by Shelly Bell
Drake raised his hands. “Keep me out of this.”
Taryn kissed Drake on the cheek. “I’ve got a phone call to make. Allie, I’ll be right back.”
Jack punched Drake in the shoulder and casually strolled away as if he wasn’t planning to follow Taryn.
Drake pointed at the seat. “Mind if I sit here until she gets back?”
“We both know those two aren’t coming back anytime soon.” Her Drake-a-titis returned with a vengeance. She grabbed her purse and pulled a cherry sucker from it, just in case she needed it, and then dropped her bag on the bar between her and Drake.
Drake winced. “How are you feeling? Any residual soreness from the accident?” He dropped onto the stool beside her and pivoted, brushing his knees against hers.
Heat infused her body at the subtle sensation of his crisp hairs rasping against her smooth skin. “Nothing worth mentioning. I think most of my aches are from the hours driving in the minivan. I’ll have to make an appointment for a massage when I get back home.” Once she returned to the privacy of her apartment, she’d take care of all those inner aches caused by this week’s sexual frustration.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “You live in Cleveland, right?”
“I did, but I recently moved to Chicago for a job.” It was one of the hardest decisions she’d ever made, but soon after recovering from pneumonia, she’d left her family and friends and moved to the new city on her own. She hadn’t regretted it for a second.
With a gleam in his baby blues, he sat up tall and inched forward in his seat, wedging his knee between both of hers. “What do you do?”
Sharp arousal thrummed through her, and she fought the urge to squeeze his knee between her thighs. “You happen to be looking at the producer of Chicago’s lowest-rated morning news program.” Needing something to hold in her trembling hands, she picked up her purse from the bar.
“You’re kidding. I—” Drake shifted in his chair, knocking his elbow into her purse.
As it toppled to the floor, several items spilled out, and she immediately took inventory of it. Her lipstick…a compact mirror…her cell phone…her suckers…
And her naughty list.
She slid off the chair and crouched to pick everything up, but Drake was quicker.
“Sorry about that. I’ll get it for you.” He lifted the piece of paper and held it out to her. She knew the moment he caught the words “naughty list” because he froze. Then he stood with the list still in his hand and started to read it.
Mortified, she laughed, shoving everything else back in her purse. “That’s my bucket list. I guess I could cross off seeing a tornado.” She got up from the floor and waited for him to return it, but he seemed mesmerized. “May I have it back, please?”
He trapped her between his warm body and the cool bar, his focus entirely on her just as she’d fantasized. “You want a one-night stand?”
“TELL ME MORE about your naughty list, Allie.” Who would’ve thought sweet little Allie had such a sexy, dirty mind?
As of this afternoon, three hurdles had stood between them.
He’d jumped the first one an hour ago when he, Jack, and Cole had voted unanimously to reverse their “no fraternizing with the guests” policy right after Drake had given Jack permission to pursue Taryn on the condition Drake would kick his ass if he broke her heart.
Then Allie had tossed the second hurdle out of their way without even knowing it existed, innocently mentioning she worked at a news station in Chicago. Based on her description, she worked for the same news station he’d signed a contract with last week, accepting the job as their new meteorologist.
He had a feeling one night with her would never be enough, and thanks to this amazing turn of events, they’d have the opportunity for more.
Beginning tonight.
She swallowed hard, gazing at his chest in rapt fascination. “I already told you about my bucket list. This one’s like that. Only…for sex,” she whispered, a faint blush crawling up her neck.
“You have anyone in mind?” Gently tipping up her chin.
Glazed eyes. Dark dilated pupils. Flushed face.
Hell yeah. She wanted him.
He held his breath as he waited for her response, his gut tightening at the thought of some other guy making all her sexual fantasies a reality.
“You.”
He’d planned to slowly ease her into a sexual relationship with him. Make certain he didn’t take anything from her she didn’t want to give.
Her naughty list was his kind of kink. No pain. No humiliation. Only white-hot pleasure.
Three hurdles removed. Nothing stood in his way.
He palmed the back of her neck and dipped his head to finally take a taste of her sweetness, only to have her hand cover his mouth and stop him.
“Wait, I wasn’t done speaking,” she said. “I’ve wanted you all week, but if you hadn’t found that list, I don’t think I would’ve ever asked you for it. Now that it’s the last night and we’re not going to see each other again, I feel like I can try the items. Only you have to promise me if we ever run into each other in the future, we’ll pretend it never happened.”
Just like that she’d replaced a hurdle with a solid brick roadblock.
“Are you saying if we lived in the same city, you wouldn’t have sex with me?”
“I guess.” She shrugged. “It would make me…uncomfortable. As long as it’s one night only, I’m in.” Throwing her arms around his neck, she moved in for the kill, rubbing the stiff tips of her breasts on his chest, her firm thighs bumping his legs.
Maybe it made him an asshole, but he no longer had the willpower to walk away. “You got yourself a deal.” He crushed his mouth over hers. The tastes of rum, lime, and mint exploded on his tongue.
One night. Not enough but he’d take it for now.
Then he’d use everything in his arsenal to prove to her how good it could be between them and convince her to give them a chance at forever.
Chapter Three
“What are we doing up here?” Allie asked as Drake led her outside to the hotel rooftop, his fingers entwined with hers.
He hadn’t let go of her for a second since the panty-melting kiss, and if it weren’t for the room of onlookers, she had a feeling he would’ve taken her right there on top of the bar. While she wasn’t into exhibitionism, she probably wouldn’t have stopped him. Luckily for her, Drake had hung on to his self-control.
She peered over the edge and down at the vacant courtyard. The storms had passed, leaving behind a clear night sky lit by a full moon and the brightest stars she’d ever seen. Other than the faint sound of crickets chirping, their breaths, and the hammering of her heart, it was completely silent.
“Let’s talk more about your list,” he murmured, cradling her face in his large palms.
“Do we have to? Couldn’t we just…do it?”
“Oh no doubt about it, we’ll work our way down your list tonight, which is why I brought you up here.” He wrapped an arm around her waist, retrieved her list from his pocket, and leaned their backs against the ledge. “Number three. Public sex. Tell me what you imagined when you wrote this.”
“I didn’t imagine anything.”
He shot her a look of disbelief.
“Fine.” She buried her face on his chest. “I don’t mean I want to have sex while other people watch. It’s the idea of doing it out in the open where we could get caught that excites me.” She paused, waiting for him to respond. She couldn’t look at him and when he didn’t speak, she wrenched her hand away and pushed off the wall to head to the stairs. “You think I’m perverted, don’t you? Forget the list. It was silly, and I—”
He nabbed the back of her jean skirt and yanked her into the hard plane of his chest, then twisted her around. Without giving her a chance to protest, he kissed her hard, easing her fear she’d offended him with her naughty list. The moment she relaxed in his arms, he receded from the kiss, leaving her breathless.
With his thumb, he caressed the skin under her ear. “I think it’s fucking hot. Maybe it makes you perverted, but honey, you’re my kind of perverted. There’s nothing wrong with consenting adults having sex, even if the sex is considered unconventional by society’s standards. It’s not as if we’re breaking any laws.”
“Actually, public sex is illegal.”
His hands slid down her spine to rest right above her skirt. He leaned in, nipping her earlobe before he whispered, “I think it’s worth the risk, don’t you?”
Her heart galloped at the thought of him taking her in the open, underneath the stars, where anyone could walk through the door. “Here? Now?”
“No time like the present. We’ve only got ten hours to get through your list.”
Despite her fear of getting caught, her nipples tightened, and her pussy quivered. “We couldn’t possibly do everything on my list. I mean, how would you, you know, recover to do it all?”
“Do you doubt me?”
“The guys I’ve been with were good with once a night.”
He squeezed her ass. “Then you’ve been with the wrong guys. If you were mine, I’d make love to you every chance I got, so whenever we were apart, you’d still feel me inside you.”
“Oh,” she said shivering, unable to formulate words. Her panties dampened. “Wow. I’m a little nervous.”
He looked surprised. “Of me?”
“I forget how to speak when I’m with you.”
A devilish grin and the wicked intent sparkling in his eyes was all the warning he gave before he slowly backed her up to the wall. “Good thing you won’t need it tonight. Except to say ‘yes’ and ‘more.’”
“And if I want you to stop?” Her body betrayed her arousal, as she stood on her tiptoes and shamelessly ground her pussy against the erection confined by his jeans.
He chuckled, bracing her hips and preventing her from moving against him. “Use your safe word.”
A low growl of frustration emitted from her chest. Less talk, more action. “What word?”
He brushed his hands up and down her arms, reassuring her. “Your safe word. Choose a word you don’t normally say in conversation, but something you’ll remember. The second you use it, I’ll stop whatever it is we’re doing, and we’ll talk about it.”
An image instantly sprung to her mind. “Banana. I can’t stand them.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “If you change your mind—”
“I won’t.” She clutched his shirt in her fists. “I want to know what it’s like to let someone else take control in the bedroom. Someone who actually knows how to pleasure me.” She batted her eyelashes. “You up for the challenge?”
“It’s not a challenge,” he whispered in her ear. “It’s an invitation. One I’ve already accepted. Are you ready?”
More than ready. “Yes.”
He licked the shell of her ear and blew warm air over it, giving her chills despite the eighty-degree evening. “Then strip.”
HE WAITED PATIENTLY for her reaction, expecting her to refuse his order. She blinked, her lips trembling, her throat working as she swallowed. Several expressions passed across her face, and he sensed her apprehension. He wouldn’t force her to do it, but he wanted to see how far she’d go.
She worried her lip and seemed to come to some decision. Leaning back, he folded his arms across his chest and silently recited the periodic table. After all his talk about control, he was ten seconds from pouncing and ripping the clothes from her body.
She slid out of his arms and walked away.
Is she leaving? He held his breath, digging his fingers into his palms to keep from calling out to her. It had to be her decision to give him control.
She stopped. Thank God. Crossing his ankles, he relaxed against the wall and resumed breathing, his pulse racing in anticipation.
Her hips swayed seductively, drawing his attention to her luscious round behind that he couldn’t wait to sink his teeth into. She was giving him a show. He hadn’t told her to do it, but hell if he’d stop her.
She snaked her hands along her sides until she reached the hem of her red tank and then inch by agonizing inch peeled away the fabric covering her creamy flesh, revealing the gentle curve of her spine and the straps of her pink bra. His cock hardened at the thought of what came next.
She slowly turned to him, her eyes blazing with pride and confidence. Gone was the tongue-tied, fidgety girl, and in her place stood a woman comfortable in her own skin. He liked both sides of her. Couldn’t wait to discover more.
Her dainty hands slid over the soft swell of her abdomen. He drank in the sight—small waist, thin, but curvy with enough padding he didn’t have to worry he’d break her. It had crossed his mind she might not have the physical strength to take on a hungry lover like him, someone who would hold on so tightly to her hips as he thrust inside her he’d leave bruises on her unmarred skin. The woman in front of him wanted what he could give her, and she’d get everything she’d asked for and more.
On edge, he licked his lips, dying to see what she’d do next. She zeroed in on the erection pushing against the material of his shorts and she smiled, teasing him with a little wiggle and a laugh, obviously enjoying his torment.
Revenge would be sweet.
The shadows of her areolae and the tight buds of her nipples showed through the lace of her bra. She lifted her breasts in the palms of her hands as if offering them to him.
“Enough of the teasing. I believe I told you to strip, and I want to see those gorgeous tits you’re offering to me. Now,” he said, his voice grittier and rawer than he’d ever heard it.
Allie’s eyes widened, and her chest rose. She ran her fingers across her nipples and unclasped her bra, revealing high, firm mounds tipped with pink nipples a couple shades darker than her bra.
“You’re beautiful, baby. I can’t wait to get my mouth on those and turn your nipples a dark red. They’ll be so tender from all the attention I’m gonna give them. You’ll think of me every time they brush against the fabric of your bra.” He crooked a finger for her to move closer. “Come here. I want to touch you.”
As she sauntered to him, he kept his gaze on her face rather than on the bouncing tits he could see in his peripheral vision, wanting to convey this meant more to him than mere sex. It was one of the damn hardest things he’d ever had to do.
He pressed her to him, and his mouth descended over hers, swallowing her gasp. Wanting to taste more of her, he ripped away from her lips and nibbled his way down the salty skin of her neck to her breast. He swirled his tongue over the pebbled tip of her nipple before sucking it into his mouth.
She dropped her head back, moaning his name. Her fingers delved into his hair and massaged his scalp, sending sparks of heat to his thickening cock. She wrapped her leg around his thigh, anchoring him to her.
As if he’d actually try to get away.
Angry voices carried from the courtyard. Allie tensed, lowering her leg to the ground and pushing at the top of his head. “Stop. It’s Taryn and Jack. They’ll hear us.”
Hell if he’d stop now. He gently bit the underside of her breast, causing her to yelp. “You’d better be quiet if you don’t want them to know what we’re doing up here. Personally, I don’t care if everyone knows, so feel free to be as loud as you want.”
He flipped them around, facing Allie toward the courtyard, and slid down her body to his knees. He looked up at her as he flicked open the button of her skirt and slowly drew down the zipper. Her lips were swollen from his kisses. He dragged her skirt down her legs, pulling her lacy silk panties along with it, until both fell to the ground. Helping her step out of them, he carefully raised one of her sexy legs. He kissed the inside of one thigh and then the other, mirroring the act of tenderness.
Other than her strappy sandals, Allie stood completely naked like one of those Italian statues he’d seen in Florence. Vulnerable yet strong. Innocent yet sexy. Unaware of the power she held ove
r him.
On his knees, he breathed in the tantalizing scent of her pussy, his mouth watering. “I’ve wanted to do this since you told me about how you used to lie on your lawn in a bikini during a rain storm. I know we were talking weather, but all I could think about was if I were with you, I’d peel your bikini bottoms down and eat you out as it stormed.”
Her breath hitched. “Quite an imagination you have.”
He chuckled. She has no idea. “That I do. Add it to all the reasons to like me.”
She ran her fingers through his hair. “Your creativity?”
“No, the fact I can make you feel as though you’re flying without wings.” He threw her leg over his shoulder and inhaled deeply.
He parted her trimmed labia to reveal the glistening folds and slipped his tongue into her opening. Like a shot of his favorite 151 proof rum, her essence went straight to his head, intoxicating him. He could become addicted to the taste of her arousal and to the little whimpers she made.
He pulled back the hood of her clitoris and circled the engorged pearl with the tip of his tongue. Then he replaced it with the pad of his thumb. “You taste downright sinful. Cry out as loud as you want. Doesn’t bother me. Anyone out in the courtyard can look up and see the bliss on your face, knowing full well you’re getting good and fucked.” Continuing to rub her swollen bundle of nerves, he plunged two fingers into her tight silky sheath. They both moaned. “That turns you on, doesn’t it, baby? Maybe they’ll stop and watch. Or maybe they’ll climb ten flights of stairs just to get a closer view. You want that?”
“Mm-hmm.” Her internal muscles fluttered around his fingers.
Trembling, she made a small cry of protest as he withdrew them.
He sucked her juices off his fingers. “God, Allie. You taste so sweet on my tongue. I’d like to start every morning this way. Keep your scent on my hands, on my face, in my mouth. You’d stay on me when we went to work.”