by Mari Carr
Gavin, Oliver’s best friend and foster brother, stood up immediately, all in. He grabbed the empty wings platter, nothing left but a pile of bones and globs of barbeque sauce, and carried it to the kitchen.
“Sounds like a great idea,” Kelli said, as she continued to clean up.
Colm grinned. She was taking great care, making sure they didn’t end up alone together.
She was going to lose that battle.
She’d been sitting next to Colm on the couch all afternoon, their legs pressed against each other’s as they shared the space with Oliver, Gavin in one recliner, Darcy—who’d left at halftime for some reason she didn’t seem willing to share—in the other chair.
Once Darcy left, Oliver claimed her spot, but he and Kelli hadn’t separated, hadn’t put so much as an inch between themselves.
He wondered if she was feeling the pull. Now that the truth about Halloween was out, Colm was hard-pressed to resist the need to—God—have her near him, to touch her.
“Kelli and I will clean up and meet you guys down there in a little while,” Colm said, spying a way to steal a few minutes alone with her.
Kelli flashed him a suspicious look but didn’t reject the idea.
Oliver and Gavin—no fans of housework—took them up on the deal.
“See you in a few,” Oliver said over his shoulder as they walked downstairs to the pub.
Kelli grabbed some more trash and carried it to the kitchen. He followed her with the roll of paper towels and half-eaten bag of chips.
They tidied up a few things in the kitchen, then Kelli grabbed a wet dishcloth and headed back to the living room to wipe up the coffee table.
Colm grabbed the dishcloth away from her just as she exited the kitchen and pitched it back toward the sink.
“Hey,” she started, but she stopped when he took her hand and dragged her into the bathroom.
“What…” That was all Kelli bothered to say when Colm shut the door and locked it.
And that was the end of her resistance.
She met him halfway, the two of them kissing like their lives depended on it.
Colm grasped her waist, pushing her back toward the sink as Kelli wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her hands in his hair.
He hadn’t kissed her since Halloween, but damn if he hadn’t spent every single fucking night since Thursday dreaming about doing this again. He pressed her lips open, dipping his tongue inside her mouth for a taste.
Barbeque sauce and ranch dip.
Spicy, the perfect combination. She was delicious, and her lips soft despite the definite urgency of the kiss. She wanted this as much as he did.
Colm reached for the bottom of her jersey, only breaking the kiss for the three seconds it took to pull the thing over her head. He tossed it to the floor.
Kelli fisted his T-shirt in her hands, pulling him back to her, kissing him again.
Colm slipped his hands behind her back and, with practiced fingers, unfastened her bra with one quick flip.
“I’m going to ignore how fucking good you are at that,” she murmured, her lips still on his.
Colm chuckled, even as they continued to kiss. He drew the bra straps over her shoulders, tugging the lacy material away and dropping it to the floor with her jersey.
He lifted her so that she was sitting on the sink, her thighs outstretched. He stepped between them, certain she could feel his erection pressing against her, even through the denim of both their jeans.
Part of him kept waiting for her to come to her senses, to stop him.
When Kelli wrapped her legs around his hips and pressed her crotch more firmly against his, it occurred to Colm she had the same fear.
Afraid he’d call a halt.
No. Fucking. Way.
They kissed for several more minutes, their hands exploring, stroking, caressing. He’d thought Halloween night was hot, the way he’d had to rely on only his sense of touch, blinded by the darkness.
Seeing her was a million times better. She was sexy, curvy. Her skin was flushed a beautiful rosy red that covered her cheeks and crept along her neck and chest. He wouldn’t have expected that almost innocent reaction from her.
He played with her breasts, squeezing them, pinching her nipples, loving the way she gasped and moaned and arched her back, inviting him to take more.
“I love your tits, Kell. God. They’re perfect.”
He felt her smile, rather than saw it, when he immediately resumed the kiss.
Kelli’s hands had drifted beneath his T-shirt, her thumbs toying with his nipples, her nails lightly scratching his chest, playing with the smattering of hair there.
He released one of her breasts, reaching up to take a handful of her hair in his hand. He closed his fist around the long auburn strands, tugging until she groaned with pleasure.
He’d heard those same sounds from her on Halloween, and now he wondered how he hadn’t realized it was her. Her groans, her sighs, her hisses when…
He grinned when she gave him one of those sharp sounds as he pulled her hair harder, drawing her head back so he could deepen the kiss.
Kelli, the gorgeous, impatient woman, took them to the next level, her fingers flipping open the button on his jeans with ease.
“I’m going to ignore how good you are at that,” he murmured, repeating her words.
She pulled away from him, laughing softly as she tugged his zipper down. Reaching into his open jeans, she wrapped her hand around his cock.
“Going commando, I see.”
He winked, loving her easy smile and the way she rolled her eyes at him.
Kelli had probably rolled her eyes a million times in his presence, typically in annoyance over something he said that she found offensive or arrogant. The devil in him had always enjoyed provoking that response from her, loved tweaking her, teasing her, giving her shit.
Never, not once, had it made him this hard, made him lose his mind with desire, with need.
This time…
“God, Kelli.” Her impatience rubbed off on him as he took one small step back, drawing her off the sink so he could divest her of her jeans. She helped him, shimmying them and her panties down her hips, before she kicked them off with her shoes.
He opened the drawer next to her, rummaging to the back, finding the stash of condoms he and Oliver kept there “for emergencies.”
Kelli had shoved his jeans to his knees and resumed her place on the sink, using her legs to draw him back to her.
Halloween had been hours of foreplay and fondling, but it was clear neither of them was interested in a repeat performance of that. At least not this time.
Colm had spent too many nights alone with just his hand since then.
He opened the condom wrapper and started to pull it on. He’d just covered the tip when Kelli stopped him.
He looked up, catching her tentative—confused?—gaze.
He shook his head. “That’s a lot longer conversation, Kell.”
Her hand dropped away as she nodded hastily. “You’re right. It is.”
“And we’re going to have it.” Colm finished rolling on the condom, wondering if she’d stop him now. If the magic had somehow been broken.
He should have known better.
Kelli was indomitable, unshakable. Amazing.
She guided his cock to the opening of her body.
He wiggled his thumb over her clit. She was wet. So damn wet.
Her eyes drifted closed when he pressed the head inside.
“No,” he said, more loudly than he’d intended.
Her eyes flew open, met his.
“Don’t close your eyes. I want to make damn sure you know exactly who you’re with this time.”
She laughed, just one brief huff of amusement, before he thrust in. Straight to the hilt.
Kelli threw her head back as they found their rhythm in seconds. She added her own strength to his, using her legs to pull him back inside her every time he retreated.
; They came together in a rush as he moved in and out in an almost brutal fashion.
Kelli drove him on, demanding more. Always more.
“Wait!” she cried out when he completely withdrew.
“No. Turn around.” He already had her halfway to the position he wanted before he finished speaking, bending her over the sink, pulling her ass toward him.
He shoved back in roughly, loving the way she cried out, “Yes. God! Yes!”
Colm watched her face in the reflection of the mirror, her gaze locked on his as well.
Over and over, he took her. It was hard and fast and practically primal. When her cheeks flushed a deeper red and her breathing grew erratic, he knew she was close.
Colm slowed his thrusts as he bent over her back, his lips by her ear. “Don’t hold back, Kelli. I want to watch you come.”
She started to nod, but he wasn’t finished.
“But just know I’m not stopping. I’m gonna keep fucking you all the way through your orgasm. I’m going to make sure it lasts, going to draw it out until it hurts, until you’re begging me to stop.”
Kelli shuddered, though the response couldn’t be mistaken as anything other than pure hunger. “Please,” she whispered.
“Then I’m going to make you do it all over again when I come.”
She was gasping for air, and Colm could swear he almost saw her trying to prepare herself, trying to get ready for exactly what he promised.
He couldn’t hold back his grin, couldn’t keep it from growing when she narrowed her eyes. He was still moving inside her, but it was too slow to push her over.
Teasing her was second nature to him, something he’d always loved, but now, bringing it here, to this…
His eyes had been opened. And he’d never seen anything more perfect.
“All talk, Colm?” she asked breathlessly. “No action?”
He chuckled, making sure to infuse a warning in the sound. “Always poking the bear.”
“At least someone in this room is pok—”
That was as much of the joke as she managed. Colm slammed into her roughly, his fingers gripping her hips so tight, he knew she was going to bruise. He liked the idea of that, wanted her wearing his marks, wearing a reminder of exactly how he’d taken her.
Maybe it would even help her realize who he was going to be to her.
She didn’t yet.
But she would soon.
Kelli’s cries grew louder, and he hoped Oliver and Gavin stayed down in the pub, ordered a second round—maybe even a third.
Her orgasm struck hard, and Colm clenched his teeth so tightly, he worried about breaking his own jaw.
“Jesus.” He’d told her what he was going to do, but there was nothing like the feeling of Kelli coming on his dick, her orgasm squeezing him so tight, it wasn’t just her who was feeling the pain.
Kelli trembled as her orgasm started to wane, her head falling forward, hiding her face.
He reached up and grasped her hair, drawing her head back up so he could see her eyes reflected in the mirror once more.
Colm wasn’t gentle about it. Not that he needed to worry. Kelli’s back arched into the strong grip and—fuck him—she came again. This one even harder than the first.
She called out his name, the single syllable broken, beautiful. “Colm!”
This time, he slowed his pace. It was the only way he could regain control, could hold off his own imminent climax.
Kelli shuddered and shook as the last vestiges of her orgasm faded. He watched her face through it all and knew he’d never see anything more beautiful.
Releasing her hair, he gently rubbed her scalp. Then he pulled out.
Kelli lifted her head, her gaze connecting with his in the mirror.
He wrapped his hand around her elbow, drawing her up and turning her to face him again. Lifting her to her original position, he guided his cock back to her pussy.
Colm kissed her as he slowly pressed back inside.
Kelli broke the kiss, seeking air. “I just…” She shivered. “I don’t think I can do that—”
“Shhh. Just one more, Kell. One more with me.”
This time, he built his pace slowly, giving her time to recover, to let the sensations spark again. When he felt her hips lift to meet him, he knew she was back. She was ready.
He cupped her ass, pulling her closer to the edge of the sink. Then he gave in to his baser desires once more—fucking her, claiming her, possessing her. Making love to her.
Kelli’s hands gripped his hips, his incredible, demanding woman, jerking him to her as if she simply couldn’t get enough. Never enough.
She flew over the edge, and he followed her, locking his knees, fighting to remain upright as lightning struck.
He came harder than he thought possible, her body milking every single drop of come from him.
For several minutes—or maybe hours—they remained there, connected, struggling to breathe, fighting to still their racing hearts.
Finally, he found the strength to push away, to pull out of her. He threw the condom away, then reached for a washcloth as Kelli sat, motionless, watching him.
He wet the cloth with warm water and ran it along her slit gently before cleaning himself as well.
Colm watched as the fog of lust lifted and the awareness he’d been waiting for arrived.
“That was,” she paused, then forged on, “a mistake.”
It wasn’t. But Colm knew she wouldn’t accept that from him. Not yet. So he kept quiet.
She didn’t seem to notice his silence as she continued, “We can’t do that again.”
He let his cocky grin tell her exactly what he thought of that assertion, and she rolled her eyes.
“I’m being serious, Colm.”
“I know you are.”
“I’m sorry I tried to…stop you from…putting on the condom.”
He wasn’t used to seeing Kelli as anything other than one hundred percent confident, so it was obvious he’d drawn her way beyond her comfort zone. “It’s okay. I think we should talk about it.”
She considered that, then shook her head. “No. There are mistakes, and then there are mistakes.”
Colm was going to love every second of that particular mistake, but unlike him, his girl hadn’t opened her eyes, hadn’t let herself see what was happening here.
“That was…” She blew out a long breath, and he knew she didn’t want to admit what she was about to say. However, Kelli never shied away from the truth. Even if it meant being nice to him. “Fucking incredible.”
He laughed. “How much did that hurt to say?”
“A lot, so don’t expect me to repeat it.”
He gave her a soft kiss on the cheek and then, because he couldn’t resist, he enveloped her in a big hug. One she sank into without reservation.
Progress.
Chapter Ten
Kelli glanced down at her hand linked with Colm’s as they walked along the quiet city streets. It wasn’t too late, only a little past nine, but the Collins Friendsgiving had ended earlier than usual.
She could only assume everyone was still recovering from Halloween two weeks earlier.
“I was surprised to see Ryder there,” Colm observed.
“Yeah. Me too. I know Darcy and Yvonne invite him to pretty much everything, but the guy is a serious workaholic, so…”
“Guess that made Darcy happy. She’s got a hell of a crush on the man.”
Kelli grinned. “She wouldn’t be happy to hear you refer to it as a crush.”
“The guy is ten years older than her, and her boss. She’s his babysitter, for God’s sake. That makes it a crush.”
Kelli shook her head. “Don’t think any of that matters to Darc. She’s got it for him bad.”
“Which is a shame, because I don’t think Ryder can see beyond the end of the cell phone that’s constantly in his hand long enough to realize.”
She stopped walking. “You’re joking, right? Were you no
t paying attention tonight?”
Colm gave her a confused look. “Paying attention to what?”
“Ryder was looking at Darcy like she was a chocolate cake. And he wasn’t sharing it with anybody.”
She instantly regretted her comment when Colm scowled. She dropped his hand and raised her own quickly. “Oh no you don’t.”
“Don’t what?” he asked, his tone a bit darker than it had been before.
“You and Paddy and those Neanderthal cousins of yours don’t need to start circling the wagons around sweet, innocent Darcy. She’s fine.”
And with that statement, she’d gone from sticking her foot in her mouth to swallowing all the way up to her knee.
“Innocent?” Colm sounded more curious.
She waved him off and started walking again. “Forget it.”
“She’s still a virgin, isn’t she? I have to admit, I always wondered. She’s never had a sleepover with a guy at the apartment, and she’s lived there nearly three years.”
“We’re not talking about that. I’m sure there’s a girlfriend code, and I’d rattle off the legal number to you if I knew it.”
Colm chuckled, then mercifully let the subject drop.
“Ollie and Gavin weren’t their usual loud, boisterous, frat-boy selves,” she observed, determined to make sure Colm dropped the Darcy conversation for good.
“Yeah. I noticed. They’ve been quiet the last couple of days. Ollie met a girl, and I think he really likes her. I get the impression Gavin is jealous.”
“He likes her too?”
Colm had reclaimed her hand, but this time, it was he who pulled them to a stop. “I think Gavin is jealous of the girl.”
Kelli let that sink in. “Ollie and Gavin? No. They’re just friends, brothers even.”
“You don’t live in the Collins Dorm full-time like I do. I’ve seen some things that make me think the ‘just friends’ line has been crossed a few times. I mean, it’s not like they’re a couple, but…I don’t know. There’s something there.”
“Wow. I had no idea. They both go out on dates with girls all the time.”
“Yeah, but look at how they were raised. Three parents. Sean and Chad are bi, and as much with each other as they are Aunt Lauren. If Ollie’s said it once, he’s said it a million times. He wants a marriage just like his parents have.”