Burned (4 page)

“Vic, why am I here?”

“A couple reasons.” She circled him, trailing a nail over his shoulders.

Through the layers of his jacket and shirt, his back rippled beneath her touch. His cock twitched. “Why am I here this early?”

He’d been accused of not being the most polite person in the morning. Even he heard the edge of mean exhaustion in his tone.

“I received a call when I got home the other night.” She paused in front of him with a smile. Her nail found a path down his chest, tweaking a nipple. “Morning, actually. Byron wants us to work together on the music for the festival.”

“Why?” Even as he asked the question, his memory of talking with Byron about the same thing returned.

“The headliner backed out. I guess he feels that between you and me…” She trailed off and watched her finger move down his stomach.

He found himself watching too. “Between you and me, what?”

“We know everyone in town well enough to know what they would like.”

“Hmmph.” He blinked free of his daze and downed another long swallow of coffee. The caffeine rush wasn’t clearing his mind quickly enough.

“I don’t know. I told him we’d…” Not meeting his gaze, she rolled a pinch of his shirt between her fingers. “…get to work.”

A breaker in his brain blew. He had no idea what she was talking about. Nothing registered beyond her barely covered body before him. Her perky nipples begging for his mouth. Her fingers slowly edging his shirt from his pants.

“Couldn’t the festival stuff have waited until after the ass crack of predawn?”

“Yes.” She did a sort of shrug with her eyebrows and flattened her hand on his lower abdomen. With the soft scent of lavender and powder drifting around her, she took his mug and set it on the counter. “But I wanted to catch you before the demands of your day-to-day commitments took you over.”

“Vic?”

“See, I’ve noticed how you are on the go and surrounded by people from the moment you get up to the moment you go to your apartment, ready to collapse.”

“Vic?”

“Getting you alone isn’t easy, but we started something the other night.”

His cock saluted the suggestion of her words as much as the outfit she’d chosen to greet him in. He retreated a step. “Something we shouldn’t finish.”

“Because you didn’t enjoy it? Because you don’t want me? Or because you think I have been with another man?”

“Pick one.” He’d make any of them true if it meant he wouldn’t risk losing her as a friend.

Vic wasn’t going to be persuaded. She closed the distance he put between them. With her gaze locked on his and her bottom lip tucked between her teeth, she shoved his jacket off his shoulders.

“Vic, please.”

“Please what, Hauk?” She didn’t stop staring as she grabbed the hem of his shirt and tugged it over his head.

He fisted his hands at his sides, trying to restrain himself from touching her. “This is…”

“Dangerous?” She unbuttoned his jeans.

Unable to win the battle, eager to watch her eyes widen and her nostrils flare with another orgasm, he set his palms on her hips. “Yeah.”

“Tempting?” The zipper lowered.

“That too.”

“More exciting than you thought possible?” Her fingers slid beneath the loose waist of his pants and pushed them down.

“Definitely.”

“Then get your shoes and jeans off.”

Throwing caution and concerns aside, Hauk dove at the offer he was given and toed off his boots. Grinning a seductive grin he’d never thought of as sexy before, Vic bent at the knees and lowered his jeans. Then she knelt before him.

She said nothing about his lack of underwear. She flattened her hands on his pelvis and kissed his stomach just below his belly button. When he thought she might travel south, she instead moved to her left, kissing a trail along his hip bone, teasing him with her lips and tongue and warm breaths.

Stepping free of his jeans, he swept her bangs from her forehead, enjoying the sensation of silken strands slipping through his fingers. She angled her head enough to look up at him as she began her journey to the right. Every teasing kiss and warm breath ramped his desire higher and higher. His muscles and skin danced beneath her touch. His knees weakened so much he was surprised he stayed standing.

The sun shone through her windows and created a halo of her hair. Its sister light glinted in her eyes when she glanced at him.

The sun wasn’t what made her seem different.

All the years of being friends with Vic, of sharing secrets with her, of laughing with her, of cheering each other up when they were down, he’d never seen her in the light she was bathed in. It was a light that had nothing to do with the morning sun. There was a freedom as she urged him to forget about the world around them.

Her nails dug gently into his hips, a bite of pain mixed with the pleasure of her mouth, as she caressed her way from his hips to his cock. His balls tightened. The tension spread through him, wrapped around his lower spine.

Feeling animalistic, instinct drove him to drop his head back and howl, yet the sight of her before him, exploring her power over his body, was so damn sexy he couldn’t rip his gaze away from her if he tried.

On her knees, with her hips moving in slow circles he barely noticed, she licked his tip. A hum vibrated from her throat as a groan rumbled from his. Rather than take him into her mouth, which he was sure would bring an end to things rapidly, Vic trailed tentative kisses along the length of him.

Her fingers brushed his skin as they slid toward his erection. The tingling in his spine intensified. Spread higher. He could count the number of his lovers on one hand and have fingers left over. It had been a long time since he’d felt a woman’s touch, longer since one had snared him so tightly into her web.

He opened his legs wider, lowering himself an inch or two. Her eyes pinched at the outer edges as she smiled. The next instant she’d cupped his balls in one hand and held his cock in the other.

With her fist wrapped lightly around him, squeezing in gentle pulses, she sucked the tip of him.

Tingles turned to jolts of electricity. Each suck sent another jolt along his spine.

She stroked down, following her hand with her mouth, taking him deeper. Up and down, in and out, over and over, her velvet tongue glided, edging him closer to release.

He gritted his teeth against the urge to thrust, to take the control from her.

She never stopped sucking him, bit by bit taking him deeper until her hand dropped away and only her mouth was on him.

His muscles gripped his spine. His balls tightened. His cock twitched.

She opened wider and took him as far as he could fit. His orgasm was coming faster than he wanted. Needing to stop her, to make this last longer, he tried to pull her head back. She only shook her head and kept sucking.

His tip bumped her throat and pushed past her tonsils. She never hesitated or gagged. Her tongue and mouth massaged him, encouraged him to let go. He lost the battle for control. His orgasm shot through him. Flames flickered in his brain. His head dropped back as he groaned, and his knees buckled. She braced him with her body, holding him up as she drank him in.

Dear God, what was she doing to him? One minute they were friends and the next they were lovers. And it was good. So fucking good he wanted to do it again and again. But that had him thinking long-term, and a girl like her deserved so much more than he could ever give her.

He was well past the point of denying he cared for her as more than a friend, but he had a shitty history with women hanging over his head. It was a deadly one that prevented him from getting involved enough to give Vic the family she dreamed of. And he wasn’t sure they would be able to back off from what they’d started.

So what the fuck was he going to do now?

Sex with Vic was a mistake. One he couldn’t undo. One he shouldn’t repeat. One he hoped wouldn’t destroy their friendship.

With her panties soaked from the excitement of taking Hauk to orgasm, Vic stood. If she expected him to say something or behave a certain way, she wasn’t sure what or how it should be. Whatever it was, it wasn’t what she got.

As she raised her head and met his gaze, she found herself facing a wide grin that erased all the shadows and stresses of his life. It wasn’t a smile he smiled often. It was a smile—given the circumstances of the moment—that reached through her chest and wrapped itself around her heart.

Whatever arguments she made to Byron about her and Hauk being a poor fit were only token ones. She wouldn’t go so far as to believe she would win the heart of the man standing proudly naked before her, but she was smart enough to recognize the danger she was in. He was about to own her heart, even though he didn’t quite know what to do with it.

He stared, sort of mesmerized, and traced the outline of her mouth. “You arranged for someone to get Sophie to school this morning for this?”

“A little selfish, I know.” Falling under his spell, she flattened her palms on his shoulders. “Are you sorry?”

“A little worried.” Smiling just enough for the chipped corner of his front tooth to show, he bent over and kissed her. Lingered. “Not sorry for a second.”

A wash of relief flooded her, making her realize she’d needed the most basic reassurance. Taking his hand, determined to enjoy as much time as he would give, she led him down the hall to her room.

“Tell me, Vic. What was your main reason for sending me a babysitter and calling me here? Byron’s request, or sex?”

“Sex, but Byron’s request makes a great cover in case anyone sees you.”

“Vic,” he warned. “I can’t play this game and have Sophie caught in the middle.”

“I know, and I have done nothing to risk her. Tell me something, Hauk.” She glanced over her shoulder, curious to see if his face would tell a different story than his words. “Would you have come over if I’d told you why?”

They stepped into her room and he half laughed. Once. “Hell no.”

“Because you think this is going to destroy our friendship.”

“Don’t you?”

“A little.” She relied on the strength of their friendship, hoping it would make honesty easier. “I’m more concerned about Sophie getting hurt by this. And by your views on relationships.”

“I can’t have a successful, committed relationship, Vic.” He cupped her neck. His thumb brushed her pulse. “You deserve a man who can grant the dreams you have.”

“You can grant my current dreams.” She pushed him to the bed, stripped off her panties and climbed on top of him. She’d get him to accept love eventually. “No reason we can’t go with that for a while.”

His hands moved to rest on her hips as she straddled him. “What if we can’t go back?”

“I’m not going to lose you as a friend, Hauk.” She tugged her cami over her head and braced herself on his chest. Her pussy rubbed his cock. She lowered her face to his and whispered, “I love you too much to let sex screw up what we have.”

“I love you too, Vic.” His eyes pinched at the corners, the way they did when he was seriously concerned. “And I hope you’re right.”

They’d never said they loved each other, and she knew he only meant it in the way of friendship. And though it felt amazing to make the declaration, the part of her that wanted a family couldn’t help but want him to mean it on a more intimate level someday. “I’m right.”

To prove it as much to herself as to him she kissed him. It wasn’t tentative or aggressive like their earlier kisses had been. It was slow and deep. Soulful and emotional. She used the kiss to tell him how much she cared. To show that she didn’t want to lose what they were beginning to explore.

He wouldn’t miss the message, but neither would he acknowledge it or talk about how it made him feel. She’d likely never know if his heart trembled like hers or if his skin shrank as if he’d been exposed to too much heat or if his muscles quaked as if they’d been overworked.

Whatever happened between them, she had wanted a memory special enough to compare with her first time. She was getting more than one memory, and that treasured memory of her first time was quickly being outshined.

“I didn’t bring protection, Vic.”

“I get a shot. We’re safe.”

“You make it hard to argue.” Hauk ran his hands over her, going from her hips to her lower back to the base of her neck and down again to pin her closer. His mouth explored hers. His dusting of chest hair tickled her breasts and teased her nipples. The tickle traipsed along her nerves until her body trembled to the core.

Captivated by the moment she’d managed to steal, Vic repositioned herself lightly until his cock nudged her. Hauk needed no encouragement. His hands dropped back to her waist and he held her still while he thrust deep.

Vic arched her back on one breath. On the next she pushed up, and with her head dropped back and her hair sweeping her shoulders, she rode the man who knew her better than any other.

As she began to melt with the pull of passion, she canted forward with her head cocked slightly to the left. Her core tightened. Her muscles spasmed into tiny knots of tension. Hauk’s legs and stomach shook beneath her. He reared up and claimed her mouth with a gruff moan.

When she wrapped her legs around his waist, she was certain he would grab her and rush them toward an orgasm. He moved his hands to her ass but didn’t hurry. Instead, he edged them to the side of the bed and stood.

“What are you doing?”

“Enjoying the break you tricked me into.” He smiled his smile that was completely free again.

She didn’t care what he had planned, because whatever thoughts drifted in his mind had him having fun. If the tension leaving his shoulders was any indication, they had him allowing his stress to drop away. More importantly, whatever he was thinking seemed to have a sense of fun filling the part of himself where intense, duty-bound purpose typically lived. She would indulge his game, though.

“Should I be worried?” She leaned back, trusting him to support her. “You have a wicked glint in your eyes.”

“Maybe you should.” He kissed her left breast. “You never know what you’ll get—” and then her right, “—when you get me out of bed too early.”

She rolled her pelvis. “Sounds like a challenge.”

“Ah, but one you can’t issue too often or people will begin to talk.”

“What would happen to our town if rumors started spreading?” Flicking his nipples, Vic thrilled at the lighter tone peeking out from Hauk’s concern. His playful side was shining through and she loved it.

He kissed her breasts again. Lingered while his fingers massaged her ass. “A supernatural disaster of epic proportions, I’m sure.”

She laughed at the ridiculous idea of their town without rumors. Then he started laughing and it occurred to her she was laughing with Hauk buried deep inside. “I never imagined this could happen.”

“What?”

“That I could find something funny with a man buried inside me.”

He waggled with his eyebrows. “Guess I never gave it much thought.”

She didn’t have anything pithy to say because his past relationships hadn’t been laughable. Instead, she again rolled her pelvis, loving the feel of him inside her and the slick glide of his body against hers.

“I think we should both stop thinking for a while.” To prove her point, she locked her hands behind his neck. Hauk seemed perfectly content to indulge her, but again he surprised her.

Instead of lowering her to the bed, he lowered her to the floor and withdrew from her body. Secrets darkened his eyes an instant before he turned her to face the bed.

“Hauk?”

“Bend over.”

“What?”

“Brace your hands on the mattress.”

Shivers snapped along her spine as she obeyed. The kind, gentle and accommodating man she’d known her whole life was slipping away beneath the power of a dominant lover.

He stepped behind her, nestled his cock in the vee of her legs. “I can feel you better this way.”

“Mmm.”

“And you can feel me better.”

Proving his claim, he held her hips still while he entered her from behind. Thick and long, she’d felt all of him before. Now he filled her more completely. Slow thrusts picked up speed as he slipped his hands up her rib cage and to her breasts. Massaging her, rolling her nipples beneath his fingers, thrusting deep and sure, he drove her to the shaky edge.

Pressure built in her head. Hauk bent closer and kissed her spine just at the base of her neck. Something inside her cracked. Maybe it was a part of her heart since she knew he didn’t want as much from this as she did. Vic cried out as the tension mounting within ratcheted higher.

His nibbled his way down her back, never breaking the rhythm of his thrusts or the attention he gave to her breasts. His assault came from more angles at once than she’d ever known. The pleasure had her soul dancing and singing.

“Hauk.” His name was nothing more than a mangled moan. Her legs and knees trembled. Her arms shook from the weight of her body and his.

He drew a patch of her shoulder skin into his mouth and sucked so hard she knew he was going to leave a mark. His fingers pinched her nipples. He thrust harder and faster.

“Oh sweet hell.” Her vision blurred, temporarily blinding her. Tension and relief, coiled into tight bands of emotion and intense awareness, swept through her like a wave battering the shore.

Her inner muscles convulsed, gripping and milking Hauk. He followed her a second later with his own orgasm.

Unable to support them a moment longer, Vic allowed her arms to flop. She and Hauk crashed to the bed, laughing.

It was only a short matter of time before reality invaded.

Hauk would go home to Sophie. She would go to her salon. They wouldn’t speak of these moments outside the bedroom unless they could be entirely sure no one would hear. Hauk had spent too much time in the middle of Whispering Cove gossip to allow himself to end up there again.

With the salon empty for the first time since she’d opened that morning, Vic could hear the country tunes crooning through the speakers. She had an eclectic blend of music on her iPod that she docked in the back office, but the customers seemed to prefer country. Young or old, people enjoyed the blends of ballads and dance tunes the genre had to offer.

As a popular dance beat began, Vic made mental notes on possible singers for the festival and eased slowly into the chair at the makeup stand to study her face in the mirror. Smudges that were primarily an effect of running makeup darkened her eyes. She couldn’t blame makeup for her heavy lids, though. That was entirely an effect of another sleepless night.

Grabbing a tube of concealer, she worked on touching up her makeup before the next round of customers came in. It had been two days since she’d gotten Hauk to her apartment. Two days since she’d slept more than a few hours. Two days that had passed in an odd silence between them.

Sophie had come to see her when she was feeling better, but there’d been no contact from Hauk. No phone calls or texts or passing hellos on the street. Nothing.

She was beginning to get itchy, as much for her friend as for her newly discovered lover. The same feminine pride that had her wanting to look good kept her from being the one to make the next move. It was probably futile because Hauk wasn’t likely to make a move.

The man had developed a powerful determination in high school that drove him daily to be faithful to his decisions.

He had made some tough ones when he found out his girlfriend Krista, who at one time had been one of Vic’s close friends, was pregnant. They’d all been burned by her before the end, but no one had suffered as much as Hauk. He used to say he wanted to be an attorney specializing in family law, but he had put his dreams aside and married Krista, who later abandoned him and their daughter. She had been picking fights in town, spiraling deeper into the unfolding ugliness of her soul. When Vic had refused to believe a claim that Hauk was abusive, Krista had vowed everyone would see the truth soon. Three days later she’d been found dead with bruises on her face, an open wound across her forehead and a broken arm.

Because of the mysterious circumstances, and in the absence of a goodbye note of any kind, Hauk had been investigated as a suspect. The town had gathered behind him, though, and it hadn’t taken long to recover the boat she’d stolen. On it had been a taped sob story no one believed. When her blood had been found on the railing and no other DNA, her death had been ruled an unsolved death. The injuries alone made it too difficult to believe her death had been an accident or even a suicide.

After a grueling investigation that had verified Hauk’s alibi and failed to turn up another suspect, his name had been cleared by the law. His heart was a different story.

Eventually talk had died down, and though they’d never talked about it, Vic knew it was one more reason he’d rejected the full-ride scholarship he had won.

Instead he took over the running of the pub so his father could retire. Now as a single dad fully immersed in the life he built for himself and Sophie, there was no changing things as he saw it. Vic often wondered if he really would have done things differently. He loved his life, and suddenly she wanted to show him how loved he was. She wanted to see things get easier. To see him relax and enjoy himself more. To laugh like he did when they were alone and he stopped thinking about his to-do list and parenting responsibilities.

More than anything, she wanted to be the woman to help him find a new side to life. She wanted to be the one to give him all the things he wanted, instead of him always doing the giving.

“Salon secrets highlighted with fun are the best. Whisper your secrets to me.” Vic smiled at the latest greeting she’d programmed for her door and capped a tube of lip gloss. Carmen, her newest stylist-in-training, and her sister Aimee, Hauk’s waitress, strolled in. Laughter tinted their cheeks a rosy pink and lit their fiercely green eyes with fun.

“Ladies? Good lunch?”

“How could it not be in this town?” Carmen sent a mischievous smile to her sister.