It was her turn to make demands.
“Now, get rid of that hubcap,” she growled.
With an audible groan, followed by a husky chuckle that made her thighs quiver with shameless need, Alex sent the hubcap spinning onto the couch, revealing the proud jut of his arousal. He waited with his feet braced apart, his well-toned thighs taut with tension.
Watching her with eyes that seared her skin and left it tingling.
For several taut moments, they simply stared at each other. Finally, Alex indicated his bedroll in front of the cold fireplace. “There?”
Brooke shook her head, feeling bold and brazen. She jerked her head in the direction of the kitchen. “On the counter.”
He didn’t seemed shocked or surprised by her request. He reached her in four easy strides, stopping a mere inch away. Slowly, he lifted his hand and cupped her face, lowering his mouth to hers in a tender, devouring kiss that buckled her knees. She had anticipated hungry, even savage, something she could handle, something that would keep things in perspective.
He caught her against him, then lifted her in his arms. When they reached the countertop, he snatched up the box of condoms and headed for the bedroom instead of setting her down. He smiled at her startled expression.
“You’ve got water in your ears,” Brooke told him, winding her arms around his neck. “I said I wanted to do it on the counter—”
“I know what you said. I also know that you’re expecting a few frenzied moments of down and dirty sex.”
Brooke swallowed a gasp of surprise. “Aren’t you? I mean, isn’t that what we both want?”
“Maybe later. Right now I’m going to knock down a few fences.”
His meaning sank in. Brooke began to struggle in his arms, fear streaking through her. “Alex, no! Put me down. I’ve—I’ve changed my mind.”
He paused and kissed her again, that slow, tender kissing that made her feel all gooey inside. Shaky. Close to breaking apart. And very pliable.
He knows too much about me , Brooke thought, her inward fear escalating. She didn’t want him to know her weakness, didn’t want him busting down her defenses—er—fences. It had taken six long years to build them, and she wasn’t ready to take them down. Taking them down meant facing an overwhelming grief she wasn’t ready to face. For Dee’s sake, she had to remain strong—
But Dee was grown now, and married.
Brooke moaned at the ruthless reminder. Damn him. “Alex...don’t do this to me.” She was begging, pleading, but right now she didn’t care. “Let’s just do it, and—and have a good time. It’s silly to pretend emotions—”
“Who’s pretending?” Alex set her gently on the bed, then quickly lowered himself beside her. He dropped the box of condoms by the side of the bed and turned to her. When she tried to rise, he closed his arms around her and held her tight.
She began to shake. The fence was beginning to wobble. Damn him! Despite the fact that he was forcing her to fall apart, she still wanted him, and he knew it. But it seemed Alex was going to have it his way...or no way at all.
It wasn’t fair. He was supposed to prefer it her way! Instead he was turning into some kind of—of gentleman at the worst possible time. She wanted it down and dirty because down and dirty she could handle.
She feared gentle would tear her apart.
It was a clear case of fraud on his part, she decided, squirming in his arms.
His arousal knocked against her thigh. She heard him inhale a sharp hiss. Desperate to turn the tables, she reached between them and closed her hand around his thick length. He throbbed and burned against her skin. Slowly she drew her hand down, then up, repeating the motion in an effort to make him forget about being a gentleman.
“It’s not going to work, babe,” he whispered against her neck—albeit in a strained tone. “I’m going to make slow, sweet love to you until the cows come home.”
“No.” Brooke searched and found his nipple, nipping and sucking. Again he inhaled sharply.
“Yes.” In retaliation, he pulled her head away from his chest and began to cover her face with tiny, tender little kisses. His mouth finally closed over hers. He eased his tongue inside and stroked her warmth like a lover’s caress until she moaned.
The kiss went on and on, changing, growing deeper, hungrier, yet always sweet and tender. Brooke slipped her leg over his and thrust her pelvis forward, intent on taking what she wanted before he had the opportunity to complete his agenda.
He drew back with a regretful little chuckle.
“I hate you,” she hissed, burying her face in his shoulder. His chuckle turned into a laugh. Brooke took advantage of his distraction to slide from his arms and along his body. She reached her destination and closed her mouth over him before he realized her intent.
He growled and hastily lifted her up. “You little minx.” And with that statement, he drew her nipple into his mouth and slowly drove her insane with the mastery of his tongue. Brooke buried her fingers in his hair, hanging on for dear life. He gave the same attention to the other breast, then proceeded to kiss her belly, her thighs, her knees, until finally he reached her feet.
Watching her through storm-dark eyes, he slowly drew her little toe into his mouth and sucked. Completely helpless now, Brooke could only watch as he continued to melt her defenses.
The man was magical. Incredible. Incomparable—not that she had much to compare him to. But she knew, instinctively, that Alex was an unselfish, wonderful lover.
And very, very stubborn.
When he’d thoroughly aroused all ten toes, he reached beside the bed for the condoms.
Brooke watched him, frowning as a memory nudged her desire-fogged brain. Something about the condoms, and Kyle and Brandy. With a jolt, she remembered. “Please, let me.” She held out her hand for the condoms and Alex gave them to her. As she opened the box, she casually checked the date.
She managed to swallow a relieved sigh. She’d gotten the box from under the passenger seat where a hopeful co-worker had stuck them a long time ago, which meant they were probably safe to use. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell Alex now about her suspicions, but when she glanced up and saw him watching her so intensely, she decided it could wait.
He looked more than ready to continue.
With a faint, playful smile, Brooke opened a grape-flavored condom and beckoned him closer. His eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“You’re up to something,” he said roughly.
Brooke didn’t bother denying it. Her smile grew. “Yes.”
“Minx.”
She clucked her tongue. “Sticks and stones...” She curled her finger again, feeling reckless. “Now come here.”
He edged closer, still eyeing her with suspicion. Brooke centered the condom on his pulsing, impressive length and slowly, teasingly, began to roll it down. His breath quickened. Brooke bent forward as if to better view her task. Her tongue darted out, circling the quivering tip—so quickly he could do nothing but gasp.
Smiling at him, Brooke sat back on her heels and ran her tongue over her lips. “Yum, grape-flavored. One of our most popular brands. Guaranteed to satisfy—”
With a very explicit oath, Alex smothered the rest of her words with his mouth and landed her backward on the bed. Brooke gasped and braced her hands against his chest as he followed, her victory cut short as he pulled his mouth free and pinned her gaze beneath the blaze of his own.
“You, babe, are in deep trouble.”
A threat had never sounded sweeter.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Alex saw the anticipation in her eyes, and really, really hated to disappoint her. He knew what she thought. She thought she’d finally pushed him beyond control...and that mind-blowing, tongue-twirling thing had been close.
But he had a little control left in reserve, and he planned to utilize every inch of it. He wanted all of Brooke’s attention, body and soul.
Speaking of inches, he’d never felt so full, so thick, an
d so damned hard. He was so close to her now that he could feel her literally pulsing against him—as if she were reaching out to draw him inside her. And if it was a sign of weakness that he had to grit his teeth—hard—he didn’t care, because he didn’t have much choice.
Her fingers curled into his chest as she stared at him with those hot, bone-melting eyes and whispered, “I’m waiting for my punishment.”
Alex held her gaze and pressed very slowly against her until he felt her heat close around the very part of him she’d circled with her tongue. She tensed, her eyes flaring wider, her lips parting in joyous expectation.
“And you’re going to get it,” he promised softly, watching her reaction with intense pleasure, “but you’re going to get it my way.”
His smile was smug when she hitched her breath in alarm. He pushed forward again, sinking a little deeper and desperately trying to think of anything other than how hot and tight she felt around him.
When she tried to trick him and surge forward, he anticipated the move and moved with her, holding back. “No you don’t, babe.”
She pouted, her lips moist and inviting. “Why do we have to do this your way?”
“Because right now you’re in no position to argue,” Alex said huskily. “We’ll do it your way later, I promise.” Holding his position—with more effort than she would ever know—he captured her lips and moved his mouth seductively against her own. It was a kiss of tenderness, but she seemed to sense his inner struggle for she whimpered and tried again to capture all of him.
Using one hand to hold her hips still, Alex trailed his lips along her jaw, onto her neck, and nibbled at her earlobe. “You taste so sweet,” he whispered against her neck.
“Alex...”
He kissed her again. Not the hungry, rough kissing he knew she wanted and expected, but devouring, soul-shattering kissing he knew she needed.
Brooke Welch had met her match.
“Alex...please!”
Alex thought of fishing, working out in the gym, pouring over boring figures, and slowly, inch by teeth-gritting inch, sank into her welcoming body. When their bodies became one in the most torturous, sweetest way imaginable, he stopped.
Her nails pressed into the bunched muscles in his back as she ordered, “Don’t stop.”
“I won’t, baby, I won’t.” And he didn’t. At least, not for long. But he kept his strokes slow and easy as sweat pooled between his shoulder blades and his heart threatened to burst from his chest. He’d never been more determined to bring a woman to the height of ecstasy, and it had never been more difficult to hold back.
He watched her, and she watched him. As he nearly left her, then began the slow takeover again, he nuzzled his nose against hers. “We’re making love,” he stated gruffly.
She gave her head a slight shake, gasping as he sank into her to the hilt. “No...we’re just having sex.”
But she sounded doubtful. Alex smiled, tugging on her bottom lip with his teeth. Her breath feathered his face. Her tongue darted out and traced his top lip and a low, keening moan rose from her throat.
She was close.
And so was he.
She began to tense around him, and deep inside her Alex could feel her muscles contracting, grasping. Loving him.
At the moment of her release, Alex moved his mouth over hers, capturing her cry. She rose against him, pouring her soul into the kiss.
The fragile thread of his control snapped.
He followed her descent with a primitive growl, plunging deep as pleasure exploded inside him. He’d known it would be good with Brooke, but he never dreamed it would be this earth-shattering.
The reality stole his breath.
Against his ear, he heard Brooke whisper shakily, “I told you...the package said satisfaction guar-an-teed.”
His chuckle came out sounding like a groan. “As we say in Texas, you, darling, are a hoot.”
Alex rolled to his side and took her with him, holding her close as their breathing returned to normal.
He was still inside her, and he was still hard. He doubted the status would change as long as he held her. Stroking her damp hair, he enjoyed the feel of her heart beating against his, and her breath against his neck.
“So, what do we do now?” she asked, stirring restlessly.
Alex tightened his hold, bracing himself for a struggle. “We talk.”
“Talk? Oh, about the factory and—”
“No.” Alex released a slow breath as he added, “About your parents, and how they died.”
****
How could he? How could he bring up the painful subject of her parents’ death right after she’d—they’d—experienced great sex?
Brooke tried to shove out of his arms, but he wasn’t budging; they felt like bands of steel around her. He’d planned this, she realized with growing panic. He’d deliberately set out to lower her defenses so that he could move in for the kill.
Well, she wasn’t going down without a fight, by God! “Let...me...go!”
“No.”
He sounded almost sorry.
The bastard. “Look, Alex, I know you think you have to play this game and pretend you care, but honestly, you don’t. Just let me up and—”
“You’ll what?” he asked softly. “Break a few plates? Chop a rick or two of wood? Keep holding your grief inside until it rips you into little pieces?”
She moved again, and realized that he was still hard inside her.
A shudder shook her from head to toe. “You’ve been talking to Elijah.”
“He dropped a clue or two, but the rest I figured out on my own.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she insisted through gritted teeth. “And you can’t make me.”
“Dee’s grown now. You can let it go.”
The sound of his tender, gentle words caused her eyes to water with hated tears. She had to get loose, run like hell before it was too late.
“It has nothing to do with Dee.” It was a lie, but she didn’t figure it was any of his business. And why he was attempting to make it his business remained a mystery to her.
“How did they die?”
Brooke clamped her lips tightly together and concentrated on ignoring him. It wasn’t easy, considering that a part—a very pleasurable part—of his body was still attached to her own. And his scent...God, his scent! The man could market it and sell it as an aphrodisiac! She’d never realized that sunshine on a man’s body had a smell...
“Ignoring me won’t work. I’ve got nowhere to go, so I can lie here as long as it takes.”
She ground her teeth. He sounded so damned smug and serious. Desperate to distract him, she wedged her hand between them and began to scrape her nails along his chest in a slow, provocative journey downward.
“And that will only prolong the inevitable,” Alex drawled with a soft gasp that proved he wasn’t as calm as he seemed. “Did you cry even once when they died?”
The question made her eyes burn and her chest grow tight, but she steadfastly ignored it. Instead, she concentrated on changing the subject and his mind by tightening her inner muscles around him.
In response to her bold move, she felt him jerk inside her. A thrill darted through her and settled into her belly like a hot coal. Against her cheek, she felt the rhythm of his heart pick up speed. Brooke lifted her head and kissed him with an urgent, hungry passion, sensing victory.
He didn’t deny her.
In one smooth roll, he came to his feet and cradled her in his arms. He paused long enough to pluck a condom from the box on the floor before striding into the kitchen.
A long sigh escaped Brooke as she continued to taste and nibble his neck. Now, she thought, they would get down to business and leave all of the emotional garbage behind.
He sat her on the counter and moved between her legs. Brooke threw her head back and closed her eyes, listening to the sound of him ripping open a new condom.
It was music to her ears.
&nb
sp; Her thighs quivered in shameless expectation. She was insatiable...how could she be this eager when they’d only just finished moments before?
“Brace yourself,” he ordered hoarsely, grabbing her thighs.
Brooke placed her hands on the counter behind her, gasping as he entered her. Her tormentor was gone—replaced by a greedy, expert lover who knew exactly what he wanted and harbored no qualms about going after it. Again and again, fast and furiously.
The tension inside her grew at an alarming rate, spinning out of control, shocking her with its intensity. Searching for an anchor against the gathering storm, Brooke wound her arms around his neck and buried her face against his chest. The ripples became pounding, pleasurable waves that swept her up and away.
She cried his name in a choked whisper, “Alex!”
It was a mistake.
Alex funneled his hand through her hair and lifted her head, continuing the pace without missing a beat, prolonging her pleasure. “Look at me.”
The command couldn’t be ignored. Brooke looked, watching his beautiful features grow rigid with his impending release.
His eyes burned into hers, delved into her soul, stroked her heart as assuredly as he stroked her womanly core.
Brooke tried to look away, but found herself hypnotized by his gaze. He was telling her something without words.
He was telling her that he cared.
She didn’t want to know. Had been desperately avoiding this moment.
Alex wouldn’t allow her to ignore it. His eyes nearly closed as he began to climax, his strokes sinking deeper and with more force. Slowly, he lowered his mouth onto hers.
Just before their lips met, he gasped her name.
Not with passion, or triumphant satisfaction, but with aching, soul-wrenching tenderness.
In that split second, Brooke felt those old, weathered fences she’d taken such pains to erect crash to the ground.
Chapter Twenty-Six
A Perfect Fit Page 19