Built To Last

by Rhona Davis

  “I’ve got to give it to you, Emma, I admire your commitment to solving your sister’s’ problems. That’s real love right there.”

  I glare at him. “You’re a monster!”

  “So you've told me before.” He casually takes a sip of wine, looking smug and ugly as he stares at my cleavage. I shrink back, wishing the night away.

  As the minutes pass by like hours, he tries to make more small talk, like this date was normal, but his voice is nothing but white noise to my ears. All I can think about is finishing dinner and getting home as soon as possible. I’m also thinking of Brandon. He look pissed, and rightly so. Even though I knew I was going to share dinner with this slime ball opposite me—to placate him and buy time for me and my sis—I should’ve at least turned up for work instead of hiding away in my room like a condemned woman.

  I spoke with Beth about what I was going to do. She tried to talk me out of it, but I was adamant that we had no choice. Although I was angry with her last night, and I’m still bitter, I love her. I know she’d do anything to turn back time.

  God, wouldn't we both like to turn back time and bring mom and dad back.

  When Scott’s finished with his wine he gets the attention of a waiter. “Bill please.”

  Thank god.

  I snatch up my jacket from the chair next to me and swiftly put it on, covering up my body from his roaming eyes.

  “Where to now?” he says.

  “Home.”

  “Good idea.” He has a smiley smile on his face.

  My eyes round. “My home.”

  “Even better, your sister can watch!”

  “No fucking way! I never said I’d sleep with you. We agreed, just a date.”

  “When I date I like the full experience, Emma. Three grand is a lot of money.”

  Horrified, and feeling like an idiot for not thinking that he wanted more than dinner, I push from the table and run out of there as quick as my legs can carry me.

  As I speed off down the street, he follows. I come to the end of the street and take a shortcut down an alleyway. As soon as I do, though, I know I’ve made a terrible mistake…

  It’s a dead end!

  Chapter 6

  Emma

  “You shouldn't have done that,” Scott hisses, backing me up against a dumpster.

  “I’ll scream!”

  “You do and I’ll make your life hell. The terms have changed. I want all of the money your stupid sister owes me.”

  My eyes stretch. “You can’t do that! We agreed, three grand.”

  “That was before you broke your promise. I told you that I could be reasonable.”

  “This is crazy.”

  “It’s just business.” As he pushes up to me, licking my neck with his grey wet tongue, I grit my teeth and try to fight back tears. He smells like cigarettes and booze, and I can feel the tent in his pants push against my bare thigh.

  Just as he reaches for the hem of my skirt, slithering over me in perverted desperation, I strike his groin as hard as I can with my knee. Howling in pain, he drops to the floor and writhes in agony.

  Feeling sick and dizzy, I race past him and run toward the end of the alleyway.

  “You bitch!” he shouts out after me, scrambling up to his feet and giving chase. Just as I approach the end of the alleyway, with the open street coming into view, I brake to a stop and scream. Headlights blind me and I fall down, feeling what little strength I had left in my body dissipate.

  Hearing Scott quickly catch up to me, I turn around on the floor and scream again. Suddenly, though, just before he reaches me with his arms outstretched, the large silhouette of some huge man flies over me and launches into him.

  I push up on unsteady legs and see that it’s Brandon. He’s wrestling with Scott, but Scott is no match. Brandon quickly gets him into a headlock before throwing him into a bunch of trash cans. Garbage flies everywhere, and the sound on trash can lids echo through the tight space of the dark alley.

  “Brandon!” I cry. “Leave him!”

  He doesn't listen. Grabbing Scott by his throat, he slams him into a wall and lifts him right off his feet. Scott squirms and fights for air like the worm he is, looking terrified at the impressively built shape of Brandon’s muscular body.

  “If you ever touch her again I’ll kill you,” he growls. Scott doesn't answer, so Brandon squeezes his neck harder. “Did you hear me you piece of shit?!”

  He nods once, choking and spluttering.

  Brandon lets him go. As soon as Scott lands at Brandon’s feet he coughs and whimpers.

  I wipe away the tears and rush over to him. “Why did you do that?!”

  He squints at me. “I just saved you from being attacked.”

  “You’ve made it worse!” I fall to my knees and sob.

  As Brandon tries to console me, Scott runs past us both and disappears into the night. Brandon might think he’s a hero, and he, but he’s only saved me for now.

  “Here.” Brandon hands me a large glass of Scotch as I sit on a sofa in his apartment. I’m still shaking from the events of the night and feel stupid that he now knows everything me and Beth has been through.

  He takes a seat next to me. “I think you should call your sister.”

  “No!” I spit back. “She had no right to get you involved.”

  “But I am involved,” he gently replies.

  When my teary blue eyes find his gaze I feel like I’m melting. Although Scott Smith is a beast, Brandon is the total opposite—giving me hope that not all men are assholes. There is a sincerity in his seductive dark eyes, like he really cares. And he’s not trying to make a cheap move on me. In fact, since he offered me sanctuary at his place, he’s told me over and over that he can take me back to my apartment any time I want. He’s as sweet and caring as he is deliciously sexy…

  And I don’t deserve him. I put myself in this situation. I thought I could handle it.

  Seeing my eyes well up with tears again, he places an arm around my shoulders and pulls me close to him. “Hey, it’s okay. Don’t cry. We can fix this.”

  “No we can’t.”

  “Sure we can. Anything can be fixed. Look at that motorcycle you brought back to life. I tell you what, Emma, I was ready to give up on it before you darkened my door.”

  For the first time today I laugh. Looking up into his eyes I can’t help being drawn to him. “You're so sweet.”

  He shrugs. “I know.”

  I pause as my gaze moves from his eyes to his lips. Feeling my core heat, and my heart race a million miles an hour, I reach up for him and plant a tender kiss upon his lips. It’s just a peck at first—a kiss that says thank you—but I soon find myself on top of him, kissing him with urgency and need.

  Brandon Marshall is the first man in a long time who’s made me want to get involved with the opposite sex. Even before tonight, when he flew in like Batman to beat up the evil villain in my life, I knew I wanted him.

  After a beat, though, just as our tongues dance and my hands roam over the thick muscles of his wide chest—cruelly hidden by one of his trademark vests—he pushes me back and draws a deep breath.

  My eyes narrow on him. “What’s wrong? Don’t you want me?”

  “You're all I want. But not like this.”

  My heart almost stops. “Why?”

  “Because you’ve just had a near miss with that creep.”

  “So?” My hands glide over his chest again. “I’m safe with you.”

  “I don’t want you to think that I’m like him.”

  I snort.

  “Seriously, Emma. Not all men are like that. I could have killed him for hurting you.”

  I brush a loose strand of blonde hair past my ear. “I’m a big girl now. I know not all men are like that. And not all men are like you, that’s why this feels right.”

  His eyes round and his stubbled jaw sets.

  With a smile, I push down on him and kiss him again. As soon as our lips reunite I feel myself gettin
g wet as an overwhelming pleasure courses through every cell of my body. This time there’s no resistance in him. At last I have the one thing that I want. It’s been a long time coming—doing something selfish, purely for me. And if all I have is one sweet night with my boss and protector, then I’m going to take it.

  Whatever happens tomorrow, whatever dramas are waiting around the corner, tonight, for once, I’m going put a lid on all of my troubles and remember what it was like to be happy.

  Chapter 7

  Brandon

  I’m so lost in Emma’s sweet, soft lips that nothing seems to matter any more. Not the lack of business at the shop, which has kept me up most nights, or even Emma’s troubles—which I know we could deal with together if only she’d let me help her.

  All the matters, here and now, is me and her: Married in our insatiable need for each other, and married in the most sensual and cock-achingly delicious kiss I’ve ever experienced—a kiss that seems to build with urgency the longer it lingers.

  Just as our tongues parry, and the bulge in my pants presses firmly against her groin as she hovers over me, she pushes back onto her haunches. Staring up at her I detect a slight look of concern in her pretty blue eyes.

  “Do you want me to stop?” I ask, worried she might say yes.

  She grins. “I’m on top of you, aren't I?”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “Then there’s your answer,” she cuts in.

  I grab onto her waist and let my gaze roam over her luscious curves. The way her breasts stretch the cream-white blouse she’s wearing makes my cock so hard that it feels like it could rip right through the zipper of my jeans. And her perfume—a light floral number, with the sweet scent of candy and spice—smells divine. Jesus, she’s so gorgeous it almost hurts.

  “I do have one question, though,” she says, leaning back down but stopping short of kissing me again.

  “Fire away, angel.”

  “I’m I just a one night stand?”

  My brows meet. “What makes you say that?”

  “If this is just a one-off then it might be a little awkward working together.”

  I smile. “Why, you're not into the whole friends with benefits thing?”

  “Hey!” She playfully slaps my chest. “I’m not a prude, but you'd be my boss with benefits.”

  “All the better!”

  “It could get ugly,” she warns with a naughty smile.

  “Then we should make it a habit.”

  Her face flushes hot-pink and she bites on her bottom lip.

  Fuck!

  Commitment?

  Me?

  I never thought I’d see the day when I’d give my heart away like this. We haven't even made love yet and I’m setting up a future for us. Still, it feels right.

  She pushes down and kisses me with more hunger than before, impatiently reaching down for the buckle of my belt.

  She might be years younger than me, but she knows what she wants. And she’ll damn well get it, too! If I have to hold on any longer, I think I’ll die from blue balls!

  Emma

  Scooping me up into his big strong arms, Brandon carries me through to his bedroom like I weigh nothing. We were so close to just fucking on the sofa but he held back, telling me that he wanted to have the space to fully enjoy me. I didn't protest at that idea!

  I think he believes that I’m confident by the way I pounced on him, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The truth is that my outward strength has always been nothing but a mask to hide my insecurities. Especially the hang-ups I have about my body, when most of the girls at college were thin and far prettier than me. That’s why I can hardly believe what is happening to me right now is real.

  Brandon makes my stomach knot with nerves. He’s just so damn perfect. From his muscular body, to his energy, and to the kindness in him when he smiles at me—a smile that can’t be faked—he is everything I could ever want in a man.

  As soon as he drops me down on the bed, his gentleman-like act fades quick. His jaw tenses as he rips down his zipper and climbs onto the bed after me. I pull my blouse over my head, heating with impatience.

  Not a word is said between us as we both get naked, but our eyes are glued to each other. And the more I see of his ripped and bronzed body, the wetter I get. My clit throbs, matching the wild beating of my heart, as I imagine all the wicked things I’d like to do to him, and have him do to me.

  “You're so fucking beautiful,” he says in a deep, rich and needy tone.

  As he hovers over me I arch back and unclip my bra, letting the straps fall down my shoulders. With my eyes irretrievably locked to his dark molten-hot gaze, I tease him. “Then you’d better fuck me good, Mr. Marshall!”

  He whips out his firm, erect cock and pushes his hips forward to treat me to a closer look. I gasp and feel my face flush. To say I’m impressed is the understatement of the year! His cock is fat and long, with bulging veins coiling around an impressively thick shaft like the copper wire from his toolbox.

  “Well?” he says, looking proud with himself. “Like what you see?”

  I playfully shrug. “It’s okay, I guess.”

  “Oh, so it’s gonna be like that?”

  “Well, I’ll have to feel it first…so I can give a fair assessment.”

  His jaw sets and he reaches down for my bra. Before I can turn away—enjoying my torment of him a little too much—he drags the bra away and almost growls. I bite back laughter when I see the look in his eyes. He looks mesmerized as he studies the full shape of my breasts. They're about the only part of my body I like—the only part of me that could make the girls at college jealous.

  He pushes down for my chest and begins to kiss and lick my breasts, caressing my flesh with his tongue as his lips brush over my erect nipples. I close my eyes and try to bite back moans of pleasure. But when he draws one of my nipples into his mouth, sucking with it with greedy relish and tugging gently on it with his teeth, a moan escapes me.

  Feverishly dining on one breast, he eclipses the other with his large hand—playfully and possessively squeezing it, which makes me writhe and purr. I throw my arms over his broad shoulders and pull him in harder.

  The more wild and carefree we get, the more I crave his touch elsewhere. He seems to sense this and snakes a hand between my trembling thighs—sliding a finger underneath my wet panties. Drawing his fingers up and down my shaved folds he soon eases a digit into my snug pussy, making me jolt. I cry out in rapture as he finger-fucks me, running the pad of his thumb over my beating clit.

  Not only is his touch magic, but his scent is, too. The cologne he’s wearing smells gorgeous and quintessentially masculine, heightening my senses and making the walls of my sex clamp hard on his thrusting finger. He starts to get more urgent as a result, driving two more fingers into my soaking wet pussy. The way they stretch me out me out, like a prelude to the main event, almost has me climaxing, but I fight off the urge and grit my teeth to stop myself from screaming.

  Suddenly, he pulls his fingers out of me and shifts down the length of my body toward my core. Before I can even draw breath, he yanks my panties down my thighs, buries his head between my legs, and lashes at my moist, pink petals with his expert tongue.

  I grip onto the bedsheets and shudder to a heavy and premature climax. Every muscle in my body tightens as a tidal wave of pleasure crashes through me, making me scream out in rapture.

  Before I’ve even had the chance to process it, never mind come down from my toe-curling orgasm, I push him back and quickly take over. I want to taste him. I want to feel that gigantic cock stab the back of my throat.

  He looks shocked that I’ve taken over, and that makes me giggle, but I’m too charged with lust to pause. Grabbing onto his throbbing meat, I lick the helmet of his cock—greedily lapping up the salty taste of pre-cum before enveloping the first precious inch of his rigid tool.

  “Fuck,” he groans, threading his fingers through my blonde hair. “That feels amazing
…”

  I smile as I suck in another inch, and then another. Before I know it I have as much of his dick in my mouth as I can possibly take. He’s so big that I still have at least three more inches to go before I reach the base. I strain trying to force the rest of him into my mouth, but he’s just too big. I gag, and have to pull back to the tip to get much needed air.

  When I’ve got my breath back, I suck him off again—being more conservative, but making sure to repeat the action over and over.

  I feel his balls tremble against my chin as I moan and murmur on him.

  He’s so close. And so am I again.

  With my defenses completely eroded, and desperate to feel his huge length inside me, I roll off him and lie flat on my back. He wastes no time climbing over me, eagerly positioning himself between my legs.

  I run my hands all over his chiseled six-pack abs and the sexy V of his wasp-thin waist—in awe of how jacked he is, and how handsome his cock looks as he directs it to my opening.

  I bite hard on my lower lip as he thrusts his hips forward. At first my seam is too tight for him to penetrate, but with a little more effort he soon finds a way to push past my guard.

  My eyes widen as he drives right to the very back of my shallow pussy. I mould to his size perfectly, like I was made just for him, as his beautifully thick and hard cock shunts into me.

  “Yes,” I moan. “Harder! Just like that.”

  He grabs onto my tits and squeezes them hard, as he starts to fuck me faster and deeper.

  The bed shakes and my moans turn into short, breathy screams as he pistons in and out of me.

  Suddenly I feel him sag a little. Feeling his cock swell inside me, my cunt walls tighten and I turn my head to the left—screaming in pleasure as another, more lingering orgasm bleeds through me.

  Feeling that I’ve just violently climaxed on his dick, Brandon roars, pushes harder into me, and then fills my twitching pussy with hot cream.