’m glad some people around here can afford to shop at the boutique,” his mother said. “And is that how you know Dex? Is he your handyman?”