by Ann Carver
Finally, she pulled back from him and looked into his eyes. They were glassy. Damn, he wished he hadn’t told her. He felt like punching Vinny for making him do this. All he wanted to do was come by the house and say hi to Harper and go to work. Instead, he had to be the bearer of bad news and now do damage control.
“Do you hate me for sleeping with so many guys, Joey?” she asked so quietly he’d barely heard her.
“What? No! Harper, I don’t care about that. It was a cruel comment by Bobby. I never thought less of you for anything you’ve done. You’re my friend, no matter what. Forever and always.”
She sniffled a sob back, which killed him. It hurt her enough to make her cry and that was the most unbearable thing ever. He was sure she was going to run off to her truck and take off, but she didn’t. Instead, she went up on her toes and put her mouth to his.
Her lips were sweet and salty from the tears that fell onto them. Her arms went around his neck and pulled him closer. He wrapped an arm around her waist while the other went to the back of the neck to hold her to him, just in case she decided to bolt.
Joe didn’t let her have control of the kiss for long. He deepened the kiss when he teased the crease of her lips, asking permission to ravage her tongue. Permission was granted quickly. Her breath quickened and little moans of pleasure escaped her mouth. And what a mouth it was.
Harper arched into him and smiled on his lips. He knew her smile was from the erection that seemed to be a permanent fixture on him lately, when he was around her. They were friends, his dick had no business getting hard around friends. It had obviously been too long and he really needed to rethink the whole giving-up-sex thing.
Without meaning to, he reached up and thumbed over her tight nipple over her shirt. Good, he thought. If his dick was going to get hard around her, then she’d damn well better have some effect around him.
He was only going to do it once and then break the kiss. They were friends and he didn’t kiss his other friends, like he was Harper right now, so he needed to stop touching her. And kissing her. But, like his dick, his hands had other plans as they cupped her breasts and gently squeezed.
She practically crawled up his body at the touch of his hands. He liked it and wanted to see what else his hands could make her do. To test his theory, he put one hand on the nape of her neck, to hold her to him, so he could keep kissing that sweet mouth of hers. His other hand went under her shirt and the tips of his fingers traced her bra. Lace. He could tell. Once again, deepening the kiss, he slipped his thumb under the lace and rasped his thumb over her nipple. He was rewarded with deep, throaty moans.
Realizing they were standing on the porch, he moved them into the living room and closed the door with his foot. She wasn’t letting go. Her hands were on the move all over his back, chest, and shoulders. It felt so good, but he needed to stop. They were friends.
But instead of stopping, he took the hem of her shirt and pulled it off, revealing a baby blue, lace bra. He groaned at the sight of it. Of her. She was over filling the bra and it made his dick twitch. She unbuttoned his uniform shirt and shrugged it off to the floor leaving his white t-shirt, which she grabbed and yanked it off him, quickly.
Before his shirt hit the floor, their lips were back on each other with tongues exploring. Harper reached down and cupped his erection making him weak in his knees. It’d been such a long time since someone had touched his manhood, and damn if it didn’t feel great.
Harper unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. When she was pushing them down, he had every intention to stop her. To stop them. But he couldn’t. His hands were magnetized to her shorts and as he pulled them down, her matching panties came with them.
Joe quickly realized there was no carpet on the floor. He looked around and found a painter’s sheet. He tossed it on the floor and nudged Harper onto it. His eyes had to be defying him, because when he looked down at her, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Then he realized his eyes weren’t defying him. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
He followed her down, and with quick ease, had her bra off. He’d shrugged out of his pants and boxers and settled next to her. Her body was up close and personal with his. He stroked a hand over her hip while their lips were still locked. His hand slipped further down and eventually between her thighs where she was wet. A deep groan filled the room.
There was not a single brain cell in his head. This was his friend and yet, he wanted to fill her with himself and please the hell out of both of them. He grabbed his pants and produced a condom, which she willingly helped him put on.
Before he could move between her legs, she straddled him and slid down on his erection. He filled her completely, so he thought, until she leaned back and took in the rest of him. He groaned and grabbed onto her hips in pure pleasure. She began moving up and down, riding him hard.
Normally, he would have loved that, but something changed. It didn’t feel like they were being intimate anymore. Her hands were glued to the top of her legs as she moved, instead of exploring him. He could only reach her hips and he wanted to touch so much more. That’s when it hit him. Nobody ever showed her intimacy. It was about getting laid and that’s it.
Even though he was ready to come soon, he picked her up at the hips and lifted her off him. He saw the disappointment in her eyes and covered her mouth with his to assure her that they weren’t stopping. Even though they should stop.
He placed her on her back and looked down at her. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was, but words seemed impossible. Instead, he kissed her neck and nipped at it, producing more noises from her. Noises he liked. Letting his tongue glide across her skin, he made his way to her nipple which was still hard as he sucked it into his mouth and flicked it with his tongue. A gasp came from her and he smiled. As he rubbed her other nipple with his thumb and finger, her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her hips rocked into him.
Not wanting to let go of her glorious nipple, he slid his other hand down her belly and between her wet folds. His dick twitched again at the anticipation of sliding into her, but he had to have patience. He was going to show her what intimacy was supposed to be like.
He slid two fingers deeper through the folds and applied pressure as he moved over her. She bucked into him, grabbing onto his locks of hair, seemingly holding his mouth to her breast. He hadn’t even thought about going anywhere else. He flicked her nipple again with his tongue and sucked more.
He moved his fingers over her in a circular pattern while applying pressure. With each rotation, her legs spread further apart. He knew she wanted him inside of her, pumping hard. He wanted that too, but first things first. When her breathing quickened and the grip on his head tightened, he knew she was ready.
Moving his fingers over her tender spot, as quickly as he could, he gently pulled on her nipple with his teeth and she came hard. He sucked in her nipple and continued to flick his tongue while circling between her wet folds as she tremored through her orgasm with his name on her lips. He liked that part a lot.
He still played between her folds even after the shudders stopped and her breathing was beginning to normalize. He kissed her deep and passionately and only when he pulled away, did she open her eyes.
They were sated and salacious. He could devour her again and he was going to. He slid his finger even lower and into her where it was wet and warm. It caught her breath and she smiled at him. Then he slid between her legs and replaced his fingers with his erection and slowly slid into her.
Harper moaned as she sucked in her bottom lip. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him in even further, which he liked. Really, really liked. He slowly moved in and out as he bent over and took her nipple in his mouth. She gasped as he made her tight nipple go even tighter. He began pumping in and out of her faster. His mouth sucked harder while he rubbed her other nipple between his thumb and finger.
She was close to coming again. He could tell with her short pants and the way she grippe
d his arms. He was afraid he was going to come before her and he really didn’t want that to happen, but her little pants were killing him every time he pumped into her over and over again. Just when he didn’t think he could hold out much longer, she tensed. Everything tensed. Her fingers pressed into his arm while her legs tightened around him. And, the inside of her clenched around his erection pushing him over into his own orgasm. He called out her name as she had done.
When Joe could finally move, he fell to the side of Harper and pulled her in close. Both of them were breathing heavily. Her head rested on his shoulder with his arm wrapped around her while his fingers caressed her side. He needed to breathe but he was so intoxicated in Harper he wasn’t sure he’d ever recover.
All the signs were there. He’d always known he loved Harper when they were young. Of course, he’d never told her, but he hoped his actions let her know. Yes, it killed him every time she’d been with another guy and as stupid as it sounded, he knew she didn’t love them. Lying here, right now, with her in his arms, he hoped she’d saved that love for him. But this was Harper and he knew better.
Chapter Fourteen
Harper felt like she was suffocating. Joey felt heavy on her even though he wasn’t on top of her. Not an arm, a leg, even a hair of his was on top of her. She was the one snuggled into him as his fingers danced along her side. She gasped for air and wiggled to put distance between them.
“Harper?” he asked reaching for her.
“Um, I have to, um, go,” she said standing and gathering her clothes.
Joey stood and tried reaching for her again. “Harper, wait.”
She side stepped him. “Hey, you have to get to, um, work anyways.” She slid into her panties and shorts quickly.
Joey pulled on his boxers and work pants. “Harper, let’s talk about this,” he said as he pulled on his t-shirt.
Without looking at him, she hooked her bra and pulled her shirt on. “There’s nothing to talk about. It was sex, no big deal. It was good, you have nothing to worry about.”
Before she could get more distance between them, he hooked her elbow. “Harper, it was more than good.”
It was too. It’d been great and so different than any other time she’d been with a guy and that freaked her right out! She didn’t want to worry herself with what it all meant. She wasn’t ready to open the door on that yet. Ever.
“Um, sure,” she said looking everywhere but at him.
She felt the look. The look that said you-know-it-was-fan-fucking-tastic. And she also felt the look that said look-at-me. So, she did. She looked into his eyes and chewed on the inside of her lip because he was looking at her in a way she’d never seen before. Again, not opening that door.
“Don’t freak out over what we did. It was-”
“Just sex, no big deal,” she said and shrugged away from him. “Well, I know you have to get to work, so I’m out of here anyways.” She turned and bolted out the door. Not looking back, she hopped into her truck and peeled out of the driveway.
The sun had set and the road into town was dark, except for her headlights. Joey had been dressed to go to work, so she was hoping he’d go right from the block house, but just to be safe, she wasn’t going anywhere near his apartment.
She pulled into the Dancing Pony, knowing she could solve two things. First, she was starving and food would solve that. Secondly, she needed to not think and alcohol would solve that problem.
As she slid onto a stool at the bar, Jax greeted her immediately. “Hey sweet-thing, is it coke or beer tonight?”
Sweet-thing. She liked that. “I’m in serious need of food first, so how about a burger with fries and a coke. Then a beer.”
“Sure thing,” he said and walked off to place her order with the kitchen.
Harper looked around to take in the scenery. There were only a handful of people in the bar, which was to be expected for a Sunday night. She caught Cindy out of the corner of her eye as she took drinks to a table. She also saw the nasty look she gave her. It meant nothing to Harper.
“Here you go, sweet-thing,” Jax said as she turned around. He’d put a coke and a beer in front of her. She looked up at him. “Brought them both. You can figure out which one to drink first.”
She could totally see throwing herself at Jax. He seemed to know what she was thinking and he was damn-fine to look at. His wink probably made every girl want to strip naked for him. Normally, she’d have thought all those things, but not now. And hell if she knew exactly why not.
“Um, thanks,” she said reaching for the beer. She knew it would affect her quickly, since she hadn’t eaten since lunch, but she really needed not to think right now, so she took a long drink.
“Burger will be out shortly,” he said with a grin and walked off again.
Harper turned on her stool and leaned back into the bar. She watched CNN on one of the big screen televisions. Though, she wasn’t really paying attention to what was being said, it occupied her so she didn’t have to think. She drank the beer quickly and waved it discreetly at Jax so he’d bring her another.
Jax obeyed and brought another. He raised a brow to her Coke that was untouched. “Sure you want another?”
“Absolutely,” she said and watched him pull one out of the fridge, under the bar, open it and put it in front of her. “You’re the best,” she said and took in a big gulp.
“Yes, I am,” he said with a killer smile and walked off again.
She turned again and continued to watch CNN as she downed her second beer. She didn’t want to think about Joey. What they’d done. She’d never thought about any man she’d been with after they’d had sex, so why did she keep thinking about him? Everything about being with him was different. He hadn’t wanted her to ride him to pleasure. He seemed to want…more. The touching was also different. He touched her like it was meant for her, not him. What did all that mean?
“Burger’s up, sweet-thing,” Jax said placing a mouthwatering burger in front of her. She held up the empty beer bottle indicating she wanted another one. “I’ll get you another after you eat your burger and Coke,” he demanded.
She quickly looked at him with narrowing eyes. “Why do you get to dictate when I get another beer? You’re not my mother and I’m a paying customer,” she snapped at him.
Jax laughed at her. “You’re a spit-fire, but look here, sweet-thing, I get to dictate because I’m the bartender and at the rate you’re sucking those down, I’m not in the mood to clean up your puke at the end of the night or carry your sweet ass home.”
Sweet ass? Normally she’d have spit something right back out, but she liked that he gave it right back to her. Instead, she smiled deviously and said, “Ha, you don’t even know where I live.”
He leaned over the counter and gave her a wicked smile. “Sweet-thing, you live with Joe and I don’t think he’d like it so much if I carried you over my shoulder, like a Neanderthal, into his place. He might get the wrong impression and I’m not that big of an ass to do someone’s girlfriend.”
Harper was speechless. That never happened. The thought of her being carried over his shoulder sounded promising, but then again, when she pictured it, she was on the shoulder of Joey, not Jax. She blinked. “Um, I’m not his girlfriend.” Gosh, she sounded like she was in third grade having a cat fight.
“Whatever you say, sweet-thing. I’ll bring you another beer when the burger’s gone.” And with that, he walked away.
She shrugged a shoulder and bit into her burger and found true happiness. She loved food. All kinds. Hot food, cold food, fast-food, breakfast food, lunch food, dinner food. All food.
“Harper,” someone said behind her.
Joey.
Why did he follow her? She was happy with her burger and beer, she didn’t want anything else. Especially to talk to Joey. “I thought you had to go to work,” she said without turning around. She placed her burger on the plate to take a drink of her Coke and then her plate disappeared. “Hey,” she blur
ted out and turned around to see where it was going.
“Come on,” Joey said taking her plate to a table.
It really didn’t take long to move to the table where Joey was at. It was all about the food. She never deserted her food. She knew it was a necessity in life, so there was no way she was putting her life in danger now.
“Harper, you don’t need to freak out about what we did,” Joey said as he sat across from her.
She didn’t say anything. She just kept eating her burger. There was nothing for her to say, because she was freaking out and anything she could think to say would sound stupid.
“Hey, sweetheart, what’ll you have tonight?” someone said behind her. Harper winced at the sound of Cindy.
“I’m good, Cindy, I’m working tonight,” Joe said to Cindy. “Harper, do you need anything else?”
Harper heard Cindy sigh. Not a sigh of relief but a sigh of disgust. They would never like each other and she was okay with it. Cindy had always judged her. Even before she slept with her boyfriend in high school.
“I’ll take another beer,” Harper said condescendingly sweet and fake.
Cindy shook her head. “Jax said you weren’t allowed to have any more beer. Though, I’d love to see you puking your retched guts out.”
Harper narrowed her eyes at Cindy and her nostrils flared. “He’s not my mother and unless you’re fucking him…which he’s way too hot for you…just do your job and get me a damn beer.”
“Ladies,” Joey interrupted.
Cindy snickered at her. “I wouldn’t get you a beer if you were on your hands and knees begging…which is a position I hear you’re in, often.”
Most people wouldn’t be able to handle such things said to them. But Harper could, she thrived on them. She could almost respect Cindy for her good comebacks. Almost. Cindy was a snob and thought she was better than everyone else. She judged people and that’s not something Harper took lightly.
A wicked smile crossed her face. “I wasn’t the one begging, Garrett was,” she said with satisfaction as she spoke about Cindy’s old boyfriend from high school.