All In

by JC Szot

  Chapter Thirty

  Mick sat outside, rocking back in a plastic chair. He stared out into the parking lot, hypnotized with every droplet as it crashed into the puddles.

  Tomorrow, when the weather let up, he’d go and try to reason with Cara. His desperation was becoming the cure. He would tell her everything.

  A figure emerged through the hedgerow. Mick leaned forward, his pulse skipping out of sync.

  He drank her in as she slowly walked through the rain. Pelts of water marked the cotton of her yellow tank top, the fibers drinking it in. His eyes traveled over her. He fidgeted in his chair, returning all four legs to the concrete. His eyes caught a thin strip of bare flesh between the hem of her tank top and the button of her jeans.

  Oh, fuck.

  He stood and left the protective canopy, his steps hurried. Cool, spring rain washed his face, dripping down his lips, his body now raging with need. Cara’s dark-brown eyes gleamed like the surface of fine finished wood.

  Cara’s gaze fastened on him, causing him to slow his steps. Mick forcefully swallowed past a rising lump in his throat, trying to gain his composure. Strands of her hair were soaked in the storm that raged over them. The tendrils stuck to her cheek.

  Cara brushed them away quickly. Her eyes lowered into a squint that was direct and unwavering. The closer they got, the slower their steps.

  Mick could now hear her breath, see it rising in her chest. The soft flesh there was drenched with moisture. He wanted to lick the rainwater off her skin. Her nipples pressed through the damp cotton of a tank top that clung to her breasts. The urge to touch her rose. His fingers curled into his damp palms. Mick yanked back on the reins of his love and lust, two emotions that were colliding, braiding together with a certainty that felt like a drug he hoped would never wear off. He needed to speak first. She had beaten him to the punch with her approach. He would now say the words.

  They stopped, standing inches away. Cara thrust her hands into her back pockets, her stance somewhat defiant.

  Mick’s hands itched to touch her. His eyes dropped to her mouth. Her lower lip quivered slightly. Water collected in her lashes, turning them into fine points.

  “I’m so sorry,” Mick rasped, clearing his throat. He noted his voice, how faint it was. He reached deeper, yanking it out of him, needing to convey his feelings. Everything depended on it. “What happened … it wasn’t how I planned things.”

  Her flat tone mirrored a warning. He needed to tread carefully.

  “So it was all a mistake?” She stepped back.

  Mick reached for her, gripping her arm.

  Cara’s eyes lowered to his hand, her brows raised.

  Mick took a breath, released her, and stepped back. “No.” He paused, checking his words and trying to breathe. Being with you, us—” He faltered with his words. “It was the only thing that’s ever happened to me that had any promise. I’ve been wishing for it all—and with you—my entire damn life,” Mick said. His tone sharpened as the words continued to come.

  He watched her eyes as they processed his declaration.

  “You?” Cara’s gaze widened. “I mean…”

  “Yeah,” Mick nodded. He gnawed on the inside of his cheek. “I love you, Cara. Christ.” He shook his head, looking away. He quickly rerouted his eyes back to her, her features wide with shock. “I’ve loved you forever. Puppy love that turned into a crush that refused to leave me alone. The older I got, the harder it became. Please. It’s the truth. I had trouble saying it, wasn’t quite sure how to. So I looked to someone else’s words and actions,” Mick explained. His words ran together, riding on anxious and strenuous breaths.

  Cara’s hand rose, cupping his cheek.

  “Wow.” Her mouth opened, her response stalled. “I don’t know what to say. I just…”

  “Let’s try to figure that out together, without someone else’s help. What happened between us, when we were together, I meant it all. Anything I might’ve said… I was with you and no one else—no characters, just me and you. I was afraid. You’re everything. What we did… I want that with you again, and so much more,” Mick said, his confession choked with emotion. His heart raced inside a chest that felt bolted down. “Without you, there’s nothing. I might as well go back home. I know for you it seems we’re just getting started, but I got started with you a long time ago … in here.” Mick laid a hand on his heart, his pulse thudding into his palm. “I was just unsure of myself when it finally became a reality.”

  Her facial expressions changed as he spoke through the curtain of rain that poured between them. Mick could now read and give a voice to the barrage of different emotions, ones he’d felt and battled virtually his entire life.

  “No one’s going anywhere. We won’t even call where we came from home. Home is now here,” Cara said, wiping the rain from her face. “We’re staying right here.”

  ****

  Her entire body shook with the intention of what would come next. Cara grabbed Mick’s hand and pulled him into his room, out of the rain. She licked the water from her lips, the air now humid and muggy.

  Cara spun him around. Mick’s eyes widened, his lips parted and full.

  “Are you saying you love me?” she asked, pushing through years of reservations. Cara needed him to reiterate it one more time.

  “Yes. God yes,” Mick said breathlessly. “I don’t expect you—”

  Cara shoved him into the wall, pressing her body up against his. Their soggy clothes and the heat of their bodies turned the air between them tropical. His cock dug into her belly, snaked behind his zipper. His eyes darted between hers, his brows pulling together.

  “There’s fiction, and then there’s reality,” Cara told him, grinding her hips into his. Mick nodded quickly, his facial expression puzzled. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a good dose of reality right about now,” Cara told him. The statement flew from her mouth, her words more forceful than she was accustomed to.

  Mick’s facial expressions had Cara struggling to contain her laughter. He looked nervous, stunned, and uncertain, all at the same time. At this moment, Cara felt unusually comfortable and ready to let loose and just be.

  “You want a little dose of our reality, then?” Mick asked, his tone hushed. His mouth slowly curved into a smile, pushing through a panic that had surprised her.

  “Yes. Don’t you?” she asked, jutting a hip.

  “Fuck, yes! Bring it on,” Mick growled.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Damp clothes stuck to hot skin, making the baring of their flesh difficult. Their hands pawed at one another. Mick’s hand ran across the wall, searching for the switch to turn on the air. The vents kicked on, filling the silent room with a steady hum.

  As Cara stepped back, Mick felt the floor beneath his feet give way. The sight of her bared breasts had his mouth dry with thirst. Pert nipples stiffened in the now cooler air. She pulled the scrunchie out of her hair, the strands still wet and slithering over her shoulders.

  His cock filled, aching to explode. Mick grabbed it, squeezing, attempting to tame the stiff stalk. When she fell to her knees, a whimpering moan escaped from his throat.

  “Oh, man,” he gasped.

  Her palms trailed over his skin, exploring and petting. Fingers pried his legs apart and stroked over his sac.

  “Oh… Lord help me,” he sighed, leaning his head against the wall. The drifting air of her hot breaths blew over his cock. Her close presence thrilled him. Mick reveled in the tactile benefits of her touch as the air from her lungs puffed on his skin. The light sweep of a warm and wet tongue had him sobbing out loud.

  “Cara… Jesus.” He breathed. His head felt swollen, about to burst with this dose of reality she fed him.

  “Talk me through it,” she whispered. Mick felt her gaze blaze a trail up and over his body. He couldn’t look down at her or he’d lose it. He’d already reached climatic heights and she’d barely gotten started.

  “I love you.” His words
rode on an excited breath. “You’re so beautiful, so perfect, everything I’ve wanted and didn’t think I’d ever have.” His body flinched.

  Her mouth was on him, drawing him into a deep tunnel of molten heat.

  “Yes,” he hissed. Mick inhaled, drawing in her honeyed fragrance that filled the air around him. Her hands roamed, gripping his thighs tight. She was taking control now, holding him right where she wanted him. Her tongue slid up his dick in a teasing, tantalizing slip and slide. One hand moved to his groin, cupping and coddling his balls, while the other wandered, caressing the cheek of his ass. She was working him from all sides.

  Mick felt his eyes cross behind his lids. His belly fluttered as the wave of his desire began to surge fast. Her lips hugged his cock, pulling him into the greater depths of her, where he wanted to be. His balls started to tingle, his orgasm nearing the edge. He dropped his hands onto her head, feeling for her shoulders. He yanked her to her feet.

  She studied him through desire-laden eyes, her lips glossed with him.

  “I want a piece of me inside you … right now,” he said hoarsely. She’d taken his voice away, crippling him with a longing that knew no bounds.

  She stepped back, glancing over her shoulder to align her steps with the bed. Cara grabbed a corner of the bedspread and jerked it back.

  She reclined back, laying her body out before him, passion in her eyes.

  ****

  She wanted more of him. She’d tasted Mick in her mouth, his unique, salted flavor. She’d licked the hard, hot flesh of him. All boundaries had now been crossed, and she wanted nothing more than to continue to roam and explore every detailed, hard crevice of him.

  She opened her legs, watching him as he rose over her. His hazel eyes burned into her, the color darkening like a shaded forest. His palm landed on her belly, slowly inching its way south. His touch trickled over her flesh.

  “Take me,” she whispered. “Make me all yours.”

  One hand gripped her ankle, raising her leg. Muscles stretched. The burn was delicious.

  Cara tilted her hips, her body crying for all of his.

  Mick’s pelvis rested on hers. Their heart rates joined, becoming erratic. His hand rested near her ear, his elbow locked. His other hand lifted her leg higher, spreading her as wide as her body would allow.

  Cara’s hand found his cock, the slit soaked and slick. The hard head was at her entrance, ready to slide inside her. The anticipation made her delirious.

  “That’s it,” he gasped. Mick’s brow creased, his gaze direct.

  “Fuck me,” she told him through gritted teeth. “I can’t stand it.”

  His weight sank onto her as he thrust his hips, driving into her with a force that was decadently sweet.

  “Ah,” Cara groaned. “Harder.” His cock sliced through her like a scalding knife. It felt so good, so right. It was a beautiful pain that was nurturing for them both, a comfortable recklessness that made the relationship all the more real.

  “You feel it?” Mick asked, his words grunted with effort. His hips pounded into her, meeting the rise and fall of hers.

  “Yes. It’s perfect,” she told him through winded breaths. Her neck stretched back. Mick could read her, knowing what she wanted and where. His mouth sank into the crook of her neck. His teeth scored through her, sharpening the encounter with a wild lust. His potent scent and the damp smells of their skin clouded over them, adding to the carnal allure.

  “I’m there. Oh, God,” Cara wailed. Muscles burned as sweat bled through her skin. Perspiration collected between them, making the friction that much more incredible. His cock slid over her clitoris, making sensual music with her body. Sweet spasms knocked at her walls as she bore down on Mick’s cock, riding the wave to the very end. “I love you.” She reached for him. Her fingers clawed at his wiry cheeks, directing his eyes down to hers. “Everything I needed was right under my nose. I just didn’t see.” Her eyes stung. Mick shook his head.

  “Don’t. We’re here now,” he said softly. His face smoothed with tenderness as he gently rolled her on top of him, their pace slowing.

  Cara straddled him, his cock still erect and speaking loudly for release.

  “Rock me, baby. Let me lie here and watch you.” Mick smiled up at her. He lifted his hand to her face, his finger tracing her lips.

  Cara rested her hands on his sturdy chest, washing his body below with the steady, rhythmic sway of her hips. Mick’s face slackened, free of all tension.

  “Yeah … that’s good,” he breathed. “Oh, yeah.” His eyes squeezed shut, consuming all that she was giving.

  His hand gripped her hip, hanging on as he rode on the breeze of his pleasure, pleasure her body was giving him. Her pussy enveloped him, waking up to the slow, burning swell of another release.

  “Christ, Cara,” he groaned, arching up into her. His body shook below hers, raining with a release that Cara couldn’t wait to ignite again.

  ****

  Their bodies lay in an exhausted, tangled heap. Cara rested her head on Mick’s boarded abs. Her finger drew lines down the firm curves of his body, settling on the seam of his groin. Cara lifted her head. Mick was glancing down at her, their gaze meeting over the span of his torso.

  “We gotta get out of this hotel,” he said, shaking his head.

  “My boss, Todd, might have a house for rent, long term,” Cara informed him. Todd had offered her the house, though Cara thought there might have been an ulterior motive, but if Todd wanted the rental income, Cara didn’t think he’d have a problem renting it out to them.

  It grew quiet in the room. Cara slung her leg over Mick’s, feeling the light brush of his body hair.

  Amusement suddenly bubbled inside of her, releasing it with light laughter.

  “What’s with you?” Mick asked.

  “So which book were you reading?” she asked, unable to conceal her grin.

  “I was reading Marred and Scarred,” Mick admitted, his reply hesitant. “You?” His brow lifted in question.

  “Down and Dirty,” she told him, toying with the scant hairs near his nipple.

  “Mm.” Tiny creases wrinkled between his brows. “Down and Dirty sounds good.”

  “I’m already scarred.” Cara gestured to her forearm, the first glitch of their journey.

  Mick laughed dryly. “You wanna be marred, too?” he asked. His eyes flashed, the ideas flooding in. “Because that can be arranged.”

  “Sure.” Cara laughed, rocking him playfully. “Are you all in?”

  “I’ve been in, baby,” Mick grinned, pulling her into his arms.

  The End

  www.jc-hotreads.com

  Other Books by JC Szot:

  www.evernightpublishing.com/jc-szot

  If you enjoyed this book, you may also like:

  Forever by Allyson Young

  Cowboy of Her Heart by Honor James

  Stranger Danger by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

  Evernight Publishing

  www.evernightpublishing.com