Manster

by Cari Quinn

  The problem was, she wouldn’t either. And it would be a mistake to sleep with her this soon. Well, there wouldn’t be any sleep. I also wasn’t sure I had the fortitude to play it slow either.

  I’d been wound up about her for too many days in a row. Usually when a woman was out of sight, I tended to put her in a box. Work and play had very different compartments in my life.

  Piper Lockwood couldn’t be categorized and that made her very interesting on a level I wasn’t prepared for.

  “Take the next exit.” Her voice was husky and she’d pulled her hand away from me.

  Right now, I needed the distance, so I didn’t resume our war of wills.

  For the next few minutes, the only conversation was her giving me directions to her place. The winding streets of West Hollywood opened up into a residential area.

  The typical tight parking and long alleyways reminded me of many of the parties I’d gone to over the years. How the hell could she afford a place here?

  “You’ll have to find a spot to park, but that’s me there. The white with the black painted windows.”

  “Are pussies that profitable, kitten?”

  She laughed. “I do all right.” But she didn’t elaborate further.

  I parked and circled the front of the Jeep to open the door for her. The night was quiet. Houses on her street were half dark. It wasn’t that late, but people were hunkered down for the evening to watch television or do whatever it was the normal types did.

  I grabbed our bags and wine before following her onto the sidewalk. Most of the houses had gates or some sort of security. The stark white stone wall and jet black door of her place was striking. She dug out her keys and I was relieved to see the security panel on the inside of her door.

  “Alexa, lights on.”

  A modulated voice answered her then a series of lights came on in the entryway and kitchen. The small foyer was rounded with crazy glass tiles in a mosaic pattern leading into a very modern kitchen in more of the stark black and white. I set down the bags and wine and followed her through the doorway into a living room and small dining room.

  The house wasn’t traditional in the least. A rounded stone cove made up the small dining area while the rest of the room opened up to huge black French doors on either side of a massive fireplace. “Quite the place.”

  “Pretty great, isn’t it? A Hollywood set designer built up the rooms into pure works of art. He and his wife ended up on a long-term project in Reykjavik of all places. I got a ridiculous deal.”

  “As in Iceland?”

  She grinned up at me. “One and the same. Some Netflix show that was going to take more than a year to film. So they needed to sell fast and I’d just sold one of my cat enclosures.” I must have given her a puzzled look because she shrugged. “Like those carpeted walls in my cafe.”

  “Right. The ultimate cat furniture.”

  She laughed. “Exactly. Well, I sold a big unit and had some disposable cash for a down payment. It was one of those wild moments of perfect timing and love at first sight.”

  I whistled. “Must have been some serious cat furniture. Even a short sale in this neighborhood is pretty intense.”

  She shrugged again before she tossed her keys in a bowl in the shape of a cat with a winding ceramic tail that peeked out of a jade plant. At least I was pretty sure it was a jade plant. It looked like one my sister had.

  More cat features dotted the room. A large brass cat sat on the mantel with a tail hanging down. A trailing vine wrapped around the tail and seemed to twitch like the felines who dominated her life. Behind the cat was a long planter which held the winding ivy that draped along the entire shelf. More fat pots filled corners overflowing with greenery. A misshaped tree seemed to climb out of a violet-colored pot the size of my kick drum. Large tin prints of various desert landscapes filled the walls.

  The place was eclectic and homey. It screamed Piper. Not too feminine, not too fussy, but individual in a way I rarely saw in this town. People were more worried about collecting the newest fad designer object than having any personality in their living space.

  My stomach roared loud enough that she laughed. “I’m starving.”

  “You’re a big guy. Walking must burn half the calories I do in a thirty-minute workout.”

  “Not quite.”

  “Let’s get you fed then.” She nodded and disappeared back into the kitchen.

  “Want me to help?”

  “No. You can just relax. I’m going to zap the food.”

  “I’m sure Magda would love that,” I called through the opening between the kitchen and living room.

  She peeked around the shelf. “Unless you want to put it into the oven to bake, I’m pretty sure you’ll live. Unless you’re that much of a—”

  “That’s fine.”

  She disappeared again and a groan came through the doorway. “Oh, man. This is wrong.”

  I made my way back into the kitchen and the unmistakable scent of Magda’s balsamic chicken made my stomach roar.

  She peered into the neck of the wine bottle. “Cork.”

  “Generally what one finds in a bottle of wine.”

  “Not this girl.”

  I winced. “Screw cap wine isn’t wine. It’s punch.”

  “Snob.”

  “About wine? Definitely. Whiskey? Most assuredly.”

  She made a full rotation and dug into drawers. “Whiskey I’ve got. Wine, not so much.”

  “One out of two will do. What are you doing?”

  “Cork means I need to find my actual corkscrew. I think I got one as a housewarming present from Tabs, but it was like a year ago.” She slammed two more drawers.

  I pulled out my Swiss Army knife. “Got it.”

  “Perfect.” She pushed the bottle over to me. “I’ll have this plated in five minutes. Possibly without me eating every last mozzarella medallion. Maybe.”

  I moved behind her and slipped my hand under her arm for one of the tomatoes. “Good thing I like the tomatoes.”

  She stilled, but instead of moving away from me like she’d done all night, she eased back a little. Her perfect ass brushed along my upper thighs. I took a deep breath.

  Citrus wafted up from her hair and seemed to mix with the heat from her body. We stayed like that for a few minutes, companionably eating from the tray of Caprese salad.

  The fresh basil and tang of the rich homemade balsamic dressing made my mouth water for each bite. She turned and held a little mozzarella ball out for me to take.

  My lips brushed over her fingers as she laid it on my tongue. The bright lights of the kitchen gave everything away. Wide eyes and the quick intake of breath as I took more of the food that she offered.

  When I returned the favor, she licked her lips before taking a deep red plum tomato. The syrup dripped onto her lips, but before she could catch it, I swiped the pad of my thumb across her lower lip and licked it off.

  She watched me with huge eyes. The deep brown went nearly black as she focused on my mouth. I wanted to lean down and kiss her, but something held me back.

  I wanted to taste the tartness on her tongue. I wanted to feel her sigh into my mouth.

  I wanted all of it way too much.

  Instead I lifted another piece of tomato into the air and laughed as I had to drop the whole thing into my mouth or risk dropping it onto the tiles. And just like that, the trance was broken.

  I immediately wished I hadn’t gone for the funny moment. She slipped away to the microwave and pulled out two plates. “Let’s take this into the dining room.”

  I nodded and followed her with the bottle of wine and two glasses she’d pulled out. We polished off the food and half the bottle of wine with easy conversation. Nothing too personal. She seemed to need to step back, and so did I. In fact, it would have probably been smarter if I’d left immediately after we pushed our plates away.

  What I did instead? I gathered the plates, but she took them from me before I could help her
into the kitchen.

  “Why don’t you go sit down?” She nodded to the large leather couch against the half wall bisecting the living room and kitchen.

  I nodded and took our glasses into the living room. Rather than sitting, I moved to the fireplace and found the small remote. The gas fireplace flared to life.

  Following instinct, I turned off the overhead chandelier in the little eating nook, leaving only the whitewashed glow of the kitchen light and firelight. The clink of silverware and ceramic was followed by running water as she cleaned up.

  I opened one of the back doors to let in the cooling air to combat the heat from the fire. Tree frogs chirped and the endless city noise drifted in with a gust of wind.

  The vines dripping off her mantel fluttered and the flames flickered behind a glass panel. The light from the kitchen went out and there was nothing left but dancing gold in the little room.

  Piper came back in, her shoes missing. Some sort of shiny dark color sparkled from her toenails.

  There was something intimate about a woman’s bare feet. She’d lost an inch without her shoes and seemed even smaller than before. The flash of a toe ring made my dick twitch in reaction. Her feet slapped lightly on the rustic hardwood floor, then she reached for the lamp beside the couch.

  “Leave it.”

  She curled her fingers into her palm as she turned to face me. “Another lesson then?”

  I hated to call them lessons. I couldn’t even put my finger on why it pissed me off, but it did. I drew her across the room to the French doors. I settled her in front of me, facing out into her little courtyard. She shivered as I brushed her hair back over her shoulder. I leaned down and brushed my nose along the shell of her ear. “What do you want, Piper?”

  “Kitten.”

  I smiled against her neck. “I thought you hated that name.”

  “I do. I did.”

  I nuzzled her neck. “Did?”

  She tilted her head with a groan. “I should hate it. I’m supposed to hate it. It could be your name for any girl.” Her voice was barely a murmur at the end.

  “I don’t call anyone else kitten.”

  She swayed back against me. “That’s nice.”

  I laughed. “Nice, huh?” I slid my arm around her waist and tucked my thumb into her front pocket as if to anchor her to me. I sipped from her throat, trailing my lips down to the soft stretch of skin between neck and shoulder. I used my teeth to push aside the purple strap under her off-the-shoulder shirt.

  “Yeah.” Her voice was more sigh. “Is this when you seduce me now?”

  “No, kitten. This is just a little more touching.”

  She dropped her head forward and I took advantage of the nape of her neck. I shoved all the silky chocolate hair over her shoulder and nipped at her creamy exposed flesh. She trembled. “Oh, God.”

  “No one has ever done this? Just teased you?”

  “No.”

  The simple reply made my chest tighten. No one had ever taken the time to learn what she liked? Even a fumbling teen usually had a few good moves mixed with the awkward ones.

  “Your ex was a douche.”

  She laughed then hissed in a breath as I found her pulse and sucked lightly at her neck. “No, not a douche. I don’t date jerks. Just a little clueless.”

  “If he didn’t take the time to touch you, to make you tremble, then he was a douche.”

  “You make me tremble all the time.”

  “Don’t make that kind of admission, kitten. I’m not a good man. I’ll use it to my advantage every time.”

  “Then maybe I need to try something different. Try someone I wouldn’t normally choose to be in my life.”

  The words stung, even though I knew she hadn’t meant them to. But she was right. I wasn’t the kind of guy for her. Not for the long haul. But I could be what she needed here. I could give her this.

  “Then let’s see how you do on the final exam for lesson one.” I drew her back into the darkness of her living room. Into the firelight that kissed her cheeks and made her dark eyes shine.

  I turned her so I blocked the night breeze and the glow from the neighbors’ houses with my shoulders as I slowly moved her into the living room. When she stumbled a little, I righted her with an arm around her waist. I rounded the coffee table in front of her couch and nudged it aside with my knee.

  I went for the hem of her stretchy shirt, rolling it up over her mouthwatering hips and surprisingly toned midsection. I moved just enough to get the licks of firelight to show me the way to touch her.

  “Is this all right?”

  She swallowed hard, but nodded.

  “Say the words. I need to know you want this or I’m gone. I don’t want you to regret any of this.”

  She lifted her chin and shook her hair back before she whipped the shirt over her head. “I’m so sure.”

  It was too dark to see details. But the dark material of her bra molded over her more than a handful breasts. Jesus, fuck. Maybe I wasn’t the one who was ready for this.

  She reached behind and unhooked her bra and all the spit in my mouth dried up. She was flawless. High, tight nipples urged me closer. The bottom curve of her tits were heavy and full as they swayed from her quick strip.

  She’d be a dream riding over me.

  My dick was definitely on board with the plan. My jeans were suddenly far tighter than they’d been a few minutes ago. My interest level in women had been at an all-time low just recently, but five minutes with Piper and I was as hard as a teen who couldn’t control his raging boners.

  Luckily, I wasn’t a teen.

  And maintaining control was one of the things I did best. God help me.

  “Cup your breasts, kitten.”

  “What?”

  She’d kept her shoulders back and proud after she stripped, but now she hunched in and crossed her arms over her waist.

  “You don’t want me to take points off from your final grade, do you?”

  Those was exactly the right words. Her competitive nature wouldn’t allow her to lose. And playing on that was going to end me.

  I didn’t like to lose either.

  She dropped her arms to her sides, her fingers fisting before she shook them out to relax against her thighs.

  “You want to learn what men want? This is how you do it.”

  “If they wanted a stripper, then they should date a stripper.”

  I laughed. “No. You need to be comfortable with yourself. When you are, your confidence seduces men. Every fucking time.”

  “Oh.” She tilted her head. “I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

  She brought one hand to the wrist of her other arm and glided up her forearm to the soft skin inside of her elbow.

  “What do you feel?”

  “That my skin is softer than I thought. All I do is work and take quick showers. You get ready fast when you work for yourself because there aren’t enough hours in the day.” She coasted up her arm to her shoulder and along her collarbone. She hummed out a light groan. “I started using this essential oil Tabs gave me. I’m always working with wood and all the sawdust made me itchy.” She trailed her fingers over the slope of her breast to the tip. “I didn’t believe her when she said to use it everywhere.” She closed her eyes and brought her other hand up so she could cup both. “I didn’t realize it worked.”

  Her commentary was so off the cuff. So honest. And that made it worse.

  She had no idea of her appeal. At all.

  Her fingers slid down to her waist and she undid her jeans before I could tell her to stop. A little breast action was one thing, but touching all of her?

  No, I couldn’t withstand that. No how.

  She kicked off her jeans leaving just a pair of white cotton bikini underwear. Not even a thong. Just white cotton with…

  I looked closer.

  Cat drawings on them.

  Fuck me.

  Her hand coasted lower on her belly and beneath the elastic that top
ped her panties. I stepped closer to her and braceleted her wrist. “Not so fast.”

  She tipped up her head. “Did I do something wrong? Not on the test?”

  She was all skin and curves and the heady scent of lemons and whatever it was that was in that essential oil she was talking about. That was the scent I couldn’t track.

  Now that I knew it was something she slicked all over herself it made it ten times worse. And I really wanted to be the one to help her with the application.

  I was a horny fuck. And that horny fuck needed to get under control. Nothing happening tonight was about me.

  I was so not a selfless kind of man.

  She swayed forward and the tips of her breast brushed over my dress shirt. “Are we moving on to the essay portion?”

  “God, kitten. You don’t even know what you’re saying.”

  She tipped her head and a heavy fall of her hair fell forward and curled around her breast. “You said I needed to learn what I like.”

  “No, I said you needed to figure out what pleased you.”

  “Seeing what’s under this shirt would help.” She skimmed a short dark nail over the buttons just above the V of my vest. “So buttoned up all the time. I liked when you were wearing the undershirt thing. The tank one that was so tight.”

  I groaned as she flicked open one of my buttons.

  “Are you wearing one now?”

  I pulled her hand away. “It’s not about me tonight.” I led her back to the couch. “In fact, let’s just take away that temptation.”

  I sat down and pulled her onto my lap. If I couldn’t see all her curves, then maybe I could make it through this final exam.

  Maybe.

  I opened my legs and she slid down to the cushions with a little yelp. “What is this going to accomplish?”

  Keeping my sanity.

  But I didn’t say that out loud.

  “We’re going to find out what you like.”

  “Here?”

  “It’s dark. Pretend I’m not here.”

  “You’re two hundred and what? Thirty?”

  I grunted in response.

  “Two hundred and thirty pounds of man on my couch, behind me no less. And I’m supposed to forget you’re here?” She squirmed against me and I stilled her hips.