Full Contact (Worth the Fight #2) (7 page)

“Keep going.” His voice had dropped into a different register.

She hooked her fingers into her panties and slowly slid them down. Now she was standing in front of the most perfect male specimen she’d ever seen, completely naked. His eyes roamed her body hungrily. He reached forward and pulled her to him by her waist. She staggered a little before she found herself on him, straddling him, though careful not to impale herself on him. His mouth crushed down on her and her body ground against his. Since she couldn’t have him the way she wanted, she slid down to the floor, between his legs.

“What are you doing?” His voice was hoarse, his eyes glazed over.

“So, you said third base included oral, right?”

“Uh…Jess? I don’t think that’s…” His word dissolved into a groan the moment her lips wrapped around his fully erect cock.

She began with her tongue only, as her hands went up to his chest. Her fingers stroked along his pecs, then his erect nipples, then his abs, which contracted under her touch. As she went lower and lower with her hands, they finally joined her mouth and the shallow kissing deepened. He thrust his hips forward, propelling his cock deep into her mouth.

Dennis, the only other man she’d ever done this to, had usually lain there like a sack of potatoes while she did all the work. Slade, on the other hand, was an active participant. In fact, it felt as if he was actually…
Omigod,
she thought,
he’s fucking my mouth.
With anyone else, she’d have felt a little self-conscious and perhaps even violated, but with this man—it was fucking sexy! She was doing this to him. Making him so frantic he couldn’t control himself.
Jessica Cross, superstar blow job giver!
That’s what she felt like at the moment. She almost pumped a fist in victory, but she didn’t want to seem lame, so she kept her cool, like this was a normal part of her everyday sex life.

He moaned, and she felt, and tasted, how close he was. “Jessica, baby, I don’t…ah! Jess. Stop. I don’t want to come in your mouth.” She held him tighter and worked him harder until he lost all control and she took it all in. Every last drop.

He was breathing hard. She was still on her knees looking up at him. He reached down, put his hands under her arms, and lifted her up to his chest. “Holy fuck. That was…unexpected.” His eyes closed.

“Unexpected good? Or unexpected bad?”

He pulled back to look at her face. “Seriously? You gotta ask? Unexpected super fucking great. My dick in your mouth is never bad. Ever.”

And then she did the lame-ass thing she’d been going to do in the privacy of her own room later when he left: a double fist pump.

“You are such a goofball,” he said with a laugh before kissing her. When his breath evened, he flipped her over to her back on the couch. “I owe you an orgasm.” He parted her legs, which trembled as he got on his knees and moved closer. He began kissing her inner thigh, starting at her knee and moving up. Before she could process all the sensations, he placed his hands at the apex of her thighs, his thumbs opening her up on either side, and his face was suddenly
there.
At first it was mostly licking, but then he began to suck and nip, causing her to writhe underneath him as he held her down by her hips. Then he pushed a finger inside her as he continued to assault her clit with his mouth unrelentingly, and she came undone. When he finished, she was completely pliant.

“Good?” he asked.

She nodded lazily. Because, really, words failed her.

“I feel like doing a little fist pump myself.”

He sat down and lifted her head onto his lap as he ran his fingers through her hair, both of them laughing.

The next morning, Jessica was sitting in front of her mirror brushing her hair, getting ready to head off to work. It had been late when Slade had finally left, and she was still feeling giddy.

Her phone rang, and she cringed when she saw it was her mother. Not that they didn’t have a good relationship, but Jessica had been lying for months about what had happened with Dennis. All she had told her parents was that they had broken up. Plus, their conversations always ended with a remark about Jessica coming back to Charlotte, North Carolina.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Wow. I wasn’t expecting you to answer. It’s been over a week.”

“Sorry. I’ve been busy. In fact, I’m kind of running late for my shift.”

“When are you going to quit that godawful job and come back to Charlotte?” That took less than a minute. Possibly a new record. Her mother would probably bypass the hellos altogether next time and go straight for the kill.

“Mom. We’ve been over this a hundred times. I like it here.”

“Well, we miss you. I still can’t believe you broke up with Dennis, bless his heart. Respectable, in politics, good family…it was the only reason we warmed up to you moving to that hick town. Now, without him, we worry about you there. Your father and I had planned a trip to Europe, but now, with you there on your own, we don’t know if we should go. Your rash decision has really put a damper on our plans.”

Jessica gripped the phone tightly and rolled her eyes. God forbid she should inconvenience her parents. “I miss you too, Mom. I know you worry, but please, go on your trip with Daddy and don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“You sure, honey? Is it too soon? You’re all alone there. We can cancel and you can come up and spend some time with us here.”

“No. No.” Jessica realized she had answered way too fast, and she forced herself to slow herself down. “I’m fine. Really, I am. Just busy with work.”

“Jessica, honey, you left Charlotte to go to school. You have a master’s degree in exercise physiology. I don’t understand what on earth you are doing waitressing at a bar.”

And here it comes.
This was precisely why Jessica had left Charlotte as soon as she turned eighteen.

Her parents were great—good, hardworking Southerners. They were like a slightly pretentious, judgmental Ozzie and Harriet, just far too concerned as to what their social group thought about things. Everything was always done by the book. The plan was that she would graduate, return to Charlotte, work as a physical therapist, meet a nice young man—the kind who wore suits and played tennis or golf—and have 2.5 children and a dog and a cat, at which point Jessica would stop working to raise the children in a house a block from her parents. How perfectly suburban.

Instead, she’d met Dennis.

At first her parents were unhappy with the idea that their wonderful daughter would deviate from the plan by following a man to a different state—so unhappy that they stopped paying any of her expenses. But she was too proud to let that stop her, and anyway it had been time for her to venture out on her own. She was an adult, with a brand spanking new master’s degree. It was just the kick in the ass she’d needed to get out from underneath her parents’ thumb. Determined to make it on her own, she immediately found a job at the Pier as a waitress until she could find a job in her field. But apparently a master’s degree in exercise physiology wasn’t in demand. Two years later, Dennis was gone and she was still pushing drinks at the Pier.

“Jessica? You still there?”

“Oh, sorry, Mom. Um…what were you saying?”

“I said that if you’re sure you’re okay, we’ll go on our trip—we were planning to leave in two days. We’ll call you when we can.”

“No need to worry. Have a wonderful trip, Mom. Say hello to Daddy for me.”

“Honey, think about what I said earlier. Dennis was a lovely young man. Whatever the reason for the breakup, get over it. He’s exactly what you need. He always fit in so well with us.”

“You don’t really know him, Mom.”

“What’s there to know? He’s terribly handsome and rich, went to the best schools, and is getting up in the political world.”

“Yeah, Mom. Great guy.”

“Think about it. Smooches.” And just like that, she hung up.

An instant later, the phone rang again.

“I said I’m fine. I’ll think about Dennis,” she said into the phone.

“Excuse me?” a low, familiar voice said.

“Crap. Slade?”

“Why are you thinking about Dennis?”

“Sorry, Slay. Thought it was my overly controlling, overly involved mother. She thinks that Dennis personally hangs the moon at night. She wants us to get back together.”

“You should’ve told her what he did to you.”

“I can’t, Slade. You don’t understand my parents. They’re…they’re not like the people in this town.”

There was silence for a moment before he spoke again. “And how exactly are the people in this town?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. That sounded bad. I love the people here—that’s why I want to stay. My parents are great, but they live in their little social bubble. They don’t understand things like their daughter working in a bar. Or their daughter being hit by a man. And my daddy has a lot of connections; he’d want to investigate things further, not to mention force me to move back. They’re very controlling, Slade. They mean well, but it’s too much—I don’t need them to butt into my life right now.” Jessica took a deep breath. “Anyway, I’m sorry that I bombarded you with all my problems.”

“Don’t be sorry about that, Jess. I want you to count on me. I want to hear about your problems. I want to be in your life. All in, remember? I just called to see if you were working today.”

“Yep. I’m running late, actually.”

“Do you want to do something later?”

“I’d love that.”

“How about I pick you up from work at—”

“Seven. I’m off at seven.”

“It’s a date.”

“It’s a date,” she repeated his words with a smile.

“And Jessica…”

“Yeah?”

His voice was lower than usual. “I can still taste you on my lips. I can’t wait to taste you again. It’s been driving me crazy since I left last night.”

Jessica’s mouth opened, but no words came out. Luckily, he disconnected before she was able to formulate a thought.

Quickly Jessica took off all her clothes. As it was, she was going to be late for work. But this was an emergency. She replaced her boring white cotton underwear and bra with a pair of black lace panties and a matching push-up bra. She pawed through her closet for a change of clothes, something casual that wouldn’t wrinkle, and stuffed it in her oversize purse, together with her favorite lipstick and perfume. Then she re-dressed in her work uniform, which consisted of black short shorts and a tight black T-shirt with the Pier logo on it, and ran out of the house to her car.

Work dragged that day. She was so excited about her date, but the hours wouldn’t pass quickly enough. She checked the clock on the wall every ten minutes.

“Hey, sweetie.” A sweet, almost melodic voice with a Southern drawl took her out of her thoughts.

“Hi, JL.”

“You look like you’ve been daydreamin’.”

“Just a slow day.”

Jamie Lynn looked around the bar. “Where’s everyone today?”

Jessica shrugged. “Don’t know. It’s been dead all day. Guess no one in town’s drinking today.”

After Jamie Lynn settled in behind the bar, she grabbed a handful of peanuts and began to crack the shells. Jamie Lynn, like her twin brother, Travis, spent all day eating. It was a wonder they stayed so fit.

“We haven’t worked a shift together in a while.” She popped a nut into her mouth. “So, what’s new? I hear you’re dating Slade.” She gave Jessica an impish wink.

“Sorta feels like it, but I don’t really know if Slade dates.”

Jamie Lynn snorted. “No, that boy sure doesn’t date, hon. He’s one sexy piece of ass. He’s always been a screw-’em-and-leave-’em kinda guy.”

Jessica cringed, but Jamie Lynn continued. “But people can change, hon. Look at Jack. That man dated half of Tarpon Springs, but now he’s all about Chrissy. It’s as if the world revolves around Chrissy and only Chrissy.”

“God, I wish I had that,” Jessica said, and sighed.

“Don’t we all, sugar.” Jamie Lynn sighed too. “But if the gossip mill was correct, Slade stayed with you and took care of you while you were recovering.”

Jessica nodded.

“Well, that seems like a good sign. And now you’re recovered and he’s still around.”

“Yeah. We’ve been on a few dates.”

“Nice. See? Men can change. When’s the next one?”

Jessica looked at the clock over the bar. “In twenty-eight minutes.” She smiled and leaned her forearms against the countertop. “He’s picking me up as soon as my shift ends.”

“Oh, sugar.” Jamie Lynn’s mouth curved down. “Bless your heart, sweetie. Please tell me you’re not going on a date with that man dressed like that. I hope you at least wore pretty underwear.” Jamie Lynn stepped closer to Jessica, stood on her tiptoes, pulled on the neckline of Jessica’s T-shirt, and looked down the front. Jessica swatted her away, laughing.

“Actually, yes, I did wear cute underthings, and I brought a change of clothes. Nothing fancy. I don’t want him to think I’m trying too hard, ya know?”

“Hon, that bra and what I will assume are matching panties are screaming, ‘I’m trying very hard for you to get into my very pretty panties.’ ”

“Very pretty panties?”

Both girls jumped and looked back at the man who was leaning against the bar. “Slade!”

“JL.” He gave her a nod. Then he turned to Jessica. “Lady, are you wearing sexy lingerie for me?” he asked.

Her cheeks flushed. “Uh…you’re early.”

“I couldn’t wait any longer. I’ve been staring at the clock for the last two hours.”

Her heart fluttered. She was so happy to know that he was as excited as she was.

“Go.” Jamie Lynn pointed at Jessica. “It’s dead. I’ll cover the rest of your shift. You’re almost done anyway.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, but I want details later. It’s been a while since we’ve had a girls’ night. And anyway, anyone wearing that hot-ass bra should be able to leave early.”

“I was right. Sexy lingerie,” Slade said, a sly grin decorating his face.

“At least someone should get some action,” Jamie Lynn said as she gave Jessica a gentle shove.

“Thanks, JL.”

“Anytime. Have fun, you two. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Jamie said, then turned around to tend to a patron who had just walked in.