by Grace James
Blake’s face darkened. “That’s funny to you?”
I shook my head even as fresh giggles spilled free; before I knew it, I was laughing uncontrollably.
Blake was looking at me like I’d just kicked him in the balls. “What the fuck?!” he stormed.
“I’m – I’m sorry,” I gasped, “It’s just that…” I took a deep breath, trying to stop myself from dissolving into laughter again. “Do you have any idea how many pictures I’ve seen of you with other women?”
“That’s different!”
“Oh, really? How exactly is it different?”
“Because that guy was your damn boyfriend. None of those women meant anything –”
“What about Eva Merchant?” I interrupted.
He grimaced in distaste. “I already told you, we dated for a few weeks before I realized she was batshit crazy. The press blew that whole thing up way bigger than it ever was.” He pointed at me accusingly. “Nothing like you and Finn, apparently.”
I didn’t think there was a way of injecting so much contempt into a single word, until I heard Blake say Finn’s name.
I squinted at him. “Are you looking for an apology here?!”
The sound he made was pure frustration as he tilted his head back and scrubbed his hands over his face. “No. I’m trying to make a fucking point.” He shoved the car door open and stepped out into the desert wind, slamming it forcefully behind him. I watched him in the beams of the headlights, pacing away from the car with his hands locked together at the back of his neck, knuckles white with the pressure.
My God.
He’s jealous?
I mean, it seemed ridiculous – but what other explanation was there for the way he was acting?
I climbed out of the car and followed him across the dusty ground, stopping a few feet away from him and speaking to his broad back. “Have you finished your little hissy fit now?”
Pulling in a deep breath, he titled his head back and said on a heavy exhale, “Ha-fucking-ha. You enjoying this, Princess?”
“Little bit,” I admitted.
He dropped his hands and turned around to face me. “It’s a good thing that you and Finn the Fucktard broke up,” he said.
“You think so?” I asked sarcastically, since it was obvious that’s what he thought. “And ‘Finn the Fucktard’ – what are you, twelve?”
He shrugged. “Guy looked like a dipshit – and yeah, it’s a good thing, ‘cause if you were still with him when I got back here I guarantee he’d be breathing through a tube by now.”
I rolled my eyes at his macho bullshit.
Blake took a few strides towards me then, his eyes burning into mine. “After I saw those pictures of you with him I tried to forget you, tried to do the right thing and leave you alone – but I’m fucking done trying. I’m fucking done waiting. Took me too long to realize it, but me getting over you isn’t ever gonna happen.” His chest heaved as closed the final distance between us and grabbed my hips in his powerful hands. “You’re a fucking part of me, and nothing’s gonna change that.”
I stared up at him as my heart swelled inside my chest. The look on his face was so anguished, so genuine.
“I…I just don’t know if this can work,” I told him honestly.
There was so much history between us. So much hurt on both sides. So much broken trust – and wasn’t that what relationships were supposed to be built on? Trust?
“But do you want it to?” he asked roughly.
I opened my mouth to answer, but my fear took over and I couldn’t speak.
Blake’s eyes blazed into mine as his hands tightened their hold on me. “I’ve never wanted anything in my life as much as I want you. Just give me a chance – just one chance – to be with you again. You can call the shots, we can take it slow –”
“We had sex three days ago. Don’t you think it’s a little late for that?”
“Not if that’s what you want.” His hand came up to cup my cheek gently, but the look in his eyes didn’t dim in its intensity. “Swear to God, Princess, I’ll do anything to prove to you how serious I am about this – but I’m not a stalker. If you’re over it, then you gotta fucking tell me.”
If you don’t want him, make it clear. It won’t do either of you any good to keep fooling around if it’s not what you really want…but if you do secretly still want him, then NOT admitting it would be the thing that really makes you an idiot.
For a long moment, the only movement was our clothing rippling in the wind.
When I lifted my hands to lightly touch the stubble on his face, he clenched his jaw.
“I can’t,” I whispered.
“Can’t what?” he ground out.
“I can’t tell you I’m over it – you. I tried, but I couldn’t do it either.” He froze as I raised up onto my tiptoes to press my lips softly against his. “…this is the part where you kiss me back, Blake,” I murmured.
His breath escaped in a rush as his eyes searched mine frantically – but then I was in his arms, my legs locked around his waist and his strong biceps banded around me, holding me in place, as our mouths met in a ferocious kiss.
36
Our kiss was hot and desperate, our breaths heavy and gasping as Blake’s hand came up to tangle in the back of my hair and push my mouth against his more urgently. I tightened my legs around him, grinding into him. He let out a guttural growl and I felt the already growing hardness in his jeans as he rolled his hips into me.
He broke the kiss first, tugging my head back a little and dropping his mouth to my neck where he nibbled and sucked his way down to my collar bone. My hands clenched on his shoulders in anticipation as he lifted me further up his body while his mouth skimmed downwards over the fabric of my shirt until his teeth grazed over my breast. He bit just hard enough for me to feel the ache through my clothing.
I gasped, arching against him – but I needed more…I needed him.
“Put me down,” I told him, unlinking my legs from around his waist.
He did what I asked, but a slight frown crossed his face. “Princess, we don’t have to –”
His words stopped abruptly when my hands went to my waistband and I started to unbutton my jeans and slide them down over my hips.
As soon as Blake saw what I was doing he descended on me, batting my hands away and taking over. He went down on one knee in front of me, roughly tugging my jeans the rest of the way down then holding me up as I stepped out of them and my shoes.
The coarse ground was uncomfortable on my bare feet and the cool wind sent goose pimples up my legs, but I didn’t care. I was too far gone.
I reached towards my panties – but Blake’s hands were faster. His eyes glinted hungrily in the glow of the Mustang’s headlights as he grabbed the flimsy material and jerked so that they came apart in his hands.
I let out a little gasp of arousal, which he apparently took as a protest because he muttered, “I’ll buy you more.”
Hooking his hand behind the knee of my left leg, he threw it up over his shoulder, then steadied me with both hands cupping my hips. He moved his head forwards to kiss the inside of my thighs alternately as he made his way upwards.
When his tongue lightly skimmed my clit before sliding through my folds, I moaned and dug my hands into his hair, pressing him harder against me. He dipped his tongue inside of me and swirled and swirled, before dragging it out again and licking back through my wetness to tease and suck my pulsing clit.
My hands dug harder into his hair; my hips pushed forwards. “Ohhhhh,” I moaned, my body starting to tremble. “Oh…my…God.”
Sliding his left arm around my waist to hold me steady, he skimmed his right hand down until it reached my wet heat. He pushed his fingers inside me, letting out a rumbling groan as my inner muscles immediately clenched around them.
That sexy noise sent shockwaves through my core and I felt myself clamp tight around his fingers again.
Then he started to rock his hand, curl
ing his fingers just right –
I moaned his name as my body went rigid. Tingles shot through me, making my fingers and toes go numb as I came hard on his hand. My head dropped forwards as a final, strangled whimper escaped my lips.
When my eyes flickered open, I saw that Blake was looking up at me with something like wonder. Holding my gaze, he withdrew his fingers from me – making me whimper again – and put them into his mouth to the knuckle, tasting me.
None of the other guys I’d been with had ever done that before. It was kind of hot and shocking all at once. My already flushed cheeks got hotter. “Blake,” I gasped softly.
“What?” he asked, grinning roguishly. “You’re delicious.” He stood up, bringing his lips to mine and kissing me deeply. I could taste myself on him, and for some reason that just made me want him all the more.
Closing my eyes, I melted into the kiss – but a second later, I felt his hands grab me under my arms. I let out a shriek when he tossed me high into the air like I weighed nothing. He caught me easily as I started to come back down, pulling me against him so that I had no choice but to wrap my legs around him. I burst into a surprised laugh which turned into a moan when his hand splayed across my ass – and then moved slightly, his fingers rubbing across my drenched lower lips.
He used his other hand to shove my shirt up to expose my white, lace bra before banding his arm around me and jerking me tighter against him so that my breasts were within reach of his mouth. He went for my right nipple first, sucking and nibbling through the material.
“Blake, please,” I moaned, gripping the back of his neck tightly.
“Shit, you’re so fucking hot I can’t stand it,” he rasped as one thick finger pushed through my folds. “You want me deep in here?”
“Yes…”
He shifted his hold on me so that he had one hand free to fumble his cock from his jeans; then I felt the hot crown nudge at my entrance. “I swear I’m clean. I wanna feel you –”
“Then no condom,” I said instantly, tightening my legs around him, trying to coax him inside.
He gripped my ass harder and rolled his hips under me so that the tip of his shaft entered me maybe an inch, just enough to drive me crazy.
Then he stopped dead, his eyes searching mine. “You sure?”
“Yes. I’m on the pill.”
He didn’t need to be told twice. His jaw locked as he worked his cock steadily inside of me, going in just an inch or two at a time before pulling back and then thrusting in a little deeper. He did it over and over, feeding me a little more each time. I was gasping and moaning with every thrust as he stretched me and filled me until his whole shaft was buried to the hilt.
Then he paused for a moment, maybe giving me time to adjust – but I didn’t want it. Didn’t need it.
I squeezed my legs around him even tighter, writhing in his hands. “Don’t stop,” I breathed. “I thought you said I was made to take your cock?”
That was it – I saw the feverish need inside him spill over.
He dug his fingers into the flesh of my ass, holding me suspended in the air as he pulled out almost all the way…
Then he ploughed his cock up inside me at the same time as he flexed his biceps and slammed me down on to him.
Holy shit!
It was fast and furious and intense. Almost too intense. He bottomed out inside of me relentlessly, powered into me repeatedly, owned me completely. All I could do was cling to him as he plunged me into oblivion. My inner walls crushed him like a vise, my whole body went rigid as my orgasm barreled through me.
“That’s it, baby,” he groaned. “Come all over my dick.”
I was still riding the tail end of my orgasm as he stumbled backwards towards the Mustang. The backs of his knees hit the front bumper and he kind of used it as support to thrust his hips upwards, ramming into me in a quick staccato beat – one – two – three – four – before he clutched me tight against him as his ass hit the hood; his head dropped forwards and he roared his release into my neck.
We were panting, sweaty and breathless, holding on to each other so tight I wasn’t sure where he ended and I began.
For a long time, we stayed that way, wrapped up together on the hood of his car, with the city of Las Vegas spread out below us.
37
When I woke up the next morning, it took me a second to figure out why I couldn’t move. Then I became aware of a thick band around my waist and registered the slow puffs of breath skimming across my hair. I turned my head, needing to see it to believe it, and there he was.
Blake was lying on his side; his huge, tatted body curled around mine, spooning me as he slept.
Images of the night before span through my brain like a kaleidoscope of horny, high resolution snap shots. If Blake hadn’t been wrapped around me like a tree monkey, I would have sworn it was all an ex-rated dream. God knows I’d had enough of them over the years.
I bit my lip as I stared at him; crazy-happiness and sensible-wariness were warring inside of me. I honestly didn’t regret a thing, but the clarity of the ‘morning after’ reminded me who I was dealing with.
The man who had destroyed me when he left.
Memories of that time surfaced in my mind; the hopelessness I felt back then had been so consuming I didn’t know how I would ever find a way out of it. But I had. Slowly. The idea of ending up back there, of having to do all of that healing again, filled me with panic.
Needing some time to regroup, I started to wriggle carefully out of Blake’s arms so as not to disturb him, intending to go to the bathroom and wash up. I glanced across at the clock on the microwave in my kitchen as I did so, noticing it was almost noon.
Damn. I really need to get moving.
In just over an hour, I was supposed to open The Academy for a Jazz Afternoon – a kind of mini indoor festival arranged by a few local jazz bands to raise money for one of the homeless shelters in the city.
As I slid to the edge of the bed, I felt an arm hook around my waist and haul me backwards. Blake let out a sleepy grumble and nuzzled his face into the back of my neck while his arms locked tightly around me again. His voice was low with morning grittiness when he mumbled, “Where you goin’?”
I couldn’t help melting back against him as his heat surrounded me. “To take a shower,” I said on a sigh. “I have to get to work.”
“Fuck, no. Stay there.”
I smiled as I turned in his arms to face him. “Sorry, I really need to go.” I kissed the underside of his jaw. “But you can stay here and sleep if you want.”
His eyes cracked open a little as he squinted at me. “You seriously expect me to just let you go?”
“Well, yeah. I have bands showing up in less than an hour.”
“Wrong answer,” he said, trailing his lips over my neck and up to flick his tongue over the sensitive spot just behind my ear.
“Blake…” I threaded my hand in his hair and tried to tug him back, but my action had the opposite effect and he started to nibble my neck, working downwards towards my collar bone. I shivered as my body started to come alive. I tried not to sound breathy when I said, “We can’t.”
He just grunted dismissively as his hand drifted up over my stomach to tease the bottom of my breasts.
I tried again. “Blake?”
“Mm?” He cupped my breast in his hand and closed his mouth around my nipple, sucking it and flicking it with his tongue.
Involuntarily, I arched towards him and felt his hardening cock brush against my thigh as I did so. Thoughts of work were starting to fly out of the window as I reached down and teased my fingertips along his hot length –
The chime of the alarm on my cell snapped my mind back to my obligations. I hated it, but… “Blake, I really have to go.”
He looked up at me, his lips releasing my swollen nipple. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. I’m sorry.”
He must have recognized my resolve because when I gently pushed agains
t his shoulder he begrudgingly loosened his grip on me and flopped onto his back, throwing his forearm over his eyes as he muttered, “Son of a bitch.”
“Sorry,” I said again as I forced myself up out of bed.
“Not as sorry as I am, Princess.”
I stood there for a few seconds, staring at his tanned and thickly muscled torso, wishing so bad that I could just crawl back in bed with him.
Maybe I could be a little late for work?
I was just about to take a step back toward him when he said, “If you come close enough for me to grab, you’re not getting out of this bed again ‘til tomorrow.”
I bit my lip hard as I turned towards the bathroom, wishing for the first time that I wasn’t quite so committed to my job.
38
When I walked back into the main room of my apartment after my shower, Blake was leaning against the kitchen counter talking on his cell. I paused, thinking that I could’ve stood there all day looking at him standing there like that, wearing only his jeans that hung low on his hips under the rows of his cut-from-oak abs.
As soon as he saw me, he shot me a wink followed by a smirk when he saw the way I was looking at him. “…yeah, man, that’s what I’m asking,” he said into the phone as his eyes dropped from my face to the swell of my breasts which were covered only by a towel.
When I got closer to him, I realized that he was actually talking on my phone, not his. I frowned questioningly and his smirk widened before he spoke again, “So you’ll be there? . . . Great . . . Knew I could count on you, man . . . Thanks . . . Yeah . . . You, too. Bye.” He hung up and sauntered over to me, handing me my phone, looking smug, even for him.
“What are you up to?” I asked suspiciously. “And how did you unlock this?”
“Your password’s your birthday – easy to guess. And I just got you the day off work.”
“What? How?!”
“I called Harvey and explained what the deal is. He’s covering or whatever it’s called when the place is yours anyway – stepping up, maybe?” He shrugged. “Whatever. Now you don’t have to go to work.” He reached out, grabbed two handfuls of my ass through my towel and pulled me against him. “Got you to myself all day.”