Bound and Determined (8 page)

She wanted to scream from frustration, thought she’d go up in flames at any second. And then with one deft movement he let his cock slide between her thighs, rubbing back and forth, teasing her labia with the motion. She pushed her ass back farther into him, needing to cause more friction.

Marcus groaned and finally let his fingers trail down, down, down until they touched her clit. Between his cock and his fingers, she didn’t know which sensation was going to drive her insane first.

“Bend forward. A little bit more. Oh yeah. Just. Like. That.”

Condom in place, he rubbed the head of his cock in her slippery juices before pushing his way in with unrelenting force. Stretching her, filling her to bursting. It shocked her just how big he was each time he thrust into her. How perfect.

Without giving her a chance to catch her breath, he pulled out and began pounding into her. Fast and hard. Hot and deep. Mind-blowing. Perfection. Her orgasm building fast, she was almost there. Almost…

One hand left her hip, moved down until his fingers stroked her clit in delicious circles, and she flew off the precipice, soaring into the blissful heavens of release. If Marcus hadn’t held her up, she would have collapsed on the floor. But he rode her through it and slammed home, coming hard in a feral growl, spasming inside her.

He collapsed against her, holding them both up with a shaky hand wedged against the counter.

He’d worn her out. Again. Deep down, she suspected that no matter how many times they had sex, she would never have enough of him.

And that, more than anything, scared the shit out of her.

Chapter Nine

Asia woke up, slowly becoming aware there was an arm draped over her waist and a hand clasped around her naked breast.

This was not the usual way she woke up in the morning. In fact, she couldn’t
remember
the last time she’d had a man cuddled up to her in bed like this. She had to admit it felt really,
really
good.

In spite of her initial determination to go home, Marcus had managed to talk her into staying the night. They’d had a nice quiet evening talking and watching a movie in bed. In fact, that was the last thing she remembered. She must have fallen asleep before the movie ended. Not too surprising since she hadn’t been sleeping very well since the robbery.

What time is it?
She peeped open her eyes. “Holy crap. I slept in.”

Marcus’s arm tightened around her and he squeezed her breast. “What?”

His voice was groggy and sexy as hell, and all Asia wanted to do was cuddle back into him. Instead she tossed back the blanket, disentangled herself from his arms and jumped out of bed. “I’m late. I have to open the shop.”

That got his attention. “Shit. I was going to make us breakfast.”

She raced toward the bathroom to wash up. “No breakfast today. I barely have time to get dressed.”

“Okay, I’ll pick up something and we can eat it in the shop.”

Asia stopped in her tracks and turned back around. “What are you talking about?”

“Breakfast. You know, food. Sustenance.”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I meant.”

He grinned. “I’m coming with you into the shop today.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yeah, I am.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yeah. I am.”

She took in the determined look on his face and didn’t know whether to be charmed or annoyed. “But why?”

“Because in the middle of the night I remembered that your grandmother left for the weekend yesterday and I thought it might be easier for you if you didn’t have to be alone in the shop so soon after the robbery.”

The fact that she felt so relieved at the mere idea of not having to be alone in the shop annoyed her. That he’d known how she felt—even though she hadn’t told anyone—and had already decided to help her touched her more than she could even acknowledge to herself. Davis would never have thought of it, never mind put himself out this way.

But she couldn’t let Marcus do this. “You don’t have time to waste all day just to babysit me.”

“You’re right, I don’t. I have work to do, but that’s the advantage of being a writer. I can do it anywhere. I’ll bring my laptop, find a comfortable place to sit and work there instead of here. You won’t even know I’m there.”

She blinked back tears and at the same time almost laughed at the very idea she could
ever
be unaware of him if he was anywhere around her. “You sure?”

He got out of bed and padded over to her, his pajama bottoms hanging low on his hips, which brought her eyes down to his semi-erect penis. Her lower belly clenched in memory of the stupendous sex they’d had yesterday. Wishing they had time for a quickie right now.

He kissed her on the nose. “I’m sure. Now go get dressed before I ravage you. You look damned sexy in my T-shirt.”

He playfully slapped her bottom for emphasis and she giggled and scurried off. But not before teasing him with a saucy wiggle of her ass.

Once back in town, she ran up to her apartment to change into a T-shirt and skirt. They’d washed and dried yesterday’s muddy outfit, but there was no way she was wearing the same thing she had on yesterday to the shop.

Marcus was back with breakfast by the time she’d finished opening the store. Once they’d eaten, he set up his laptop on a Victorian pedestal desk that was close to the cash register counter and went to work.

The morning passed quickly. Much more quickly than if she’d been alone, jumping every time a customer stepped into the store, and she was grateful to Marcus for that. He typed away on his laptop while she took care of her usual tasks and the customers who dropped in.

Most people left Marcus alone to work, but Asia noticed that several of the female patrons eyed him with a lot of interest. One woman in particular was determined to catch his eye, and when the usual posturing didn’t work she stopped hedging and went right up to him, gushing about how much she loved his books.

At first Asia wondered what was niggling at her while she watched the woman openly flirt with Marcus, until she realized she was jealous. She’d never been the jealous type before. The first time had been when she’d caught Davis cheating on her three weeks before their wedding, and even then she’d been more furious and hurt than jealous. Now she realized that Davis’s treachery had done more than just break her heart and make her question her instincts with men. It had brought out a side to her personality that she really didn’t like. One more thing she could thank the jackass for.

And the jealousy was so unfounded. Not only did she have no claim on Marcus, but he wasn’t encouraging the woman at all. He was pleasant and charming, but that was it. She couldn’t fault his behavior at all.

What bothered her more was the woman’s sheer persistence. Marcus was a handsome man, and quite well-known. It wasn’t too hard to imagine that he had women throwing themselves at him all the time, but to see it firsthand was something else. This woman had even gone so far as to purchase his book down the street and come back so he’d sign it for her. With the way she was throwing herself at him, Asia couldn’t help but feel that it was only so she could tell him her name. No doubt hoping he’d ask for her number too.

Marcus handled the situation well, but he still hadn’t been able to shake the woman when Thea showed up.

“Hey, girl. I see you have some very interesting company.”

Asia glanced over at Marcus, who was starting to look a bit harried. “Yeah, I have a lot to tell you.”

Keeping her voice low, Thea said, “I can see that. What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

Thea frowned. “Okay, but I want details. I came by to see if you wanted some company for lunch.” She glanced pointedly toward Marcus. “But I’m guessing you have other plans.”

“Nothing definite.”

Asia took in Marcus’s phony smile that was looking more and more strained by the second and decided he needed saving. Besides, she was way past sick of this woman. She cut into whatever the woman was saying. “Hey Marcus. Don’t you have lunch plans?”

He turned away from the woman and gave Asia a look of such heartfelt gratitude, she almost laughed. “Yeah, I do.” He turned back to the woman. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but I have things I have to do. You understand, I’m sure.”

The woman looked seriously put out, but took the hint and left.

Marcus swiped his hands over his face. “Good God, I thought she’d never leave.”

Asia laughed. “You and me both.”

“I need to stretch my legs. Why don’t I get lunch for the three of us?”

“Great idea.”

They both told him what they wanted and he took off over to Lettie’s.

The second he left, Thea pounced. “Don’t keep me in suspense, what the hell’s going on?”

“I took your suggestion to heart.”

Thea’s eyes went wide. “You
slept
with him?”

Asia nodded emphatically. “The earth moved, the angels wept and my dry streak is officially over.”

Thea squealed like a little girl. “Wow, wow, wow. This is
awesome
news. And, may I say, about damned time.”

Asia laughed, enjoying her best friend’s exuberance on her behalf. “Yes, you may.”

“So how did it happen? Last time we talked you were still dead set against the idea.”

As much as she’d wanted to tell Thea what happened, she was loath to give too many details. It felt way too private somehow. “Well, I went to his place, sparks flew. He kissed me and one thing led to another.”

Thea’s face fell. “Please tell me that’s the condensed version. Otherwise I’ll be grossly disappointed in the man.”

“Let me put it this way. We initiated more than one room in his house.”

Despite her resolve to be straightforward about what had happened, Asia felt her face flame.

Thea burst out laughing. “Way to go, Marcus.”

“Yeah. And he definitely knows how to go the distance.”

“Yeah, but did he take
you
the distance?”

“Let’s just say I lost count of how many times I hit the big O.”

Thea nodded sagely. “Ah yes. A man of many talents. A great writer
and
a rock star in the bedroom. How are you dealing with all of this? I take it you’re going to see him again.”

Asia shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I guess so. This all happened so fast I haven’t had time to process it, but so far it just feels right. I’m having fun and I figure as long as I keep my heart out of it, I can have a good time without getting hurt.”

“As long as you remember that he’s not the settling-down type you should be fine.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t forget. That’s one of the perks of being with Marcus since I’m not ready to settle down anytime soon anyway. I might never be.”

Thea studied her closely and then nodded. “Okay then. So how did he end up here today?”

Asia shrugged. “He knew I’d be nervous in the shop by myself and he offered to come in and keep me company. Actually, he kind of insisted, but I didn’t put up much of a fight.”

“That’s why
I
came by. I was worried about you with Astrid not around.”

Asia hugged her friend hard. “You’re the best.”

Thea preened. “Of course, I am.”

They both laughed.

Marcus pushed through the front door, his arms full of bags. “Lunch has arrived.”

Once they’d eaten, Thea left and Marcus went back to his laptop. No customers were in the store, so Asia pulled out a book from under the counter, hoping Marcus didn’t see what it was.

He glanced over. “What are you reading?”

She
so
didn’t want to tell him. “Oh, nothing you’d be interested in.”

“How do you know?”

He had a point. “Well, I think it’s safe to say you don’t read romances.”

He grinned. “Okay, you’ve got me there.”

Asia blushed. “I figured as much.”

“Don’t be embarrassed. There was a time when I did read them.”

Her gaze shot to his, trying to discern if he was teasing her. “You did not.”

He nodded. “I did. You forget I grew up in a house full of women. They all read romances. They still do.”

“That may be, but I can’t imagine you reading one.”

He chuckled unselfconsciously. “Let’s just say I was motivated. Especially when I found out they had sex scenes in them.”

Picturing it clearly, Asia burst out laughing. “I guess I can see the appeal to a horny teenager.”

“You’d better believe it. I learned a
lot
from those books.”

Asia stood and walked over to him. Letting her fingers drift along his shoulder, she threw him an arch look. “Did you now? Anything I should know about?”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto his lap. “I can think of a few things.”

His free hand cupped her breast, shaping it, teasing the nipple as he leaned in to kiss the sensitive spot below her ear. Heat washed over her.

“I’d show you if we weren’t in a public place.”

“Chicken.”

His gaze speared hers and his wicked chuckle set her insides on fire. “You asked for it.”

He took her mouth in a slow kiss so sensual she thought she’d melt from the inside out. That’s all Marcus ever had to do. Just kiss her, and she became putty in his hands. She’d thought maybe last night was a fluke, but now she knew better. There was some kind of chemistry between them that was pure dynamite. And was as addictive as crack cocaine.

She raked her fingers into his soft, slightly overgrown hair and held him close as she drank deeply from his lips. Her tongue danced with his, thrusting, searching, tasting, as urgency built deep inside her.

His hand skimmed down her skirt and nudged below the hem, making its way to the apex of her thighs. Her pulse skipped to double time. She knew they shouldn’t be doing this in the shop. That they were playing with fire. After all, someone could walk in at any moment, but she couldn’t make herself put a stop to it.

His wickedly clever fingers started petting her through her panties, teasing her with the almost-there touch that wasn’t enough. She was already wet for him but she needed his fingers touching her skin, giving her clit some one-on-one attention. She spread her thighs as much as she could to give him greater access and he took immediate advantage, finding the edge of her panties and working his way in until he was touching her moist folds.