Risking it All (21 page)

about strategy when it comes to you.”

“Is that right? You seem to be doing

well so far.”

“I can do even better.”

Jesus, he didn’t even know if they

were talking about the same thing

anymore, but the challenge in her voice

was making his dick hard. Every time

she slapped the puck back in his

direction, her tits bounced underneath

her dress. Her white teeth were sunk into

that full lower lip as she bent over the

table. It was a fucking shame he wasn’t

standing behind her. The backs of her

thighs would be exposed, flashing every

time her hips bumped the table. Dammit,

he couldn’t concentrate anymore.

Right on cue, she scored on him.

“Hey, you want to wake up and give me

a decent game?”

God
, she was cute. “I wanted you to

get at least one point before I smoked

you.”

“All right, big talker. Show, don’t

tell.”

Taking advantage of her distraction,

he knocked the puck off the rail and

scored, laughing at her look of outrage.

“Whoever wins picks what we do next.”

“That’s a pretty broad wager.”

“Take it or leave it.”

“I’ll take it.”

Yes, you will
. With what he had in

mind, no way was he losing. She put up

a good fight, but in the end, he won by

two points. No sooner had the puck been

swallowed by the machine, Bowen

circled the table and dragged her up

against him. Both hands went to her ass,

depositing her on the edge of the table.

Her head tipped back as he kissed her,

as if she’d expected it. Had been dying

for it, just like him. They were in a dark

corner of the mostly empty arcade, but

he needed to get her somewhere more

private. Pulling away wasn’t easy when

his body demanded he step between

those thighs and take the hard, driving

fuck he needed.

He jerked away from her with a

growl. “Come on, my choice.” After

checking to make sure no one was

watching, he tugged her off the table and

led her across the arcade to the photo

booth he’d spotted while they played.

“Bowen.” She tried to slow him

down. “I don’t like having my picture

taken.”

Right. Probably rule number one for

an undercover cop. Still, he needed

something he could use to remember

today. So if one day he woke up and she

wasn’t there, he would know she hadn’t

been a dream. They stopped outside the

booth. “Make an exception for me?”

She looked conflicted, but eventually

nodded once. Without giving her a

chance to change her mind, he ducked

and led her inside, closing the curtain

behind them. When she dug into her

pocket for change, he shook his head.

“Not yet, sweetheart.” He sat down on

the stool and settled her on his lap facing

away from him, loving the little gasp she

let slip when her ass pressed down

against his erection. Desperate to taste

her skin, he wrapped her hair around his

fist and tilted her head to the side, tongue

licking up the side of her neck to taste

ocean air and sunlight. When he snapped

his teeth down on her ear, she jumped a

little and came down hard on his cock,

making his vision dull. “Feel me? I need

to be sucked off again by that pretty pink

mouth. You going to do it for me again

later?”

Her breath rushed out. “Yes. I want

to.”

“Loved how I tasted, didn’t you?” He

placed a hand on the inside of her knee,

drawing slow patterns with his fingers.

“Don’t worry, you’ll taste it again soon.

If I wasn’t dying to touch between your

legs, I’d put you on your knees right now

and tell you to open your mouth for it.”

Her bare thighs rested on his, so when

he spread his legs, the space between

her legs widened, too, giving him ample

access. He could tell having her legs

open wide excited her; the hips suddenly

writhing in his lap told him so.

“Quit it, baby,” he growled at her

neck. “I’m already fucking insane for

you. Don’t make it worse.”

“Touch me, please.”

Christ, he couldn’t deny her anything

under normal circumstances, but when

she begged in that husky voice, the need

to please her became his sole mission in

life. His hand traveled the remaining

distance to the barrier of her panties,

cupping her and squeezing once. She

moaned and tossed her head back to rest

on his shoulder, thighs flexing on top of

his. He opened his mouth against her ear

and breathed with her, his fingers

slipping beneath the cotton of her

underwear.

What he found made his cock swell

painfully in his jeans. “Jesus. How long

has your pussy been this wet?”

“I-I don’t know.”

His tongue teased her earlobe. “Who

made it wet?”

“
You
.” She whimpered. “You did.”

“Why? How?” He didn’t ask out of

vanity. No, he needed to know so he

could keep doing it. Find out what turned

her on and become the only one who did

it right. He expected her to say
the way

you touch me
. Or
it happens when you

kiss my neck
. But he never expected the

actual answer she gave.

“You don’t have to do anything.” Lust-

drugged eyes met his as she lifted her

hands, sliding her fingers into his hair.

“It’s just you. Being with you.

Everything about you does this to me.”

His heart rate skyrocketed, pounding

furiously against his rib cage, trying to

free itself so it could lie bleeding at her

feet. He opened his mouth, but no words

came out. She’d opened a hole in his

chest and if he thought too hard about

what she’d said, it might bury him alive.

“Tell me I’m your man, Sera,” he

demanded.

“You’re my man,” she rasped, rocking

her hips. “
Please
, Bowen.”

“I love turning you into a little

beggar.” He hated himself for needing to

make this about sex, but it couldn’t be

helped. That was where his confidence

lay. Not in beautiful words or promises.

The things she deserved. Swallowing the

lump in his throat, he traced her damp

seam with his middle finger. “What

were you thinking about? That day at the

beach, looking at those shirtless

motherfuckers?”

“I…nothing. I don’t know.”

“Nothing?” Bowen knew his jealousy

was irrational. It didn’t matter. Every

emotion amplified itself where she was

concerned. “Were you hoping they’d try

to get under your hiked-up uniform skirt?

Were you hoping they’d do this?” He

pushed his middle finger past her

entrance, both of them groaning in the

enclosed space of the photo booth.

“Answer me.”

“No. I promise.”

He pumped his finger in and out

slowly. “You wouldn’t lie to me, would

you, Sera?”

Frantically, she shook her head.

“Who’s the only one who gets under

your skirt?”

“You. Just you.”

“That’s right.” He started rolling his

hips in time with his fingers, the weight

of her gorgeous ass on his lap driving

him crazy. If she weren’t a virgin, he

would be balls-deep right now. No

question. She’d be feeling every inch of

his frustration. Knowing he didn’t have

much longer before he lost his tenuous

hold on control, he brushed his thumb

over her clit, making her moan. “Who

touches you here?”

“Y-ou do, Bowen.” Her thighs

clenched around his hands. “Oh,
God
.”

He turned his head and captured her

mouth in a wild kiss. A kiss so raw and

sexual, it shattered something inside him.

Fire licked over his skin, engulfing him

until he couldn’t see his way free. He

ached. He ached so bad. For more.

Everything. Touching her with his hand

suddenly wasn’t enough. He needed

more.
No, no, you can’t. You can’t have

her, you bastard. Especially here, like

this.
But he needed
something
, needed

to get closer. Before he knew his own

intentions, he surged off the stool and

pushed her against the wall of the photo

booth, already tugging the panties down

her legs.

“Baby, you trust me?” He barely

recognized his own voice. “Please say

yes.”

“Yes.”

He’d never seen anything in his life as

hot as Sera, hands braced on the wall,

underwear around her knees. The sound

of the zipper of his jeans being pulled

down made her moan and that reaction

somehow drove his already blistering

need higher. “Push your ass up and

spread your legs,” he directed her. “I

won’t take you, but when you come I

need to feel it where I hurt.”

When her sweet ass perked up, Bowen

gave in to the urge to smack it. Would

have done it again, but her hands were

flexing

impatiently

on

the

wall,

desperate noises falling from her lips.

He couldn’t leave her unfinished any

longer. It was killing him. He took his

heavy arousal in his hand, gritting his

teeth as he led it between her legs. When

his hard length slipped against her bare

pussy, without a single barrier between

them, his knees almost gave out. He had

to do this quick or being inside her

would become a necessity.

“Bowen, hurry. Please.”

“Shh. I’m going to take care of you so

good. You fucking
know
I am.” He found

her clit with the head of his cock and

picked up where his hand had left off,

rubbing quick, tight circles around her

sensitive nub. It felt like heaven and hell.

The most painful torture he could have

devised for himself and yet he would

kill anyone who tried to stop this from

happening. “Come on, I want to feel that

wet little shake of yours. The one I

tasted with my mouth last night. Tasted

so damn good, baby.”

“Oh, God…I’m going to—”

“Good girl, let it go. All over your

man.”

Bowen got a hand over her mouth just

in time to catch her hoarse cry. Pride and

pain dueled inside him, common sense

trying to battle its way to the surface.

The job was done for him when he heard

loud

talking

outside

the

booth.

Immediately, his hands flew to Sera,

tugging her panties back into place. Then

in a movement so painful he wanted to

shout every obscenity in the book, he

zipped his jeans back into place over his

raging erection. Drawing in deep

breaths, he fell back onto the stool,

taking Sera with him.

Just as two preteen boys yanked open

the curtain.

“We’ll be out in a minute.” He jerked

his thumb at them. “Scram.”

The curtain fell back down, but not

before he heard, “Bro, they was totally

screwing in there.”

I wish, kid.

Bowen turned back to find Sera

watching him, chewing on her bottom

lip. “You okay?”

His breath shuddered out. “I’m pretty

damn far from okay, Ladybug.”

Sera’s lips trembled, he suspected

with the need to laugh. Instead, she

reached into her purse and removed a

couple dollar bills, feeding them into the

slot.

“Smile.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

By the time Bowen and Sera dragged

themselves away from the boardwalk,

the sun had started dipping low in the

distance, forming light patterns on the

water. They’d collected so many tickets

from winning arcade games, they’d

started looping them around their necks

like scarves. After lugging the tangled

heaps to the counter, they’d agreed to

exchange the tickets for the ugliest prize

they could find, making Bowen the proud

new owner of a fringed leather vest that

said “Greased Lightning” on the back.

He never wanted to leave. As they