Her breath speeds a little, and the soft flutter of air against my chest makes my skin tingle.
“I opened too soon, way before I was ready. I should’ve either kept teaching classes or maybe partnered with a gym. But my grandmother had passed away and left me some money. My boyfriend…” She stops and stiffens at my side.
“Andre?” I swear, I can’t keep the sarcasm out of my voice when I think or speak that ridiculous name. Who names their kid Andre? Sounds like the name for a prissy poodle, if you ask me.
“You might need a twelve-step program for eavesdropping.” She turns her mouth into my pec and bites.
The sting is sexy and sweet, and I hiss in a breath. “Maybe six steps,” I admit with a smile. With the side of my finger under her chin, I lift her mouth to mine for a soft kiss. “Tell me the rest. I want to know.”
“Why?” Her words are a soft murmur against my lips.
Because I care. A thread of tension ripples through me. “Maybe I can help. I’m good at business, remember?”
She rolls onto her back, and my gaze drifts to her beautiful, full tits. It’s all I can do to keep listening instead of mounting her again. But I do want to know her troubles, so I resist the temptation. We’ve still got several hours before I have to take her home.
The thought of her leaving my bed…forever is like jumping into the Hudson in the middle of winter. I already feel the cold loneliness bone-deep.
“Andre talked me into investing my inheritance into the studio. Said he could help me manage the financial end of the business.” She laughs. “He did that, alright.”
“Why’d you trust him?” I turn on my side and trace the curve of her breast with my fingers.
She inhales and turns a smoky gaze on me.
Yes, I’m enjoying her body, but I’m interested in what she’s saying, too. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I really do care more than I should. I want to know why she put her faith in a douche who ended up stealing her money.
“He convinced me that he cared. I believed him.” She blows out a heavy sigh. “He also had a large portfolio of impressive clients, so I figured he was trustworthy. He definitely proved that he was a good accountant by embezzling my money right from under my nose. None of us saw it coming, especially me since I was—”
My hand closes over one plump breast, and she arches off the bed, pressing her tit into my palm. I know she’s about to say she was sleeping with him, but I don’t want to hear it out loud. Thinking it is already like a kick in the balls. Hearing it would be like a knife to the gut. So I palm her lovely flesh as a distraction.
“I know how that is,” I say.
She swallows. “How? How do you know?”
“My fiancée dumped me after my pro ball dream ended.” I move to Red’s other breast and work it until her creamy skin flushes pink. “Guess she didn’t want to stick around to see if I could make something out of my life beyond baseball.”
Red’s head falls to the side so she can look deep into my eyes. “Is that why you started your one-night rule?”
It’s not fair, but I don’t want to answer her question. Don’t want the lines I’ve drawn in the sand to get brushed away. Don’t want to start breaking the rules that are there to protect me. I’ve managed to keep the different facets of my life tucked into nice tidy boxes. It’s worked beautifully for years, why fix it if it’s not broken?
I move over her, my large frame hovering a breath from hers. My head dips, and my mouth closes over a firm nipple.
Her fingers lance into my hair, and she moans.
I release the pebbled tip and feather kisses around and under her breast. She lifts her head and strokes my earlobe with her tongue. My entire body flexes with tension, then releases. I let my hips settle between her thighs like she’s cradling me. My cock swells, pressing into her heat.
She lets out an urgent sound and lifts her hips to meet mine. A thrill skates over me, her reaction satisfying my need to pleasure her.
I blaze a trail of searing hot kisses up her neck and take her mouth. My weight rests on my elbows, and my chest presses against hers, skin to skin.
“I love the way you feel against me,” she whispers between urgent kisses. Her voice is smoky. Her touch is incredible and makes my world tilt off balance.
“Baby, you feel so damn good, and you taste even better.” I drag my lips along her jaw line. “I want to eat that sweet little pussy of yours.” I slide down and nip and suckle the soft flesh of her flat stomach.
Her hips buck against me when I circle her belly button with my tongue and delve in. “Yes,” she rasps out as I go down on her.
I slide all the way down and settle between her legs, hooking them over my shoulders and spreading them wide. I press a hot open-mouth kiss to one inner thigh, then the other. Then I start at the bottom and lick all the way up her wet center to her clit, which I take between my teeth and suckle.
She cries out and arches into me, riding my face, pulling me into her.
“God. Ethan,” she says, barely coherent.
“I haven’t stopped thinking about how you tasted when you came in my mouth at the gym.” I let my hot breath coast over her throbbing flesh, and her head tosses from side to side. “I’ve fucked you this way in my fantasies so many times.” I circle her nub with long strokes of my tongue.
She fists the hair at the back of my head.
I taunt and tease her with my breath and my tongue until she’s trembling with need, chasing the next orgasm. Her hips rock up into my mouth as her murmurs and movements grow more fevered, more frenzied. She tastes so good on my tongue, like the salty air on a warm summer day at the beach. I give her one more long, delicious lick from bottom to top, then I bury my face in her wetness.
She comes apart, which sends a bolt of lust up my spine.
The sound of her desperate cries and the feel of her trembling limbs make my body hum with need.
I crawl up her body, kissing and licking the whole way, then take her mouth so she can taste herself on my lips. She sucks her sex off my bottom lip.
I reach for another condom, but before I know it she’s pulled another trick out of her bag of pretzels, and flips me onto my back. Fast and controlled like a wrestler pinning someone to the mat.
“Damn, woman. I like it when you get domineering.”
“Really?” She’s straddling me and has my arms pinned over my head. “I figured a macho guy like you would want to be in charge sexually.”
I shake my head. “Huh-uh. Go ahead and have your way with me.”
She grabs a condom off the bedside table, tears it open, and rolls it on me.
I groan from her hand pumping down my shaft.
“It’s my turn to fuck you,” she says and sinks down onto me, her flesh already twitching around my dick. Her eyes slide shut as she says, “And then you’ll have to feed me because I’m starved.”
Shit. I forgot the party mix I found in the storage room at the bar was all she’d eaten. “I’ll make you some pasta.”
She laughs, and opens those green eyes. They sparkle as she looks down at me. “We do need to carb up after the sexathon we’ve had. And we’re nowhere close to being done yet.”
She grasps the headboard, and I cover both of her beautiful tits with my hands. They fill my palms perfectly, and I squeeze, massage, and pinch her nipples as she starts to ride me. She circles her hips with each stroke, increasing the sensation. The pressure builds at the base of my spine until I’m grinding my teeth at the pure ecstasy our bodies create when we join. It’s like nothing else I’ve ever experienced, and I don’t want to let it go. Don’t want it to end.
I want more nights with her just like this.
She picks up speed, riding me faster and harder.
My skin pebbles, fire pounding through my veins. I release her breasts to grasp her hips, grinding into her with each thrust of her hips. Her lush breasts bounce in rhythm with our thrusts, so I raise up to take one into my mouth.
&n
bsp; My hands and my mouth move possessively over her. I can’t keep lying to myself, anymore than I can deny this unbelievable chemistry between us. I want this girl for myself. I want her to be mine and mine alone.
“Ethan,” she says as her head falls back. “So good, so good, so good.”
“You’re so fucking beautiful like this,” I say. “Ride me. Come on my cock.” I find her clit with one of my thumbs and rub.
I have to bite my tongue to keep from sounding like a needy little sissy.
Fuck me, baby. Keep fucking me. Every night my cock is yours.
Jesus, I’ve never gone so deep, never felt anything this damn good.
She pounds down on me until she finds her release, splintering into another orgasm. My name tumbling through her lips when she comes drags me over the edge, and I come, too.
I’m a goner, I know it.
She collapses on top of me, her fiery hair in a messy tumble. Her face is buried in my neck, our breathing too raw and ragged to speak. I play with her hair, pressing soft kisses along the cuff of her ear until our panting subsides.
“I’ll fix you something to eat,” I murmur. “And I’ve got an interesting flavor of ice cream for dessert. Nothing close to vanilla in this house.”
She laughs. “You really do have a problem with listening in on other people’s conversations.”
I laugh along with her, tracing my fingertips down the length of her spine.
“What flavor?” she asks.
“Does it matter as long as it’s not vanilla?”
“Just curious,” she says, her breaths warm against my chest.
“Mocha java chip,” I say. “Perfect for licking off of your incredible body.” Best night ever, as far as I’m concerned. Emotion gurgles up again and gets caught in my throat. But it’s not nearly as scary this time. More time with Red, more nights with her like this is thrilling and exciting.
“Then we better start cooking.” She rolls off me and scoots to the edge of the bed. “I’ll have to go home in a few hours. Our incredible night together is almost over.” She pushes off the bed and pads to my bathroom. Her flowing hair cascades down her back in loose waves, and her incredible ass makes me nearly drool. She stops at the bathroom entrance, one hand on the doorframe, and looks at me over a shoulder. “Tomorrow we go back to being competitors.”
Chapter Twenty-One
The sky is a dark, inky purple just before daybreak as I drive Red to her apartment in Queens so she can get ready for the long day of training we have ahead of us with our teams. The streets aren’t as congested this time of the morning, but I take my time instead of shifting, swerving, and driving my Audi like a race car, the way I usually do.
I want to spend this time with her. The quiet stretching between us in the car isn’t awkward. It’s comfortable and soothing as we both sip the coffee I made and poured into travel mugs. When I place my mug in the cup holder, I mold my palm against her thigh, and she covers my hand with hers.
I didn’t want her to have to take the walk of shame this morning in her dress and high heels, so she’s wearing my clothes. A pair of Under Armour sweats, the waistband rolled down to cinch up the extra material. They hug her ankles and don’t drag the ground. She’s also wearing one of my pullover hoodies with my gym name and logo on the front, and her feet are covered in a pair of my ankle socks and flip flops that are way too big.
She’s cute dressed like this, and I’m amazed that thinking the word cute doesn’t even make me squirm.
I love seeing her in my clothes. There’s something about it that’s so damn sexy and telegraphs mine. Like she belongs to me.
The address she typed into my GPS when we first got in the car leads me right to her front door, and she reaches in the back for the gym bag I stuffed her clothes into before we left my brownstone.
“See you at the gym in a bit,” she says like that’s the end of it. No biggie. No emotional goodbyes after what we just experienced. All fucking night.
Hell, no. Not gonna happen.
I coast past her apartment, looking for a parking spot.
“Um.” She points over a shoulder. “My place was back there.”
“I know.” I slowly make my way up the street, bird-dogging the curbs for a spot I can slide my Audi into. “I’m showered. I don’t need to go back to my place, so I thought I’d wait for you to get ready and drive you to the gym.”
“Oh, you want your clothes back,” she says bluntly. “I’ll wash them tonight and bring them to the gym tomorrow.”
The muscle in my jaw twitches and tightens. “It’s not about the clothes.”
“Oh, you want to walk me to my door because of the neighborhood.” She waves a dismissive hand in the air.
Well, it’s not exactly Park Avenue now that she mentions it.
“It’s fine, Ethan. I’ll be fine. Just drop me in front of my apartment, and I’ll text you when I get inside, then you can drive away.”
I ignore her.
She blows out a breath just heavy enough to tell me she’s exasperated. “You’re overprotective.”
“What’s wrong with that?” I turn right and see a spot up ahead.
“I can take care of myself.”
I’m well aware of that. I typed my number into her phone the first night we met in case she had an emergency. In case she ever needed me.
She’s never once dialed it.
I pull up beside a Fiat, shift into reverse, and turn the wheel, slipping into the parking spot with precision accuracy. Hey, when you own a car in New York City, the little things like finding a parking place are huge victories.
I kill the engine and take the bag of clothes out of her hands. “Trust me, I don’t even remotely doubt that you’re capable of taking care of yourself. I want to spend more time with you. Is that such a bad thing?”
“Um, no.” Her gaze flits away.
“Then what?” I say.
“Ethan, you don’t owe me anything. We had a good time together, but I understood exactly what I was getting into.”
All I hear is good.
“Good? You think last night was good? Like vanilla ice cream?” I let one hand rest over the steering wheel. “Because I gotta say, Red, I really thought it was more like mocha java chip.” Especially after we both had a healthy serving while licking it off of very sensitive parts of each other’s anatomy. “Maybe I should’ve ran down to the market and gotten a pint of Cherries Jubilee or a box of Firecracker Popsicles.” I’ll admit it. My tone is kind of pouty.
She tilts her head as if to say “really?”
I lift a brow because, hell yeah, my ego is a little wounded.
“It was mouthwateringly amazing.”
One side of my mouth turns up. “Getting better.”
She leans over the console and whispers, “Staggeringly satisfying.”
“Even better.” I brush a kiss across her lips. “Keep going.”
“Better than any fantasy.” She kisses my jaw.
“Much better.” My voice is gravelly, and my dick is twitching.
“The most thrilling and passionate sex I’ve ever had.” She feathers sweet kisses across my cheek to my ear. “I’ve never had such powerful orgasms or so many in one night. Just thinking about it is getting me hot and bothered, and I want to go down on you right here.”
I growl, wind her silky hair around my hand, and pull her head back so I can look at her. “Let’s go inside, and I’ll make sure you have a few more orgasms before we go to the gym.”
Her eyes darken, and her long lashes flutter down to brush the creamy skin under them. “Last night was amazing. The Earth stopped spinning, and time froze. I seriously may have had an out-of-body experience.” She smiles because she’s busting my balls. “It was the most incredible night I’ve ever had, Ethan, but I’m not going to get all clingy and neurotic.” The playful tone is gone. Her palm cups my cheek, and her voice is so sweet that it pinches at my heart. “It’s over now, and I’m okay with that.”<
br />
I’m so fucking not okay with it.
“Red, about that rule.” We’re so close our noses brush, and I let my warm breath feather across her cheeks. “I was thinking it might be time to break it—”
She lifts a finger to my lips and silences me. “Shh,” she whispers. “Don’t make promises you may not be able to keep, Ethan. I’ve had enough of empty promises from a man.”
“I’m not your ex-boyfriend, Red, so don’t put me in a class with him.” I release her hair, my tone hard.
“I know you’re not, but there’s a reason you made that rule. If you break it and then change your mind, I don’t want to be left picking up the pieces of my life again.”
The sky is a dusty purple now as the rising sun starts to brighten the world around us.
“I’m ready to break it,” I say, and I so fucking am. This is the first girl since getting dumped seven years ago who has made me want to open up, bare my heart, and take a risk. But she’s where I was all those years ago when my fiancée walked out without warning. I remember the rawness of that wound and how long it took to heal.
Red shakes her head, her lovely green eyes filling with wetness. “I’m not.”
She opens the door and starts to climb out.
I grasp her elbow. “Red,” I say, my voice just as ragged as my heart. “Text me when you get inside. I’m not leaving until you do.”
She nods. And then she’s gone.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Red is the very definition of professional during our first team workout together. She works with her team on the obstacle course all morning, while me and my team do push and pull exercises in the weight room. Then we rotate.
Mostly, Red and I are working in different parts of the gym. Out of sight, out of mind, right? If I don’t see her constantly like I did when we were training alone, then I should be able to get her off of my mind. Since I’ve had her body eight different ways to Sunday, then I should be able to get her out of my system.
Nope. No fucking way.
I want to see her, touch her, taste her. And it’s driving me wild to know she’s the one who walked away after our one night together.
Get Wilde (A Checkmate Inc. Novel Book 3) Page 12