by M. S. Parker
“Dax–”
Another smack on my ass, this one hard enough to make me gasp. My whole right cheek was hot and stinging now, and I decided I didn't care what Dax was using. He twisted whatever it was, pushing the unyielding object even deeper, and I groaned.
When the head of his dick brushed my entrance, my eyes flew open. He didn't give me a chance to process before he slammed into me and I screamed. I was too full, stretched too tight. My voice gave out, my throat raw, and I still couldn't stop. He was relentless, his thick shaft opening me wide with each stroke even as my muscles fluttered around the object in my ass. I could feel the orgasm building inside me, and it was bigger than anything I'd ever felt before.
I was so close, ready to tip over the edge–
“Bryne!”
I was shaking, and it wasn't because I'd come. I opened my eyes to see Todd looking down at me, a strange expression on his face.
“You've only got about five minutes to get something to eat, and then we have to head back in.”
I sat up, my body tight and aching. My face was flushed, pussy throbbing. I wasn't sure if it was worse to wake up before I got to come, or if it would've been worse to know that I came in my sleep...in front of my friend.
“Thanks,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair.
Todd started to walk away, but then paused and looked back at me. “You were dreaming about him, weren't you?”
“Bite me.”
Todd laughed, his eyes sparkling. “You know, Bryne, if the sounds you were making are any indication of how Dax is in real life, don't let him get away.”
As Todd left me alone in the room, his words echoed in my head. My dream hadn't been based on anything Dax and I had done, and the ease I'd felt wasn't even close to how we were together now. I wanted to believe that we could have all of that together, but I knew real life rarely lived up to expectations. Dax and I were so different that I was starting to think that the short time we'd been together was longer than we had any right to expect.
I'd never been the sort of person who gave up on what I wanted. I always fought for it.
I just didn't know if Dax was worth fighting for.
Chapter Nine
Bryne
It took more effort than I liked to get back into my character's head for practice, but after the first couple minutes, I felt more like Gretchen than like myself. Considering how well I liked the character, and how much I didn't want to be in my head right then, it was a good thing.
Things fell into a wonderful rhythm between the five of us as we began to find our characters within ourselves, and how those characters related to each other. It was interesting, I thought, how we could all get along so well as ourselves, and then have such great chemistry playing characters who were so different than we really were.
Pretty much the only thing Gretchen and I had in common was our age. She was a surfer girl from California, from a big, laid-back family. Sweet and shy and innocent. Soft-spoken. She grew over the course of the play into someone with some backbone, but it was a real challenge portraying someone who had to grow into a characteristic that I'd always had.
By the time the director finished giving us our notes on the day, it was late afternoon, heading toward evening, and I was feeling better than I had at the beginning of the day.
“Want to grab something to eat?” I asked Todd as we picked up our things.
“I would,” he said, “but Hiram's supposed to be calling in a half an hour so we can make plans for when he's coming home.”
“It's hard being away from him, isn't it?” I pulled on my coat.
“Harder than I thought it would be,” he admitted. “Hiram and I have been dating for a while, and we're exclusive, but we haven't talked about moving in together or anything like that. We've both always liked having our own space.”
“But now?” I prompted when he fell silent.
A sweet sort of expression came over his face. “Now, all I can think about is seeing him again and how much I hated us being apart.” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I don't want us to have to make plans to do things together whenever we can manage it. I want our being together to be the norm, and time apart to be infrequent.”
“I think when he gets back, the two of you need to spend some time talking about that.”
A shadow passed over Todd's face. “I know. I'm just worried that he won’t want the same thing.”
I reached out and squeezed his hand. “He will.”
Todd raised an eyebrow. “And you know this how?”
I smiled. “Because you're totally gorgeous, and one of the kindest, most amazing men I know, and if you were straight, I'd be all over you.”
He laughed and threw his arm around my shoulder. “I didn't think I was your type, sweetheart, gayness aside. Don't you usually go for the bad boys?”
My chest tightened. “I wouldn't know about usually, but that’s been the case since I've been here.”
I pulled out my phone to check on my ride. Ofelia had told us after lunch that it'd started snowing, and the forecast said we should expect a lot more. Snow was beautiful, but I didn't want to be standing around in it. According to the app, the car was just around the corner and would be here in a couple minutes.
“Maybe I should take a page out of your book,” I said. “Find someone more than twenty years older than me.”
He shot me a grin. “And here I thought you meant you were going to switch teams.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Unfortunately, I like dick too much.”
Todd burst out laughing. “Me too, hon.”
The tension in my chest lightened as I joked with my friend. Things with Todd were so easy and pleasant. I wished it could be like that between Dax and me. That I could know where things stood and not spend my time second-guessing and wondering. This was exactly the sort of thing I wanted to avoid. I just thought that by not being in a defined relationship, it would be different. The thing was, I was pretty sure it had less to do with my inability to keep things casual and more to do with the connection Dax and I had. If it'd been any other guy, I doubt that I would’ve had this problem.
Except I didn't want another guy.
“Are you going to go find him?” Todd asked as he held open the door for me. “Get some stress relief going on?”
I rolled my eyes and was just about ready to come back with a smart remark when I saw someone leaning against the car waiting for me. I didn't even need a full look to recognize that tall, lean frame. Merely a glimpse was enough to make my stomach flip.
“Bryne?” Todd sounded puzzled, then followed my gaze. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Oh.”
“Hey.” Dax pushed himself off the car and took a couple steps toward me, stopping just before he was close enough to touch.
“Hey.”
An awkward silence hung over the three of us for several seconds before Todd broke it.
“I'll leave you two alone.” He gave me a quick hug, taking a moment to whisper in my ear, “Follow your heart, Bryne. If he makes you happy, go for it.”
As he walked away, I wanted to tell him that I didn't know if Dax made me happy, but considering Dax was standing right there, it didn't seem like the best time to have that particular conversation.
Dax opened the back door to the car. “Get in.”
My eyebrows went up as I bristled at the command. “Excuse me?”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Please.”
I wanted to say that I got into the car because it was cold and I didn't want to be out in the snow, but that was only a small part of the reason. He'd said please. That was something I hadn't expected, not after the strange way we'd left things, and I already had too many questions for him.
I slid into the backseat and kept moving until there was room for Dax too. The driver glanced in his rearview mirror, his expression unchanging when he saw Dax.
“Where to, Miss Bryne?”
I glanced at Dax,
who gave me a very unhelpful shrug. “Can you find somewhere to park until I figure out what we're going to do?”
“Yes, miss.”
The window went up without me asking, and I made a mental note to tell Gavin that his driver deserved a bonus. The car began to move, and I turned toward Dax.
“Where have you been?” The question came out harsher than I intended.
“It doesn't matter.” He reached out and twisted a curl around his finger. “I'm here now.”
“It does matter.” I moved his hand away. “I thought we were having a good time, and then this woman comes up, and you're basically blowing me off.”
“It wasn't for Cleo.”
There was something still guarded about his expression, but I could still hear the honesty in his words.
“Who is she?”
He moved closer, his arm sliding around my shoulders. “I don't want to talk about her.”
He bent his head, but I turned away so that his lips brushed against my cheek. He sighed and leaned away.
“We hooked up a couple times, okay?”
I crossed my arms to keep from reaching for him. I wanted answers, and my head knew it was the smart thing to do, but my body just wanted him. “Well, considering that she warned me to stay away from you makes me think it was a little more than just hooking up.”
That got a real reaction as his head jerked up, his eyes wide for a moment before they narrowed. “She did what?” The question was nearly a growl.
“The second time we...” Heat rushed to my face. “Anyway, the next morning, I was going to meet Todd at Tavern on the Green. A woman I didn't know stopped me and told me to stay away from you. Cleo.”
“Did she threaten you?”
Tension radiated off him. “I'm pretty sure her exact words were to 'stay the fuck away' from my man.'”
“I'm not her man.” He took my face between his hands, holding me in place as his mouth came down on mine.
The kiss was fierce and deep, something almost desperate as he pushed his tongue between my lips. I leaned into him, my hands moving to clutch the front of his shirt. The taste of him, scent of him, it was more addictive than anything I ever could have imagined. It was like the moment he touched me, nothing else mattered.
When he broke the kiss at last, he didn't pull away. His hands slid down to either side of my neck as he rested his forehead against mine. I kept my eyes closed, unsure if I could handle looking at him just yet. His thumb brushed over the pulse in my throat.
“I've been thinking about doing that from the moment you walked back into the club the other night.”
I wanted to ask him why he hadn't kissed me then. Why he'd let me go home and ignored me for days. I didn't though. Something in my gut told me that if I pushed too hard, if I asked too much, I would lose him. I didn't know if I was ready to label what we had, but I did know I wasn't ready for it to be over.
There was one thing I did have to know though.
“The mutual friend Cleo mentioned.”
His entire body tensed, and a faint sick feeling curled in my stomach.
“Is it a kid?”
He pulled back, a confused look on his face. “What?”
“Do you and Cleo have a child together?”
The shock on his face was almost an answer itself.
“No!” He stared at me. “What would make you think that?”
I shrugged. “We don't know that much about each other. It's not like that's really a strange question to ask, especially with how secretive Cleo was being.”
He shook his head. “I don't have any kids. I swear.”
Relief rushed through me. I could handle an annoying ex, and even the crazy back and forth as we figured things out. I just didn't want a kid being involved. Not that I disliked them. I just didn’t want to do anything that could possibly hurt a child.
“What about you?” He shot the question back at me. “Any kids?”
“You better hope not.” The comment flew out of my mouth before I could stop it. “Shit.”
He shifted so that his body was angled toward mine. “What does that mean?”
Shit shit shit shit! I blamed his kiss on making my head too befuddled to remember that I planned on never telling him that he was the only guy I'd ever slept with. I could lie, but I had a feeling he'd know. And he'd never let me not answer at all.
I squared my shoulders and forced myself to keep my head up. I didn't want this to be a big deal.
“The first night we were together was my first time.”
“Bryne–”
I held up a hand as I cut him off. “It was my choice, Dax. I knew what I wanted. I wasn't looking for some special, romantic gesture. I wanted good, hot sex, and that's what I got. It's not a big deal.”
He gave me a hard look, like he was trying to see if I was just saying what he wanted to hear. After a few seconds, he grinned. “Could've fooled me.” His heated gaze ran down my body and back up again. “You're fucking amazing.”
The tension that had tightened my shoulders again eased even as I flushed. “Don't think you can sweet talk me into sex in the back of the car. I don't want to explain that to my uncle.”
Dax laughed, then reached over to take my hand. “While I'd never say no to getting in your pants, I was thinking more along the lines of dinner and a movie.”
I raised an eyebrow and tried to ignore the way his touch sent tingles of electricity through me. “Really?”
“Hey, I'm not saying I won't be asking to fuck you senseless before the night's over. Let's just get something to eat and check out a movie first.”
Food, movie, sex. Sounded like a great way to unwind. And I was starting to get the impression that this was how things would go between the two of us for a while anyway. As long as I had that in my head, I would be fine with it.
After all, that's all I wanted. Not a commitment or anything like that. I just wanted to know what to expect.
Nothing more.
Chapter Ten
Dax
Seeing Bryne was supposed to make things easier, supposed to help me decide what to do. A part of me was hoping that I would see her, and it wouldn't mean anything. I could tell her that I was just checking up on her, that I wanted to make sure she was okay before I walked away. It wouldn't make me want to do the job for Booker, but I'd at least know that I wouldn't be putting my relationship with her on the line. The risk would be worth the reward.
Except the moment she stepped outside, and I saw that guy's arm around her shoulders, I'd wanted nothing more than to tell Todd to get lost. I didn't care if he was gay. I didn't want anyone but me touching her. Hell, it'd taken all of my self control to wait until we were in the car to kiss her.
Considering how much I needed every penny of my paycheck, my suggestion of dinner and a movie wasn't a good one, but I needed to spend time with her. Needed to know if she was worth me passing up a job and potentially – no, definitely – pissing off Booker. I had a lot to lose.
And now I was pretty sure she was one of those things I didn't want to lose.
Things had gone well once I'd gotten over the shock she'd given me, but even now as we sat next to each other in the theater, I found myself going through it again.
A virgin.
I'd always stayed away from virgins. Never wanted the responsibility that I thought would come with being someone's first.
But Bryne wasn't like that. She hadn't acted upset that we didn't wake up together, or that she hadn't met my mother. She wasn't pushing for more time together or whining for a commitment.
Sure, she'd asked me about Cleo, and then surprised me with a question about kids, but I'd been around enough jealous women to know Bryne wasn't like that. She wanted answers but didn't seem put off when I didn't offer details about where Cleo and I had gone or who we'd talked to.
One thing was for certain, I thought as I glanced over at the woman sitting next to me. Bryne Dawkins wasn't like anyone I'd ever met before.
She'd been enthusiastic about sex, unafraid to say what she wanted, but even though I hadn't suspected her of being a virgin, I hadn't thought she'd slept around either. She wasn't naive, but there was definitely an innocence about her. Sweet, but she clearly didn't take shit from anyone.
And the more time I spent with her, the more I wanted. Wanted to talk to her, touch her. Hell, just being near her did something to me. In the past, I'd wanted a woman's body, and afterwards, I was done. Maybe that made me a bastard, but I never promised them anything else. If we danced or ate or talked, it was all foreplay.
With her, it was more. Sure, I wanted to fuck her again, but it wasn't like with other women where I was counting down the seconds until I could get my dick inside her.
As the credits began to run, Bryne shifted against me. I tightened my arm around her, wanting to keep her right where she was. Her head on my shoulder. The scent of her floral shampoo surrounding me. The feel of her soft curves. I was pretty sure she'd fallen asleep at some point during the movie, and I didn't even care that I'd spent money on a ticket she wasn't actually using. I would've bought another one if it meant I got to keep her here with me like this.
She sat up as the lights came on, her cheeks turning pink as she glanced at me. “Sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep.”
“It's okay.” I shrugged, determined to keep my tone casual. She didn't need to know how much I liked that she trusted me enough to do that. Trust wasn't something I felt very often. Even less now that I'd lost Carrie and Gavin's.
A little voice in the back of my head spoke up, telling me I should have Bryne talk to them for me, see if I could get my job back. I quickly pushed that aside. I didn’t want Bryne thinking I only wanted to be with her to get back in the club, even if it would've helped a lot. Once I told Booker I wouldn’t do the job, maybe I'd go see Carrie myself, make things right. I didn't like the idea of Bryne's family thinking I'd treat her bad.
I stood and ran a hand over my face. I needed to quit thinking like that. Bryne and I were having a good time. That was all. Telling Booker no was because of my mom, not her.