Chapter Seventeen
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
WHAT A FUCKING night.
Talia swooping in to save his ass from crooked cops had become a disturbing pattern.
Fresh air greeted him as he walked outside. Funny, he’d forgotten it was the middle of the night. That explained the fatigue clinging to him. Twelve hours in the emergency room followed by a tasing and dramatic arrest would exhaust anyone.
Talia had to be wiped too. He’d woken her up in the middle of the night to a shit show she had to sort out. And sort it she did. The woman was amazing. She’d had those cops shitting themselves with a few well-placed threats.
But now that they were headed for her car, her vibe was not reassuring.
“Thank you,” he said as she marched toward her vehicle at a rapid clip.
“Not necessary. It’s my job, and your club pays me very well to do it, including overtime for middle-of-the-night calls.” They reached her car, and she went directly to the driver’s side. “Am I taking you to your apartment?”
He frowned. What happened to the fire from moments ago? This Talia emitted icy waves. “Yeah, that’s good. You okay?”
She smiled, but it didn’t come close to reaching her eyes. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
He studied her across the top of her car. She hadn’t bothered to take the time to dress in work clothes or even brush her hair. Something about her throwing on the closest thing and rushing to the police station had his stomach tightening. Did she regret not looking professional in front of the cops? It might not have been professional, but she looked incredibly sexy in a tousled, recently fucked kind of way.
Precisely the type of thing that would set her on edge.
“Because tonight sucked. And it was only the beginning of the suck.”
She shrugged. “Like I said. It’s my job.”
So, I’m nothing but a job to you?
He bit off the snarky reply. Tensions were too high, and nothing good would come of it.
“Well, you’re damn good at it,” he said before sliding into her passenger seat.
She joined him a moment later and started the car without another word. Complete silence ensued for the first five minutes, but it wasn’t a comfortable quiet. Every twenty seconds or so, Talia glanced his way before focusing back on the road. She clutched the wheel so hard her knuckles stayed white, and her tension was so palpable it became a third person in the vehicle. Her neck and shoulders would be permanently bunched and full of tender knots if she didn’t relax.
Two more minutes passed before he couldn’t take the silent treatment any longer. “Talia?”
“Yeah?” She glanced away from the road. “You good?”
Could her tone be any faker? “There’s a park on the left at the next stop sign. Pull in.”
She peered at him with a frown. “Is something wrong?”
Too many things.
“Just pull in.”
“Uh, all right.”
She rolled to a stop and then made the left into the deserted lot.
“Drive to the end and park.”
Her huff of annoyance had him grinning. Even flustered and off her game, she didn’t respond well to commands. But she drove to the far side of the parking lot and pulled into a spot facing a lake no one should ever swim in. Gators owned it and most bodies of water where they lived.
“What’s up?” she asked, facing him once she’d put the car in park.
“Come here.” He patted his thighs.
“What?” Talia forced a laugh and looked everywhere but at him. “I’m not going to hop over the console and sit in your lap, Pulse.”
“Talia…” He patted his thigh again.
She sighed, then finally lifted her gaze to meet his. He saw the same thing he felt. A jumble of emotions—frustration, annoyance, fear, and raw need. All things Talia would struggle to admit, but nothing that would drive him away or make him think less of her. Talia was pure strength and grit, but even the strongest needed a soft place to land now and then.
“Come here.”
“Pulse, this is silly.” Her voice wavered.
“Talia…” He gentled his tone, and she blinked rapidly.
Shit, was she about to cry? Why did the thought of it feel like a knife to his heart?
No, Talia wouldn’t cry. That was a weakness too far in her mind. She huffed another strained laugh, then climbed over the console with much more grace and ease than should have been possible. Her knees landed on either side of him, wedged between his body and the car, and then she settled down on his lap. The second her incredible ass hit his thighs, tension bled out of him as though someone had released a pressure valve.
Talia’s soft sigh had him grinning. He rested his hands on her hips. “Hi,” he said as he squeezed.
“You’re hurt,” she whispered. “They hurt you.” She cupped his face and gently turned him, so she had a better view of his scratched cheek.
It hurt like hell when it happened, but the discomfort had faded to a dull sting. Her soft hands took away the last of the pain. He couldn’t feel anything but pleasure when she touched him.
“I hate that they hurt you.” She stroked her thumb along his jawline beneath the extensive abrasion.
“A scrape and some bruises. Nothing to stress about. I had worse last month when I helped Spec chase down some meth dealers who were selling to kids in our area. They put up a helluva fight and busted my nose.”
She didn’t laugh at his anecdote, letting her hand drop as she bowed her head. “I think I’m losing my mind,” she mumbled. “Something is wrong with me. I feel… crazy.”
“How so?” He slid his hands around her back and under her sweatshirt. She whimpered when he encountered her bare skin.
This was precisely what he needed—her warm, soft skin in his hands. He stroked his fingers up and down her lower spine, soaking her in.
“I was frantic when you told me the cops had you,” she admitted, staring at his chest.
If she would only put her hands there or anywhere back on his body.
“I didn’t even put on real clothes. All I could think of was getting to you. I was so scared. And now…” She swallowed. “Now I feel like I’m losing my mind. I’m anxious and frustrated. My skin is too tight and tingling, and I feel like the only way to make it stop is to have you touch me. Everywhere. I want you to touch me everywhere, Pulse. I’ve never felt a desire this strong before, and I don’t know how to stop it. I feel so fucking needy, Pulse. How do I make it stop?”
“Shh.” Her words went straight to his head and his cock. They were a drug, sending him soaring higher than the clouds. “Baby, it’s okay. It’s okay to need someone. It’s okay to want someone.”
She disagreed with frantic shakes of her head. “No, it’s not. It’s disgusting.” She held his gaze, and the turmoil swirling in her eyes pierced his heart. “I’m not needy,” she said, smacking a hand to her chest. “I’m tough and independent. Other attorneys hate going against me because I’m ruthless, and my record is so good. I don’t rely on or need anyone.”
“Sounds lonely.”
“It’s not. It’s smart. I can give myself everything I need or want. I take care of me.” Another slap against her chest. “I do it. No one else.”
Though it wasn’t what she meant, he couldn’t stop imagining her caring for herself in a specific way. He saw her pleasuring herself with a thick dildo, making herself come until she shook. His dick hardened fast, and he had to fight to keep from grinding up against her.
Did she feel it?
Of course, she did. How could she not?
“Fine,” he said, slipping his hands around to her belly. He stroked up until he reached her tits.
Oh fuck, no bra.
She really had run out of there as fast as possible.
He filled his hands with her tits.
Talia’s eyes went wide, and she grabbed for his upper arms. “Pulse,” she said on a gasp.
“You can do it all yourself. You don’t need anyone. You don’t need this,” he said, stroking his thumbs over her puckered nipples. Her desperate whimper had him nearly coming in his pants like a teenager who’d never touched a woman. “Christ, you’re so sexy.”
Her pupils eclipsed the chocolate brown of her eyes, and her breathing sped to a pant. Two seconds of playing with her nipples, and she was already squirming on his lap.
“You can do it all yourself, but guess what? I’m here, so you don’t have to. I’ll touch you all you want. All fucking night. But I think I know what you really need.” He pushed his hips up into her, grinding against her. “I think you need a cock inside you. My cock. Filling you up.”
“What?” She shook her head. “No, Pulse, that’s crazy. I don’t need that.”
He pinched her nipples. Her head fell back on a long moan, exposing her throat. He licked up the side of her neck. “You need it, baby. Your body is begging for it. Why are you fighting so hard?”
“I-I’m scared.”
How much strength had it taken for her to admit that to him? And what had happened to make her so afraid of letting others in? Talia kept everyone at a distance from her body and mind. She’d already let him in, which threw her for a loop. He knew the deep, overwhelming loneliness of isolating himself and someone as beautiful and vibrant as Talia didn’t deserve that soul-destroying solitude.
“It’s okay to need it,” he whispered against her ear as he tortured her nipples. “It’s okay to need me. It’s okay to want to be fucked. I know what a gift you’re giving me, and I’ll take care of you. It’s just us here. Not a soul will ever know what goes on between us. I need you just as fucking bad.”
Those last words seemed to tip her over the edge. “Please, Pulse.”
“Please, what, baby? Tell me what you need.”
She met his gaze with an openness he’d yet to see from her. “You. I-I need you. Please fuck me.”
Victory surged through him, heating his blood to near boiling. If she’d denied him, he’d have released her immediately and suffered the awkward car ride home, but it would have hurt. Not only the blue balls, but he wanted more than her pussy. What did she describe? The deep-seated need she felt for him, that’s what he wanted. He wanted this rigidly disciplined woman wild for him.
Because that’s what he felt for her.
Out of fucking control.
No matter what happened after tonight, he’d make sure this woman never regretted showing him her precious, vulnerable side.
He released her tits and wrapped his arms around her, still under her shirt. He slid one hand up to her neck and drew her to him. Their mouths collided in a desperate, hungry kiss that curled his toes. Nothing was hotter than the way she fought him for control.
She gripped the back of his head and dueled her tongue against his. He nipped her lower lip which made her gasp and ground her pelvis against his rock-hard cock. If he lasted five seconds inside her, it’d be a damn miracle.
She whimpered into his mouth while rocking against him as though trying to ride him through their clothes. When the sting of her teeth sinking into his lower lip registered, he grunted and tore his mouth away.
“Get your fucking shorts off,” he practically shouted as he went to work on his zipper.
Talia giggled and shimmied out of her shorts as best as possible in the confined space. They were a mess of arms, legs, and mumbles as they freed themselves. Her shorts landed in the footwell while he managed to pull his cock out and lower his jeans beneath his hips.
“Condom?” she asked as she straddled him once again.
“Shit. I fucking forgot.” Jesus, he’d have fucked her bare if she hadn’t said something. When had he ever been so careless? When had a woman ever had him so out of his mind for her?
He managed to reach into his back pocket and retrieve his wallet, where he kept a condom. Not that he’d needed one for ages, but there wasn’t any harm in being prepared.
“Allow me.” Her eyes sparked with a mix of desire and playfulness as she plucked the condom from his fingers.
“Fuck yes.” Grinning, he interlaced his fingers behind his head and leaned against the headrest. “Do your worst.”
Her smirk made his dick twitch. God, he’d love to strip her down and spend hours licking and studying every inch of her, but cops patrolled the park on occasion, so time wasn’t on their side. Next time they’d be completely naked so he could see those tits he’d had his hands all over—see and taste them.
Talia’s hands were steady as she ripped the condom open, but her eyes glowed with filthy promise. She bit her lip as she withdrew the condom, meeting his gaze. One day, he’d have her make that exact pose, and he’d photograph it because it was too gorgeous not to be captured.
“Get it on me so I can get inside you.”
“Yes.” The second her soft fingertips made contact with his dick, he hissed a string of curses. She rolled the condom down with sure hands, then positioned herself above him, staring down. He moved his hands from behind his head to her lush hips, squeezing the flesh.
Talia moaned, then together, they guided her down onto his rigid cock. Her eyes flared as the tip notched against her entrance. That much was enough to have him fighting to keep his eyes from rolling back in his head.
“Jesus,” he whispered as her tight pussy swallowed him inch by inch.
“Pulse…” Her voice wavered with a tremor of nerves.
“I got you, baby. So fucking tight. So hot. Christ, you feel better than anything I’ve ever felt.”
“S-same.” Their foreheads met as he continued to work himself inside her.
After a few moments, their bodies met as he seated his cock fully inside her. Talia trembled. The ripples had him clenching his teeth. Nothing should be allowed to feel this good, this hot. How was he supposed to go on without wanting this every second of every day?
She was tighter than he’d expected, so tight it took his breath away.
“You good? Is it too much?”
“No. I mean, yes. I’m good. So good. You feel so big inside me, Pulse. You’re stretching me. It’s incredible.”
“Yeah?” He kissed the side of her neck, her jaw, her ear. “You like that big cock filling your tight pussy?” he whispered against her ear.
She moaned and started to rock on him. “I love it. It’s never felt like this before.”
Wasn’t that the truth?
“You ready to ride me? Ready to make this perfect pussy feel even better?”
“Yesss.” She kissed him as she rose and fell on his cock.
There wasn’t enough room to fuck up into her as he wanted. He was a big guy, and her coupe wasn’t made for fucking. His knees hit the glove box with every thrust, and her head bumped the top of the car more than once, but neither cared. He held her ass as she rode him, giving her extra leverage. He couldn’t stop kneading the soft flesh beneath his fingers. If only he could see what his firm grip was doing to her skin.
They panted and moaned. It felt amazing, but he wished he could fuck her as hard and deep as he’d fantasized.
“Pulse,” she said as she ripped her mouth off his. “More. More. And harder.”
Thank fuck she felt the same.
“Outside,” she said around her ragged breaths. “Get out of the car.”
Christ, he nearly blew his load right there.
“Too risky. The cops patrol.”
“I don’t care.” She scrambled off him and shoved open the door. “I need it, Pulse. I don’t give a fuck who catches us.”
This woman would be the death of him.
She clambered out of the car shoeless and with her fantastic ass on display. Pulse followed less than a second behind her. She moved to the car’s hood and turned her back to him. He spared precisely one second to ensure they were alone in the lot before pushing on the center of her back. As she folded forward, her hands hit the car’s hood with a satisfying smack.
Now that beautiful ass was on display for him, illuminated by the moonlight. It stuck out like a target he’d never miss. He grabbed it, squeezing and kneading the way he’d done in the car, but now he could watch his handiwork. When he released her, she had red finger marks all over her skin.
Gorgeous.
“Do it, Pulse,” she begged as she glanced over her shoulder. Her lips were swollen and red, her hair a mess. “Please. I’m too empty. Don’t tease me.”
He shoved two fingers inside her. She soaked his hand. Damn the condom. He’d give up his bike to feel this wet heat on his cock. Talia cried out and arched her back as he pumped his fingers in and out a few times. “More,” she wailed, slapping the hood of the car. “Your dick.”
He pulled his slippery hand from her pussy and clapped it over her mouth. Those cries of pleasure would alert anyone within a mile radius of how good he fucked her. Once she no longer announced their presence, he grabbed her hip with his free hand and slammed his dick inside her.
Talia shouted into his hand. She had to be tasting herself on his fingers, and the thought of coating her face in her arousal made him even harder.
Time was ticking, and the risk of being caught was high, so he hammered into her without mercy. Her pussy clung to him through the rough pounding. His balls were heavy and full as they slapped against her ass. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to focus on the pain and slow the oncoming orgasm. Even with the risk of being caught, he wanted to cling to the mind-blowing feeling as long as possible.
Talia urged him on with muffled shouts. “Don’t stop. Please, never stop,” she cried into his palm as he powered into her. “Close, close,” she shouted, or at least that’s what it sounded like.
He skirted his hand around her body until he found her clit. Three quick strokes of the swollen nub were all it took for her back to bow and a tortured scream to vibrate against his palm. She stiffened, except for her pussy which rippled around him with strong contractions.
The intense pressure on his cock became too much to resist. He clamped his jaw shut and howled through clenched teeth as fireworks shot across his vision and his balls emptied. Every muscle went haywire, twitching while sparks skittered across his skin.
Eventually, he collapsed atop Talia, who lay limp against the car’s hood. She grunted as she took his weight. He tried to push off her but only had the strength to lift his head and kiss the salty back of her neck.
“That was intense,” she whispered.
He frowned. Good intense or bad?
The question had him worried enough to be able to stand and draw her with him. He spun her, and she immediately sought out his mouth. The kiss was lazy and deep. He wrapped his arms around her and let her take the lead.
Good intense. It had to be, or she wouldn’t have kissed him that way with appreciation and emotion.
“Come home with me,” he said when they came up for air. “Sleep in my bed. Tomorrow’s gonna suck, but I think I can bear it if I wake up next to you.” He smoothed the flyaway hairs back from her face.
“Pulse,” she whispered. She rested her head on his chest. “I don’t even know what to do with a comment like that. It makes me want… things.”
He wanted things, too, but first, they had to get the cartel off their backs, which meant making some hard decisions tomorrow.
“Is that a yes?” he asked, rubbing her back.
Her head moved against his chest. “Yes.”
Damn. He grinned.
The rumble of an engine had Talia going rigid in his arms. “Oh my God,” she whispered as her head whipped up. “Someone is coming. I’m standing in a parking lot with my everything out, and someone is coming.”
She shoved him away so hard he stumbled back.
“Oh, shit, sorry! I didn’t mean to push you so hard. Don’t laugh. Your dick is out, so why are you laughing?” She fumbled with the door and then hurled herself into the car just as headlights turned into the parking lot.
It didn’t take more than a glance to see it wasn’t a cop, which was good because he couldn’t stop laughing.
“Pulse! What are you doing? Get in here. You cannot be arrested again.”
He snorted. “It’s not a cop. Probably some teenagers here to have sex.”
“Oh my God, who does that?” she asked, then groaned and slapped a palm to her head. “Don’t answer that.”
He was still chuckling as he hauled his pants up and zipped. Then, casual as could be, he strode around to the driver’s side. The car was parked in the center of the lot, far enough away that he couldn’t make out the driver. As he’d told Talia, it was probably a group of teens looking to escape their parents and have a little privacy, but he wasn’t going to stick around and find out if the cartel or DEA had caught up to him.
He pulled the driver’s door open to find Talia slouched and struggling to wiggle into her shorts. Once again, he burst out laughing, which only earned him a glare he bet made people shit themselves on the witness stand.
It made his depleted cock twitch in an attempt to rally.
“Seriously, if you ever want what just happened to happen again, you will get your ass in the car and stop laughing at me.” She tried to scowl, but her lips quirked.
Pulse slid into the car. “Please,” he said as he buckled up. “Don’t even pretend to threaten me, baby. You know you’re gonna be begging for a repeat the second we get inside my apartment.”
She opened her mouth, probably to blast him with that caustic tongue, but then she sighed. “Dammit, you’re probably right.”
Their gazes met, and they both burst into laughter.
He couldn’t remember when he’d run through such a drastic range of emotions in one night. Fury, fear, hatred, lust, hilarity, and now, the night was ending with straight-up happiness.
Talia had done that. She’d taken his shitty night and turned it around.
He planned to hold onto whatever was happening between them, no matter how foolish or doomed, for as long as possible.