Damaged Goods (17 page)

80

Lauren Gallagher

Chapter Eleven

I slowly swam out of the darkness of sleep and into the darkness of the night.

In spite of the heavy shadows shrouding everything into an abstract black blur, I

blinked, trying to focus my eyes anyway, taking one of my mind"s habitual steps

toward a coherent state.

Austin"s chest was against my back, his arm over my waist. His breath

whispered across the back of my neck, and I realized he"d shifted in his sleep,

nudging me just enough to wake me up. I smiled to myself. I could certainly think of

worse reasons to be disturbed. Fidgeting just slightly, I changed my position enough

to ease a vague ache in my hip, and when I did, his fingers twitched against my

skin.

His breathing changed, the steady, rhythmic draw and release becoming the

long inhalation that signaled a gradual return to awareness. The arm around my

waist pulled me closer, though I couldn"t be sure if it was deliberate or unconscious.

There was no question, though, that the gentle press of his lips to the back of my

shoulder was—unlike the goose bumps it raised—voluntary.

He nuzzled my neck, the coarseness of his stubbled jaw sending a shiver down

my spine and rousing me to full consciousness. The tip of his thumb circled my

nipple, and my breath caught when his lips pressed against the back of my shoulder

once more.

I caressed the back of his hand and fidgeted again, this time to get closer to his

body.

“Mmm, didn"t get enough last night?” he murmured against my skin.

“Of course I did,” I said. “But now it"s morning. Sort of.”

He laughed. “So the counter starts over when the sun comes up?”

“Yes, it does.”
And how long has it been since I’ve been with a man worth

waking up in the middle of the night to fuck? God, yes, I’m in heaven.

“But the sun hasn"t come up yet.”

“So do you want to wait until it does?”

“No. Just saying.” He kissed the side of my neck. “Tell me what you want.”

“I want…” I shivered as his soft goatee and coarse stubble brushed my skin. “I

want you to put a condom on.”

“Right now?” he murmured. He trailed light fingertips down my side. “What if

I want to tease you first?”

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“Then that"ll be that much longer before you get to fuck me, won"t it?”

His hand stopped. “Hmm. Good point. Don"t move.” He rolled away, and I

laughed.

I sat up beside him. “Hey, aren"t you supposed to say it"s worth the wait, or you

want to turn me on first, or some gentlemanly thing like that?”

“Probably.” The nightstand drawer opened. Closed. “But it"s way too early in

the morning, and I"m way too horny to be a gentleman.” Foil ripped.

“Hmm, so you turn into a caveman after midnight?”

“That depends.” He grabbed my hair and pulled it back hard enough to make

me gasp. My nipples tingled, and I bit my lip to suppress a whimper. Growling in

my ear, he said, “Do you want the gentleman or the caveman right now?”

“That depends,” I said, struggling to find my breath. “Which one will get his

cock into me faster?”

“I like the way you think. Now get on your hands and knees.” Not that I had

much of a choice; he tightened his fist in my hair and twisted it, guiding me into the

position he wanted. He forced me onto my forearms. My hard nipples brushed the

sheet, and I bit my lip, holding my breath and struggling not to cry out from the

sheer anticipation.

He didn"t keep me waiting long. He released my hair, grabbed my hips, and in

a heartbeat was all the way inside me. That first thrust was always breathtaking,

and this time was no exception, but he didn"t give me a chance to get used to him

before he went straight to hard, violent fucking. From half-asleep and exhausted

to…
this.

“Oh, God, that"s amazing,” I moaned.

“You"re telling me.” His thrusts and sharp breaths punctuated his words.

Then, completely out of the blue, he slapped my ass hard enough to make my skin

and eyes sting, and the pillow bunched in my clawing hands. There was no way in

hell his neighbors slept through
that
cry.

“Like that?” he asked.

“Yes,” I whimpered, almost sobbing. He did it again. And again. Every time he

did it, he sent me higher, the mix of pain and pleasure driving me out of my mind. I

wanted to tell him to fuck me harder, to beg him to hold on to my hips and give me

everything he had, but the words wouldn"t come.

I braced myself against the headboard and slammed back against him. It only

took two thrusts like that before Austin took over, fucking me so hard it hurt. I

screwed my eyes shut, hot tears sliding down my face, and surrendered. It was

usually impossible for me to come from this alone, but that orgasm wasn"t stopping

for anyone or anything.

I released a breathless cry. “My hair… Austin, my…”

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Lauren Gallagher

He seized my hair and jerked it back, and in seconds, my entire body

shuddered with the force of my release. Austin didn"t slow down, didn"t let go of my

hair, didn"t let up in the slightest, just kept right on fucking me as hard and fast as

he could while I let go.

“That"s it, baby,” he said, panting. “Come for me. Let me…let me feel you…

Oh, fuck, that"s…” He took one last thrust and moaned. Shuddered. Collapsed over

me.

Together, we sank all the way down to the bed. Austin pulled out but

otherwise didn"t move. He held himself up on shaking arms to keep from putting his

full weight on me, but his warm skin was still against mine. He touched his

forehead to the back of my neck, his sharp huffs of breath cooling the sweat between

my shoulder blades.

“I thought you were tired,” I slurred.

“I was.” He kissed the base of my neck. “Kind of hard not to get turned on with

a sexy, naked woman in my bed, though.”

“Well, any time you feel the need to wake up and throw me around like that,

do feel free.”

He laughed and dropped another kiss on my skin. “I"ll keep that in mind.”

With a quiet groan, he pushed himself up off me and got out of bed to get rid of the

condom. Moments later, he returned, and we settled in to go back to sleep.

Lying beside me now, he was gentle as could be. His fingers laced between

mine against my chest, and his body molded against my own. Warm and satisfied

beside him, I didn"t even try to keep fatigue from taking over.

It was closing in on him too.

“I just can"t get enough of you,” he slurred. “I have to warn you. In a few hours,

I"ll probably want to fuck you all over again.”

“Mmm, promise?”

He kissed the back of my shoulder. “Will you hold me to it if I do?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Then get some sleep,” he whispered. “You"ve got a busy morning ahead of

you.”

I managed a sleepy laugh. Then, wrapped in his arms, I drifted back to sleep.

At some point, the sun came up, and eventually, we joined it, dragging our

aching selves out of bed.

After we"d shared a long, three-orgasm shower, Austin let me borrow one of his

T-shirts. He put on a pair of jeans, and we went out to the kitchen. I supposed there

was no sense getting completely dressed. I had a funny feeling we"d just end up

taking our clothes off again before long anyway.

It was rapidly becoming clear there was no bad look for Austin. He looked

great when he was suave and sexy in a suit, casual and laid back in jeans, and now,

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disheveled and sleepy-eyed with a shadow of stubble along his sharply angled jaw.

He was probably one of those guys who could dig up an old prom or yearbook picture

a decade later and not be embarrassed by it. Bastard.

He made some coffee, and after it was poured, we both leaned against the

counter and sipped it in silence. It didn"t take a brain surgeon to figure out the

question hanging in the air between us: where the hell did we go from here?

Austin set his coffee cup on the counter with a dull tap. “I"m sure I don"t have

to tell you that this could get a bit complicated.”

I laughed. “Oh, no, you don"t have to tell me.”

“So.” He swallowed hard. “What do we do?”

“Run off to Vegas, elope, and let the fallout land where it will?”

He chuckled. “Oh, yeah, that sounds like a
great
idea.”

“It was a thought,” I said. “Anyway, I"m honestly not sure.”

“Whatever we decide to do,” he said, both his tone and expression turning

serious, “I have to make it clear up front—I can"t quit my job.”

I nodded. “I know. I understand.”

“But, are you okay with seeing someone in my line of work, knowing what I"m

doing?”

I said nothing for a moment. Then, “Would you be offended if I said it might

take some getting used to?”

“Not at all.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “In fact, I"d be a little

concerned if it didn"t.”

“I think I can handle it, though,” I said. “Seems like it"s part and parcel to

dating you. So it"s worth a try.”

Austin laughed halfheartedly and looked into his coffee cup. “That"s easy to

say now. When it"s been a few months of having my work cell phone ring at weird

times, or you being at home while I"m working…” He shrugged, and his cheeks

colored. “You might not be so enthusiastic about it.”

“The same could be said for when the novelty wears of having my kids call

while we"re out, having to schedule and reschedule when one of them gets sick, that

kind of thing.”

“So we work around it. Do the best we can.” He put his hands on my hips. “I

have no idea if we can make this work. But maybe if we"re both patient with each

other"s circumstances, we can at least have some fun with it for a while.”

Resting my forearms on his shoulders and lacing my fingers together behind

his neck, I said, “I think it"s worth a try.”

“One thing to consider, though,” he said, “is that if it lasts, that"s when things

could get really complicated. I mean, what if your ex-husband finds out about me? I

don"t want this causing problems with him or you taking a chance on losing your

kids.”

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Lauren Gallagher

I chewed my lip. “I never introduce someone to my kids until we"ve been dating

for a while, so it"s not like he"ll be able to get on my case about that. So let"s just see

where things go, and we"ll play it by ear.”

“But even if I don"t meet the kids.” He scowled. “People have some weird

preconceived notions about people like me. I"d be scared to death of him finding out

you were dating me and flipping out.”

“Don"t worry about him. He"ll—”

“I am worried about him, though.” He pursed his lips. “I"ve seen what this kind

of thing can do to people"s lives if it gets out. For whatever reason, society still

thinks all things sexual are evil, and those of us who make money off it?” He

grimaced and shook his head.

“I know,” I said. “But we"ll be fine, at least for now. It"ll probably just mean we

don"t see much of each other during the weeks when I have the kids. I mean, if

you"re okay with that.”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” he said. “That"s no problem at all. You"re not going to

offend me by calling the shots with your kids, Jocelyn.”

“I just don"t want you to think I"m putting you last.”

“You"re not,” he said. “You"re putting me second to your kids, as well you

should. Especially when you only get them every other week, I"m not going to take

that time away from you.”

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“So I guess we take things a day at a time,” he said, tucking a loose strand of

hair behind my ear, “and we"ll see where things go. I can"t promise it"ll be easy

dating someone in my line of work, though. Not even close.”

“I"m willing to give it a try and see what happens.”

He smiled. “You"re a very, very rare breed of woman, believe me.”

“I don"t know if I"d go that far.”

“Trust me.” He cupped my jaw in one hand and wrapped the other arm around

my waist. “You are. You"re one of the few who"ll actually take the time to see me as

something other than a whore.”

I rested my hands on his shoulders. “And you"re one of the few who doesn"t

keep me at arm"s length because I"m a single mom.”

He held me closer to him. “At arm"s length is the last place I"d keep you, babe.”

He kissed me lightly, then dipped his head to kiss my neck. “In fact, you know what

I really want to do right now?”

Pressing my hips against his, I said, “I think I can guess.”

A breath of laughter warmed my skin. “I"m that easy to read, am I?”

“Yes, you are.”

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His lips traveled, kiss by soft kiss, up the side of my neck. “So do you have

plans for the rest of the day?”