Chapter 23
Aspen
There’s only one way to settle this…
A dance off.
Groaning, I stretched my arms overhead, every muscle aching in the best possible way. I’d lost count of how many times Joz had made me come.
I rolled onto my side and slid my palm across the mattress, seeking warm flesh and taut muscles. My eyes shot open. Joz wasn’t there. Worse, his side of the bed was cold, and it was dark outside. My stomach dipped.
Don’t fucking tell me he’s bailed on me again.
If he had, I was going to hunt him down and show him exactly how hard I could punch.
The digital clock on his side of the bed read eleven-fifteen.
What time had we fallen into bed after Joz’s confession?
Three, four? After tossing the covers to one side, I swung my legs out of bed.
My clothes were strewn all over the bedroom floor.
After pulling on my panties, I picked up the rest and arranged them over a chair in the corner of Joz’s bedroom, choosing to wear one of his T-shirts instead.
Far quicker than getting dressed, and I had an errant lover to find.
The smell of brewing coffee drifted down the hallway.
My stomach grumbled. It’d been hours since I’d eaten, but I wasn’t regretting my choice of sex over food.
On entering the open-plan living/dining/kitchen area, I discovered Joz standing at the stove stirring something in a large pan.
He was dressed in ripped blue jeans that hugged his ass, and nothing else.
There was something inherently sexy about a bare-chested and bare-footed man, a mass of tattoos encasing his body, and thick, unkempt hair tied up in a man bun.
I wolf-whistled.
He glanced over his shoulder and grinned. “Thought you were never gonna wake up.”
“I thought you’d bailed again, and I was getting ready to kick your ass.”
A low chuckle echoed through his chest. “Wouldn’t dare.” He lifted the wooden spoon, his hand underneath to catch any spills, and cocked his head, beckoning me. “I’m making a curry. Come and taste this. Let me know if it’s too spicy.”
Fortunately, I had an iron constitution, which, considering the time and the meal in question, was in my favor. “No such thing.” I wandered over, closing my hand over his to guide the spoon to my mouth. “Delicious.”
His gaze traveled over me, slow, sensual, filthy. “I agree. You look hot in my shirt.”
“You don’t mind?”
“What’s mine is yours. Besides, you won’t be in it for long.” Winking, he returned to the pan. Every time he stirred, his ass moved.
“You have a great ass.”
“Yours isn’t bad either.”
“Not bad?” I slapped his butt, open handed. “You need to work on your compliments.”
He gave the curry another stir, then put the lid on the pan. “Should be ready in thirty minutes.” Pivoting, he gave me another filthy, full-body eye sweep. “Now, I wonder what can we do for thirty minutes?”
My grin came slow. “I have an idea.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Two words. Dance off.”
His eyes widened. “You’re joking.”
“Deadly serious. You’re going down, my friend.”
He moved like a panther, fast and sleek. I found myself flat on my back on the couch in fits of giggles, with Joz looming over me.
“Going down on me is not what I had in mind. Not yet, anyway.”
“Spoilsport.” He reached down and smoothed my hair off my face, his touch gentle. “Okay, dance off it is. I hope you’re prepared to lose gracefully.”
I pushed up on to my elbows. “I never lose. Graceful or otherwise.”
“First time for everything.”
Lithe, he jumped off the couch and reached out a hand to me before pulling me to my feet. I raised my arms overhead, threaded my fingers, and cracked my knuckles. “Twenty-eight minutes, stud. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
He grabbed his phone and tapped on the screen. The opening beats of his song choice filled the room, his cocky grin loaded with confidence.
Poor baby. Still, they said losing built character. He’d thank me later.
I flopped onto the couch, rubbing my stomach. “That was outstanding, Raynor. Who knew a rock god could cook?”
His gaze traveled the full length of my body, slow and hot. “I can do more than cook.”
“Oh, I agree. Shame dance offs don’t make the list of your accomplishments.”
He crossed his arms and stood on either side of my legs, trapping me in place. “As there was no independent judge present, it’s moot who actually won.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” I grinned, making an L sign with my thumb and forefinger. “Loser.”
His head tipped to one side. “You’re a brave woman, Spitfire.”
“How so?”
“Because you’re in a vulnerable position, and I’m salty from my supposed loss, and as a man, I need to regain the upper hand.”
“Hmm.” I tapped a finger against my lips. “You could always beat your chest. That’s what the cavemen did, right?”
“They did. But I prefer this.”
I had no idea how he did it, but somehow, I found myself dangling upside down, with his arm braced behind my thighs and my pelvis wrapped around his shoulder. Predictably, he slapped my ass, and he wasn’t gentle about it, either.
“Every slap you give me, I’m going to give you two.” I whacked his butt, one on each cheek. The angle was all wrong for me to put my weight behind it, but I did my best.
“You’re on.” He marched to the bedroom, smacking me in time to his pace. Soon, I couldn’t keep up, so I resorted to giggling instead. Considering how the day had begun, I sure was enjoying how it was about to end. After such a heavy talk, it warmed my heart to see him smile.
Dropping his shoulder, he plunked me onto the bed, the sheets still ruffled from our earlier sexathon. He flipped open the button on his jeans and tugged down the zipper. I caught a glimpse of hard flesh and silver barbels. Commando. I approved.
“Take your knickers off, and pull my shirt over your tits but leave it on.”
“I don’t remember putting you in charge.”
“You didn’t. I’m taking it. Now, take them off, or I’ll rip them off. Your choice.”
“Also, knickers is such an odd word.”
He growled a warning. “Aspen.” Reaching into his jeans, he released his cock.
I ran my thumb over the tip. He gave a little shudder.
I pulled my panties down a few inches, but I didn’t take them off as he’d instructed.
I liked the idea of him taking charge, but I wasn’t going to make it easy on him.
He grabbed them by the waistband and yanked them down my legs, then tossed them over his shoulder. “Better.”
“So impatient.”
“Open your legs wide as you can. Let me see your cunt. Is it dripping for me?”
I’d had a few former lovers who’d tried the dirty talk, but it’d always made me laugh rather than making me hot and bothered. But they weren’t Joz. The man was the dirty talking champ.
I spread my legs, silently thanking my yoga teacher for how flexible I was, and dragged two fingers through my slit.
I was utterly soaked. Instead of offering them to him, I slid them into my mouth and closed my lips around them.
A feral noise rumbled through his chest. He produced a condom and ripped open the packet with his teeth.
Seconds later, he’d sheathed himself. He knelt on the bed, hooked an arm beneath my ass to lift me, grabbed his huge cock by the base, and shoved inside me in one primitive thrust.
Before I had the chance to catch my breath, he began to move. He grabbed one of my tits, kneading and squeezing and pinching my nipple until a pained cry forced its way from my throat.
“Gentler?”
I shook my head. “Rougher.”
He broke into a smile and jammed into me even harder. “That’s my woman.”
My woman. God, that sounded incredible. I’d never liked the idea of being a man’s anything, but Joz didn’t mean it in a hierarchical way.
He wasn’t some jerk who believed men were superior.
Just as well because they fucking weren’t.
But it did mean that our fledgling relationship had moved to another level.
Perhaps by sharing what happened to Caroline had freed a block of some kind—one I hadn’t even been aware of before today.
“Rub your clit for me. Lemme see how you make yourself come.”
I grunted as he thrust hard enough to shove me a few inches up the bed. “I usually use a vibrator.”
Buried balls deep, he paused. “Then, I’ll have to buy a selection for next time because that I wanna see.”
Grinning, I ran my middle finger around my clit. His eyes tracked my movements, a faint flush blooming on his chest and neck. His pace slowed, still hard, still rough, but not as fast. Like he was concentrating.
I raised up on one elbow, moving my finger faster now. “I love watching you move in and out of me.”
“Yeah?” He pulled out almost all the way, then slid back in an inch at a time. “Like that?”
Fuck. This guy was going to be the end of me. But what a way to go. Instead of a blaze of glory, a feast of orgasms.
“Just like that.” I gasped as he shifted his angle. “Fuck. Yes. Christ.” I circled my finger faster and faster, and Joz matched me with smooth thrusts, his ink covered abs contracting every time he pushed inside. “Coming.”
My orgasm hit me like a freaking tidal wave, the wall of water knocking me on my ass, my inner muscles rippling along his dick. I squeezed my eyes closed, my body boneless, sated yet still wanting more. With Joz, I always wanted more.
He muttered something I didn’t catch. Lowering me to the mattress, he stretched out over me, his lips dotting kisses along my neck, a soft moan of pleasure the only sign he’d found his own release.
He allowed himself to rest on me for a few seconds, then rolled off to the side.
Almost in synchronicity, our chests heaved, breaths sawing in and out as we fought to catch our breath.
“That was… life altering.”
Joz found my hand and placed it over his heart. “My life changed the moment you turned up at that bar and gave me an earful when all I could think was how much I wanted to suck your nipples through your soaked dress.”
I shifted onto my side. “You’re not going to run again, are you?”