Wicked Flower

by Carlene Love Flores

  “I do like you’re teasing.” Dani grinned. “So stop being mean and tell me the solution,” she said.

  So she did want him to figure this out for them. “First you tell me why you’re so eager to find out. If you’re willing to do that, then I’ll tell you.”

  Fuck, his dick was so hard right now. No surprise there. But his heart could take a break and stop scaring the shit out of him with all the pounding. He tried to explain it away with a mini-science lesson. She had him so turned on, his damn heart couldn’t stop sending blood south.

  She hemmed and hawed for a few seconds and then tightened up her posture and spit it out. “You made me feel like I was the only girl in the world this morning when everyone else made me feel like dog poo.”

  God, she was adorable. He’d guarantee there was a second half of that she was leaving off. He’d put it out there for her because he had no shame when it came to expressing his desires but before he could, she spoke up again.

  “And.” He smiled. She continued. “And fine, I’m woman enough to admit that I would hate for that to have been our only kiss.” Then her smile was gone and instead, she frowned. “I shouldn’t even be going there, but I can’t not go there. You scare me just as much as you scare yourself.”

  He swallowed his grin at her sudden change in mood, trying to match it. But he couldn’t deny what was happening between them. He waited a second, then took her hand in his, turned it palm side up and trailed his pointer finger down the thick pink crease that separated her thumb from the rest. She needed this physical release. The rush and cleansing that only sex could give a person. He knew it this morning as clearly as he knew it now.

  “You’re fired. Officially off the payroll for the next three hours.” His finger worked a shiver from her and he watched her forearm muscle contract. She didn’t pull back.

  “You put some thought into this,” she said. Her voice turned soft and he wanted to pull her in closer, not give her the chance to deny him again.

  “Mm-hmm. After that you’re rehired.”

  “So just for the next few hours…”

  She was considering it. Considering him. The dark joy of taking from her and giving to her egged him on.

  “Oh. You misunderstand. I plan to fire you for a few hours every day for the next two weeks.” Fuck please don’t let her slap him. He hated being slapped by women.

  “Unbelievable Stefan Calderon. You are wicked.”

  “I know.” Was she aware of how her smart reply turned him on?

  “Here? Now?” she asked, surely paying him back for his constant teasing and aware the ball was in her court. All she had to do was say yes.

  “It’s just a kiss,” he replied, hovering inches away from her mouth. “To start.”

  “It was almost more.”

  “Say yes and it will be more.”

  ****

  “I can’t,” she said, staring at his lips. Her throat went dry.

  “You won’t,” he said back, hovering closer, baiting her.

  “It would be wrong. Your mom would be very disappointed in me. In both of us.”

  Stefan reached over her from where he sat in her passenger side seat and turned the key in the ignition. Instantly the heater came to life, hissing and blowing air through the car. He rested his hand on her steering wheel, his arm long and curved like a protective cage keeping her where she sat. His tattooed fingers promised they’d play nicely too if she gave his lips the permission they craved.

  Inches from Stefan’s gorgeous lips, another thought crossed her mind.

  Thom, you probably would not like him. But I do. I’m not sorry. And that’s all I care about right now.

  He didn’t swallow, didn’t take a deep breath, didn’t even look her up and down, just stared into her eyes and waited. Honestly, his intensity scared the shit out of her. But she uttered the tiny yet powerful syllable anyway. It was the only thing she could say to this man. For three hours? And they weren’t under Mrs. C’s roof and technically, she wasn’t on the payroll right now? To hell with everything else.

  “Yes,” she said.

  His grin made her shudder as he pulled that full lip of his between his teeth.

  Chapter Eleven

  He couldn’t stop talking to her. He couldn’t take his lips off of hers either.

  “You’re squirming. A lot,” he said, wondering why it was such a turn on. Secretly, he stole a moment to nuzzle up against the peach fuzz of her skin. There weren’t many soft or sweet things he craved from a woman but Stefan was finding out the benefits of his newly grown facial hair. Will could call him goat all he wanted. That look, that little dip to the side of her head, when he scraped her with his whiskers, was worth it.

  “Beard,” she said so close to his mouth.

  “I thought you like.” He nudged her chin gently again with his whiskers.

  “I do.”

  Oh shit.

  He rubbed it harder until her breath caught, exciting him to the point of steel. Sex would be so good. “You do,” he said and pulled himself closer to her using the steering wheel. He found her waist with his hand and pulled her forward until he had her nearly out of her seat. He stopped immediately when he felt her tongue abandon his.

  “Okay?” he said low.

  Her breath poured out and set fire to his cock. Yes, he’d have amazing sex with her, cherish all those irresistible womanly curves. Fuck, her body was magnificent, made to do exactly what it was doing. She’d made a baby and now held it warm and protected. It was raw and sexual and he’d never been with a woman carrying a child inside her. The unknown territory excited him. The curiosity he had for her body kept him glued to her every nuance.

  How would she feel about that? Would she have really gone through with it earlier today? Would she now or was she just torturing him? Shut up with all the thinking, Stefan. But he couldn’t forget when she’d told him not to make her come. It had been strange and contradicting to the need she was giving off. He never thought this much.

  He took a deep breath in an effort to get away from his brain and sink back into her. “Dani? Sweetheart, are you okay?” Maybe once she answered him, he’d get back to being lost in all her soft supple curves and that salt he’d tasted on her skin. She’d busted her ass all day, he was sure of it, and even that thought of how hard she worked turned him on beyond normal.

  “No, I’m dying over here,” she let out. “Stop talking, I only have a couple more hours until I turn back into a toad. I can’t believe I’m doing this.” She shook her head but smiled and nibbled his lip.

  “I’m no expert, but I think you mean a princess,” he said then pulled down on her track suit zipper, only a couple inches, and laid a fingertip on her collar bone. He watched her skin dimple while he pressed down. Flesh colored lace peeked out from her bra.

  “No, you’re definitely no expert. And neither am I.” She rubbed his arm. His muscles bunched. “I think the word we’re both looking for is pumpkin.”

  The only fairy tales Stefan wanted to be tangled up in with Dani were the naughty kind. “Fine. Climb over here, pumpkin. But be careful.”

  That gearshift of hers was dangerous. If she lost her balance she could fall on top of it and land on her stomach. More questions and curiosities about her barely swollen body than his brain could currently handle throttled him into overdrive like she was his new toy. He knew his body’s tendencies and cravings when it came to being with a woman but this need to possess and claim her—and her baby for that matter which was really fucking with his head right now—brought fire to his chest like he’d never felt before. This shit was intense. He wanted to hold her. Like she was his and only his.

  He guided her clunky crawling with both his hands until she was out of her seat and hovering over him. “Don’t be shy now.” He reached down and found the lever to slide the seat back as far as it would go. “There we go.” Then he caught two handfuls of her yellow velour and pulled her into him. He kissed her while her knees settled
on the floorboard. What he’d die to do right now was feel her belly so he could gauge how pregnant she was. When she flattened the rest of her gorgeous body against him but protected her stomach, his sexual prowess wavered. Could he hurt the baby?

  Her head tilted back. “What are you thinking about?” she asked and touched his cheek. He hummed inside.

  “How can you tell I’m thinking?” Most women could care less what he was thinking about because admittedly, what he was doing to them was usually pretty damn amazing.

  “Your kiss changes. You stop nibbling,” she said.

  “One would be crazy to stop nibbling. I’ll try to stop thinking so much. You have me off my game.” He toyed with her ear between his teeth as he said it. Stefan wanted to be on it like he’d invented it.

  “I like that you’re thoughtful. Another nice surprise.”

  Fuck. Did that mean she was not going to like when he settled down and went real on her? Maybe it was one of those signs Jaxon was always talking about with his fruity karma shit. But why in the world would the universe want to put out his fire? Had he burned too many people? Fuck, he shouted in his mind. No more thinking. About anything.

  He bit her lip, she gasped, and he held it between his teeth, pulled, then licked it, slowly letting go. He then roamed his hands down the sides of her face, out and over and back in following the curvy line of her shoulders, her ribcage, her sweet small waist and those round flared hips. Fuck, he needed her naked and in a bed, sprawled out so he could see every inch of her luscious body before he took her. He let out a frustrated growl, cursed his new-found sensitivities, and found the lever to jack the seat back up.

  He gave her one more kiss and waited for her to be the one to pull out of it because even though his conscience was kicking his ass right now, he couldn’t be that good as to leave the taste of those plump lips. She pulled back when she must have felt his jaw stop working so feverishly against hers.

  Her dark brown eyes pierced him. “You stopped.”

  “Earlier you asked me not to make you any promises. Remember that?” he said.

  She nodded yes.

  “I decided I do want one from you,” he said and touched her lips with his finger.

  “Okay,” she said.

  “Promise you’ll forgive me for making you wait until we get back to the house to finish this. I need you in a bed, Dani. Stretched out under me.” Thunder boomed loudly. “And there’s that too. Another storm’s about to break.” Plus he’d seen a security car drive through the lot a couple of times now and would be all kinds of pissed if he got arrested again for public indecency. Shit, Mom would love that. Although moving to Nashville to escape that kind of embarrassment might be her only choice. Nah, not worth it. Of course now the thought of having sex with Dani outdoors slayed his last shreds of sanity. But it would have to be someplace private.

  A loud breath came gusting out from her mouth. “I guess there has to be an end to this crazy night.” She blinked several times and zipped her top back up. “But you know I can’t go back with you to do that. I’m sorry.”

  No, no, no, no, no, he silently muttered. Stop saying no to me, woman, was all he could think although he loved it just the same. “It’s going to be a very good ending you’ll be missing.” He thought of his abandoned house again. There was no good reason he wasn’t buckling her up and driving her there right now. No you idiot. There are a million good reasons. He just couldn’t come up with one with his body and mind humming and zeroed in on her right now.

  All Dani did was look down.

  She wasn’t playing with him. The truth she couldn’t deny of wanting him sat on the warm tops of her cheeks. “I’m sure it would be,” she said. “But I think if we’ve proven one thing today, it’s that you and I can’t keep our hands off each other.”

  At that, Stefan recognized regret like he’d never known. He could push her, but he wasn’t going to do that. “That is very true. Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

  Her hand went to his. “I love your Mom, Stefan.” Dani’s simple, loyal statement made him as happy as it frustrated him. It must have showed. “Her house,” she started.

  “Her rules,” Stefan finished. It was something he’d grown up hearing and a guarantee his mom would have a rule against sexing up her helper.

  “Am I still fired tomorrow?” she asked. “We could go out for that dinner.” His body exploded with hope. But that didn’t solve his most immediate problem. Stefan still wanted to get Dani back to his mom’s house tonight where she’d be safe but his desire to fuck her was just as strong. He also wouldn’t let her sit out here in her car which is what he’d pegged as her stubborn ass brilliant plan if he didn’t back off. It sucked, but he had to make her believe he’d keep things platonic between them. Funny thing about that, companionable was exactly how sex had always been between him and his partners. Somehow he didn’t think Dani would appreciate hearing that right now.

  He took her hand and prepared to do something he’d never before done in his life as a man with a woman he clearly wanted six ways to Sunday. Curling her smaller hand in his, he kissed the tops of her knuckles and tried to ignore his dick. “You come back to my mom’s, for good. I promise to respect you while we’re under her roof. And tomorrow night, I’ll take you out for the best dinner you’ve ever had.”

  He winked and loved the way she got all fidgety whenever he did that.

  Knowing the truth of his actions, though, that sucked. He was no different than his dad. The man had pretended he wasn’t leaving—told his mom everything was okay, just to string her along long enough to get her to finish her degree—then, he’d disappeared.

  Yeah, Dad had done it with honorable intentions.

  Could Stefan claim the same thing?

  Not really sure with the way his honest desire to have Dani safe at Mom’s kept getting hijacked by a vision of their two bodies connected, moving against each other, sharing. He blew out, hard and long at the mental image of their give and take.

  Once he had Dani back at his mom’s, could he be good like he’d just promised?

  The motivation was there, heavy and real.

  Stefan had to remind himself that he needed her taking care of his mom more than he needed her satisfying his hard-on.

  Shit, anyone could do that. Someone, somewhere would step up to the plate if Dani didn’t, and he’d let whoever it was in for that moment. Sex had been one of the greatest joys of his life, it didn’t have to serve any other purpose just because he was into this girl. Right? Man, just thinking like that made him feel like shit. But she’d already proven she would bolt when she felt the situation called for it. He had to take this seriously.

  What would any of this matter in two weeks when he left? Why did he care?

  Why did he have to like this woman so much?

  What sucked worse than any of this was knowing he had exactly what Dani wanted and exactly how bad she needed it. Her curiosity at what he’d feel like as her lover was written all over her pretty face. The eyes couldn’t hide that shit. If I don’t take you here and now, you’re gonna get away from me. Aren’t you? He watched her throat move when she swallowed.

  Should he try one last time? He never tried this hard.

  “Do we have a dinner deal?”

  “Okay, deal.” Her eyes lit up. “I want pizza. The good stuff. Mmmm, Mario’s Hawaiian. That would be so good. I haven’t had pizza in forever.” This girl literally glowed as she made her request and now all he could think about was feeding her this damn pizza. He knew Mario’s well. The owners had been friends with his parents back in the 80’s when they’d first opened. It was easily the best in town.

  God, you’re killing me, sweetheart.

  Chapter Twelve

  She had no idea how they did it, but they’d managed to separate themselves and drive back to the house when Stefan pointed out the nighttime security detail patrolling the store lot. The second they pulled in to the driveway, Stefan hopped out of his car and
came to her Buick’s door, opening it and helping her out. And now he had her inside his Mercedes, not the neutral zone they’d agreed on otherwise known as Gina’s house. Secretly, not being in there yet was fine with Dani. The houselights were off and she prayed Gina was asleep. She should be at this time of night, being the early riser she was.

  Her son would be Dani’s delicious death.

  She sat there in the absolute luxury of his car, teetering on her metaphorical heels. Each time Dani pushed her senses back to where they belonged—which was the real world—the tight spots she and Stefan kept getting themselves into pushed back. First, Dani forced out a long breath and then the words that had better make it into his beautiful thick head followed.

  “Inside that house, the best I can give you is friends. Nothing more than that can happen. Cannot. Happen, Stefan.”

  She hated tossing the ultimatum in his lap like that—what she wouldn’t give to be in his lap—but it wasn’t something she could afford to budge on. Dani pictured Gina’s face and how it would twist and fall when she confessed, I got myself pregnant by Thom and now I’m sleeping with your son. No matter that she felt something with Stefan that had been missing with Thom and every other guy she’d dated.

  “There are many kinds of friends, sweetheart.” His voice was still sexy as ever, laced with that I want to lick every inch of you rawness. It hazed her fears, making them seem like everyday problems people figured out all the time when it was for something so right. The deep, thick sound vibrated through her every pore. Stefan Calderon wasn’t through with her. Her heart and body cheered. He leaned closer to her and his long fingers easily circled her wrist. He made her feel feminine in a way none of her boyfriends ever had.

  Damn him for not just agreeing. He was forcing her to spell out the rules, to be the bad guy. “As soon as we walk in that door, it’s hello, how was your day, good evening,” she said, her mind absent because of how his fingers traveled, playing with the fine hairs on her arms. Was this how he played his beloved bass?