Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Next thing I knew, we were rushin' up the stairs to my apartment above the bar. I didn't have time to be nervous, to feel guilt, because she was practically shoving me.
"Hurry."
I chuckled. "Yes, ma'am."
She shoved me against the stairwell wall, pinnin' me against it from a step below with her forearm to my hips.
Ah, fuck. Hard as stone.
"Call me ma'am one more fucking time and this all ends."
I said nothing. Nodded half a dozen times while her eyes blazed up at me. She took a step up, and her arm shifted, bringin' her beautiful fucking hand to my aching dick. My entire body jerked, ready to come in my goddamn pants after not havin' been touched for so long.
"Kiss me, boy scout."
I swallowed hard knowin' there was no going back after this. By now, Sassy was probably back at the ranch with Rhett. Cryin' into his shoulder instead of mine, lettin' him be the one to hold her together.
This was what I wanted, wasn't it? What I'd practically shoved them toward when I walked away?
So why did the thought of her movin' on make me want to punch somethin'—or someone—preferably myself?
Maybe this was too fast. Maybe I was just tryin' to prove I could let go as easily as I'd let her go. Or maybe I needed to know that what we had wasn't so special that I'd never find it again.
Either way, I was about to find out.
After tonight, Sassy would no longer be the only woman I'd ever kissed.
And I had to be okay with that.
I'd made my bed. It was time to lie in it.
Preferably with this sexy as sin viper of a woman.
I gripped her face between my palms and slammed my mouth to hers, getting it over with once and for all.
But the moment our lips touched, all thoughts of Sassy vanished. For the first time in over a week, my mind was silent. This woman tasted like freedom from my own guilt.
What began as a hard press of lips exploded into somethin' hot and hungry.
Her lips split apart beneath mine, a breathy gasp escapin' as I swept my tongue across her bottom lip, tasting the hops of the beer she'd been nursin' downstairs.
She bit down on my tongue—not gentle, not sweet—and the sharp edge of pain sent fire straight through my veins.
"Fuck," I groaned against her mouth, the curse vibrating between us.
She answered by fistin' my shirt, yanking me closer until her tits pressed against my chest. Her tongue slicked against mine, no trace of hesitation or shyness. This woman kissed like she owned me, like she'd been waitin' to devour me whole.
The taste of her flooded my senses—something uniquely her that made my head spin worse than any liquor ever could. Her mouth moved against mine with a hunger that matched the ache in my pants, each stroke of her tongue sendin' jolts of electricity down my spine.
She pulled back just enough to sink her teeth into my bottom lip, tugging until I hissed. The sting mixed with pleasure, blurring every line I thought I understood about want and need.
"More," she breathed against my mouth, the single word a command that had my entire body strainin' toward hers.
I crashed my mouth back to hers, deeper this time, hungrier.
My hands tangled in her hair as she worked me through the thin material of my joggers, her palm creatin' enough friction to have me seein' stars.
The stairwell felt too small, too public, but I couldn't bring myself to care about anything beyond the heat of her touch.
Without warning, she pulled back. My lips chased hers, desperate for another taste. "Let's go," she said, marchin' up the stairs.
I gave my head a little shake, attemptin' to clear my sex-addled mind. Damn, that was the best kiss of my life.
"I'm waiting." When I glanced up, my temptress, my torturer, my salvation was standin' on the landing between the two doors at the top of the narrow, steep staircase waitin' to be let into my apartment.
The one that, a week ago, I shared with Sassy.
This woman wanted to fuck me.
In the bed I shared with Sassy.
All the thoughts that had floated out of my head the moment her lips touched mine came ragin' back and I forced my eyes to the floor.
Was I really going to do this? Fuck another woman in the bed where Sassy used to curl against my chest? While she was probably doing the same thing with my best friend twenty miles away?
"I'm sorry. I don't think I can—"
"Ah, too much of a boy scout for a little one night stand? I get it."
I whipped my head up, fixin' her with my fiercest glare. Only, it must not have been all that threatening because she simply laughed at me.
"You don't get shit," I gritted out before stompin' up the few remaining stairs. The landing was small, barely a three-by-three square. I braced my hands on the door on either side of my mystery girl's head.
Her features softened for the briefest of moments before she spoke in a low, husky voice. "Really, it's fine. I can go."
I dropped my hand and twisted the knob on my unlocked door.
With a gasp, she stumbled back into the apartment. She righted herself quick as lightning and snapped her gaze to mine. I took a few steps into the room and fell the door shut.
It was quiet in the apartment as we held each other's stare, the only sound, our heavy breathing as our chests heaved. After what felt like an eternity of moments, she spoke. "Bed. Now."
"Yes, ma'am," I muttered with a nod.
She struck so quick, just like the viper I pegged her to be, I startled back when she gripped the front of my shirt in her small fist. "What the fuck did I tell you? No, ma'am."
"Sorry. Was just bein' polite."
She rolled her eyes and dropped her hand. "Such a boy scout," she murmured as she turned and showed herself around my small apartment. I stood stock still like a fool until she peered into my bedroom, then back at me. "Well? What are you waiting for? On the bed."
I jumped into motion so quick you'd have thought she was a puppet master, pullin' all my strings.
In a few long strides, I was at the bedroom door. I stopped and glanced down at her. I had about five or six inches on her, so she was on the shorter side of tall for a woman. Her frame was petite, but she was strong. And so fuckin' sexy.
I leaned down to take her lips again. The way she recoiled and pulled her body further from mine had me thinkin' she was about to break the kiss. Maybe slap me.
But her lips and her tongue were telling a different story. She planted her palms against my chest, ready to push me away until her fingers curled into the fabric, holdin' on for dear life.
We were both panting, and I was desperate for more. I released her mouth and my eyes met hers. A mix of heat and mischief. Fuck, this was gonna be fun.
Already, this whole situation was so much more than I'd ever felt before. A blazing fire and crippling need.
"Go," she said. Less bark this time. More sensual. Like those two letters alone were a promise of pleasure. By the time I made it to the bed—no more than a few feet away—and turned around, she was already down to her bra and panties.
And Jesus fucking Christ, this woman.
Goddamn stunning.
"Clothes off," she demanded.
I swallowed hard and adjusted my junk. But I couldn't make my muscles move much beyond that. My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth and I was damn near speechless.
"I…"
Okay, so I was speechless.
"Fine. I'll do it." She marched toward me and grabbed the hem of my shirt before rippin' it up and over my head. She was too short, though, and my arm got all stuck and twisted.
"Ah, fuck. Hold on a damn second."
I finally unwound myself from the fabric and dropped it to the floor. She was standin' there with her hands planted on her curvy hips with a look that said I'm waiting all over her beautiful face.
I kicked off my shoes before shedding my socks and sweatpants. Then I was standin' in front of this fierce, sexy, scary-as-fuck woman in nothin' but my boxer briefs.
She raked her gaze from head to toe and back up again. "Yep. You'll do."
I let out some sort of choking sound I'd never heard before. Jesus, I was embarrassing myself. "I'll do?"
"Mhm. On the bed."
Following orders—because, apparently, that's who I became around this woman—I sat and scootched back until I was propped against the pillows.
"Now what?" I asked, more nervous than I should've been for a man in his mid-thirties who was by no means a fuckin' virgin.
"You have… done this before, right, homewrecker?"
"Stop callin' me that," I snapped.
Her brows hit her hairline and she lifted her hands, palms out in surrender. "Okay, sorry… boy scout."
I grinned. "That one, I can live with."
Her responding smile was less feral this time and a little more genuine. It had my nerves shiftin' into anxious anticipation.
I still couldn't believe this was happening. But it would happen at some point, so why not now? Why not with this stunning, venomous creature who maybe had a soft side behind all those slippery scales?
She climbed onto the end of the bed, crawlin' on her hands and knees until she settled back on her haunches between my spread legs.
She reached out a delicate hand, trailing the tip of her index finger up and down the length of my rock-hard shaft.
I sucked in a breath, abs flexing with restraint as I tried my damnedest not to buck into her touch.
I didn't want to piss her off.
Didn't want to do somethin' wrong.
Didn't want this to end.
"You're big," she declared.
"I'll haveta take your word on that one, viper."
Her eyes glittered in the low light of my bedroom. With only a street lamp from outside illuminating the space, I couldn't see as much of her as I'd like. But what I could see nearly stole the breath from my lungs.
She curled her fingers into the waistband of my briefs and tugged.
I lifted for her, allowing her to drag them down my legs and toss them aside.
With searing eye contact, she reached behind her with one hand and flicked the clasp of her bra open.
Her perky tits spilled out as her bra fell into my lap.
With one hand, I flung it across the room.
With the other, I reached up and palmed her breast—the perfect handful.
The rough callouses of my hand scraped against her hard nipple and she shuddered.
With my free hand, I gripped her thin, lacy panties at her hip and yanked. Hard. The audible tear in the fabric had her tossing her head back and laughing as her panties pooled in a torn-up heap around her opposite thigh.
The sound of her laughter was a balm to my recently-battered soul.
Fuck, I hadn't had enough laughter in my life lately. Aside from the fit Mom, Luke, and I had found ourselves in earlier—which was really more of a hysteria than anything—the last few months had been hard between Dad passing and wedding planning.
Sad.
Tense.
Stressful.
I needed to laugh. To have fun. To find my happy again.
And if rippin' the panties of this woman gave me a little bit of that? Well, shit, I'd be glad to do it every damn day.
When she gathered herself, my viper of a woman slipped the panties from her leg and gripped my thighs.
The heat of her palms burned through my skin as she positioned herself between my legs, her eyes never leaving mine. That vicious smile curved her lips again, the one that promised trouble and pleasure in equal measure.
Her fingers traced slow patterns on my skin, deliberate and torturous. I could feel the shift in power between us—she knew exactly what she was doing, and I was completely at her mercy.
When she finally—finally—gripped my dick in her hand, I let out a low groan.
"Such a good boy," she cooed and my cock jerked in her grip. Her smug smile had me feelin' a smidgen of embarrassment at my reaction to her, but then the tip of her tongue swept across the slit of my dick. All embarrassment vanished at her greedy moan.
"You want more of my cum in your mouth, baby?" I said with a smirk.
But like she had every time I'd tried to sweet talk her, she shut me down hard and fast—controllin' our pace, our touches, our words.
"Stop talking."
She made it easy for me, because when her hot, wet mouth descended on my cock, words were the furthest thing from my mind.
I'd been reduced to grunts and groans, feelin' like a fuckin' caveman as I rutted into the perfect feel of her mouth.
I reached down, grabbin' a fist full of her hair, but she quickly batted my hand away before gripping my balls just a bit too tight.
"Jesus fuck—ah!" She released me as she continued to bob up and down on my dick, the sight utterly fucking entrancing.
But then she slid her small but skilled hand further down from my balls, fingertips brushing along that sensitive spot just before they reached my asshole and I clenched—not just my ass cheeks, but my whole fucking body seized.
"The fuck?!"
She pulled back, a lewd pop echoing throughout the apartment—far emptier than it had been this morning—before my cock slapped against my stomach.
"Has no one ever taken you here?"
My dick twitched, and I hoped like hell she hadn't noticed.
"Uh, no." I laughed. It was forced, and we both knew it. "Hard pass. I'm not really into dudes."
With a roll of her eyes, she continued to top me, to school me. "You don't have to be gay to get your ass fucked. Would you call me gay if I let you fuck my ass?"
"I—what? No. But it's different."
"I can promise you it would be very different. And you'd love every second of it."
I stared up at her, mouth agape, stunned. Who the fuck was this woman and where the hell did she come from?
Before I could ask any of those questions, she was speakin' right over me again.
"Let's move this along, shall we? I have an early morning."
She crawled up my body, straddlin' my hips as she reached down and gripped my shaft, guidin' the tip to her entrance. As she attempted to sit on me, she realized with a frustrated growl that I was far too big for her to take me with such little prep.
I chuckled, which earned me a lethal fucking stare that scared the shit out of me. Shutting that shit down, I attempted a quick recovery. "Sit on my face."
Her eyes glinted. "Pretty boy faces do make the best seats."
I clutched my chest. "Awe, you think I'm pretty."
"Oh, shut up." She rolled her eyes, but I didn't miss the curl of her lips.
Then, with predatory grace, she climbed my body until her pussy was perched over my face and looked down.
Was she asking for permission? So far, she seemed to mostly bark orders and take what she wanted.
But if she needed my consent, she had it.
"Suffocate me."
The first taste of her cunt was a shock to the system. Before tonight, if you'd told me all pussies tasted the same, I'd have believed you.
But tonight, I was a changed man.