Three Broken Promises (17 page)

Right?

The fact that I have no real plan is scary too. I did find a possible roommate via an online ad site whom I spoke to on the phone earlier. She’s a year younger than me, a junior in college, and works part-time. She just lost her old roommate and is trying to do everything all on her own, and she’s failing miserably. Drowning in the endless bills that come with being a responsible adult, a roommate would totally ease her financial burden. And mine, of course.

She sounded ideal, so I committed to her and sent her the deposit money via PayPal not even an hour ago. Then I ran into the bathroom and immediately threw up. I’m so freaked out over whether I’m doing the right thing I’m making myself sick over it.

This is by far the toughest decision I’ve ever made in my life.

Tossing the magazine on the tiny table next to me, I readjust the lounge chair so it’s pretty much flat and lie down, closing my eyes. I should not be soaking up the sun with skin cancer being prevalent and all, but I slathered myself in sunscreen before I came outside. The heat feels good on my mostly bare skin and deciding to be daring, I untie my bikini top, letting the strings drop so I won’t have tan lines across my chest.

One wrong move and the top goes bye-bye, but who’s going to see? I’m alone out here. The people who live on either side of Colin both work, so there are no stay-at-home moms hovering, no little kids running around in their backyards. I could sit out here naked and skinny-dip in the pool. No one would be the wiser.

Deciding to go for it, I sit up and untie the string that stretches across my back, flinging the top onto the ground. I sigh with satisfaction as I settle back down onto the lounger, adjusting my sunglasses and closing my eyes to the too-bright sun.

Just for a few minutes, I tell myself. I’ll lie here for a little bit and let the sun warm skin I don’t normally expose at all. It feels good, almost . . . sexual. Well, everything these last few days has felt sexual what with the constant state of arousal I’ve been living in.

I’ve been with other men, too many of them probably, though I keep my numbers to myself. Then there are the ones no one knows about, the ones that don’t count. The ones who paid me money for a quick good time, money I’d desperately needed.

Not that Colin will ever,
ever
know about those men . . .

But no one, and I mean not a single one of them, made me feel like Colin does. One smile from him and I want to melt. He can touch me in the most casual of ways and my knees threaten to buckle. And when he kisses me, I swear I lose a few brain cells every single time.

Arousal trickles through me at the thought of his drugging, delicious kisses. My nipples bead almost painfully and I’m tempted to touch them. To ease the ache that’s slowly but surely building inside me . . .

“Well, well, well. Now
this
is a pleasant surprise.”

Tingles sweep over my skin at the sound of Colin’s velvety deep voice. Lifting my head, I open my eyes to find him standing on the other side of the pool, near the back door that leads into the house. I can’t believe I didn’t hear the door open or shut.

I wonder if he thinks I’m out here like this just for him.

“I didn’t expect you home,” I say, rolling my eyes behind my dark sunglasses. Such a lame reply but he doesn’t seem to mind, not if the grin on his face is any indication.

“You lie around outside half naked all the time then? I should be staying home in the morning more often.” He starts toward me, the epitome of mouthwateringly delicious, wearing jeans and a simple white T-shirt. The way his shirt stretches across his shoulders and chest make me itch to tear it off him.

Shrugging, I struggle for nonchalance, though inside anticipation curls through me, making me burn . . . everywhere. He’s moving with a predatory grace that makes my mouth dry, his gaze never leaving me. Suddenly nervous, I look around for my bikini top, spotting it on the concrete right next to the lounger, and I bend down, snatching it up, ready to tie it back on. Or at the very least, cover myself. I’m feeling exposed. Silly for lying around half naked like this.

“Oh, no you don’t.” He’s at my side in an instant, pulling the swimsuit top from my fingers and tossing it far out of reach. His smug grin is downright wicked as he settles on the edge of the lounger, his hip nudging my side, the denim of his jeans rough against my bare skin. He takes me in, his greedy gaze raking over me before landing on my chest, and my nipples literally ache for his touch. “Enjoying the sun?” His husky voice twists my insides, making me breathless.

I lick my lips, sitting up so my face is close to his. “Yeah.” Leaning in, I brush my open mouth against his, lingering, tasting. His tongue darts out, teasing mine with gentle flicks, and I moan softly.

“Fuck, you’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” His large hands graze my breasts, his palms brushing against my nipples so lightly I can almost believe I’m only imagining he’s touching me.

But he’s real. His hands on me are real. Hot and seeking and knowing exactly what I need to fill me with uncontrollable desire for him.

“I swear I had no idea you would come home. You’re usually gone in the mornings,” I say in my defense. He goes into his office when it’s quiet and he can get paperwork done. Phone calls made, emails answered, whatever it is that he needs to take care of. He’s been extra busy lately what with the new location opening soon. “I thought I had a morning to myself.”

“Tell me.” He kisses me, a quick, sweet kiss though his mouth lingers, barely moving away from mine. “Were you going to touch yourself out here, Jenny? Have a little fun while I’m gone?”

“No.” I shake my head, biting the tip of his finger when he reaches out to trace my bottom lip, making him softly yelp. He doesn’t remove his finger from my mouth, though. “But I was thinking of you.”

“What were you thinking about?” His voice has gone tight, a sure indicator he’s aroused, and I smile.

“How much I miss you.” I kiss him again and he cups my face with one hand, holding me, his mouth coaxing mine open before I break away. “How much I wished you were here. Touching me.”

His smile grows. “Well, your wish is about to come true.”

Colin

My wish is about to come true too. Hell, it already has. What man doesn’t want to find the woman he’s obsessed with lying half naked in his backyard in the middle of the morning? Looking like my every teenage wet dream come to life in a skimpy bikini and no freaking top, her breasts bare and skin gleaming in the sun. Her hair is in a high, sloppy ponytail, big black sunglasses shadow her eyes, and she’s . . . beautiful. Sexy.

Just having her like this makes me painfully aroused, and I take a deep breath to calm myself and slow my roll. Swiping her sunglasses from her face, I place them on the table next to her chair before I settle both of my hands on her breasts, taking their gentle weight in my palms and cupping her. Her hard nipples stab my palms and I roll them between my thumb and index finger, pinching slightly, making her cry out.

She likes it a little rough, just like I do. I fucked her last night from behind, pulling her hair, giving her one of many spectacular orgasms. She’s so responsive, so unbelievably into it, into me, and I feel the same exact way.

I can’t get enough of her.

“Are you wet for me?” I ask gruffly. She likes it when I talk dirty to her, too. There are so many hidden depths and secrets to this woman, she’s like a constant puzzle I’m trying to figure out. And once I believe I have her solved, something new pops up, making me realize that she might forever be a mystery to me.

And I like it.

“Why don’t you check and see?” she teases, a hint of laughter in her voice.

Sounds good to me. “Lie back, Jen,” I demand, using my extra-stern boss voice that for whatever reason seems to arouse her too. Jesus, it’s ridiculous how downright combustible we are together.

She does as I command, lying back on the cushy lounge chair, her legs spreading the slightest bit. I notice—I notice everything about her. The smell of her skin, her uniquely sweet fragrance mixed with the distinctive scent of sunscreen. Stray tendrils of hair brush her cheeks, the elegant length of her neck, and the delicate gold chain she’s wearing, a tiny floating heart dangling from it.

Leaning in, I slip my finger beneath the thin chain, playing with the little heart. “I gave you this,” I say, startled to see her wearing it.

Nodding, she swallows hard. I see the movement of her throat. “Yes, you did.”

It was for her high school graduation and I’d been so damn proud to give her something of value back then, even if it was less than two hundred bucks. She’d been so thrilled when I presented the tiny wrapped box to her, hugging me tight after she saw what was inside. Her whispered thank you close to my ear had sent a strange feeling spiraling deep inside me. The way her body fit, nestled so close to mine, tripped me up too.

No way could I ever forget that night. It was one of those moments that’s burned into my memory forever.

The night I realized I saw my best friend’s little sister as something more than a pesky girl trailing after us. The moment I realized that she was an attractive, desirable woman. Funny, how I immediately declared her off limits in my brain. I couldn’t fuck around with my best friend’s baby sister.

And look at us now.

Pushing the worrisome thought from my mind, I trace her collarbone, my gaze lingering on the necklace. “I like that you’re wearing it.”

“I like that you gave it to me.” Reaching up, she touches the necklace as well, our fingers colliding.

Before I say something completely out of hand, I lean in and kiss her, hot and hard and punishing. She yields to me as she always does, her tongue circling mine, her arms going around my neck, pulling me in closer. I swallow her soft, needy moans, touching her all over her body, touching her breasts, her flat stomach, skimming over her curves, until my hands are resting at her hips.

I toy with the skimpy strings that supposedly keep the bikini bottoms on her body, tempted to give them a tug. Pulling away from her, I sit back, watching her. Her breathing is shallow, her chest rising and falling, her skin glistening with the faintest sheen of sweat mixed with sunscreen and lotion and whatever else she’s rubbed on.

Damn, she’s pretty. I want to eat her up. Keep her locked inside my house for hours, days, weeks. Lose myself in her again and again until I can think of nothing else. Only Jen. Jenny. Jennifer.

She’s all three of those women to me.

Reaching out, I brush my finger over her hip bone, tracing it gently until I’m toying with the knotted bow that rests there. Slowly I undo it, watching the string unravel until it’s completely untied. I do the same to the other side, then slowly peel the front of her bikini bottom away, revealing her to me completely.

Sweat beads my brow and I lick my lips. I could eat her up, right here, right now. She spreads her legs some more, revealing pretty, pink glistening flesh, and when I lift my gaze to her face, I find her watching me. Her eyes almost black with desire, her lips parted as if she might be having trouble breathing.

I know I sure as hell am.

“Like what you see?” she asks coyly.

I don’t answer. Merely settle my hand over her, my palm brushing against her scant pubic hair, my fingers sliding in between her wet folds. She’s drenched for me, she’s always drenched for me, and the little whimper that escapes her at my touch sends an electric current straight to my dick.

I’m hard as fuck and can’t do anything about it. I glance around, knowing the neighbors on both sides of my house work. There’s no house behind us since my fence butts up to the street. Yeah, there’s a two-story home two houses over with a stay-at-home mom of three who’s always there, but she wouldn’t be paying any attention to my backyard, would she?

Maybe. But it’s a risk I’m going to have to take.

“I’m going to make you come,” I whisper, my fingers delving deeper, slipping inside her body. “I want to watch you.”

A hint of a smile curves her lips. “You always want to watch me.”

True. “I’ve never seen you come outside. In the sunlight.”

The smile grows, a soft sound of pleasure passing from her lips when I slip another finger inside her. “Is it your personal goal to see me come in as many places as possible?”

“How’d you guess?” I kiss her again before I say something really stupid. Like how much I don’t want her to leave me. How much I’ll miss her when she’s gone. How unnecessary it is for her to go because I’m slowly starting to believe we can make this work. If she’d only let me in.

I think I’m more than ready to let her in.

Chapter 14

Colin

Within minutes she’s moaning, writhing against my hand, her teeth sunk so deep into her bottom lip I’m afraid she’ll draw blood. She’s circling her hips against my fingers, my thumb plays with her clit, and then she’s falling completely apart, her orgasm sweeping over her and taking over completely.

I’m transfixed by the flush of her skin, the way her breasts heave with her labored breaths, how the inner walls of her sex contract around my fingers as the orgasm consumes her. Her pleasure gives
me
pleasure. With other women in the past, I was always eager to get off, too busy chasing my own orgasm. Rarely concerned if the woman I was with had come or not. So selfish, I know, but I’ve never denied that I’m a selfish guy.

With Jen, I want to make sure she’s coming. Always. And that I’m the only one who can make it happen for her. Who can make it so good, she won’t want anyone else.

“Every time I think it can’t get any better, it does,” she whispers, reaching for me. “I didn’t think that was possible.”

Neither did I. I feel the same.

I go to her, let her wrap her arm around my neck and haul me in as close as possible. She kisses me, her other hand resting on my chest. She slides her fingers down to skim across my stomach, drawing dangerously close to my stiff cock.

“Take me inside,” she says, and I slowly shake my head, making her frown. “Why not?”