by Melody Anne
“Just stating the obvious,” he said.
She chose to ignore that. “I got into a relationship with Felix, not knowing he was still screwing anything on two legs. He didn’t use a hell of a lot of discretion, either, but I was so busy with work I didn’t think to check into his extracurricular activities,” she said with disgust.
“It’s not your fault. You should be able to trust the person you’re in a relationship with,” he told her.
“Well, I learned that trust isn’t something you just randomly give away. It’s certainly something that has to be earned.”
“I agree with that.” The conviction of his statement made her wonder what he’d been through.
“It didn’t take long before I figured out that Felix had a lot of judges in his pocket, and he was using his connections to help criminals get away with murder, drug trafficking, and several other crimes. I found papers in his office when my suspicions grew, and I immediately went to the district attorney, who’s a friend and someone I knew I could trust. He told me they’d been trying to build a case against Felix for a long time, but the weasel always managed to get away with his criminal activity. So he had me stay there for a while longer, though he was worried about it. I finally collected enough evidence against Felix that John, the DA, charged him and pulled me the hell out of there. Felix has been coming after me ever since. But it’s been going on for six months and I’m still standing, so I’m not too worried about it.” She took a drink of wine to coat her parched throat.
“You shouldn’t be so cavalier about this, Ella. Your testimony can lock this man away for years to come. Don’t you think that’s worth being cautious about? If he has such connections, he’s going to use them,” Axel warned.
“He’s a lowlife and he’ll have justice served to him on a silver platter. I won’t allow him to scare me and I won’t change my life to run from him.” She didn’t break eye contact with Axel, needing him to hear her.
They both stared intently for several breathless moments before his lips turned up just the slightest. “Damn, woman. You’re a pain in the ass, you realize that, don’t you?”
“I have a lot of alpha cousins. I had to learn to be tough really fast.”
“Point taken. Just as long as you know I’m not leaving until you’re safe.” Gauntlet thrown.
“Fine, if you truly have nothing better to do, but you won’t ever find me cowering in a corner.”
“I wouldn’t expect to.”
They changed the subject as they finished their meal, and then suddenly Axel was standing, catching her off guard. “Let’s dance, Ella. I need to hold you.”
Oh, that timbre of his voice, the way he looked in his suit jacket with his hand held out for hers. If he asked her to slip off to a quiet corner to make love she was sure she’d say yes.
Silently, she took his hand and practically floated onto the dance floor, sighing when he cradled her in his arms and began to slowly move her across the small space.
“I wouldn’t have imagined a man as big as you would dance so smoothly,” she said, leaning back so she could look into his face. She was only a few inches shorter than him thanks to her heels and she loved how their bodies were lining up.
“Dancing and sex go hand in hand. If you’re good at one, then you’re good at both,” he said, a seductive smile spreading across his face.
“I don’t know how you manage to get away with saying such obnoxious things yet make it sound almost sexy, but I have to tell you, I’m slightly impressed,” she said with a laugh that died quickly when he pushed the flat of his hand against her lower back and pulled her against the hardness of his body.
Her mouth formed an O, and her tongue darted out to moisten her suddenly dry lips. His gaze zeroed in on the movement before his hand ran slowly up her back, then traveled downward, smoothing across her backside, only to return and rest on her lower back.
As he slowly spun her in a circle, her breathing deepened and her head felt like it was as light as a feather. She couldn’t draw enough oxygen, couldn’t get her heart to stop racing. Some said dancing was foreplay. After tonight, she had to agree.
He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, the tip of his tongue feathering across her bottom lip before his teeth gently nipped and sucked it partly into his mouth while he pulled her against his hardness and ground his hips.
“Oh,” she gasped, hungry for so much more than food.
“Are we still strangers, Ella?” he asked.
She knew exactly what he was getting at. One and a half dates shouldn’t have been enough for her to allow him into her bed, but she couldn’t say no, couldn’t shake her head, couldn’t imagine how she’d survive the night if she didn’t go home with this man.
“We aren’t strangers,” she whispered, and felt a little better when she heard a sharp intake of breath from him.
“Are you sure?” Now that he asked, she was more than sure.
“I want you, Axel, and I don’t want to fight it anymore,” she said before he closed the distance between them and sealed the deal with a kiss so hot she didn’t know how they didn’t erupt into flames.
“We have to get out of here now before we get arrested,” he said, his voice strained. The urgency in his tone called to her in a way that gave her the exact same urgency she could tell he was feeling.
“Then I suggest we hurry.”
Axel said nothing else as he took her hand and made a beeline for their table, where he slapped money down and then rushed her out the door.
Not even the chilly night air was enough to temper her excitement. Ella wanted this man, and tonight she would have him.
Axel’s adrenaline pulsed as he pinned Ella to the side of his car and consumed her lips, his hands molding the back of her body in her barely there dress. He didn’t know where to kiss her first, where to move his hands.
“I need you alone, Axel, please,” Ella begged when their lips parted.
“I’m trying to hold it together,” he growled as he finally released her and opened the car door, letting his hands make a quick sweep of her toned thighs before shutting the door and rushing around to the driver’s side.
Damn, why had he picked a restaurant so far from her place? Her home was still closer than his hotel, so putting his foot to the gas he pulled out into traffic, ignoring the horns sounding off at his impatience.
“It doesn’t feel like you’re wearing anything underneath that dress,” he said, his teeth clamped together as they stopped at a light and she leaned over and ran her tongue down the side of his neck, causing a shudder to course through him.
“I’m not,” she whispered in his ear, sending his pulse rocketing.
“Why in the hell are there so many damn people on the road!” he practically shouted as the light finally changed.
“It is a Friday night,” she pointed out.
“Don’t they have anything better to do than clog the damn streets?” He knew he sounded ridiculous but he didn’t care. He needed to get her home to rip that enticing dress from her body.
“Maybe they’re rushing home to do the same thing we’re about to do,” she said, her hand reaching out and running up his thigh, coming close, but not close enough to his throbbing erection.
“I don’t think so. They’d be moving a hell of a lot faster,” he said.
“Not if they’re already playing in the car,” she said. He was shocked by her boldness when her finger traced the outside of the bulge throbbing against his way-too-tight pants.
“I’m not going to make it if you keep doing that,” he warned her.
“I have faith in your manliness,” she said, this time her entire palm cupping the outside of his pants. He growled in response.
At the next light, his arms snaked out and he hauled her to him, kissing her hard and fast, letting her know exactly what her games were doing to him. It didn’t lessen the throbbing in his pants in the least.
When the light changed and he released he
r again, she kept her hands to herself as she panted in the seat next to him. This was better. He needed to be in control. Not that he minded a woman taking over in the bedroom—that was hot actually—it was just that right now he was hanging on by a thread and they still had several miles to go. And if he came before they even arrived at her house he was going to have to shoot himself.
“This is the longest drive,” Ella panted, her legs shifting, making her dress rise indecently high.
“You’ll forget all about the drive as soon as I get you into bed. I’m going to peel that dress from your luscious body and then I’m going to taste every delectable inch of your skin, and make you come over and over again,” he said, wanting so badly to close his eyes and picture himself doing just that.
“Axel, get us there,” she commanded as she shifted again and her dress rose another inch.
“Screw this!” Axel shot around two cars on the right-hand side, ignored the horns blaring at him, then made a sharp right turn and sped down a two-lane road. He could practically drive this area with his eyes closed, he’d scouted it so much while looking at every which way someone could come or go from her house.
The next five minutes seemed like an hour, but finally he pulled to a screeching stop in her driveway and practically jumped from the SUV. Ella didn’t even have time to undo her seat belt before he was ripping open her door and unlatching it himself, then lifting her into his arms where he tasted her lips one more time before moving.
“Keys,” he demanded as he swiftly moved up her walkway.
Ella dug in her purse, fumbling for the keys as he reached the door. He had to force himself not to grab the purse and dump it out to find them faster. “Why in the world do women keep so many things they’ll never use inside a bag?” he asked, his frustration coming through loud and clear.
“We use everything in our purses. Some of the items may only be used once or twice a year, but I assure you it’s all used,” she said before leaning in and kissing his neck, making his temperature rise a few more degrees.
Finally, the magical keys were found and he unlocked the door, then turned long enough only to relock it and allow Ella to reengage the security pad before he was moving swiftly up the stairs.
“How do you know where my room is?” she asked as her lips nuzzled his jaw.
“I helped install the security, remember?” he groaned as he reached her room, where her favorite perfume drifted all around him.
Setting her on her feet, he wanted nothing more than to rip their clothes off and take her to heaven. But somehow seeing her standing before him in the glorious dress, with her bed as a backdrop, calmed him.
How could he rush this? He needed to enjoy every second of this experience and delight in the beauty of her body. “You take my breath away, Ella. I could die a happy man doing nothing more than looking at you,” he said quietly as he lifted a hand and cupped her cheek. “So beautiful,” he added in awe.
“I need you inside of me, Axel, so I’m not going to be okay with you just looking,” she said, trying to smile, but her lips were trembling and there was a sheen to her eyes.
He leaned down and caressed her lips while his hand still held her cheek and he was so happy to be in that exact moment. “I’m very grateful to get to know you,” he said, not recognizing these strange words escaping his mouth.
“Me, too, Axel.” She sighed as her hands lifted and began undoing his shirt, one button at a time. Her fingers fumbled a few times as his mouth caressed hers and then moved down the side of her neck.
“You smell incredible,” he said, his fingers running through the silky strands of her hair, his mouth moving backward on her neck so he could taste every inch of her like he’d promised.
She groaned her approval as the last button came undone and she pulled his shirt from his pants, parting the fabric, her warm fingers smoothing out across his chest, awakening every sense in his body.
He pulled back long enough to shrug from his shirt, and then pulled her against him to reach for the zipper of her dress. His kiss deepened as he slowly pulled the zipper down, now only their bodies held together keeping it on.
“I want to feel you,” he whispered before stepping back and slowly peeling her dress away, like unwrapping the perfect gift for himself. “Damn, Ella, you’re even more perfect than I imagined,” he gasped as her high breasts were revealed to him, her nipples pink and hard and pointing straight up.
Not able to resist the temptation, he walked her backward and sat her on the bed, kneeling before her as his head leaned forward and he took one perfect circle into his mouth, tasting her, devouring her, loving her tender flesh.
“Ah, Axel . . .” she cried out as he switched sides, his fingers digging into her hips as he tried unsuccessfully to control his arousal.
He was losing control fast despite his best efforts. They had all night to make love, and he planned on doing it over and over again, but right now he needed to feel her walls gripping him, needed to bring their bodies together as one.
Standing, he unbuttoned his pants, his eyes never leaving hers as he unzipped them and pushed them down. When her eyes traveled down his body, then widened in pleasure at his full erection, he couldn’t help but feel pride.
Unable to bear their bodies apart any longer, he grabbed a condom from his pocket before tossing his pants aside and then crawled onto the bed with her, pushing her up so they could lie together. He pulled her dress the rest of the way off, but left on the incredibly sexy heels as he’d promised he would.
He then worshipped her body, his tongue laving across her skin, his lips leaving their mark as he sucked her flesh, and he made her cry out over and over again. His first taste of her womanhood had his head spinning and time lost all meaning as she cried out in pleasure.
Finally, he slipped the condom over his pulsing arousal as his fingers shook with the restraint it was costing him to pleasure her first. But the wait was worth it.
Lying in the cradle of her thighs, his eyes bored into hers as his hardness begged for entrance inside her wet heat.
“Tell me you want me,” he commanded.
“Oh, Axel, I’ve never wanted anyone more,” she moaned.
With a powerful thrust, he buried himself inside her, both of them groaning at the pure pleasure of the moment.
Axel leaned down and kissed her, his tongue slipping inside her mouth while his body lay connected with hers. Then time once again lost all meaning as he began moving, his hips thrusting powerfully as he filled her and then pulled back.
When the walls of her heat tightened around him and she cried out in pleasure, he let go, thrusting a few more times deep inside her core where he found his own release, a guttural groan ripping from him.
When he could finally open his eyes again, he realized he had to be crushing her, but she didn’t have a single complaint as her hands stroked his back.
“I guess I can’t say we’re strangers now,” she sighed when he shifted so he was lying on his back, her body draped over his. “And I’m very glad to know you.”
“Ah, baby, you’ve only scratched the surface of me. Let me teach you so much more,” he said, pulling up her chin and kissing her, excitement and wonder filling him as he felt his body already returning to life.
By morning, they both knew each other quite well.
“I think it’s been at least five years since I’ve actually carved a pumpkin,” Maycie said as she stuck the knife into her bright orange ball—with a bit too much glee, if you asked Ella.
“Maybe there’s a reason,” Reese said with a brow raised at the force with which Maycie was stabbing the pumpkin.
“Hey, I can take my rage out on this vegetable, or on someone else,” Maycie said.
“What rage?” Ella asked as she scooped out her seeds and put them in a bowl. The best part of Halloween was roasting pumpkin seeds after the carving was all finished.
“Oh, it’s nothing really,” Maycie said as she stabbed her pumpkin aga
in.
“Okay, you totally have to spill,” Reese insisted, her technique a lot gentler as she carved her pumpkin.
“Fine! I went on a date with the most insufferable man last night, and then when I didn’t invite him in¸ he actually had the gall to ask me to pay him back for my half of the meal.”
Ella and Reese stopped what they were doing and stared at their friend. “You’re joking, right?”
“Nope. When I asked him what he was talking about, he went on to explain that he’d paid for dinner because he was planning on getting in my pants, and since that wasn’t going to happen he may as well at least recover some of the money on the expensive wine he’d purchased in the expectation of doing just that.”
After a moment of total silence, Ella couldn’t help it, a laugh escaped her. She tried to suppress it, but quickly gave up as more followed. “Oh my gosh, that is priceless,” she said between fits of laughter.
“I’m not telling either of you anything ever again if you don’t shut up right now!” Maycie insisted, but then her lips twitched and soon she was joining them in laughter.
“I don’t know what’s worse, dating or being single. Because it feels like years since I’ve had a decent date, or a decent kiss for that matter,” Reese said.
Ella was quiet for too long and both girls’ heads turned. “Oh, you had better spill,” Maycie insisted, her stabs against the pumpkin far less vicious now that she’d gotten her annoyance off her chest.
“I have nothing to spill,” Ella said, squirming in her seat.
“You know what, I was so busy at work this week I didn’t even notice the text messages weren’t coming in like normal. What’ve you been up to?” Reese said, all attention now on Ella.
“We’re supposed to be carving here, not fishing,” Ella pointed out.
“Oh, whatever. We do a project and fish for info at least once a week,” Maycie pointed out, putting down her knife and crossing her arms.
“Carve and gossip?” Ella was just buying herself some more time. It wasn’t working well.