Defying the Odds (10 page)

“Well, you
ain’t
gonna
be my first,” she warned him.
“Unfortunately.”

“First that counts,” he amended, giving her a smile. “And you’ll be mine too. It’ll be a first for both of us.”

“Yeah?” she asked, unable to help returning his smile.

“Oh yeah.”
Clay pulled
away,
looking like the action was hurting him. He opened the door without saying good-bye. “Drive careful. I’ll be behind
ya
.”

The roads were icy. Melody didn’t have a choice but to drive slow and careful, especially when she was driving a car she wasn’t used to. There was an insistent throb between her legs that made her want to stomp her foot on the gas, but she behaved. She even drove a few miles under the speed limit while constantly checking to see if the headlights to her truck were still reflecting in the rearview mirror.

The drive felt like forever, but the clock on the dash told her it was less than ten minutes. Melody pulled into the driveway of the small cottage she was renting and got out of the car. She looked at his key chain as she closed the door, finding the button that locked the door. She pushed it, and it beeped back at her.

Melody turned to Clay, who was walking up from where he’d parked her truck. “Is that the right one?”

“That’s it.” Clay stopped in front of her, staring up at the cottage with a smile quirking at the corners of his mouth. “You put up lights?”

“Yeah, I’m a sucker for colored lights.” Melody gave him a guilty smile and turned to walk to the front door because it was way too cold to stand out there a second more than necessary. “The neighbors were throwing ’
em
away, and I asked if I could have ’
em
. They had boxes and boxes; most just needed a few replacement bulbs.”

“Festive.” Clay followed after Melody and handed her keys back. “When’d you find time to put ’
em
up?”

“Here and there.
I needed something to spruce the place up.” Melody unlocked the door and held it open for Clay. “It’s still
sorta
empty. I just got what it came with.”

Clay stomped his feet on the mat, looking near frozen from the drive. He shivered as he walked in, his arms crossed over his broad chest. “Dang, it’s still cold.”

“I keep the heat low when I’m gone to save money.” Melody flipped on the lights and then walked over to the heater and turned it up. “There
ain’t
much space to heat. I usually take a shower while it’s warming up.”

“Okay.” Clay turned from his sweeping gaze of her living room to give Melody a hot look. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

Melody considered him for one long moment. Normally she would pull away, but damn it, this was her wish and her night and she didn’t hesitate. “Then okay. Let’s take a shower while the heat kicks in.”

She walked into the bedroom and flipped on the switch blindly, then worked on the zipper of her jacket. Despite the longing, she was anxious. It felt wrong to seize the moment like this. She didn’t know if she’d be this open to letting a man love her tomorrow, but she sure needed it tonight, nerves or not.

Her hands shook in a way that had nothing to do with the cold as she pulled down the zipper to her jacket, feeling exposed. “Clay—”

He stepped into her personal space before she could complain, cupping a hand at the back of her neck and kissing her. She was nervous, but she couldn’t help but part to him, warmth dancing over her skin as his tongue pushed past her lips. She clutched at his arms, digging her fingers into the material of his jacket.

She stood on her toes to kiss him more fully, because he was one seriously tall man. Six-five, two hundred sixty pounds of muscles made her bedroom look decidedly smaller when Clay was filling up the space. For the first time since she’d moved in, the house felt comforting to be in, and she clung to the feeling, needing it desperately. She ached and yearned and grasped frantically for more of that warm, safe feeling that always blossomed whenever Clay was near.

Then Clay moaned, suddenly pushing away from her with a scowl. “I forgot to stop by the drugstore.”

“That’s okay; I’m on the pill. I
ain’t
been with anyone since Justin, and I’ve been tested since him,” she assured Clay, her breath already a rapid pant of desire.

“I
gotta
get tested before every fight. I know I’m clean,” Clay said, his breathing as shallow as hers. “Is this really okay?”

“I think so.” She nodded, feeling like she’d die if it wasn’t. “I think
it’s
fine. Kiss me again.”

Clay didn’t need to be told twice. He kissed her once more, thrusting his tongue past her lips to explore her mouth. He tugged at her jacket, pushing it off her shoulders to land on the floor. His hands glided from her hips, up to her bare arms, which were already prickling with goose bumps. His thumbs grazed the sides of her breasts as he rubbed his rough palms swiftly over her chilled arms, trying to warm them up. It might have worked if his fingers weren’t still half-frozen from the ride home.

“Shower,” he whispered against her lips.

Melody couldn’t argue with that reasoning. They were both freezing. She went to the bathroom and turned on the shower, letting the steam rise up out of the stall. Every night she let the water run for a few minutes, hoping to take the cold out of the ceramic tiles.

It was a few degrees too chilly to make getting undressed sexy. With the bathroom door shut, the two of them pulled off their clothes and shoes hastily. Melody didn’t allow herself the luxury of really appreciating Clay naked as all that wonderful male flesh started to be revealed. Clay jerked his shirt off quickly, showing off a thin dusting of black hair over his broad, muscular chest, and flung the long-sleeved shirt into a growing pile with their shoes, socks, and other clothes.

Melody did the same, tossing aside her apron and blue uniform, deciding it could stay on the floor when usually she made a point to wash it before bed. She worked on her stockings and sensible bra and panties, happy to get them off because they weren’t anything special on the eyes.

She tried not to think about the fifteen pounds she could afford to lose or the tiny white lines that showed on her hips. She just pulled open the door and jumped into the shower. Clay did the same, crowding in behind her and closing the frosted door, his huge frame taking up most of the space in the stall.

“
Ain’t
you ever heard of bath mats?” Clay asked.

“They’re on the list,” Melody said, turning her back to him as she worked on undoing her hair.

Clay’s big body blocked the stream of water, which was fine because it’d likely sting with how cold she was. She let the hot mist warm her up as she set each pin she pulled out of her hair on the ledge next to the shampoo. She could feel Clay’s gaze on her now, the warm water doing away with his haste and complaints.

The tension was strangely palpable weighing heavy in the air as it mixed with the wet steam. She could hear Clay’s breathing over the thrum of the shower—shallow, hungry, like that of a wild animal. It made Melody’s body hum while she worked on taking out the last of the bobby pins keeping her hair up in the tight bun she needed for work.

Was she really showering with this man? Weren’t the two of them doing it backward? She was certain normal people had sex first and then moved on to the couple intimacies like showering together and brushing their teeth side by side.

Suddenly Clay touched the small of her back, his large palm resting against the curve of it. The gentle contact made her jump from the shock of pleasure. The first touch felt like the strike of a flint that ignited an inferno of desire. She froze under the surge of passion, a deer in the headlights. Her pussy clenched; her clit throbbed with a pulse of need that matched the heartbeat pounding in her ears.

Her hair tumbled down her back—too heavy to stay where it was without the pins to hold it. Clay gasped in response, his large body leaning into hers as he bent down and buried his face in the thick, wheat-colored strands now sticking to her wet shoulders and back.

Clay broke the silence with a low rasp of appreciation, his face still tucked into the curve of her neck as he breathed deeply. “I like your hair down.”

She couldn’t help but arch into him, the feeling of his wet skin against hers making the pounding lust impossible to deny. “I need to get it cut.
Been lazy ’bout it.”

“Don’t you
dare.
” Clay pulled her hair aside, looking for bare skin and finding it as he placed a kiss against the tender spot behind her ear. “I think it’s sexy. I think you’re sexy.”

He pushed his hips against her, his hard cock sliding up the curve of her back. Melody squeezed her eyes shut against the electric shock of pleasure that sizzled through her, making all the tiny hairs on her arms stand on end. She was half hoping he’d just turn her around and fuck her against the shower wall. Lord knew he was certainly big enough to support her.

She lost herself in the erotic fantasies fueled by the feel of him pressed against her, his breath warm against the curve of her neck. His hand slid over her thigh, caressing the silky length of it before he cupped her ass possessively.

“Please.” She breathed heavily, not knowing what she was begging for but feeling like she’d die if she didn’t find it. “Help me.”

She hadn’t expected to burn this hot this quickly. She grabbed his hand and brought it to her breast, looking for some sort of release from the building tension. He palmed it, his thumb brushing over her nipple, making Melody gasp out loud. The pleasure zinged straight to her pussy, and her hips jerked forward. She felt starved with yearning and empty without him. She didn’t really know how to tell him what she needed when she wasn’t sure herself. She’d never
ached
like this before.

Clay’s other hand tangled in her hair, tugging her head back. He captured her lips, forcing her to swallow his low groan. It was then Melody sensed how tense he was, feeling his hands shake as they ran over her body as if desperate to memorize her. He was needy too; he was just better at hiding it.

Melody turned in his arms, both of them gasping at the feel of her breasts pressing against his thick, muscular chest. The pleasure of being in his arms was molten, electrifying every cell in her body because it felt so good to be skin to skin with him.

Their lips met once more, their connection magnetic and mysterious. Melody tangled her fingers in his wet hair, clinging to it like a lifeline as their tongues brushed. Clay was so hard, so strong. His presence both soothed and inflamed when he was clothed; now naked and shaking with need in her arms, her want for him was totally overwhelming.

“Please,” she begged once more, the two of them still sharing the same air as she stood on her toes to savor more of his bare skin against hers.

Clay panted with her, his breath warm against her lips, his dark eyes dazed and hungry as he studied her face. “But—”

“It’s special,” Melody promised as she let go of his hair only to stroke his bare chest, relishing the feel of cut muscles shifting under her fingers. Her touch moved to his upper arm to clutch at his massive bicep. His raw strength was awe inspiring and sexy. She closed her eyes at the thought since it was making the throb between her legs too painful to be denied. “It’s special, Clay. It’s special because it’s with you. It’d be special anywhere.”

Clay gripped her hips, and Melody expected him to push her away like he had in the car. Instead she choked back a gasp when he lifted her up. He pushed her against the shower wall, the tiles cold against her bare back, but what did she care? Clay was kissing her again, his thick, hard cock pressing against her pussy, which clenched to feel more of him.

Having a man this close, practically inside her, was different than she remembered. He seemed too big. She wished she could reach down and feel him. She wanted to stroke the full length of that thick cock nudging at her opening, but all she could do was hold on to him while his tongue owned her mouth. She twined her arms around his neck as their lips met over and over again. Their kissing was carnal and passionate in a way she’d never imagined. Sharing the same air with him was addictive. Connecting with him tasted like her first sip of wine—sweet and intoxicating. She wanted
more
.

She
writhed,
shifting her hips up until the head of his cock brushed her throbbing clit. She never got more than a small taste of heaven because he was holding her in a way that sapped her control. His arms were hooked under her
knees,
opening her wide, leaving her exposed and waiting for that first hard thrust that never came. Instead the crescendo built; the need boiled and raged. Melody would be begging if she could give up the addictive feel of his kiss long enough to find her voice.