Long Slow Second Look (8 page)

He thrust in deep and hard.

Oh hell yeah. It only took a few strokes before I blew apart and came all over his shaft. As one of my most powerful and enjoyable releases, it was off the charts. I felt as if I were floating in a world filled with nothing but sweet, delicious pleasure. It took me awhile to regain enough awareness to realize he was still inside me and still fucking me.

Gripping both my hips, he sucked hard at my neck and engaged my pussy in a rough, quick fuck before coming inside me again.

As before, he slumped against me, pushing my breasts against the door. He retained his grip on my hips and kept his cock inside me until his breathing slowed and returned to normal.

"Shit!"

This time the word held an entirely different connotation. I reached back to brush his ass. "Shit? Got a load you need to drop, sweetie?"

He laughed and bit my neck. "Damn, woman, what the hell is your pussy made of?"

"Good, huh?"

"Good is not a strong enough word to describe the incredible pleasure it dispenses."

Damn. He sound like a man hooked.

"So what is it made of?"

"At the moment it's made up of your big dick."

"And when it's not?"

Hearing the pleasure and amusement in his voice, I smiled. "Sugar, spice, and everything nice. You know. The usual."

He kissed the corner of my mouth and eased out of me. "We need to talk, Amber."

Although I had no idea what he had on his mind, his words didn't fill me with dread, as they would have after our first fuck. "Okay, but I'm leaking cum and I need a shower."

He slapped my ass. "Are you bragging or complaining?"

I turned to face him. Although I felt a little shy, I also felt expectant. "I don't know. I'll let you know when I do."

He stole a quick kiss before pushing his cock in his pants and stepping away from me. "The guest bathroom's down the hall on your left. You'll find everything you need there."

I nodded, smiled, and walked down the hall.

* * *

John

What the fuck was that all about Reddorn? Unprotected sex with a woman you met last night. At your age? Really? Your days of thinking with your dick are supposed to be over. Get a damn grip or you're going to find yourself in the middle of a mess when she starts to expect you to get serious about her.

Despite my self-recrimination and the cool water, I emerged from my quick shower still salivating at the thought of even more unprotected sex with Amber. I dried my hair and dressed before waiting for her in the living room.

"I know you said we need to talk, but I think we need a breather before we do."

I turned to find her standing in the living room doorway watching me. And I wanted to rush across the room, undress her, and fuck her all over again. Raw of course. "Meaning?"

"Meaning I'd like you to take me home, John."

My immediate and visceral urge to insist she spend the rest of the day with me should have been a further indicator that I was in way over my head and in danger of drowning in her charm, but I still wasn't ready to admit that nothing with her would go as planned.

"Why? Are you hoping to spend the rest of the day with him?"

"Not that it's any of your business, John, but no I'm not." She crossed the room and linked her arms around my neck. "If it will ease your jealous mind, I'll tell you that I have no intentions of going out with him this weekend."

I slipped my arms around her waist. "What about me?"

"What about you?"

"I'd like to see you again this weekend."

She shook her head. "I think we've seen enough of each other for the time being. I'm not blaming you entirely, John, but unprotected sex in a casual relationship is just insane and we've already made that mistake twice. There can't be a third time."

The hell there couldn't. "I said we needed to talk."

"Yes, sometime next week. Right now I want to go home."

I was fairly sure I could talk her into staying and even spending the night with me but I didn't want her to think I intended to steamroll over her feelings or concerns. "Is there anything I can get you before I take you home?"

"Like what? Lunch? Thanks, but I think I'll just toss a salad and throw some veggies on the grill later."

"I didn't mean lunch. You said you had expensive tastes and I told you I have a lot of money. What can I buy you?"

"I was kidding, John."

"Were you?"

"Okay, I do have expensive tastes but I hardly expect you to satisfy them."

"I'd be happy to satisfy any of them within reason."

She stared at me. "You're serious."

I nodded. "Yes. I am. Think about what you might like and we can discuss it the next time we see each other."

"I don't accept extensive gifts from men."

"I'm not men, Amber. I'm the man you've had unprotected sex with," I said. "Remember that in case you're tempted to go out with Dr. Don't Know Shit the moment my back is turned."

She withdrew her arms from my neck and looked away. "I'm ready to go."

Nice going, Reddorn. If you keep this shit up you'll drive her straight into his arms.
"I'll take you home," I said and did.

On the drive to her apartment, I resisted the urge to talk her into seeing me that night. We both probably needed some space and time to think about what the hell we were doing before we did it again.

When I bent to kiss her at her door, she turned her head, offering me her cheek. Fuck that. I turned her face and planted several long, hungry kisses against her mouth.

She leaned into me and parted her lips.

I sucked her tongue into my mouth and palmed her ass. Despite having already fucked her twice, I felt my cock stirring.

She must have felt it too because she suddenly stiffened and pushed against my shoulders.

After a last suck on her tongue, I released her and stepped back.

She moistened her lips and took a deep breath.

"I'll see you soon," I said.

"Maybe."

There was no maybe about it.

"Good-bye, John."

Good-bye hell. She was delusional if she thought I was prepared to allow her to walk away from me. I smiled and waited until she went inside her apartment before heading back to the elevator. Even though I'd fucked her twice, I felt horny and agitated. I needed to talk.

* * *

John

"So you're not interested in getting serious with her?"

Hearing the obvious disbelief in his voice, I turned from my brother Shane's balcony to give him a cool look. Why the hell had I come? I wasn't in the mood to play nice with his other guests and I was already regretting the impulse that had led me to tell him about Amber and how I'd fucked up with her.

Growing up we had butted heads because he'd always resented any advice I offered as the older brother. He would often remind me that my two-year age advantage didn't make me an authority on anything and I should shut the fuck up and mind my own damned business. After Jonny was born, we started spending more time together and got to know each other as men and not just brothers. Once we did our relationship progressed to the point where I considered him a close friend.

"No. I'm not."

"Then what the hell was up with raw sex-twice? That's some shit I'd expect from Jonny. Not you."

I looked down at my empty beer can and crushed it in my hand. "I lost my head."

"No shit? What is it about her that made you lose your damned mind?"

"She intrigued me."

"What's so damned intriguing about a full-figured plain woman that would make you behave like a damned horny teenager in love?"

I shook my head and dismissed the urge to toss the crumpled beer can at him. "She's not pretty per se but she is not plain. She's easy to talk to and she makes me laugh. She's…she has a confidence I find sexy and she has beautiful eyes, sweet lips and–"

"And apparently pussy so good you had to double-tap it raw."

"What's your damned point, Shane? I already admitted I fucked up."

"My point is that clearly you're understating your interest in her."

"How the hell did you arrive at that conclusion?"

"When was the last time we discussed one of your easy lays?"

I tossed the beer can into the corner of the balcony in lieu of decking him. "She's not an easy lay!"

Shane nodded. "Exactly. Face that fact, deal with it, and tell me when I can expect to meet her?"

I shook my head. "Meet her? Why the hell would you expect to meet her? The last time I checked we don't introduce our easy lays to each other."

"Too true, but as you just angrily pointed out, she's not an easy lay. Of course, now that you busted your nut in her a couple of times, the thrill is probably gone for you."

"What?"

"Let's face it, Johnny, women who give it up too quickly and too easily can never expect to hold a man's interest. I think we can both agree she did both."

I stared at him.

He glanced at my side where I'd clenched my right hand into a fist and shook his head. "Don't blame me for stating the obvious."

"You don't know a damn thing about her so watch what the hell you say about her."

He held up a hand and took a step back. "Just testing the temperature of your emotions. Guess what, Johnny? They're boiling. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say you'd finally met her."

"Met who?"

"Your sheenea, of course."

Sheenea was a word we'd first heard years ago when we became friends with Brandon and his family. The Grayhawks used sheenea as a special endearment for the one woman they considered completed them and with whom they expected to share their lives with exclusively.

Though Raleigh and Gabriel had been convinced to embrace the concept of having one woman who met all their needs and thus completed them, Shane and I had not. After years of searching and a succession of meaningless relationships, I knew no one woman was capable of meeting all my needs. And after two failed marriages, I'd thought Shane shared my belief.

"You've been hanging around the Grayhawks too long," I said.

"Have I? If not sheenea than she's your cher."

I'd grown up hearing the love and affection in my grandfather's voice when he called my grandmother cher. I'd never heard him use the endearment with anyone else. It was a term of endearment we'd been taught never to use lightly. I'd never called a woman cher—not even Julie.

"I've never used the word," I said.

"No? Well maybe you should."

"What?"

He nodded his head towards the room behind us. "There's a room full of beautiful women feet away who would love to hop into bed with you. You've ignored all of them in favor of hanging out here with me talking about a plain, full-figured woman you met last night who has a thing for another man.

"What's wrong with that picture?"

"She doesn't have a thing for him and she's not plain!"

"For your sake, John, I hope she doesn't have a thing for him because whether or not you're ready to admit it, I think it's a done deal. You've finally met a woman who excites both your emotions and your intellect. You're toast."

"You really have to stop hanging around with the Grayhawks so much, Shane. You've nearly lost your grip on reason. I met her last night and already you have me in love with her and incapable of being happy without a serious relationship with her. That's a stretch even by Grayhawk standards."

Shane shrugged. "We'll see."

I decided he'd had enough amusement at my expense. "And what about you, Mr. Twice divorced and lonely? Anyone lighting up your nights and making you act like a horny teenager?"

Shane shook his head. "No. I'm beginning to think I'll never meet a woman capable of holding my attention, let alone my affection for more than a few years. It looks like we're just not the staying married kind." He smiled. "Of course if I happen to meet a woman capable of making me insane enough to go raw, I might consider giving marriage another try. But that's not very likely to happen."

"I hope it does happen for you."

"I'm as tired of one-night stands as you are. I hope it does happen, but since I'm not seeing anyone, that's a very long shot. In any case, I really have to get back to my guests." He slapped me on the back, opened the French doors he'd closed when he joined me, and walked into the living room to mingle with the people filling the room.

I turned back to the view of the city skyline.

"Johnny! Darling! Lovely to see you."

I turned to see a pretty brunette exiting through the French doors to join me on the balcony. She was one of a number of women I'd enjoyed sharing a sexual relationship with in the past.

I wasn't really in the mood to see her but I smiled. "Janet."

"I've missed having you heating up my nights. If you're free we can spend the night getting reacquainted." She slipped her arms around my neck and kissed me.

I had absolutely no interest in bedding her. I was about to tactfully refuse her offer for sex when I looked beyond her to find Shane watching us. He mouthed
Love the one you're with
.

Fuck you
! I mouthed back and slipped an arm around Janet's waist. "I am free." As I bent to kiss her, my cellphone rang. Amber's ring. Although I longed to answer it and race back to see her, I decided she was probably right. We needed some time away from each other.

I drew Janet closed and pressed my lips against hers and allowed Amber's call to go to voicemail.

* * *

Amber

Long after John left me at my door with kisses so hot they nearly seared my lungs, I lay on a chaise on my balcony trying to decide what my next move should be. It was strange to recall that twenty-four hours earlier, my only goal had been to put myself on Deandre's radar.

A day later and I'd had unprotected sex twice with a man who was, in point of fact, a stranger. Sure I knew his name and where he lived, but I didn't know him as a man. I suspected he had no desire to remarry or to have any more kids. Having sex with him had been beyond sweet. Although I didn't regret it, I couldn't afford to repeat the offense.