Chapter 6
Christine
All time stopped.
I didn’t know that was possible, but it would seem anything involving this man was totally plausible.
The flower killer’s feet left the ground. That’s how much oomph he put into the jump. I couldn’t help myself, in slight awe as I watched him launch himself through the air toward me.
Then down I went for the count, the man bowling into me with his weight.
And the feel of his rock-hard cock pressed between my legs.
We both took deep breaths, holding them as he pushed up from me.
Then he dared shift his hips back and forth.
“What are you doing?” I hissed through clenched teeth.
“Teaching you a lesson, little girl. I guess I’m going to need to pull out all the stops.”
“I’m no little girl in case you haven’t noticed.” What the hell was I doing, egging him on? Was I nuts?
He laughed as if this was one big joke, rolling off and into a sitting position. Before I had a chance to scramble away, he had me in his arms. The man was even stronger than he looked, which was truly something special.
When he had the nerve to jerk me over his lap, I was so shocked I couldn’t react fast enough. “What? What?”
“Don’t what me. You assaulted me. That calls for a little punishment.”
Whoa. Hold on. Was he kidding me? I didn’t have time to question what the hell he was doing before he brought his hand down on my butt. Not once but several times. I squealed like a stuck pig. “Stop that. Stop it!”
“Not until you apologize.”
“I am not going to apologize.” Even though my shorts had ridden up to the point half my butt cheeks were in view. Oh, shit, this was horrible.
He shifted on the ground, not bothered in the least we were still getting soaked. “I heard spankings hurt much worse with water involved. You’ll need to tell me whether that’s true or not.”
The brutal smack of his palm could likely be heard halfway down the block.
“I’ll scream!” I tossed out.
His snicker just pissed me off even more. He wasn’t stopping, moving from one side to the other as if we’d known each other for years.
And as if he owned me.
Fuck that.
I would get away from him and when I did, I’d call the police. Only every time I moved, the friction built to a level that I was panting.
And my pussy was throbbing.
The fact he’d managed to give me a wedgie was just about the worst thing of all. While the pain was brutal, so much so I was blinking back tears, they were also from embarrassment.
Especially because I was aroused by what he was doing. This was insane, so much so I kicked out like some kid. Our bodies were so slippery, I almost slipped off his lap, but he was also a contortionist, managing to swing his leg over both of mine.
Just as a vehicle passed by. I tried to scream but the sound was muffled.
“They’ll call the police,” I yelled.
“I doubt it since the driver gave me the thumbs up.”
“Oh, you horrible man.”
“Why, yes, I am. Thank you for noticing.”
What in the hell did this fool think he was doing? I was mortified, heat crisscrossing my face as the spanking continued.
And the ache in my pussy only continued to grow until I was panting from desire and not pain.
Yet the moment he took a break, I was able to kick out enough to break the hold, pitching my body off and scrambling to my feet. At the same time, I lunged for the hose just as he was fighting to move to a standing position.
Although he almost managed to yank the hose from my hand, I reacted quickly, able to wrap the pliable plastic around both arms and his chest, kicking out and connecting my knee against his groin.
His eyes flew open wide and for a few seconds, all he could do was gasp.
“Oops,” I said in a sarcastic way while dropping a single foot to the ground. With a series of twists of the hose, I finally yanked.
Silly me didn’t calculate the wet turf beneath my feet and how slippery it could be. I did only when I felt my feet dancing across the surface as if on ice.
And I fell flat on my back.
Only I didn’t fall on my own. Of course not.
I still had my hand firmly wrapped around the hose like a leash and the centrifugal force took him right along with me.
The savage thud knocked the air out of me, but when his body collapsed on top, a strangled moan as if in the throes of passion was driven from my lungs.
He landed with his leg between mine, his groin resting on my thigh and in a flash of understanding, I realized the stranger’s cock was not only rock hard, it was also throbbing.
Somehow our wrestling match had managed to turn him on.
If that wasn’t bad enough, my nipples were tiny pebbles poking through the extra thin layer of material. To add insult to injury, the white shirt was soaked with water. If he was paying any attention, I’d just managed to give him my version of a wet tee shirt contest.
Involuntarily, he pushed up from the ground at that very moment, following my line of sight. With his nostrils flaring, his eyes fell straight to my chest. I’d be damned if the bastard didn’t lick his lips.
I was ready to punch him when something very odd happened. He shifted his body weight as if worried that he would crush me. Once again, he peered down directly into my eyes. With the angle of the sun, the exact color of his eyes was masked, but they shimmered as if completely iridescent.
I was shocked how intense they were, how incredibly beautiful. Maybe I was looking directly into the man’s soul. The scent of sandalwood and citrus assaulted my senses, the fragrance so provocative that I was blown away and unable to breathe without moaning.
Everything around us seemed to fade. As if no one and nothing else existed. I certainly wasn’t one to believe in fairytales and princes.
Frogs, maybe.
However, when he lowered his head by a couple of inches, every part of me tingled with extreme excitement.
A slight smile crossed his face and in the next few seconds, the stranger who’d dared run over my precious flowers, who’d acted as if what he’d done was no big deal, and the same guy who’d already gotten a rise out of me, did the unthinkable.
He kissed me.
It wasn’t just any kiss either.
It was the kind of kiss that could ignite the entire world on fire.
His lips were soft at first, tasting me as if he he’d never had the joy of doing so with a woman before. But that gentleness lingered only for a few seconds until his tongue slipped past my lips, finding mine. I was pulled into a sweet vacuum, which was entirely unlike me.
Maybe I’d expected something different, but he tasted of spicy peppermint. Tingles slammed into my body, drifting up and down in a crazy series of electric vibrations.
While his scruffy beard should be chafing my skin, I was shocked how soft it felt sliding back and forth.
I was also thrown by the hunger that erupted from deep inside, even rolling my arms over his shoulders. He was so strong, even taller than I’d thought. At least six and a half feet and all muscle. The moment and his actions completely threw me as we both explored the other’s mouth.
Why I did so I’d ask myself later, but I rolled him over, not caring about the dampness or the fact that we were in the middle of the lawn. The kiss deepened as the desire exploded, but he wasn’t in the mood to allow me any concept of control.
That’s why he rolled me back over, even grinding his hip into me. I was shocked when he managed to jerk both my arms over my head, capturing both wrists with one huge hand.
And I allowed him to take and keep control for a little while longer.
Until one of us knocked against the water nozzle, flicking it back on.
He finally pulled free, leaving us both gasping.
We were stuck in the moment until the hose started dancing, hitting us both in the face. Unable to help myself, I started laughing and together, we tried to get out of the path of the water. Slipping and sliding.
Almost falling.
We crashed into each other but finally made it away from the stream. While we continued to fight catching our breath, I found myself clinging to him.
Until I came to my senses.
With a hard shove, I pushed him away, anger replacing the crazy emotions from before. I wiped my mouth, backing away even further.
He studied me with ferocious intensity. “Are you okay?”
I couldn’t even look at him. I was soaked to the core, my hair a stringy mess. “I’m fine, but you need to go away.” Why wasn’t he moving? “Now!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Don’t you dare ma’am me.”
His scent lingered on my skin and I wiped my hands on my shorts. When I turned to face him and his eyes fell immediately to my chest, I groaned and grabbed a handful of material, yanking the shirt as far away from my body as possible.
“And stop gawking,” I snapped.
“I’m not gawking.” He was exasperated, brushing water from his arms.
Heat rose across my cheeks and I forced myself to look away, noticing my sunglasses on the ground lying next to his. When I went down for them, so did he. The comical moment almost had us knocking our heads together. We both snatched our own and I backed away, shoving them onto my face.
I could not believe I’d kissed a stranger. What in the hell was wrong with me?
We stood staring at each other and the craziest part about kissing him as if we were lovers was that I hadn’t gotten a great view of what he looked like. Other than that he was huge and very muscular. It was the craziest thing I’d ever done. He could be a criminal, a damn serial killer.
Yet I’d allowed what had just happened to happen.
Oh, my God.
“Let me pay for the flowers. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to run over them.”
I glanced at the mess and sighed. “Just go. It’s fine.”
“No, really. I can pay for them.”
There was something very disturbing about when he pulled his wallet from his back pocket. A moment of sadness and I wasn’t certain why. “No, please go.” When he didn’t budge, I shook my head. “Go. Okay? That was just stupid and I need to get going.”
He appeared hurt, although without seeing his eyes, I wasn’t entirely certain. All I knew was that I’d never acted so impulsively in my life. Not once. I was the good girl, the one who never did anything wrong.
After he stared at me for a few seconds, I threw my arm out toward his car. He held up his hands in surrender and carefully backed away. When he almost slipped again, I pressed my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing.
He grinned like some kid and managed to make it to the driver’s door without further incident. But he hesitated again. Maybe he was planning on asking for my number.
No. I wasn’t capable of being with anyone right now. So I turned away, still furious with myself and with the muscular stranger.
When I heard the roar of the engine, I headed for the porch. The mess would need to wait. By the time I was near the door, he was rolling down the road, the deep throaty sound of his engine rumbling in my chest.
Just as the Trans Am disappeared from sight, I heard my phone. I hadn’t realized how much time had passed. Still dripping, I rushed into the living room, trying to figure out where I’d left my phone.
“Hello.”
“Christine Carrington?”
“Yes, this is Christine.”
“Oh, good. I’m glad I caught you. Do you have a couple minutes?” As the caller identified herself, I moved into the kitchen, gripping the edge of the counter.
“Yes, of course.”
I listened, but her voice slowly drifted into a slight echo. Enough of one that I heard maybe every other word. When she was finished, I took a deep breath. “That’s fine. I’ll be there on Friday. Thank you for calling.”
As soon as the call ended, the phone slipped from my hand just as a single tear rolled ever so slowly down my cheek.