Chapter 1 – BEAU #2
Chasing her addictive scent, I scoot my stool even closer, loving how her fingers slide closer to mine along the bar without even realising. “Give me a chance, Red. I promise, I’ll be exactly your type by the time I’m done with you.”
Stunned at my own words, I wait a beat for her to react. I’ve never spoken to a woman like this before, but then, I’ve never been so utterly captivated by one either. She might slap my face and storm out, maybe she should, but I pray to fuck she’s as caught up in whatever this is as I am.
Instead of leaving, she continues to stare at me, blue eyes boring into mine in disbelief.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” I breathe out, sitting back, hands up in surrender, ashamed of myself for getting it so wrong. “You must think I’m a complete dick, but I swear, I’m not normally like this. I just… you just…”
Instead of cussing me out, Red snags the front of my shirt and yanks me forward, eyes blazing with an unspoken challenge. The first press of her lips against mine is heaven. It’s not tentative or careful, it’s firm and demanding.
“Fuck,” I growl, a jolt of hot possessiveness travelling straight to my cock when she inhales sharply, her free hand coming up to grip my collar.
“What the hell am I doing?” she murmurs against my lips as she melts into me and lets me take charge, cupping the back of her head and deepening the kiss. “My boss could walk in here any minute. I only work a few blocks over.”
When my fingers grip her thigh, afraid she’s going to walk away, the sound she makes, this breathy little moan that vibrates against my tongue, nearly undoes me right here at the bar.
“Fuck them,” I murmur, my fingers curling around the back of her neck as I kiss her again. “Aren’t you allowed to enjoy yourself every now and again?”
She nods and hums her agreement as I kiss along her jaw, back to her delicious mouth. When we break apart, she blinks up at me, her rosy lips flushed and swollen, looking just as stunned as I feel.
I wind a strand of her hair around my finger and watch, fascinated, as the shiny lock slides between them when I pull on it.
"I mean, wow. That was really something…" She trails off, cheeks colouring as she pushes back a loose strand of that flame red hair. “Definitely unexpected.”
"Yeah, but in a good way, I hope," I say. “Maybe good enough to make you want to see me again?” Resting my hands on my knees, I curl my fingers in tight, wrestling back the urge to pull her back to me, to not give her the chance to come to her senses. I need to let her decide.
I hold her gaze, expression serious, making sure she knows I’m not some dipshit who thinks he’s lucked out.
“Hmm,” she says, twisting on her chair before reaching out and taking a long sip of her drink. Her knee brushes against my crotch, and I bite back a groan, fists clenching harder as I battle my bear’s demands to haul her into my lap and kiss the fuck out of her again.
“I just… I don’t kiss strange men in bars, but…” When she sets the glass back down carefully, and her sparkling eyes dart to the door, my pulse quickens. She’s going to leave. She likes me, but she’s doubting herself.
“I want more,” I state plainly, suddenly anxious that she's going to bolt as self-consciousness creeps in about what kissing me just now says about her. “Of you. Of whatever the fuck this is. Whatever you’ll give me. Let me take you on a date. Tonight, tomorrow, whenever.”
She pauses, relaxing a little, and pouts her luscious lips as she mulls my offer over in her head.
With her mischievous smile returning, one hand slides from my knee all the way up to rest on my upper thigh, while her other dips into my jacket pocket and pulls out my keycard.
I don’t dare move a muscle as she examines it and whispers the room number, and then, "Do you have a roommate?"
Our gazes lock, and inside me, even my bear goes still, afraid to move in case it breaks this spell between us. My brain spins with thoughts of what this could mean, if she could be her, but I push that to the back of my mind for now. The most important thing is getting to spend more time with her.
"Just me. I’m moving into my new place tomorrow."
Thank God the landlord needed any extra day to get the new flooring finished.
"Perfect." She slides off her stool, my keycard between her fingers, and heads for the door that leads into the hotel lobby and not the one to the street. “You coming?”
I’m off the stool in a split second, eating up the distance between us with long strides, eyes fixed on her curvy waist and long legs.
She goes straight to the elevator and presses the button, turning to crook a finger at me, eyes dancing. And like the good boy that I am, I go to her immediately.
I tower over her, one forearm resting against the wall above her head. She’s got to be almost a foot shorter than me, and she stares up, chin lifted, almost daring me to back down from what’s about to happen.
“You sure about this?” I ask, because I have to be certain this isn’t going to be something she regrets. If she is who I think she is, this could be the most important night of my life. I thought it was the new office and new home that had me on edge, but somehow, my bear knew she was coming.
Pressing one fingertip gently to my throat, Red drags it down across the hollow at the bottom of my neck and catches it in the top of my shirt, tugging on it a little as her hand travels lower toward my chest.
She doesn’t take her eyes off my pecs as she purrs, “Oh, I’m sure.”
There’s a ding and then the doors whoosh open. I’m barely aware of the people exiting beside us, too caught up in the anticipation of what’s to come. With a playful shove, she herds me into the lift, grinning as she follows me in.
My fingers snag in the belt of her tight-fitting jeans, tugging her to me so she’s standing between my legs as I lean back against the mirrored wall.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” I murmur, tucking that wayward strand of hair behind her ear again, feeling her shiver as my fingers brush her slender neck.
I’m about to say something gentlemanly, that we don’t have to do anything, that we can just get room service and hang out, but the second the elevator doors close at her back, she's on me, and all thoughts of taking it slow vanish.
She wants this as much as me. Her mouth finds mine, her body pressing against me, hands inside my jacket now, sliding around my back, and all I can focus on is how good it feels.
“Fuck.” I snarl, the strength of my attraction to her like nothing I’ve ever felt before. It’s primal and animalistic, and I’m close to completely losing control.
Gripping the backs of her thighs, I lift her easily, pinning her against the wall of the elevator as I take control of the kiss.
Gasping breathlessly, she wraps her legs around my waist and clings to my shoulders, fitting perfectly against me. The friction as she rocks her pelvis against my swollen cock drags a guttural groan from somewhere deep inside.
"God, that sound is so fucking sexy." She tears her mouth away to gasp the word, “Fuck,” against my throat, her lips dragging against my scorching hot skin. "What is this? I swear, I’m not normally like this."
I shake my head then nod, unable to find the words to explain what’s happening. This feels like every nerve ending is on fire, making my skin too tight, and my blood too hot. I’ve heard it explained this way, but my bear isn’t saying much other than making it very clear how much he wants her.
"Me neither," I manage, grinding against her. “Do you…” I pause for a second, dragging myself back from the brink long enough to ask, “Do you want to stop?”
She grips the back of my hair with both hands and yanks my head back, the sting on my scalp delicious as she locks eyes with mine, cheeks pink, and lips glossy.
"Don't you dare fucking stop."
I grin. “Yes Ma’am.”
The elevator dings and the metal doors slide open to a mercifully empty corridor. Without setting her down, I stumble out and somehow make it to my room without coming in my pants as she licks and nips her way up my neck, warm hands sliding under my shirt to grab and slide over my skin.
I fumble the keycard twice before the lock clicks open, and then we're inside, all pretence of self-control abandoned at the threshold.
I spin, squeezing her backside hard as I drag her core over my cock.
Her back hits the door hard enough to rattle the frame as I fight with my jacket, trying to shirk it off without dropping her, unwilling to lose contact with her for even a second.
She helps, pulling it off my shoulders and tossing it to the floor.
Pinning her with my hips, I grab the hem of her shirt, trying to yank it over her head as her hands tear at mine.
Reluctantly, she lets go long enough to let me free her arms, and I pause to take her in, her white lacy bra stunning against her lightly tanned skin as her wild red hair spills around her shoulders in waves.
"Off," she demands, snapping me out of my trance as she shoves my shirt up, running her hungry gaze over my abs with an appreciative smile as I throw it behind me.
“Fuck, yes,” she breathes out, and immediately, her hands are on my chest, palms skating over muscle, and nails dragging lightly down my stomach, exploring every ridge and hollow of my abs.
Everywhere she touches sparks and burns, and when she leans in to press her mouth to my chest, right over my heart, my vision actually blurs.
"Christ." The voice that comes out of me doesn't sound like my own. "You're going to kill me."
Her fingers find my belt and slide it open, popping the top button of my dark jeans at the same time. Then they’re back to touching my skin, scoring my shoulder blades and scratching the back of my neck.
"Not yet." She nips at my collarbone, soothing the exquisite pain with her tongue before biting me even harder, so hard, my knees wobble with the power of my bear’s reaction. "We haven't even started."