Crashed (Entangled Indulgence) (5 page)

He needed to hear her say it, to admit she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Even though she’d kissed him before they’d gone out, he wouldn’t take this any farther until she admitted it, until he heard her say it out loud. But he also knew if he backed down, let her go now, he’d lose her forever. He had no choice but to push harder. He tightened his hold, fisted her dark hair, and tilted her face up so he could see her eyes. Alex had loved it when he’d taken control in bed, had fucking melted in his arms. She’d also loved the filthy things he’d said to her. Both things that turned him on just as much. He wasn’t above playing dirty.

He held her gaze, refusing to let her hide from him, and rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip. “Does that tight little body ache to feel me moving inside you again, Alex?” She made a strangled sound in the back of her throat and bit her lip harder, but still didn’t answer. He played his last card—his only option was to lay it out for her. “If the answer’s no, then the deal’s off. This is supposed to be mutually beneficial. I don’t see the point in this if the idea of fucking me disgusts you.”

Her mouth opened, just a little, and the tip of her tongue swiped across the top of his thumb as she wet her lips. His dick jerked. Jesus, he wanted to feel that mouth on him. He reached out and slammed his hand on the emergency button. The elevator jarred to a halt, and she jumped, eyes going wide. “What are you doing?”

“Answer me, Alex. I need to know.”

Her gaze darted away, then back, locked onto his. “Yes.”

It was there in her dark eyes. So much fucking heat he started burning up. “Yes, what?”

“Yes, I want you,” she rasped.

His knees went weak with relief. Fisting the fabric of her dress, he lifted it to just below her ass. “So if I slide my fingers inside your panties right now, you’ll be wet for me?” He brushed his fingers across the outside of the delicate fabric covering her and groaned. God, she was drenched, so hot.

The tips of her ears turned bright red. “Y-yes.”

He tugged her panties aside and slid a finger through her cleft, grazing her clit, and she gasped. A groan broke past his lips. “Fuck, Alex.”

He reached out and punched the button to get the elevator in motion again, fighting the urge to fuck her right then and there. But every step had to be played carefully, and that meant showing her this wasn’t all about his need for her, that she was important to him, and that she was more than just a hole to shove his dick in.

The doors slid open, and he removed his hand from between her legs. Wrapping his fingers around hers, he led her to his apartment and unlocked the door. He steered her inside and straight to his bedroom. She looked around, her gaze landing on his bed.

“Take off your clothes.”

Alex wasn’t talking, but her breathing was rapid and her fingers shook as she worked the zipper down the side of the dress. She slipped off her shoes, then let the fabric pool at her feet. Which left her in only a purple lace thong. If he hadn’t already known, it wouldn’t be hard to guess her favorite color.

Her nipples were peaked and begging for his mouth. The small pieces of metal piercing her skin blinked under the lights, and the tiny stone in her belly button, purple as well, dangled enticingly. He shrugged out of his jacket and removed his shirt, tossing them over a chair. “Do you realize how beautiful you are?”

She looked down, hair falling forward to cover her face.

“Don’t hide from me, Alex. While we’re together, I don’t want you to ever hide from me.” He dropped to his knees in front of her and ran his hands up and down her sides, resting them on her hips. Nuzzling her warm skin, he circled her navel with the tip of his tongue, then dipped into her belly button.

Gripping the sides of her thong, he dragged the delicate lace down her thighs and sucked in a breath when he finally got a look at her. She was smooth, waxed, just like he remembered. “Step out,” he rasped.

Throwing the scrap of lace aside, he ran his hands from her calves up to the curve of her thighs. “Open your legs, let me look at you. Fuck, let me taste you.” She widened her stance, her hands fisted at her sides. So damn stubborn. He spread her silky folds and ran his tongue through her slit. So good. He’d ached for this for what felt like forever.

A moan broke past her lips, and she threw out a hand for support. Her fingers threaded through his hair, holding him to her. As good as this was, he wanted more. He gave her clit one last suck. “Get on the bed.”

She stumbled back until her legs hit the mattress, and she sat down. He walked on his knees and tugged her ass to the edge of the bed. Reaching back, he tagged a cushion off the chair and handed it to her. “Put this under your head. I want you to watch what I’m doing.”

Her eyes were unfocused, dark with need as she did as he asked. She wanted him. Relief thrummed though his veins.

Alex acted tough, like nothing could touch her, but it was all a front to protect herself—anything not to appear vulnerable. Which was why she loved when he took charge like this. She was afraid to ask for what she wanted, afraid it would expose too much. This way she didn’t have to think, she could just feel.

He slipped his hands under her ass and leaned in, licking and sucking, kissing her, holding her to his mouth. Stiffening his tongue, he pushed inside, fucking her that way until she writhed beneath him, moaning his name. Her fingers tugged hard at his hair, one minute trying to pull him away, the next she would shove his face against her and grind her hips, seeking release. His little viper was still fighting it, even though he knew this was what she wanted.

He pressed his dick into the mattress in an attempt to ease the ache and couldn’t stop himself from thrusting into it. He pulled back before he ended up humping the thing.

“Look at me, Alex.” Her eyes fluttered open, lips parted and red from biting them. “Play with your tits for me, baby.”

She didn’t hesitate and squeezed her perfect breasts, pinching the dark peaks. When she tugged at the barbell there and gasped, he almost came in his pants.

Replacing his tongue with his fingers, he thrust in and out of her, so tight and slick, then sucked hard on her clit. Her thighs trembled and her moans got louder. Then she bucked and cried out, coming hard against his mouth. He removed his fingers, then sucked and licked at her until he’d wrung every last tremor from her body. When she collapsed back, panting, he dropped his head against her thigh and tried to get his shit together.

Jesus.
She was going to kill him.

Chapter Five

Boneless, Alex lay in a heap on Deacon’s bed. The mattress dipped, and he settled beside her, his hand coming to rest on her belly, then trailing up to her breast. He squeezed gently. “All right?”

Eyes trained on the ceiling, as if his crown molding was the most interesting thing she’d ever seen, she avoided his gaze. Her resistance was failing big-time. Deke had made her come hard enough to pass the hell out, and she already wanted him again, wanted him inside her.

“Alex?”

“Yeah. I’m good.” Wet heat surrounded her nipple, followed by some teasing suction. She moaned, her hand threading through his now scruffy hair, like it had a mind of its own. He continued to tongue her piercing carefully, knowing how tender she must be.

“I need to know you enjoy what I’m doing to you.”

She expected him to strip and finish what he’d started, but he didn’t seem in any hurry as he trailed his fingers down her body, cupping her between the legs. She automatically spread her thighs wider, giving him better access when he grazed lightly over her sensitive clit, then dipped inside.

He made a rough sound at the back of his throat and pressed in deeper.

“Deacon…ahh.” Back arching, she bucked against his hand.

“Hmm?”

“What are you doing?” Her voice was thin, needy.

“Making you come.”

He added another finger, thrusting in and out of her. She was wet, embarrassingly so. But when his thumb joined the party, pressing against her clit, she couldn’t bring herself to care. “Again? Jesus.” She groaned as her hips moved of their own volition, riding his hand.

Deacon loomed over her, watching her with hungry eyes. “Yes, again.”

He curled his fingers so they brushed that magic spot inside every time he pumped them deep, then dragged them back out. “Ahh.” She lost all control over her vocal cords as the exquisite sensations built steadily, moaning and gasping, and shit…begging for it.

“That’s it, come for me. Come all over my fingers. Let me feel you squeeze them tight, sweetheart.”

The endearment pierced her chest and pushed her over the edge far too quickly. Deacon watched her the whole time, never taking his eyes off her. He looked wild, panting, his sweat-slicked chest pumping hard with every ragged breath. His obvious desire for her made her come harder, longer.

When she collapsed back, he dropped down beside her and rolled her into his side, tucking her in close. “I could watch you come all night,” he whispered.

Memories swamped her of their night together six months ago. She hadn’t told him she loved him, but it had been there in every touch. She hadn’t had sex with him—no, after he’d made her scream his name, she’d pushed him back on the bed and made love to him. Humiliation heated her skin. Had he seen it? Was he using her feelings for him to get what he wanted? That thought hurt more than anything else.

“Talk to me,” he said, raising up on an elbow and brushing her hair back so he could see her face. She noted absently that whiskers had already sprung up, darkening his strong jaw. It suited him. A lot.

“If we’re going to fuck, you need to get on with it. I have to get back before Rusty and Piper wonder where I am.” She was trying to draw Mr. Chill back out; instead he smiled down and brushed his lips against hers.

“We’re not fucking, Alex, not tonight.”

What?
She could feel his giant boner against her hip, so she knew he wanted her. It’s not like he could hide it. What was he playing at? Had she done something wrong? Then she got pissed at herself for giving a crap. She rubbed at the sting in her chest.

“Right.” She tried to pull away, to get out of his bed, to get the hell out of there, but he held her tight against him. “I need to leave, Deacon.”

“Not yet. I want to hold you for a while.”

“That wasn’t part of the deal.”

“It is now.”

She squirmed, trying to get some distance between them, but he threw a heavy thigh over hers, tangling their legs together, trapping her. It was hopeless. “You can’t just change the goddamn rules.”

He nuzzled her throat and ran his hands down her body and over her hip to squeeze her ass. “They’re my rules. I can do whatever I like. Now shut up and let me cuddle you.”

“I don’t cuddle.”

“You’ll get used to it. I like to hold a woman after I make her come. Not that you’d know, since the last time I had you in my bed, you ran away.”

She didn’t want to think about that night anymore, and she didn’t like the fact that he’d brought it up and thrown it in her face, either. Then a vision of Deacon snuggling with the Barbie from his office flashed through her mind. He’d said he hadn’t slept with her. Was he telling the truth? Could she believe him? Had he had that woman here, in this bed?

Shit. She had to get out of here. She increased her struggle to get free, but he just held tighter.

“You’re not going to win, so stop fighting me. And for God’s sake, relax. Cuddling is no fun if the person you’re holding feels like rigor mortis has set in.”

He massaged her shoulders and nibbled behind her ear. The bastard knew she liked it when he did that, had been using it against her all night. What was he playing at? His dick was still hard as iron and pressed against her ass through his trousers, but apparently they weren’t going to have sex, and now he wanted to cuddle? “What are you doing, Deacon?”

“I already told you. Now shh.”

Legs still tangled with hers, he tightened his heavy arms around her, pulling her in closer. His belt buckle was hard and cool against her waist, a stark contrast to the heat of his bare chest. If this was going to be part of the deal, she had to think of a way to get out of it before it was too late. Her heart didn’t care about deals and casual sex, and she couldn’t afford to go there, especially not with him.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to control the flip-flopping in her belly. Who was she kidding? Her heart couldn’t be any more involved if she ripped it from her chest and handed it to him decorated with a big red bow. He owned it, had for the last nine years.

The only way to get out of this was to buy the building from him, and they didn’t have that kind of money.

She needed him to go back to cold and distant. At least then she could stay pissed and ignore how much she wanted him, how painful she knew it would be when all of this ended. Jesus, she was so far in over her head it wasn’t funny.

It seemed to take forever, but his breathing finally evened out, his big body leaning heavier on hers. She waited another twenty minutes to make sure he was asleep, then started to edge out from under him.

Her phone beeped on the other side of the bedroom, where she’d dumped her purse earlier, and Deke stirred beside her.
Crap.
The girls would be wondering how her date was going. She’d told them that much, so at least she could explain the late night.

If they had any idea she was screwing around with their brother or knew about this insane deal, both women would be pissed as hell. Deacon and his sisters loved one another to bits. The last thing she wanted was to cause a rift in their relationship. Deacon and his father had parted ways when he’d decided on business school instead of the business of cars. Jacob West had wanted his son to take over one day. And he’d let his son know time and again how much the betrayal had hurt him. Eventually, Deacon gave up trying to make him understand that he wanted something different out of life. They’d never had the chance to make up before he’d died. Since then, the only family he had was his sisters.

Alex understood the pain of not getting to say good-bye firsthand. Her heart squeezed. She knew Deacon struggled with it.

Stop.
She pushed the tender feelings down deep, where they belonged.

Suddenly his weight became suffocating. She needed to leave. Now. Edging out from under him, she climbed to her feet and stood motionless by the bed for a few seconds, making sure she hadn’t woken him. When he didn’t move, breathing still slow and even, she grabbed her dress and bag and, on silent feet, hurried to the living room. She quickly pulled on her clothes, then realized she’d forgotten her shoes. No way was she going back into that room and risking waking him. She got the feeling he wouldn’t appreciate her skipping out on him again.

But this time was different, right? She’d told him she couldn’t stay. So how could he get mad?

As soon as she hit the elevator, guilt swamped her, but she squashed that, too. Digging around in her purse, she found her phone and called a cab on the way down to the foyer. The doorman didn’t comment on her disheveled appearance when she walked out, or the fact that she had bare feet as she moved toward him. She smiled weakly and thanked him when he opened the door for her.

“Would you like me to call a cab, miss?”

“One’s on the way. Thanks, though.”

He motioned behind them to one of the overstuffed couches. “Why don’t you wait in here? I’ll tell you when it arrives.”

The idea of standing on the street, looking like she did right then, was not an appealing prospect. “Um…sure. Thanks.”

She was texting Rusty back when she heard the doorman greet someone. She glanced up. A couple walked in, both slick in their designer clothes. Their eyes landed on her, with her bare feet, mussed hair, and more than likely smudged makeup, and she inwardly cringed. The guy smirked, the corner of his mouth tipping up in a knowing way that made her skin crawl. The woman’s eyes zeroed in on her ink, and a look of disgust covered her heavily made-up face.

As they passed, she heard her say, “Are they letting prostitutes in here now?” She didn’t hear the guy’s reply as they carried on to the elevator.

Assholes. God, she hated this, had never felt so small in her whole life. She didn’t belong here among the rich and up-themselves, never would.

“Your cab’s here, miss.”

“Thanks.” The door guy gave her a kind smile, more than likely feeling sorry for her.

She ran out, and the cab driver turned to face her when she climbed in and slammed the door. “Where to?”

“Axle Alley. Do you know West’s garage?”

“Sure do.”

As they drove away, she released a shaky breath. The closer they got to home, the more her panic began to subside. She had just slumped into the seat and closed her eyes when her phone started ringing. Rusty. That woman was relentless. But when she checked, it was Deacon’s name flashing on the screen, and the tension returned full force. She let it ring until it stopped.
Coward.

She slumped back, but her phone started up again moments later.

He wouldn’t stop until she picked up; she knew him well enough to know that. Plastering a fake smile on her face, so he’d hear it in her voice, she answered. “Yo.”

Silence.

“Um…hello?”

“You left,” he growled down the line. “I woke up and you were gone.”

“I told you I had to go.” She was still angry and humiliated from her encounter in the foyer, and her fake happy drained right out of her.

“Where are you?”

“In a cab on my way home.”

A rough exhale. “Jesus, Alex. Don’t do that again. I was worried. I don’t like you wandering around on your own late at night. If you need to leave, tell me and I’ll drive you.”

His words simultaneously pissed her off and gave her a warm fuzzy feeling in her belly. Not a lot of people had worried about her in her life. Still, she decided to ignore the warm fuzzies and go with pissed off. “For fuck’s sake. You’re not only acting like a sexist pig, you’re being completely unreasonable. And what will your sisters think if they see you dropping me off in the middle of the night, huh? Think about it.”

“I don’t care what—” He cut himself off abruptly, and she heard him take several deep breaths. “Please. Just…next time you decide you have to leave, wake me first. I’ll wait downstairs with you, yes?”

“I’m twenty-five years old. I’ve been looking after myself most of my life.”

Silence, then. “Well, now you have me to do that.” His voice was so low, almost gentle, and it sent a shiver across her skin, dread spiking through her belly. “Promise me, Alex.”

She didn’t understand what was going on here, why he was being like this, but she didn’t have much choice but to agree. “Fine.”

“Thank you, baby. Now go get a good night’s sleep, and I’ll call you tomorrow to make plans.”

She hugged herself. The way he said “baby,” all soft and deep, did funny things to her, things she didn’t want to think about right then, or ever. “Where are we going? How should I dress?”

“I’m thinking maybe we should stay in.” More with the gentle voice, but now with a hint of amusement that was sexy as hell and had her happy places tingling. “If I get my way, clothes will be optional.” Then he hung up.

Shit.