Zero Tolerance

by Lynn Burke

  “We need to meet with the florist in an hour.”

  “Shit.”

  “You forgot.”

  “Yes.” I glanced over my shoulder to find her nodding, and pulled up short of the coffeepot.

  “Shouldn’t be surprised with the events of the last twenty-four hours,” she grumbled and heaved a sigh. “Liz couldn’t get a babysitter, but Mom and I can handle it. You can stay here and do … whatever it was you were doing that I interrupted.”

  “No, I want to go. It’ll only take me five minutes to throw some clothes on.” I hurried past her, grabbed the trash bags, and hefted them toward the bedroom. “Give me five, okay?”

  Dina smiled, and it seemed some of the wedding stress melted off her shoulders. “Thank you.”

  Micah was in the bathroom, so I upended one bag onto the bed and grabbed the first pair of jean shorts and tank top I saw. Panties and bra—all of the pretty ones, I noted—lay in the bottom of the second bag and spilled out over the comforter.

  Grinning at my sister’s thoughtfulness, I tugged Micah’s t-shirt off and pulled on a pair of black, lacy panties and a matching bra.

  “Please tell me you’re not heading out and leaving me with this memory imprinted in my brain.”

  Micah stood in the bathroom doorway, cock still tenting his pants, his stare on the little piece of black lace covering my pussy.

  “I forgot we’re meeting with the florist today.”

  “Damn.” He slipped his hand inside his pants and stroked his length.

  Heat pooled between my thighs, and I tore my gaze off him to tug up the jean shorts.

  “Mmm,” he moaned, sending a rush of fire through my blood.

  “Stop it,” I whispered, glancing at the closed bedroom door.

  “Don’t want to.”

  I threw a mock glare his way and pulled on the tank top. “Do what you have to, then,” I said, hands on hips, “but you better be ready again for later. I’ve got a promise to keep.”

  The need in his gaze slammed into me, catching my breath.

  “Always,” he promised, stalking across the room toward me.

  Temptation to back away flitted through me, but I held my ground.

  He cradled my face in his hands and claimed my mouth, weakening my knees in a matter of seconds. “Be careful,” he murmured against my lips as I sagged against him. “Please.”

  “I will.” I pulled back and smiled up at him, knowing my five minutes had ticked past and then some.

  “You’d better,” he said, stepping away, hand once more going to his cock.

  “Or?” I asked with a saucy smirk.

  His brow arched as a glint lit his eyes.

  The image he’d created in my mind earlier flitted to life, and I shivered. Perhaps I’d be ready to test out a little kink sooner than I expected.

  ****

  “God, I just want this wedding to be done. Over with.”

  I giggled at Dina as she slumped into a booth at the steak house we’d decided on for a late lunch. “You and Aaron should have just gotten hitched in Mom and Dad’s back yard.”

  “I wish to hell we had.” She flagged the closest waiter as Mom slid in beside her, leaving me alone as I preferred. “Are you our waiter?” she asked as the young man stopped beside our table.

  “No, but I can get her.”

  “I need a glass of wine, like yesterday,” Dina said, smiling brightly up at him. “Think you can hook me up or relay the message for me?”

  I rolled my eyes and picked up the menu the hostess had laid on the table before shuffling off. The breakfast Micah had cooked for me hadn’t all made its way to my stomach, and hunger pains twisted and gurgled.

  Flat iron steak, salad with blue cheese … I flipped a page back to the inside cover … a platter of pepper shrimp. I dropped the menu, scanning for a waiter. “I’m so damn hungry I could eat a raw tomato.”

  Mom laughed. “The day you eat a raw tomato is the day I find myself pregnant again.”

  Dina snorted. “’Cuz you worked up an appetite last night and this morning.”

  Heat flamed my face, and I picked up the menu to hide behind as Mom lifted her attention from her own menu, glancing between us. We had always had an open relationship when it came to personal things. There wasn’t much my mom didn’t know about my life.

  “Jasmine?” she said, and I sighed, lowering the menu. “Did you, um…”

  “Yes, Mom.”

  She clasped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. “My God! You actually … you know.” She fluttered her free hand while mumbling around her palm.

  “Twice.”

  “And?”

  I knew she wasn’t asking how the sex was, but asking about my response. Although I fidgeted on the booth, I smiled. “Not a single tingle of anxiety.”

  “Plenty of other tingles though, I’m sure,” Dina said, snickering.

  I shot her a glare, but the waitress showed up, glass of wine in hand for my thirsty sister.

  “I’ll take one of those,” I said.

  “Well.” Mom sat up straight, her voice breathless. “I believe I will too.”

  For the first time, I sat and whispered about sex with firsthand knowledge. Liz would be upset when she found out about our luncheon and the topic of discussion.

  My phone dinged, and I dug it from my purse.

  Micah: Miss you

  I turned my phone so Mom could see it.

  She slumped against the booth, a hand on her heart, and eyes filling with tears.

  “Never thought I’d see the day,” Dina said, swallowing down the last of her third glass of wine. “Micah Fox, smitten with a woman.” She shook her head, but smiled. “If he hurts you, I swear to God…”

  I nodded, love and appreciation for my big sister swelling in my chest. My fingers flew over the screen as I told him the same and that I would head back to my parents to grab my car before heading home to him.

  Home.

  Biting the inside of my lip, I put my phone back in my purse. “Do you think it’s too much, too soon?” I asked, settling my gaze on Mom.

  “I think you’re caught up in the newness of life right now, but if you both agree on what you’re feeling and what you want, then no.”

  I nodded, twirling the wine glass stem in my fingers. “I’m falling in love with him.”

  Neither Dina nor Mom said anything, and I glanced between them as my phone dinged again.

  Dina shrugged. “When you know, you know.”

  “How long were you with Aaron before you knew?” I grabbed my cell again.

  “First date.”

  My brows shot up as I scanned Micah’s request to be careful. “Really?”

  “Me, too,” Mom said.

  “I never knew that.” I smiled, tossed my phone back in my purse, and propped my elbow on the table so I could rest my chin in my hand.

  “Sixth grade.” Mom’s crooked smile lit her face. “I’d just learned where babies came from, and Lordy, did I want to have his.”

  The three of us giggled, and I realized neither Mom nor Dina would be able to drive home with all of the wine they’d drunk. A half hour later, we climbed in Dina’s car—me driving—and headed to my parents. While there, I packed up a few personal things I didn’t want to be without.

  Dad was concerned over my moving in with Micah so quickly, but said the decision was mine to make. He trusted me and my instincts. He also trusted Dina’s word that Micah was a decent man and wouldn’t hurt or take advantage of me.

  I’d been smiling most of the morning, and my damn face ached. Warmth spread through my body as I pulled into Micah’s long driveway. Had he waited for me, or had he masturbated while thinking about me? The thought of both soaked my panties.

  I couldn’t wait to find out.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Micah

  I paced, glancing out the window every couple of minutes. I’d wanted to text Jasmine to find out where she was, but didn’t want her trying to te
xt and drive at the same time. I peered down the driveway again, and a rush of relief loosened the tension in my body at seeing her old Camry pulling up to the house.

  While I didn’t want to appear the worry wart, I ended up hurrying out the front door anyway. She climbed from the car, her face glowing, sunlight glinting off the golden streaks in her blonde hair.

  I held out my arms, and she threw herself against me, lips and tongue greedy.

  My cock sprang to attention, and I pulled her up into my arms, palming her ass. “You’re my addiction,” I groaned against her mouth while thrusting my cock against her soft core.

  “And you’re mine,” she whispered, pulling back, her pale eyes filled with need. “I’m glad to feel you’re more than ready for me.”

  “I waited.”

  She arched a brow and speared her fingers through my pulled-back hair. “You did?”

  “Yeah.” I brushed my lips across hers. “But now I’m in pain from having to wait for so damn long.”

  Her giggle bounced her breasts against me, and I squeezed her ass with a groan. “Blame it on Dina and my mom. We ended up talking for three hours over lunch.”

  “Did you have a good time?” I asked and nibbled along her jaw, grinding my hips against her.

  “Mmm.”

  I turned and carried her inside, my brain cursing she wore jean shorts rather than an easy-access skirt. A fuck up against a wall sounded downright sweet at the moment. Once inside, I slid her down along my body to her feet.

  “I brought some stuff from my parents,” she murmured, her hands on my chest.

  “We’ll get it later,” I said, snapping open the button on her jean shorts.

  “Hmm.” Her brows arched as I pushed the shorts and her panties off her hips. “So what did you have in mind that’s so important my personal belongings melt from this heat in my car?” she asked, stepping out of them.

  I shoved my shorts down, freeing my throbbing cock, and kicked them off. “This.” I picked her back up, and she wrapped her legs around me. The need to thrust deep into her tight pussy rolled over me, setting my blood on fire, but she still had to be sore from the night before.

  Easy, I reminded myself, leaning her back against the front door and flexing my hips to rub my cock through her soaked folds.

  “Mmm,” she moaned, tipping her head against the door, eyes closing. “Don’t hold back, Micah. Please.”

  “Fuck.” I rammed into her tightness and stilled as she gasped, my body trembling with the need to take her hard and fast.

  Jasmine lifted her head, and I caught a glimpse of passion-hazed green eyes before she crushed her mouth to mine.

  Green fucking light to plunder.

  I pulled out and slammed back in, drawing a groan from her chest. My fingers dug into her ass cheeks, the hot slickness of her tight pussy driving me fucking insane. I couldn’t get close enough. Deep enough.

  “Oh, fuck, Jasmine.” I groaned into her neck, my hips rocking into her as my cock tried to split her in half. “So. Fucking. Good.”

  She shuddered in my arms, pulled on my hair, and squeezed her inner walls around me.

  “I’m going to come,” she gasped, arching her back and thrusting her breasts at me.

  Hard nipples poked out, and I dipped my head, clamping my teeth onto one.

  A shriek ripped from Jasmine’s lips, and she came hard around me, her cum squirting to coat my balls.

  “Goddamn…” I thrust a few more times, trying like hell to draw out her climax, but my balls gave up the fight, and I hollered, my knees near-buckling as I shot my cum deep inside of her.

  “Mmm.” She heaved for breath, moistening her top lip with the tip of her tongue. “My first fuck against a door. Damn.” Her body went lax in my arms, and I half-stumbled into the kitchen, sitting her ass on the counter by the sink and pulling out of her warmth.

  I spread her thighs and glanced down.

  “Mine,” I said, trailing a finger up through my cum and rubbing it over every inch of her pussy and clit.

  “Yes,” she whispered, her hands twining in the mess she’d made of my hair as I leaned forward to brush my lips over hers.

  A shuddering sigh wracked through her body. “We definitely have to do that again.”

  “I want you bent over the couch next.”

  “Oh, God, yes.” Her nails dug into my scalp.

  I chuckled and kissed her again. “Give me a couple minutes to re-coop first, though.”

  She huffed a fake sigh. “Fine.”

  “Let’s clean up, grab your stuff from the car, and see if you can handle another round.”

  Ten minutes later, I grabbed two of the three boxes out of the trunk of her car, cursing the fucking heat. I passed Jasmine on the walkway. “Two more minutes, and your ass is mine,” I said over my shoulder as she went to the car to get the last box.

  “Promise?” she called back, her voice saucy and taunting.

  I groaned with the desire to redden her ass, but kept moving to the bedroom where I sat the boxes on the bed. Hand dropping to stroke my cock through my shorts, I turned around.

  “Micah!” Jasmine screamed.

  I took off, tearing across the living room, heart in my throat, and skidded to a stop in the doorway.

  Jasmine’s back was pressed against the driver door, a box of possessions scattered around her feet, and a fat fuck who had to be the asshole Billy waved a knife a foot away from her face.

  Fucking. Red.

  Fists clenched, I took in his wavering stance, his straggly hair, his pasty complexion—all within a single heartbeat as he turned my way.

  Jasmine ducked and sprinted toward the back of the car, and I leaped down the stairs in one bound, feet pounding the walkway as Billy chased after her.

  She rounded the back of the Camry, terror in her eyes as she stumbled toward me along the passenger side, fat fuck Billy on her heels.

  I reached her before he did, and yanked her behind me.

  Billy drew up quick for the weight he carried, the knife raising once more in his fist. “Little lying cunt.” He spat on my driveway, and I backed up, trying not to stumble on Jasmine as she clung to my backside, whimpering. “I’m going to cut out your fucking tongue and shove it up your ass.”

  “You touch her,” I said, my voice calm as fuck, “and you’re a dead man.”

  His pinned eyes scanned down my front as he shifted his weight. “Gonna kill me with your bare hands, pretty boy?”

  “Yes.” Truth, plain and simple. I didn’t care if he buried the damn knife hilt-deep in me. I would end his fucking life before he touched Jasmine.

  “Then come on.” Billy grinned and waved his knife. “Come and get me, you badass motherfucker.”

  “D-don’t,” Jasmine whispered, clutching my arm.

  “Get in the house,” I told her without taking my eyes off the asshole. “Call 911.”

  She hesitated.

  “Now isn’t the time to disobey, Jasmine,” I growled.

  Still, she hesitated, and I swore to myself if Billy didn’t end up sticking that knife in a vital organ, I’d redden her ass whether she wanted me to or not.

  Billy’s grin widened, and he beckoned toward me with his free hand. “Come on, pansy-ass. All them muscles are just show. You ain’t got shit on me.” He spit again. “I’m a badass motherfucker. Done time.” His eyes went fucking crazy, and he spread his arms wide. “I’m a fucking—”

  I leaped forward, my fist slamming into his jaw before he could bring the knife back my way. His head snapped back, and he went down in a heap, the knife clattering on the driveway.

  Jasmine sobbed behind me, but I stared down at Billy, wanting him to get up so I could punch him in the fucking head again.

  He didn’t move except for the slight rise and fall of his chest.

  “Call 911,” I repeated, my fists still clenched, my ears ringing as I towered over the scum of the earth who thought to fuck with my woman.

  I glanced over m
y shoulder. Jasmine hadn’t moved. She stood trembling, hands over her ears, widened eyes staring at the asshole at my feet.

  “Jasmine,” I said, forcing my voice to calm. “He’s out cold and not coming to any time soon. I won’t let him touch you.”

  She tore her focus off him and met my gaze, dropping her arms to wrap around her waist.

  I tried for a reassuring smile although I wanted to fucking rip the fucker to shreds. “You’re all right. Be strong for me.”

  “O-okay.” She nodded, took a stumbling step backward, and turned, hurrying into the house.

  I turned my attention back on Billy. “Fucking piece of shit. You’re lucky I hit you in the jaw and didn’t crush your nose clear into your brain like I wanted to.”

  My spiked adrenaline hadn’t gotten completely used up, and within another minute, I fought against the need to shake. I opened and flexed the hand I’d crushed his jaw with. Fucking hurt.

  Better than a stab wound any day.

  Chapter Twenty

  Jasmine

  Three and a half weeks later…

  I stood on the other side of Liz, Dina’s maid-of-honor, as my oldest sister and Aaron exchanged vows. Corseted into the navy bridesmaid dress and new heels pinching my toes, I fought boredom and a headache. Who knew weddings could be so damn stressful? And I wasn’t even the one promising to honor, love, and cherish.

  When Micah and I exchanged vows, it would be on the beach, and we’d both be barefoot. Him in shorts, me in a breezy slip of a dress that allowed me to breath.

  I tried for a decent-sized inhale and failed.

  The back of my neck tingled, and I smiled. I’d noted where Micah sat when I’d walked down the aisle. Bride side, in the front row beside Liz’s husband. Right where he belonged.

  Billy was back in jail—right where he belonged.

  And I’d moved all of my stuff from my parents’ house to Micah’s. Three and a half weeks of pure bliss, mapping out every inch of his muscular body with my fingers and tongue. Being taken on every piece of furniture imaginable, christening every room of the house, his office included.

  Warmth came to life between my thighs, and I squeezed them together at the thought of the night ahead. I’d packed an Elite bag two days prior, and had hidden it beneath my side of the bed.