Flip This Love (13 page)

Laney squinted up at Harley as if he’d sprouted a third eyeball in the center of his forehead. She drew back slightly, pressing deeper into the pillows as she studied him, her expression a kaleidoscope of conflicting emotions. She was soft one second, skeptical the next. There were hints of what he hoped might be happiness sandwiched between flashes of outright suspicion. He didn’t much care for the calculation he saw reflected in the dark depths of her eyes, but couldn’t argue the answer when she favored him with a sly smile at last.

“Are you saying I ruined you for all other women?”

The breath he’d been holding burst from him like water from a busted pipe. She was naked, soft, and smiling up at him as if he’d whispered the combination to the safe at Tiffany’s into her ear. Given the wheels he set in motion mere seconds after she’d requested her business meeting, he knew he wasn’t out of the woods yet. Far from it. But he had to say, the things he was seeing in this new, more grounded Laney made him think he had half a chance of running the gauntlet of her anger and emerging intact.

“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying.” He eyed her pointedly and gave her a tight smile. “Of course, I’ve been trying to tell you that for some time now, but you never believe me.”

The realities she’d faced in his absence made her tougher than she’d ever been. They reinforced her tattered pride with steely determination. The fact was, she’d come home from her failed attempt to become a big-shot New York designer with her tail between her legs and a chip on both shoulders. She wore the mantle of perceived failure like a set of NFL shoulder pads. Prickly and sharp-tongued, most people gave her wide berth. Hell, if she didn’t have her mama or Brooke by her side almost all the time, it was a good bet a number of Mobile’s movers and shakers would have written her off entirely. But not him. Never him. He’d let her cut chunks out of him again and again, and came back for more.

Leaning down, he brushed a kiss over her lips. She arched when he pulled away, silently asking for more. Harley wondered if she even knew she was shoving him away with one hand, but all the while begging for more. It was one of the things that kept him coming back to this maddening but irresistible woman. One of the many, many things. Rolling half on top of her, he pinned her to the mattress so she couldn’t wriggle away.

“Do you believe me now?”

“That I ruined you for other women?”

Harley was gratified to note the tremor in her voice. He liked her best when she was slightly off balance. He figured he was less likely to get steamrolled if she couldn’t get her feet planted firmly on the ground. Despite his best intentions, he had a feeling there might be a battle at hand if everything didn’t go as he planned. And he’d been in the renovation business long enough to know absolutely nothing went according to plan. Hell, he’d be willing to bet even the Almighty had to make an adjustment here and there. He’d probably thought the land animals first, but realized they’d be more complicated, so went with the fish on the fifth day...

“Harley?”

“Hm?”

She ran her fingers over his face, then let them trail down to his mouth. She traced his bottom lip with the tip of her fingernail, and his focus zoomed in on her. “You back with me?” she asked, a teasing smirk lifting a corner of her mouth.

“Always. I always come right back to you.”

Her smile grew more cocky. “Because I ruined you for all other women.”

“Because you are the only woman I ever wanted. Even if you were too damn snotty to ever look at a guy like me.”

“Oh, I looked at you.”

Before he could congratulate himself too enthusiastically, Laney pushed the soles of her feet into the mattress, planted the heel of her other hand on his shoulder, and dug her fingers unerringly into the ticklish spot at his hipbone. He jerked and flopped onto his back like a landed fish. In an instant, she was straddling him, midnight hair tousled, red lips stretched wide in a grin, and those magnificent Creole eyes dancing with delight. Breath snarled in his chest when she took both of his hands in hers. For a split second, he thought—no, prayed—she would pull them to her breasts, but she didn’t.

Damn the contrary woman.

The litany of complaints building inside him died on his tongue when she bent low and planted their clasped hands on the pillow on either side of his head. They both groaned as her taut nipples scraped his chest. She held him there, her smile of triumph melting into one drunk with desire. She shifted, drawing attention to the way his dick nestled snug against the damp heat of her, and he was right there with her. Utterly intoxicated.

“Every woman looked at you,” she continued as if she hadn’t turned his whole world on its ear. “So I only looked when you couldn’t catch me looking.” She closed her eyes and rocked her hips. “That’s how I kept you interested.”

How she could think straight while she was rubbing against him was beyond him. So were speech and coherent thought. Her soft folds parted. They were bare—or nearly so. He’d never forget the night he discovered cool, proper Delaney Tarrington had her pussy waxed like he’d only seen in dirty movies. He’d gone down on her and damn near never came up for air. He planned to do the same tonight, but it would have to wait for later. He could feel the soft prickles of hair rippling along the length of his dick, but they only enhanced the sensation. She was wet. Ready for him.

She loosened her hold on his hand and freed the condom from his grasp. He groaned long and loud when she slid off his aching dick to sit on his thighs. Laney must have understood because she tore the wrapper neatly in half and the rubber popped out. She shook her other hand free and went to work on getting him suited up. A curtain of loose waves blocked his view of her beautiful face. He curled up, purposefully using his abs because he wasn’t above a little vanity, and gathered the dark locks in greedy hands.

“Jesus,” Laney whispered. She finished rolling the condom into place then ran her palms over his stomach.

Rising the rest of the way, he gripped her bottom in both hands and lifted her up. She touched him everywhere, stroking his chest, tracing his abs, and giving his arms needy, demanding squeezes to urge him on. Like he needed encouragement. Didn’t she know he was barely holding back the urge to split her like a ripe, juicy peach? He drew a deep breath in through his nose, fighting for control, but then lost his grip on everything but her sweet bottom when she plunged down onto him.

“Lord, have mercy.” In a blink, he was seated deep in her tight, wet heat.

Tossing her hair back, Laney laughed, bracing her hands on his shoulders as she let her knees slide apart even farther. The moan that rose up in his throat was pure animal approval. Her hair spilled over his shoulder and tickled his face when she bent to kiss the pulse below his ear. His heart kicked up another gear as she slid her hand into the snug space between their bodies. He tensed his thighs and lifted her up. Her knuckles scraped his pubic hair. He wanted to bat her hand away, insist he’d take care of her, cup her bare, sweet pussy, and play with her until she turned to putty in hands. But he didn’t do any of those things. Because there was nothing hotter than watching a woman take what she wanted. And as long as he was the one Delaney wanted, he was more than happy to submit. For a little while.

“This might go fast,” she panted.

Her breath hitched as she found the right rhythm and perfect angle. He slid his fingertips along the crevice of her ass, goading her into racing for the damn finish line if that’s what she wanted. He’d meet her there. Then he’d take her all over again. Over and over again. He matched her moan for groan and gasp for growl, but he let her have her lead. It would be his turn soon enough.

She leaned into him, using the hair on his chest to tease her nipples. Of all the facets of Laney he’d seen over the years, Harley had to admit shameless was the one he liked best. And he wasn’t above exploiting her sweet weakness.

“I wanted to fuck you on my desk today,” he said, his voice rough with suppressed need.

She answered his dirty talk with a moan of surrender. Between them, her fingers moved faster, but the rise and fall of her hips slowed. Gripping her hips, he took over, pushing up into her more.

“I wanted to leave your pretty dress on and fuck you six ways from Sunday.”

“Oh!”

The strangled exclamation was kerosene to the fire building inside him. “And those thoughts were nothing compared to what I’m going to do to you in this bed tonight.”

“I’m...oh—”

“I’m going to lick you and suck you, Delaney.” He felt her tense, her body pulsing on the very edge of release. “I’m going to devour you.”

She broke apart, yanking her hand from the cradle of their bodies and throwing her head back so she could cry her release to the world at large. But he wasn’t nearly done with her. He flipped her over, ignoring her pants and gasps, and grabbed her flailing hands. He pinned one over her head as she had done earlier and drove into her hard and deep. The way she liked it. Grasping her wrist, he drew her right hand to his mouth and placed a wet kiss to the center of her palm. He could smell the sweet musk of her arousal clinging to her fingertips. The scent only reinforced his determination to follow through on his earlier promises.

“I can’t wait to see my dick in your mouth.” His words came out in a hoarse whisper. “Pretty lips wrapped around me. Your hot, wet tongue...” The disjointed thoughts were the best he could manage when he was this damn close. He sucked her damp finger into his mouth, closed and pulled hard as he pumped into her, lost to everything but the thought of having her in every way possible.

“Oh...yes.”

Her answering moan was all he needed to cut loose. His hips jerked, his movements wild and sloppy as he emptied himself into the condom. He took another finger into his mouth and sucked greedily, lapping up every ounce of essence and gulping him down. One day, he’d come inside her. He’d knock her up and watch her perfect, flat belly grow round with his baby. His entire body trembled. Whether the shakes had come from the aftershocks of his climax or the domestic direction of his thoughts, he couldn’t say. While he’d had a damn good taste, he didn’t have enough of her yet.

He slowed to a reluctant stop, then heaved a great, shuddering sigh. Until the first night with Laney, he hadn’t known what it meant to be completely spent. This was the feeling he’d ached for these past six months. This crazy mixture of exhausted, exhilarated, and invincible. Being with her made him feel like a god. Like he could take on the whole damn world and whip ’em all with one arm tied behind his back. And once he had her forever.... Well, there’d be no stopping them. He tried to muster a good head shake but found he didn’t have the strength to toss the idea off. If only she knew about his very un-macho-man daydreams. Would it wig her out to know he’d pictured their future together a thousand times?

Beneath him, Laney panted softly then wriggled her hips. It was a hint for him to move. Embarrassed she’d caught him drifting off to fantasy land, he pushed back, then toppled to the bed beside her. This was the best he could do at the moment. No, he wouldn’t mention a word about his hopes for their future. For all he knew, Laney probably didn’t think they had one. He’d be lucky if she’d given a passing thought to spending more than the next ten minutes with him.

“I brought food.” The statement served as both a reminder and a warning. He’d staked a claim on her company for at least the length of her next meal. If he played his cards right, he’d finish the evening off by having her for dessert.

“I can’t move yet,” she said, her voice thick and drowsy.

Never one to miss an opportunity, he leveraged his weight enough to plant a lingering kiss on her lips. There was a condom to dispose of and the possibility he might be able to finagle his way into staying the entire night if he could keep her on a steady rotation of sex, sleep, food, and sex. Buoyed by the thought, he rolled off the bed and padded toward the bathroom. “You rest. I’ll take care of everything.”

When she popped up off the pillow to call, “Don’t forget my fortune cookie!” after him, he knew he’d been had. In the best possible way.

Thirty minutes later, they were rested, refueled, and she hadn’t made any noises about giving him the boot. Harley went from feeling cautiously optimistic to outright smug when she rolled over to set the carton she’d been systematically stripping of cashews on the nightstand, and he got a dick-revving glimpse of her heart-shaped ass. Much to his amusement, Laney’d had the sheet drawn demurely up to her chin when he’d returned with their reheated Chinese food. Of course, he found her bizarre combination of brazen sexuality and prim Southern femininity intriguing.

Protective barriers. The woman had so many protective barriers, Rambo would have a hard time blasting his way through. Harley figured it was a damn good thing he was a patient man. It would take some time to dismantle them all.

He leaned against the high footboard of the antique bedstead and watched as she cracked open a fortune cookie and extracted the tiny slip of paper from the crisp folds. She popped a hunk of cookie into her mouth and crunched down as she scanned the blurry print. Her forehead crinkled and her chewing slowed, something he wanted to protest, because really, watching the woman’s mouth when she ate was better than porn. She looked up at him, accusation flashing in her eyes, and thrust the paper at him.

“This is a crappy fortune. Gimme another one.”

He blinked and took the banished paper from her. “But that’s not how it works,” he murmured, squinting to make out the itty-bitty type.

Embracing adversity will give you strength
.

Laney snapped her fingers then gave the brown paper bag a nudge with her foot. “It’s not even a fortune. It’s a slogan off one of those inspirational posters with the legless mountain climbers. Gimme another. You ordered enough food to feed an army. I know they didn’t give you only two.”

He turned to look at her, torn between laughing at her audacity and snickering at the pure ridiculousness of her statement. He chose what he was sure Confucius would say was the wiser course and did neither. Keeping his expression as straight as a naked man faced with an indignant, nearly-naked woman could, he asked, “Legless mountain climbers?”