Learning to Trust: Sweet Temptation

by B. B. Roman

  She had thought he’d passed out, but when they arrived at his house, he was immediately awake and talking once more. Her intention had been to let him out at the curb and continue on to her apartment, but that wasn’t what happened. He had seemed a little more alert when his eyes opened, and he looked at her, so when he asked her to come in, she’d ignored all of those warning bells that had been clanging for the entire drive to his house.

  “Want a drink?” Kane asked as they made it through the front door after he fumbled the keys two or three times.

  Lucie knew he was past the point of needing another drink, so she passed on his offer, but followed him to the kitchen anyway.

  “No thanks,” Lucie answered, feigning interest in her surroundings.

  His house was immaculate, not that she had expected anything less. Kane dressed like a man who had money. He didn’t try to make a fashion statement, but his jeans were always expensive, his shirts always trendy and in style. Not to mention, she should’ve been tipped off as soon as she turned into his neighborhood. She had no idea what kind of money he made as the bar manager, but she didn’t actually care either.

  As she stood in the kitchen trying to divert her eyes from the sexy as hell man standing not two feet away, she began to fidget, suddenly wanting to go home. She shouldn’t be there, she knew that much. Not with Kane in his current state of mind, obviously pissed off and now intoxicated as hell.

  “I should go,” she said, daring to make eye contact with him.

  Kane moved closer, and she could smell his sultry cologne, the scent she dreamed about in the middle of the night. Despite the fact that both of them had that lingering smell of alcohol and cigarettes thanks to working at the bar, Lucie was overwhelmed by the unique scent of him, which overpowered everything else.

  “Lucie,” Kane whispered her name as he took two steps closer, suddenly closing the gap between them and effectively backing her up against the granite countertop.

  She didn’t break eye contact, noticing the way the steel gray color had darkened, swirling like storm clouds. The single curl that had fallen over his forehead beckoned her fingers to brush it back, and then delve into the silken mass to see if it was as soft as it looked.

  “Touch me, Lucie,” Kane insisted, and for a moment she wondered if she imagined it.

  There wasn’t an ounce of gentleness in his tone, strictly fierce hunger and need. It was something she’d come to expect from Kane, but never had she expected him to turn the heat on her.

  “Touch me, baby,” Kane said again, this time with more insistence.

  Lucie knew she should go, knew she should run out the front door and forget this night ever happened, but instead she did what she’d longed to do for the past year.

  Lifting her hand, she placed her trembling fingers against the hard planes of his chest, letting the warmth of his skin penetrate through the soft cotton of his t-shirt. His chest was broad and thick, and Lucie was mesmerized by how small her hands looked in comparison to him.

  He couldn’t have been much more than six feet tall, but at five-foot-six, he still peered down at her. She could feel his heartbeat beneath her palm, and when she looked back up at his eyes, she recognized the same lust burning bright and hot just as it was in her. She knew that if she gave in to this man, he was going to alter her in ways she wasn’t entirely sure she would be able to survive.

  Lucie shook off the memory when she pulled into the parking space in front of her apartment. If she’d have known then exactly how much he would change her life, she would have turned and run like she wanted to.

  Without any additional thoughts about Kane or what the night might bring, Lucie ran to her apartment as she considered her surroundings. By the time she was inside, she was breathless, but feeling a little more normal.

  As she moved to put her purse on the bar, a knock sounded at her door, and she jumped. Shit. Lucie had hoped to at least have a shower before Kane showed up. Without thought, she opened the door; not wanting him to knock again for fear that the noise might disturb her neighbors. She didn’t want to give them any reason to hate her.

  “You said you would be at the club for another half hour,” she huffed in exasperation as she shut the door behind him.

  Her apartment wasn’t big by any stretch of the imagination, but when Kane walked in, it suddenly felt even smaller.

  “I couldn’t wait,” Kane remarked, making his way into the apartment.

  Couldn’t wait for what? To come over there and tell her how every decision she’d ever made was the wrong one? Hell, she knew that already, so he wouldn’t be telling her anything new.

  “For what?” she asked, flipping the deadbolt before turning to face him.

  Oh hell.

  Looking up into his eyes, Lucie knew her life was about to veer off course yet again.

  Chapter Three

  *** ~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***

  Kane stared down into the chocolate brown eyes that he’d been dreaming about for the better part of the last six years. Ever since the first time he laid eyes on Lucie Werner, he’d been captivated by her delicate beauty. Even more so now than back then.

  “To do this.” Backing her up against the front door, Kane pressed his body against hers, trying to contain the hunger that pulsed hot and fast through his bloodstream. Cupping her head in his hands, he whispered, “I couldn’t wait to put my mouth on you.”

  Expecting her to move, or even push him away, Kane paused briefly before gently pressing his lips to hers. He had to keep himself grounded in the moment as soon as her soft, warm lips met his because the inclination to thrust his tongue deep in her mouth was overwhelming.

  Her hand lifted to his chest, and he could feel the slight tremor in her fingers and the heat of her skin through his shirt. He had to coax her lips open with his tongue, but her resistance wasn’t nearly as strong as he knew she intended.

  Once he delved into her mouth, he licked and tasted every soft, succulent inch of her, pressing his body more firmly against hers, aligning his rock hard cock between her thighs and grinding like a damn teenage boy who’d just figured out what it meant to have a hard on.

  Damn she was hot. There was absolutely nothing reserved or timid about this woman when she kissed him.

  The urgent scrape of her fingernails against his scalp when she slid her hands into his hair had Kane pulling her closer, growling into the kiss. There was no turning back tonight. Since he couldn’t turn back time to relive that moment from years before, it was high time they made some new memories.

  After long, drugging kisses, Kane reluctantly pulled his mouth from hers but didn’t put any space between them. When their eyes met, Kane knew there wouldn’t be any talking tonight. He was confident that’s what she thought he wanted and maybe somewhere deep down he did want to know why she thought it best to keep such an enormous secret, but right now, he just needed to feel her. More importantly, he needed Lucie to give herself to him.

  “I need a shower,” he finally said, as he held her close, his palm pressed into her lower back, the other on her hip.

  After having been at the bar for fourteen hours, he could smell the revolting stench of cigarette smoke, beer and the various liquors he poured all night. He knew she would be able to smell it on him too.

  “It’s down the hall,” Lucie stuttered, not breaking eye contact.

  “Show me,” Kane told her before taking a step back. He fully intended to take a shower, but he didn’t plan to do so alone.

  Kane could feel Lucie’s reluctance; it billowed around her like a lingering cloud undisturbed by the forceful winds churning around them. If he guessed, she was both nervous and anxious, both emotions warring inside of her, and like him, she wasn’t sure where this was going. He was going to make the decision for her unless, of course, she told him no.

  Kane wanted her with a gut wrenching passion, but he would never force her. He just couldn’t sit back and wait for her to come to him anymore. It was clear she was
keeping herself distant, and there was no way in hell he was about to let another man intrude on what he considered his.

  When Lucie stopped in front of the bathroom, he took her hand in his and pulled her to him once more. He wasn’t letting her get away that easily, and he knew if he left it up to her, she would run and hide from him until he forced her to face the searing heat that they couldn’t deny any longer.

  Moving her backward until she was in the bathroom with him, Kane shut the door, letting her know his intentions. It was now or never. Either she would succumb to the inferno of lust that ignited when they were in close proximity, or she would turn and run. Either way, he was ready to move on to the next phase of what was happening between them.

  “Turn on the water, Lucie,” he instructed her as he began unbuttoning his shirt.

  Watching the emotions play across her face was like watching a deer caught in the headlights of a vehicle moving at a high rate of speed. She wasn’t sure what was coming at her, but she knew something was coming, something she couldn’t control.

  “Kane,” she whispered his name, barely audible even in the small area.

  “We can’t run from this,” he told her, reaching behind her to turn the shower on because it was obvious she wasn’t able to do it based on the way her hands were visibly shaking. “Do you want to run from me, Lucie?”

  He wanted to know the answer, but more importantly, he wanted to know the truth. She could deny him all she wanted, but he saw the desire in her penetrating gaze. He’d felt her passion in their kiss, knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

  “Answer me,” Kane ordered, taking a step closer and reaching for the buttons on her shirt. He eased one small disc from its mooring as he kept his eyes locked with hers. The rich chocolate brown swirled, darkening as he continued to undress her one tiny button at a time.

  “I’m scared,” she whispered.

  “Of me?” he asked, suddenly worried about what exactly had happened between them all those years ago. Kane could be rough on his lovers, he knew that. And considering the compelling hunger he harbored for Lucie consumed him, overpowered his senses, he wasn’t quite sure what he was capable of. Especially at that moment in time.

  “No,” she assured him with what sounded like conviction in her tone.

  “Then what are you scared of?” Slipping her shirt off of her shoulders, Kane allowed the cotton to glide down her arms, falling to the floor at her feet as he trailed his fingertips down the inside curve of each arm, then back up until he reached the underside of her breasts.

  Glancing down, he watched as her chest expanded with every choppy breath she inhaled, imagining what it would feel like to bite the pebbled tips of her nipples. He didn’t give in to the craving yet though. Instead, Kane let the backs of his fingers graze over her white lace bra, before tracing his fingers over her collarbone and then slowly back down. Slipping one finger between her soft skin and her no nonsense bra, Kane scraped his fingertip over her nipple, moving his eyes up to meet hers.

  “What are you scared of?” he repeated, insisting that she answer.

  “This,” Lucie said the word, and then released his gaze before turning her attention to where his hand lingered on her breast.

  Kane pulled her bra down forcefully, releasing one plump, beautiful globe from the silky confines before he tweaked her nipple with his thumb and forefinger. When Lucie would’ve thrown her head back, he put his other hand on the back of her head, holding her so she was forced to watch.

  “Don’t look away,” he demanded. “Never look away.” The steam from the shower was filling the room, coating her body in a fine sheen of moisture, which only increased his urge to lick her.

  Everywhere.

  ~~*~~

  Oh, God! Lucie wasn’t sure she would survive the onslaught of sensation that Kane’s brief touched ignited. She was aching for his touch, his kiss, and anything else he could give her.

  From the instant he had pressed his lips to hers, her body had caught fire, every nerve ending tingled, begging for the man to do to her what he had done to her so many years ago. She couldn’t find her voice, or she would have been begging him, pleading for him to ease the pain that came from wanting him.

  When he forced her bra down, Lucie gasped. And when he lowered his head and sucked her nipple into the white hot depths of his mouth, she cried out, pulling his head closer to her breast as he suckled desperately before easing off and using his tongue to bathe her with his tongue. As she held him to her, she watched, captivated by the sight of his mouth on her skin, the feel of his tongue as it rasped over her hypersensitive nipple.

  “Fucking hell,” Kane growled the words, the echo heard through the room and deep in her core where her womb spasmed with need. “You taste so fucking good.”

  He pulled the other cup of her bra down just as aggressively as the first, releasing her other breast while he pinched her nipple, sending fiery shards of pain ricocheting from her nipple to her clit.

  She remembered this about him, remembered how he took what he wanted, making sure to pleasure her along the way, but he never disguised the hunger, the need, and he wasn’t gentle. But Lucie didn’t want gentle. She wanted Kane – the dominating, controlling man who made her body burn and her senses reel with the ferocity that spiraled through her just from his touch.

  He reached around her, his fingers fumbling with the clasp of her bra while he sucked her completely into his molten hot mouth, before easing back, his teeth gently nipping her painfully erect nipple, sending additional rockets of fiery sensation through her body.

  When her bra was finally removed, he took a step back, admiring what he had revealed. And yes, Lucie could see the approval in his stormy gray eyes, and it only intensified her need.

  “Take off the rest of your clothes.” The words were a demand that left no room for argument. Without haste, Lucie found her fingers fumbling on the button of her slacks just as Kane began to do the same on his own, only he didn’t seem to be having any issues.

  Although it took her longer than him, only a few seconds slipped by before they were both standing completely naked in the steamy bathroom, and Lucie couldn’t stop herself from ogling the intensely sexy lines of his body. His chest was broad, each plane of muscle outlined, deliciously defined, as were each ripple of muscle on his stomach. Lucie wanted to spend a few hours outlining those individual slabs with her fingers and her tongue.

  He was beautiful.

  Kane took her hand, breaking her concentration on his magnificent physique, pulling her into the shower/bath combo before closing the flimsy curtain. The next thing she knew, she was sliding across the slippery tub, her body colliding with his beneath the warm, pelting spray that did nothing to soothe her already overheated skin.

  He tilted her head up, using just one finger beneath her chin, his eyes focused on her mouth as he swiped his thumb over her bottom lip before locking his gaze with hers again. “I’ve dreamed about your mouth on me. I want to feel your lips on my cock, sucking me.”

  The seductive, raspy pitch of his voice made the words sound even more erotic than they should have. Lucie didn’t bother to tell him that he’d spoken almost those same words the last time she’d been in his arms, but they had been in his kitchen, not the intimate confines of the shower.

  “God, baby.” Kane exhaled sharply, pulling her mouth to his, thrusting his tongue past her lips, forcing her to fall into him so she wouldn’t fall to the floor. His touch was overwhelming, but his kiss was all consuming.

  When he slid his hands into her hair, pulling her head back and breaking the kiss, she stared up into those stormy gray eyes.

  “Suck my cock, Lucie. On your knees, baby,” he growled. “I want to feel that sweet mouth on my dick.”

  The innocent, inexperienced side of her said she should be offended by his crude words, not turned on like she was. They’d been down this road before, only Kane didn’t seem to remember it. She did. Vividly. And truth be told, Lu
cie wanted to do anything to please him. His dominance appealed to her on a very basic level, and she found she was willing to do exactly as he said.

  Kane was demanding, more so than she could have ever imagined, but Lucie felt safe with him. He wouldn’t force her, she knew that from experience. He somehow managed to make her want the same things he did just with the deep rumble of his voice and the scorching heat in his eyes. Whatever power he had over her was enough to trigger a maelstrom of energy, bright enough and hot enough to consume her with its intensity.

  Lucie lowered herself to her knees, trailing her fingers across the smooth, hairless planes of his chest, letting them slide over the contoured ridges of his abdomen until she was eye level with his beautiful erection. She was eager to touch him, to taste him, to prove in her mind that what had happened all those years ago wasn’t a fantasy, but a reality that had rocked her to her very core.

  It wasn’t like she had much experience in the bedroom, or showers as it were, but based on what she did know, Kane was by far the largest man she’d ever been with and his cock was in direct proportion with his massive size. Even as she tried, Lucie was unable to encompass the wide shaft with her fingers, but she settled on gently stroking him as best she could, memorizing the velvet covered steel that pulsed in her hands.

  Glancing up at him, she didn’t know what she’d see, but the expression on his face hadn’t been it. Maybe heat or desire, but not that look of sheer and utter disbelief as though he couldn’t believe they were doing this any more than she could.

  His eyes met hers instantly, breaking the vulnerability she had witnessed in his gaze when he twined his fingers in her hair, pulling her to him until the wide crest of his cock brushed her lips. He was hot in her mouth, his fingers rough on her scalp, and she welcomed the sensations because they eased the pain in her knees from being on the hard porcelain of the bathtub.