Might Zeke want to overpower her? The very thought sent a vibrant yearning pulsing through her. What if he forced her down on the bed and held her hands over her head, then climbed on top of her and…?
Oh, she could just imagine his big, hard cock sliding into her as she struggled against him. Powerless to stop him. He could do anything he wanted to her.
What if he tied her up? Held her head still while he slid his cock into her mouth?
She began to tremble at the intensely erotic images flashing through her brain.
She opened the beer, then pressed the cold bottle against her chest, to cool herself down. As she walked back into the living room, she continued holding it against her body, but as she walked toward the couch, Zeke watching the bottle against her skin, she dragged it over her breast, then pressed it against her right nipple, which puckered into a tight bud. She stood in front of Zeke and poured a little beer over her left breast.
She grinned. “Oops.”
She handed him the beer, but he shoved it onto the side table and grabbed her waist, then drew her toward him. She gasped at the feel of his mouth surrounding her cold wet nipple, then his tongue swirling over it. Round and round.
“Beer-flavored nipples. Wonderful.”
He grinned at her and she smiled back, but she wanted more. Thoughts of him throwing her to the ground and ravaging her sent her temperature rising.
She stroked her hands over her breasts, then down her stomach and between her legs. Him sitting there fully clothed while she stood before him totally naked turned her on immensely.
She crouched in front of him and reached for his belt and released the buckle, then unzipped his jeans. In a second, she drew out his raging erection and tugged. She eased herself back, allowing his cock to slip from her fingers, and stretched out on the floor.
She opened her legs and dragged her finger along her slick opening.
“Zeke, I want you to fuck me.”
He grinned and reached for the hem of his T-shirt.
“No, leave it on. Just fuck me. Right now.”
He prowled over her and kissed her neck, then downward to her breast. He sucked hard as he pressed his cockhead to her opening.
“Oh, yes. Push that magnificent cock of yours into me right now.”
He followed her command and drove into her, pinning her tight to the floor.
She gasped, then wrapped her legs around him. He drew back and drove into her again. She moaned, so close she could barely hold herself together.
“Fuck me. Faster.”
He thrust into her. One stroke. Two. She wailed as an explosive orgasm catapulted her to ecstasy. She clung to him as he hammered into her. Deep. Hard. Her wail turned to a moan as ecstasy blossomed into blissful surrender. He groaned and she felt his liquid heat inside her, then her body turned to mush.
A soft giggle slipped from her lips as he lifted her in his arms and carried her to bed.
* * *
Ty grabbed his mail from the box then headed toward the elevator. He stepped inside and, as the doors closed, saw Marie racing toward him.
“Ty, wait.”
He pressed the Open button and she rushed inside, panting.
“Thanks.” She sucked in a deep breath as the door closed. “I’ve got a date tonight and I’m running late.”
The elevator moved upward, the floor numbers increasing on the LED display above the panel of buttons.
“Again? You’re seeing this new guy a lot.” He succeeded in making his voice sound teasing, despite his clenched jaw.
She grinned. “I don’t know. It’s been a whole two dates so far … not counting the weekend.”
He hated the wistful look in her eyes as she thought about her new lover. Damn, it should have been him!
As soon as the doors opened on their floor, she flew out of the elevator and down the hall.
“Sorry, gotta run. See you later.” Her voice trailed down the hall, then she disappeared into her apartment.
As Ty walked down the hall, he heard the elevator bell and glanced back as the door of the second elevator opened.
A tall man in worn black denim jeans and vest, a black leather jacket thrown over his shoulder, stepped from the elevator. His sleeveless black T-shirt accentuated the tattoos on each bulging bicep. The long, colorful tattoo on the right Ty recognized immediately, though it had obviously been updated with newer pigment since he’d last seen it five years ago.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Ty’s voice grated harshly through the hallway.
“Ty?” Zeke pulled the sunglasses from his face, revealing olive green eyes, a little warmer and more vivid than Ty remembered.
At Zeke’s surprised expression, Ty immediately realized Zeke wasn’t here to see him. That meant …
“You God damned son of a bitch, you’d better not be here to—” Ty bit off his sentence as he heard a door open. He jerked around to see Marie peer down the hallway.
“Ty? Is something wrong?” she asked.
He gritted his teeth, shot a sharp glare at Zeke, then turned back to her.
“Of course not. This your friend?” He almost choked on the last word as he nudged his head toward the bastard standing just down the hall from him.
She spotted Zeke and the concern in her eyes melted to a soft, wistful gaze, her lips turning up in a smile. Ty’s chest clenched at the sight.
“Zeke. You’re here. Sorry, I haven’t started dinner. I got in late.”
“No problem. We can just order in.”
Marie’s gaze switched from Zeke to Ty then back again. “Do … you two know each other?”
Ty’s eyes blazed as his teeth grated together.
“Yeah, we … went to the same high school,” Zeke answered.
Ty strode toward his apartment and unlocked the door, then disappeared inside without another word.
* * *
Zeke watched Marie stare at Ty’s closing door. Zeke walked toward her and resisted the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her, not wanting to further antagonize Ty if he happened to come out of his apartment again.
“Sorry, Ty doesn’t usually behave that way. Did something happen?” she asked.
“He was just … surprised to see me here, that’s all.”
“I was sure I heard raised voices.”
“I didn’t say he was
happy
to see me.”
Her eyebrows arched. “I take it it’s a long story?”
He nodded as they entered her apartment and shut the door.
She sat down beside him on the couch. “I’ve got the time.”
He shrugged. He did not intend to tell her about the rift between him and his old friend. He didn’t know what kind of relationship existed between Ty and Marie. Even if he did, he wouldn’t reveal any secrets from Ty’s past. He wouldn’t do anything that Ty might interpret as a further betrayal of their friendship.
Ex
-friendship as far as Ty was concerned—Zeke’s chest tightened at the thought—but Zeke would never give up on them. Ty had been the best friend Zeke had ever known, and if there was ever anything he could do to mend the rift between them, he’d do it. If it hadn’t been for Ty, Zeke’s life would be very different right now. In fact, he’d probably be in jail.
“How about you get me a beer instead?”
“Then you’ll talk?”
He slid his arms around her and tugged her to his body, then devoured her lips until she was breathless. “I can think of way better things to do than talking.”
He kissed her again, enjoying the sweet feel of her soft lips against his, the delicate fragrance of herbal shampoo from her hair, and the intoxicating sensation of her pebbling nibbles pushing into his chest.
He grinned at her. “Now, how about that beer?”
She blinked, then stroked his cheek with her soft hand, her delicate tender touch reaching a place deep inside him.
She smiled. “You’re not insisting on naked this time?”
An instant replay of Tuesday night’s request to bring him a beer naked flashed through his brain, making his cock swell.
“Not this time. I need to keep you on your toes. Anyway, we’d never get to dinner, and I’m hungry. How about you?”
“Oh yeah. I’m hungry all right.” Her eyes filled with a simmering sexual hunger that mirrored his own.
But he didn’t want to act on it yet. Not in his current frame of mind.
“Okay, that’s it. Off with you, you vamp. Go get that beer.” He lifted her by the waist and set her on her feet, then patted her firm round behind.
She laughed, then sauntered toward the kitchen with an exaggerated wiggle of her hips.
He watched as she disappeared into the kitchen. Sweet, loving, intensely sexy Marie. A woman he was sure he could fall for completely.
He remembered Ty’s protest when he realized Zeke was here to see Marie. Clearly, he hadn’t wanted Zeke anywhere near her. In fact, given Ty’s possessive reaction, Zeke suspected Ty had a thing for her. How could he not? The woman was beautiful, sweet, sensual. The whole package.
Ty had been his best friend, and at a time when he’d needed a friend badly. Ty had saved Zeke’s butt more than once.
Damn, Zeke knew he’d give up anything to mend the rift between him and Ty.
But would he be able to give up Marie?
* * *
Marie opened the fridge and pulled out a tall brown bottle of beer. She set it on the granite counter and opened the drawer, then rifled through for the bottle opener. Jade leapt onto the counter to see what Marie was doing. She picked up the cat, snuggled her close, then put her back on the floor.
What was the deal with Ty and Zeke?
She couldn’t believe they knew each other. They were totally different types. Of course, knowing each other didn’t mean they’d been friends. Might Zeke have been the school bully, leaving hard feelings between him and Ty? But despite his tough-guy nature, she didn’t believe Zeke to be the bullying type.
She’d love to talk to Ty about this and find out what happened between them, but she suspected Ty would be just as tight-lipped as Zeke.
She found the opener and flicked the metal cap off the bottle. The frosty brown glass and the yeasty smell made her mouth water. She grabbed another bottle from the fridge and opened it for herself. In her short time with Zeke, she found she was acquiring a taste for beer. She smiled. Especially when running her tongue past his full sensual lips into his hot mouth.
She wrapped her hand around the cold bottle and took a sip, the bubbles dancing across her tongue with potent flavor. But despite the delicious eye candy sitting in the next room, she couldn’t stop her mind from returning to the scene in the hall. She was sure she’d heard Ty swearing, which was totally unlike him. There were definitely hard feelings between these two men, though more on Ty’s side than Zeke’s, judging from Zeke’s reaction. Now how to get it out of them …
* * *
Zeke glanced away from the sports report on the news as Marie walked into the room, a beer bottle in each hand. She held one out to him and he took it and sipped deeply as she sat down beside him. He stared at her thoughtfully.
“So, I’ve been wondering … why are you attracted to a guy like me? I assume I’m not the usual type you go out with.”
“True. I usually go out with … you know … the Mr.-Nice-Guy types. Like Ty.”
His eyebrows jolted upward. “Mr. Nice Guy? Ty?”
Man, if she only knew. Ty had been one of the toughest guys in the old neighborhood. A real badass. Which is why they had been such great friends.
She tipped her head. “Yeah. You know. The dependable type. Someone you can talk to. A guy who listens to your problems.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You don’t think you could tell me about your problems?”
She pressed her lips together. “I didn’t mean…” She curled her legs up and pushed herself onto her knees, then leaned in close and kissed him. “Of course I do. It’s really more that … you have…” She shrugged, her lips turning up in an impish smile. “An edge. You’re sort of … unpredictable.”
“Admit it. You think I’m a badass, don’t you?” He flipped her onto her back, her sky blue eyes wide. He leaned down and consumed her lips in a fervent kiss. “All you women want is a bad-boy type.” He grinned. “Someone intent on dominating you, then walking away, leaving you brokenhearted. But deep inside, you believe you’ll tame his spirit and win him forever.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss, then smiled up at him. “And if we don’t, we know it’ll be a wild ride. Well worth the risk.”
His smile faded and he dragged her against him, his tongue driving between her lips, consuming her mouth with deep plunging strokes, leaving her breathless.
“Are you absolutely sure about that, Marie?”
She stared back at him, her blue eyes wide and filled with uncertainty. He silently cursed himself, then drew her onto his lap and kissed her again, this time with just as much passion, but with a gentle pressure of his mouth on hers, while he stroked her back in soothing circles.