Naked (19 page)

“I did go after what I wanted.” Her hand fisted around the beer bottle. “I didn’t hesitate.”

“No, you didn’t.”

She looked up, her eyes meeting his. “I didn’t waver.”

“Definitely not.” He stepped around and rested his ass on the table where he was working.

“And it was…” Her face flushed again. “The best time of my life.”

He loved seeing the physical reaction to her pleasure. Especially when it was just the memory of their sexual encounters that put it there. If he was honest, it was his best time, too. And with the way she was staring at him, biting that lush bottom lip, he wanted to re-create that magic right now. But she’d yet to be the aggressor.

He wasn’t into forcing a woman to do anything. He’d never had to force a woman, especially when it came to sex. But he couldn’t help but notice that every time the tides turned between them and sex was on the horizon, he had to push, just the slightest bit, in order for her to comply.

He liked it.

She let out a whimper when he pushed off the table, knowing what was going to happen. He made room for them, placing the soon-to-be cabinet on the ground. Extending his hand, which she didn’t hesitate to accept, he set her on the table. It was the perfect platform for what he wanted to do to her.

He wanted her naked. Spread out and willing, wanting everything he had to offer.

He hovered over her, forcing her lower, pressing her back against the table. Her hand trembled as she reached up to wipe her hair away from her face, but he swooped down, capturing one finger in his mouth. He sucked, making a little moaning sound, one that caused her to moan. He grabbed her wrist—his hand dwarfed her tiny little bones—taking her middle finger and sucking that into his mouth along with the other one.

When she started panting, he pulled them out and whispered, “Are you going to put these to good use?” before putting them right back in.

She sucked in a breath, hunger flaring in her eyes.

“I bet you wouldn’t even need any help.” He licked a line up the two fingers from their base to the tip. “I bet your panties are already soaked through.”

She groaned and her head fell to the side, looking away as if she couldn’t stand another minute. But she surprised him when she released the button of her jeans and pulled down the zipper. When she turned back to face him, determination set in her gaze.

It’s on.

He grasped the waist of her jeans and she lifted her hips, making it easier for him to pull the garment from her body. She wore delicate pink panties, his favorite kind. The square ones that covered most of her bottom except for a tiny line of ass cheek.

In all honesty, he didn’t need a favorite kind of panty. Full coverage. Half coverage. No coverage. It didn’t matter. What mattered lay at the center of her body.

But for kicks he brought her jeans only as far as her knees and straightened her legs, holding them up and together. She was at the perfect angle that her bottom fell off the edge of the table.

He bent, getting as close as he could to her ass, admiring. She had a great ass. Round. Unblemished. His mouth watered as he licked a line across her skin to the divot between her cheeks then on to the next cheek.

“Noah?”

“I’m just admiring your sexy little bottom.” He leaned forward and pressed an openmouthed kiss on her cheek. “It’s perfect.” Another kiss, this time on the opposite cheek. He noticed gooseflesh break out across her skin from where he held her legs. “Absolutely perfect for…”

He laid a sharp smack on her ass. The sound rang through the garage. She yelped, but he smoothed his lips and tongue across the expanse of skin now pink from his hand.

But he was getting sidetracked by the perfection of her body. Her fingers had a date with her pussy.

“Did you think of me, Violet?” Keeping her jeans around her knees, he slid her panties to the same spot then gathered both garments. With one smooth move he lifted them to her ankles. “The other night when I left you practically panting in the doorway?”

She whimpered and nodded vigorously, her teeth biting her bottom lip.

“Did you make yourself feel good?”

She nodded again, this time gently kneading her breasts through her clothes.

“Show me.”

Her shirt had moved its way up her stomach and had revealed a strip of skin he’d never seen before. He reached out and slid one finger along the area just below her belly button. She inhaled deeply, scrambling to pull down the hem of her shirt, stretching it as far as it would go. It stopped just above the cleft of her pussy.

He stared down at her, unable to comprehend why she insisted on hiding the top half of her body. Which made him wonder if she’d planned their sexual encounters. If she’d been strategic in finding options so that she didn’t have to get naked.

“One day, Violet, I’m going to get my hands on those breasts.” He always made sure to say her name as many times as possible, even when they weren’t intimate. Just the simple sound of her name on his lips got her horny. And right now, it was doing its job. “I’m going to suck them until you come.” He kneaded the soft mounds through her shirt then lowered his head. “I’m going to bite them until you can’t stand the pain.” And he did just that. He opened his mouth and sucked her breast through her shirt and bit, but the padding of her bra diminished any chance of following through on that promise. “One day, Violet, I will have you.” Their eyes met, and she stared him down with a determined set to her jaw. “All of you.”

She wanted this. He saw it in her eyes. In every shaky breath. In the curl of her fingers against his forearms. But she was adamant on keeping him at a distance. He meant to reach out and caress her cheek, but she intercepted his searching hands and moved them away from the top half of her body.

“N-not today.”

Instead, she placed his hands between her legs where warm, wet heat greeted him. He’d respect her wishes. Because he wasn’t a damn animal. There were still plenty of things he could do to her to bring her pleasure. He had access to the best part of her, the part where his fingers now tickled against her yielding flesh. He didn’t need her top half.

“Yes, Violet.” He slipped one finger insider her, and she arched off the table. “Not today.”

She bit her bottom lip, a small smile curving at the side of her mouth.

As long as she had a mouth and a willing pussy to open for him, her body image hang-ups shouldn’t matter.

Or so he kept telling himself.

“Did you have your fingers inside your pussy that night?” he demanded, bringing them back to his original plan. “Did you use a vibrator?” The heaviness in his voice made it unrecognizable.

Her fingers found her clit, and she pressed down firmly, rolling three fingers over her mound while he dipped in and out of her, trying to find that magic spot.

With his free hand, he grabbed one of her legs, running his palm up the outside, then planted a kiss on her left ankle. She shivered when he scraped the two-day stubble he hadn’t bothered to shave. Their fingers clashed when she dipped her fingers into her folds. He eased away, letting her take control of her pleasure. Her back arched, her breasts heaving out as she climbed closer to orgasm. He tickled the inside of her thigh and she moaned. He kissed her right knee, and she gasped.

“Shit, that feels good. Keep—” She gasped. “—doing that.”

He ran his cheek over her other thigh, alternating with scratches and openmouthed kisses. Her center was so wet. He heard the suction of her movements. He wanted a taste. Needed a fucking taste of that warm slice of heaven.

“Are you going to come, Violet?”

She groaned, her fingers working faster, a tiny whimper escaped her lips as her face scrunched up in almost pain.

“I want to come…” she whispered.

“You want an orgasm, Violet. You take it. Don’t wait for me or anyone else to give it to you.” He scraped his cheek against her leg.

“Shit, shit, God…”

Her shirt had ridden up her stomach with the force of her movements. He reached out, locking his eyes with hers as he pulled the hem down covering her up.

She swallowed hard, her eyes softened, despite her nearness to breaking apart. Her neck strained from the tension of her body and her legs shook on opposite sides of his head.

Suddenly, her hands gripped his head and she pressed down, canting her hips so that her center rubbed against his mouth. She squeezed her legs together, essentially shutting off his air supply, but he continued. There was no way he was going to stop.

“Fuuuuuuck,” she screamed. Loudly.

She shook as the first tremors racked her body. In an intimate gesture, her hands searched out his on her hips and she linked them together.

Her breaths were steady, each time accompanied by a slight whimper, as she rode out her orgasm against his face.

Her hands fell away and hit the table, her body a quivery mass on the table in front of him. It took a few tries for her to lift her head to look down her body at him, and when she did, satisfaction gleamed back at him.

It got him hot, so fucking hot, just watching her find pleasure. But she had a lot more coming to her.

“Don’t think we’re done here.”

He rushed over to the door that led to the house. From an empty coffee can where he usually kept loose nails and bolts he fished out a condom.

Her eyebrow raised in curiosity when he returned, a piece of the foil wrapper already being spit from between his teeth to the floor.

When he returned to her, she grinned up at him. He shrugged. “I told you. I have condoms stashed everywhere.”

He made a mental note to remember to find them all before he moved out.

“Such a Boy Scout.”

When he was sheathed, he slipped inside without wasting a minute and pumped. He didn’t take it slow; he assaulted her pussy with quick strokes while his fingers dug into her hips. He knew he was holding on too hard. But he didn’t care. Release was the only thing on his mind.

Violet took every thrust, her hands wrapped tightly around the edge of the table as she braced herself for the onslaught of his movements. The way she opened up for him, the way she gave herself over…It just made the need to claim her even more overwhelming.

It took less than a minute for him to fall off the edge. The entire scene was too much for his brain. Too much for his cock. He grabbed her thighs and with one last intense thrust, he buried himself deep and grunted his release.

“Fucking hell, woman.” He dropped his head to her chest, resting his forehead on her scarf. It was scratchy. Not the ideal damp, smooth skin he should be feeling, but she’d wrapped her bare legs around him and was absently running her fingers across his shaved head.

This feeling was unsettling. It was as if she’d wrapped him up in a cocoon of contentedness, and he never wanted to leave.

For the last five years, he’d refused to move forward, choosing to live in a state of suspended animation because he was afraid of losing everything. But right now he’d give anything to stay in this spot, wrapped in Violet’s embrace, shutting out the world, shutting away time, and living in this moment forever.

Getting sappy and blindly trusting is what screwed you over in the first place.

He stood, breaking free of her body. He knew nothing about this woman, except that she was the best sex of his life. But he couldn’t build a future with someone who only wanted him for a few weeks of meaningless sex. He might not know where his career was going, but he sure as hell knew that he wanted a woman to love.

Violet must have sensed a change in his attitude because when he looked down at her, confusion stared back at him. One minute he’d looked at her in complete awe, the next he could barely make eye contact for fear of switching on his emotions.

And here he thought she was the one who was prone to giving a brain whiplash with fast-changing emotions.

“Are you all right?” Her voice croaked. He hoped as an aftereffect of her orgasm and not from noticing his withdrawal.

“Yeah.” He tied off the condom and dropped it into a garbage can. “Just got a chill.” He pulled up his pants and righted his shirt.

Instinctively, Violet closed her legs and pulled them up to her body. Retreating into herself.

Fuck, he was an asshole.

But she’d been the one to start this and she’d been the one to insist on secrets and an expiration date. She wasn’t in any position to expect anything more.

Chapter 16

The Eglinton Grand was one of Violet’s favorite venues in the city. The old movie theater–turned–event space was charming and historic, and down the street from where she lived.

She took a cab from her condo, and when she walked into the charity event, she was underwhelmed at the décor and guest list.

But there was one person she couldn’t wait to see. And she didn’t need to search the room for her. She heard Roxy’s laugh from the bar even without having to look in her direction.

Roxy leaned with her forearms resting across the top, holding up her body. Her fingers twirled the stem of a wineglass as she laughed with three other women, two of whom Violet recognized from her social circle.

The new girl watched Roxy with wide eyes, obviously not used to her brazen personality. Everyone else had come to accept Roxy as she was, waving off her bold and outspoken tendencies. Sometimes even laughing behind her back. But Violet treasured her best friend. Her free spirit. Her dedication to her family and their business. The way she made no excuses for her words or her sexuality. It was Roxy who had inspired Violet to take the plunge and engage Steven in something a little spicier. But that had backfired. Blown up in her face, literally, and reminded her that some people were just meant for a vanilla life.

So she’d resigned herself to living vicariously through her friend.

Until she’d met Noah.

When her eyes locked with Roxy’s across the room, her best friend lit up.

“There’s my bitch.” Roxy made no excuse for her language or the fact that she dropped the group of three ladies she’d been talking to like a hot potato when she’d noticed Violet in the crowd. She walked with short, quick steps since the black Marc Jacobs dress she wore didn’t leave much room for lengthy strides. It made her gait all the more awkward, because Roxy had the longest legs of any woman she’d ever met.