She stepped into the foyer, hands jammed into her shorts pockets. “Why do you do that?”
“Do...?” He looked her over, gaze lingering on its way to her face.
A thrilled chill ran through her at the scrutiny. “Try so hard to dominate the conversation.” She grimaced as the unfortunate choice of words sank in.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Is that really the phrasing you want to go with?”
She sighed and shook her head. This wasn’t the worst time to be assaulted by memories of riding him, feeling him plunge deep inside her, hearing his grunts... “That’s not why I’m here.”
“Right. The why. I’m still not clear on that.”
She didn’t know either. She grasped for any answer at all, in the midst of her frustration. “If this is going to devastate Chloe, how is it not devouring you?”
“Do you really believe that?” He turned away, and strode into the living room.
She followed. “You’re not really convincing me—or anyone else—otherwise.”
He stopped behind the sofa, leaned against it, and then faced her again. “Because letting it show doesn’t do anyone any good.” He raked his fingers through his hair. He snagged the ponytail holder, yanked it out with a snarl, and tossed it aside. “We don’t own the company anymore. We’re not even being offered noticeable shares of DM as part of our buyout. We’re not in charge. It’s all gone. I’m not surrendering because I want to, or because I like watching people I trust and respect suffer. We don’t have a choice.” Each word was clipped and distinct.
The hint of vulnerability dug deep. Seeing this side of him gnawed at her. Made her want to tug at the loose thread and see what else she could reveal. She crossed her arms and rested her butt against the back of the couch, her hip brushing his. “It just seems so final. It doesn’t even directly impact me, and still it hurts to see it all ripped away.”
He dragged in a long breath. “How do you think I feel? I don’t know what else to tell you. I don’t have a magic answer. We can’t talk or buy our way out of this. Scott’s genius won’t save us. I can’t spin some bullshit for the internet to make us shine. Do you think I want it this way?”
“No.” An empty pit grew in her chest, aching for him. For Chloe and Scott. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s a pretty common sentiment these days.” He shifted his weight, and his arm pressed against hers.
A shock of warmth rushed through her at the contact. It was comfortable. A distraction from the looming bad news. Sleeping together hadn’t granted them closure. Giving into the attraction again wouldn’t yield a different result. “I shouldn’t have bothered you. I’ll let you get back to... Whatever”
“For what it’s worth...” He grabbed her arm loosely and tugged, prompting her to face him. He pulled her between his legs, dropped his hands to her hips, and then hooked his thumbs in her belt loops. “I appreciate the passion. And that you’re being rational about it. We’ve been pretending for months it wasn’t happening.”
She should step back, but the contact summoned memories she was tired of fighting. The reminder of how he tasted. His fingers digging into her skin when he was lost in the moment. Their bare bodies pressed together. Maybe this was a chance to make her apology about their past sincere. “Believe it or not, sometimes I’m willing to find common ground.”
He gave a short laugh and tightened his grip on her hips. “I know I said a lot of things the other night, but I didn’t mean to cast all the blame with you. I played just as much a part in fucking us up. Sometimes I’m even a little envious at your ability to just let go.”
Odd statement. “I don’t let go. I just hide it differently, and place value on different things.”
“Sometimes I envy that too.” He unhooked his thumbs from her belt loops and then nudged up the bottom of her shirt until his palms caressed her skin. “For instance, what were you two doing before reality interrupted the afternoon?”
She draped her wrists over his shoulders and intertwined her fingers at the base of his neck. A tiny voice whispered they were getting too intimate, but each touch and movement felt right. “Tetris.”
“See? I couldn’t do that.”
She didn’t know which struck her curiosity more—that he was expressing interest in how she spent her free time, or that he thought for some reason playing video games was off limits to him. “Why not?”
He shrugged. “I fell behind that curve a long time ago. I suck at anything that requires a controller.”
She wanted to laugh at the simple statement, but the serious crease in his brow made her suppress the impulse. “You ask me to aim any kind of digital weapon, and I get my ass kicked. It doesn’t stop me from playing when I want.”
He shook his head. “Like you said, we have different priorities.”
“Like your ego?” There was no malice in the thought, and she hoped it didn’t come off that way.
He shrugged. “Tell me your ego has never held you back from doing something.”
His words should put her on edge, but the conversation didn’t feel threatening. His comment was thought-provoking, but still casual. Like those talks they’d had when they were younger, that kept them out long past curfew, sitting on the grass in some park, wrapped in each other’s arms. “It absolutely has, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good excuse.”
He studied her for a moment. “If I told you that at the bar the other night, part of me really was hoping for another tumble, would you think less of me?”
Her skin burned under his hand, wanting more, and her imagination kicked into overdrive. The shift in subject caught her off guard, but it didn’t feel forced. In fact, the suggestion was enticing. She tried to keep her tone light. “I didn’t figure you were there for the crappy selection of on tap beer.”
“I mean a tumble with you.”
She started to tell him she doubted that, but it died in the back of her throat when she saw the sincerity in his expression. They were past swapping insults. She should pull away, but the thought wasn’t enough to make her act. “You know this is a bad idea.”
With his finger, he traced a line down her cheek to her jaw. “I don’t know anything like that. I’m also not stopping you from leaving.”
She didn’t want to argue anymore. She was tired of the parrying and deflection and pretending not to notice how intense the spark between them was. The close, unguarded warmth jostled loose a memory she hadn’t seen in ages—lunchtime on their first day of high school over a decade ago. All her friends were on a different schedule, and she’d found an isolated spot under a tree to eat alone. A guy, whose posture and gorgeous blue eyes radiated confidence, approached and floored her by asking if he could share her tree.
She’d accepted, and the next couple of years flowed from easy banter and people watching into something more. By the start of their junior year, it had been him with his back to the same tree trunk, and her sitting between his legs, his arms draped around her neck.
Something ached in Rae’s chest as the memory faded but didn’t vanish. She leaned into his touch. “I don’t have anywhere else to be.”
“Not that we’re making a habit of this.” He nipped her bottom lip with his teeth before he rested his forehead against hers.
She pressed closer, every inch of her screaming for more. A voice whispered through her mind that she’d make it a habit in an instant, if she thought she could get away with it. “Of course not. Stress relief, right?”
“Right. Sure.” He ran his mouth along her jaw, down to her throat, and kissed along her collarbone. His voice was muffled. “I don’t even care what we call it.”
She ignored the implication that this might mean more. Falling for him almost destroyed her all those years ago, and that memory was at least as powerful as the good ones. But damn it, this felt right.
She tilted her head back with a sigh, closing her eyes, sinking into the sensations. He traced a line along her ear with his tongue and caught h
er earlobe between his teeth. The things that turned her on had shifted, become more refined, since back then. And he still managed to push a button—draw a new flare of pleasure—wherever he touched. She whimpered at the current that raced through her entire body.
“That sound does wicked things to me.” His growl filled her head. He twisted his fingers in her hair and yanked her head back, his mouth finding hers. The sharp jerk spiked her desire. He kissed her hard, and she pushed back, teeth cutting into the inside of her lip. Hunger consumed her thoughts.
He turned them, so her back was to the couch, and nudged until her butt collided with it.
The power in his voice and strength in his grip were enticing and frightening at the same time. Not that Zach scared her, but her reactions to him bordered on terrifying. She struggled to close the door on her heart and still focus on the warmth of his mouth.
Her feelings burst through the gate and intertwined with her and the moment. Her mind complained that was bad. The rest of her let the emotion flow through her. It mingled with his touch. Heightened her response. Sang in her heart and along her skin. She pressed closer to him, memorizing every inch of his hard body pressed against hers.
She’d deal with getting over Zach later. Right now, feeling him was all that mattered.
Chapter Ten
It had taken the rest of Zach’s self-restraint to play it cool when Rae showed up on his doorstep, passionate anger flashing in her eyes. His control evaporated the longer she stuck around. It probably wasn’t the best idea to indulge this craving, but the last few months had worn on Zach, and if this was the one time he didn’t have to hold back, he was diving into it.
He exposed her neck, and trailed his tongue down the soft skin. Her whimpers—in sharp contrast to the shell she wore when they argued—spurred him on. He wanted her now and wasn’t in the mood to play anymore.
He dropped his hands to her waist and inched under her shirt. The sensation of skin on skin was satin temptation against his palms. Rae sighed and shifted her weight against him, every inch of her body rubbing against him through their clothes. That was an issue—too many clothes. His cock pulsed in agreement, already hard and straining against her hip.
He pulled on her top, and she took the hint and broke away long enough for him to yank it over her head. Red bra today. He scraped his teeth over her neck while he undid the clasp. Fuck, that was sexy. Her panties were probably cotton, mismatched, and had some kind of obnoxious screen-print on them.
He tossed her bra aside and trailed his lips down her chest. She arched her back, pushing closer. When his mouth wrapped around a swollen, pink nipple, her fingers dug into his scalp.
Every sound she made enveloped his thoughts. He flicked his tongue across her skin, his erection growing stiffer with each squirm and sigh. Reason told him to stretch the moment out, make it last, but reason was rapidly evaporating. It was hard enough not strip off the rest of her clothes right now, and drive his dick inside her. Feel her tight, wet pussy clench around him. Fuck her until he couldn’t think.
She pulled his face back up, pressed her mouth to his, and caught his bottom lip between her teeth. Her brown eyes danced frantically over his face, searching for something. “At the risk of sounding crude...” She trailed her nails over the back of his neck. “I desperately want you inside me.”
The request broke the last of his restraint. He was surprised he didn’t tear something yanking her cutoffs open and pushing them to the ground. She tried to kick her shoes off, got tangled in her shorts, tripped, and landed with her palms flat on his chest.
“Sorry.” She laughed, light and carefree.
He helped her balance while she stepped out of her sneakers and clothes, and toed both aside.
Hands on her hips, he lifted her to sit on the back of the sofa. He pushed between her legs. Something occurred to him, and he paused to drop his forehead onto her shoulder. He didn’t want to lose this moment. Fuck.
“Something’s wrong.” Her pout was audible.
He looked at her again. He needed at least a hint of mental power to do this. Fortunately, not a lot. “Don’t move?”
She gave him a hesitant smile. “Okay?”
“Condoms.” Night stand drawer, next to the bed. It took more concentration than it should have to not trip in his sprint up the stairs. A moment later, he stepped back into the living room. She was still there, legs crossed at the ankles, every gorgeous curve exaggerated by her posture.
The creases in her forehead melted away when she saw him. He held up the foil package, and she shook her head with a tiny laugh.
“I suppose...” She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist when he was within reach. “I should be grateful you don’t have those stashed all over the house.”
He stepped back enough to unzip his slacks, push the rest of his clothing to the ground, and then roll the rubber on. Her heat was rapidly erasing the ruined moment, tempting him again. “Your opinion of my sex life is a lot more interesting than the reality.” He moved between her legs again. As he kissed up her neck, the scent of strawberries sank into his thoughts. “I’ve never even done it on this couch before.”
“I get to be a first. I never would have guessed.”
“I suspect a lot of things about me would surprise you.” He positioned himself near her opening and nudged.
She sighed and tipped her head back. The pause to jog upstairs had given him just enough sense to take this at a more even pace. He entered her slowly, and her nails dug into his back. She moaned when he pulled out almost to the tip before thrusting back inside her again. The steady pace felt incredible, but he wouldn’t have the patience to maintain it.
She shifted her weight against him, prompting him to increase the speed. He moved a hand to the small of her back to help her keep her balance and found her tit with the other. He pinched her nipple hard, and she ground against him in response. Each new squirm and sigh drilled into his head, making her the only thought in his mind.
She was so tight, so slick, and her cries short-circuited his thoughts. Fuck, this was all-consuming. Being inside her. A part of her. She rocked against him, picking up the already frantic rhythm. The clench around his cock strangled his reason.
The only thing that kept him from spilling inside her was the desire to see her get off. He wanted to see her get off though. That made the whole moment that much sweeter. He nipped her earlobe, voice strained. “Tell me what I have to do to make you come.”
Her reply was breathless. “More of what you’re already doing. Please don’t stop.”
At least that he could do. He slammed in harder, teetering on the edge of his own orgasm. His world spun as he held back. She scraped her nails down his back, and her legs tightened around him. Her breathing grew shallow.
Her pussy clenched, milking his cock as she climaxed. She didn’t let up, even as her moans slowed. The pounding rhythm coaxed him past his limits, and he grunted as he drove into her. The edge remained, even after he finished, slowly fading in a shower of sparks dancing across his vision. He slowed and then stopped, as the peak fell away.
She rested her forehead against his chest, and he dropped his head on her shoulder, both of them silent while they tried to catch their breath. His mind hadn’t been this clear in a long time, and it had everything to do with the woman in his arms.
“Come on.” He helped her stand, not able to hide his smile when she wobbled on her feet before finding her balance. He grabbed a tissue from a box on an end table to wrap up the condom and dispose of it.
He guided her to the other side of the couch, lay down, and patted the cushion in front of him.
She settled in, her back against his chest, and pulled his arm over her waist. “This is nice.”
He propped himself up on one elbow to kiss along her shoulders and neck. “Definitely.” Part of him was already looking forward to the next time. This was getting dangerous. Do I care?
The thought of sel
ling everything and moving to New Zealand had taunted him for days. A way out. A chance to leave everything behind at forget this place. A pang in his chest said he didn’t want to forget her, or what they shared. Would she go with him? He smothered the thought. He was tired of sinking his passions into anyone or anything. It only cost him in the end.
Silence drifted between them, and her breathing slowed. He settled his palm on her stomach. “If you’re going to fall asleep, my bed’s more comfortable.”
She leaned back into him with a sigh. That was amazing. He licked lightly along her soft skin, tasting the salt of perspiration and the strawberry scent of her shampoo.
“I was just thinking.” Her voice was quiet, but distinct.
Not about them, right? Not the way he was. Not that he was thinking of them as a them. “That makes me nervous.” He tried to keep the teasing in his tone.
Her arm dropped away from his, hesitation in her response. “You don’t even know what it was about.”
He wanted her back in the moment, wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon holding her and swapping inanities with her. He shouldn’t entertain the idea, but the urge was undeniable.
“I didn’t mean I don’t like you thinking.” He trailed a finger up her thigh to her hip and brushed the skin where leg met hip. “In fact, your thoughts are as sexy as the rest of you. But if your mind is already drifting, the distraction didn’t work as well as it should have.”
She relaxed again, full body pressing into him. “It worked fantastically, and now I’m thinking clearly.”
“About?”
There was a long pause before she said, “I know how to make Cord work.”
A surge of conflict slammed into his skull. He didn’t want to have this conversation with her. A solution. Finally. Except letting someone he was sleeping with have a say in their company had already cost them everything once. He wasn’t letting that line blur again, regardless of what she was about to say. Not that he was going to tell her that. He shifted his weight against her back. “Not the most seductive thing I’ve ever heard after sex.”
His Long Shot Page 9