Authors: Christine d'Abo
The crowd responded to the message. Several of the closest people shot Darcy looks that told him they’d already tried and convicted him. Good thing Danny had been able to come through or else this would have been a disaster.
When the message had finished, Petra turned to face the crowd. “What kind of person does this? Tries to bully another person into walking away from something that means the world to them? While I might be a lot of things, I’ve never considered myself a coward. I’ve been pushed around before. Starting up
Sexcapades
was my answer. I’m not going to give in to this.”
Cheers and applause erupted from the surrounding group as Petra stood there defiantly, hands on her hips. If Darcy wasn’t completely in love with her before, seeing her stand up for herself while breaking through her discomfort, that would have been the final push he needed.
But he didn’t need it, because if he’d learned nothing else in the past few hours, it was that he had fallen hard for this woman.
“I’m sorry, PC.” Chris stepped forward. “But that isn’t Mr. Williams’s voice.”
“No it isn’t.” It was time to ramp things up. Withdrawing his portable MP3 player from his suit jacket, Darcy held it up for the crowd to see. “I also received a message from this mystery man. But unlike PC, I noticed something odd about the voice. I checked with my brother and he confirmed it. The caller used a voice modifier.”
That revelation sent a murmur through the group. They were all riveted by the unfolding and unexpected drama. Good. That meant it would be easier for him to spot the guilty party.
“I’m thankful my brother is a bit of a technical wiz. He was able to take the message and run it through one of his programs. It didn’t take him long to strip out the modification and find the original voice underneath. I have to say, I was shocked when I heard it.”
Darcy watched as Evan Reid moved closer to them. The panic he’d expected to see on Evan’s face never materialized. If anything, the man looked as if he were enjoying the unfolding train wreck.
Petra caught his eye and subtly nodded her head to the other side of the group. Darcy turned around, his gaze landing on someone he hadn’t expected. Emily and Justin stood side by side next to the buffet table. Her eyes had grown wide and her face paled to the point where Darcy thought she might pass out. Justin’s hand was wrapped around her elbow, tugging on her to move.
More surprising was Samantha, the owner of
Flower Pots
, standing with them and looking just as panicked.
Smiling at them, Darcy held out his phone. “Would you care to hear who it is?”
“Ladies, we need to go.” Justin abandoned his attempts to get them to move, and tried to fade into the crowd. He didn’t get far.
Chris joined Darcy, taking the phone from his hands. “I think we need to take this someplace private.”
“I don’t think so.” Petra’s voice shook as she spoke. This wasn’t an act. “I’ve been embarrassed and scared, worried that some crazy man was going to break into my place. Tell me why.”
Emily met Petra’s gaze, her stunned expression morphing into one of dislike. “You write about sex.”
“So? Yes, I do.” Petra pointed at him. “So does he. Lots of people write about sex. The internet flourished because of porn.”
“These awards were intended to show the best of what the internet has to offer. I had to sit there and listen to the nomination committee talk about how fantastic it was to have both your sites nominated, that Toronto gave birth to such a marvelous online rivalry. There wasn’t anything wonderful about it. You were turning our award into nothing more than a cliché.”
It sickened Darcy that there were still such closed-minded people out there. Especially someone so young. “And how did Justin come in to play?”
“He’s my boyfriend and Samantha’s my mother. We figured it would take less time to get rid of you with some negative publicity. She offers something beautiful to this city. Something more substantial than smut.”
And that was that—Scooby Doo revelation over.
The next few minutes passed in a flurry of shouting and accusations as Emily and Justin were escorted to the hotel security office. Malcolm Robins flitted around trying to get the party back into full swing, salvaging what they could of the evening. Chris escorted Darcy and Petra to a meeting room and shut the door on the chaos.
“You two planned that.”
Darcy wrapped his arm around Petra’s shoulders, relieved when she came easily. “We were tired of sitting by and letting them win. I figured this was the best opportunity to flush them out.”
“I take it there’s no modified recording?” Chris pinched the bridge of his nose. “This competition has been a nightmare.”
“We’re sorry to have made things worse.” Petra sounded tired as she spoke. “But I’m glad it’s over.”
“Well not quite. You still have the actual awards ceremony to get through next two weeks. At least there aren’t any more events before that.”
Darcy frowned. “We’re still in the running?”
“The only reason you would have been disqualified in the first place was if you’d been found to have broken our terms and conditions. You haven’t, right?”
“No, no.”
“No way.”
Chris chuckled.
“You don’t need us to stick around tonight, do you?”
Chris waved them away. “See you next week.”
Darcy held himself back until Chris shut the door. The second it was closed, he scooped Petra up and threw her over his shoulder.
“What the hell are you
doing?
”
“I’m a Neanderthal, remember.”
“Put me down.” She squirmed against him, which only encouraged him to slap her ass. “Darcy!”
“Me takin’ woman home.”
“You’re an ass.”
“Me wanna fuck her ass.”
“You’re going nowhere near my ass if you keep talking like that.”
“Fine. But I hear ignorant Neanderthals get all the hot chicks.”
He didn’t put her down, though he did drape his jacket over her bottom half to save her modesty. There was something freeing about carrying her through the crowd, enjoying the stares and snickers they got as he sidestepped everyone. By the time he reached his car and righted her, Petra’s face was beet red. She punched him hard on the shoulder.
“I hate you!”
“You love me.”
Petra punched him again. “I do not.”
“Well, I love you.”
That took the wind out of her sails. She gaped at him for several seconds before managing a breathy “What?”
“I love you.” He’d been fairly certain about his emotions when he’d been on the floor outside her condo. But seeing her fired up in there, standing up for herself and for him, cemented everything in place. The months of online banter and their explosive lovemaking had blended together with his images of her laughing, her shy smile, and her wicked sense of humor. “And if you’re not at that point, it’s fine. I’m willing to wait. Do whatever it takes to earn your love.”
Petra took a wobbly step toward him. “Really?”
“It shouldn’t be that hard to believe. We bicker and pick at each other online, but you can’t deny that there was a connection even then. I can’t explain it, but we fit.”
“I know what you mean.” She bit down on her lip and looked down. “When you finally spoke to me at the coffee shop, it was like some connection between us snapped into place.”
He couldn’t stand it anymore. Darcy tipped her chin back, forcing her to look him in the eye. “If you don’t have feelings for me, I want you to tell me now before we go too far.”
With his heart pounding, he waited, hoping the answer was what he wanted.
Petra shook her head, then rolled her eyes. “Of course I have feelings for you. This whole mess wouldn’t have been half as hard if I didn’t.”
“So there is a chance that you might love me?”
Now?
How about now?
She scratched her nails down along the front of his shirt until she reached his belt. Giving it a gentle tug, Petra leaned against him. “I think there might be a strong chance of that.”
“What are the odds?” His cock was starting to take interest in the proceedings. The way she coyly looked up at him, her tongue peeking out from between her lips was too much temptation for him. “Fifty-fifty? Sixty-forty?”
“How about one hundred.” She touched the side of his cheek. “I like the way we fit too. And I’m pretty sure that I love you too.”
Darcy let out a whoop before he picked her up and spun her around. “I captured a sex goddess!”
“And I got stuck with an ignorant Neanderthal.”
He kissed her hard, making sure to tweak her nipple when he did. “Let’s go home. I want to try out a few more blog posts.”
“Lead on.”
Chapter Sixteen
The sheets had come off the corners of the mattress and
now lay pooled around their sweaty bodies. Petra took another sip of her wine,
enjoying the richness of the red mixed with the bitter sweetness of the
chocolate she’d just finished. Her skin had grown cool, but she couldn’t have
been bothered to fix the sheets around her. She didn’t need to given how much
body heat Darcy kicked off.
“I think you need more chocolate.” He licked at her bare
shoulder, nipping the skin. “I love the sounds you make as you eat it.”
Picking up the cardboard package, Petra gave it a shake. “All
gone.”
“Is there anything else in that basket?”
The object in question was on the floor by the side of the bed.
With Darcy wrapped around her the way he was, there was no way she’d reach it
without disrupting them both. “Maybe some crackers and cheese.”
“That’s no good for bed.” He took the wine glass from her and
sat up enough to take a sip. “I have to say, the consolation prize pack is
pretty damn good.”
“And we got two of them.” Petra hadn’t been surprised when
Jeremy Leger and his site,
Kids First
, won not only
their category, but the grand prize as well.
Darcy reached across her and set the glass down on the night
table. “Hey, we didn’t really talk about things. Are you okay? I know how much
winning this competition meant to you.”
Chris and Malcolm had approached them after the winners were
announced. Chris wanted to assure them that the winners had actually been
selected before Emily had been outed at the sponsor’s reception, so their loss
hadn’t been as a result of any backlash from their performance.
Which was surprisingly fine with her. The competition had
become less important as the days had gone on, especially when she compared it
to what she’d learned about herself. She might never grow away from being that
awkward, more than slightly frazzled woman who occasionally forgot to put on
both earrings and wore mismatched socks in the winter, but it didn’t matter. She
was Petra and PC, and for the first time in her life, she knew it was okay to be
both.
Plus, she had Darcy.
That was the best prize in the world.
“I’m good. I mean, the money would have been awesome, but I’ve
been doing okay without it.”
“What did you think about the proposal?”
The awards committee hadn’t been the only one to seek Petra and
Darcy out. It was strange, but their public performance had managed the opposite
effect on the people in the crowd that night. Rather than alienate them from
sponsors, they’d had several people contact them in the following week with
proposals for sponsorships.
Petra shifted down and rolled on her side so she faced him.
“You mean the one to combine our blogs?”
“I think it would be fun.” Darcy ran a finger down the side of
her cheek. “A ‘he said, she said’ thing.”
“But talking about our relationship? Do you really want to put
that stuff out there?”
“It doesn’t have to be every detail. Besides, you had no
problem talking about things like how to use sex candles—wouldn’t it be fun to
give an accurate account?”
Ooh, sex candles. They really needed to get more of that stuff.
“The offer was pretty sweet. And it’s a great fit.”
The owner of one of Toronto’s largest sex stores wanted to
sponsor and be the sole advertiser on their new site. They would provide Petra
and Darcy with the products to try out, and all they had to do was post what
they liked and didn’t like about them. No lies, only honest assessments of how
couples could use them. And they insisted on PC and D. Williams keeping the
snarky banter, claiming they didn’t want to lose the charm of the site.
“I think it’s worth a shot.”
Darcy’s grin was blinding. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Petra reached under her pillow and pulled out the
surprise she’d shoved there earlier. “We can start right now if you want.”
The bottle was small and unassuming, but Petra knew it would
pack a punch. She could tell by his frown Darcy didn’t know what he was going to
be in for. Oh, PC was going to have fun tonight. “Lay on your back.”
“That glint in your eye terrifies me.” But he did as she
asked.
His cock had already started to thicken, despite their recent
lovemaking. The scent of sex was still thick in the room and her pussy slick
from the condom. Someday she hoped they’d get to the point where they wouldn’t
need condoms, that she would be able to feel his hot skin press into her.
Petra licked his nipple as she pushed the sheets down, giving
her room to work. “Did I mention I love your hair?”
He scratched his fingers through the coarse strands. “Really?
Not a lot of women do.”
“I think it’s sexy.”
“That’s all that matters, then.”
It had been an amazing week. They’d taken the time to slow down
and do things right. Petra hadn’t eaten out so often in her life. And they
discovered they both loved music. He’d surprised her tonight with tickets to an
indy band performance, scheduled for next week. She’d jumped him after she’d
finished squealing with joy.
Crawling between his legs, Petra spent several minutes teasing
his belly button with her tongue, and drawing circles on his skin with her
nails. It didn’t take long for Darcy to respond. His hips canted, thrusting his
now erect cock against her stomach, and his hands fisted the sheets.
“Dammit, you know I’m ticklish.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Shifting lower, she brought her nose down to the
crease where his leg met his body. Taking a deep breath, she let the
intoxicating scent roll through her. This was her man—Darcy—and she was his.
“If you keep doing that, you’re going to make me come without
even touching me.” His voice shook as the words rushed out of him.
Sighing, Petra lifted her face. “We can’t have that. I haven’t
tried out my surprise on you.”
“I’d suggest sooner rather than later. I might get impatient
and accidentally fuck you into the mattress.”
Petra popped the lid to the lube and squirted a generous amount
into her palm. She’d tried this out on herself earlier so she knew how much to
use and what kind of reaction she could expect. Yeah, she’d had to masturbate in
the shower after that.
“Spread your legs for me a bit more.” She shifted up to sit on
her feet. “And you have to close your eyes.”
“Shit, this isn’t another vibrator, is it?” He complied again,
which meant he didn’t seem too upset about the whole thing.
“Nope. But I have a feeling you’re going to enjoy it just as
much.”
She didn’t give him too much time to think. Leaning in, she
sucked on the tip of his cock as she reached between his ass cheeks and rubbed
the heating lube across his hole and up along his perineum. Darcy moaned as she
rubbed it in, but she knew he wouldn’t be feeling the heat quite yet.
Wanting to keep him as distracted as possible, she continued to
suck on his cock while she massaged the remaining lube into his balls and along
the bottom of his shaft. Her body was reacting as she remembered what it felt
like to have that tingling heat begin to prick along her skin. How it teased her
clit, making all of her senses light up. Fuck, maybe she’d take advantage of
this stuff herself.
She knew the second he started to feel the heat. Darcy sucked
in a deep breath and his ass came off the bed. “Christ!”
Yes, that was the reaction she’d hoped for. Taking a long lick
up his shaft, she couldn’t stop from giggling. “Isn’t that amazing?”
“A little warning would have been nice.” He groaned, twisting
his body as if he were trying to escape the sensations. “It feels like prickling
heat.”
His cock pulsed to the rhythm of his heartbeat, as hard as she
ever remembered seeing it.
“I tried it myself. I could feel every inch of skin, every
nerve.”
Darcy growled and sat up. “My turn.”
Knowing what she was in for heightened her anticipation. Petra
let him push her back against the mattress and spread her legs wide. She’d
started waxing her pussy, finally getting over her fear of the pain. She’d
always wanted to do it, but had never gotten the nerve up before now. The fact
that Darcy also liked it was a bonus. Darcy’s eyes narrowed as he lowered his
head and latched on to her clit.
“Yes.” She reached for his head and held him tight.
He teased her clit, circling it with his tongue and tracing her
lips. Her pussy throbbed and she needed to feel his cock press into her soon or
she was going to go mad.
The pop of the bottle lid being opened sent a shiver through
her that had nothing to do with the chill of the lube. She looked down at Darcy,
loving the way his full attention was fixed on spreading the liquid across her
skin, around her clit and lips, down to her ass. Maybe it was because she knew
what to expect, but Petra felt the tingling heat within seconds of the lube
being applied.
“Oh yeah.” Darcy closed the lid and tossed the bottle somewhere
over his shoulder. “This stuff is going to be fun.”
“Fuck. It feels like my clit is swollen. I can feel your breath
on it.” The sensations had driven her mad last time. It would be even better
with Darcy.
“Condom. I need a damn condom.”
Petra closed her eyes and let the sensations wash over her as
Darcy frantically searched around for the box of condoms. The heat grew and she
needed to ease it. Reaching between her legs she pressed her clit with her
fingers, rubbing the nub until she thought it would push her over the edge.
“Oh no you don’t.” Darcy pulled her hand away. “No going
without me.”
“Jerk.”
“I’m not the jerk here. I’m on fire too.”
His face was flushed and she could see that his cock was
leaking. Even his hands shook as he rolled the condom on and grabbed her ankles.
Instead of thrusting right in, Darcy held her open and stared down at her face.
She shivered again, still not used to the possessive looks, the adoration and
love that shone from him when he looked at her.
Darcy loved her.
It didn’t matter than they’d only known each other for such a
short time in person. She knew the good and the bad about this man. Each day
only confirmed what she’d suspected. Sure, it might be a bit irrational and a
little crazy, but it was still right.
“I love you.” The words were little more than a whisper, so she
cleared her throat and tried again. “I love you.”
Darcy’s breath hitched. “I love you too.”
He held her gaze as he pressed forward, filling her with his
cock. Neither of them spoke while he began to pound into her—there was nothing
that needed to be said. Darcy put her feet on his shoulders and leaned in. The
new angle not only pressed him deep into her cunt, but his body pressed hard
against her sensitized clit. With every thrust, Darcy swiveled his hips,
increasing the contact between them. Shit, that lube really packed a punch.
Petra groaned, leaned up and kissed Darcy hard.
“Yeah, baby. Everything is burning,” he whispered, pausing to
suck on her bottom lip. “It’s driving me nuts. Like having your fingers all over
my cock.”
He increased the force of his thrusts, shaking the bed and
sending the headboard banging against the wall. The heat from her pussy spread
throughout her body, infusing itself into her core. It wasn’t from the lube,
though. This was purely her need for the man who’d so quickly worked his way
into her life.
Her nipples were sensitized from the rubbing of his chest hair.
Little shots of pleasure moved through her, pulsing in time with her clit.
Everything was electric and almost too much for her to handle.
“Fucking love you.” He nuzzled her neck, sucking the skin.
“Beautiful.”
Petra squeezed her eyes shut, knowing the end was near. She
could feel her orgasm pulse out from her core, seizing her muscles and taking
over her body. She cried out, her pussy clamping down on his cock, trying to
milk every bit of pleasure she could.
Darcy’s chuckle was swallowed by a moan when she dropped her
legs from his shoulders, only to wrap them around his waist.
“Harder.” She bucked her hips. “Like the Neanderthal you
are.”
His growl this time was playful, even as he bit down on her
shoulder. Yeah, she liked that. Loved the way his ass would flex under her feet
as he fucked her. The way his muscles would tremble when he was getting close to
coming. How he’d hold her tight when his orgasm came, and the tumble of words
that would spill from him.
Darcy pressed his nose to her neck as he cried out. He pounded
into her so hard, for a moment she thought it might be too much for her to
handle. But as quickly as he started, Darcy’s body fell against hers, pressing
her into the mattress.
“That was fun.” She raked her fingers through his hair,
silently pleased that he didn’t try to move away. “Though I think we’ve
destroyed your bed.”
“Sorry, can’t talk. No brain left. Have the dumb.”
“You don’t need to talk, but you might want to move soon. We’ll
need to either have a shower or get a cloth to clean up the lube.”
“Feels nice.”
“You’re just being lazy.”
“Comfy.” And he snuggled in closer.
Petra knew she was grinning. Who’d have thought she’d be happy
to find herself wrapped up in bed with D. Williams? She wouldn’t have believed
Alice if she’d ever made the claim.
“You’re thinking.” Darcy lifted his head before he tapped her
nose. “We’ve just had sex and you’re already thinking about something.”
There was no way she’d admit to him what was really on her
mind. Maybe later... “I was starting to compose our first blog post. ‘Heated
Lube—Too Hot to Handle?’”
“How about calling it ‘Fire Your Loins.’ I’m sure you can come
up with something witty to open up the section.”
“Are you going to write about how it felt to have me rub it
against your ass?”