DirtyBeautiful (14 page)

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

She turned toward him, both hands cupped under her cheek to
create a very sensual cleavage. Her knee touched his upper thigh and desire
began to stir in his cock.

“I don’t think I’ve ever come like that before.”

Inwardly Dylan preened but he kept his features neutral. “I
gathered. I think the neighbors heard.”

Erica’s mouth dropped open and he chuckled as she took a
swipe at him. “You rat!”

Dylan captured her hands and rolled her onto her back. He
kissed her nose and smiled. “You rat? You’re cute when you’re mad.”

She writhed beneath him. “I am not.”

Dylan could barely hear her as his dick hardened between
them. “Stop, Erica, unless you want a repeat performance.”

Erica stilled, her eyes wide. Then a mischievous grin raised
her lips as she rubbed her body against his. She threw her thigh over his hip,
bringing her wet pussy against his semi. Dylan groaned, his fingers clenched
over her waist.

Erica licked his lips, teasing him as he’d done to her.
Nails raked over his chest and along his lower abdomen. Damn if his cock didn’t
jerk. His semi hardened as she rocked into him, her gasps skating over his
cheek. He turned his face and captured her mouth, hand fisting in her hair.
Ruthlessly he plundered her mouth, tasting her desire. Her foot hooked on his
ass and brought him into the wet cradle of her body. Carnal heat shot through
his body and he rocked into her, mimicking the movement with his tongue. Her
lips trembled and her breathing hitched.

Dylan wanted to shift his body and slip his cock inside her
wet center, but common sense stopped him. Fuck, she’d feel so good, naked and
clasping his aching cock. Erica’s soft arms wrapped around his neck, turgid
nipples pressed against his chest. He groaned, rolling her onto her back. Hand
pressed on her knee, he spread her farther and lifted himself from the cradle
of her body. A shiver ran down his spine, his dick bobbed with need.

Erica pouted, glazed eyes shining with fervor. He couldn’t
last. He knew it. She was too God damn hot. Dipping his fingers into her, he
drove into her succulent cunt. She threw her head back, the column of her
alabaster neck exposed. He raked his teeth over the pulse point and swirled his
tongue along the rosy skin. Salted taffy. Damn, another thing she tasted of.
She was a confection he wanted to devour.

Short and shallow breaths caught on the air. The walls of
her vagina shimmered over his fingers. Erica clutched his shoulder and a silent
scream burst on a harsh breath as her body bowed. Slick juices coated his
fingers and his shaft thrummed with urgency to fill her. To fuck her hard until
he couldn’t see straight.

As the grip on his hand eased, he pulled from her. She
smelled of the ocean and peaches. Unable to resist, he licked the moisture off
his fingers, tasting the salty sweetness of her climax. Erica’s breathing
hitched and he caught her wide-eyed stare.

“You fucking taste like heaven,” he rasped.

He kissed her rapaciously. Hungrily. Pain seared at his nape
but he didn’t care. She could rake him with her nails until he bled. He wanted
her more with every passing second. Pushing away from her, he snatched up a
condom and rolled it on before pulling her up and turning her around. Knees
nudged her legs farther apart, exposing her to his gaze. Pressing her ass
cheeks apart until he could see her rosette and the swollen folds of her pussy,
he groaned. Gorgeous. Positioning himself, he eased into her juicy cunt. The
walls tightened around him, making him gasp. Erica whimpered and he reached
around her to fondle her clit. Her desire coated his fingers and he gritted his
teeth, pulled out, then pushed back in. Settled deep inside her, Dylan groaned.
He could stay here forever.

Gripping the soft globes of her ass, he pulled out and began
to fuck her. Flesh hit flesh, the scent of her desire and sweat intermingled in
an erotic perfume. Eyes rolled back as pleasure cascaded over him. Hungry for
another release, he gathered her hips close and shoved into her. Hard. Erica’s
moan filled the air, mixing with his. White lights flashed behind his eyelids
as his balls tightened. Ferocious passion rode him relentlessly and he fucked
her. He tasted her passion on the air. Tingles marched over his skin. Her
vagina sucked on his cock and he grunted as he exploded inside her. Robbed of
breath from the intensity of his release, Dylan barely stopped himself from
falling on her in a dead weight.

He dropped beside her, his chest heaving, cock still
throbbing from the orgasm. He turned his head to find Erica sprawled on her
stomach, eyes shut and a satisfied smile on her lips. Elation burst in his
chest, his heart stuttering at her beauty. He’d never experienced sex like this.
His smile froze. The difference in all the others was now his heart was
involved. With that came fear.

Erica’s eyelids fluttered open. A frown drew her brows down.
“What’s wrong?”

Dylan forced a smile and brushed hair from her face.
“Nothing. That was amazing.”

She sighed and snuggled into him. “Yes. It was.”

Dylan wrapped his arms around her, tracing lines up and down
her back. It was too good to be true and he feared his past just might come
back to try to snatch it away.

Chapter Eight

Erica stared out the window of Deb’s Bakery, a fork in her
hand, her thoughts a million miles away…or rather a few miles away. As far as
Dylan’s to be exact. Few cars drove by and it gave her a view of Bill’s shop.
It’d been two days since she’d returned home. Dylan had walked her to the door
like a gentleman and kissed her as though it was the last time she’d see him
before leaving her hot and needy on her doorstep. Since then she hadn’t spoken
to him. At first she thought it might’ve been some obscure man code, but now she
wasn’t so sure.

“Earth to Erica.”

Erica blinked and turned toward Tammy. “Huh?”

Tammy’s eyes glimmered with mirth. “Does your distraction
have anything to do with both you and Dylan going missing over the weekend?”

Heat exploded on her cheeks and she dropped her fork back
into the bowl to move around the cherry pie. The whole town knew both she and
Dylan disappeared for the weekend and everybody wanted the juicy details. “I
haven’t seen him since Sunday night.”

Tammy frowned. “What do you mean?”

Erica shrugged and pushed away the bowl as her appetite
abandoned her. “I thought we made a connection over the weekend. He was so very
sweet. He took me to Los Angeles and showed me the markets, his favorite
bistro. We had fun at the beach and the whole time he acted like a boyfriend
would. But since we’ve been back I think he’s been ignoring me.”

Tammy made a commiserating sound, her hand rubbed over
Erica’s arm. “Maybe he’s a bit frightened? Men have been known to be
commitmentphobes.”

“Yeah,” she agreed halfheartedly. “Or maybe because I put
out.”

Tammy’s eyebrows shot up. “Get out. You slept with him? No,
surely he wouldn’t avoid you because he got some. He has been acting weird
around you ever since he came to this town. Don’t think much of it.”

Erica slanted a look over Tammy’s empty bowl. “Are you
finished?”

“Yeah? You wanna walk to the car?”

With a nod, Erica stood and started back to where she
parked. Tammy sidled up beside her and hooked her arm around Erica’s elbow.

“Don’t worry about it,” Tammy assured. “I’m sure he’s
quaking in his boots, wondering how he can impress you next. He did fly you out
there. That’s pretty romantic if you ask me.”

Erica’s lips pursed. “I suppose.”

Tammy sighed. “Look, if you’re really wondering about it,
why not go over to his place and ask him. You
are
his neighbor after
all. He can’t avoid you forever, even if that is what he’s doing.”

The thought of finding out he truly wasn’t interested in
anything more than a weekend fling filled her with dread. It ate at her stomach
and left her feeling ill.

Tammy patted her arm. “If all else fails, you can always
flash him and see if he gets hard up. If he does, you’re in with a shot.”

Erica laughed. “Is that how you answer all your relationship
issues?”

“You know it.”

By this time, they’d reached their cars and Tammy opened her
car door and slipped inside. She tilted her head toward Erica. “Besides, you’re
both grown adults, it’s time for men to stop acting like little boys.”

Erica nodded and waved goodbye. As she started up the car,
she glared at herself in the rearview mirror. Tammy was right in a way. She’d
spent the last two days moping like a misbegotten teen and conveniently forgot
she was an adult. She pulled out of the parking spot and turned toward her
house, a new approach to her current situation fired in her blood.

But the minute Erica pulled into the front drive, her
resolve wavered. She glanced over to Dylan’s house and heard a high-pitched
scream of a saw coming from the back. Lingering by her vehicle, she clutched
her bag, the fight having left her in a rush.

With a defeated sigh, she trudged toward her porch only to
spot a large bouquet of red roses. Curious, she picked it up and read the tag.
I
love you. Please forgive me.

Her heart thudded once. Could it be? Dylan had never said
the words during their stay in LA, but she could tell by the way he looked at
her. Scooping up the flowers, she inhaled the thick aroma and held them to her
chest while she unlocked the front door. Dropping her bag by the entrance, she
took a peek through her window at Dylan. Joy lit deep inside. He wore a pair of
jeans. Sweat glistened off his back and highlighted every ripple of muscle as
he sanded something. Her body pulsed with heated arousal, a responding blush
across her cheeks.

She’d thank him later for the wonderful flowers. As she
passed through the living room to the kitchen she caught a flash of light on
the phone. She had a message. Casually she flicked it on as she passed by. In
the kitchen she listened to Tammy call her to remind her of their get-together.
Finding a vase, she put it on the table as the next message froze her on the
spot.

“Uh, hi, Erica, it’s me Greg. I’ve been thinking about you a
lot and I was just wondering if you got my flowers… Happy anniversary.”

Ice pricked her skin and nausea gripped her stomach. Today
was supposed to be their anniversary had they still been going out. In fact, it
was also the day she found out she’d contracted chlamydia. She recalled the
cold shock and denial at the results. The sympathetic looks from the nurse
hadn’t soothed her and instead she’d felt the sickening mantle of shame. The
betrayal of knowing her last exam had been clean and she managed to catch an
STD left her with only one conclusion. Greg had cheated on her.

She spent the rest of the day at her house waiting for him
to return, alternatively running between hope that it’d been all a mistake and
despair that she’d trusted him to be faithful. Finally, she broke past her
misery and settled into a comfortable rage that’d stopped her tears. In a rush
of fury she’d packed up all his things and chucked them out on the front lawn.
She even went so far as to change the locks.

He’d come home with red roses and taken one look at her face
and knew. A story tumbled out that admitted to the truth but also placed the
blame squarely at her feet. And now this.

Clearly it didn’t work out with him and that homewrecker
from Atlanta. The one thing she could be thankful for was that he’d left town
and moved in with his lover. She carried the bouquet around the side of the
house and shoved it in the bin, the lid slammed down with a satisfied clang.
Smugly, she wiped her hands and brought Greg’s attempt to woo her to a
satisfying end. Angrily, she stomped back into the house.

In the background, the circular saw shrieked to life and it
cut through her frayed control. Men! She glared at Dylan through the window as
he worked tirelessly on whatever it was he thought was more important than
seeing her. Fists clenched, jaw locked, she stormed from the house and marched
right across onto Dylan’s property. She flicked the gate latch and pushed it
open so hard it rebounded as she passed it by.

Bud barreled around the corner, his fast little paws eating
the distance between them. Like an exuberant puppy, he bounced around her,
oblivious to the fury that moved her forward. Finally, she spotted Dylan, the
saw thankfully winding down.

“Hey!”

Dylan straightened at her sharply spoken word and threw a
look in inquiry. “Hi, Erica.”

“Why have you been avoiding me?”

His gaze cut to the ground and he put his tool down. “I
haven’t been avoiding you.”

“What a load. You have too. It’s been four days, Dylan, and
you haven’t made an effort to see me.”

He raked a hand through his unruly hair and she refused to
acknowledge the way his muscles rippled or the hot things it did to her libido.
“I thought you said we’ll see where this’ll take us?”

“Take us? At the moment, this relationship is at a
standstill.”

His body stiffened, eyes narrowed on her. “Relationship?”

“Oh right, thank you for clearing that up,” Erica snapped.
“You don’t buy women underwear and fly them to Los Angeles if you just want a
booty call. You could’ve gotten it for far less with Mary-Mae.”

She waved a hand at him in disgust and twisted around to
return home. Dylan grasped her hand before she could take more than five steps.
He pulled her toward him, his features twisted between anger and frustration.
“You think I want you just for a booty call?”

Erica’s hand settled over his chest to prevent him from
drawing her completely into his body. Beneath her palm, she could feel his
racing heart. “What am I supposed to think? We made love all weekend and since
then, nothing.”

“That’s right, Erica. We
made love
. I don’t want
anyone else but you. You’ve done something to me and I really need to sort it
out in my head.”