So does the fact that she seems on board with the one-night thing, like it doesn’t bother her at all.
I manage to unlock the door, thank fuck, and we tumble inside. Red is all over me.
“Whoa,” I say. “Hold on.” I close the door and lock it, then I turn back to her. “Can I get you anything?” I ask. As desperate as I am to feel her bare skin against mine, this feels different than a regular screw. I don’t want to rush it. Don’t want her to think I’m using her body.
And oddly, I don’t want to feel like she’s using mine.
The shifting in my chest turns to a rumbling earthquake.
I can’t let my emotions go there again. The last time I did, I got my heart ripped out and handed back to me on a silver platter.
“You can get me plenty. That’s why I’m here.” Naughtiness flashes in her eyes.
“Meow.” Tango slinks over and rubs against Red’s leg.
“Aww,” she says and picks him up. “Sweet kitty.” She rubs her face against his. “Boy or girl?”
“Boy. Name’s Tango. My sister pawned him off on me, but he’s a good cat.” I head to the kitchen. “Have a seat while I feed him.”
She sinks onto the sofa and puts Tango on the floor. “Nice place.”
“Thanks.” I pad into the kitchen and fill his bowl.
He trots in and devours his food.
I search the pantry and fridge just in case Red really does want to get wild tonight. Damn, no whipped cream or maraschino cherries. Note to self: visit the junk food aisle next time I go to the market. I’m not a junk food kind of guy, but you never know when it might come in handy.
I pull open the freezer, and fire skates up my spine.
I’ve got a carton of ice cream from last month when my sister house sat for me. And it’s not vanilla.
I slide the freezer shut with a thud. Tango has already emptied his bowl and is gone. I stroll back into the den, only to skid to a halt.
There’s Red. Stretched out on my sofa. The sexy black dress she was wearing is pooled on the floor next to her, and she’s wearing nothing but skin and stilettoes. Her toned legs are crossed at the ankles.
Tango, the little fucker, is curled up on the back of the sofa, his tail swishing down over Red’s shoulder to brush across her bare breasts. He stares at me with his goddamn tail still swishing like he’s proud he’s making it to second base with my date.
“Meow,” he purrs.
She strokes along his back. “Tango likes me.”
“What’s not to like?” I can’t help it. I lick my lips.
“We’re a lot alike.” A wicked smile plays on her lips. “We’re both pussies that want to be stroked.”
Meow, indeed.
I don’t purr like Tango. I fucking growl.
Chapter Nineteen
This is the first time I’ve seen Red completely naked. In the bathroom of my private office, she’d had on panties and a bra. The storage room at the bar wasn’t the place to get completely undressed either.
But this. This.
My gaze licks over every inch of her exquisite body, all the way down to her toes and up again. I drink her in like a fine glass of brandy.
She’s amazing. Stretched out along my sofa totally naked, she’s awe-inspiring.
I take a step toward her, but she holds up a hand to stop me.
“Undress for me,” she says, and folds an arm behind her head. She keeps stroking Tango with her other hand. “I want to look at you.”
Good to know we’re on the same page.
I unbutton one cuff, then the other.
Slowly, I reach for the top button of my dress shirt and work on each button with deliberate patience.
Her eyes turn smokier with each button that opens. Finally, I pull my shirttail free of my pants and shrug it off.
When I start to work the buckle of my belt, her hand stills on Tango’s back.
I glance at my cat. Ha, you little fucker. I’ve got her full attention now.
I’m being ridiculous, I know, but I can’t help it. I want her all to myself tonight, our one and only night together.
“Touch yourself while I undress,” I say.
Her eyes flare wide, and she blushes.
“Put your hands on your breasts.” I free the button of my pants, then still my hands so she knows I’m not going any farther until she plays along.
I give her a wicked smile as her palms find her breasts. She pulls a lip between her teeth and watches my fingers lower my zipper.
“Massage them,” I say.
She does, and I swear I nearly come.
She palms and kneads her lovely tits until a soft moan escapes through her lips.
“That’s it, baby.” My voice is gravelly. “Now drop one hand to your pussy and feel how wet it is.”
Her lips part, as one hand glides over her flat stomach to her clit. She keeps palming one lush tit while coating a finger with wetness. Then she moves that glistening finger to circle her clit.
I tug off my shoes and socks, then grab a condom from my wallet. I lower my pants and kick them to the side. You could camp under the tent I’m pitching in my black boxer briefs.
Red smiles with satisfaction and lifts her eyes to mine.
“See what you do to me?” I say.
This time she stills her hands to let me know she won’t continue until I do. “You’re still not naked,” she says.
I hook both thumbs under the waistband of my briefs, and lose ‘em with a swift downward push.
She draws in a sharp breath and holds it.
I mean, I’ve been inside of her, but this is the first time she’s seen me completely undressed. Her reaction is neither unexpected, nor is it unusual. I’m pretty well hung. Just sayin’.
“Give me a minute to look at you,” she whispers.
I stay rooted in place, giving her all the time she needs or wants. From where I’m standing, the view isn’t bad either. It’s pretty damned spectacular.
Her green eyes dilate to marbles as they roam over me. We’ve already had sex, but this is different. No rushing. No bar full of people waiting for us to make an appearance.
By far the most amazing moment I’ve ever experienced. The air around us is thick and crackling with the promise of what’s about to happen. Our gazes devour each other with want and need, but we’re both frozen in place. No words are spoken, but somehow we both understand that this is a moment to be savored. A moment that neither of us will forget.
The quiet before the storm of passion we won’t be able to stem once it starts.
It’s magical. It’s sensual.
It’s life altering.
I swallow at the realization. Red is that one-in-a-million kind of girl who makes a man want to change his course. But that’s what I thought about my ex-fiancée before she showed her true colors, so I push that possibility out of my mind.
Pure fire slides through me as Red crooks a finger.
I oblige, nice guy that I am, and walk to her.
She uncrosses her ankles, and spreads her legs to welcome me in.
I roll on the condom, then hook a hand behind her ankle and lift her sexy-as-fuck shoes to my lips. She shivers when I feather soft lazy kisses on the inside of her ankle and work my way up. Her skin is hot and pebbled at the same time, which tells me how turned on she is.
I lean over to place open-mouth kisses all the way up the inside of her thigh. My warm breath grazes across her wet entrance and then over the beautiful mound of dark red curls.
Her entire body shudders with pleasure and her nails sink into my shoulders.
I lick and lap up the sweetness of her stomach and run the tip of my tongue along the valley between her tits. “So perfect,” I murmur against a taut nipple before pulling it into my mouth.
She arches into me. “Ethan.”
“I know, babe.” Another suck and lick. I release her tender flesh and move to the other breast. “I know.” I nip at her nipple and suckle it into a ha
rd peak.
She writhes under me, so worked up and ready for me to take her.
I lower myself so that I’m stretched out, my full length covering hers. She wraps her strong legs around me, and my skin is on fire everywhere my flesh touches hers. Her full, perfect breasts graze my chest, and I moan.
“Goddamn, Red. You feel so good under me.”
Since Red’s already had a bland sexual experience with her ex, I should probably start with something other than missionary style. Then again, we’ve already had great oral sex on the counter of my private bathroom. And in the storage room at 7th Inning Stretch right before an incredible fuck against the wall.
So missionary style doesn’t seem like a bad place to start, and I’ll make sure it’s anything but bland and boring.
I hook an arm behind her knee and pull her limber leg up to her chest. “Pretzel trick number one.” I suck on her bottom lip.
She laughs.
“Tell me if you get uncomfortable,” I murmur against her delicious mouth.
She nods. “I’m fine. You have no idea what yoga does for a person’s sex life.”
I chuckle and kiss her with lots of tongue until she moans. The tip of my cock hovers at her slick entrance. I tease her by nudging in an inch, then pulling out, circling my hips to rub her wet center.
Her eyes are a deep, dark emerald green, almost black and as glassy as an uncut precious stone that’s just been dug from the earth. Her breath grows more ragged as I dip into her sex just enough to taunt her. Tease her. Drive her wild.
Her nails rake over my back, and her breathing is a fevered frenzy.
“Are you ready for all of it?” I whisper against her mouth.
She nods, and sighs, and I swallow it down with a hot and hungry kiss. I lift my hips, and sink into her to the hilt in one smooth stroke.
She cries out my name, and it’s the sweetest fucking thing I’ve ever heard.
“Christ, Red,” I ground out against her ear. “You feel so damn good.” Her tight, wet pussy clamps around me, and I have to still for a second.
She cups my ass to pull me deeper, as if that’s even possible.
“Wait a sec.” I can barely speak. “You turn me on so fucking much, I don’t want to embarrass myself.” Never has a woman driven me to the edge so damn fast.
She chuckles and turns her hot mouth into my neck to kiss and lick and suck. “We have all night.”
And doesn’t that just suck balls.
No way can I do all the things I want to do with her in just one night.
“Your body is made for fucking.” I slant my mouth to hers and devour it. “So is your mouth.” I adjust and move so that my chest grazes hers. “So are your tits.”
Her hands are greedier now, roaming my body.
“Too bad we only have tonight,” I say, starting to move inside of her. I can’t believe it when I say, “Maybe it’s a stupid rule.” The words slip out, and I can’t snatch them back.
“So stupid,” she pants out, her hips rising to meet mine with every thrust.
With her leg hooked over my arm, she’s so wide open that I go deeper than I ever thought possible. I start pumping into her fast and hard. I can’t help it. My body is on autopilot because my brain has stopped working, and I can barely remember my name. All I can think of is how this isn’t just great sex.
It’s so much more.
It’s pure perfection. Everything about it is bliss. Our fit, our rhythm. It feels so right. So fucking right.
The first hint of orgasm burgeons at my core, as I ride her deep and hard. But I won’t let go until she comes. She moans and fists the back of my hair in her hand. She’s close; I can feel it. Her pussy is hotter, wetter than when I first entered her. Her flesh is tightening around me, heightening the pressure and sensation on my cock.
Her breaths are as heavy as mine. “Ethan. Oh, God. I’m about to come.”
I reverse the motion of my hips and plunge into her to the hilt.
She unravels in my arms.
I keep pumping into her, pulling back to look at her face as she soars above the clouds. She’s beautiful. So beautiful that it hurts to look at her. Hurts to know I won’t ever see her this way after tonight. Hurts to think that some other guy will have the privilege of bringing her to this in the future.
My chest tightens right along with my balls.
I don’t ease up. I don’t let my own release overtake me.
Instead, I pick up the pace, reaching deep inside of her until I can see the next orgasmic wave rush into her eyes just as the first one is subsiding. Our gazes lock as I fuck her to the edge of heaven, pure ecstasy showing in her expression.
I quicken my strokes, in and out, in and out. Faster, harder, until she shatters beneath me again, and her flesh convulsing around my cock pulls me over the edge, too.
I release her leg and brace both of my elbows on each side of her, framing her face with my hands. My fingers gently thread into her hair as our breathing slows.
One night. I made that rule a long time ago for a damn good reason, and I can’t break it now. Especially when I’m so close to my dream of taking my business to the next level. I won’t let a relationship fuck that up.
But I know in my heart of hearts that one night with Red will never be enough.
Chapter Twenty
We somehow make it to my bedroom for round two. After a mind-altering round three where Red does indeed twist herself into an Olympic-worthy pose so I can take her on the edge of my bed, we collapse into a heap.
Her cheek is resting on my chest, and she’s tracing the indentions between my six pack. With a gentle touch, I caress the wispy strands of hair over her ear, enjoying the moment. Appreciating the next few hours we have left together.
“You’re convincing me that yoga is a good workout,” I say with a smile.
“You have no idea.” She turns her mouth into my chest and kisses my pec.
“Oh, I’m starting to get a pretty good idea.” My hand strokes her cheek. “You were an awesome athlete.” My tone turns serious. “I looked up some of your gymnastics videos.”
She sighs. “I was a kid. There’s a life beyond competitive sports. It took me awhile to figure that out, but once I did, I got my life back on track.”
Only to have her douchebag ex take it away again.
“I couldn’t make myself click on the video.”
Her head tilts up to look into my eyes, and her brow is wrinkled.
“The one that shows your injury,” I clarify.
“Why not?” Her breath smooths over my scruffy five o’clock shadow.
I shrug. “I know how painful it must’ve been. Not just physically, but emotionally, too. I’ve been there.”
She places her cheek against my chest again. “I’m over it. I moved on.”
A thought crashes through me. Red dealt with the crushing blow of her injury and moved on. Maybe I haven’t. Maybe I’m still stuck in the past, and that’s why I won’t get involved with a woman beyond one night.
“I didn’t know you suffered a fate similar to mine.” Her voice is filled with compassion and empathy. “What happened?”
Obviously, she didn’t ask Zach and Sean questions about me. Maybe Red didn’t look me up on the Internet the way I did her either. Even if she did type my name into her search engine, she probably wouldn’t have found much. I suppose there’s information out there about me and my almost-career in the big leagues, but no way was it big news like an Olympic-gold hopeful suffering a career-ending injury.
“I played baseball in college. I was a jock, but I also had a brain, so I accepted a scholarship from Columbia. It was a given I was headed for the Bigs.” I pull in a weighty breath. I don’t usually talk about this, so no idea why I’m opening up to Red. “Then I tore my rotator cuff and it was over.” I snap my fingers, and a sharp sound cracks through the room. “From one day to the next that dream was gone, and I had to come up with a plan B.”
Red snakes
her leg in between mine and snuggles into my side. “And you did figure out a new plan. A damn good one from what I can tell. Your gyms are highly rated. Every local magazine and newspaper in the city has featured A Pound of Flesh at one time or another. Your exceptional entrepreneurial skills are obvious just from the short time I’ve spent in the gym with you.”
So, Red has done some research on me. Warmth slides through me, and my chest expands. Stupid, I know, but somehow it’s important to me that she was curious.
“What about you?” I ask, my hand still playing in the auburn hair by her cheek. I already know a lot about her past, her circumstances, the reason she joined the Weekend Warrior event, but not directly from her. I had a sudden yearning for her to open up to me. I want her to trust me. “What made you decide to open a yoga studio?”
She shrugs, her index finger meandering over my chest. “Yoga became my way of coping after my gymnastics career ended.”
Smart. My way of coping was to become an ambitious businessman who never agreed to long-term, romantic commitments.
“I started teaching classes in college to help pay my own way. I didn’t want my parents to shoulder the entire burden of putting me through school after investing so much into gymnastics. By the time I graduated, yoga was so popular and trendy that I figured that’s where the money was.” She sighs. “I also wanted to give something back. I’ve had a great life, so why not invest in kids the way so many invested in me when I was training for the Olympics. Once the studio started making money, I planned to open an after-school fitness program, teaching kids yoga and tumbling. I never got the chance to start the kids program. Let’s just say I’m not as natural at running a business as you are.”
My chest tightens. “What makes you say that?” I know exactly why, but I want her to tell me herself. I take her hand and thread my fingers into hers.
“I’ve done everything wrong. My studio location sucks. I’ve trusted the wrong people, too.”
The asshole ex, no doubt. “How so?”
Get Wilde (A Checkmate Inc. Novel Book 3) Page 11