PosterBoyForAverage (16 page)

The other three calendar months had teased her a little when
Aubrey dropped them off. There had been good-natured smiles and laughs and even
a kissy noise made by one of the men but that all bled away when Aubrey called
her goodbyes and Mike took her hand.

“What roo—”

“Hush,” she said and pulled him into the elevator. Somehow
they were alone. She wasn’t sure how that could happen in a hotel as busy as
this one, but it did.

He pushed her to the wall, kissed her. His upper body pinned
her there, his hips pressing hers to the wall. Her nipples spiked, becoming so
sensitive that her bra rubbing against them was nearly unbearable. Her skin
broke out into goose bumps as he ran his large hand up over her rib cage,
slipped it beneath her bra cup to hold her breast in his warm hand. He didn’t
stroke or pinch or even move. He simply kissed her deeply and held her like
that until Aubrey thought she might melt right through the floor of the
elevator.

The car rocked and swayed as they came to a stop. He moved
his hand with a groan and stepped back. Aubrey chuckled, grateful that his t-shirt
hung down over the fly of his jeans. She’d felt how hard he was and thought for
sure it would be obvious to anyone stepping into the car.

An elderly woman, tanned to the color of beef jerky, stepped
into the car. She smiled at them until she realized they were going up and then
let out a cry.

“It’s okay,” Aubrey said. “We’re the next floor. Then you
can press down.”

That seemed to soothe her. She leaned against the wall and
began to rummage through a humongous purse.

And then the stars shone down on them because they found
themselves alone. In her room. The wind outside the pale-pink hotel buffeting
the old structure as it threatened a storm to remember.

When she ran her fingers over his skin, her heartbeat seemed
to go slower instead of faster. Her body became liquid. Her mind stopped
catching fire. It was easier to push away the urge to marvel at the fact that
he’d come for her than to just be there in the moment with him.

Aubrey couldn’t suppress the word though. “Why?”

“I had to,” he said yet again. That was the only explanation
he offered.

His mouth was soft and insistent on her skin. Dropping a
line of warm kisses as he held her tight. Mike’s large hands nearly met around
her waist and Aubrey felt small. She’d never really felt this small before. Or
this safe.

“Why?”

“There you go again,” he chuckled. He was the one to pull
her t-shirt over her head, to unhook her bra and drop it to the nondescript
ocean-gray carpet.

“I need to know.”

But that nearly became a lie when his mouth closed over her
nipple. When he sucked. When the sensation of tongue and teeth on tender flesh
forced her to shut her eyes and grip his shoulders so her knees would not fold
up and dump her unceremoniously on her ass.

He pressed his open mouth to the swatch of flesh between her
breasts and looked up at her with those tropical-water eyes.

“When the dust settled, when Chuck was okay, you were the
first thought in my head when I woke up. The last when I went to bed. Looking
at your house made my gut ache. I took to being your lawn-care boy just to have
an excuse to be closer to you. And Christ. It was only a few days.”

“But my lawn?” She touched his face, his lips.

He moved his mouth away, sat up and put his palm across her
mouth. Mike shook his head. “I was closer to you, being closer to your shit.
When Angela called and said she was taking Chuck to see her sister in
Connecticut, it hit me like a fist to the forehead.”

That made her laugh and he smiled in return.

“Why was I wallowing in my own self-pity doing your yard
work when the woman I couldn’t get out of my head was a short plane trip away?”

“But the money.”

“The money you advanced me,” he said.

“That was pool money.”

“It’s October. I have a whole eight months, roughly, to get
that money back together.”

“You’ll make more,” she said, putting her hand on his knee.
Aubrey wanted to feel his skin under her hand, she settled for sweeping her
fingers back and forth across the soft, overly worn denim that covered his
thigh.

“How long are you here?” she said, moving her hand higher.

“How long are you here?” he countered. His eyes had grown
darker like the beautiful sky outside. His volatile emotions vivid in the
now-gray of his gaze.

“Until tomorrow. I wasn’t sure why but I guess Gail wasn’t certain
how well it would go or how reliable my models were, so she had a built-in
buffer zone—just in case I needed to reshoot anyone or there were any snafus or
a bad model or—”

He cut her off with a kiss. “You’re babbling.”

His mouth was back on her breast. His hands stroking her
skin. Aubrey tried to breathe as she shifted desperately on the bed. Between
her legs she was molten and drenched and her whole body beat with her heart to
be touched by him.

“I am.”

He pulled his t-shirt over his head and she sighed, not even
realizing she was doing it. His skin was hot and firm under her fingers as she
skated them along his chest. The skin twitched slightly from the gentle
sensation. She smiled.

“Take your pants off, Aubrey,” he said, standing to do the
same. “I’d do it for you but as you can see, I’m taking mine off. Taking yours
off after would take twice as long.”

She stood to obey. “I see.”

“And that’s too damn fucking long for this,” Mike said the
moment she stepped free of her capris.

He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her tight to him. His cock
pressed hard and insistent and so very welcome between her legs to slide along
her clitoris.

“It’s been awhile.”

Mike kissed down the side of her throat and the feel of his
mouth on her made her shiver. A roll of thunder outside the windows made her
shiver again.

“Cold?” he asked, walking her back. He had her wrists pinned
down by her thighs as he kissed her, moved her.

“Not at all. Just anticipating.”

“And what are you anticipating, Aubrey?”

The back of her knees hit the bed and she sat. He remained
standing. When he let her wrists go, he cupped her face in his hands, stroked
her hair. Watched her.

“This. Being with you. I…” She broke off and shook her head.

“What?” His thumb had begun a slow stroke on her lower lip.
Without thinking, she parted her lips and licked at the very tip. He made a
sound somewhere deep inside that reminded her of an animal.

A fresh rush of fluid wet her upper thighs. Her breath
caught.

He was so very hard and she watched, mesmerized by the sight
of him and the sound of the storm, as he took himself in hand. That sight, him
gripping his cock, set off a craving in her. Aubrey felt as if Mike had touched
her.

He smiled down at her as if he knew.
No
, she thought,
not as if. He did know
. He took that single step that closed the gap
between them and watched her intently. He inhaled deeply and said, “I’ll say it
then. Okay?”

Aubrey nodded. Without pausing, he moved just an inch closer
and ran the warm, velvety tip of his erection along her lower lip. Her body lit
up on the inside, fireworks and falling stars burning in her blood. She wished
he could see the way she felt. All glowing and hot like the sun.

She pushed the silly thought away and darted her tongue out
to taste him even as he said the words she’d been thinking.

“I missed you, Aubrey,” he said. “And that was when I knew I
had to come. I haven’t missed anyone for a very long time except my children.
But I missed you.”

She sucked the head of his cock into her mouth, gently
drawing on him with her lips and tongue. He groaned and that sent another fresh
rush of desire falling through the center of her.

“And when I missed you, I knew that I’d been wrong. I’d been
not just wrong. I’d been a colossal jackass.”

She reached out, holding his trim hips in her hands, giving
herself purchase as she moved her mouth down on his shaft and let the sensation
of him fill her.

Aubrey was lost in him. The feel of him under her fingers,
in her mouth, filling her senses. She sucked him hard enough to make him rumble
deep in his chest with pleasure and then he was pulling free from her and she
was the one making nonsense noises.

“Later. Plenty of time for that later,” he murmured in her
ear. “Your mouth on me, my mouth on you. I plan to go down on you until you beg
me to stop.”

That free-fall feeling filled her belly and she moved
restlessly on the bed, trying to get closer to him.

“But first,” he said, parting her legs, running his hardness
along her wet, slick softness. “I need to be in you.”

She held her breath when he entered her. And then he stilled
and moved his hips just enough to make her exhale slowly.

He moved again. Just a little. Just a rocking motion. And then
she was coming undone in the small soft bed under the man who hadn’t left her
head since she’d left the city.

“That was easy.” He laughed. “If I were a different man I’d
be patting myself on the back.”

His lips slipped along her collarbone, his tongue darted out
to taste her skin and goose bumps sprang up to meet him.

She patted his back, groaning, laughing and completely
giving herself over to that sweet spot in time. “I’ll do it.”

“I want to see you,” he growled.

She barely had time to process the words before he rolled to
his back. The coverlet hit the floor with a soft thud and she found herself
upright on him, her body still sealed to his. His hardness still triggering all
the sensitive nerve endings deep inside.

She sighed, hung her head and beneath that waterfall of hair
watched his face. He looked intense and beautiful. The stubble on his jaw was
darker than his hair but threaded with just the smallest flecks of sterling.
She brushed her fingers along them to hear the rasp.

“You’re gorgeous,” he said. His fingers bit into the meat of
her hips as he began to move her to his will. Aubrey rode him, unencumbered by
worry or fear the way she sometimes could be in bed. Was she pretty enough, hot
enough, cover girl enough? Not now. Now was only the goodness of their bodies
together and the connection.

That sweet connection.

It hummed through her like a current.

He cupped her ass, spurred her on, drove up under her. He
was egging her on toward another orgasm and when he tipped her hips forward
just so, watching her as if she were the center of the universe and thrust up
deep inside her, Aubrey curled her fingers against his chest and gave in to the
second orgasm. It was a flash of light and heat and sweet, sweet pleasure.

His face grew serious. He reached up and touched her cheek.
Slid his fingertips along her lips. Aubrey touched her tongue to the tip of
each one and when his motions grew more frantic, almost wild, she sucked his
fingertip into her mouth and drew on it. His skin was salty and rough beneath
her tongue. She sucked again and his fingernails dug into her hip.

“Jesus, Aubrey,” he said. That was all. And then his eyes
slammed shut, his head tilted back, he exposed his neck to her and she pushed
her fingertips to the thrumming pulse there. Felt it kick, thunder and then
thud as he came. Saying her name over and over again as the force of his
release hit him.

On the tail end, she dragged her hips from side, grinding
down against him and she came at the very last second. A small fluttering blip
of a sensation, but an orgasm all the same.

She found herself saying his name when it happened. Like a
short but sincere prayer.

“Someone’s knocking,” Mike groaned. His knee slipped
perfectly in the hollow behind hers. His arms curled around her and he pulled
her close. Aubrey felt the nudge of his hard cock against her bottom.

She groaned.

“Shouldn’t you be releasing me if someone’s knocking,
instead of pulling me closer?” she whispered. She wasn’t quite sure she wanted
to know who was at the door.

“I’m hoping it’s all a dream.”

In response to his mumbled wish another soft knock sounded
in the small room.

“Who the hell?” Aubrey sat up and immediately noted the
absence of his arms and body heat. It made her feel as if she were missing
something important.

“I have no idea but tell them to go away and never come
back. We have today in Key West and that’s that. So shoo, visitor, shoo.” He
rolled to his back, eyes fully open. The startling blue was extremely evident
in the narrow stripe of sunlight that was painted across the bed. The blind
wasn’t closed all the way.

“I will. Once I know who it is.”

Another knock.

“Coming!” Aubrey called. She noted she sounded annoyed. She
couldn’t help it though. She
was
annoyed.

She tripped on a minor crease in the carpet and flailed
gracelessly toward the door. Her robe slipped loose and she tightened it.
Aubrey opened the door and blinked. Hard. Several times.

“Cruz?”

Cruz Reyes from day one, he of the single stunning dimple,
leaned against the door jamb. His t-shirt was formfitting without being too
tight. Some surfer slogan was blurred across the front. Aubrey watched him
subtly flex his significant muscles. He licked his lips, reminding her of L.L.
Cool J. It wasn’t so much that she didn’t find Cruz attractive. He was just the
wrong guy at the wrong time.

“Hi,” he said.

Aubrey swallowed hard. “Um. Hi?”

“I wanted to check in,” he said.

“Check in? Um…” She backpedaled for a moment, thinking maybe
Gail or someone at the Checkered Horse had contacted him. “Is there a problem?”

His toe, in a brown leather flip-flop, inched across the
threshold. She watched it. The moment felt surreal. This was a moment from
The
Graduate
. Should she say, “Cruz, you’re trying to seduce me?”

He was at least seven years her junior, Aubrey thought.
Maybe more.

“I wanted to make sure my pictures were okay.” His eyes were
on the V created above her cleavage by her soft gypsy-fabric robe.

“They were fine. They were great!” she amended. “All the
photos were wonderful. I had good material to work with.”

This was a time when she didn’t want to be rude. She didn’t
want to damage the young ego in front of her.

“Good, because if you needed me to, I could reshoot them.”

He took another almost imperceptible inch forward. She
backed up just a touch. Caught herself. Stood strong. Back in the short foyer
that led to the bedroom proper, Aubrey heard a rustle. Cruz did not.

“No need,” she said smiling. “In fact, if you’ll excuse me,
I have to pack. I leave shortly and I need to—”

Cruz broke protocol and reached out, taking her upper arm in
his hand. Aubrey saw no maliciousness in his gaze—he probably thought he was
being movie-hero perfect, in fact. But when she pulled back lightly, he didn’t
release her.

“Cruz,” she said calmly. “Let go of my arm.”

His gaze faltered then. Confusion, annoyance, a touch of
anger. But he let her go.

“I thought that maybe—”

“Maybe you have the wrong room?” Mike said, stepping into
the foyer where he could be seen. He wore his jeans and nothing else. His feet
were bare, his chest was bare, his hair stood up in little peaks that indicated
sleep-induced bedhead.

Cruz’s face fell.

“I just—”

“Made a mistake,” Mike said good-naturedly. “I saw the
pictures.” He put his hand on Aubrey’s shoulder and pulled her back a step.
That way he was closer to Cruz than she was.

Nothing in his posture indicated he felt threatened, just
finished with the conversation.

Cruz shook his head, took a step back. Aubrey was relieved
to see him look sheepish and not challenging. The last thing she wanted this
morning before even having coffee was a male pissing contest.

“Sorry, man. I didn’t know.”

Mike offered his hand and Cruz shook it. “Accidents happen,”
Mike said.

“You’ll be hearing from Checkered Horse about payment,” she said.
“I uploaded the pictures last night.”

“Already did,” Cruz said. “It was in my online payment
account last night. Bye,” he said really fast. In that one word, his age was
evident. He practically fled.

Mike kicked the door shut. “Booty call first thing in the
morning,” he said, pressing her to the door.

“Shut up.”

“He wanted you to invite him in. He wanted to be the pizza
delivery guy in the porn movie scenario.” He chuckled but untied her robe while
he was talking.

Cool air and the closeness of Mike sent her skin into a
skittering slide of prickly skin and shivery sensations.

“What was he? Twenty? Twenty-one?” she gasped. Her robe
fully open now, her body exposed to him. Just the feel of his gaze on her sent
her body into a wild jolt of desire. She went softer for him. Wetter for him.
And she’d been pretty soft and wet for Mike from the moment she woke up. So
that was saying something.

“So?” Mike asked. His voice was lazy. He was intent on what
he was doing. And what he was doing was dragging a fingertip up her body from
her mound to her throat. He kissed her neck before covering her wild pulse with
his mouth. He sucked hard and she felt the draw on her skin deep in her belly,
deep in her pussy, down in her toes.

“So what’s he want with me?” she gasped. His fingers parted
her and one thick calloused fingertip nudged her clit until her knees felt like
they’d fold up.

“He’s got a crush on the boss lady,” Mike said. He pushed
his body close to hers, closing the gap between them. The heat of him crowded
her body and she parted her lips for his kiss. His fingers drove into her and
she said his name. Softly.

He thrust deep, finding with great accuracy the tender knot
of flesh inside her that made her body warm and supple and stroked it. When he
added a second finger, Aubrey found herself panting. Her lips parted, her body
loose and relaxed for him. The knuckle of his thumb dragged against her clit
every time he curled his fingers.

“Come for me, pretty girl,” he whispered in her ear.

She did. The tone, the command, his touch, it all combined
to unhinge her and she let herself come undone in his arms. There was no fear,
there was no embarrassment. It was just her letting all her guard down in front
of this man. Everything she had was stripped bare and he saw it.

“Good,” he said and kissed her.

Aubrey caught his broad shoulders up in her hands. She
pulled him closer, though truth be told, he couldn’t get any closer than he
was. Her bare breasts mashed to his chest. She could feel his galloping heart.
It made her happy, the runaway sensation of it.

“Get on the bed,” he said.

She kissed him again. She slid her hand up his neck to take
handfuls of his hair. She tugged lightly, feeling his body tense with it. When
she raised her leg, parting her nether lips, pushing her hot sex to his seeking
hand, he growled.

Mike’s body jerked as he worked his button and his zipper.
Her hands shook as she helped him push down his jeans. Aubrey took him in hand,
squeezing the warm, silken length of him. Her thumb darted across the head of
his cock, spreading pre-come across the cap of tender flesh.

“Hurry.”

“You always want me to hurry.”

“I can never wait for you to be inside me,” she whispered.

He stilled at her words, his eyes growing dark. So intense
they startled her. “I…” He shook his head and kissed her. The words not even
close to what his gestures could show.

Mike hiked her leg up and parted her with the other hand. He
traced her pussy lips with his finger, darted a finger into her to test her
again. When he did, she sighed against the side of his neck, her body still
reeling from the orgasm.

“Mike—”

“I know,” he said, with a wry smile. “I’m hurrying.”

“Slow,” she said and grinned.

“I can do that, Aubrey,” he said.

The firm glide of his cock against her slit was almost
unbearable. When he dragged it up over her clitoris and that sensation shot
through her it stole her breath. “You feel good.”

“You have no idea how you feel,” he said softly. His eyes
were glued to the sight of his body meeting with hers.

He stopped and leaned in to bite her nipple. He drew back,
the sensitive halo of flesh caught between his teeth. Aubrey felt the draw on
her skin and the faint prickling of pain in her throat and her belly. Low down
where it turned swiftly to a distinctly sexual feeling.

“How? How?” she chanted, arching her body up to meet his. To
egg him on. Why was he torturing her?

“Like the place I’m supposed to be. Always,” he said and
pushed deep inside of her.

His body crowded hers now, pressing her to the mattress as
Aubrey clutched his shoulders and let her body take over. She moved against him—with
him—letting him inside. Letting him take her.

She found herself laughing even as she moaned her pleasure
against his neck.

Mike tilted his head back to watch her, smiling. He smoothed
his free hand through her crazily tangled hair. “I’m not sure how I feel about
you laughing while we’re doing this.”

Aubrey raised her right leg higher, pressing her body where
it was wettest and warmest to his. “I’m laughing,” she said, taking his face in
her hands to kiss him, “because some kid…some model…showed up to seduce me. Me!”
she laughed.

“Why is that—?”

She kissed him quiet, still laughing, but also a slave to
her growing pleasure. “And you were here. You saved me from
twentysomething-hookup-drama. You saved me.”

He shook his head at her laughter and her logic. Then his
big hands grabbed her ass and hauled her forward to him. Her shoulders still
pressed the pillows and when he thrust deep, they muffled her hearing in a
pleasant way. Where all she could hear was her heartbeat. Her body, where she
needed him most, was pressed flush against him and she found that the mounted
pleasure soon reached a peak and—

“I’m coming,” she said, desperately kissing him. “Coming,
coming. Jesus. I’m coming…” She said it all in a breathless whisper.

“Fuck,” Mike said, and then he was the one laughing.

Her spasms shook her and her pussy gripped him tight. That
final thrust brought nearly unbearable friction and then his fingers tightened
on her and his breath stopped and he was following suit. His orgasm slammed him
and they both sagged against one another. The soft hotel bed cradling them.

“You don’t need saving,” he said to her. “When you said I
saved you…you don’t need saving, Aubrey.”

Aubrey grabbed great handfuls of his hair and pulled even
when he grunted with pain. She kissed him, her tongue sliding softly against
his as he surrendered to her kiss.

“No. Not really. But it’s nice to know if I want to be saved
you’re on board.”

“I’m on board.”