Keeping His Promise: A When It Happens Novella, Book 2 (7 page)

Wrapping his arms around her, he said, “Come on, Nat. Talk to me.
Trust
me
.”

T
aking a deep breath
, Natalie pressed her hand over Sean’s heart, finding comfort in the hard, thudding beat. “Do you still love her?” she murmured, knowing she had no right to ask, but unable to hold the question inside.

The change in topic seemed to catch him off guard, because he sounded genuinely confused as he said, “Who? Dani?”

When she nodded, he laughed low in his chest. “Hell, no.”

She lifted her head to look at him again. “Really?”

He looked like he was trying hard not to smile. “Yes, really. That’s something you don’t ever have to worry about.”

“Well, I would think any woman you get involved with would have to worry about what’s going to happen when she comes back, begging for another chance.”

His dark eyes gleamed beneath the heavy weight of his lashes—but she wasn’t sure if it was because she’d insinuated they were getting involved (which she couldn’t think about without freaking out, so she didn’t think about it), or if it was simply the idea of his ex begging for another chance at him. “And what makes you think she’s going to do that?” he asked lightly.

“Sean, come on. You’re an incredible guy. She’d be crazy not to.”

She was basically lying on him on her side, and his hands settled on her outer hip, thumbs softly stroking against her wet skin, as he said, “She already did.”

Her jaw dropped. “When?”

“A few months ago.” He shrugged, acting like it was no big deal, when she knew that couldn’t have been the case.

“And?” she asked, drawing out the word.

“And I told her to go back home.”

“You did?”

He angled his head a bit to the side, his dark hair gleaming under the hazy, golden light spilling across them from above the mirror. “What exactly did you think I would do?”

“I don’t know. It’s just that…you loved her.”

“Oh, I sure as hell thought I did,” he drawled in a wry tone, a flat smile twisting the corner of his mouth. “But, fuck, Nat. I was young and arrogant and thought I knew what the hell I was doing. I wasn’t nearly as together as you are at twenty-four. Nowhere close. So, yeah, I cared about her—but I know now that I never gave myself to her completely.”

She caught her lower lip in her teeth, wondering why that was, but didn’t want to push the issue. God only knew she’d already been nosey-as-hell with her questions.

But he read her as easily as he always did, a knowing look smoldering in his blue eyes as he murmured five brief, simple words: “She wasn’t the right one.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, not knowing what else to say.

He gripped her a little tighter in response, his hooded gaze never leaving hers as he said, “So the rest of the story is pretty simple. When I explained how things were to her, and tried to make it clear that I wasn’t ever heading down that path with her again, she threw a tantrum and headed back to the East Coast. And I was happy to see her go.”

She leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to the middle of his chest, then rested her cheek there again, lost in thoughts of the past, present, and future. But it was the past that needed to be talked about, and she was still struggling to find the words to explain what she needed to say, when his deep voice pulled her back to the moment.

“Hey, where’d you go?” he asked, cupping the side of her face with his big hand, his callused thumb stroking softly against her skin.

Forcing the words out before they could get caught in her throat, she said, “I found my father banging my little brother’s barely nineteen-year-old babysitter when I was fourteen, in my parents’ bedroom, and he had her bent over the foot of the bed. They were so lost in the moment, they didn’t even realize I’d come home early from a friend’s house and found them.”

“Fuck,” he grated, tensing beneath her.

Her breath left her lungs in a quiet, shuddering rush. “It sucked. My parents had always seemed so in love. I thought they were the perfect couple, you know? He was so…so devoted to her. But it turned out that it had all been a lie—at least on his part.

“I…I thought for hours about what to do. And I finally decided that as much as it was going to hurt, I had to do the right thing and tell my mom. So I did. She confronted my dad, and though he tried to bullshit his way out of it, she still filed for divorce. And then all the ugly details came out, and she learned that he’d been screwing around on her, right from the start.”

“Jesus,” he muttered, hugging her tight to his chest. “I’m so sorry, honey. That had to be tough as shit to go through at any age, much less when you were that young.”

“Yeah. It was,” she said softly, hoping he understood what she was trying to tell him. That she’d acted like such a bitch at times because she was inherently terrified of getting close to any man, and then having him trample her heart.

He rocked her a little, his deep voice gruff with concern. “And your mom—how’s she doing now?”

Watching her hand as it moved across his broad chest, and up, curving around his powerful shoulder, she said, “It was a long time ago, and she seems happy. She’s never gotten involved with anyone, but she has a successful career now as an interior designer, which was something she’d always wanted to do, but my father thought was stupid. So after everything fell apart, she went for her dream and has kicked ass at it. But she’s still, you know, alone. And I hate that for her.”

He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, the comforting gesture making her heart squeeze with emotion. She pulled in a deep breath, and as his delicious scent filled her head, she knew the time for talking was over. That she was done dredging up the past, and wanted to immerse herself in the present. In this undoubtedly reckless, breathtaking moment, before it was over, and the chance was lost.

Bracing her hands against his chest, she pushed herself higher up his body, until she was able to press her lips against the front of his strong, corded throat. She could feel the hard swallow he took, his breathing getting rough as all the mouthwatering muscles in his beautiful body coiled with anticipation beneath her.

And thankfully, his incredible muscles weren’t the only thing getting hard. His erection had eased off while they’d been talking about his ex, and her family, but the moment she’d pressed her lips to his skin, that had changed. His cock, which was just as beautiful as the rest of him, pulsed against her hip like a thick, hot pipe, and she choked back an almost animalistic moan.

God, it was such a heady experience, feeling how swiftly (and strongly) this incredible man reacted to her.

He lowered one of his big hands and started to stroke the inside of her thigh, so she canted her hips and parted her legs for him, giving him easier access. He didn’t waste any time, his long fingers trailing across her damp flesh, the moisture coating her skin so much thicker…
and slicker
…than the water.

“You’re swollen,” he rasped, using the blunt tip of his middle finger to rub around, and just inside, her sensitive opening.

Nipping his sexy chin with her teeth, she playfully drawled, “I’ve heard that happens when something ridiculously massive gets shoved into something small.”

“Ridiculously massive, huh?” His chest shook with a deliciously low, utterly male laugh, his firm lips nuzzling the side of her throat.

“Yeah. And before you distract me with those talented fingers, there’s something I want to do.”

He lifted his head, a corner of his mouth kicking up in a grin that was a bit wicked, and a whole lot hot. “What did you have in mind?”

“I want to make you come.” The look on his face was so dark and hungry, it made her tremble with need, and she licked her lips as desire poured hotly through her veins. “But not with my hand. I want you in my mouth.”

S
ean knew
it was an odd reaction, but he couldn’t stop the way his body stiffened at her words, every muscle going rigid with tension. And she didn’t miss it.

With confusion clouding her gaze, she asked, “What is it?”

“What’s what?” he murmured, hoping she’d let it go. Because his explantation for his reaction was going to be embarrassing as fuck.

She started to say something, but stopped at the sound of his phone vibrating out in his bedroom, where he’d set it on his bedside table, before heading into the bathroom. He should have just turned the damn thing off, but had been too intent on getting her naked to think about it.

Unfortunately, his reprieve only lasted until the phone went silent again.

“Sean?” She gave him an exasperated look when he tried to kiss her instead of giving her an answer. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

With a heartfelt groan, he dropped his head back against the tiled wall, feeling like an idiot. Shit, he was pretty sure he was even blushing! “It’s just that…I haven’t done that,” he grumbled, squeezing his eyes shut. “I mean, I haven’t
had
that done to me…in a long time.”

The feminine fingers on his chest flexed, signaling her surprise. “Seriously?”

He shook his head and grimaced, knowing he’d rather be talking about
anything
other than how long it’d been since he’d had his damn dick sucked. Forcing himself to open his eyes, he lowered his chin and looked at her. “I told you before, the two hook ups I had were in-and-out kinds of deals. Literally. And by the time my divorce was final, a long time had passed since I had gotten within ten feet of Dani.”

“Oh.” She angled her head a bit to the side, the look in her eyes tender and sweet as she stroked his chest with her fingertips. “I don’t have to,” she offered softly. “I don’t want to make you uncom—”

Digging one hand into the soft hair behind her ear, he cut her off as he growled, “God, no. I’m
all
for it, believe me. Just know that I probably won’t last past the first inch.”

Her teeth sank into the fullness of her lower lip, beautiful eyes dancing with a mischievous sparkle that made him want to kiss the hell out of her. “But you have so many interesting inches for me to work with here,” she murmured in a teasing, sultry tone that perfectly matched her expression, as she wrapped her slender fingers around as much of his shaft as she could.

He smirked at her mention of his “inches”, then reached down and stroked his fingers between her legs again, loving the lush, exquisite feel of her pussy. “And you took every one of them right here in this pretty little hole. Didn’t you?”

She gasped, either from his words or his touch, the husky moan vibrating in her throat making him smile. The way her hand tightened around him pulled an answering groan from deep in his chest, and he couldn’t resist pushing his middle finger into that juicy cunt, as he lowered his head toward her.

Against her soft mouth, he asked, “You gonna take them here in this tiny hole again, Natalie?”

“Yes,” she breathed, stroking him from root to tip with a shaky hand that felt like goddamn heaven.

He worked a second finger in alongside the first, his heart hammering to a harder, faster beat at the way she hugged him so snugly. “Good. Because it looks so fucking beautiful when I’m stretching it open.” His chest tightened with some strange knot of emotion, and he muttered, “You’re always beautiful.
Always
.”

Water clung to her long lashes as she blinked up at him. “I think you’re beautiful too.”

Pushing her hair back from her face with his free hand, he touched his forehead to hers. “I want you,” he growled, feeling the need shudder hard through his body, his dick so rigid and heavy he felt like granite, while her succulent cunt just got wetter…tighter…clenching around his pumping fingers. “I want to be in you and stay there. But if we fuck again right now, you’re probably going to be sore as hell.”

“Don’t care,” she said in a husky rush, somehow twisting her lush body so that his fingers were suddenly no longer inside her, and she was on her knees between his spread legs, her head already lowering over him. The stopper for the tub must not have properly closed, because the water level had been slowly getting lower, and now only just covered his hips as she knelt between his legs. His broad, flushed cockhead was bobbing right in front of her, her warm breath coasting over his swollen tip, and he hissed out his next breath as she flicked a smoldering look up at him, and said, “I just need this first.”

“Oh,
fuuuck
,” he groaned, pushing his hands in her hair as she flicked her tongue against the wet slit nestled there in the fleshy head.

“Feel good?” she whispered, doing it again.

“You have no idea.” His voice was little more than a snarl, but he couldn’t help it. She was doing this swirly thing with her tongue, then sucking just the engorged head into the searing heat of her mouth, and it was about to drive him fucking insane.

“Shit!” He fisted his hands in her hair, his hips punching up as she started taking him deeper, inch by mind-fucking inch. “It’s so hot. So goddamn hot and tight and wet.”

She moaned around him, the sexy sound vibrating up through his dick, into his balls, and he clenched his teeth, not wanting it to be over too soon. But then she reached up, massaging his sac with one hand, while the other braced against the bottom of the tub, near his hip, giving her leverage to start sucking him even faster, and he lost it. His hands fisted so hard in her hair it had to sting, a visceral roar on his lips as he planted his feet flat on the bottom of the tub and thrust up into her tender mouth, so deep he felt his swollen head knock against the back of her throat, just before the first sizzling eruption of cum burst free.

“Shit. Fuck. Shit!”
he snarled, his body shaking and shuddering like a goddamn earthquake as he unloaded inside her. His eyes were shocked wide, glued to the site of his dick buried deep in her beautiful mouth, his heart pounding so hard he was surprised it didn’t shoot free of his chest. He’d never been so grateful for anything in his entire life as he was when she started sucking on him so hungrily it made him give another thunderous roar, her gorgeous red hair falling around her shoulders like a veil as she took him deep again and again, making his release last longer than he’d ever thought was possible.

“It’s so good…so fucking good,”
he chanted, voice hoarse and raw, the feel of her tongue rubbing against his veined shaft, as she sucked him so greedily, nearly killing him.

Letting go of her hair so that he could brace himself by gripping the sides of the tub, Sean couldn’t stop his next blistering surge of cum, even though he knew it would be too much for her. He’d flooded her mouth faster than she could swallow, and his cock gave another hard pulse when the creamy fluid started leaking from the corner of her lips.

Holy. Fucking. Shit
. He’d never seen anything like it, and the way she kept sucking on him, as if she couldn’t get enough of his taste, had his eyes damn near rolling back in his head.

When he was finally drained, and so sensitive that every lap of her tongue made him groan, she pulled off, releasing him with a wet pop. He fucking growled like an animal as she sat up and knelt between his legs, the sight of her making him burn with primitive satisfaction. She lifted her hand, wiping at her damp mouth, but the excess cum was already trailing down her throat, dripping onto the gleaming skin of her chest…then down between her breasts.

A smirk kicked up one side of her mouth when she realized where he was staring. “You look like a caveman who just marked his property.”

“I like the sound of that.” He gave her a slow smile, his heavy-lidded gaze locked possessively on her pink, swollen mouth as he reached out, catching a drop she missed near her lower lip. “And it needed to be done.”

“Did it now?” she asked with a warm laugh, somehow managing the intoxicating combination of wickedness and innocence that had his cock already twitching with interest again, when it should have needed some serious downtime.

“Uh-huh,” he murmured, curving his hand around the back of her neck and pulling her toward him. “I think I might just have to do that again…and again…and again.” The last word was uttered against her wet mouth, and he didn’t shy away from giving her a deep, eating kiss, finding it hot-as-hell that she tasted like him. Weird, when that’d never been his thing before. But there was something undeniably satisfying about tasting himself on Natalie’s tongue, and it made him desperate to get his mouth back between her creamy thighs so he could gorge himself on her.

“Whoa,” she gasped, when he suddenly stood and lifted her up into his arms. Carrying her out of the tub, he set her on her feet and took a few quick seconds to run a towel over them both. Then she was in his arms again, and he was carrying her into his bedroom.

She looked toward his phone when it started buzzing again, and he shook his head with a flash of frustration. “Just ignore him.”

“I know I don’t know your cousin,” she murmured, “but I’m thinking it’d be fun to kick his ass right about now.”

“Tell me about it,” he muttered, heading straight for his massive king-size bed. “Remind me to turn the damn phone off when we take our next breather.”

“
Next
breather?” she asked, her eyes bright as she looked up at him. “What’s the deal, Sean? Are you trying to kill me with orgasms?”

“Naw,” he drawled. “Just making sure you get how good we are together.”

She started to say something, but her words were choked off when he tossed her back on his bed. Before she even had a chance to push her hair out of her face, he crawled up on the bed with her, put his hands on the insides of her thighs, and spread her legs wide, staring hard at the pink, drenched flesh glistening between them.

God, she really was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Plump and plush and so goddamn slick, he couldn’t wait to bury his tongue back inside her, eating up all her slick juice like he was starved for it—which he was.

“You know,” she whispered with a soft catch in her voice, “some people think staring is kinda rude.”

The corner of his lips twitched with a smile. “But completely necessary when the object of said stare is
your
cunt.”

“Ohmygod, I can’t believe you just said that!”

Her face was burning with heat when he flicked his gaze up. “What can I say? I’m like a Vulcan,” he teased.

Her gray eyes glittered with both humor and arousal. “Hmm. I don’t see any pointy ears.”

“True,” he agreed, leaning down to nuzzle her red curls with his nose, his mouth watering at her warm, intoxicating scent. “But like Spock, I cannot tell a lie.”

She shook beneath his lips as she laughed. “You’re such a goof.”

“Yep.” He used his hands to spread her legs wider, her laughter fading off as he smoothed his thumbs over her slippery vaginal lips, then pulled them open, exposing every gleaming, glistening part of her.

Voice little more than a graveled scrape of sound, he added, “But I can make you come so hard you see stars, so you’ll just have to learn to live with it.”

Before she could respond, he lowered his head and lapped at the seam of her pink, juicy flesh with his tongue, his dick throbbing the instant her addictive taste hit his system. He licked up every bit of moisture that he could, unable to get enough, then gave her clit a few hungry lashes, wanting to punish it with pleasure. He felt driven to make her feel so goddamn good, it blew the memory of every other male she’d ever known completely from her mind.

“Okay,” she moaned, her back arching as she grabbed at the damp strands of his hair. “Make that an extremely sexy, talented goof.”

“I’ll show you talented,” he growled, thrusting his tongue into that tight, slippery entrance that led him straight to paradise. God, she tasted so incredible it was insane, and he knew that this—eating her out like he was fucking consuming her—was going to be something he craved on a daily basis.

“Sean,” she moaned, tugging at his hair as she writhed beneath him, her little cunt giving a hard, slick pulse around his tongue the instant he pressed his thumb over her swollen clit. “I want you inside me.”

“Uh-uh,” he grunted, lapping at her with long, greedy strokes. “Not until I’ve had more of this.”

“But it’s too much.” She yanked harder at his hair as she tried to twist away from him, but the sharp sting of pain only made him that much more desperate to feel her come against his mouth.

“You can take it, Nat. You have to.” He pressed her thighs down even harder to hold her still. “‘Cause I’m not stopping. You taste too fucking perfect to ever stop.”

He covered the pulsing hole with his mouth and sucked like he was drinking from her, his long fingers biting into her thighs, just above her knees, keeping them pressed against the bed. She was an incredibly bendy, flexible little thing, and his dirty mind was already coming up with all kinds of erotic positions he could put her in.

He heard her breath catch, and then she gave him exactly what he wanted. She came in a wet, pulsing rush against his face, and he went fucking wild on her, licking and sucking up every drop of sweet, slick cum that her body had to offer—
every fucking drop
—the sexy gasps of pleasure she made only ramping up his own burning need.

She was still panting as he started kissing and nibbling his way up her shivering, beautiful body, until he’d reached those full, pink-tipped, breathtaking breasts. “I haven’t paid nearly enough attention to these,” he rasped, nuzzling a sensitive, puffy nipple with his lips, then catching it gently between his teeth.

She made a soft, sobbing sound of arousal as he moved to her other nipple, licking it roughly with his tongue, before pulling it into his mouth and sucking on it just as hungrily as he’d sucked on her cunt. She tasted so fucking sweet, he couldn’t get enough, his mouth moving greedily from one tight, plump tip to the other, his dick so hard he couldn’t stop himself from rubbing it between her drenched labia.

“Sean, now!” she cried, her nails digging into his shoulders as she punched her hips up, coming dangerously close to lodging him inside her. “I want you in me now.”