Her eyes blurred. Over the pain he’d gone through. The fear. “You can’t think that,” she whispered.
“Was.” He brushed his lips over her throat, the tip of his tongue blazing a trail. “That was a while ago. Trust me, I’m fully recovered and have plenty of stamina. Now, turn over.” He grinned. “I want to see those dimples.”
A matching smile tugged at her lips. Even now, he could make her laugh. Ignoring his asinine command, she skimmed her hands down his stomach. His muscles twitched under every inch of skin she passed. She unzipped his fly, and pushed his pants over his thighs. Reaching inside his boxers, she found him, hot, hard, throbbing.
He sucked in a breath. “Have I ever told you I love how direct you are? No dancing around, you just go for what you want.”
“It’s like you always say. Life’s too short not to.” She stroked down his length and gently rolled his soft sac in her hand.
He groaned. “I really like when you listen to what I say. You should do that more often.” He shoved his boxers down to his thighs, and his length popped free. The head was ruddy, and a bead of liquid clung to the tip.
Izzy licked her lips, and Brad cursed. “You’re killing me here.” Finding her core, he dipped his fingertips inside before dragging them through her folds and circling her clit. Bending low, he sucked her earlobe into his mouth and scored her with his teeth. “Roll the condom on me, Iz. I can’t wait much longer.”
Neither could she. His fingers were in constant motion, driving her mad, making her ache. Her hands shook as she freed the condom from its packaging and rolled the rubber down his length.
Nudging her thighs wide with his knees, he planted a fist by her head and lifted his other hand from her body. He stuck first one finger, then another in his mouth, tasting her, savoring her. It was one of the sexiest things Izzy had ever seen. That, and the fact that he never took his eyes off hers while he did it.
Burying his hands in her hair, he kissed her, rough, hungry, and pressed inside.
He dominated her mouth as he took her body. Izzy closed her eyes as he stretched her, nerve endings she’d thought long dead lighting up. The pressure went on and on until finally he was fully seated.
He rested his forehead against hers. “Jesus,” he said, saying what she thought. “I have a feeling this first time is going to be fast, so let’s take care of you first, all right?”
She had no objections to that. He slid his hand between them and found her with his thumb. As he circled, he rocked into her, the motion slow and gentle. Her muscles clamped around his girth, clutching him tight, and Brad’s jaw hardened. “You don’t like to make things easy, do you?” He pressed harder.
Izzy dug her fingers into his back. It was going fast. Too fast. It had been so long since she’d had anything but a self-service O, and her reaction to Brad surprised even herself. Brad had been a part of her orgasm in his truck, but she’d been doing all the work. Driving it forward. This time it was out of her hands.
Everything inside her coiled tight, and she didn’t know if she’d survive the explosion that was barreling her way. Her heart pounded, and her body burned. “Brad!”
He brushed light kisses over her lips, her eyes. “That’s it, baby. Come apart for me.”
And she did. With a strangled gasp, her body shattered, pleasure rocketing to her toes, making them curl. Wave after wave of ecstasy rolled through her until her body lay sated and boneless beneath him.
He caressed her cheek. The brown flecks in his eyes were almost as dark as his pupils, muddying the hazel to a river after a storm. “Damn, that was hot,” he said, his voice hoarse.
She smiled up at him, her body melting into the earth.
“Now hold on, baby,” he said. “My turn.”
* * * *
There weren’t many perfect moments in life, but being buried inside Izzy surely qualified. A breeze drifted over his back, caressing his heated skin. The last tremors from Izzy’s orgasm sucked gently at his cock, and she blinked, her expression a sweet mixture of satisfaction and surprise.
She fucking wrecked him.
His hips drew back and slammed back home of their own accord. No longer needing to hold on to his control, his body took over, seeking its own release. Scooping his hands under her, he propped his weight up on his forearms and gripped her shoulders, holding her steady as he drove inside. Her body accepted him like it was made for this purpose, gripping him like a tight glove.
Izzy buried her fingers in his hair. “Are you close, baby?”
He huffed out a laugh. He’d been walking around half-cocked since their first date, ready to go off. It wouldn’t take long.
She gave him a sphinx smile and fluttered the muscles of her core.
Holy shit. He blinked down at her, and she did it again. “Come for me,” she whispered.
She started working him, clamping down as he pulled out, relaxing for his thrusts. His body hair stood on end and his skin tingled, as though lightning was gathering. He drove faster, and Izzy matched him, stroke for stroke. Sweet Jesus.
He took her lips, needing that connection, loving how readily she opened for him and sucked on his tongue. Digging his fingers into her shoulders, he held her steady as his hips pistoned, and she broke away with a moan.
Lifting his head, he checked her expression to make sure she was okay. Her eyelids had dropped to half-mast, and she dug her teeth into her swollen bottom lip. “Oh God, Brad, don’t stop.”
She was going to kill him. He couldn’t leave her behind if she was getting close again, but his balls were aching, drawing up tight, and all the muscles in his back and thighs had gone rigid. He was moments away from bliss.
Groaning, he dropped his head and thought about the bills that needed paying. The busted pipe that needed fixing. The woman beneath him, who he was going to win, no matter what it took. No, don’t think about Izzy. Not the way her tits bounced when he pounded into her, nor how her perfume smelled sweeter rolling off her hot flesh, and definitely not her clutching—
He swore and buried his head in her neck. His thrusts became short, jerky. Time to dig deep, as Gabe would say on their jogs. If only he’d thought ahead to what he needed endurance for, Brad would have run that extra mile.
But his body wouldn’t wait. “Please, Izzy. Come with me.” Electricity gathered deep within his gut and exploded outward, rocking his senses. Ecstasy flooded his body and turned his fingers and toes numb. With a groan, he covered Izzy’s lush body, a goofy smile spreading across his face when he felt her core pulse around him once more.
He sighed. His body was as relaxed as if he’d just come from a two-hour massage. Rolling to his side, he stayed close and caressed her soft skin from her hip to her thigh and back again. “You okay?” he asked.
“Mmm-hmm.”
His chest expanded. His highly articulate Izzy was reduced to mumbles. He assumed that meant it was as good for her as it had been for him. Kissing the crown of her head, he zoned out and enjoyed the moment, letting his breathing even out and his skin cool.
A crow cawed from a tree, the sound almost masking the shuffling next to him. Brad turned his head and came face-to-face with Vi trying to pick up the disposable casserole dish. One tooth had punctured the flimsy metal, and she rolled out her long tongue, trying to lap up the chicken curry, coating everything with her saliva.
He groaned. “There go our leftovers for the next couple of days.”
Izzy shifted, then pushed up onto her elbow to look over his chest. “Vi! We gave you some.”
The dog twitched her brows and yanked her teeth from the container, tearing a jagged hole in the aluminum. She no longer had to go stealth, so went for speed instead. She snatched a large bite of meat and trotted away a couple of feet to gulp down her booty.
With regret, Brad pulled away from Izzy, disposed of the condom in a garbage bag, and tug
ged up his pants. He found the aluminum foil used to cover the casserole and resealed it as best he could. Vi wouldn’t be getting sick from overeating on his watch.
The boxer mix jerked her head up, her entire body going stiff.
The skin on the back of Brad’s neck tingled, and he looked around, trying to see what had spooked the dog.
Izzy pulled her bra straps onto her shoulders and adjusted the cups. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know.” He handed Izzy her shorts and panties and rolled to his feet.
This time he heard it, too. A faint yip. Brad turned his eyes to the spot where he’d left Jazz. Empty.
Vi tore past him, heading for the river, and Brad followed. He’d thought the pup too scared to go deeper than his paws, and Brad cursed himself for his stupidity. He searched the bank until the grass gave way to a pile of boulders but didn’t see the dog. Vi was sniffing like a bloodhound, but her nose wouldn’t help her much if her pup was in the water.
“There!” Izzy sprinted past him and ran right into the river, water splashing up to her thighs. She’d managed to pull on her shorts but was still shirtless. Vi followed, barking frantically. Finally, he saw him. A thin branch was stuck between two rocks in the middle of the river, and a small bit of black-and-white fur clung to it with tiny jaws.
Vi swam past Izzy’s lurching steps, but the current that had seemed so gentle pulled the dog downriver. Izzy lunged and grabbed Vi’s collar.
Not wasting any more time, Brad raced to the river and dove into the water, keeping his angle flat. The cold water slapped against his skin, but he pushed through it, swimming underwater as far as he could. He emerged five feet from Jazz and took one stroke to reach the little guy. Grabbing him by the fur at his neck, Brad lifted him from the branch and kicked off the boulder to reach Izzy.
She was waist-deep in the water, holding a struggling Vi tight against her stomach. “You got him? Is he okay?” Her voice was thready with concern, and her body shook with tiny tremors.
“I got him.” He rubbed her bare back, hoping to reassure, and got a flinch in response.
“Cold hands!”
“Sorry.” Taking Vi’s collar with one hand, he pressed Jazz into Izzy’s arms with the other. “Here, let’s switch.” Ducking back down into the river, he adjusted Vi over his shoulders into a fireman’s carry and stood, water streaming off both of them.
Izzy held the puppy up to his mother’s face and waited until Vi licked her baby. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s go.”
The stones in the river were slippery, so Brad kept one hand near Izzy while they crossed. She stumbled once, slipping down to her shoulders before he could grab her and pull her back to her feet.
She held up the puppy like a prize. “I’ve still got the baby.”
Brushing the wet ends of her hair over her shoulder, he grinned. “And I’ve got the mama.”
Their eyes locked before Izzy turned away and they stumbled back to dry ground.
Brad put Vi down, and she shook hard, her tail vibrating seconds after the last of her body had stopped. Izzy carried Jazz to their picnic spot and laid him on the end of the blanket that was in the sun. She rolled him like a burrito until only his back paws and head appeared at each end. She plopped down on the portion of the blanket that was still unwrapped and rubbed the puppy through the microfiber.
Vi nudged the rolled-up pup with her nose a couple of times, then lay down near Izzy, her eyes watchful.
“Do you think he’ll be okay? Should we take him to see Gabe?” A deep divot puckered her forehead.
Brad crouched next to them. He chafed the blanket over the dog’s fur, trying to absorb the water, then unrolled the puppy and examined him. Jazz had already stopped shaking, his little pink tongue lolling out the side of his mouth.
“I think the sun will warm him up in a couple of minutes. He’ll probably be tuckered out for the rest of the day, but he’ll be fine. What about you?” He examined the gooseflesh on Izzy’s arms, the way her wet shorts clung to every inch of her skin. He blinked and looked around. Her panties still lay on the blanket. She was going commando.
“I think it’s time I got you home.”
She leaned back on her palms. “I can dry out here just as well.”
“Yeah, that’s not the only reason I want to get you home.” To a bed this time. Or first, a hot shower, where they could clean each other up. He’d make sure not to miss a spot. He gathered up their supplies and hustled to his truck. When he got back, Izzy had pulled her shirt on and was tying the laces of her canvas shoes. The panties had disappeared, but when she bent over to pick up Jazz, he could tell they hadn’t gone on her.
Blood pooled low. “Okay, everyone in the truck.” With a hand on her damp lower back and the other patting his thigh to attract Vi, he herded the group to the passenger door.
“Jeez, what’s the rush?” She frowned, that worry line digging into her forehead again. “Jasmine will be okay, won’t he?” She held the pup up to her face, and he batted her nose with his paw.
“He’ll be fine.” Brad crowded Izzy against the seat, letting her feel his problem. Even with wet pants, he was semi-hard. “I’m worried about my prospects right now.”
“Oh?” She looked down to where their bodies were pressed together, and pink tinged her face. “Ohhh. Um, you’re ready to go again already?”
“Babe, you have an empty house for the next twenty hours. I hope to spend at least nineteen of those going again.” He brushed his mouth against hers and gently sucked on her bottom lip until she gave a breathy moan. “And again. Any objections?”
“No objection. But a question.”
Vi jumped into the truck, knocking him even closer to Izzy. Brad took Jazz from her grip and laid him on the center seat, where he curled up into a ball. “What’s the question?”
“What are we going to be doing for that twentieth hour?”
His smile came slow, as every one of the things he wanted to do to Izzy flashed through his mind. But even optimists had to yield to reality. Dogs would need to be fed and let out. Izzy would need to be fed and kept in. Sixty minutes should cover that.
Gripping the frame of the open door beside her, he angled his head and planted a soft kiss on her throat. “That’s the wrong question. You should be asking what we’ll be doing for the nineteen. That’s a much more interesting answer.” He trailed his lips to a spot below her ear, scraped it with his teeth.
“What’s that?” Her voice was little more than a whisper.
“That would be everything.” Wrapping his arms around her waist, he lowered his head and decided to give her a preview.
Chapter Fifteen
Brad tightened his grip on the eight leashes he held. “Wait for it,” he said in a low voice. One of the dogs whined. “Wait for it.”
Dax’s hand twitched. He was lying facedown on one of the kennels’ couches, one hand resting on the cement floor, the other tucked up under his body. His back rose and fell with his even breathing, the five dog biscuits Brad had lined up along his spine moving with him.
“Go!” Brad whispered, and released the hounds.
The dogs descended on the sleeping man, yelping and jockeying for position. A Yorkshire terrier landed on Dax’s head; a German shepherd pinned his legs. The other dogs in the kennels looked up at the commotion and decided to join in the fun.
“Gah!” Dax tried to push up onto his hands and knees and was flattened by a golden retriever. “Brad!” he bellowed.
Chuckling, Brad strolled to the open cage where Gabe sat on the ground next to Max Payne. “Open gate today, huh?”
Gabe rested his hand on the dog’s side. The husky lay tucked next to Gabe’s thigh, his ears twitching. “I think it’s time he starts socializing with the others. Supervised, of course. We’ve had quite a few visitors already, and it’s gone fairly well. Some snap
ping, but no biting.”
Slowly, so as not to alarm Max, Brad eased to the ground on the dog’s other side. “How did things go this weekend? Thanks for stepping in.” The two men switched off weekends checking in on the kennels. This past weekend was supposed to have been Brad’s, but knowing he had a date with Izzy Saturday, and hoping it would extend to Sunday, which it had, he’d asked Gabe to cover.
“Everything was quiet.” Gabe crossed his legs at the ankles. “Well, as quiet as seventeen dogs can be. How’d it go with you?”
“Words can’t even describe.” He rested his head back on the cool concrete wall, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Izzy is amazing.”
Dax stumbled to the gate of the cage, four dogs still jumping on his legs. “You suck,” he told Brad.
“And you’re supposed to be walking the dogs. Judge Nichols doesn’t want to hear that you’re spending your community service napping.” Brad cocked his head. “Why are you sleeping here again? I thought you were in Gabe’s spare room.”
Gabe grumbled at that.
“I am.” Dax rubbed his unshaven jaw. “But it’s hard to get a decent night’s sleep when the walls are rattling.” He eyed Gabe with disgust. “I came home last night after a weekend wilderness tour to Isle Royale, three hours later than expected because of an engine problem with my seaplane, I might add. I was looking forward to my nice soft bed, but when I got home his headboard was pounding into his wall, some chick was screaming, so I went for a walk. When I came back forty-five minutes later”—he leveled a narrow-eyed glare at Gabe—“that shit was still going on. So I went for another walk.” He kneaded the back of his neck. “Finally, I gave up, thought I’d be able to sleep through it, but it went on all fucking night long.”
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