Going Hard: Boys of Fall (10 page)

He hadn’t even played much on the team, and Drake definitely hadn’t, as he was a newer transplant. Anything to avoid engaging in potentially sexual byplay with her in front of witnesses.

God forbid.

“I hate men,” she muttered, accidentally cutting off Paige’s explanation of the benefits of natural polishes.

“You’re telling me? I have two.”

Hollie rested her chin on her fist. “Yeah, but a menage every night? Sister, that’s every girl’s fantasy. Minus the fact one of them is that oaf over there.” She jutted her chin out at Colt and he flipped her off without dropping his spatula.

He’d probably slip a grasshopper in her burger. Roughage, Hol. It won’t hurt ya.

In spite of herself, she grinned. She loved these people. All of them, even Rafe.

Her eyes popped wide. In a family way, of course. She didn’t love-love him. Why would she? She’d spent half the days since her teen years either pretending she’d never had feelings for him at all or trying to get over him.

Hmm, yeah, that might be why.

“Yours love you,” she said to Paige instead of all the things she could have said.

Should
have said, like how they’re smelly and messy, though Rafe wasn’t either of those things, ever. She’d never seen him anything but freshly showered and usually he kept his office way neater than she kept her own closet at the library. They also tended to have unattractive personal habits, such as farting in bed and having nose hair. Just having it was bad enough. Her own nose was pristine.

Though she really couldn’t imagine Rafe passing wind anywhere ever. He was meticulous in all ways.

Other than the fact he wanted to hide away their involvement and his inability to loosen up, he really was an exemplary specimen of a man. Devoted to his mother and sister, someone who gave back to the community, a tidy sandwich eater.

He just didn’t happen to love her back, as a friend or—as a friend.

Just friends, always and forever, amen.

“Yeah, they do.” Paige tipped her shoulder against Hollie’s. “But it took some work to get to that point. It’s usually a struggle.”

“I’m tired of struggling. I want easy sex delivered to my door. Isn’t that why God invented
eharmony.com
?”

Across the circle, Rafe’s head lifted like he was scenting fresh meat. But it wasn’t the steak on the grill that caught his attention.

Oh no, it was her reference to sex.

Paige laughed into her fist. “I’m not sure God had a hand in it, though it seems as though he might have from the commercials.”

“It’s a woman’s right to enjoy sex, don’t you think?”

“I certainly do.”

“And to do it without shame. To stand up and say proudly I just had sex, and I want more of the same, and if you’re not going to give it to me, well then—”

“Well then,” Paige prompted.

Hollie sighed. “Yeah, that’s the part I always stumble on.”

“Maybe it’s not sex that’s your problem. Carnal pursuits are important, but they aren’t everything.”

“Says who?” Colt said from the grill. Drake and Rafe were still talking about football and ranching and who knows what else, though she hadn’t missed the eye Rafe kept giving her.

“Another country heard from,” Paige said, tapping her phone against her knee. “Good sex is a start. It’s frosting. It can be cake, but there needs to be a few layers. Some amazing filling that has nothing to do with blowing out the candles.”

“You’re mixing metaphors, but I’m following you. Please continue.”

“You need to pace yourself at the table. Sure, you can gorge, but then you need to see if the crumbs that are left are enough to build on. Sometimes cake is just cake.”

“And sometimes my steak burgers are fucking done. Dinnertime, people!”

Hollie rolled her eyes at her boorish brother. “So what you’re saying is that if I were to want more of the cake than just frosting—which hasn’t yet been determined, because I’m still trying to eat the fondant roses—I need to take time to explore what’s in the other layers.”

“Yes. Exactly. Because some are chocolate pudding, and some are just vanilla creme.” Paige wrinkled her nose. “Sorry, but vanilla creme is gross.”

“Vanilla is gross, gotta agree. I’m more of a chocolate pudding with nuts kind of gal myself. Problem is I can’t find that kind of guy to save my life.” Her gaze locked on Rafe’s across the small space and she made no effort to lower her voice. “Any ideas?”

“Yes. Stop looking and let him find you.” Paige waggled her eyebrows and rose to go contend with Colt, who was doing some kind of touchdown dance around the grill.

Drake laughed and walked over to join them, leaving her and Rafe alone.

“You’re playing with fire,” he murmured.

She angled her head and licked her lips. A well-used ploy, but for good reason. His gaze dropped to her mouth and stayed there as she spoke. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’m not playing. Not anymore.”

Sometime between when she’d flung her bikini top at Rafe’s face and blowing him on the blanket, she’d stopped thinking solely about scoring and started thinking about the bigger objective. Not consciously, of course. But somewhere in the back of her brain, she’d started to acknowledge some crucial truths.

She didn’t just want sex out of him. They’d had sex once, and it had been a failure by most standards. But he’d come around again and stoked everything back to life and now she was curious about all that he was tamping down. And
why
.

Curiosity killed librarians way more often than it killed pussycats.

“You’re out of your league.”

She didn’t bother tossing back another snarky comment. That was what they’d been doing since the beginning of time, and it was getting old.

Instead she rose and walked over to join her family at the grill. She wasn’t waiting around to be the last one in line ever again.

When she glanced back, Rafe was gone.

R
afe stood
in the kitchen with a wrapped bowl of potato salad in his hands and stared out the back door. Everyone was clustered around the grill, talking and laughing. The minute Hollie’s attention had been occupied by the prospect of food, he’d sneaked off into the kitchen and taken potato salad out of the fridge that didn’t even belong to him.

He’d spent weeks of his life in this kitchen. Hollie’s parents trusted him implicitly, so it wasn’t like they’d mind him digging into what they had in the refrigerator for their impromptu dinner. But he’d done it to avoid being out there for a few minutes, which made him a coward if not a thief.

He wasn’t backing down anymore. For good or bad, he’d made up his mind to pursue this thing with Hollie. He just hadn’t expected them to be put on display right away first thing.

Colt wasn’t the most astute when it came to ferreting out personal relationships, but if he saw something and mentioned it to Charli…

That couldn’t happen. Not yet. He wasn’t sure what his end game was as far as Hol, and that meant giving himself—giving them—the time to get to know each other better in this new, much more intimate way. The week until the Valentine’s Day dance wasn’t enough time, and he didn’t know what the point was of that arbitrary deadline anyway. But they needed room on their own to explore without people watching and judging.

Just a little while.

He blew out a breath and gripped the potato salad that much tighter as he nudged the back door open with his hip. Hollie’s laughter was the first thing he heard.

Loud and carefree. That was who she was. Every part of him yearned to be more like her, to just loosen the reins a little and give in. To not fucking compare himself in his head to a man who’d been dead a long time.

A flawed man he’d still loved in spite of his many issues, but who was not him in any shape or form.

He crossed the yard to them and set the potato salad down on the picnic table. If he had to replace it later, he’d have his mama make them her spicy version. They’d loved it the few times he’d brought it to family gatherings.

Gatherings he’d always been invited to, because from shortly after moving to Quinn, that’s what he’d been considered when it came to the Bennetts. Family.

And family should never take advantage.

His gaze connected with Hollie’s as she waited for Colt to load a burger onto her plate. Except more and more, he was beginning to see his pingpong routine as he tried to fight his feelings for her as more detrimental than just acknowledging the truth.

He wanted Hollie Bennett. He always had.

She joined him at the table and without a word, offered him half her burger. He took it and bit in, barely catching the escaping juices that ran down his chin.

And damn if she didn’t lick her lips again.

“As soon as they leave,” he murmured, and she nodded, so eagerly that his chest puffed up like a damn peacock’s.

This time he wouldn’t hold back when they were together. He’d give her exactly what she asked for.

The meal passed quickly. The wind had kicked up and it was definitely chillier than it had been earlier. Add in the darkness and the bugs and Paige was soon making noises about them being crazy to think tonight was a nice night to eat outside. Hollie was shivering in his shirt, and he was more than ready to warm her up.

The others left not long after they finished eating. Hollie started to clean up, but he stilled her hand and pulled her with him inside, where it was warm and there was plenty of light.

He brushed his fingers over her cheek and kissed her in the kitchen. Cupping her face, stroking her lips with his own before slipping his tongue inside. He was in no hurry now. They had all night, and he was going to take it.

She stood up on her tiptoes to get more of his mouth, but she was still so far away. So he hoisted her up and she curled her legs around his hips as he walked backwards through the kitchen and the hall to the stairway that led to the second floor.

He bumped into more than a few walls on the way, and nearly lost her more than once. Her mouth was so hungry, her kisses so desperate, that they fanned the flames inside himself he’d struggled for so long to keep in check. She was matching him in every sense.

Little Hollie Bennett wasn’t so little anymore, and the proof of that filled his hands as he gripped her ass to get a better hold on her. She had curves for days. The gorgeous swells in his hands, her hips, the beautiful tits he couldn’t wait to get his mouth on again.

No interruptions. No more telling himself what was wrong or right.

It damn sure didn’t get any more right than feeling like this.

When they finally turned into her bedroom, she was breathless and laughing from his latest fumble. She was impossible to contain, bouncing on his damn cock like a gymnast hopped up on Red Bull. He hit the light switch, then dropped her onto her blessedly big bed and yanked at the zipper of her shorts. Beneath she wore her barely there bikini bottoms, and he made quick work of both before crawling up the mattress to take her mouth again.

While they kissed, he gripped her inner thigh, dragging her leg up on his. Giving him all the room in the world to play.

The edge of his thumb skimmed her lower lips and she broke their kiss. Not to say anything or to look away, but to watch as he sank inside her pussy.

Heat. So much heat. It was like descending into lava, an inch at a time. She closed around him as one finger became two, her body stretching for his invasion then going tighter when he started to move. In and out, in and out, so deep that he had to shift his hips to get some relief.

She shivered, but she watched his every move and rolled her hips, goading him for more. His thumb teased her clit and he turned his head to study her eyes, to make sure she was right there with him. He’d gotten lost last time, caught up in his own enjoyment. Touching her had been like breaking a fast, and he’d forgotten some of the basic steps. Long out of practice, he’d tripped up big time.

This time, he wouldn’t.

“Mojado,” he said against her ear, pushing his fingers deeper until they could go no further. Then he flexed them, moving against that spot inside her that made her shudders intensify.

“What…” She paused and took a breath, tipping back her head until their eyes met. “What does that mean?”

“Wet. All this, for me.” He pulled his fingers out, achingly slowly, and she gasped. He pressed them against her quivering lower belly and they gleamed wetly, damp up to his knuckles with her excitement.

Leaning down, leaving his fingers against her skin, he licked between them, tasting her arousal and her sweetly fragranted skin. She still smelled of the beach and summer and her pussy was right there, so close he couldn’t resist.

He turned his head and nuzzled the small patch of wispy curls. With two fingers, he held her open and feasted.

From what seemed like far away, he heard her cry out. He wanted to listen, to note every one of her cries. But she was so swollen and soaked and he couldn’t get enough. Her clit pulsed against his tongue as he took his first long lick, going all the way down to her quivering entrance then right back up to that needy bud. A raze of his teeth and her hips jerked off the bed, but she still didn’t touch him.

That wasn’t Hollie. Was she afraid to, that he wouldn’t like it? That he might stop if she indicated she was having a good time?

If so, he was a freaking bastard to have ever made her feel that way. She was so open and uninhibited. Any man with her should help her celebrate that fact, not ever doubt her sexuality.

“Touch me,” he growled, nipping her clit.

She hesitated. He felt it, because even her hips retreated slightly. Just enough to let him know she was uncertain.

He’d have to take the lead. Fuck, he
wanted
to.

“Put your hands on me,” he commanded. “Grip my shoulders, pull my fucking hair. Dig your nails into my skin. If you don’t, I’ll think you’re not liking this and I’ll stop.” He tugged lightly on one of the downy curls between her legs and met her gaze. “Or maybe I’ll just turn you over on your belly and spank your tight little ass. How about that?”

“Is there an option for both?” she whispered, making him cut off an oath.

Fuck, he hadn’t meant to go there, but as always, when they were naked, things got out of hand. But her eyes were so big and blue, and she was quaking underneath him.

She wasn’t faking her interest this time. She was all in.

Well, so was he.

“Maybe we should start there. Get rid of that chill you had outside.” He moved back so quickly she had no time to prepare, then rolled her onto her belly. She still wore his shirt and it rode up high, exposing her pale ass.

Part of him recoiled at what he was going to do. She was so sweet and pure, and deep down, all along he’d wanted nothing more than to dirty her up.

She glanced over her shoulder and huffed a hank of blond hair out of her eyes. “Your move, ace.”

She was challenging him again. Just as she always did. And she knew what she wanted, just as he did.

He wasn’t fully conscious of lifting his hand to her ass. Of bringing it down again and again until her taut cheeks were pink. Not red. He didn’t go that far. Even doing this felt like crashing through boundaries he’d held fast for years. She might be experimenting, wanting to try new things, but he was unseating buried needs he’d shoved down for so long he’d almost forgotten they were there.

Until Hollie was on her belly before him with her pink pussy dripping, begging for more.

Now he couldn’t forget. All he could do was fall to his knees and suck on that damp slit, pulling her lips between his teeth and sliding his tongue between them to where her clit throbbed. He sealed his lips around her clit and tugged, scarcely aware of the thin cry that pierced the haze in his mind. He was too busy swallowing her down, hungry for every drop that was pulsing out over his tongue as her hips heaved and her flesh quivered.

He rose and undid his belt, tossing it aside. He was about to go for his wallet when he remembered he’d very deliberately not brought condoms with him, because he was trying like hell for this not to go…
here
.

With Hollie satisfied and panting after an orgasm? Yeah, pal. The shame you should feel.

“Don’t stop now. Please. That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever felt. I didn’t even know I could feel like that.” She turned onto her back and rolled up his shirt, baring her breasts and spreading her legs. “I want you. God, I’ve wanted you forever.”

He swallowed hard. The insides of her thighs were sticky and gleaming, and her pussy was so red. Her nipples were equally red points. She wanted him.

Finally. Maybe almost as much as he wanted her.

“Forever?” he grated.

He couldn’t say anything else. Definitely couldn’t tell her how his cock was twitching to get inside her, or that the sight of her spread out like that for him, her cheeks flushed and her body yearning, would be one he’d carry for the rest of his life.

Absolutely couldn’t tell her that she’d been his first real teenage crush, back when she’d been way too young and he was old enough to know better.

“I’m not stopping. I just don’t have any condoms.” Admitting that felt like defeat somehow.

He was no stud like Colt Bennett, who probably had a strip he unfurled out of his wallet every time he was ready for action.

“Oh, is that all?” She tugged off the T-shirt and sent it flying then scooted over to the nightstand to dig through the top drawer. Notebooks and pens went flying over her shoulders as she searched. “Where the hell are they?”

He laughed. He had to. She was so Hollie, and there was no one else on the planet like her.

Steeling himself, he walked up behind her and cupped her breasts. As expected, she stopped her frantic search.

“I can just come on your belly,” he said against her ear. “It’s not fail safe.”

“It’s a risk. You hate those.” But there was no mistaking how she’d started trembling the instant his hands touched her body.

Her reaction was intoxicating. Just like the scent of her hair, and the way she leaned back against him while simultaneously pressing her breasts into his palms.

“I have to have you. I can’t wait any more, Hollie. Not another day, not another hour.”

She shut her eyes. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear those words from you?”

“No.” He truly didn’t. “I thought you weren’t interested in me.”

“Oh, you giant idiot.” She turned and shoved him on the bed, then straddled his hips and raked her nails over his stomach. “I used to dream about you. Like straight up wet dreams where you’d—” She blushed and it was the cutest thing he’d ever seen. “Well, even my dreams weren’t as good as what just happened here.”

“Belleza, you should have told me.”

She snorted. “Right. You would’ve told me I had no clue what I wanted.” She gripped his cock and gave him a long, slow stroke. “I knew. But God, it was so much bigger than I ever expected.”

He let out a strangled groan. “Saying that while you hold my dick just checked off a few dozen of my fantasies too.”

“Oh, I meant the orgasm I just had was bigger, not your penis. But believe me, I have no complaints there either.” Showing off her contortionist skills, she wiggled backward down his legs and bent to suck on the very tip of his erection. “Do you want me to coo how I don’t think it’s going to fit?” she teased in between sucks, leaving a trail of wetness behind to get him nice and messy. “How I’m so tight and tiny and you’re so huge and strong, and you’ll just split me in two?”

“It already fit. And it’s going to fit again in about two seconds, unless you want me painting your throat again.”

She eased back and slid her hand up and down the length of him. “Let me just find those condoms.”

Before he could mention the whole jerking off on her stomach thing again, she climbed off him and went back to rooting through her drawer. After a minute, she held out a box and turned her head to read something on the side. “Still good. Thank God. I feel like purple.”