Hitting on the Hooker (2 page)

“Thank you.
You’ve saved me from insanity, seriously. I’m Tom. I’m with the
Sharks, but I guess you already knew that,” he said, and kicked
himself. So much for Mr. Cool. “I’m babbling, aren’t I?”

She chuckled, a
dirty little sound that hit him right in the groin, and nodded.
“Maybe a little. I’m Fern. Pleased to meet you, Tom.”

“Likewise.” He
turned her back to the bar with a gentle hand on her waist, angling
his body to cut off the rest of the squad’s view. He wasn’t
normally so anti-social, but he didn’t want to share her with
anyone. With a quick gesture, he signalled the girl behind the bar
to bring more drinks. “Fern. A pretty name for a pretty lady.”

“Smooth
talker.” Despite her come-back, a faint flush rose on her cheeks,
proving she wasn’t immune to his compliments. “I didn’t hurt your
foot, did I?”

He slid her a
sideways glance and winked. “Would I lie about something like that?
It’s throbbing something fierce.”

Throbbing—like
something else. Keeping a smile on his face, he tried to clamp down
his body’s reaction, but her perfume winding around him and the
curve under his hand stopped it. He was as stiff as a fucking
goalpost and so ready for action that if they were alone right now,
he’d have that dress off and her under him in a heartbeat.

“Yeah, sure it
does. Next, you’ll be asking me to rub it better.”

Fuck
me
. His mind on a different track, he almost spat the mouthful
he’d just taken across the bar, managing to swallow at the last
moment and half choking himself in the process.

She grinned as
he coughed and spluttered, offering him a napkin, the light in her
eyes proving she knew exactly what he’d been thinking.

“Saucy witch,”
he muttered, wiping his mouth and looking at her with a keener
gaze. Oh, this one was much more intelligent than the usual bimbos
who crowded around the team. With a thrill, he realised he’d have
to step up his game.

“Witch is it?
Be careful or I’ll put a spell on you.” Her tone was light and
flirtatious as she picked up her glass and took a sip.

“Sweet thing,
you can put a spell on me any time you want.”

He moved
closer, sliding his hand around her waist until he could feel the
heat of her body beating against his through their clothes. She
didn’t argue, just watched him over the rim of her glass.
Emboldened, he stroked his thumb against the curve there, a soft
caress but one that signaled his interest.

She made a show
of looking around at the rest of the bar. The fact that she had to
rise on tip-toe to look over his shoulder fed his male ego. Not as
tall as the rest of the squad, his lack of height didn’t bother
him, but she was so tiny that he felt huge next to her. He’d have
to be careful not to hurt her.

And just like
that his mind headed for the gutter again, feeding him images of
the two of them locked in passion, her slender figure spread out
naked beneath him, over him, in front of him…

“Oh no, I
couldn’t possibly cast a spell in here. Too many people.”

No fucking way.
She did not just hand him an opportunity like that. Startled, he
looked at her. Her chin was tilted up, set in a defiant line, and
she watched him, an expectant look in her eyes.

Shit. She had.
She knew exactly what she’d just said.

“Well. We could
go somewhere more…” he lowered his voice and tugged on her waist
until she was flush against him. Her lips parted in surprise as
their hips met, his cock hard in the prison of his pants and more
than ready for action. “Private. If you’d like.”

He waited,
giving her the chance to back out. To step away, smile and make her
excuses. He was no oil painting, and he knew it, but he had more
than enough stamina to give her the best night of her life. Hell,
with how horny he felt right now, the best week of her life, if he
could persuade her to stay naked in his bed that long.

She swallowed,
the confident mask slipping and granting him a glimpse of the woman
beneath. A small tremor rolled through her body, and his heart
softened. She was nervous. Why, looking the way she did, he had no
clue, but she was.

Slow so as not
to scare her off, he tucked a finger under her chin and lifted it.
He bent his head, senses on alert for the first sign of tension in
her body, and brushed his lips over hers. They were soft, sweet,
and oh-so enticing.

Schooling the
groan that wanted to break loose from his throat, he kissed her
again. One kiss, two. Slow. Innocent. He kept things light,
although all he wanted to do was crowd her back against the bar and
kiss her to within an inch of her life. Lifting his head before the
temptation grew too great, he looked down.

The dazed,
sultry look on her face nearly did him in then and there. His cock
jerked savagely, a wave of possessiveness washing over him so
complete that he almost staggered under the force of it. He leaned
down to whisper into her ear. “Say something now, or I’m going to
take you home and screw you senseless.”

What the hell
was she doing? Fern fell silent as Tom took her hand and led her
from the bar. He stopped for a second to talk with another man, one
built like a small mountain. She couldn’t do more than offer the
guy a tight-lipped smile, heat burning into her cheeks like
napalm.

It had to be
obvious what they were up to. God, how embarrassing. Before she
could chicken out though, Tom led her out of the bar. She shivered
as the night air hit her, her thin dress scant protection again the
cold.

“Here, let
me.”

He shucked his
jacket and draped it over her shoulders. Warmth and the scent of
his cologne, sharp citrus and sandalwood, surrounded her. She
breathed a sigh of pleasure but frowned, starting to shrug out of
it. “But you’ll get cold. Take it back.”

“Cold? This?
This is mild compared to what we train in.”

He wrapped the
jacket about her with a tight grip on the lapels. Leaning down, he
kissed her again. A lingering kiss that was over too soon. Her lips
tingled as he lifted his head, and she couldn’t help a pout of
frustration.

He rumbled, a
low sound of amusement from deep in his broad chest. “Soon, I
promise. Riggs is calling us a cab, but it’ll take a couple of
minutes to get here so how about you come over here and keep me
warm.”

Keeping his
grip on the jacket, he walked backward until he leaned against the
wall, pulling her closer. She stepped between his spread thighs,
hands splayed over his chest for balance, but he carried on tugging
her until she rested against his hard body. She bit her lip at the
leashed power in his frame, the muscles beneath her hands corded
and tense.

She’d never
considered herself the delicate type of female, apt to swoon at the
mere presence of a man, but wrapped in his arms, she felt tiny and
feminine. He surrounded her, his body language both protective and
possessive.

He held her
close, one hand sliding to the nape of her neck while the other
slid down the length of her back to cup her ass in a bold move. She
gasped as he pulled her flush with his hips again, his interest
pressing hard into her belly. Sparks of arousal fizzed through her
veins, tingling along every inch of her skin and settling low in
her abdomen. An achy, nervous feeling as though a thousand
hyper-active butterflies took up residence.

His lips curved
towards a smile as he looked down at her, still taller even though
he was in a slight squat against the wall. She liked that, liked
that he was so tall and powerful. The light in his blue eyes was
warm, with a hint of darkness lurking behind them. A heated
darkness she wanted to see much more of.

He bent his
head, nudging at her nose with his, more a nuzzle than anything,
before he claimed her lips. Again, he was soft and gentle, but the
tension in the musles beneath her hands told a different story. He
was holding back, and she didn’t want that. She wanted all that
power unleashed. Wanted to feel it, taste it.

So she moved
in, pressing against his hips with hers to trap his hard cock
between them. Sliding her hands up to his shoulders, she kissed him
back, angling her head and parting her lips in invitation.

He growled, a
low sound deep in the center of his chest that she more felt than
heard. His fingers tightened, gripping the rounded globe of her ass
as he took her up on her offer. His tongue slid past her lips to
stroke along hers, and she became a victim of her own plot.

Pleasure and
anticipation rolled through her in equal measures as he lazily
kissed her. He didn’t push, didn’t touch her up or grope, just
kissed her, as though she was the only woman in existence. Gently,
as he learned the shape of her lips and thoroughly, as though he
were committing them to memory. She could get used to this, the way
he held her and kissed her tapping into something deep within
her.

Her breath
caught when he pulled back, teeth grazing against the full curve of
her lower lip. Her hands became claws to mangle the collar of his
shirt. She moaned in frustration when he pulled away and tried to
drag him back.

He rumbled in
amusement, dropped a quick kiss on her upturned lips, and stood
straight. “Shh, it’s okay. Just the cab. Come on, before you get
too cold.”

There was fat
chance of that, she mused as he led her across to the cab parked at
the curbside, his arm firm around her waist. Which was a good
thing, since her legs didn’t appear to be working at the moment.
Not due to the alcohol. Anticipation and the cold air had burnt
that out of her system as soon as they’d left the bar.

No, it was all
him and his soft approach. It was so different to what she’d
expected of him, of a rugby player, and was so sexy and seductive
that she was hooked. Totally and utterly hooked.

She didn’t
catch the address he gave when they were settled into the back of
the cab, but she wasn’t worried. The whole bar had seen them leave,
and it wasn’t like he was hard to identify, not built the way he
was. Besides, she felt safe with him, a knowledge that arrived from
nowhere but a gut feeling she trusted. There was something about
his manner, the way he looked at her and touched her that told her
he would protect her with his life if need be.

Leaning back as
the car pulled off, he pulled her back into his arms. She went
happily, settling into his side, her head pillowed by his muscled
arm.

“You warm
enough?” He leaned into her, keeping his voice low. His warm breath
whispered against her ear, and she nodded, feeling like she was
caught up in a little cocoon that contained just the two of
them.

The journey
passed in silence. Not a comfortable one, but one super-charged
with awareness. His thumb stroked down her arm, the pressure felt
even through the layers of his jacket, and he reached out with his
free hand to capture hers.

Half turned on
the seat, he surrounded her, his broad shoulders blocking her view
out of his side, but he didn’t kiss her, not on the mouth. His lips
grazed her temple in small caresses that kept her blood simmering.
What would he be like in bed? Soft and gentle? Slow but determined?
A shiver hit her as her pussy clenched hard in anticipation.

The car turned
left into a residential street, and pulled up outside an apartment
block set a little way back off the road.

“Just a minute,
mate.”

He moved his
fingers under her chin to make her look up at him. Restrained heat
and control swirled in his eyes, the light color reflecting the
street lamps outside.

“Last chance,
Fern. I can have the guy take you home now.” His lips quirked. “As
long as you give me your number, because I’d really like to see you
again. Or you can come in.”

She bit her lip
for a second, trying to calm the shiver that held her body in its
thrall. “And if I do?” Would he still want to see her after?

Triumph flared
in his eyes, followed by a heat so intense her ovaries threatened
to spontaneously combust.

“Then you’re
all mine.”

*

The wait as
Fern made her mind up all but killed Tom. Somehow he managed not to
kiss her until she agreed to anything he wanted. Given her
responses to him outside the bar, he knew he could. Easy. Just the
thought of kissing her again had his cock pulsing, and his balls
pulled up tight. God, what was he going to do if she said she
wanted to go home?

He’d let her
go, even if the very thought had all his instincts demanding that
he haul her out of the car, throw her over his shoulder, and carry
her off so he could make her his. Not the actions of a civilised
man, but around her, he didn’t feel civilised at all. He felt
barbaric. She was his. Even if he had to woo her over
weeks…months…he would get her into his bed. But he’d have the worst
case of blue balls ever, if she decided to go home now.

“Okay.”

There it was,
that one little word. His breath punched out of his chest in a
rush, relief making him light-headed for a second. She wanted to
come in. Thank
fuck
for that.

Planting a
quick, hard kiss on her lips, all he would allow himself, he turned
toward the driver and handed him a twenty. “Thanks, mate. Keep the
change.”

He shoved the
door open and helped her from the car as quickly as he could
without yanking her out. The cab pulled off, and he breathed a
little easier. She couldn’t change her mind now. He had her…would
have her.

A small hand
slid into his, and he looked down. She smiled up at him, face pale
in the street lights. “You looked so fierce then, I thought you
were about to throw me over your shoulder and carry me off to your
cave.”

The words were
light and joking, but made him pause. What was she, some kind of
mind-reader?