He chuckled against her skin, which spread goose bumps across her sensitive flesh. He took a step backwards, away from her, to kneel down, kissing his way along her spine until he was on his knees behind her, spreading her legs where she stood so that he could bury his face there. Her knees nearly buckled when she felt his breath against her wet panties. His tongue replaced his fingers, licking her through the dampened material, latching onto her with his whole mouth until she cried out loud.
Slowly he peeled away the panties. The cool air hit her as he revealed her inch by inch. When his mouth covered her again, there was nothing between them, not even the night. His tongue flicked over her sensitive clit until she had to lean forward on the bed or else she would have collapsed entirely. Within minutes she was coming hard, grasping the covers in both hands as his tongue penetrated her to capture every last drop.
He shed his shirt as he rose to his feet, watching her in the glass as she tried to catch her breath. She tried to stand but he kept her bent over the bed, his hands running up the backs of her legs and over her hips. Out of nowhere he delivered a firm swat on her ass, which caught her by surprise. “You’ve been a bad girl, Joely,” he grinned at her. “I told you that you were due a proper spanking.”
She shuddered as she waited. His eyes darkened as he stared at her, caressing her slowly with his right hand, lightly brushing his fingers against her skin until every nerve ending was practically reaching out for him. Then, another swat, this time firmer, which caused her to cry out again.
“You ready to be a good girl for me, Joely?” he asked as he stepped closer. She could feel how hard he was through his pants as he pressed against her. She nodded and he chuckled again, his hand brushing against her skin, soft and tantalizing, before another, firmer swat. “Say it. Tell me you’ll be my good girl.”
She was so turned on she could barely speak at all. “I’ll be your good girl,” she managed. His hand, which had been caressing the area he had swatted, lifted again, and cool air hit that sensitive skin as she braced for another good swat. Instead of delivering it, he held his hand in place above her, hovering in exquisite anticipation for just a bit before he stepped back again.
“Good. Now lie on your back and spread your legs.”
She did as he instructed. He stood in between her legs as he unfastened his slacks. She eyed him hungrily as he bared himself for her. He was massive and hard, which only made her crazier for him. He kicked away the last of his clothes and retrieved a condom from the nightstand beside the bed before he crawled between her legs until he was hovering over her. His eyes bored into hers as he gave her the condom. “Put it on me.”
She tore the wrapper open with two shaking hands, withdrawing the prophylactic. He was almost scary hard as she placed it on the tip and slowly rolled it down with two hands until it fit snug at the base. She circled his now protected, raging erection, with one hand, which filled her tiny palm to overflowing. Her insides turned to jelly as she imagined him inside of her. She stroked him with increasing urgency.
“That’s it,” he crooned as he watched her face. “That’s what you want, isn’t it?” She nodded, practically delirious with her need. He bent closer to whisper in her ear, “Tell me.”
“I want you,” she murmured.
“What is it about me that you want?” he persisted, his breath hot in her ear.
She shuddered again. He was pushing her outside of her comfort zone, steadfastly refusing to let her off the hook until she obeyed every command. “Your cock,” she finally whimpered.
Finally his body lowered until she could feel how hard he was as he rubbed himself against her. “This cock?” he murmured as he teased her. “This big, hard, throbbing cock?” She was a puddle of goo beneath him as she nodded. “Say it,” he commanded again.
“Your big, hard, throbbing cock,” she repeated.
“Where does my good girl want that big, hard, throbbing cock?”
He was driving her crazy as he rubbed the swollen head of his dick against her clit. “Inside me. Please.”
“Inside where?” he persisted. “Where is it that you need it? Where do you ache for it? Which part of you is begging for it?”
She shuddered all over. “My pussy,” she finally breathed, empowered and intimidated all at once.
“Oh yes,” he groaned in response. “That’s my good girl.”
With that he shoved himself up inside of her until she cried out, her eyes wide as she lost herself in his darkened gaze. He filled her completely. He didn’t move at all at first, allowing them both to luxuriate in that moment. He wore an impish grin as his hand slipped in between their bodies. She gasped when his fingers found their target: her clit. He watched her face as he rubbed it, slow at first but then faster and faster until she was thrashing beneath him. He hadn’t moved his body one inch, holding it steady deep inside of her, filling her completely as he teased her. Within minutes she was rocketing into the stratosphere, crying out as she came hard. He wore a smile as he withdrew his hand.
“That’s what it feels like to come with a nice hard dick inside of you,” he said. “In case you’d forgotten.” Before she could say anything more, he lifted her legs up by her knees and bent her forward. “And this is what it feels like to be fucked, Joely. Because I know damned well that no one has ever been man enough to show you. Until now.”
With that, he thrust himself inside of her hard and deep. She couldn’t hold the scream back if she tried. He grinned, empowered by her response, as he thrust even harder, speeding up his motions with every cry and every gasp. Her eyes widened as he watched her face, reading every signal and responding to every cue, slowing down to savor each and every stroke, speeding up to drive her even crazier until she was bucking up against him to meet every single thrust. If she dared close her eyes, intimidated by the intense intimacy of the moment, his voice was strong and commanding. “Look at me. Look at me while I fuck you.”
Soon color and light exploded in her brain as she came again. He was relentless as he rode her through the first multiple orgasm she’d ever experienced through straight intercourse. Her nails sliced into his broad shoulders as she cried out for him, begging for more, needing something only he had been able to give her. Within minutes he was reduced to primal grunts and growls of his own. When she whispered, “Come for me, Xander,” he shuddered hard before he raced to the climax he had been withholding. He cried out as he thrust deep, holding himself inside her as he finally came.
He was breathing hard as he crashed down on top of her. He gathered her into his arms and held her as each tremor passed. “Oh my God, that was fucking fantastic,” he finally breathed.
A smile broke across her face, the smile of a woman who knew how to turn a man into jelly – just like the man in her arms at that very minute. She clutched him deeper inside of herself until he moaned. “It’s not over, is it?” she asked with an innocent lift of her eyebrow.
He growled as he dove into her neck. “Oh no, baby,” he promised gruffly into her ear. “We’ve only just begun.” His hands tangled in her hair as he kissed her deep and slow.
A hundred and eighty miles west of that hotel room, Russell was still awake and staring at the ceiling in his darkened bedroom when he heard the door creak open well after midnight. “Daddy?”
He peered in the low light as he struggled to make out who was addressing him. From the whimper in her voice, he knew it was Hannah. He sat up in bed, turning on the lamp on the nightstand. “What’s the matter, baby?”
She walked over to the bed, where she crawled up to cuddle beside him. “My tummy hurts.”
He cupped her forehead with his hand. She was burning up. Her fever had gotten worse, not better. “Where does it hurt, honey?”
She pointed to a spot near her belly button. He was out of the bed like a shot, immediately disappearing into the bathroom. He carried a thermometer when he returned. Just as he feared, her fever had crept over 102. When he touched her tummy, she cried out i
n pain.
“It’s okay,” he promised at once, though he knew well enough to know that they were facing a possible medical emergency. He grabbed his phone immediately and called Jena, who was groggy as she answered.
“What’s up?”
“I’ve got an emergency. Can you come over and watch the kids?”
She grumbled a bit. “What time is it?” He heard her move her phone from her ear to check. “Jesus, Russ. It’s nearly one o’clock.”
“I wouldn’t call if I didn’t have a choice,” he snapped. “But I need to get Hannah to the hospital and Joely’s out of town.”
She was quiet for a moment. “She’s out of town?”
“Business,” he answered, annoyed that was what mattered most to Jena out of what he had said.
“I’m not dressed, Russell,” she whined and he could almost picture her sexy pout. Only right now it wasn’t sexy at all. It was childish. She was childish. “Kari and Nash are old enough to stay at home alone. Or they can go with.”
Russell’s mouth thinned into a hard line. “So that’s a no.”
“Rain check,” she offered in a sleepy voice before she hung up the phone. He knew in that instant that she had been partying with her friends and was likely passed out on several shots from the bar. She probably wouldn’t even remember the call when she got up at noon or better the next day. He took a deep breath before he grabbed his clothes from the chair across the room, hopping into them with the efficiency of a doctor on call. He picked up Hannah, cradling her in his arms as he raced down the hall to Kari’s room. He knocked, but she didn’t answer immediately. He knocked harder, until finally she pulled the door open, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have to take your sister to the hospital,” he told her. Her eyes flew open wide as she glanced over at Hannah, who was crying now in earnest.
“What’s wrong?” she repeated.
“Not sure,” he lied, though he was pretty sure it was her appendix. Neither child needed to be as panicked as he felt. “Just wanted to let you know before I left. You’re in charge while I’m gone.”
“Can’t I come?” she asked and he shook his head.
“It’ll be better if you stay here with your brother. Everything’s okay,” he lied again. “Just a precaution.”
“Should we call Mom?”
His lips thinned into a line. “I’ll call her from the hospital. You get back to bed. I’ll text you and keep you updated.”
Kari nodded before she stepped forward to kiss her sister’s forehead. “Get better, okay?”
Hannah nodded through her tears, which only made Kari cry too.
“What’s going on?” Nash asked from the doorway of his bedroom, which was right next to Kari’s.
“It’ll be okay,” he assured them with much more conviction than he felt. He didn’t waste another minute before he carried Hannah down the hall, down the stairs and out to his car. Kari turned tearfully into her brother’s arms as the wait now began.
Chapter Nineteen
As expected, the emergency room was packed that late Friday/early Saturday morning when Russell arrived with Hannah. Like Russell, the triage nurse immediately assessed the dire situation, sending them right to the back to be seen immediately. Within an hour they knew that Hannah had acute appendicitis and surgery was imminent.
Joely was blissfully unaware as she straddled a naked Xander, who ran his hands along her body, memorizing every inch of her skin. “Has anyone ever told you how sexy you are?” he murmured as he looked up at her. She was all woman from the heavy, natural sway of her breasts to the inviting swell of her hips. Slipping inside her was like losing himself in a dream.
She shook her head as she stared down at him. “No one till you,” she said as she bent forward for a kiss that he met with enthusiasm.
“I have so much to correct,” he murmured against her lips. He deepened the kiss immediately as he clutched her close, feeling her tighten around his body. Everything about her made him crazy. He was insatiable for her. Before they could fully lose themselves in Round Three, her phone rang in her purse, which had been tossed onto the seat at the foot of the bed.
Her brow furrowed immediately. It was after two o’clock in the morning. She knew in an instant something was terribly wrong. Before he could stop her, she scrambled out of Xander’s lap and reached for the phone.
It was Russell.
“Hello?”
“You’re awake,” he muttered into her ear.
If it was meant to be a dig, to let her know that he knew exactly what she was doing, he missed the mark. He wouldn’t have called her unless something had happened with the kids. “What’s wrong?”
“Hannah’s in the hospital. She has appendicitis and they need to operate.”
For a second Joely couldn’t even breathe. “What?”
“She didn’t have a stomach bug,” he explained. “Her appendix is inflamed and it needs to be removed before it bursts. We’re at the hospital now. I just need to sign the forms.”
Joely hopped off the bed. “I can be there in less than three hours.”
“It can’t wait that long, Joely,” Russell told her. “They need to operate now.”
Her heart toppled to her feet. Had she really left her baby girl when she was so sick? The thought was unbearable. “Is it dangerous?” she managed.
“It’s surgery,” he responded with a sigh. “There’s always a risk.”
“I need to see her,” Joely said, starting to crumple as she realized that anything could happen in the three hours it would take to race home. Why had she gone so far away? What had she been thinking?
“She’ll be fine,” he assured, though the tremor in his voice, one that only someone who had lived with him for twenty years could recognize, belied the words.
“I’m coming,” she promised as she snatched up her clothes from the floor. “Tell her Mommy loves her,” she added in a tearful plea.
There was no condescension in his voice when he said, “I will.”
That scared her even more.
She disconnected the call and turned towards Xander, who was already reaching for his pants, having pieced together how dire the situation was from her side of the conversation. “It’s Hannah,” she said. “She’s really sick.”
She promptly fell apart and Xander pulled her into his arms. “Hey, we’ll be there in three hours. Two if I speed.”
She nodded and they dressed quickly. They were on the road within a half-hour of Russell’s call. Xander stole glances at her as she fidgeted in the passenger seat as they flew back towards Abilene at well over the speed limit. She hadn’t said much, issuing terse, clipped answers to his questions.
It wasn’t till they reached Cisco that she said what she was really thinking. “I shouldn’t have left her.”
“You had no idea she was that sick, Joely.”
“But I knew she was sick,” she answered flatly. There was a catch in her throat as she added, “She asked me to stay and I didn’t.”
“You couldn’t have known,” he insisted but she shook her head.
“I’m her mother. I should have known.”
He wanted to assuage her guilt but he knew it was pointless. He fell silent as he drove them back home as fast as he dared.
It was four-thirty when they finally arrived at the hospital. He didn’t even bother to park the car. He left her off at the emergency entrance, where she raced inside. She didn’t even look back.
They sent her straight up to surgery, where she found Russell nursing a cup of coffee in the waiting room. She ran over to him immediately. “Is she okay?”
He was ragged as he turned to face her. “She’s still in surgery.”
Her stomach fell. “Is that bad?”
Before he could answer, the doctor entered the room. “She’s in recovery,” he told them, and Joely buckled against Russell. “Her appendix ruptured so we had to flush out the infected fluid
s, but everything looks good. We’re going to keep her a couple of days for observation.”
Joely leaned on Russell, whose hand trembled as he held her up. “When can we see her?” she asked the doctor.
“Like I said, she’s in recovery. We’ll get her up to a room as soon as we can.” The doctor touched Joely’s arm with a warm, comforting smile.
After he left Joely turned to Russell. Despite his cool, professional demeanor, his eyes were glassy with unshed tears. He had been just as terrified as she had been. She reached for a hug and he didn’t deny her. In fact, he held her tighter than he had held her in years. He hadn’t remembered her feeling the way she felt in that moment. She was warm. She was comforting. She was home.
“Hello?”
They both turned to Xander, who had just entered the room. Joely quickly stepped away from Russell to make the introductions. “Russell, this is Xander Davy. Xander, this is Dr. Russell Morgan,” she said, adding Russell’s title out of sheer habit.
Xander walked further into the room, extending a hand in greeting. Russell took it, but the handshake was stiff and formal. “Nice to meet you,” Xander said at last. “How’s Hannah?”
“Fine,” Russell said dismissively.
“She’s in recovery,” Joely told him. He reached for her arm, just as a gesture of comfort, but she moved away before Russell could see. Xander’s eyes darkened as he studied her. “You should go home and get some rest. I’m going to stay here as long as they let me.”
“I can stay,” he offered but she shook her head.
“It’s okay. I’ll call you later,” she promised. “Thanks for everything,” she added, though it felt cheap to say. What was she thanking him for? The night of her dreams? Or the way he selflessly drove her nearly two hundred miles at breakneck speed to get her home to her daughter because Hannah needed her more than some weekend booty call? Was she thanking him for yet another meeting with his press contact that she had blown? Or was she just thanking him to leave before he did or said anything that would make Russell’s contemptuous glare even more painful to tolerate?
Back for Seconds (Lone Star Second Chances Book 1) Page 21