Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
marlowe
S ometime after midnight, unable to sleep , I creep downstairs to the kitchen for a glass of water.
A few steps into the room, I pull up short.
The full moon shines through the windows, so bright I don’t need the light to see. What I see, unfortunately, is Gunner standing in front of the massive open refrigerator.
Shit!
I don’t want to deal with him, so I start backing slowly out of the room.
Suddenly he looks over his shoulder and sees me.
I freeze on the spot, unable to move.
He closes the fridge and turns slowly to face me. He’s shirtless and wearing black pajama bottoms that ride low on his hips, revealing the V of muscles that disappear below the silk waistband.
Holy hell , I think as lust twists my stomach into an almost painful knot. He has the body of a freaking gladiator. Wide, powerful shoulders for days. Hard, defined pecs like paving slabs. Six-pack abs I could do laundry on.
The man’s body is even hotter than I imagined. How is that possible?
“Hey.” His low voice rumbles like an expensive engine in the stillness of the room. “Couldn’t sleep?”
I bite my lip and shake my head.
His eyes sweep over me, burning my skin like a tactile touch. I suddenly feel naked in my Steelers nightshirt that stops midthigh.
I curl my toes into the tile. “I . . . I just came to get some water.”
He gestures lazily toward the fridge. “Don’t let me stop you.”
I hesitate. Every fiber of my being is warning me to bolt, but I force myself to cross the room and take a glass from the cabinet. As I fill it with filtered tap water from the sink, I can feel Gunner watching me.
The heat of his gaze sends prickles along my exposed flesh. I really wish I’d put on a robe before coming downstairs, but how was I supposed to know I’d run into my boss at this late hour? Why was he poking around the fridge anyway? Didn’t he get enough to eat at his lavish dinner party? God knows there was enough food to feed a small country.
Irritated by his presence and my chemical response to him, I drain my glass and fill it with more water that I gulp down in three swallows.
“Feeling a bit dehydrated?” His voice is a sardonic drawl. “Maybe you shouldn’t have imbibed so much champagne tonight.”
My back stiffens defensively. “I only had one glass.”
“Three,” he corrects. “You had the first glass with my brother. Your next two glasses were chugged down between bites of lobster as you huddled in the shadows during dinner.”
I place my empty glass in the sink, then turn to face him. He’s leaning back against the refrigerator, arms folded across his wide chest. His hair is messy and his eyes are glittering sapphires piercing into me.
I feel compelled to explain myself. “Mrs. Calder had me running around before the party, so I didn’t get a chance to eat dinner. As for the champagne?—”
“You were working,” he interrupts. “I don’t pay you to drink on the job.”
A guilty flush heats my cheeks. “Sorry,” I mutter, feeling chastened. “It won’t happen again.” Jerk.
He nods once before pushing off the fridge and moving toward the center island.
I stare at him, grudgingly fascinated by the way his muscles shift in the moonlight, bunching and rippling beneath his tanned skin. My mouth waters to taste those lickable V grooves at his waist.
“Like what you see?”
My eyes snap up to his face. His knowing smirk makes me bristle. Cocky fucking bastard.
I cross my arms under my breasts. “Shouldn’t you be hurrying back upstairs to your clingy ex?” I taunt. “I’m sure she’s waiting for you with bated breath and open legs.”
“Actually,” he drawls, “she’s not here.”
“What?” I say with exaggerated shock. “You mean she didn’t spend the night to keep a close eye on you?”
“Should she have?” he counters, an amused glint in his eye. “Am I in danger here? Are you planning to seduce me?”
I snort. “In your dreams.”
“Or maybe yours.”
My face burns hotter than ever. “I don’t dream about you,” I scoff.
His eyes gleam. “Never?”
“Nope.”
“Liar,” he says in that panty-disintegrating voice. Good thing I’m not wearing any at the moment.
“Look—” I break off, watching as he slowly rounds the center island and backs me up against the counter. I hate that my knees wobble and my heart pounds faster.
Swallowing hard, I let my eyes drift up his chest and past his throat before coming to rest on his face.
Without breaking our stare, he reaches out and brushes the pad of his thumb over my lips.
I. Am. Not. Breathing.
“Maybe I was wrong,” he murmurs. “Maybe you shouldn’t have taken this job.”
“Why not?” I croak.
“Because I’ve never fucked an employee in my life, and you’re going to make me break my own rule.”
My whole body quivers at his words.
Trying to play off my reaction, I smirk at him. “You mean to tell me you’ve never messed around with some starry-eyed assistant or intern?”
“I haven’t.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Ask me if I give a damn.”
We glare at each other, locked in a haze of hostility and lust that charges the air around us.
Just to show him I’m not intimidated, I stretch on tiptoe to bring my gaze more level with his. My eyes only reach his chin, but the directness of my stare lets him know I’m no pushover.
Something dangerous flashes in his eyes. “Leave.”
“ You leave.”
“I was here first. And it’s my house.”
“That I keep spotless every day,” I retort.
His eyes narrow.
I narrow mine right back.
“If you don’t leave,” he warns in a frighteningly low voice, “I won’t be responsible for what happens next between us.”
His words make me break out in violent goose bumps. But I don’t move. I can’t .
His jaw clenches. “Walk away, kitten. If you don’t want this to go any further, leave right the fuck now.”
I lift my chin defiantly, looking him straight in the eye. “No.”
He makes a rough noise in his throat, then grabs my face in his hands and takes my mouth in a kiss so deep, so carnal, that I forget to breathe.
“You’re driving me crazy.” His voice is a raspy groan. “Why can’t I get you out of my fucking head?”
I whimper as he shoves his hands into my hair, gripping me tight as his tongue plunges into my mouth, exploring, demanding. I tremble as he licks at the corners of my lips and sucks my tongue with a controlled aggression that disintegrates my bones.
Just as my knees are about to buckle, he tears his mouth from mine and buries his face in the side of my neck. “Leave, goddammit.”
I shiver at the raw plea in his voice. He’s barely hanging on to his control, and I’m just crazy enough to want to push him over the edge.
“Make me,” I whisper in his ear.
With a feral growl, he yanks me hard against him, lifting me up as I wrap my legs around his hips. The feel of his massive erection against my crotch makes me gasp.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he rumbles, gripping my ass and grinding his pelvis into mine.
A needy moan breaks from my lips.
Lowering me onto the counter, he runs his fingers through my hair and licks the hollow of my throat, sending a tremor of want rippling through me. As my thighs clench, he pulls my nightshirt up and over my head, causing me to shiver as goose bumps break out over my exposed skin.
He makes a guttural sound of appreciation. Then he’s kissing his way down my throat to my chest, his tongue tasting every inch of skin between. When his hot mouth closes over one breast, I gasp and arch back, my hands fisting in his hair.
He swirls his tongue around my nipple, licking and biting lightly. I tremble hard, aching for more, and when he sucks the tight peak against the roof of his mouth, I mewl with pleasure.
Gunner is growling— growling —and it’s the sexiest damn sound I’ve ever heard in my life. When his callused hands slide down to spread my thighs, it’s only then that I remember where we are.
“Not here,” I choke out. “Someone might?—”
He’s already sweeping me up and striding from the kitchen, carrying me through the darkened foyer and up the winding staircase.
Somewhere between the kitchen and his bedroom, common sense and sanity should have kicked in. But nope, both have deserted me.
When we reach the master suite, he carries me across the gleaming wood floor and lowers me to the center of a bed big enough to have its own zip code. The bedside lamp is on, and there’s a book lying open on the nightstand.
Leaning over me, Gunner slowly peels off my tiny pajama shorts, baring my pussy to his gaze.
The wild, dark look in his eyes intensifies the pulsing ache in my core. I want to feel him against me, on top of me, deep inside me, the weight of his big body pressing down on mine.
“Gunner,” I whisper, my voice a plea.
He stares down at me, his eyes glittering with a feral hunger that should have made me get up and run. “You don’t know how much I want you, Marlowe. Your taste. Your skin. Every inch of your beautiful body, every sweet dip and curve. Since the night we met, I’ve been dying to make love to you. I need you so fucking bad it hurts.”
Oh. My. God.
He pushes my thighs apart with his forearms and kneels between my legs. When he touches his tongue to my hooded clit, I arch off the bed with a strangled gasp.
“Sweet little kitten,” he rumbles, his eyes searing into mine. “I’m going to make you come so hard you’ll feel me for days.”
“Oh God,” I whimper, so turned on I can barely see straight.
He slides his hot tongue around my clit, sucks it softly and then harder. The sensation has me crying out, my belly spasming and my nipples tightening into hard, tingling knots.
He licks me again, his tongue flicking at my pussy lips and teasing them apart so he can taste my juices. I gasp his name, my head thrashing against the pillow that smells like him.
He growls something dirty and grips my ass, holding me to his mouth as his tongue lashes at my sensitized clit like it’s forbidden fruit, making my entire body sizzle.
Moaning with pleasure, I cup my aching breast and tweak my nipple with my thumb, my other hand fisting in the sheets.
When he slides one thick finger inside me and twists, my eyes roll back in my head. He inserts another finger and sucks my clit as I pant and moan, riding his face with desperate little jerks of my hips.
“That’s good, baby. So fucking good.” He consumes me like he can’t get enough, nibbling and sucking, licking and tormenting until I’m ready to scream. When he spears me fully with his tongue, I shatter against his mouth, throwing back my head with a keening wail.
He holds my shaking thighs apart as he laps up my juices, tonguing my pussy to draw out my pleasure.
As I slowly drift back down to earth, I open my eyes to find him above me. His mouth slants over mine, slick and warm with my scent.
“You’re so fucking delicious,” he rumbles. “Are you on birth control?”
“Yes,” I whisper.
“Good.” He nuzzles my breasts, lavishing attention on my puckered nipples. “I get tested regularly, and I’m always clean. I’ll wear a condom tonight, but I can’t promise to remember every time. That’s how crazy you drive me.”
I quiver at his words before he pulls away and shoves down his pajama bottoms, his cock bouncing free.
I can’t stop the moan that leaves my throat. He has the biggest, most beautiful dick I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s long, thick and deliciously veiny. I’m practically drooling, eager to lap up the glistening bead at the tip.
He grabs a condom from the nightstand drawer, tears open the packet and deftly sheaths himself. Then he stretches out over me, powerful arms braced on either side of my head as he settles between my thighs.
With his velvet-blue eyes locked on mine, he drags the fat head of his cock along my slit. I suck in air, my stomach clenching with arousal and anticipation.
He enters me slowly, so slowly, stretching me to the limits.
“Gunner,” I moan as my muscles clamp around him.
“God, you’re soaked.” He pushes deeper into me, his big muscular thighs spreading my legs wider. It feels so good, so illicitly erotic, that tears spring to my eyes.
He strokes my hair, watching me intensely as he pulls out on a slow slide. “You okay, baby?”
I bob my head quickly and lock my ankles behind his back, giving him an enthusiastic green light to proceed.
He pushes back in so slowly I think I might lose my mind. Then he begins a steady rhythm, the rounded muscles of his ass clenching as he thrusts in and out of me.
“Oh, my God,” I gasp and arch my back, my breasts smashing against his chest.
He shudders and bites his bottom lip hard, his eyes fixed on mine with dark carnality. “You’re so damn sexy, sweetheart. Where the fuck have you been all my life?”
His words and the primal hunger in his voice send a wild thrill through me. Delirious with pleasure, I look down to where we’re joined, watching his thick cock disappear inside my pussy and slide out again, glistening with my wetness. It’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.
He leans down to kiss me, his abs rippling as he presses his hips into me over and over, each thrust deeper than the one before. The delicious, grinding friction has me teetering on the edge of another orgasm.
“God, Marlowe,” he groans with satisfaction. “Nothing has ever felt this good.”
“Never,” I agree, raking my nails down his back and making him hiss out a raspy moan.
We stare into each other’s eyes as he grips one of my legs in his hand, driving into me at an insanely deeper angle. My body tightens until I’m nothing but a trembling mass of ecstasy, screaming his name as my orgasm rips through me. My eyes slam shut at the shocking pleasure of it, my thighs quaking uncontrollably as Gunner groans in my ear.
He barely lets me catch my breath before he pulls out and flips me over on all fours. The room swirls out of focus as he wraps my hair around his fist and thrusts into me from behind.
I keen breathlessly at the new angle, overwhelmed by the heat and pressure of his cock. His other hand grips my waist, anchoring me to him as he begins stroking my G-spot, penetrating me even deeper than I thought possible. I moan loudly, squeezing my eyes shut as need roars through my blood and curls my toes.
He fucks me thoroughly, masterfully dominating me with every thrust as he slams his cock into me, his hips smacking against my bottom. My breasts slap together in time with his relentless strokes, my scalp tingling as he pulls my hair.
“Oh God,” I mewl. “Oh God, oh God, oh God!”
An animalistic groan rumbles out of him as he cups a bouncing breast in his other palm. When he rubs my pebbled nipple, my womb convulses and my body shakes all over.
Growling my name, he slides his hand down my stomach, his fingers spearing through the drenched curls between my thighs. As he thumbs my swollen clit, I bury my face in the pillow to smother my wild cries, the position tilting my ass high in the air.
“Fuck, yes,” Gunner groans roughly and lengthens his strokes, my knees coming off the bed as he thrusts harder and faster, pounding deep into my body. He fucks me like a man possessed, his fingers digging into my hip bones, keeping the base of his cock flush against me when he explodes with a savage shout.
I sob at the force of his release, my pussy spasming and squirting around his shaft as I climax again.
I feel him shudder with pleasure before he leans over my back, kissing his way down my spine and slapping my ass cheek. Then he lets go of my hair and we collapse to the bed in a tangle of sweaty limbs, gasping for breath.
“Holy fuck,” he says on a long exhale against my hair.
“You can say that again.” I just had three orgasms in a row. Three . That’s never happened before. It’s practically a miracle.
Gunner reaches down and pulls the covers over us, drawing me closer with his free arm. I lay my head on his shoulder, my breasts flattening against his side and my hair fanning out over his warm chest. My eyelids are heavy, my body still humming with tiny electrical jolts.
He nuzzles the top of my head with his cheek. “That was fucking incredible.”
“Mmm. Beyond incredible. I can’t feel my legs.”
“Mine are pretty shaky, too,” he rumbles.
I smile with pleasure. “Guess we really rocked each other’s—” Suddenly my eyes snap wide open. “Oh no!”
“What?”
“My nightshirt! We left it downstairs in the kitchen! If someone finds it?—”
“Relax. I’ll get it.” He continues nuzzling my hair.
After a few moments, I lift my head to stare down at him. “It’s kinda urgent.”
“Uh-huh.” He gives me a lazy smile and traces my collarbone with his finger.
“Gunner,” I whine.
“Don’t rush me,” he grumbles. “I’m trying to savor the afterglow here. And you need to burn that shirt anyway.”
“What? Why?”
“It offends me as a lifelong Cowboys fan. Mrs. Calder should’ve told you that I don’t allow Steelers paraphernalia in my home?—”
“Seriously?” I sputter.
“Seriously. I’ll let you keep the shirt because it looks hella sexy on you. But I’d better not find one of those Terrible Towels?—”
“ Can you just get my damn shirt, please?! ”
He laughs at my exasperated outburst.
“Fine, fine,” he relents, easing away from me. As he climbs out of bed and grabs his pajama bottoms off the floor, I sit up, clutching the covers to my chest.
“Can you also shut my bedroom door? I don’t want anyone to know where I slept.”
“ Slept? ” He sends me a rakish glance over his shoulder, tousled locks falling over his forehead. “You think you’ll be getting any sleep tonight, kitten?”
My pulse quickens at his words. Biting my lip, I admire his perfectly round ass as he heads to the bathroom to dispose of the condom. He reemerges wearing his pajama bottoms, his hair even messier than before.
“Be right back,” he says with a wink.
After he leaves, I nestle my face in his pillow with a dreamy smile, enjoying the lingering effects of my orgasms. My pussy aches and I should probably pee, but I’m too lazy to get up. I’m going to sleep like a baby tonight. That’s if he lets me, which doesn’t seem very likely.
He returns shortly with two glasses of water and my nightshirt slung over his shoulder. Watching him saunter toward me, I feel my tummy flutter with butterflies. He’s the sexiest man I’ve ever met in my life. Sexier than any man has a right to be.
He hands me a glass and drains the other in one swallow before licking his lips and meeting my mesmerized stare.
“Drink,” he commands.
I obey, gulping down half the water.
“Good girl.” He takes my glass, sets it on the table next to his and tosses my nightshirt aside. Then he strips off his pants and slides back into bed, pulling me on top to straddle him. With my breasts mashed against his chest, he kisses me slow and deep, skimming his hands down my back to cup the swell of my ass.
By the time he eases his mouth from mine, my thighs are shaking and my whole body aches for him like an addict.
As he stares up at me from under heavy eyelids, I rise over him and rub my pussy along his shaft, wetting him with my juices.
He shudders with pleasure, his jaw tightening. Still gripping my ass cheek with one hand, he takes his cock in the other and pushes into me just the tiniest bit.
My breath catches sharply, need shivering through me. Staring into his hooded eyes, I plant my hands on his chest and slowly circle my hips while sliding down another inch.
“Holy shit.” His voice is a guttural rasp. “You’re killing me, sweetheart.”
Grinning, I sink all the way down until my ass rests on his thighs.
He groans, his neck arching off the pillow. He’s so freaking big, and I’m so achingly full. It’s almost more than I can take.
“Move,” he orders hoarsely. “Fucking move before I lose it.”
The rawness of his words floods my pussy with heat.
“As you wish, Mr. Ransom.” With that I begin riding his cock, moving slowly up and down, giving him no reprieve until we both explode in screaming orgasms.