by Joya Ryan
“For starters? It’s a button-up,” Ryder said.
“But it looks good, right?”
Ryder eyed it and took a sip of beer.
“Lay off him,” Bass said, coming to sit next to them. “You look good, man. You actually look like you give a damn for once.”
Because he kind of did. He’d shaved. He’d dug the dark blue button-up out of the back of his closet. He’d even worn his nice pair of dark jeans and cleaned his boots. Sure, he’d rolled the sleeves. And running his fingers through his hair counted as combing it, right?
“He’s trying,” Ryder said.
Bass nodded.
“You guys act like it’s a big deal. It’s a damn shirt,” Huck said.
Ryder smiled and clinked his long neck beer with Huck’s.
Irritating as it was, Huck wasn’t happy the conversation about his attire was over, because that left his mind full of the one thing he couldn’t stop obsessing over.
Autumn.
The woman looked damn good all the time, even in tight jeans with rips in the knees that gave sight to hints of the olive-skinned, mile long legs she had. Her exterior was tough and solid, but there was a soft, sensual side that he’d caught on to right away. Autumn was all woman, and he was actually twitching in his seat from excitement to see her.
He looked around. Then glanced behind him. Then around again. Damn it all to hell, he was literally looking for that girl. Waiting for her to show up.
As if the universe read his mind, Penny and Autumn made their way around several tables and closed in on them.
Huck didn’t even try to pick up his jaw from the floor or tamp down his admiration of her. Sure, Autumn was with Penny, and Penny went where Bass was, which was next to him, but still! Huck pretended that Autumn was walking up to him, and to him alone.
Judging by those stormy eyes, he could hope he wasn’t too far off.
“Holy fuck, you look amazing,” Huck said.
“That’s about as gentlemanly as he gets,” Bass said.
Autumn smiled. “Still a hell of a compliment. So I’ll take it.”
Damn, the woman surprised him. She could be laid back, easygoing, and the biggest, sexiest pain in his ass he’d ever met. But however he got her, whichever side she showed, there was one side buried deep which he hadn’t really gotten to tap into yet. A part of herself she kept guarded from anyone. He didn’t blame her. You did what you had to do to keep yourself safe and sane. All the more reason to accept the boundaries they’d both agreed to. In less than two weeks, she’d be gone.
Which left him limited time to get a glimpse at the hidden side of her. Starting with that laugh.
She kept it guarded, but it was like fucking currency, and he wanted to cash in. If he could make any kind of headway with her, he’d start there. Because time was a luxury he didn’t have, and while in the past he’d used that to his advantage. He had a mission.
Get close to her. Not too close, but enough to get past her armor.
But he’d have to give a little to get some back from her. And he knew better than anyone that making himself vulnerable was asking for the worst.
Christ, listen to himself. Was he really going to let his fear get the best of him?
Don’t be such a pussy.
He straightened his shoulders and held out his hand to her. “Wanna dance?”
“Oh, um, I don’t dance.” She glanced at the makeshift dance floor where couples were two-stepping and twirling around, and she looked less than thrilled.
“It’s easy. Just follow my lead.”
He didn’t let her respond, because he was too close to let her slip away. He took her hand and led her out to the floor just as the band geared up to play the next song.
He recognized the tune right away. Yep, the universe was sending him signs for sure.
This was going to be a good one.
…
Autumn took a deep breath. Huck moved in and cupped her hip with one hand, pulled her close, and clasped her hand in his other. She felt callouses and warmth on his skin, and the familiar sense of hands roughened by hard work eased her a little.
He stepped closer so that her breasts brushed his chest, and she thought she heard him groan. Or maybe it was her. Because he looked as amazing as he made her feel. Cleaned up a bit, not that she minded the scruff and T-shirts he normally donned. Actually, she liked every way Huck looked. Especially with a tool belt. Seeing him the other day with it on, hanging on his hips and—
“Eyes up here, honey,” he said with playfulness.
Crap, she’d been hanging her head and staring down at his package.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” she admitted. And boy was that the truth of the week. In and out of the bedroom, every self-preservation method she’d perfected over the years gave her the middle finger while her body took over, threw her into overdrive, and straight toward the tattooed contractor.
“It’s okay. I’m right here. You just have to relax and let me lead.” He leaned in, and his lips barely brushed hers. “Ready?”
Ready? Well, that depended. She was ready for a lot. Too much. Things that weren’t a good idea, like Huck himself. Things she’d walk away from right now if she had a lick of sense. But she found herself nodding.
His feet started moving, stepping toward her, so she stepped back in tandem. Soon she fell into an easy rhythm. Huck was graceful and easy on his feet. He even said a few of the lyrics as they played.
“I’ve been looking for that girl…waiting for that girl…”
The way his smooth voice rolled over the song’s notes made her shiver, and a part of her wanted to be “that girl.” In the song…for him…something. Or someone. She just wanted to be someone.
“That’s it,” he smiled. “You’re doing great.” She glanced down at their feet, and he said, “Watch my feet and move with me. Quick. Quick. Slow…slow… Quick, quick, slow…slow…”
Autumn followed. Simple enough. They were literally just stepping around. But she’d never felt more feminine than she did in Huck’s arms.
“Okay, eyes up now,” he said. She obeyed and met that steely green gaze of his and smiled. Her feet kept moving, and so did he, leading her around the floor like they were gliding. Like they fit.
Just when she was getting the hang of it, the chorus hit, and so did a sly smile on Huck’s face. In a flash of movement, he spun her out, twirled her around, then yanked her back in his arms in record time.
A wide smile split her face, but she didn’t have time to think about it, because he did it again, only this time, twirled her twice in a row. Her hair whipped around, and her boots spun before he brought her back to the warmth and security of his embrace.
She laughed and clutched to him as the pace slowed just a touch, and then they were back to the two-step.
His face lit up as he looked at her.
“Liked that, did you?”
“Yes!” she said around a happy laugh, and she found herself moving her hips and feet in a more rhythmic way. Who knew twirling was so fun? She finally got her happy smiles under control and realized that Huck was staring at her with some kind of wonder.
“What?” she asked.
When they hit the corner of the dance floor, he snagged her lips in a quick kiss. “Your laugh is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. I just wanted a taste of it.”
A sting hit behind her eyes. No one had ever said anything so wonderful before. She also realized that she didn’t laugh much. Just like she didn’t twirl, or do anything a happy, “normal” woman might do.
She’d been too busy trying to stay afloat. Trying to keep the men in her life from finding another reason to abandon her. Men like her father.
And in the end, she’d failed. But her father had failed her a long time ago. No matter how hard she tried, worked, or held on, people and support all disappeared in the end anyway.
Yet she clung tighter to Huck. Because in that moment, she didn’t want to let go. Didn
’t want to believe that he wanted to, either. It was a fantasy, one that would fade away in less than two weeks. It would hurt when reality came crashing down like it always did—
“Whatever you’re thinking about, stop,” he said against her ear, keeping her close and dancing her around, giving small spins here and there. “Don’t go to whatever thoughts have you looking sad, honey. Stay with me. Stay in this moment. Don’t go.”
Her heart twisted a little, because Huck sounded so genuine. She wanted this moment. Wanted it free from the clouds of the past and the present. She just wanted him.
“I’m here,” she whispered.
“Good.” He smiled and spun her out again. This time he did some hand-off behind his back and gave her an extra twirl, then coaxed another sharp giggle from her as he pulled her back into his arms.
“Careful, honey, I think you’re having fun.”
“I know how to have fun.”
“Oh, I know you do.” He winked. “Have you really never danced before?”
“Nope, never.”
“Well, I’m honored to be your first.”
She smiled and shrugged. “You looked competent enough, so I figured you were worth a shot.” She loved teasing him.
“Oh, is that right?” The hand on her back moved lower to swat her butt before spinning her out and bringing her back. “I’m set to show you how competent I can be.”
She raised a brow. She loved how Huck talked to her. Open and honest and sexy as hell. Never shy. Never tiptoed around the truth. At least this way she didn’t have to be afraid of how things would end. There was a kind of comfort in already knowing.
Not to mention that the small smack he’d delivered on her ass made her wet in an instant. While dancing was fun, she was ready for a different kind of tango altogether.
“Now I want to know what thought has you making those eyes at me,” he drawled in a husky voice. “You’re a difficult one to read.”
“And you want to know what I’m thinking?”
“Yes, ma’am, especially because it has you looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
The song was almost over. He pulled her close, and she felt his hard cock rub against her stomach. Seemed he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.
“You’re looking at me like you just may want me.”
She glanced up at him. “And if I do?”
He smiled. “Then I’m going to hope that once again, you follow my lead.”
Chapter Nine
It was one thing to bring a woman back to a hotel room. It was another to bring her back to his own house. A place he never brought a woman.
But he was determined to show Autumn the night she deserved, and if that meant bringing her back to his place, he’d do what he had to do.
Besides, it was his home turf. He was in control here.
He flicked on the soft yellow light in the dining room to give a glow to the open house. It wasn’t overly big, but Huck was a single guy. One master bedroom was all he needed. The second room still had random boxes he’d hadn’t unpacked from when he’d moved out of the house he shared with Sydney. He’d loved that house, but he couldn’t stay there, not when it made him sick.
“Bachelor pad,” Autumn said. She looked around the kitchen then walked into the living room.
“Yes ma’am.” Bachelor pad was putting it mildly. While he kept things clean, it was simple, colorless, and didn’t have much except for leftover pizza and beer. At least he was pretty sure there was still leftover pizza and beer in the fridge. Shit. He hadn’t thought this through. He couldn’t really offer the woman anything other than water or a longneck.
“I like it,” she said. “It fits you.”
He watched her while she stood in his living room and looked around at his Spartan living accommodations. TV, black leather sofa, and matching oversized chair. That was about it.
With her standing there in all her beauty, he’d never realized how plain it was until that moment. She was flawless and infinitely complex.
Best of all, she was there.
In his house.
And that’s where he wanted her.
He’d never felt like this place mattered to him. It was just somewhere to hang his hat until he figured out his next move. But for the first time, with her in his living room, the place felt like home.
She faced him. “I know we give each other a hard time…”
He nodded. “Yes, you make things very hard on me.” He smiled, and she smiled back.
Then she took a step toward him, and he all but leaped for her. He took control of himself at the last moment though, and instead paced himself, met her in the center of the room at a stroll, and then looked her in the eyes.
“I wanted to thank you for what you did,” she said. “The job and the dance.”
“I’m happy to do both anytime, honey.” He tucked a lock of raven hair behind her ear. “I’ve never heard you laugh before tonight, and I must say, it’s addictive.”
“I haven’t had a reason to laugh much lately, I guess.”
“Why?” He cupped her face, but she shook her head.
The look of despair was gone, and she fastened her gaze on him with intent. Part of him was glad, because when she looked at him like that, he was pretty certain her mouth was going to follow whatever path her hot stare made.
“I have a confession to make,” she said in a sexily throaty voice.
“Oh?”
“When you smacked my ass earlier, I liked it.”
His brows shot up. This woman was awesome. No blushing. No guessing games. She just came right out with it.
“Honey, that was barely a love tap.”
“So you’ve done the spanking thing before?”
He folded his lips together for a moment. He didn’t make it a habit to talk about his past with a woman he was sleeping with. But she seemed interested, so he would be honest.
“Yes, I have. I like being in the driver’s seat.”
“So I’ve noticed,” she said and stepped closer until her lips brushed his. “Thing is, I like being in the driver’s seat, too.”
Oh, he’d more than realized that the first night they were together. It was one thing that set her apart from all of the other women he’d been with. She wasn’t a passive recipient, letting him have so much control that she simply did whatever he wanted. She wanted control, too. Wanted her needs and her desires to be part of the equation. It was the closest to collaboration with a partner he’d ever come.
“Looks like we’re both fighting for the same seat then.”
She ran her hand up his chest. “Unless…” When she reached his nipple ring, she squeezed it through his shirt, then pushed him back. He fell onto the oversized chair. “There. Now you just sit back and relax for a minute.”
“A minute?”
She walked slowly toward him. Those incredible legs teased him with every perfect flex and move. She sank to her knees before him, and he choked on his breath.
“I suspect this will only take a minute, maybe two,” she said.
“Ah, woman, you’re going to pay for those words.”
She was teasing him, goading him, but delaying the moment when she’d bring herself close enough to touch. After she’d put the idea of slapping her ass in his head that was something he was anxious to do.
Then her hands found him.
Two minutes my ass. He could last longer than that. Though the way her hands started slowly unbuttoning his shirt and running up and down his skin, he was already bursting through his jeans.
No, damn it. He’d last.
And he’d play her game. She wanted to tease? Wanted to battle with wits and bodies and see who could outlast the other? Fine with him.
Once she got his shirt open, he shrugged out of it. She leaned back and looked at him. Her eyes skated along his chest and arms, taking in his tattoos, no doubt.
Time to play, honey.
“Well, I must say, ha
ving you eye me like candy isn’t so bad.” He threaded his fingers and placed them behind his head, then reclined a little in his seat. Her gaze snapped to every move, and yeah, she liked it. She was on to him though.
Round one: Who would appear the most unaffected while being overly hot?
When those stormy eyes reached his again, she smiled like she had a secret.
“Well you just relax, big guy. Let me take over.”
Yeah, right. He’d let her have her way, but soon enough, it would be his turn. Just like the last couple of times. He’d take her with every ounce of energy he had and wrap her up until sunrise. Then maybe she’d talk to him more. Open up.
Jesus. He never thought he’d see the day when he’d actually want to know a woman again. But there she was, perfection on her knees, like some offering he damn sure didn’t deserve.
To hell with what he deserved. This was all about what he needed.
She leaned in, her mouth hovering over his chest—
“Wait,” he said. He cupped her face and looked down at her. “I have a confession to make, too.” It sounded kind of silly in his head, but he went with it. “I love how your skin feels against mine.”
She stared at him for a moment. A long fucking moment. So long that he felt like an idiot for saying that out loud. Before he could take it back, she pulled her tank top over her head, then unclasped her bra and tossed both to the floor. And good goddamn, he forgot how to breathe.
“Better?” she asked.
He nodded dumbly, staring down at the most beautiful skin and perfect set of breasts he’d ever seen. Every time with her felt like the first time, each experience a new delight that promised to never get old. Everything with her went beyond simple, quick, and easy.
One thing was for certain: He wanted more. Eventually, they’d have to say their goodbyes. But for tonight? He’d make sure the woman in his arms remembered him when they both walked away.
She leaned in again, and her bare breasts skated across his torso as she slid up his body to deliver kisses on his neck. Christ, it felt good. That’s what he’d wanted. To feel her against him. Slow and soft.
Yep, the woman made him fucking shiver.