Wild Aces (12 page)

She picked up her phone. “Derek could tell us all we need to know about him—if he’s safe or dangerous or a genuinely good guy. Couldn’t hurt to know.”

“It also couldn’t hurt for me to find out on my own.” I was adamant about this. I really wanted to play this one differently, and I really hoped she understood that.

She smiled. “Okay. This stays between us, and I won’t ask Derek a thing. But if you change your mind or if he turns out to be an asshole, I’m going to find out everything I can, so you can use it to bury him.”

I didn’t need her connections. I had my own. If there were something shady to be known about Trapper, my old college friend Net would find it for me. But I wasn’t asking Net, and it was for the same reason I didn’t want Frankie to ask Derek.

My gut was telling me I could trust Trapper. So far, my gut had never been wrong.

“Deal,” I said. “I’ll let you know if it becomes necessary.”

“You know, Derek will ask what’s going on between you two when he sees you guys together.”

“By then, it’ll all be good. He can ask whatever he wants and share whatever juicy bits he’s got on Trapper.”

“I’m happy you’ve finally shared some of the bits with me.”

I was, too, and the conversation had gone better than I’d hoped.

“Now, let’s talk jewelry.”

“You mean, Derek’s buying you something new?”

“No, I mean, what will be left dangling from your ears after he takes off your no-boobs-in-the-face outfit and sees how beautiful you are all the way through.”

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in tightly. “God, I love you.”

My weather app said the temp was in the twenties, but it felt even colder as I walked to Rick’s. Fortunately, it was only about six blocks from my place, or I would have taken a taxi. I clutched my purse against my side for extra warmth, buried my face into my scarf, and tried to weave around the patches of black ice. I could handle four-inch heels just fine, but trying to maneuver them on a slick surface without looking like an idiot wasn’t so easy.

The entrance came into view about a block from the restaurant. There were a few people standing on the sidewalk outside, and a couple more were in front of the door. Several taxis were lined up along the curb. I was sure it was packed inside. It was one of the more popular places in the Back Bay. The food was excellent, and the wine list was amazing. I’d been there many times with Frankie…and with Cody. And, tonight, I would be meeting Trapper for what felt like the first time. I wondered if he’d be waiting for me inside the lobby or at the door or at a table. He hadn’t exactly told me his plan.

He hadn’t told me anything at all actually.

Nerves had been attacking me all day. I had barely eaten a thing for breakfast or lunch, which wasn’t like me. Food was my friend—one of my best friends—but my stomach had been in knots. I was even more nervous while I was getting ready. After putting on my eye makeup, I realized the liner was too thick and washed it off. It took me three tries to get it right. If I hadn’t been locked into my outfit, I would have tried on my entire closet. Twice.

I was a mess—a hot, nervous, anxious mess.

And I felt even wobblier as I took the final steps toward the restaurant. I might have been freezing on the outside, but inside, I was sweating profusely. I wasn’t worried about our chemistry. We seemed to have plenty of that already, sexually anyway. I was worried about what it would be like to finally see his face, to feel his skin, and to stare into his deep gray eyes.

“Brea…”

The sound of Trapper’s voice startled me, causing me to stop at the mouth of the alley that ran between the restaurant and the building adjacent.

He gripped my waist from behind me and pressed his lips against the back of my neck. My body immediately filled with the most intense passion. I couldn’t see him; I could only feel him. And God didn’t he feel good.

“I tried to picture what you would look like…” His touch was deeper, more demanding than it had been at the party. “But I wasn’t even close. You’re so much more gorgeous than I thought.” His breath warmed my neck like there was fire in his words.

“And your voice, Trapper, is just the way I remember it.” I wrapped my hands over his to take in more of his heat. I felt the roughness on his fingers, and it reminded me of his strength. “Are we going to go inside?”

“Not yet.”

I tried to move, but he wouldn’t let me. “Then let me turn around, so I can see you.”

“You’re not getting that yet either.” He pushed his chest against my back and tightened his grip around my stomach. Then he lifted me off my feet. “Hang on to my arms.”

I did as he said, clinging to the muscles circled around me, as he moved me into the alley. When we reached the side of the building, I shoved my palms into the brick, and he pressed even more of his body against mine. Even through my jeans, I could feel how hard he was.

“Now, we’re alone.” He unwound my scarf and kissed just under my ear. “I’ve been thinking about this spot for days.” He dipped under my jacket, and the heat from his skin penetrated through the thin fabric. He began running his fingers over my stomach and up my sides. “And this spot…”

“Trapper,” I moaned, pushing my body into him, a cloud of white steam coming from my parted lips. I couldn’t feel the cold anymore. Or the wind. Or the ice under my feet.

“Yes,” he hissed. “That’s the sound I’ve been wanting to hear.” He kissed up to my earlobe and around my neck to the other side.

From where he stood and by the way he positioned his face, the only things I could see were his dark jacket and his thick scruff.

“I’ve been dreaming about those fucking moans.”

I was tingling—everywhere. My breath hitched each time I tried to fill my lungs. “I’ve been dreaming about seeing your face.”

“How does your body react when you see it in your dreams?”

My eyes closed, and I leaned my head into his chest. “I get turned on.”

“How wet do you get, Brea? Would your pussy be dripping if I touched it with my hand?”

So forward, so direct, so sexual. If he only reached a bit lower, he’d know I was already a pool of wetness.

“Yesssss.” My response sounded more like a moan, but I knew he understood.

I needed to see him, to feel him—his bare skin on mine, his tongue dipping into my mouth. No more imagining my hands were his.

When I tried to turn around, he stopped me again.

“Not yet,” he said.

“Not…
yet
?”

“When I rip off the mask, you’ll get a whole lot more of me. But
not yet
. I like how it feels just like this.”

He was holding me back from something I wanted, something I’d been craving for days. I could barely contain the desire that was pulsing through me, and now, he was telling me I needed to wait a bit longer.

Could I?

I hated this…and oh, did I love it at the same time.

I reached behind my head, expecting him to stop me from touching him. But he didn’t. His hands stayed clear of mine, so I slowly began to feel my way around. His hair was shaved short on the sides and lengthy on the top, the long strands gelled toward the back of his head. As I moved down his cheeks, his scruff scratched my fingertips. The roughness made me wetter…and louder.

“It doesn’t sound like you need to see my face at all,” he mumbled as his fingers sank into me. “Doesn’t feel that way either.”

I wanted to take his face in my hands and just stare at him. At the same time, the mystery of it all—of him—was sexy as hell. And I knew my body expressed that as much as my sounds did.

“Need to, no,” I said.

His hand was on my ribs, teasing the spot just below my breast. The other was curved around my hip, holding me against his cock.

“But I want to.”

“I want you to feel my whiskers scratching the inside of your soft thighs as I eat my way to your pussy.”

Oh my God.

I ran my fingers over his lips, and he wrapped them around my thumb. He flicked it with his tongue, circled around my nail, and lapped the back side. He used fast, strong movements. I couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel if he were doing that to my clit.

“Trapper,” I breathed. “I need more of you.” I pulled my thumb out of his mouth and brushed it over his nose and toward his eyes just as he buried his lips in my neck.

My nipples were so hard, they ached. My back was fully pressed against him, and I felt the hardness of his muscles and the straining of his cock, all of which I wanted to devour. His breathing told me he wanted to do the same. It was a beautiful sound.

“Close your eyes, Brea.”

It was like he had heard the build and anticipation and knew I was about to explode. I quickly closed them, licking the inside of my lips.

“Now, keep them closed, and slowly turn around.”

Trapper

Brea stood in front of me, completely blind with her eyes closed, so trusting and vulnerable. It made my fucking dick pound against the inside of my jeans. This gorgeous woman wanted me.

I wanted her even more.

Now that her mask was off, I took the time to really read her face. She wasn’t a simple hand at all; Brea was complex and layered. I felt her despair and her darkness. I also felt her sensuality and her light.

That was what drew me to her.

Could she be the escape I found in poker, the silence I found in cards?

It felt that way now as I held her in my hands. There was no deep craving for the cards, no fiending for the felt.

I could tell she was feeling something, too, and the anticipation of my next move was making her wet as hell. Her body had been responding from the minute I touched her. Her moans had filled my ears with the most arousing sound. Her ass had pushed against my cock and ridden it through my pants. A few more swipes from those delicious cheeks, and I would have stripped her down in this alley and thrust right inside her. That was when I knew it was time to turn her around, time to show her my face and let my eyes do the talking.

I slid my hands up her sides and pulled her closer to me. She opened her mouth, her chest rising, as she took a breath. I kissed her then, when she was sucking in air, so she would suck in mine instead. My lips surrounded hers, and she pressed her body fully against mine. As my tongue circled, I could almost taste her need, a need that wasn’t even close to being satisfied.

Everything about her grew hotter as I kissed her. She tasted of cinnamon and lust, flavors I wanted to swallow and savor all night. I couldn’t bring her into the restaurant and sit through a meal when it was her pussy I clearly wanted to eat.

I had to get her out of here. I had to get her naked.

I fucking had to feel the warmth of her cunt and all its wetness.

I let her mouth go and pressed my forehead to hers. She was breathing just as hard, just as fast, gripping my shirt like I was trying to run away.

“Brea…” I stared into that beautiful face with her dark eyelids and her lips that had once been glossy tonight. Now, I was sure all that gloss was on me. I licked my mouth, taking more of her taste onto my tongue.

“Yes?” It was such a soft sound yet so sexy.

I held her waist and took a step back, putting some distance between us, so she could finally see the face that went with the hands. “Open your eyes.”