Chapter 34
JINX
Surprise, surprise. He took her to the most expensive restaurant in Copper Crossing.
He probably thinks he can throw around a little cash and win her over. Maybe convince her that he’s a catch over a bottle of fancy wine. Prove he’s virile and shit by devouring a big-ass steak the size of his fat, too good-looking head.
Fucking guy.
I’d hate him if he wasn’t so goddamn likable.
I sit in my truck, parked right next to his, ruminating over how much of a scene I want to create. More to the point, I have to consider what’s least likely to piss Rachel off. Or worse, embarrass her.
If I go inside, that’ll happen. She’s been through too much to have any interest in drama. And if I wait, it’ll give him more time to talk her into seeing him again.
I guess that’s the chance I have to take.
Fortunately, I don’t have to wait long.
Ten minutes after I’ve parked so I’m facing the entrance, the front door of the Crossing Steakhouse opens, and Rachel steps out ahead of Jamie. She’s wearing dark wide-leg pants that flow around her and a cropped white top that not only shows a sliver of her stomach, but her bare shoulders, too.
Teeth gritted, I tug the keys from the ignition.
With the contrast between that white top and her skin and the way her hair is piled up at the back of her head, there’s no way that asshole didn’t notice all her freckles. My fucking freckles.
Possession roars through my veins as I hop out of the truck and step into their path.
Jamie grins when he spots me, totally at ease. “Hey, man. How’s it going?”
I don’t respond. I don’t even look at him. It’s impossible to when I can’t take my eyes off her.
Mywoman.
Her steps falter and her breath hitches when she finally looks up. With parted lips, she regards me, her wide eyes dancing back and forth between mine. I don’t need to hear the questions going through her mind to recognize them.
“You all right, Enders?” Jamie frowns at me, then glances back at Rachel. Then his shoulders drop. “Ah, I see.” He gives a light laugh, then nods almost to himself, before returning his focus to me. “So you’re the one, huh?”
The one? Did she tell him about me?
She tilts her head almost imperceptibly. Guiltily, too.
Yeah, she told him. Just like she told me. Like Jesse said, I should have believed her.
I should have believed my own mind, too, because this woman is it for me. I knew it the moment she stood on her back porch and yelled at me for cutting her grass.
She’s feisty, my Sunny. Beneath the sweet and pretty exterior is a strong, determined woman who knows what she wants.
How could I have ever doubted her?
I clear my throat and give Jamie a quick nod. “Thanks for taking care of my girl, but I’ll be the one taking her home.”
He holds up both hands and steps back. “If that’s what Rachel wants, she’s all yours.”
She wets her lips and nods, her attention fixed solely on me. “I do.”
Thank god.
RACHEL
Justin isquiet behind the wheel. Too quiet. I don’t know what to make of it.
He knows he’s the one I want. At the restaurant, I got the impression that he’d finally figured that out. That he’d finally had enough of the silly game he wanted me to play to prove that to him.
Maybe I should have pushed back. Maybe I should have fought harder. Told him that, no, I would not date anyone else. I didn’t need to because he already has my heart.
Oh my god.
Why the hell didn’t I do that?
Fuck, Rachel. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
What is wrong with you?
I ball my hands into tight fists in my lap and stare at the road ahead of us, praying the emotion burning in my throat doesn’t make its way to my eyes.
I did it again.
I let another man convince me that I should do something other than what I really want, and I did it to make him happy. I set aside my wants, what I knew to be true. Now, wallowing in silence, I see it all so clearly.
I don’t know why he showed up tonight. All that matters is that he did. And that I’ve been given the opportunity to fix this.
“We need to talk,” I say and then clear my throat. “About a few things.”
His hands tighten on the wheel, and the little muscle at the juncture of his jaw pulses. “Not really in the mood to talk,” he mutters, not bothering to look my way.
“Are you mad?” I swear to god, if he’s going to be audacious enough to try and flip this around—
“Not mad.”
“Good.” I shake my head, biting back a harsh laugh. “If you were, I’d make you stop this truck right freaking now.”
The faintest flicker of a smile softens his cheek for a moment, but just as quickly, his expression goes tense again.
We come to the first stop sign in Cole Creek, but instead of turning right to go to my street, he goes straight through town. “Where are we going?”
He doesn’t answer. Just keeps his gaze trained on the road ahead like he didn’t hear me.
“Okay…” Now I do laugh, but I’m not amused. “I think we’re about to have our first fight.”
In response, he grunts. Freaking grunts.
“You don’t get to show up like a damn Neanderthal at a date you told me to go to and then give me the silent treatment for twenty damn minutes, Justin Enders.” My voice is unnecessarily loud, but I’m done playing games. “What the hell was that back there?”
He tips his head from one side to the other, straining the thick tendons in his neck and making my mouth water, dammit.
“Hello?” I shift in the seat so I’m facing him full-on. “You’ve never held back before, so why are you doing it now?”
It isn’t until he hits the blinker that I realize he’s turning onto his street instead of mine.
“I’m thinking,” he finally mutters, his voice as rough as the gravel beneath his tires.
“About?”
“I’d rather show you.” He cranks the wheel into his driveway, slams the truck into park, and jumps out.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” I hop out and stomp to the front of the truck. When we meet, I shove at his chest. “You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to go all broody on me when this whole thing is your fault.”
He grasps my wrist, blue flames blazing in his stupidly sexy, hooded eyes. “It is my fault,” he admits, his voice low and husky. “It’s my fault that I thought I could just be a nice guy and not fall for you. It’s my fault that I didn’t try harder to stay away when I knew you needed time. It’s my fault that I thought I could step back and let you take that time after the fact, too.”
My breath hitches in my chest, and my heart beats so hard that I can feel it in my ears.
“I was wrong, Sunny,” he says, hanging his head. “I’m not that fucking strong. Is that what you want me to say?”
“I-I don’t know. I…” I step in close, push up on my toes, and kiss him. Hard. That’s what I want. Turns out I don’t actually want him to talk. I want him to kiss me and touch me and make me forget we ever thought we could control this thing between us.
A low, feral growl rises in his throat as he lets go of my wrists in favor of palming my ass and lifting me off the ground.
Hands in his hair, I tug and claw, trying to get closer to him while our lips and tongues battle over who’s more desperate for the other.
I don’t even realize he’s carried me into the house until he slams my back against the wall just inside the entry.
He tears his mouth from mine and trails wet kisses along my jaw. “I’m done playing. You hear me, Sunny?” He bites at my neck, making me arch into him with a hiss. “You’re mine now. No more dates. No more bullshit.”
Yes. Yes, yes, yes.
“Just you and me as soon as I can get you out of these fucking clothes.”
With a breathless laugh, I try to rotate my hips to show him just how much I agree. His hold on me is too fierce, though, and his body is too wrought with hard, unyielding tension.
“Be careful,” he warns, fingers digging deeper into my ass as he grinds back. “I’m already a man on the edge.”
Gripping his head, I pull him back from my neck and grin. “Then quit talking and get me out of these damn clothes.”
Those wicked flames flash in his eyes again, and then it’s on.
He sets me back on my feet and gets to work on tearing off my shoes and my pants. While he’s busy with that, I strip my top over my head.
He fists the back of his shirt and tugs that off, too. My greedy hands are everywhere at once. His wide, muscled shoulders. His thick, flexing biceps. And the hard, sculpted planes of his chest.
I angle in, placing frantic kisses on every inch of bare skin I can reach. I want to experience every bit of this man. To touch him and taste him everywhere.He’s already under my skin, but I want to feel him in my veins.
I flick my tongue over one of his nipples, eliciting a groan from him, and while he unclasps my bra, I undo his belt and his fly with eager hands. I need to touch him. To feel him skin on skin.
“Ah, fuck,” he rasps when my fingers wrap around his hard, thick cock. “You better be sure about this if you’re gonna touch me like that.”
A wanton laugh escapes my chest. “I’m sure that if you don’t get inside me soon, I’m going to go out of my damn mind.” I shove down his jeans, fist his dick again, and give him a pointed glare. “Tell me you have a condom.”
He hits me with a wicked grin. “I have a whole damn box.”
“Then fix this problem, Justin.”
In one quick swoop, he swings me up into his arms and deposits me on the kitchen table a couple of feet away. The last time I sat at this table, he ate my cookies. Maybe tonight he’ll eat me.
“Don’t you dare move.” He points a finger at me while he kicks off his boots and jeans. Then he sprints his bare, sculpted ass down the hall, presumably to the bedroom. He’s back in less than a minute, already rolling on the latex.
“Panties,” he demands, lifting his chin to the lace still keeping me hidden. “Take ’em off.”
I don’t know what comes over me then. Maybe I’m emboldened by the need coursing through me, but I lean back on one palm and spread my legs just enough to slide my hand into the damp fabric. “Don’t you want to do it? I mean, you should probably check to make sure I’m ready.”
Nostrils flaring, he adjusts the condom and stalks forward. Then, with his hands planted on either side of my hips, he dips in close. “I don’t need to check, baby. I can already see how wet you are for me. Can smell how ready, too.” He pulls in a deep breath and lowers his focus to my core, watching me play.
Heat blooms in my cheeks and spreads down my neck, pebbling my nipples.
“Ah, that’s pretty.” He hovers closer, capturing one peak between his lips.
My hips lift from the table the second he sucks.
“Such a greedy girl,” he murmurs. “You think you can handle my cock, Sunny? Or are you gonna come undone the second I touch you?”
I rub circles around my clit, the ache already building.“That’s the point, isn’t it?”
His eyes flick to mine, full of mischief, and he shakes his head. “There’s no race to the finish with me, baby. Be damn sure about that.” He wraps his fingers around my wrist, halting my play. “When I touch you, whether I’m buried inside your sweet pussy or eating it, you will come. I don’t care if it takes a minute or an hour.”
I swallow hard. “So no faking?”
His eyes flash with a dark intensity. “If you have to fake it, then I’m not doing my job. We clear?”
I nod and wet my lips. From what I’ve experienced thus far, I can’t imagine it’ll be a problem with him, anyway.
“Now lift your ass so I can get those fucking panties off.”
The heat building low in my core ignites at the command. God, I love this demanding side of him.
Leaning back on both hands, I do as I’m told, letting him peeling the damp lace from my body. When he fists the fabric and brings it to his nose, I almost die.
“You told him about me.” One side of his mouth ticks up in a smug grin. “Were you thinking about me, too? When you let him buy you dinner?”
Every cell in my body trembles with anticipation. “Y-yes.”
He gives a feral laugh and tosses the panties onto the table.
The table.
Holy crap, he’s going to fuck me right here on the table.
Nudging his way between my thighs, he strokes his cock, eyes never leaving mine. “I’m sorry I put you through that, but I’m not the least bit apologetic for being the one who made you wet.”
Dick in hand, he rubs the tip through my slickness, sending a full-body shudder through me. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll come tonight. Just that light tease against my clit already has my blood roaring.
“Don’t tease me,” I beg. “I need to feel you inside.”
Hooking an arm around my back, he hauls me to the edge of the table and notches the head of his cock at my opening. “You’re gonna be the end of me,” he warns. He’s looming over me, cast in shadow, looking as though he’s ready to eat me whole. “There isn’t a damn thing I wouldn’t do for you. You know that, right?”
He doesn’t wait for my response before he pushes inside. The move is so slow and torturous that I almost weep with the frustration and the pleasure of it.
He’s big and it’s been a while, so I appreciate the gesture, but my god, I need him. I need to feel him stretch me and fill me and own me.
“So good,” he murmurs as we both watch him sink inside. “Ah, baby, you feel so fucking good.” His arms shake on either side of me and his jaw clenches, and I suddenly can’t breathe.
“More,” I plead, my chest rising and falling as I watch him watch us finally crossing this line. As we finally give into this.
Somehow, it’s simultaneously too much and not enough.
Yet it’s everything.
My hips pulse, pulling him into me. Begging for him.“Please.”
“So desperate for me,” he praises, inching in further. “So fucking greedy. Look at us, Sunny. Look how good we fit together.”
I see it. I feel it.He’s not even fully seated, and it’s already the best sex I’ve ever had. Because it’s him. It’s us.
Finally—finally—he thrusts forward, burying himself to the hilt, and every fiber of my being comes alive.
It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before, being connected to him like this. Being as close as physically possible while knowing that it’s so much more than sex.
Maybe that’s why I’m already on the edge, the coil of arousal wound so tight.Because this man takes away every one of my worries and fears. He doesn’t ask questions or permission, either. He does it because he understands that I need it.
“You’re not going to hurt me,” I pant as he pulls out and slides back in like I’m a fragile, priceless work of art. “We’ve got all the time in the world for slow and easy, but right now…” I cup his face and lock eyes with him. “I need you to fuck me.”
Shadows of desire darken his expression, and finally, he pumps in hard.
I gasp as pleasure ricochets through me. “Harder.”
A feral grin ticks up one corner of his mouth. “You sure about that?”
Licking my lips, I lean back and spread my knees to give him better access. “Do I look unsure to you?”
He chuckles and pounds in again. And again. And again. All the while teasing my clit lightly with his fingertips.
The contrast is maddening, and my head buzzes with frustration and anticipation. I want to come so badly. Not only for the release, but to show him how crazy he makes me.
Suddenly, he scoops me up again and carries me to the living room. I cling to him as he tosses a pillow and lays me on the couch. He never leaves my body, and the second my ass hits the pillow, he cages me in, his hands pressed to the cushion on either side of my shoulders, and drives into me again.
“Oh god!” I grasp his forearms and meet his thrusts. “Why does that feel different? Oh, shit. Oh, fuck.” My nails dig into his skin and my back arches. And holy freaking hell, this angle… the way he hits every nerve—
“That’s it, baby,” he growls, his arms and neck straining. “Take me deeper. Take me all the fucking way home.”
“Ahh.” My head spins and my nipples tighten in response to the sensation. The way his thighs press against the back of mine while he strokes that spot deep inside is so perfect.
The heat in my lower belly spills over like molten lava, and my orgasm hits so hard that all I can do is cling to him as I’m washed away in the most exquisite rush and then pulled back in again as pulse after pulse of pleasure rocks my body.
I’m still breathless and reeling when he lifts my ass even higher, his hips like pistons as he fucks me with an animalistic ferocity. A man of power and possession on a mission to please.
“Yes, baby.” I scrape my nails down his chest, loving every move he makes. “Come for me. Fill me up. Make me yours.”
Two more hard, punishing pumps, and he throws his head back with a roar. His cock thickens inside me, and every muscle in his body strains as he comes.
It’s beautiful and breathtaking, witnessing this big, protective man lose control. It’s empowering, knowing that I was the one who made him so wild.
When the last spasms subside, he drops to his elbows above me, his face buried in my neck as he catches his breath.
I kiss his shoulder as I cradle him close. “You okay?”
His body, covered in a fine sheen of sweat, shakes with silent laughter. “I’m supposed to ask you that.”
“Oh, I’m more than fine.” I bite my lip as heat creeps up my chest and into my cheeks.
“Please tell me that wasn’t fake.”
“Definitely not fake.” The giggle that escapes me is one of pure joy. “And definitely the first time that’s ever happened.”
He lifts his head, surprised eyes darting back and forth between mine. “Are you serious?”
With a nod, I swallow down the embarrassment that tries to rise up. “I’ve only ever come with Prince. But you, sir, are two for two.”
A crooked and all too satisfied smile spreads across his face. “Well, shit. Feels like I just won a damn award.”
“Oh my god.” I shove at his stomach, but there’s no budging him. “We really need to do something about that ego.”
“And this.” He pulls the throw pillow from beneath me and tosses it to the floor. “She’s gonna need a good washing, for sure.”
There’s no stopping the wave of embarrassment that hits me. I scrunch up my face and peer up at him with one eye. “I’m sorry?”
He chuckles. “No, you’re not. And neither am I. In fact, I might start carrying her around with me, just in case.”
I burst out laughing, a lightness flooding me. Never have I had this kind of silly interaction while naked with a man still firmly inside me. “Oh really? You plan on going around town, seducing random women with your pillow magic?”
With a cheeky grin, he pushes himself up and grabs a couple of tissues from a box on the coffee table to take care of the condom. “Just you, Sunny girl. Anywhere and everywhere you’ll have me.”
Good lord, he’s cute. And sexy. And so damn lovable.
“You sure about that? Because now that I know you have the golden touch…”
He cocks a brow. “Don’t challenge me, babe. Because I’ll take it every fucking time.”
I hope he does.