by Chloe Lang
“What about Alex? I know we’re not an item but I did just spend the night with him.”
He smiled. “Baby, I know my brother. Alex letting you go with me now was his way of giving his blessing. He may not be used to this—it’s new to me, too—but he’s not completely closed off to the idea.”
How to make him understand this was never going to work. “I’m from Wilde. You know what that means, Justin, don’t you?”
“I’m from Elko. Of course I know what that means, baby.”
“I grew up in a family with two dads and a mom all under one roof. It’s what I know. More than that, it’s what I want.”
“I get it, Shelby.” He leaned in and kissed her gently, tenderly, knowingly.
She melted into him like the last winter snow surrendering to a fresh spring growth. Tingles and warmth spread through her as his tongue shot into her mouth.
When he moved his hands down her sides, Shelby gasped and found a sliver of logic and resistance left inside her. She placed her hands on his muscled chest and pushed. He didn’t budge, but did end their kiss.
“What’s the matter, baby?” he asked, his brown eyes filled with concern.
“I won’t do this again. Not again,” she said, recalling how it had been with Kenneth, her ex. “I’ve been through this before. I dated a guy who wasn’t from Wilde. He told me he wanted me to be happy, but in reality he didn’t.”
“What happened?” Justin asked, stroking her hair so passionately.
Talking to Justin about her most painful memory was something she wanted to do, had to do. Then he would understand why this couldn’t be.
“When Kenneth introduced me to his cousin, I thought meeting one of his family was heading us in the right direction. God, how wrong I was. Turned out that I was only part of a fraternity bet. Nothing more.” The sting of that mistake still haunted her. “His cousin secretly filmed me having sex with Kenneth. They posted it on a porn site. The pricks even sent me a link to it via e-mail with the subject line—Wilde Girl under a Frat Brother.”
“Goddamn motherfuckers. Who are they, Shelby?” Justin’s sudden rage was more than she’d expected. His face was beet red. “Kenneth’s last name?”
“They’re long gone, cowboy. Both got jobs working for an oil company. Last I heard was that his cousin got killed in an accident on a rig out in the Gulf. Kenneth was sent to prison for dealing drugs. I can sure pick them, can’t I?”
“Don’t blame yourself, baby. Those kind of assholes are a dime a dozen. That wasn’t your fault.” Justin ran his fingertips over her shoulders. “I’ll talk to Brandon about seeing how we can get that video off of the Internet. He knows a thing or two about how to go about that kind of thing.”
“It doesn’t matter. It was my mistake.” She closed her eyes, recalling the one and only time she’d watched the illicit video. “The version online was only three minutes long, and thankfully, my face never comes on screen. No one would ever know it’s me but me now.”
“Baby, I still want to see what Brandon can do. It might make you feel better.”
“Knock yourself out, cowboy.” She was glad for Justin’s concern but was pretty certain even Brandon wouldn’t succeed. She’d tried to get the thing removed but to no avail. “Why are you really here, Justin? It’s not just to protect me, is it?”
“Nope. Like I said. We need to talk.”
“Why? I’m not trying to be obstinate or repetitive, but I am from Wilde. You are from Elko.”
“And I’m interested in taking this to the next step,” he said.
“What next step? I wasn’t aware we took a first step.”
“At your office. On our date. We connected. You felt it. I know you did.” He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Do you deny it?”
How could he read her so easily? “Even if you’re right, does that change things?”
“I am right. And yes, it changes everything.” Justin’s hands moved from the nape of her neck to her shoulders and down her arms to the very tips of her fingers and back up again. Every pass was making her more tingly. “I’m fine with sharing you with my brothers, Shelby. I know that’s what you want. Alex and Brandon might not be ready yet to go there with you, but they will be, in time. They’re into you already. That’s very clear to me.”
“You’re the playboy of the trio, aren’t you?”
“That’s what I’ve been up until now,” he confessed. “No more. Not with you.”
God, everything he said was reaching into her and locking her heart to him. “Are those just lines you use on women? Do you just say anything that will get you into their beds?”
“Who cares what happened in the past, baby? I sure don’t. Yes, I was a man-whore, as my brothers like to call me, but I’m done with that.” Justin’s gaze mesmerized her. “I’m here. I want to get to know you more. I want to see where this goes. I think you would be good for me and for my brothers, Shelby. I also think we would be good for you, too.”
Hopeful shivers spread out through her. She welcomed them. Impossible. It won’t work. Can’t. But God, what if he’s right? “Say Alex and Brandon are willing to try the Wilde way. What then? I grew up believing I would fall in love with men who were willing to share me. You and your brothers grew up believing you would each have a woman who would be yours alone, right?”
He shrugged. “We grew up believing in the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. Guess what? We changed. We learned. We can do the same when it comes to you and your dreams, Shelby.”
“I wish I could believe that as much as you do, Justin, but I know how this goes. Wilde girls are taught when we’re very young how the outside world works. If you were from another town like Wilde, where my kind of family is the norm or at least accepted by the community, it would be easy to hope. But you aren’t. Alex and Brandon are not.” Her heart dropped in her stomach. She was trembling, trying her best to keep her head, to trust her logic and keep her heart in check as she tried to convince him what must be. “Let’s say we start dating. Things rock along good for a while, but then what if Alex or Brandon wants to bring another woman into the mix? Hell, you might decide to do the same. Even if it seemed selfish of me, I could never stand for that. Next thing you know, it all blows up in all our faces. Can’t you see, Justin? What you propose won’t work. It can’t.”
The expression on his face was a mystery to her. It looked part pained and part confused. He didn’t say a word at first, which made her want to run to her room and shut the door just to get away. She’d confessed more to him than she’d ever done to anyone else. Justin knew about the video. Before now, she’d never told a soul about that, not even Jessie or Charly. Why had she opened up to him so easily?
Justin feathered his fingers on her cheek. “It’s going to be okay, sweetheart.”
“Is it?” Even though she was a trained submissive at The Masters’ Chambers, she’d been void of any real connection for such a long time. In truth, she’d given up on it altogether. The monthly munch at the club, and Friday and Saturday nights at TMC had been her life since the video. She couldn’t believe how wonderful he was being with her, perfect even. “This scares the hell out of me. You scare the hell out of me.”
He leaned in and pressed his lips tenderly to hers. She inhaled his scent of leather and wood and felt her heart skip several beats as the kiss turned more passion-filled, more possessive. His tongue didn’t wait for an invitation. It plowed into her demanding surrender. When he released her mouth, she tasted him on her lips—strong and masculine, the perfect combo to get her need ramping up even hotter and faster.
“Shelby, don’t be scared. Trust me. Everything is going to be okay. You’ll see.”
She was buzzing from his latest lusty kiss. “I want to believe you, Justin.”
“Then just do it,” he said in a tone that hinted of an even more dominant side to him than she’d seen so far.
Everything about him was disintegrating her. “Okay. I will. Please don’t let m
e down, cowboy.”
He smiled, and she blushed seeing the same blaze of attraction he’d shown for her at their first meeting. Could she be in love with him already after only meeting him the other day at the ground breaking? Maybe. It was certainly more than she’d felt for anyone ever before. Of the three Champions, Justin seemed to be the one who was quick to act, to pounce, to conquer. He’d inserted himself into her life without hesitation from the get-go and hadn’t let up. He certainly wasn’t letting up now as he moved his lips over her neck, creating a cluster of shivers inside her core. The more he licked her neck and moved his hands up and down the sides of her body, the more she let go of the vow that had held her heart safe. Bit by bit, her walls came down.
Could she have her dream, her real dream? She wanted a family, not like the outside expected for most, but one like she’d known her whole life. She and her siblings had been surrounded by such love. She’d let go of that hope some time ago. Was it safe for her to grab onto hope again? She might get the future she’d always dreamed of, a life with men who loved her and were willing to share her.
Alex Champion’s presence in Wilde had chipped away at her doubt. When Justin had gone back with her to her office to help her sort the bags, another round of chipping had occurred, but her wall had remained standing. After Alex had taken her to Elko on the most amazing date she’d ever been on, her wall began to crack. Making love to him had brought down some of the fortress that had been her heart’s protection, but still some of it remained. When Brandon had jumped in to keep her safe from Dirty Byrd, another section of wall crumbled into dust. And now, with Justin kissing her and caressing her with such passion, the whole invisible structure vanished, turning into nothing more than a faint memory.
She was open and vulnerable. All of her. Body, mind, and heart.
When he clasped her face with his fingers, he planted kisses and licks on her neck, tempting her even more. His hands left her face, moving down her front until he was cupping her breasts through her top and bra. Her nipples began to tingle in response, and she felt the craving grow inside her for the feel of his touch against her bare skin.
As if reading her mind, he helped her out of her cotton top, pulling it over her head. She looked into his dark eyes, which appeared dangerous and hungry to her, and squeezed her legs together, hoping to quell the pressure that was already building inside her as much as she could.
His lips curled into a gorgeous, wicked grin, and then he bent his head down onto her bra-covered breasts, suckling her through the fabric. Instinctively, she arched her back, pressing her chest into his greedy mouth.
“Fuck this bra,” he growled, and in a flash had it off of her. Then she watched him scan her upper half like an MRI machine. “My God, you have the most beautiful breasts I’ve ever seen, Shelby.” He cupped her mounds and then began massaging her gently. “Are you okay, baby?” he asked in a way that told her he was keeping his own desire reined in.
She nodded. What would happen when he unleashed all his hunger on her fully? A tremble rolled through her, imagining what that would be like.
Justin kissed her again, deeper and more demanding than before. She melded her body into his, pressing her bare breasts into his shirt which covered his rock-solid chest.
He ripped his mouth from her and stared straight into her eyes. Their gazes between each other never faltered. She held her breath, wondering how far she could go down this path. Something intense was happening here, something that was wrapping her up tight for him. She didn’t want to question it. Couldn’t even if she wanted to. She lowered her stare to his lips, the most beautiful lips she’d ever seen on a man in her entire life.
“Please, Justin. Kiss me again,” she begged.
“My pleasure, baby,” he said, his eyes darker and more dangerous than before. “But any more and I won’t stop. I’ve sampled you now. I’ve got to have all of you, Shelby.”
Trembling, she nodded, sending him her silent surrender.
“That’s what I wanted to hear,” he said, moving his hands up and down her body freely. Tonight, he was in the driver’s seat, just where she wanted him. She was his passenger, enjoying the ride.
She closed her eyes, relishing the feel of his fingertips on her skin. Every graze of his fingers on her nipples increased the quakes inside her. How was she already wet with only a kiss and her bra off? Second base vanilla-style had never made her this hot this fast before. Why now?
Because now, Justin wasn’t acting like a man only in lust, he was acting like a man falling in love.
“I’ve got to sample these,” Justin said, tenderly squeezing her mounds.
She opened her eyes and saw his head dip down on her breasts. When she felt his wicked mouth suckling on them, her breaths started to come faster and without depth. Even if earlier she’d had a chance to get out of this, to follow a more logical line, to escape Justin—she didn’t now. Not a chance. She was here. He was here. She was grabbing on with both hands. Maybe it was selfish or pathetic of her to do it, but she was way past heeding the saner part of her mind.
Justin was at the center of her world right now, making her shiver as he teethed her throbbing nipples. Dom or not, Justin was in control. She grabbed onto his shoulders, trying to steady herself to the growing pressure, but she was far from steady. Everything inside her was vibrating and sizzling, making it even harder to breathe.
After another nip of her tiny bits of flesh, he broke away from her breasts, heading down her frame, sprinkling hot kisses down her abdomen. Zinging sensations flew through her from her throbbing nipples to her now equally throbbing clit. She could feel her pussy getting wetter with every peck from his molten mouth. Her panties had to be soaked, and still the overwhelming pressure continued to mount inside her. The ache to be filled, to be taken, to be possessed was crushing.
Justin unfastened her jeans and pulled them down her legs and off of her in a single swoop. Suddenly, he stood and lifted her up into his arms, taking her breath away. “Let’s move this off the sofa and to the bed, baby.”
With only her panties left on her, she nodded, uncaring of the location—only that she needed to feel him now. “You’re still clothed.”
“Yes, I am, baby.” He gave her a wicked wink, and then walked her into her bedroom. He lowered her down onto the mattress. “Puts me at an advantage with you right now, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, Sir.” God, he had such Dom qualities. What would he be like if he ever dipped his toe in the life? That thought sent another wave of hot ripples through her body that settled down in her pussy, causing her clit to ache even more.
“I’ve got to see your pussy, baby.” He didn’t hesitate but shoved her panties down her thighs. “My God, that’s the most beautiful piece of female flesh I’ve ever seen in my life. You always keep it bare?”
Like any good uncollared submissive, she shaved her pussy clean. “Yes. Do you like it?” she asked meekly.
“Like?” He shook his head, keeping his gaze fixed between her legs. “No. I love it, Shelby.” He leaned down over her and brushed his fingertips over her slick folds and landed lightly on her clit with his thumb, making her dizzy and wanton.
Justin straightened up and stripped off his shirt. Seeing his naked, muscled chest and the big scar that stretched over his left pec, she gasped.
“Not pretty, is it?” He pointed to the scar.
She leaned up and traced it. Then she looked into his dark eyes. “You’re beautiful, Justin.”
“You think so, sweetheart? Good.” He pulled a condom package out of his pocket and placed it on the pillow next to her head. He meant to fuck her, and she was ready to surrender to him.
Justin shucked off the rest of his clothes. The last to leave his hot body was his jeans. No underwear. Justin going commando didn’t surprise her. What did surprise her was the size of his cock. Oh my God! A meaty ten inches that was more than a little overwhelming.
He crawled back on the bed, positioning his hot
mouth inches from her pussy. She could feel the heat of his breath on her folds and aching clitoris. He kissed her pussy tenderly, his lips to her swollen flesh adding to the increasing squeeze deep inside her body.
When she felt his fingers travel through her wetness and his tongue circle her clit, she spread her thighs apart as her need swamped her utterly.
Her entire body arched as a hot flush of arousal ripped through her. She tugged on his hair. “Justin!”
“God, sweet cream…” His words vibrated from his lips to her pussy. “Shelby, you’re gorgeous. I love that you’re bare here.”
Every syllable he spoke was driving her mad. Every lick, caress, brush—insane. “Please. More.”
“Yes, baby. Much more.”
Again, he drank from her pussy, burying his mouth between her legs, threading his fingers through her folds, pressing her clit with his wicked thumb. He sent a couple of his thick digits into her pussy, sinking them to the spot.
“Oh God!” Her pants were coming faster and faster as he got her closer and closer. If relief from the pressure didn’t come soon, her suffering might turn her into a raving, lusty lunatic.
Replacing his thumb with his tongue on her clit caused her body to seize. With his free hand, he shoved her right thigh over his shoulder. He lifted her left leg up and over until it dangled down his back like a mirror of the other. In this position, she felt deliciously vulnerable, exposed, accessible for him to devour.
The sensations brought on by the friction of his mouth and hands made it impossible for her to remain still. Writhing and whimpering under him, she tilted her hips, trying to press into him more.
“Justin. Justin.” Moaning his name over and over as he continued to bathe her pussy was as necessary as breathing at the moment. “God, yes.”
More muttering from him, incomprehensible as words, but the message was clear, falling from his lips to her flesh. Every one of Justin’s grumbles told her he saw her as beautiful, making her feel more desired, more coveted, more treasured than she ever had in her entire life.