Taking What's His (Entangled Brazen) (3 page)

Part of her wanted to keep going. Tease him some more. But the other part of her instinctually sensed the power leashed underneath the words. And that part of her obeyed without question. “Yes, sir.”

“Yeah.” His fingers flexed even more. “You’ll be calling that out later, too.”

Her stomach tightened, and she clenched her fists in her lap. “Holt.”

“Lydia.”

The way he said her name… “I’m not going to call you
sir
.”

Smirking, he adjusted his grip on the wheel. “Yeah. You will.”

Instead of answering, she swallowed hard and kept silent. The way he said it…yeah, it made her think he was right. And that was equal parts thrilling and scary. His dark auburn hair reflected the streetlights, and so did his dark blue eyes. And when he smiled, she could see dimples underneath his sexy scruff. Not that he was smiling now. Instead, he looked determined.

Beneath it all, his gaze held a sadness to them she’d never seen before. What had put that shadow in his eyes? Where had he been? What had he seen? She was dying to know. Almost as much as she was dying to kiss him again.

He stopped in front of a house. It was two-story brick colonial, fairly large, and it looked like the type of place a guy in his twenties wouldn’t step foot in.

She stared at it. “Is this your house?”

“Yeah.” He shut off the truck and jumped out of it. She opened her door and hopped down, landing on both feet. He was there waiting for her. How had he moved so fast? “But we have to be quiet. My mom’s sleeping upstairs. I live in the basement.”

She froze. “Oh my—”

“I’m kidding.” He burst into laughter, holding his stomach. “You’re so fucking gullible. It’s adorable.”

Her cheeks went hot. “I am not.”

“Yeah, you are.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door. “But only about this, because you seem to think I’m a gamer geek who never grew up or moved out of his parent’s house.”

Okay. He was right. She totally had pre-conceived opinions about him, but she also knew that under that facade, he was more. “I’m sorry.”

He lifted a shoulder. “Nothing to be sorry for. I don’t give a fuck.”

“So…about that gullibility thing. You were kidding about the whole ‘sir’ thing, too, then, weren’t you?”

He shook his head. “Hell no.”

“But I—”
Don’t know how I feel about that yet
. She cut herself off when he opened the door and motioned her inside.

As she walked into the living room, hugging herself, she glanced around. The house was pleasantly furnished. Modern, with a hint of elegance. Not a single Darth Vader suit to be found. Not even a single cosplay outfit. It looked nothing like she’d expected.
You’re outta your league, here, Lydia
.

“Want a drink?” he asked, hanging his keys on the hook by the door. There were four hooks, but only one set of keys. “I have pretty much anything you’d want.”

She set her purse down in the foyer. “Do you have white wine?”

“Moscato okay?”

“Yeah. That’s great.” She followed him into the kitchen, greedily eating up every single detail of his home. “You have a nice place.”

“Thanks.” He pulled out two wine glasses, falling silent. She got the impression, again, that he was thinking over his next words. He seemed to do that a lot. “I bought it sight unseen when I moved here for my job.”

“What do you do?”

He poured the wine with a less than steady hand. “I’m an IT guy. Go ahead. Laugh. Stereotypes and all that shit.”

“I’m not going to laugh,” she said softly, taking the full glass he handed her. “Heck, I don’t even have a job yet, so I’m certainly not going to laugh at someone who does.”

He filled his own glass, and raised it in a toast. They both drank. “What did you go to college for?”

She wasn’t sure how much Steven had talked about her, but she answered honestly anyway. She might not want to tell him who she was, but she wasn’t about to
lie
to him. She wasn’t a liar. There just wasn’t a reason to complicate things between them. She’d been waiting for a guy like him to come along and awaken her urges, so to speak.

And now he was here.

They’d have their fun, and then they’d never see each other again. He was work-buddies with her brother. It wasn’t as if there would be awkward family dinners afterward or anything. He’d never even have to know he’d slept with his friend’s little sister. The bro code would remain intact.

“I got my nursing degree.” She sipped her wine. “I just graduated from St. Joseph’s, and I’m currently trying to find a good OR nurse position…and failing.”

“Ah.” He stepped closer, towering over her. He smelled so good. She didn’t know what type of cologne he wore, but she’d never smelled it before. “I’ll let you know if I hear of any openings.”

She took another big gulp of wine. He wouldn’t be around in her life long enough for that, so it was an empty promise and they both knew it. “Thanks.”

“But for now,” he paused and rubbed his jaw. “Let’s talk expectations for tonight.”

“Okay…”

“One night. That’s all I ever offer anyone.” He tugged on her hair. It sent tingles shooting through her veins, and she got lost in his dark blue eyes. His glasses framed them perfectly. “One wild, crazy night, and then we both move on. No broken hearts. No painful goodbyes.”

She laughed uneasily. “I don’t need you to define the perimeters of a one-night stand. It’s not exactly rocket science.”

“Fair enough.” His lips twitched. “Just making sure we’re on the same page, is all. I can’t afford to have someone get hurt because they mistook something I said in that bed—and trust me, I’ll say a lot—as some kind of promise or shit like that.”

“Oh, we are.” She downed the rest of her wine and set it down, then took a step toward him. Gently, she undid the top button of his dark shirt. “I’ll leave here and never bother you again,
sir
. I promise.”

“That’s another thing,” he said, cupping her jaw. His touch was light, but it stopped her in her tracks. It was…possessive. Domineering, too. “You say it in a joking manner, but I’m dead fucking serious about this. I like it when you call me sir. I like to play rough in bed. Do you?”

She had no idea, but if it was what he liked, then she’d roll with it until she didn’t like it anymore. She’d tried the
sir
on for size earlier, and it had felt good, so why not? “Yeah. Of course I do.”

“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you, Lydia?” He tugged her hair harder, not stopping until they were chest to chest. He skimmed his hand down her arm, and she shivered. “One last question.”

Her stomach clenched tight. “Yeah?”

“I need to know…” His hand slipped between her legs, and he urged them apart. She did what he wanted, her breath catching in her throat when he stepped between them. He rolled his hips up, rubbing his huge erection against her core. “Just how rough do you like it?”

She tipped her chin up and did her best to look sure of herself, when she wasn’t sure of anything anymore. “I-I’m very open. Do what you normally do, and I’ll let you know if you go too far.”

“Well then…” He tightened his grip on her. “Hands on the wall.
Now
.”

Chapter Three

Holt watched her closely. If she showed any sign of nerves, or doubt, he’d back off. Have a normal night of sex with a normal girl, and then say goodbye come morning. He’d done it plenty of times. It wasn’t as if he needed to be in control in the bedroom or anything. He just did it for fun, when the right girl came along.

Something told him she was the right kind of girl.

Without a word, she spun around, looked over her shoulder at him, and placed her hands on the wall. Her lids drifted shut, and she bit her bottom lip. “Holt.”

Fuck, he loved the way she said his name. All hot, sexy, and needy. He stepped up behind her, gripping her hips. She fit his hand perfectly. “Yeah?”

He’d quit calling her baby after he’d quit trying to make her see she shouldn’t go home with a guy like him. He might know she was making a mistake, but she seemed determined to make it. And if she was going to go home with someone, it might as well be him. At least he could get her off, unlike her loser ex.

“Wh-What would you like me to do now, sir?”

His breath escaped in a long groan, and he slid his hands over her curves, exploring each and every one. As his hands moved up over her sides, she held her breath. The second he closed his palms over her breasts, she exhaled and let out a soft moan.

Damn, she was so fucking hot. So ready.

“Now, you stand there and do everything I say, without question.” He rolled his thumbs over her hard nipples, forming his next words carefully. “And maybe…maybe I’ll reward you for being a good girl.”

She dropped her head back on his shoulder, a tiny sigh escaping her. He stared down at her face, memorizing every soft detail. The way her lashes curved over her cheekbones. Her plump, red lips. The strawberry blonde eyebrows that contrasted with her smooth, porcelain skin. She reminded him of…

Shit, he couldn’t quite place it.

Shaking his head, he forced his thoughts out of his mind, and focused on the present. The very real, beautiful,
hot
present that currently moaned in his arms. He trailed his fingers up her arms, trapping her palms between his and the wall when she tried to move them. While holding her in place, he nibbled on her throat, biting down with enough pressure to sting a little bit.

Damn if she didn’t taste like fucking heaven, too.

“Don’t move until I say you can,” he growled, letting go of her. “Understood?”

She didn’t move. “Yes, sir.”

He ran his hands over her soft skin, tensing when she let out a sexy as fuck moan. He traced her curves, letting his fingers memorize her body, and then when he reached the hem of her shirt, he balled it in his fist. “This needs to go.
Now
.”

She nodded frantically. “Do it. Take it off.”

Tsk
ing, he shook his head. “You’re not the one giving out the orders.” Inch by slow inch, he pulled her shirt up until it snagged on her arms. “You may lift your arms for me.”

Her arms raised above her head, and she shot him a teasing look. “Like this?”

“Fucking perfect.” He yanked her shirt over her head and tossed it. Without wasting a second, he undid the clasp of her bra. Skimming his fingertips over her bare skin, he lowered her arms down to her sides, threading his fingers with hers. She seemed pretty damn steady, but he had to ask. “You’re certain?”

She bit down on her lip and nodded once. “Y-Yes.”

“Then you’re mine for the rest of the night.” His grip on her flexed, and he nibbled on the bare skin at the base of her neck. Her bra hung off her shoulders, but he didn’t remove it yet. He liked to unwrap his presents slowly. “All. Fucking. Mine.”

A small, fragile sounding moan escaped her. It made him want to cradle her close and protect her from everything and everyone. Even him.

Hell,
especially
him.

He slid his hands up, touching every inch of smooth skin as he went along, and slipped his fingers under the straps of her bra. The tips of her dusky nipples were visible over the top, and he couldn’t look away. Delicious.

There was no other way to describe her.

He flicked his fingers and the bra fell to the floor, landing at her feet. She shuddered and raised her arms, as if to cover herself, and he growled. “
Don’t.
”

She shivered, freezing instantly. “Whatever you say, sir.”

It was obvious that she got off on him being bossy while seducing her. So he roughened his voice even more and said, “I didn’t tell you to move. Hands on the fucking wall,
now
.”

“S-Sorry.” She slammed them in place, her shoulders rising and falling with each ragged breath. “You’re killing me.”

“I haven’t even started yet.” A small laugh escaped him, and he gripped the waist of her jeans. “Not even close.”

“Oh my God,” she moaned, dropping her forehead on the wall.

He hadn’t given her permission to do that, but he let it slide. She’d said she liked to play rough, but something told him she didn’t have much experience actually
doing
it. Maybe she’d fantasized, or read that
Fifty Shades of Whatever
book that all women fawned over, but she didn’t seem to actually know what she was getting herself into. That was fine. He’d just have to take it slow with her.

They had all night. And he’d never wanted to take his time exploring a woman’s body more than he did hers. He’d relish in every inch of skin he uncovered. Every sigh, moan, and cry. By the time he was finished with her, she’d never be the same again.

But for the first time, he worried
he
might not be, either.

Ignoring the warning voices whispering in his head that said this woman was different, he gently undid the button of her jeans and slid his fingers inside her pants. She wore a tiny scrap of satin underneath those jeans, and she was soft and shaved. Cupping her from behind, he rubbed his palm against her clit.

She moaned and curled her hands into fists. “
Holt.
”

“Yeah?” he breathed into her ear, pressing his lips to the soft shell. “You need more?”

“Yes. More.” She bit down on her lip. “So much more.”

Yeah. Me too.
“Hmm.” He sank to his knees and removed his hand. “Not yet.”

A frustrated sound escaped her. “Oh my freaking God. I’m going to kill—”

“I suggest you stop that threat right there.”

She slammed her mouth shut. “
Fine
.”

“What’s that? I didn’t hear you. I believe the proper response is, ‘yes, sir.’”

Mutinously, she glared down at him.

He palmed her ass, squeezing her through her jeans. Experimentally, he slapped her. She jumped, her cheeks flushing with color. “Say it.”

She licked her lips. “Or what?”

“I’ll spank your ass until you can’t sit down without thinking about me, and what I did to this hot little body of yours tonight.”

Staring down at him, she said nothing.

With one quick jerk, he pulled her pants down and closed his palm over her. Damn if she didn’t fit perfectly in his hands, too. If he were the sentimental type, he’d say she’d been made for him and him alone. Good thing he wasn’t, though.

With a groan, she arched her back, pressing more fully into his palm. “Go on, then,” she breathed.

He smacked her through the lacy satin of her red panties. The sound vibrated through the otherwise silent house. So did her answering moan. “Say it. You know what I want to hear,” he growled, rubbing the spot he’d just struck.

She shook her head, her hair falling about her shoulders and hiding her face from him. He didn’t like that. He wanted to see every emotion as he fucked her senseless. The frustration. The need. The pleasure. He didn’t want to miss a thing.

Reaching up, he smoothed her hair gently off her face, and spanked her again. “Say it.”

“No,” she moaned.

“So stubborn. So sweet.” He slipped his hand between her thighs, tracing her slit. “So wet and ready. You know you want me. All you have to do is say those two little words…” He withdrew his hand—which proved to be harder than it should have been—and caressed the other side of her ass. The one he hadn’t touched yet. “And you can have me.”

She bit down on her lip. He bent down and pressed his mouth to her bare shoulder, kissing her, and pulled back. Without wasting a second, he smacked her ass again. She cried out, trying to squeeze her thighs together, but he inserted his knee between hers so she couldn’t. “
Holt
,” she moaned, all breathless and sexy.

He smacked her again, harder than before, and rubbed his thumb against her clit, balancing the pleasure with the pain. She cried out, biting her lip even harder. Her stubbornness was fucking hot as hell, but she needed to break before he did. She was testing his strength in ways most women didn’t even get close to touching.

He scraped his nail over her clit, biting down on her neck at the same time. She was so hot and ready for him, and damn it, he was ready for her.

“Oh my God,” she gasped, dropping her head on the wall.

“You want more?” he asked, nibbling on her ear as his fingers worked over her. “I can give it to you. Anything you want.”

He thrust inside of her, rubbing his palm against her as he did so. Every muscle within him screamed that he needed to take her. Fuck her. Own her.

He didn’t do any of those things.

“Don’t stop,” she said, her voice barely there at all.

“Say it.” He stilled, and he pulled his palm away—touching, but not touching where she needed it most. “Say it, damn it,” he growled, smacking her ass again.

“Yes, sir!” she cried. “Yes, yes,
yes
.”

“Good girl,” he said, satisfaction punching him in the chest.

Then he twisted his hand and she cried out, her pussy clenching down tight on him. He brought her to the edge, and then he pulled back, not letting her fall over. Not yet, anyway. Not until he was ready.

Without a word, he ripped his shirt off and tossed it behind them. She looked over her shoulder, her lips parted. “M-May I please turn around?”

He froze with his hands on his buckle. “Why?”

“I want to look at you.” She paused. “All of you.”

His gut fisted tight. “Yeah. You can look.”

She spun slowly, her hands flat against the wall. Nothing prepared him for how hot she’d look, all hot and wanting and
naked
. He’d seen lots of naked women, but none of them affected him like this.

Strange, but true.

Her breasts were full and soft, but the tips were hard. Begging for his touch. And her waist was narrow, but it flared out generously for her hips. Those hips were meant for a man’s hands.
His
hands. And, man, he wanted to touch.

Her scrutiny dipped down, lingering on his abs. She licked her lips and returned his stare. “You should go shirtless more often. Damn.”

Chuckling, he undid his pants. “Thanks.”

She reached out and trailed her fingers over his shoulder, tracing the scar from his last tour in Afghanistan. The one where he’d almost died. It was the newest among his marks, scars, and wounds—some visible, some not.

“What happened here?”

He shrugged, his mind closing down. He didn’t like thinking about it, and he sure as hell didn’t like talking about it. “Nothing. Just an accident.”

She looked up at him as if she wanted to say more, but she didn’t. Just stared. “I see.”

Her fingers dipped lower, skimming over his pecs. She traced another scar, her touch feather light. Funny, how light it was, but yet…it hit him like a punch to the gut.

“I…” He tried to think of something witty to say, but he came up blank. His brain had shut off on him again. How fucking typical.
Asshole
.

She pressed her open palm to his scar. “This another accident that was nothing?”

That one he received when his father had beaten him with a stick for talking back. He hadn’t said a word. He’d been ten. “Yeah.” He flexed his jaw. “Enough questions. I don’t like talking about it.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

She dropped her hand to his. He still had his fingers on the button of his pants, but he hadn’t undone it yet. Her touch was both erotic and soothing, all at once. So fucking weird. He’d never felt so fucking drawn to one person before. Not like this. “Lydia…”

She dropped to her knees, skimming the hard tips of her breasts over his bare skin as she did so. “Yes, sir?”

“Fuck,” he moaned, his abs tensing and jerking at her touch. “I didn’t tell you to go down there.”

“I know. I’ll come back up, if you want me to, though. But I’d rather do this.” She undid his button, and he balled his hands at his sides. “May I?”

His breath hitched in his throat, and he wanted to tell her one last time that she should run, save herself from a man like him, because she deserved better. Instead, he fisted his hand in her hair and clenched his jaw. “Yes. Fuck, yes.”

She unzipped his pants and tugged them down. He stepped out of them, never releasing his hold on her head. As soon as he was free of the khakis, she closed her hand around his cock through his boxer briefs. “You should walk around without pants, too.”

He stiffened, every muscle in his body going harder than the last. “Somehow, I think people might object to that.”

“Not women,” she said dryly.

He snorted. “Yeah, maybe—” He cut off on a groan. Leaning in, she flicked her tongue over the head of his cock. Even through the cotton of his boxers, it was enough to make him hiss. Enough to get him dangerously close to the edge. And the worst part was? He didn’t give a damn.

He wanted to fall.