Chaos Among the Vines (Romancing the Vine Book 2)

by Gemma Brocato

  “You . . . um?” He lifted his chin.

  She licked suddenly dry lips. His heated gaze tracked the motion and he straightened, leaning toward her. He arched a brow, but waited for her to gather the common sense scattered at her feet.

  Resting her back on the now closed door, she searched her mind for what she was planning to say before she caught sight of his gorgeous, barely-covered body. What had she been expecting, hoping for? She had a plan. She needed to stick with it. “Uh, I wanted to check if you got everything sorted with the glass manufacturer. It not, we’ll have our work cut out for us sourcing another vendor. I’ll need to adjust our schedule for the next few days. I want to be sure we stay on task . . .” Her words ground to a full stop. The nerves firing through her system had caused her to ramble. To babble. Something Avalon Reese never did.

  But Avalon wasn’t in the room right now. Ava was. And she hoped for a great answer to the questions she didn’t really know how to ask.

  When she didn’t continue, Will folded his hands in his lap and his quiet voice filled the room. “Is that really why you’re here?”

  His voice sent a rush of liquid heat to the hidden place between her legs. She bit her lip and gave her head a minuscule shake. “I wanted . . . needed to ask you something.”

  He tipped his head. “Okay.”

  “I, um . . . that is, would you—” Damn, girl, just spit it out. She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’d like you to make love to me.” Fire washed up her chest and neck and into her cheeks.

  She cracked one eyelid open to gauge his response to her brazen request.

  Will swept the sheet from his lap, reviewing athletic shorts that did nothing to hide the thick ridge at his groin. “Come here,” he invited, as he shifted toward the middle of the bed.

  The wool carpet teased her toes as she ventured forward, her mind spinning dizzily, first telling her to go to him, then insisting she keep her distance. Each step closer magnified his beautiful brown eyes, making it easier to silence the sensible, cautious voice in her head. By the time her foot connected with Will’s discarded book, she’d completely submerged the practical side of her nature.

  Will reached for her, gripped her hand, and tugged her forward. One of her knees came to rest on the bed. His thumb stroked a small circle on the sensitive pulse point in her wrist, each lazy lap shooting thrilling electricity up her arm, tightening her nipples and surging between her thighs.

  “Come here,” he murmured again.

  She settled her other knee on the bed, and crawled toward the middle. As soon as she made contact with his thigh, she sat back on her heels and dropped her chin to her chest.

  “Are you embarrassed?” he questioned, his voice gentle and sweet. “I’ve wanted this too.”

  “I’m not like this, Will. I don’t typically throw myself at a man. Especially not a client.”

  Will shifted to his knees, facing her. He pressed an easy finger under her jaw and urged her head up. Her gaze was immediately snagged by the heat and desire reflected in his eyes. Desire she could easily drown in.

  “We don’t cross the line unless you’re sure. I’m thinking, though, you didn’t really step over my threshold because you’re overly concerned about where the supplies for an upcoming shipment are coming from.”

  “Um.” She shifted her gaze to his well-defined chest. Her eyes downcast, she sensed movement as he edged forward, then cupped his hands over her shoulders, his warm palms skimming down to the tender skin on her inner elbow.

  “Ava?”

  Her goose bumps flourished.

  “I don’t know how to do this.” Her confession was barely a whisper in the room as her gaze lifted to his.

  Will jerked backward, the smile wiped from his face. “Would you care to clarify?” He dropped his hands to her upper thighs.

  Confusion coursed through her as she replayed the snippet of their conversation. “Oh, no! Not that. I know how to do that.” She pressed her fingers to her heated cheeks and would have leapt off the bed to sprint out of the room, except Will’s grip tightened on her legs. “What I meant was, I’ve never unleashed my closet chaos long enough to even consider . . . um, doing what I’m considering with you. My client. That’s what I don’t know how to do.” She squeezed her eyes closed.

  Will’s palms warmed her where they touched. Calluses across the bridge of his hand scraped deliciously over her skin as he swept them up and down her thighs. Her senses sparked and fired under his tactile assault.

  “Look at me, Ava.”

  She lifted her lids as he spread his knees around hers and scooted closer. He pulled one of her hands from her face and brought it to rest flat against his heart, the heavy thud reverberating under her palm.

  He leaned closer. “I’ve thought about this moment, hoped for it really, since the day I met you. Not in person, but over the phone. Something about the degree of control you exercised made me want to do whatever it took to make you lose it.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah, honey. Oh. I have a plan I think can work for both of us. In here, in my bed or yours, you let your hair down. For me. Be free and out of control. Be my Ava. But only in here. Everywhere else, you can be tightly wound, rigidly controlled Avalon Reese.”

  Butterflies took flight in her belly with his proposition. “I think I can do that.”

  “Aw, baby, that’s what I’m hoping for. Because knowing that under your disciplined exterior, behind the business as usual front, my secretly free-spirited woman waits is so hot. I’ll be hard the entire time, looking for the next opportunity to set her free.”

  “Will,” she breathed.

  He speared the fingers of one hand through her hair while the other cupped her nape, urging her forward to meet his mouth.

  His words wisped across her lips. “Sound like a good plan to you?” He licked the corner of her mouth.

  A flood of heat surged low in her belly. Avalon twisted her head a tiny inch and touched the tip of her tongue to his. “Yes.”

  The faint lines at the outer edge of his eyes crinkled. “Good.” He wrapped an arm tightly around her waist and dragged her upright.

  Her breasts flattened against his torso as he cupped her ass, eliminating any space between them. The heat from his hand, from his chest, blazed along her nerves, activating her crazy side; the one she’d buried so deeply.

  Sliding her palms up the smooth skin of his abs—and then his pecs—caused a dance party in her fingertips. Her hands speared into his hair as his kiss probed her mouth, his tongue stroking along her lips, slipping past their barrier, gliding in and out as his fingers dug into her butt.

  She chased his tongue as he skated his hand up her hip, skimming under her camisole. Breath hissed between her teeth as the unexpected warmth of his touch seared the bare flesh of her midriff. He brushed his hand upward, until his thumb connected with the underside of her breast. He lingered, seemingly content to tarry there.

  “Not enough,” she moaned. She pulled the hem of her shirt up and over her head.

  Before the soft cotton hit the mattress, she’d laced her fingers with his and guided him until he cupped her breast. His palms were hot, his fingers firm and steady as he pinched her nipple. Cupping the back of his neck, she arched her neck, exposing her throat. “Want your mouth on me. All over me.”

  His chuckle vibrated against her body. “Knew I was going to like out-of-control Ava.” He kissed, licked, and nibbled his way down her neck, moving back to get a better angle.

  She instantly missed the firm, aroused rod that had pulsed against her belly.

  “Need you on top of me now.”

  The hand that had been on her butt disappeared, and the bed dipped under their weight as he braced an arm and lowered her until her back hit the soft mattress. His body was extra hard as
he stretched over her. His hips fit so damned right between her thighs. His mouth was a furnace as his lips closed over her breast and he tongued the nipple to a hard point.

  “Want to be in you now,” Will mumbled against her flesh. He lifted his hips as she shoved her hand between their bodies and dug beneath the elastic of his shorts, wrapping her fingers around the hot, sleek length of his cock.

  Will sucked deeply on her breast as he nudged his erection hard into her grip. His low groan, mingled with hers, drove her wild.

  She planted a heel on the bed and pushed up, rolling their bodies until his head hit the pillow. A smile stretched across his mouth, his lids at half-mast, the picture of a sexy beast spurring her heart to a faster tempo and her hands to a frantic pace as she learned all the curves and contours of his body. Her legs straddled his hips, her center aligned with his groin, the hot length of him cradled tightly against her.

  Lowering his hands to her sleep shorts, he pulled the drawstring loose, sliding his fingers inside, growling when he made contact with her bare skin. “Out of these. Now.”

  Avalon chuckled at the command in his voice. “Thought I was going to be the bossy one.”

  “We can both be bossy, as long as we’re naked when we’re doing it.” He pushed the fabric past the curve of her butt.

  “Naked and doing it is definitely my preference,” she rasped as she shifted on her knees, allowing him to drag the shorts off and toss them aside. Then trembled at the feel of his hand between her legs, probing against her folds. A wicked grin split his lips as he thumbed her clit and dipped one finger inside her.

  “Oh, God,” she cried out as sensation splashed over her, spreading from his hand through her whole body. “I want . . .” She lost her train of thought as he began moving his finger inside her, up and down, in a circle, adding a second digit.

  He dug his other hand into the muscles on her hip, flexing in time with the pulse of his fingers in her body. “What do you want, baby? Tell me.”

  She braced her hands on either side of his head and bent low, thrusting her tongue in his mouth, swallowing his groans along with her gasps as he stroked her to a frenzy. She jerked her hips against his hands, hoping for more, trying to help him go deeper.

  Suddenly Will reversed their positions, her back to the bed once more. His fingers slipped from her sheath, forcing a needful whimper from her throat. Within the space of three heartbeats, he’d yanked off his shorts. Avalon grasped his steely girth, holding on even as he eased away. Wood grated on wood when he pulled at the nightstand drawer. She watched, tightening her grip, as he ripped open a foil pouch with his teeth.

  He cupped his hand over hers and set a fast rhythm. Droplets of his precum leaked out onto the webbing between her thumb and fingers. She smeared the liquid over his shaft with her palm. He let go long enough to roll the condom down his cock, then lowered himself until he was snug between her thighs, perfectly positioned, prodding her opening as though begging for entry. Avalon tilted her hips and locked her ankles behind his back.

  And pressed down.

  Inch by delicious inch he filled her. His neck corded, his arms tensed on either side of her shoulders, he stretched her and kept going, deeper and fuller than she’d ever felt before. Until he slid all the way home.

  Her whimpers escalated and she rocked her hips against his. Ava laced her fingers behind his neck, drawing him closer. Will grunted and strained, withdrawing almost all the way, before a slow, controlled slide brought him back inside her.

  He set a smooth, easy motion, steadily thrusting in and out of her body, rolling his pelvis on her clit with each stroke. His chest glided against hers on each retreat, the movement delicious and controlled.

  But that wasn’t what she was looking for at the moment. She wanted it harder, faster. Deeper and totally abandoned.

  Dropping her feet to the mattress, she urged him into a faster rhythm. He complied, burying his face against her neck, his lips curling in the hollow between her ear and jaw.

  Slipping one arm behind her thigh, he positioned her leg until she was spread open to him. Weight balanced on one knee, he braced his foot on the bed and gave her what her body screamed for. Palming her breast, he pounded into her, groaning as he thrust home.

  The angle of his body, the heat of his fingers on her nipple, the press and rub of his groin against her clit, all combined to rocket her to the edge. Powerful waves of light and sensation crashed over her, her muscles tensing under his, her back bowed, her world narrowing to the point of contact between their bodies.

  “Yes, yes!” she keened, her fingers gripped around his head.

  “That’s it. Let the wild claim you, Ava. Let it go. Come for me.” Will’s words, panted against her ear, pushed her over the precipice.

  Chapter 22

  As he freed Ava from every band of control in her, Will soared right along with her. He rocked harder and harder into her, his balls drawn tight to his body, tingling and aching, demanding release. The clamp and roll of the muscles lining her tight pussy proved to be too much. He arched his back, angling up, a roar building in his throat. Stiffening against her, he shouted her name to the headboard as a powerful orgasm ripped through him. Hot come jetted from his cock in an endless stream.

  He collapsed over her and dropped his face to her pillow as shudders claimed his body, aftershocks he wouldn’t mind going on and on.

  Beneath him Ava quivered, her breasts rising and falling rapidly. Will could feel the tremble in her fingers as she toyed with the short hair at his nape. Turning his head, he found the hollow under her ear and traced it with his tongue. Her nails tickled as she skimmed the length of his spine all the way to the small of his back.

  Unbelievably, her light touch had his dick hardening once again inside her, plumping back to pre-orgasmic proportions.

  “Baby, that was some seriously great sex.” He pushed up on one elbow and dug his knees into the mattress, relieving some of his weight.

  Her eyes were closed, a playful smile on her lips. “Mm-hmm.”

  “Love that you lost control.” He trailed his lips along her cheek as his thumb stroked down the column of her throat. “Beautiful.”

  She opened her eyes, satisfaction glittering in them. “That was so unlike me. I’m not greedy, I don’t do fast hard sex very often.”

  He touched his mouth to hers. “Baby, you should.”

  “Yeah.” Her gaze got soft and introspective.

  “Uh-uh. Don’t go there.”

  “Where?”

  “I see you dipping back into your head, looking for order and control. Sex isn’t about either of those things. Unless you’re into kinky stuff.” He arched a brow, challenging her to tell him she could totally do that.

  “Yeah . . . no. Not my style.”

  He chuckled, then groaned as his shaft slipped free of her body. Easing up, he scattered kisses over her breast, ending just above her nipple. “Be right back.”

  She started to rise with him. “I’ll, uh . . . I should go back to my bed.”

  He pressed his hand in the center of her chest. “Nope. You better still be here when I get back. If you’re gone, I’ll come looking for you. The day that started with so much promise ended up a ten on the shitty scale. But it just got way better. Don’t let it peg that shit-show meter again. Please.”

  Ava cupped his cheek to bring him close, planting a lingering kiss on his mouth. “I’ll be here.” Her breath caressed his skin.

  He hurried along the darkened hall to the bathroom. After taking care of the condom and washing his hands, he hustled back, almost afraid to leave ‘Ava-the-uncontrolled’ alone for fear he’d find tightly-wound Avalon waiting in bed for him. Not that he wasn’t highly attracted to both sides of the woman, but the vixen who’d just asked him to make love to her? Now, that was the woman
he wanted to find.

  She lay on her side, one hand curled under her cheek, the other tangled in the sheet she’d dragged to her chest. Climbing in behind her, he slung his arm around her waist, curling up to find her hand and lace their fingers together. He slid his knee between her thighs, relishing the satiny warm skin.

  With a quiet sigh, Ava nestled into his body, pushing back into his chest, her butt to his groin. Every inch of him savored every inch of her.

  “I’m sorry your day got crappy for a while.” Her quiet voice was a balm for his soul.

  “Definitely looking up now.” Will nosed into her curls, kissed her neck.

  “Will?”

  “Ava.”

  She twisted until she faced him, her palm to his heart, working her knee between his legs. He rested one hand on her hip and propped himself up on his elbow.

  Her eyes were a lot more focused than they had been ten minutes ago, but no less brilliant in the low illumination from the lamp on the nightstand. She bit her lip, as though chewing on what she wanted to ask.

  Flexing his fingers on her body, Will met her gaze. “Ask me anything, baby.”

  Her lips quirked up at the endearment. “The man who came to see you earlier. Was that your dad?”

  Maybe he should have qualified that she could ask him about anything except his dad. “Yeah.” He let the terse comment linger in the air between them, and then expelled a breath. “I had Guin call to warn him about Meg’s treachery. As I expected, he charged over to defend her. That lasted as long as it took him to use your super-slick new computer to log on to his bank account. Dad is less savvy about tech crap than I am. At least I knew to change my damn passwords.”

  Her sharply indrawn breath said it all. “Oh, my God. How bad was it?”

  “Pretty awful. She wiped out his business account. Fortunately, he’d never given her access to his money market account. That’s a password he managed to keep in his head.” Dad told him it had always been Will’s name and birthdate. Even when Dad was flat-out pissed at Will, he’d never changed the characters to something less personal.