The dickhead had laughed and gone to bed, no doubt to sleep well. She’d tossed and turned all night.
Tossing the dog biscuit to Crusher, who caught it and scampered off gleefully, Carly sighed and stared out the sliding glass door.
Yeah, talk about dreams. Sam had been chasing her, thrilling her to her soul, two steps behind her, his hands reaching for her, his eyes gleaming with heat.
Scoffing to herself, she watched a bird settle on the fence. It cocked its head at her before fluttering away.
As if a man like Sam could go for a girl like her. She’d seen the stunning redhead he’d taken out, not to mention the other woman when they’d first arrived in the neighbourhood. He had beautiful women chasing him, slim women, tall and elegant.
She was anything but tall, slim and elegant. The very opposite. Lucky to throw together a decent outfit, plus-size, and medium height. The top of her head barely made it above Sam’s luscious pecs. Hell, the night before he’d actually had to bend down to kiss her.
Oh man. Kiss her. Unable to help herself, Carly went all dreamy, a smile curving her lips. It didn’t take much to bring his scent back to her mind, all clean male with a hint of soap. The heat from his muscular body, the way he’d bent over her, so tall and protective, as though shielding her from the stares of the others in the room.
It was just a fancy, she knew it, wishful thinking, but she liked to believe she saw a hint – just a teeny, tiny hint – of desire in his beautiful hazel eyes.
Even if it was just fanciful imagining, it was something to snuggle deep down inside her soul for those nights when she needed something warming to think about, to go to sleep with when troublesome thoughts kept her awake.
Such as the problem of Jonathon.
Bloody Jonathon. Snapping out of her daydream, Carly rubbed her brow. She’d searched through the boxes she and Ed had unpacked, but she had no freakin’ idea for what she was looking. Sooner or later she’d have to ring the dickhead and find out exactly what he wanted her to find. Or start going through the boxes yet to be unpacked.
But first things first…Carly sucked in a deep breath. She had to go over to Sam’s place and apologise to him for Ed putting him in such an awkward predicament. Bloody Ed refused to do it, just shrugged off her arguments, jumped on his Harley and roared off to work.
Bastard.
One of them had to be the responsible adult. Bugger it. She’d rather hide in the house all day but she didn’t want anything ruining the budding friendship with Sam. He was a nice bloke, they’d probably all be living in the same neighbourhood for a long time, and she didn’t want any awkwardness between them all.
Throwing back her shoulders, she left the house, locking the security door behind her before heading over to Sam’s.
SJ was lounging on the swing chair, his head hanging off the side. Watching her with interest, he flicked his tail.
Liking cats, she stopped on the veranda beside the swing chair and offered her hand to him. “Hey, SJ. You’re not going to hold Crusher against me, are you? He’s actually Ed’s dog, not mine.”
SJ sniffed her fingers, gave her the eyeball, and then butted his head against the back of her hand.
Laughing, she stroked under his chin.
Immediately closing his eyes, he burst into ecstatic purring.
“Aren’t you just the handsomest lad,” she cooed. “Such a handsome, ginger fellow.”
“Friend for life,” a deep voice remarked from the doorway. “Never seen SJ take to someone so fast.”
Almost immediately her heart beat fastened, a flush of pink stealing into her cheeks. Idiot! Grown-up, remember? Be the grown-up!
Taking a deep breath, she gave SJ one last stroke over his head before standing up and turning to look across the veranda to where Sam stood, one big hand holding the security screen open.
God, he looked so damned yummy. Baggy board shorts, his skin looking to be newly kissed by sunlight, the light, golden tan so delicious against his sandy, sun-streaked hair that was pulled haphazardly back and tied at the nape. A loose tendril tickled his cheek, clinging briefly to his strong jaw line before sweeping down to one broad shoulder.
No shirt. Bare chest. Oh God, her senses were going into over-drive. The pectoral muscles in his chest were mouth-watering, but combined with a six pack and those muscled arms, it was enough to make her want to fall to her knees and thank God for making such a perfect specimen.
Instead, she said politely, “I want to apologise.”
Man, she should enter acting school. Apart from the slight huskiness in her voice, she thought she’d done a pretty good job of hiding her spurt of lust.
His hazel eyes, so clear behind the glasses he pushed slowly up his straight nose, regarded her steadily. “Oh.”
“Um…yeah.” Refusing to give in to her cowardly instinct to stay well away from him, but knowing how ridiculous it must seem with her standing so far away while she talked, Carly did the grown-up thing and walked across the veranda until she stood at a more polite distance. “What Ed did last night was stupid.”
Very welcome, gave her hot dreams that even now thrilled her at just the memory, but stupid just the same.
He looked at her for several long seconds, his expression inscrutable. “Was it?”
She was non-pulsed. “Well, wasn’t it?”
His expression gave nothing away as he studied her face, then those thick lashes dropped to cover his eyes as he slowly gazed down the length of her body.
Oh God, he was looking at her. Her mouth went dry, her heart hammered, and then she remembered that she wasn’t elegant, slim, or beautiful. Oh shit. Oh no, he was really looking at her, really seeing her as a woman who’d kissed him. Well, pecked him on the lips in a lightening fast move, actually.
Humiliation practically had her toes curling in her red Mary Janes. Making for the steps just past him, she almost babbled, “So, that’s done, then. All finished. Yep. Okay, I’m -”
A big, firm hand wrapped around her upper arm and drew her to a halt. “Where are you going?”
Talk about being flustered. “Home. There’s nothing more to say or-”
“We’re not finished.”
“We’re not?” She looked around and up.
Oh boy. Were those hazel eyes looking a little…hot? Talk about an over-active imagination. There was no way…
“Come inside.”
“What? But, Sam-”
“Now.” Backing into the house, he kept his gaze locked onto hers as he drew her with him. “Now, Carly.”
Unsure exactly what was happening, she followed.
No sooner had the door shut behind her than Sam leaned down close, his chest almost touching her, his face so close, and then his cheek was brushing against hers as he reached past her to flick the lock shut.
Click.
He didn’t move, just stayed there, his breath hot on her ear, making her shiver deliciously. Wanting to savour the sensation of being close to him, Carly didn’t dare move. Inhaling deeply, she closed her eyes.
“Carly.” Her name was a warm brush of silky lips against her ear.
Immediately she broke out in goose bumps. “Y – yes?”
“I’m going to claim my winnings.”
“Um…” It took all her strength to focus on his words. “What?”
“I won the poker game. I won the bet. My prize was kissing you.”
Was she hearing correctly? “I – I don’t…I just…” She tried to clear her thoughts even though she wanted to stay under his spell, that warm scent of Sam and soap. Somehow, she managed to croak, “The prize was getting a kiss from me.”
“Ed bungled that.” His voice was low.
She blinked. “He – um… Ed said you’d get a kiss from me.”
“But he also said I’d get to kiss you.”
“Are – are you sure?” Was she imagining this? That must be it, she was still in a decadent dream, still in her bed.
Yeah. That was it.
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“Oh yes, I’m very sure.” His voice dropped lower, deeper. Huskier. Like the lick of sin was dripping through it, all hot and melting.
She didn’t know what to say. Her knees shook, her hands trembled, and she was pretty sure her panties were damp.
Oh, sweet Jesus. Was Sam really going to kiss her? No. Well, yes. But probably a quick peck. Just a brush of lips. That was all.
Wasn’t it?
He shifted, big hands coming to cup her cheeks as he moved back, lifting his head until he was looking down at her, his mouth hovering just above hers.
Staring up into his eyes, she felt like she’d been ensnared.
His eyes were hot. Really hot. And then…oh God, he took off his glasses, reached to the side without looking, and placed them on something. His gaze dropped to her lips and he actually licked his as though he were a wolf who couldn’t wait to taste something very succulent.
“Sam…” Her voice quivered.
“Sshhh.” He actually blew gently upon her lips.
Mindlessly, Carly’s lips parted and then she could only sigh as his mouth came down upon hers.
Oh God, could a man’s lips truly be that soft? That silky?
Holy cow, that seductive?
Sam’s lips moulded to hers, testing, touching, lifting, pressing, his tongue sliding smoothly, slowly, along her bottom lip as he tasted her. Big hands angled her head almost tenderly to give him greater, and easier, access.
Oh sweet mercy, her knees were jelly. If she didn’t grab hold of him, she was going to fall to her knees. But there was no shirt to grab, just that blissfully smooth skin over hard muscle.
One sway forward and she was plastered against him.
Sam didn’t seem to mind. Big hands shifted from her cheeks, sliding down her arms, eliciting a fiery path until his palms settled on her hips, curling and cupping to pull her hard against him.
How he managed to do that and still kiss her was amazing. How he managed to hold her when she was arching backwards was unbelievable. Bent over her and still holding her close so that she felt every inch of him, every smooth, delicious, hard inch. His skin was so warm, seeming to melt through her clothes to warm her beneath, and yet further inwards, past her skin, past her flesh, spreading outward until she was filled with warmth that quickly turned to heat.
With a moan she shifted closer, pressing against him, her hands grabbing onto his shoulders.
With a low growl Sam deepened the kiss, his palms flattening against her bottom to press her flat against him, his thigh sliding between her own to nudge against her secret place.
His tongue swept inside, his clean taste a heady essence that she swallowed eagerly. As she returned his kiss, one of his hands left her bottom to reach up and tug the tie from her ponytail, sliding it out and flicking it away somewhere, she didn’t know or care. Long fingers smoothed down the length before entwining in her locks, clutching gently, fist bunching carefully so he didn’t hurt her.
She felt it all. The tenderness and care. The passion.
Hungry for more, revelling in his taste and touch, she met him kiss for kiss, her tongue seeking his mouth, slipping in, his taste bursting upon her. So clean, so minty, so Sam.
Sam everywhere. Around her, against her, bent over her, holding her, kissing her with heat and clear desire.
There was no mistaking that fire. The passion with which he kissed her was very obvious, so hotly decadent. He drank from her mouth like a thirsty man finally quenching his thirst.
So caught up in his kiss, she didn’t realise his hand had slipped under the skirt of her dress until she felt his palm smoothing along her spine, so slowly and languorously. Fire danced along her skin in his wake, and when his fingers found the clasp of her bra and slid the hooks free, she could only moan and respond by finally, finally, allowing her palms to slide from his shoulders to glide along all that warm skin of his chest.
Lightly cupping the swells of his pecs, the heels of her hands rubbed delicately against his nipples, and immediately she felt the hardening of the tiny male nubs.
“Jesus.” Sam growled, leaving her mouth to kiss a hot, damp path across her cheek to her ear.
A sharp nip that made her gasp, and then his mouth was on her throat delivering kisses that seemed to sear her skin, open kisses sizzling with carnal desire. The slow sucking above her pulse that had her womanhood clenching, a craving throbbing that grew quickly, a need she couldn’t relieve even by rubbing wantonly against the hard thigh pressed to her intimate place.
One second pressed against him, the next second shoved gently but firmly back against the wall, his body following, his mouth sweeping back to capture hers as he swallowed her passionate moans greedily. His hands now beneath her bra at the front, big palms cupping her breasts, shaping them, the low growl of pleasure in his throat making her feel, for once, desirable.
Breaking her inhibitions.
Sliding her fingers down, she ate at his mouth while searching for the snap that fastened his boardies. A tug of the snap, a tug of his bottom lip between her teeth. Her hand slid beneath the opening of his shorts, and her tongue slid deep within his mouth.
He wasn’t wearing underwear and his shaft was already stiff, pushing urgently upwards, and she curled her hand around the thick width, registering the girth and length with a flutter of awed anticipation.
So thick, so long, so hard, the tip already wet.
For her.
Oh God, he was aroused by her.
It was heady, intoxicating, the knowledge making her bolder, seeking more.
Lower she slid her hand, finding his sac easily as his shaft pressed against his belly, his bent position over her opening his muscular thighs to reveal the sac normally sheltered between.
“Carly.” He nipped her throat, taking back control, only she didn’t want to give it up, not when he made her feel so desirable, so beautiful. It was in his voice, the way his eyes seemed to almost glow with lust. The way his hands shaped her breasts, swept down to curve over her hips, pulling her lower body against his so that his shaft was nestled between them.
“Not enough,” he rasped. “I need you. Now. On the floor.”
Chapter 5
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he turned, bringing her with him as he dropped to his knees on the runner in the hallway.
Effortlessly he tipped her back, rising up on his knees to shove his shorts down around his thighs before dropping forward again, his hands braced each side of her on the floor, arching over her to kiss and plunder her mouth almost ruthlessly, desperately.
Winding her arms around his neck, she held on, loving the feel of him above her.
And then his hand was on her belly, shoving her dress up around her waist and higher, bearing her breasts to his hot gaze.
“Jesus. So beautiful. So bloody beautiful,” Sam said harshly, dipping down to capture one nipple, sucking it in deeply and rhythmically.
Arching up, gasping, Carly’s hands went to his shoulders, gripping them tightly as he rolled the nipple around with his tongue and then sucked strongly again, every pull of his mouth drawing on the invisible strings of pure nerves that spiralled down to her womanhood.
Moist before, her opening now creamed for him, and she felt empty and needing, wanting him inside her, his thickness and length.
“Please, Sam,” she begged hoarsely. “Please.”
One last suck and he slid to her other breast, sucking the hard nipple deep, ignoring her pleas as he feasted.
With his hands he held her easily, controlling her, keeping her at his mercy, something she both loved and hated.
By the time he released her nipple she was almost sobbing. Rising above her, he gazed into her eyes, capturing her with the pure, blatant, sexual heat darkening his hazel irises.
At some stage the tie in his hair had disappeared and the sun-streaked, sandy locks fell about his face and shoulders, giving him an almost piratical edge. There was no gentleness in his gaze now, no tend
erness. It was pure ardour, carnal and fierce.
Without a word he swooped down, taking her mouth hard, kissing her with an almost insatiable intensity. A tug at her hip, the sound of ripping and then her panties were torn away. A hard thigh pushing hers apart, a shift of his hips, a rippling of his stomach muscles and then he was there, the tip of his shaft nudging her opening.
“Sam,” she whimpered, arching up, trying to take him inside.
In answer he grabbed her hands and pressed them down each side of her head, holding them flat so she couldn’t touch him, his laugh low, almost guttural, his expression so satisfied at her almost helpless position beneath him.
It only sent the blood rushing through her more hotly, stoking the fires deep within her.
A flex of his hips and he thrust into her, his thick shaft tunnelling through her slick, soft folds, shoving deep and driving onwards until he lodged almost at the mouth of her cervix, driving all breath from her.
So deep, so very deep, but not deep enough to hurt, to cause pain. Teetering on the brink, but not pain. The uncertainty, the almost there of it, made her shake, but with desire, with the knowledge that regardless she was safe with Sam. Somehow, even thought this was the first time with him, she knew, and it was this knowledge that allowed her to throw herself into his safe keeping, to be reckless.
Arching up into him, her hips pushing against him, she looked him directly in the eyes, into his handsome face with the strong cheekbones flushed slightly with craven hunger, and she whispered throatily, “Take me.” When his eyes darkened, she added, “If you can.”
He reared back, his head coming up, nostrils flaring slightly. His hedonistic smile was a flash of teeth so white against his tanned skin, his eyes glittering. “Oh, honey, you think I can’t? I won’t?”
Emboldened, she squeezed her internal muscles, rewarded by his harsh intake of breath and his pupils dilating. “Show me.” Her smile was sultry. “I dare you.”
Strong hips rolled, drawing a gasp from her at the sensations the unexpected movement elicited.
“Taunting, Carly?” Sam laughed, low and rasping. “Is that wise?” Another roll of his hips, this time slow and deliberately forceful.
Seducing Sam Page 11