A Simple Twist of Fate (15 page)

She slipped her hand over his cheek and cupped her palm around his chin. “What do you want?”

His gaze searched her face. “Do you really want to know?”

“Yes.”

Heat flared in his eyes as a kick of energy radiated off of him. “You.”

Need battled with concern. When his fingers tightened against her shirt, clenched a handful at her back, it took all her control not to throw her arms around him and draw him close. “Are you sure you’re okay tonight?”

“I think I will be in about ten seconds.”

Her common sense went on the fritz. “I don’t—”

“Then don’t.”

His mouth covered hers, hot and desperate, as the electricity arcing between them whipped around the room. Lips against lips. Shallow breaths matching to frantic heartbeats. She sensed and smelled and felt every inch of him. His body wrapped around hers as her fingers tunneled into his hair.

She couldn’t get close enough, taste enough.

When he lifted his head, all signs of exhaustion had vanished. His body jumped to life and his erection pressed against her. He’d dropped the baggage he mentally dragged behind him up the stairs to her door and focused on her instead. The intense attention had her shaking. She felt deliciously hunted and wanted and ready to try anything.

She tried to slow her breathing to keep from wandering into danger territory. If her heart thumped any harder it would burst out of her thin shirt. “Yeah, we’re good.”

The words came out breathy as she said them against his mouth. She was stunned she could even form them. If he moved his hands, she’d drop to the floor. Bones and muscles turned to jelly when his mouth hit hers.

It happened the first time. The response only intensified the second. Her only question was why they had waited this long to pull in this close.

He pressed his forehead against hers as his chest lifted and fell on raspy breaths. “If you don’t want this—”

She brushed her mouth over his once . . . twice. “Stop talking.”

Then the need enveloped her. She felt swept up and knocked off her feet. His hands traveled all over her as his mouth fused with hers. She didn’t realize he’d guided them across the room until her back hit the wall. With his fingers laced through hers and pressed by her head, his mouth toured her neck.

He kissed her over and over. Firm lips and determined touches had her skin catching fire. He whispered about how pretty she was, about her smooth skin.

When one hand left hers to slide down her body and hover at the elastic waist of her boxers, the room started to spin. His kisses went to her head and the brush of his fingertips against bare skin had her gulping in air.

His hand disappeared into her shorts and kept going. The sight of his strong forearm buried underneath her clothes mirrored her fantasies. She opened her legs to give him room as his fingers tunneled past the band of her lacy bikini bottoms. One slipped over her, around her, making her wet as her hips lifted off the wall. She tried dragging him inside but he tortured her with long strokes and gentle rubbing until she soaked his hand.

She couldn’t get him undressed fast enough. Frantic hands shoved the tee up his flat stomach and over his head. With the slide of cotton, her fingers lingered over his skin and toured his sleek muscles.

His body left hers for the briefest second but then his hand came back. One long finger pressed inside her, in and out until her body moved in time with the plunging. It wasn’t enough. She needed all of him, hot and ready and deep inside her.

Her hands went to his jeans and the button fumbled under her fingers. She cupped him with one palm through the rough denim, squeezing until his sharp intake of breath echoed in her ears. His lips found the top of her breasts as she eased the zipper down, letting the screech rip through the room.

Through every touch and the crazy striptease that had them yanking clothes off and shoving them to the side, his finger stayed buried inside her, moving in and out, bringing her breathing to the brink.

“I need these off.” She said the words as she kissed a line down his chest and pushed his jeans lower on his hips.

“God, yes.”

A final rational thought floated through her brain. “Condom?”

He tugged her shorts and underwear over her hips. “Back pocket.”

Then he was on his knees in front of her, dragging her clothing off and baring her lower half to his gaze. He ran a finger over her thin strip of hair covering her sex and leaned in to press a kiss against her. On the second dip of his head, he used his tongue. His fingers separated her as he licked.

Her back slammed against the wall as her hand tightened on his shoulder. “Beck . . .”

Before she could slide to the floor, he lifted a leg and balanced her thigh on his shoulder. His mouth continued to move over her and the tension building inside her tightened to the point of snapping. She wanted to hold him, pumping her hand up and down on him. But all she could do was drop her head back and let the sensation of being taken wash over her.

Just as she reached the edge, saw it and yearned to barrel over it, he shifted to the side. Her body pulsed and a scream lodged in her throat. She wanted to order him, beg him, to finish her off.

In one fluid move he got to his feet. With his gaze burning into hers, he reached into his pocket and grabbed the condom. He held it between his teeth as his hands went to work. The jeans came next as the zipper slipped the rest of the way down and he shoved the material down to his ass.

He looked even better undressed this time than he did in the bathroom. Now she could soak him in and explore. She intended to touch and linger.

His erection sprang out and she didn’t wait. Her fingers closed over him, sliding and tightening with each pass up and down. He groaned as she plucked the condom out of his mouth and ripped the wrapper open.

Her body turned weightless when he snagged her legs under the knees and lifted her. Thighs wrapped around his hips as her shoulders wedged against the wall. He held her in place as she rolled the condom over him and held her breath.

“No more waiting.” He whispered the vow against her lips.

Between kisses, she answered. “No.”

Her body balanced between the wall and his body. She grabbed on to his shoulders as he pushed into her, inch by amazing inch. She inhaled as her inner muscles adjusted to his size and her body welcomed him in. The slow plunge had her fingernails digging into his shoulders. When his pace picked up, the rhythm hypnotized her as he moved in and out, pressing deeper each time as he increased his speed.

Her body shook and her head shifted from side to side. The wall creaked under the force of his thrusts. Skin hit skin. The sensation of his body in her and around her had that tension spiraling in her belly again. Sweat gathered at the base of his neck and her body burned as if it were on fire.

She slid her hands down to his ass and pressed him in even deeper. She moaned and he hissed. Then she couldn’t hear anything but the whoosh of blood in her ears.

With the final thrust the building inside her let go and her body tightened around him. She came on a rush that had her mouth dropping open and her mind racing. He continued to push and her sensitized sex tingled from the pressure.

Just as her body’s bucking slowed, his picked up. His orgasm hit and he pressed her deeper into the wall. Their breathing mixed and their bodies melded. The second after his shoulders stiffened, he buried his face in her shoulder. That firm body vibrated against hers as he shuddered then collapsed. Harsh breathing filled the air but nothing else moved.

As they balanced there, the minutes ticked by and their heated bodies cooled. She let her fingers dance in his hair as his damp skin rubbed against hers in a gentle friction that sent random shivers skipping through her.

When he finally lifted his head, he gazed at her with eyes flushed a deep blue. “Hello there.”

She couldn’t stop touching him, so she didn’t try. “You were right.”

“About what?”

She waited to answer until his lingering kiss ended. “You do know how to make up.”

“I never break a promise.”

“And to think your brothers believe you need help with the ladies.” Which was not the case. He excelled at arguing, looking yummy naked and making a woman’s head spin as he revved up her body. She could testify to that in any court.

He balanced one hand on the wall next to her head and used the other to hold her butt and keep his body buried deep inside hers. “I’ve been doing this sort of thing on my own since I was fourteen.”

The number shocked her. “Fourteen?”

“A neighbor woman up the street.” He winked. “Very hot. She also gave me my first cigarette. I stopped the smoking a few years later, but not the sex.”

“I didn’t even kiss a boy until my senior year in high school.”

“Right.” He laughed but the deep sound sputtered out when she didn’t join in. “Wait, really? No parking? No under the bleachers?”

“Nothing.”

He lifted her into his arms and turned to face the rest of the family room. “Then we need to make up for lost time.”

They made it as far as the couch.

Chapter Sixteen

Beck sprawled in the oversized chair in the corner of Sophie’s family room with his legs stretched out in front of him and a hand balanced on the armrest. He couldn’t spark enough energy to make a single muscle in his body move. That was fine with him since he didn’t have the will and his few remaining brain cells still sputtered after the mind-blowing sex.

Against the wall. On the couch. They hadn’t found time for that dinner he promised her. The grumbling in his stomach now took a backseat to the sexy naked brunette curled up on his lap.

He skimmed a palm up and down her bare back, hesitating when he reached the enticing dip right above her ass. “Did I tell you when I came in how much I liked your outfit?”

With her cheek against his chest, her laughter rumbled against his skin. “The sex against the wall thing clued me in that you either loved it or hated it so much it had to come off.”

“I was . . . let’s say, determined.”

“Focused, that’s for sure.” She lifted her head. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“Good to know.”

She traced her finger along his collarbone. “I would point out that we could have tried the whole hot-sex thing a bit earlier if you hadn’t booted me out of your library.”

He couldn’t tell her there was a small part—very small and a part not even remotely in touch with the needs of his lower half—that didn’t regret the slight delay. A quick roll across his desk would eventually happen because he kept dreaming about it, and it would have been hot back then, but the slow burn followed by the explosion meant more. He wasn’t sure why, but it did.

For once he wasn’t rushing off to answer the house phone or pore through paperwork. Forget the people after them and his mother’s visit. Tonight was about Sophie. Feeling her, touching her, tasting her.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t joke with her. “My role in this library story becomes worse every time you tell it. You do realize I kissed you back then, right?”

“Only to make a point.”

“You must have missed the part where I was rock hard and five seconds from stripping your clothes off.”

“Not the way my bruised ego remembers it.”

Now, that part he hated. Rather than deny, he tried to build it back up again. “I’d rather talk about all the other incredible parts of you.”

“Spoken like a man who knows what happens when he’s a good boy.” Her hair cascaded over her shoulders and across his skin as she leaned over to trail a line of kisses under his chin.

“People say I’m smart.” His penis, not so much. Even now it twitched, demanding attention and another round.

She must have felt him because she reached down and slid a hand over him. “And very talented.”

“That damn thing has a mind of its own.”

“And a lot of stamina.”

Much more of her hand on him and he’d have her on the floor. Maybe test the sturdiness of the kitchen table.

“I guess it would be indelicate for me to ask you to wear those tiny shorts all the time.” But damn, he wanted to. Slim shirt. Short pants. A man could only take so much before his control snapped. But he guessed he’d already proven that.

She balanced her elbows against the chair on either side of his head. The woman taunted him, played with him. He didn’t fight it. Didn’t let the opportunity pass either. His fingers went to her tight nipple.

He’d licked her, touched her, learned every inch of her for hours and still he wanted more. Now he cupped her breasts, weighing the soft skin in his palms. With her clothes long gone, nothing blocked his path. Glancing down he spied her slim waist and the sleek strip of dark hair.

Shame he only brought the three condoms because his penis lay against her, just waiting to get another shot. If she kept squirming and touching they’d have to get creative. And he had so many inventive ideas in mind.

She brushed the hair off his forehead. “For the record, I was going to wow you tonight in a sexy red wrap dress.”

Red.
His fucking head would have exploded. “I don’t know what that is, but if it involves me peeling it off you at some point, I am totally in for trying it.”

He filed that game away for later. Of course, they’d have to get out of the chair first. Maybe find some food to make up for the calories they’d been burning through. Only way that could happen was if he stopped touching her. Not that he could break all contact, but switching his hands to her waist might help.

“You got here early, while I was still primping.” She bent down and kissed him. “I even painted my toes.”

“The purple?”

“You noticed?” She threw him one of those sexy smiles that had his dick begging for more.

“I notice everything about you, but you may have been overthinking my needs here. More work and more clothing are never requirements for me.” Forget not touching her. He cupped her butt cheeks and pulled her tighter against his erection to make his point. “Though we should probably think about at least finding underwear before we go out.”

Her gaze traveled down their nearly joined bodies. “Out . . . now?”

“I’m betting the good people of Sweetwater would notice if we showed up to the diner naked.”

“You are not looking at the benefits of our current position here.”

He had to laugh at that. “I’m actually quite fond of this position.”

“One sight of you out in public in this condition and all those nasty hang-up phone calls would morph into heavy breathing. You know, from admirers.”

The only admirer he cared about sat on his lap. “You’re always thinking. I like that.”

“And forget putting on clothes.” She gave him another squeeze before her hand returned to his shoulder. “We don’t need them.”

“I’m going to propose if you keep talking like that.”

Yeah, he didn’t stand a chance with her. Looking like that, talking like that, kissing like that. At some point he’d have to thank Declan for insisting they all stay in Sweetwater.

“Hold on to the ring, but I will make you dinner. It saves on finding our clothes and the having to move.” She looked in the direction of the kitchen. “Well, I guess I do have to get up, but I don’t see why we need to change into anything.”

“Much more of that and I will never leave this house again.” If she could cook he was switching her job at Shadow Hill. Leah and Declan did okay. Cal believed takeout was a form of cooking. Beck liked eggs.

“The way you came in tonight I worried you were coming over to break the date.” Sophie delivered the comment in an off-handed way but her intense stare spoke to something deeper.

He rushed to reassure her. “Never.”

She sighed. “Are you going to tell me what happened today that had you so upset?”

Ah, so that was it. This wasn’t so much about standing her up as it was figuring out his mood. Women thrived on that sort of thing. You said you were “fine” and they set up a therapy appointment. He’d had more than one girlfriend over the years comment on his refusal to talk about personal things. Now he talked and people accused him of being all-lawyer-all-the-time.

A guy couldn’t win.

“Both Walker Reeves and Kristin Accord—by the way, I know you know her.” This was one secret she didn’t have to keep and Beck wanted her to know it.

“Leah told you.”

His hands went wandering, trying to soothe and comfort Sophie without inflaming his need for her even further. “Leah’s pretty big on finding and sharing good news about you. It’s the promo and marketing side of her, I guess.”

Sophie outlined his mouth with her fingertip before dropping a quick kiss there. “What was so good about what I supposedly did?”

Looked like she needed a bit more ego stroking. He was fine with giving it to her. “You shooed the annoying woman away and made sure no one bothered us. I’ve seen you do that with the calls to the house, too. You pick up the receiver then quietly put it down again, as if I don’t know you heard the threats or silence.”

“The idea people blame you for your father . . .” She shook her head. “Well, it’s ridiculous.”

With that, a weight lifted off Beck’s chest. He didn’t even know it lay there until it was gone. Despite the secrets and strange behavior, he never doubted this part of Sophie. Unlike Leah, who had a bitter family history with the Hanovers that stretched back to the early days of Charlie’s scamming and gave her a reason not to trust them, Sophie never questioned the sons as separate entities from the father.

Beck understood Leah’s initial anger. She never hid it. And when her life blew apart and all she’d ever believed to be true about her mother leaving town with Charlie and her father being a victim proved false, Leah figured out how to survive. Sophie had the instinct, too.

Strong women were just about the hottest thing ever.

But Sophie had another characteristic he appreciated. She didn’t connect to that time, to Charlie. Whatever they had would be free of all that family baggage that tripped up Declan and Leah at the beginning of their relationship.

Rather than running through it all and potentially spilling the secret about Leah’s father and his role as Charlie’s con-man partner that first time, Beck went with a simple but heartfelt response. “Thank you.”

“Don’t get off topic.” Sophie tapped his nose. “You were telling me about your big bad day.”

He’d rather lay her out on the floor and see how long it took him to get her chanting his name.

She snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Uh, Beck?”

Busted
. “Kristin Accord is back. She stopped Cal and me out on the street by the bank.”

“What did she say?”

“Gloom-and-doom stuff. Something about a secret and Cal.” And that had been enough to start all the wheels turning. Beck begged for weeks and all it took was seeing a mystery woman and a full-of-shit FBI agent closing in on the same day.

“So this is about the envelope,” Sophie said.

Her knowing meant he didn’t have to explain, and the relief hit him hard. Trudging through the family history proved rough enough some days. The idea of having to fill someone else in made his brain shut down.

But none of that happened with Sophie. He could just talk and she wouldn’t judge. “Yeah, it’s hard to miss that at the house, isn’t it?”

“There seems to be a lot of ‘why doesn’t he open it’ discussions.”

Beck knew because he started them all. “If Cal had opened it weeks ago we’d be through the news by now, shitty or not. It’s the denial that kills people. They draw things out rather than deal with them head-on. It pisses me off that Cal fell into the same pattern.”

“Why did he?”

“Denial, disinterest. I don’t know.” Beck assumed he’d never know at this point. All the explanations from Declan and Leah and Cal sure hadn’t cleared the mystery up.

“I’m betting him ignoring it has more to do with something else.”

“What?”

“Wanting to put the past behind him or be normal.”

Beck spread out his fingers and covered her back with his open hands. “Is that what your secret is about? The past?”

She didn’t even flinch. “I told you, it’s not my secret.”

Tread carefully
. They’d just found even ground and he didn’t want to go hunting for a cliff. No matter what his brothers believed, Beck wasn’t a martyr. And he wasn’t ready for his time with Sophie to end.

He went with a nonsense response. “Fair enough.”

“Beck, I know you need—”

“No.” Not this time. Another secret, another revelation, it would color and destroy everything they just shared. After a month of baby-stepping and weighing the pros and cons of taking to Sophie to bed, he had, and intended to do so again. Maybe she was right about separating the parts of their lives, because he didn’t want the heat they had tonight to be tied up with whatever she hid.

“You’re the one who insisted—”

“I actually don’t want to hear it.” Rushing to get it out, he fumbled the answer and tried again. “Well, I do, but not right this second. I’m not looking for more disclosures or to hunt down information tonight.”

“But you do want to know.”

“Yes.”

“You can see where what you’re saying is a bit confusing, right?” If she’d delivered the words in any other way they might have carried a slap. Instead, her thighs straddled his lap and his erection. She stared at him as her head fell to the side and her hair flowed over her shoulder.

In that moment, he knew talking tonight would only turn out wrong. “I do. I know it feels like I’m all over the place on this, but I don’t want the rest of tonight to be about secrets.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing their faces even closer. “Even if I’m prepared to tell you? If I want you to know?”

The intimacy of the position had his mind wandering to her mattress on the other side of the room. “Damn, woman. Everything about you tempts me even when I know I’m right about postponing the big discussion.”

If the huge smile were any indication, she wasn’t even a little upset by that. “But you are so fond of talking and handling everything
right now
.”

“Not tonight.” He brushed his hands over the soft skin of her arms. “See, I don’t want you to have any thought, not even an inkling, that I came here because I was investigating. I didn’t take you to bed, or couch to be technically correct at this minute, to pry information out of you. This was about being so desperate to get inside you that I couldn’t spell my name.”

“I don’t think any of this was about interrogating me through sex.” She shook her head. “You’re not that guy.”

“You’re saying that now but I can’t let the thought take hold, not even for a second. Come tomorrow or next week, I don’t want the memory ruined. I want you to know I was here because I wanted to be here and nowhere else.”

She threw him a sexy smile. “That’s ridiculously sweet.”

He had no idea how to respond to that. It was as if women pulled that sort of thing out just to kill a man’s brain cells, because it totally did. “While I don’t think we can separate our lives into these separate pieces, and I’m sticking to that theory, I do think there is such thing as good timing. I’d like to practice some.”

“Tonight isn’t the night for secrets.”