For Kicks (19 page)

“I don’t want to talk dirty, I just…” She opened her eyes and tried harder with the shirt. What had he done, tied the thing in knots?

“Try it. Where do you want me to kiss you next?” He pushed back, lying next to her on his side, his hot gaze dripping over her bare skin. A part of her screamed to tell him exactly what she needed, but it was a tiny part, far too accustomed to being ignored.

“The chocolate.” The muscles in her throat tightened as she swallowed hard.

“Right here?” His pointed tongue lapped up the white chocolate pool at the base of her throat. Touching the chocolate. But not her.

“You’re a tease.”

“No, I’ll do whatever you ask.” His fingers danced around the indentation of her navel. The touch was innocent enough, but the memory of the way he had kissed and licked her there set her engine running.

“I can’t, Logan.” She stared up at him, his caramel-brown eyes darkening like the night. Her body pulsed with the need to have him inside her, throbbing so hard she couldn’t stay still. “Please.”

“You want me.” He had the nerve to snicker as he bowed his head, kissing her neck free of the chocolate.

It felt good, but not as good as she wanted to feel. “Please.”

“Say it. Say you want me.” His hands grasped her rib cage, just below her breasts.

“You want me,” she said with a cheeky smile.

“Why you little minx. You must not be ready yet.”

“I am. I’m trying here, Logan. The lights are on, and my panties are so wet you won’t even have to go slow. Please.”

“And you said you can’t talk dirty.” He trailed lingering kisses down her neck, between her breasts, but nowhere near where she wanted, needed him to be.

“It hurts.” She shifted her legs, beginning to work on the shirt again. She had to be free, touch herself, even if she didn’t know how as well as he did.

“What hurts?”

“I’m aching, throbbing. Every time my heart beats I feel it.”

“Where?”

“Between my legs.” She licked her lips, watching as his eyes followed her tongue around. Maybe she was going about this all wrong. “Don’t you ache, Logan? Should I have done more with you?”

“You’re amazing. I just want you to know what you like.” His hands slid up, cupping her breasts. “Do you like this?”

“As much as white chocolate.”

“Too sweet for you?” He squeezed and she felt the stickiness of the white chocolate disks melted into her skin. “I suppose this isn’t enough either.”

She shook her head. “No. I like dark chocolate.” She swallowed hard and tried to give him what he wanted. The tiniest bit of dirty talk in her throatiest voice. “Deep and full.”

His groan told her she was on the right track. As did his body when he lowered his head and swirled his tongue around the edge of the melted chocolate. In frustration, she struggled with the shirt again, deciding to take a different approach. Instead of fighting it, she slid against it, trying to free one hand.

A wicked thrill shimmied up her spine as her hand slipped free and she tossed the shirt to the ground. In possession of all her faculties, she reached for him, running the fingers of one hand down his back and threading the others through his hair as she tried to guide him towards her nipple. He would not be swayed.

“I like sweet.” His hot breath puffed against her skin, heightening the pressure between her legs, a force so deep it was growing painful. “Even without the chocolate, your skin is so sweet.” He pulled her nipple deep into his mouth, his tongue moving around inside the hot cavern.

She couldn’t think, could only feel. Her hands dropped to the bed, her pulse thundering, heart racing. He released her and she sucked in a quick breath. But the reprieve didn’t last long. His lips surrounded her other nipple, pulling in while his lips and teeth worked their magic.

She was so close it was impossible to fight it anymore. And she didn’t want to. Her world unraveled and she arched into him, enjoying the sound of her whimpering cries. Her inner muscles clenched, reminding her of the emptiness, but she clung to the pleasure he did offer as the orgasm quivered through her body.

“You weren’t kidding.” He sighed against her neck, pulled her into his arms, held her while she fought for breath, finding a warm soft place to relax. “Don’t fall asleep on me. I’m not through with you yet.”

“Promise?” She curled into him, wrapping a leg over his thigh. She felt liquid and daring, wanting to please him. She rolled atop him, straddling his body and looking down. “I am so clean.” She ran her hands over her breasts. “You did such a good job.”

The air in the room felt different, charged with carnal desire so thick she could taste it. A heady feeling that squashed her inhibitions, dared her to do things she’d never usually dare. She didn’t care to analyze why she dared with Logan, what it was about him, them, that empowered her. She just wanted.

His eyes glimmered with promise and she held his gaze, sliding her body down until she nestled his erection against her panties. He hissed, never breaking eye contact. She could swear she saw his body heat, his skin flush, eyes darken. A drug as potent as any found in a pharmacy.

He shifted beneath her, fueling her desire. She rocked her hips against him, the tension beginning anew. A deliberate, sinful grin teased at her lips as she ran her hands up her body, cupping her breasts in her hands and tweaking her nipples between her fingers.

His hands grasped at her hips, trying to move her off him, trying to roll them both over. But her legs stayed strong, as did her will to have him right where she wanted him, exactly how she wanted him.

“Breeze, the lace is…” He hissed again as she rocked.

“Take them off then.” She lifted up only slightly, unsure what to do. If she got up she’d lose her advantage, and he’d never let her have it again tonight.

He hooked a finger in the crotch of the panties, pulling them aside and rubbing his knuckle against her core. She didn’t want the upper hand anymore. She just wanted his hand on her, and so much more.

He stole a glance to the nightstand. She shook her head. “I don’t want any more chocolate.”

“Me either. That’s where the condoms are.” His smile teased, making her realize she only had the upper hand because he let her. But she was fine with that, for now.

He reached behind them and grabbed the box, opened it and dropped one on the bed before tossing the box back to the nightstand.

“Now put it on.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “What if I do it wrong?”

“I’ll supervise.” His lips twitched as his smile widened.

Not wanting to lose her position on top, she scooted down, enjoying the sight of him in the lamplight. Before she’d always felt him more than seen him, her mental picture of him wasn’t complete. She traced him with her fingers, measured with her hands. Learning where the colors and textures changed.

“Breeze, you’re killing me here.” His words were strained, jaw clenched. And with them, he gave her power. She tore open the packet, her hands shaking only slightly as she placed the condom on top and rolled it down.

“Does it hurt?” His penis looked so different sheathed in a condom. Smoothed, squeezed. But then maybe that’s what it felt like to be inside her.

“No, desensitized, but not painful.”

She slid back up his body and nestled him next to her core. Thoughts swirled in her mind, and she spoke without thinking about them. “Will it feel different without it?”

“The condom? I don’t know. I’ve never done it.”

“Can we try it?” She bit her lip, her stomach clenching.

“Are you on the pill?”

She shook her head. “When I get back I’ll get a diaphragm so we can try it. If we’re still together.” The tension built in the room like a brick wall. “Forget it. I don’t know what I was thinking.” She rocked against him, wanting them both to think of something other than her curiosity and doubts.

“When I can tell people we’re together, then we can try it.” Her smile widened, the tension around her eyes softening.

He’d never ever considered not using protection. There were more reasons than pregnancy, but with Breeze they faded away. Now it stood as the only risk. But he needed her to want to be with him, not have to be because of a birth control snafu.

He reached up and pulled her to him, joined their mouths in a soul-searing kiss. He grasped her hip with one hand and pulled her panties farther to the side with the other. He threaded a finger inside, amazed by how tight she remained.

She broke the kiss, shaking her head. She pulled at his hand, instead lifting up slightly and gripping his erection in her fist. He let out a breath as she positioned him at her entrance and slid him inside with agonizing slowness.

He closed his eyes, tried to focus on anything but the sensations driving him to the edge. She hummed, beginning to rock against him slowly, deliberately, gasping when he placed his thumb against the bud of her sex. Excitement flashed in her eyes as she began to pick up her pace. Her breath came in fast pants as she rode him, driving them both to the precipice. How long could they teeter there?

He clenched his jaw and watched as her eyes fluttered closed, her head lolling to the side as she gave herself over to it. Watching was dangerous to his control, but he couldn’t look away. Didn’t want to miss a second of her looking like this, letting go this way.

He grasped her hips, thrusting deep inside her. Felt her stretch around him, the snug fit erotic and intimate. Her slow and tentative movements grew bolder by the second, until she was moving, dancing to a rhythm all her own. Lost in the moment. All he ever wanted from her.

The thought nearly had him losing himself in her. But he didn’t need to wait long for her. Her breath caught and she fell forward, catching herself on her hands, but not for long. She collapsed against his chest, her orgasm beginning in slow waves.

It felt different than usual, more intense and longer. As if her body was trying to milk him, pulling and pushing him within her. He shuddered, giving himself over to the intense, erotic sensations.

He held her close, the mind-numbing glow of post-coital bliss fogging his brain. Nothing had ever felt so good, so right. His mind warned him something had changed. He’d said something, he realized. But he didn’t know what. Not that it mattered. She surely hadn’t heard.

Chapter Thirteen

“Someone’s been in your apartment.” Anthony’s tone teased, as if he already knew who’d been there, and what had gone on.

“I had a fish guy come in and replace the filter.” Breeze tucked her phone in the crook of her neck and powered down her laptop. This day dragged on like the hours before she could close the store on Christmas Eve. “Is this the first time you’re feeding my fish?”

“No. I fed them last week. Why am I bothering at all if you have a fish guy? And what is that anyway? I’ve heard of being too busy for a dog, but even you have enough time for fish.”

“He came to fix the filter.” She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and got ready for bed. “It’s not like I can take a fifty-gallon tank in for repair.”

“That makes sense.” Anthony let out a loud sigh. “I hoped it was someone else.”

“Like who?” she asked the question, though she knew the answer.

“Nothing with Mr. Hottie?”

“Anthony, we’re working together. It’s not professional for us to be involved personally.”

“We work together and we’re involved personally. I mean, I’m in your apartment right now. Is that appropriate?”

“Probably not while I’m your manager, but I didn’t have a lot of time to make arrangements before I left.”

He chuffed. “Fine then, no more doing your shopping for you. You can go back to looking like a runt, wearing the same suit in a different color every day.”

Time to backpedal. He had shown her how certain clothes could make her seem taller, but she didn’t think she could choose things on her own without making a mess of it. “You know I appreciate you. I’m not trying to be rude.”

“Well, you are. But you won’t be my manager for much longer anyway.”

“No?” Breeze perked up. She’d been trying to get Anthony promoted for six months.

“No. Linen Closet made me an offer. I told Glen, and now Nancy is taking me to lunch next week. Gave me the we-don’t-want-to-lose-you-to-another-company speech. So until you get promoted, we’ll have the same title.”

“Congratulations, Anthony. Christy and Glen have both said you are doing a great job filling in for me. I told you you’d be promoted this year. Wrote it on your review, if you’ll recall.”

“It probably means we won’t be in the same store anymore. Unless you transfer me in when you get your promotion. I’ll be back to being your assistant, with a bigger paycheck.”

“I’d work with you anywhere.”

“Thanks, hon. How’s Las Vegas?”

“That was yesterday, and I didn’t even have time to hit a casino. There have been stock issues with Kicks. Managers worried about the twenty-four-hour guarantee to have the right sizes. I did a few conference calls, and I think it’s all under control again.” She lay back on the bed, catching sight of the bedside alarm clock. Seven-thirty. All this switching time zones wreaked havoc on her internal rhythms.

“Good. Now let’s try this again. Who’s been in your apartment? Because a fish guy isn’t going to hang up clothes I watched you pack.”

Breeze sat up straight. “What are you talking about?”

“This black skirt. I packed it myself. And these navy heels too.”

“I changed some stuff after you left.”

“Liar, liar, pants on fire. He’s been in your apartment? What is going on?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about this pink dress. Which I packed in the suitcase Logan brought you two weeks ago. The suitcase, which is right here, back behind your coats. He’s been here. Now spill.”

“No.” Damn it. Damn him. Damn, damn and double damn.

“Come on, girl. It has to be good. I’ve seen him and the way he looks at you, and now you have him doing your bidding. Fantastic. What’s he like?”

“Anthony, no. I’m not telling you anything. If you breathed a word and it got back to Glen or, God forbid, Nancy, I’d never forgive you.”