Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
This was a big mistake and getting bigger by the second…
Kisses were supposed to be a dime a dozen. Had one, had them all.
Kissing her was different. For one thing, it felt like a full-body event. Every inch of his skin was tingling. He couldn’t get close enough to her, and he’d never been harder in his life. All that from a freaking kiss.
After she kicked off the covers, her leg slid between his, and her hand sank into his hair, trapping him in a web of desire so all-consuming, he could barely remember his own name or why he’d tried to fight the sizzling attraction.
Before he knew what was happening, he was on top of her with her arms and legs wrapped around him, and he was no longer thinking about how he might escape. Rather, he wanted to get closer. As close as he possibly could—and even that wouldn’t be close enough.
What the hell was happening?
He pulled back, stunned as he gazed down at her kiss-swollen lips.
She looked up at him, seeming every bit as undone as he was. “It doesn’t have to mean anything, Carson. It can just be sex.”
Could it, though? Was that possible with someone like her? This didn’t feel transactional. It felt… significant.
He could still put a stop to it.
If he wanted to.
Which he didn’t.
He didn’t want to stop it.
His grandfather’s voice, always in his head, was louder than ever right then.
By making that stupid vow, you’re setting yourself up to miss the best thing this life has to offer any of us. It would break my heart to see you miss out on that. It truly would.
Carson wasn’t so far gone over her that he didn’t realize this was one of those moments in life in which you could choose one of two paths.
The first path would lead you away from temptation and back to the sanity that ran your life with ruthless determination to steer clear of situations like this.
The second path, the one staring up at him with those incredible blue eyes that seemed to see right through him, was the road to ruin.
At least that’s what he’d always thought before she was right here in his arms, the most perfect woman he’d ever met.
As if it had ever been a decision, he bent his head to touch a soft kiss to her lips.
“What’re you thinking?” she asked after a long silence.
“I’m trying to remember why I thought this was a bad idea.”
“I’m not asking you for anything other than right here and now. Don’t panic. You’re not about to be saddled with a wife and kid that you never wanted.”
“I know that,” he said, sounding far more defensive than he’d meant to.
“Don’t overthink it. It’s just sex.”
She was starting to piss him off, but not so much that he wanted to be anywhere but right there with her.
“Are you the guy in this relationship?” he asked with a teasing grin.
“It’s not a relationship. You don’t want that.”
Afraid that his reluctance was talking her out of wanting him, he bent his head to kiss her neck. “I want you to know… Nothing about me being weird has anything at all to do with you.”
“Except you’re in bed with me while you’re being weird, so it feels a bit personal.”
“Cres… Come on. You’re perfect in every way.”
“No, I’m not. Don’t put me up on some kind of pedestal. I’m just a person with all the same flaws other people have.”
“I haven’t found a single one.”
“Stick around. You’ll see them.”
He shook his head. “I don’t believe that.”
She tugged his shirt up and over his head.
Then he sat back to remove her tank, revealing spectacular breasts with light pink nipples that hardened before his eyes.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said gruffly.
Her hands cradled his face. “So are you.”
“I ain’t got nothing on you.”
“Are you going to be all talk and no action?”
Glowering at her, he angry-kissed her and made her laugh.
All this sexiness and laughter, too. A guy could get into big trouble with her if he wasn’t careful.
Kissing his way from her neck to her breasts, smoothing his tongue over her nipples and drawing them into his mouth…
Was that considered being careful? Did making her moan and press the heat between her legs against his straining erection count as being careful?
Was any of this within his control, or was this what it was like to be swept out to sea by a rip current?
Whatever it was, it felt as good as anything ever had, and as long as she was enjoying it as much as he was, he wasn’t about to stop any time soon.
Her smooth, toned belly quivered under his lips as he kissed a path to her core. He removed her pajama pants and skimpy panties and then sat back for a look at her in all her glorious perfection. “Wow.”
“Maybe you could get naked, too?”
“I could do that.”
He stood by the side of the bed to remove his jeans and boxer briefs.
“Stay right there,” she said as his erection burst free.
She moved to the edge of the bed to stroke him before taking him into her mouth and giving him the best blow job of his life.
With his fingers buried in her hair, he could only hold on while she took him on a wild ride straight to heaven. “Whoa, babe… Wait. Let’s do this together.”
“Next time,” she said, her words vibrating against the head of his cock as she doubled down and finished him off.
Holy. Shit.
“Dude,” he whispered.
She laughed, fell back on the bed and held out her arms to him.
With every part of him still recovering from the most epic orgasm of his life, he fumbled his way onto the bed and landed on top of her. “You ought to warn a guy before you nearly give him heart failure.”
“What fun would that be? Your face…” She giggled. “Priceless.”
“You should come with a warning label.”
“What would it say?”
“Will make you her bitch with absolutely no notice.”
She looped her arms around his neck. “That works for me.”
“Are you ready for what comes next?”
“Ohhh, that sounds interesting. What’ve you got in mind?”
“Revenge.” He pulled back from her, propped her legs on his shoulders and set out to wreck her with his tongue and fingers.
“Yes,” she said on a long moan, “right there. Oh God, Carson… Yes.”
She came hard, squeezing his fingers so tightly that his cock was instantly hard again and wanting in on the fun.
He moved up to align their bodies, noting the rosy glow of her cheeks, the parted lips and the halo of blonde hair around her gorgeous face. “Do we need protection?”
“I’m clean if you are, and I’m on birth control.”
Carson never, ever, ever had sex without a condom, lest he end up with a kid he didn’t want, but he didn’t have one with him and didn’t want to ask her for one.
He knew her well enough by now to know she’d never play games about something so important.
Before he could further contemplate the implications, he slid into her and nearly lost it in the first two seconds. This must be what paradise was like…
He wanted to stop to savor the sensation, but she wasn’t having that. She pressed against him, wiggling and digging her fingers into his ass cheeks.
“Carson…”
“What can I do for you?”
“Fuck me hard. As hard as you can.”
Holy fuck. “Hold on to me.”
With her arms wrapped around him and her knees tight against his hips, he gave her exactly what she’d asked for, and with each deep stroke, he realized she was ruining him for all other women. What would top this?
Nothing ever could.
She’d had every kind of kinky sex with some of the hottest men in the world, but Carson Remington was making her forget she’d ever been with anyone else.
Everything about this was exceptional, she thought, as she opened her eyes to watch him and found him staring down at her, gauging her every reaction.
With his gaze locked on hers, he pressed his thumb to her clit and sent her flying, taking his pleasure right along with her and landing on top of her in a heaving, gasping pile of twitching body parts.
“Thank you,” she said softly as she tried to catch her breath.
He laughed. “My pleasure.”
“And mine.”
“I’m supposed to be keeping you safe.”
She hugged him tightly. “You are.”
“This doesn’t feel safe to me.”
“You’re safe with me. I promise.”
He sighed and sagged deeper into her embrace.
She got that he was conflicted, and certainly understood why, but something that felt this good couldn’t be bad or wrong. It just couldn’t. Maybe if she showed him how amazing it could be to have someone to call his own, he wouldn’t be so freaked out by the thought of commitment.
Not that she was looking for anything permanent either. The only commitment she wanted from him was the promise that he wasn’t having sex with anyone else while he was doing it with her—without a condom.
They’d have that talk later.
For now, she was too relaxed and contented after her first man-made orgasms in years.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m great. You?”
“Pretty damned good.”
She smoothed the hair back from his forehead. “Don’t have regrets, okay?”
“I won’t. I promise.” After a long period of contented silence, he said, “Should I go sleep on the sofa, so Ty doesn’t catch me in bed with his mother?”
“Not yet.”
“Hey, Cres?”
“Hmmm?”
“I need you to do something for me.”
“What’s that?”
“You have to get a new attorney.”
Cresley startled as his words landed. “What? Why?”
He withdrew from her and shifted onto his side with his head propped on his upturned hand.
“I’m a certified legal investigator, held to the same ethical standards as the attorneys I work for.
I can’t be involved with a client, and now that I am, I need you to not be working with my firm.
I’ll ask my sister Kaidan to take your case.
You’ll like her. She works for my mother’s firm and is as good as Julian, even if he’d say otherwise. ”
She turned on her side to face him. “Oh, I see. Was that why you tried to avoid all this?”
He smiled as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “One of many reasons, and I seem to have failed miserably in avoiding ‘all this.’”
“What should I tell Julian?”
“You can call him in the morning to say you’ve decided to make a change. I’ll reach out to Kaidan and ask her to take over your case. If that’s all right with you.”
“Won’t he have questions?”
“I’m sure he will. I’ll talk to him.”
“I really like working with Julian, but I understand your dilemma. Does this mean you won’t be helping with my case anymore?”
“Not directly.”
“What does that mean?”
“I won’t officially be investigating your case on behalf of the firm. One of the investigators who works for my mother’s firm will take over that part of the case, as well as the surveillance, with all my notes to work with of course.”
“Oh.” Her expression turned guarded and perhaps a bit sad.
“What’re you thinking?”
“That you found a way out after all.”
“What do you mean?”
“You never wanted this to happen, and now that it has, you’re extricating yourself and your firm from my life. It’s your exit strategy.”
“That’s not what I’m doing. I’m making it so I can stay close to you and Ty until this situation is resolved without risking my license and the certification I worked hard to get. I’m in bed with a client. I’ve crossed every ethical line there is to cross here.”
“So you want to stay close to us because you’re worried about what Marlon might do?”
“Among other reasons.”
“What other reasons?”
He ran a fingertip from the base of her neck to her breast and circled her nipple. “More of this. More of you.”
“You said you didn’t want to be involved.”
“That’s still true, but nothing says we can’t enjoy each other for as long as it lasts, right?”
The question disappointed her. He’d enjoyed having sex with her. He wanted more of it. That’s all this was to him. “I suppose so.”
“Hey…”
She forced herself to look at him as he rested his hand on top of hers. “Hey what?”
“I want you to know… This is a line I’ve never crossed before in my life or career.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure what any of this means, but you’re special to me.”
Cresley already knew him well enough to understand that he was struggling with how to manage a woman who was “special” to him.
He had no experience with such things, and up until recently, he hadn’t wanted that.
She was wise enough to know that people didn’t suddenly change their life rules because of one night of great sex.
He’d crossed a major line for her and was taking steps to mitigate the damage, which meant he must be planning to stick around for longer than one night. Why else would he bother if he could just step back over the line and return to “normal” after a quick lapse?
Since she was well aware that he might duck and run back to his safe existence, she needed to take full advantage while she had him naked in her bed.
Cresley took him by surprise when she straddled him and took grasped his hands.
“Hold it right there,” he said gruffly as he gazed up at her. “I just want to look at you and remember this forever. You’re so perfect, Cres.”
“No one’s perfect.”
“You’re as close to it as anyone could be.”
She shook her head. “I’m just like anyone else.”
He tugged his hands free and smoothed them over her arms and up to tangle in her hair. “You’re not like anyone in this entire world. There’s only one you, and how lucky am I to be here with you?”
“Pretty damned lucky,” she said with a teasing grin.
He cupped her breasts and ran his thumbs over her nipples. “And I know it.”
Cresley shifted her hips and slid down on his hard cock in slow, teasing increments that had him gasping and pleading with her as his fingers dug into her hips.
“You’re making me crazy.”
She laughed and kept up the torturous pace until he broke into a sweat.
He sat up and wrapped his arms around her.
“Hey, are you taking over my seduction?”
“I’m completely and thoroughly seduced. Now have your wicked way with me.”
“Don’t rush me.” She gave his shoulder a push. “I’m enjoying this.”
Carson flopped back onto the mattress, groaning as she took all of him in one quick movement.
She enjoyed making his eyes roll back in his head by rocking her hips and appreciated that he didn’t try to take over the way most guys would. That earned him big points as she picked up the pace.
He reached for her and held on tight until they crossed the finish line together, in a moment of perfect harmony that had her wishing this could be so much more than a one-time thing.
She’d never push him for more than he was willing to give, but their connection was special, and she hoped that maybe he could see that, too.
If not, she’d be okay, but she already knew she’d miss him forever.
She took those thoughts to sleep with her and woke early in the morning to voices in the living room.
Ty talking to Carson.
Oh shit.