Moments In Time: A Collection of Short Fiction (39 page)

“Take the dress off,” he rasped. His voice brooked no argument, but I still hesitated as I tried to figure out how I was going to get it off without looking like an idiot. I’d assumed that my dress would be torn off tonight, with no thought to how it would
look
as it came off; I hadn’t planned on a goddamn strip tease. If I tried to take it off over my head, my hair would be a mess, but trying to shimmy it off down my body would make me look like a damned contortionist.

I stood there debating what to do, not moving until he looked me in the eyes and growled, “Now.”

I started to step out of my shoes, pausing as he ordered me to keep them on. Frustrated, I tottered as I started pulling the dress down my shoulders. It wasn’t as hard to strip down as I’d thought, but I was feeling self-conscious once it was off and he made no move toward me. I was still standing by the door, now down to just my underwear and heels.

“Fuck, baby.” He inhaled sharply, his gaze slowly moving up and down my body. “Turn around. Let me see the back.”

I spun slowly to face the door and heard him groan as I stood with my back to him. The embarrassment I’d felt was long gone by then, and I was reveling in the fact that the lingerie was affecting him so strongly. I didn’t hear him stand up, but soon he was against my back again, pushing me toward the door in a quick move that had me bracing my hands against the wood.

“This all for me, pretty girl?” he asked me quietly as he ran his hand down my ass, snapping the garter against the back of my thigh. He reached around to the front of my legs and quickly unhooked the front garters, before sliding his hands between my legs and hooking his fingers under my panties. “Look at you. I’ve barely touched you and you’re all soft and wet,” he whispered in my ear, running his fingers slowly over my skin.

I whimpered and pressed my ass back against his hips, but he pulled his lower half away from me and moved his hand between us to unhook the garters in the back. By the time he was done, we were both breathing heavily, and I was ready for him to throw me on the bed or against the wall and just finish it already.

I almost wept in relief when he grabbed the top of my thong and slowly pulled it down my legs, tapping each ankle when he wanted me to step out of it. He hooked my thigh-highs back to my garter belt slowly, running his fingers along the edges when he was finished, causing goose bumps to break out all over my skin. I didn’t think about the way he was crouched behind me until I felt his warm breath against the back of my thighs.

“Scoot your feet back a little,” he instructed as he slid his hands up and down the outside of my legs. I could barely hear him over the sound of my heart pounding in my ears, but I followed his direction until I was about a foot away from the door, my hands still braced in front of me. “That’s it, pretty girl. Now, spread,” he told me gently.

He must have noticed the way I was shaking, but he didn’t say anything about it as he situated me the way he wanted. I wouldn’t say I was nervous exactly, I wasn’t afraid, but the anticipation was killing me and he didn’t seem to be in any hurry. Frankly, I was getting frustrated at his control. How could he be so calm and collected when I was on fire? The little devil on my shoulder told me I needed to shatter his calm, so before I was even conscious of what I was doing, I had arched my back and raised my ass, giving him a perfect view of what he wanted.

He was on me before I could take another breath. Soon after, I was screaming against the door. His hands held each of my ass cheeks as he sucked and nibbled and bit at me, pushing me closer and closer to orgasm with every move of his mouth between my legs. My knees began to tremble the closer I came to detonation, and my heels wobbled dangerously as I tried to keep my balance. I had nothing to hang on to, and my nails were scratching at the door as I tried to find something to hold me up. I was teetering close to the edge when he abruptly stopped and stood up behind me.

I was so frustrated, I thought my head was going to explode. I spun around to bitch at him for leaving me hanging, but the look on his face as he wiped off his mouth stopped me cold.

He looked hungry.

I’m not sure who moved first, but one minute we were two feet apart and the next he was holding me as I wrapped my legs around his torso and dove straight for his mouth. He tasted like beer and me, and I couldn’t get enough as I pulled at the buttons of his shirt. I wasn’t having any luck getting it off with my fumbling fingers, and I whimpered deep in my throat in desperation.

I wanted to hit something. I wanted to tear off the stupid shirt with my fingernails. I bit his lower lip and then sucked hard in frustration, and any calm he’d retained completely evaporated. He used one hand to open the back clasp of my bra, then spun me toward the bed and tossed me down.

He didn’t follow me, though, he just watched me land and pulled his shirt off over his head with one hand, wearing a shit-eating grin the entire time. I couldn’t help but smile back just as brightly as I lay sprawled out on the bed. His whole face was lit up with joy, and I couldn’t help but giggle softly in response.

He quickly stripped his bottom half, hopping on each foot as he pulled off his shoes and then pushed his jeans and boxers down at the same time. I was anxious for him to come to me, but I didn’t regret for one second the full minute he spent completely naked and aroused as he looked at me from the end of the bed. His entire body was long, hard, and ridiculously sexy, and I couldn’t believe my luck that he’d chosen me.

When he finally crawled on top of me, he kissed my lips gently. Our breathing had once again grown deep and steady, and I was so overwhelmed I had to beat back the urge to cry. His whole body surrounded me and I took those moments to breathe in his scent and enjoy the warmth of his skin. There was nothing else like it in the entire world—that first brush of full-body, skin-on-skin contact.

“You’re so beautiful, baby,” he whispered against my lips before sliding his mouth down my neck to my nipples. “I’ve been neglecting you, haven’t I?” he told my breasts seriously, and my breath caught on a surprised laugh before he pulled one of my nipples gently between his lips. It was almost comforting the way he gently kissed and licked my breasts. He was building me up again slowly and I loved it, but eventually my patience ran out on another teasing lick of my nipple.

I slid my hand from where it had rested on his back, slowly up the back of his neck and into the mop of hair at the top of his head, wrenching his face up so he was looking at me. The grin on his face was a clear indicator that he knew I was done with the teasing, but just to be sure, I gave his hair another tug.

“Do it right!” I told him in exasperation.

“You do realize that’s the first thing you’ve said to me since we got up here, right?” he said, still grinning.

“No, it’s not.” At least I didn’t think it was. I tried to think back to when we walked in the room, but his hand had slid from the bed to my breast and was pinching my nipple in a slow, steady rhythm that was scrambling my brain.

“Those are the first
words
, though you’ve been groaning and screaming . . . ,” he rumbled softly, watching his hand work on my breast.

I wanted to say something about his arrogance, I really did, but he was bracing his hand at my shoulder and moving his hips toward mine, and I was literally holding my breath as I waited. I wanted him inside me, and I wasn’t willing to do anything to stop his dick’s momentum as it slid up my thigh.

When he was finally exactly where I wanted him, he leaned back on his knees and draped my thighs over his, giving him an up-close view of where we met. I tipped my head back and waited as his thumb started circling my clit, once again bringing me closer and closer to release. I knew that any second he was going to push inside me and I wanted to savor that first glide. I was practically floating in the clouds as he circled and circled, so I was startled when I heard his sharp voice.

“Look at me,” he ordered.

My eyes flew open, and the moment they did he drove himself halfway in with one hard push. I couldn’t help the yelp that came out of my mouth at the intrusion, but even as I made it, I found my body growing wetter, easing his way in. That was when I made a startling discovery.

“Condom! You forgot a condom!” I screeched, trying to pull away. I was in such an awkward position that I couldn’t easily slide away from him, especially when he wrapped his arms under my knees and tightly grasped my thighs.

“I didn’t forget,” he told me, sliding partially out and then sliding only halfway in again.

“Yes, you did! I can feel you. You don’t have one on!” I tried desperately to argue, but the minute I started to sit up toward him to point at the offending condomless dick, he slammed into me hard. As he bottomed out, I gasped and flew back against the pillows, my back arching in pleasure.

“You don’t say anything for the first, what, half an hour we’re here, and then you can’t stop talking by the time we get to the bed.” He shook his head at me, breathing hard as he slowly pulled out and slammed back in over and over.

“I didn’t forget to wear a condom,” he said in a quiet voice, barely audible above the sound of our breathing. “Wanted to feel you. I
chose
not to wear one.” And with that, his thumb slid back to my clitoris and every muscle in my body tightened as I came with a scream.

He only pumped into me a couple more times before he leaned down, practically folding me in half as he took my mouth in a deep kiss and he groaned his release. When he leaned back up, he dropped my legs from his arms and they practically flopped to the bed, I was so boneless. It had been so long since I’d had someone else doling out the orgasms, I was loath to even lift my arms when he lay down at my side. I just wanted to enjoy the feeling for a while.

When I finally came down from my high, he was lying next to me in bed, gazing at my face.

“Was it good for you?” I asked, my smile huge. I couldn’t help but tease him after the pickup lines he’d used at the bar. I was laughing a little at my joke, but he didn’t crack a smile.

“Never had better,” he told me seriously, pulling my body against his side so he could drop a kiss on my forehead. “But your hair’s a fucking rat’s nest. You look like Medusa.”

I elbowed him in the side as I tried to crawl off the opposite side of the bed, intent on finding out just how bad the damage was. I had so much hair spray in my hair, I was going to have to wash it eight times before I could even get a brush through it. He grabbed my hand before I could reach the side and pulled me back toward him, laughing at my indignation.

“You’re beautiful. Stay in bed. We’ve got the whole night,” he whispered as he smoothed his hand over the top of my head. “I need to clean you up . . . or we could take a shower?”

“No, I need to call home and check in. Rain check?”

He nodded and kissed me deeply before he rolled to the edge of the bed, and I lay quietly, enjoying the view as he sat up and then stood. He had full-sleeve tattoos on both of his arms, a Star of David covering almost half his back, and I could just barely see some boots, a rifle, and a helmet, with dates scrawled beneath them on his side. He was like a mural.

“Hey, can you toss me my purse?” I called out as he started toward the bathroom.

He grabbed my purse off the floor and tossed it onto the bed before grabbing his duffel off the dresser and strolling into the bathroom. The guy had absolutely no modesty whatsoever.

I grabbed my phone out of my purse and was relieved to find I had no missed calls or texts. I’d turned the ringer off before I went into the bar earlier, and was glad that I hadn’t missed any calls from Kate. Though, the house could have burned down and she still probably wouldn’t have called. The phone only rang once before I had her screeching in my ear.

“Done already?” she teased, laughing at her own joke.

“Shut up. I was just calling to see how the kids were doing.”

“Well, Sage’s tattoo looks a little red, but the guy at the tattoo parlor said that’s totally normal . . .”

“Katherine,” I growled in warning.

“Everything is fine here, Mama. The boys fell asleep around eight, and me and Sage the Rage are just sitting here watching a musical on the Disney channel,” she reassured me.

I could hear Sage talking in the background and Kate trying to shush her, and wondered if this gave her any indication of how I felt whenever she called and the kids wouldn’t leave me alone. I waited for her to focus her attention back on me, and I heard shuffling in the background before I heard her again.

“Okay, hello?” Kate said in a soft voice.

“Why are we whispering?” I whispered back.

“Oh, I was just walking to your room so I could shut the door and get the deets. So, spill. You’re all done? For real? Why are you calling already? Did you think I was going to sell the kids to gypsies? Seriously, you get like two nights a year without the kids!”

“Gah! Would you calm down? I had a couple minutes to myself, so I thought I’d call and see how things were going.”

“Oh,” she mumbled, sounding oddly deflated.

“And there aren’t any details, really. He’s in the bathroom, and I’m lying in bed. I know the boys don’t give a shit, but how’s Sage doing? Is she getting antsy?” I asked, sure that my little girl was bouncing off the walls by now. As I finished speaking, he walked out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a pair of dog tags and the towel wrapped around his waist, which he proceeded to drop before pulling on some snug boxer briefs. I didn’t even hear Kate’s answer, I was so focused on the sight before me.