For One Night Only (17 page)

The thong received the same treatment as the dress, falling in tatters to the floor. He dropped to his knees parting her to his gaze. Running a finger over her, he groaned as he felt her moisture. Arrogance blazed in his eyes. They both knew he was responsible for how hot and wet she was and he wasn’t finished yet. Watching her intently, he leaned forward without touching her again and flicked the tip of his tongue over her clit.
Bethany felt her legs quiver as her head dropped back on a groan, gasping in shock as a finger entered her roughly. Leaning forward to suck her fully into his mouth, his finger probed deeper as his eyes burned into her, taking in every whimper and moan he created.

Falling slightly sideways, unable to support her own weight or take her eyes off him, she threw a leg over his shoulder and scraped the stiletto heel of her shoe down his back. Ruben growled in pain and punished her by plunging another finger into her pussy. Not believing how wildly she wanted him,
Bethany ground against his mouth, trying to finish it, trying to relieve the burning inside her. She could hear her own whimpers and his name on her lips, but it sounded alien to her. Her ears buzzed as the blood pounded around her body.

Suddenly, he pulled back.

His hand moved slowly inside her, keeping her prisoner, not quite enough to make her come.

‘Please,’ she begged him, ‘Please…’

‘Is this mine?’ he asked quietly, pushing into her repeatedly.
Bethany nodded feverishly and begged him again. ‘Tell me,’ he shouted.

‘It’s yours,’ she whispered hoarsely barely able to get the words out.

‘Who made you this wet?’

‘You…you did...’ She bore down on his hand, not caring anymore if he saw how easily he controlled her.

‘What do you want me to do?’ He was still angry, but she could almost smell the heat coming from him. He was barely controlling himself.

‘Fuck me…I want you to fuck me,’ she cried, voice breaking a little as frustration raged through her.

‘Maybe we should wait until we both calm down a little,’ he said, surprising her as he slid his fingers from her body. His expression gave him away. He wanted her to beg for more.

Bethany
gasped… before laughing out loud. His confused frown told her that wasn’t the reaction he was expecting, but she knew him too well to believe he was anymore able to stop at that point than she was. The huge erection bulging through his dress pants made it obvious that he desperately wanted her. His erratic, jealous behavior alarmed her slightly, but she was surprised to realize that she was getting a perverse pleasure in seeing him this out of control.

Their sex life was fantastic, but she always felt naïve and unsure compared to him. He played her body so easily that it was almost as if she had no control over the outcome. Just this once, it was liberating to see the wildness and uncertainty in his eyes.

She leaned back on the sofa, letting her hand trail down between her legs. His face was still level with her groin and his eyes were on her as she stroked herself slowly, taking advantage of the wetness his mouth had left. ‘I don’t think I can wait Ruben,’ she pondered aloud, trying to provoke him. ‘Maybe I should just do it myself?’

He growled, but he didn’t move, his eyes locked onto the movements of her hand.

‘Don’t you like my body?’ she teased, the breath catching in her throat as she saw him open his fly and grip his cock firmly. He began to pull on it hard, teeth biting down into his lip. The anger still simmering in her chest was making her go farther than she had ever dared before but she didn’t want to stop. On the verge of orgasm and so hot she could barely breathe, she loved watching his reactions to her words. ‘Don’t you want to fuck me?’ she asked on a groan intended to entice him.

A curse brought him to his feet and he picked her up, falling with her onto the sofa. Bethany’s nails scraped down his back as she pulled him harder onto her, causing him to hiss in pain before he grabbed her arms, pinning them over her head. Rising onto his knees, he slid an arm under her ass and brought her body up against his, her legs straddled open across his thighs. His free hand guided his erection to her opening but he hesitated, looking into her face, waiting for some sign that it was ok to take what he wanted.

Bethany
couldn’t believe him.
So now he wanted to be a gentleman?
He looked exactly how she wanted him, like a wild animal with his muscles bunched and flexed from holding her down as the sweat poured from his body. His hair had fallen across his face and she could barely see his eyes through the curtain of dark waves as he panted heavily, waiting for her response. ‘Don’t you dare stop now,’ she warned.

She moaned in satisfaction as he slammed into her hard, taking the breath from her body with the first, brutal thrust. His head slumped forward as he groaned deep in his throat, shudders racking him. She arched toward him, increasing the contact and using her body to bring her orgasm closer. Turning her head, she bit hard on his bicep, causing him to flinch and pull back his arm, freeing her hands. They went instantly to his hair, dragging him down to kiss her. He bit her lip firmly, inflicting just enough pain to make her wince. Sitting back on his heels again, he dragged her body with him, still impaled on his cock. Wetting his thumb, he reached down to circle her nub, fingers splaying out over her abdomen. His possession of her was total and he knew it.

His own orgasm began, making his words feverish. ‘Is this mine?’ he asked again, his eyes no longer angry, just desperate to hear what he needed.

‘It’s yours,’ she uttered on a whisper, as her orgasm came. The warmth spread up through her from his fingers, radiating in waves deep into her stomach.
Bethany could feel her walls clenching around him, trying to pull him in further. She began to cry, sheer sensation overwhelming her, leaving only one way to release it. Barely recognizing the sound, she heard him utter her name over and over, his voice finally subsiding into one long, low groan as he shuddered into her.

Bethany
had no idea how long they lay frozen in position, too tired to move. His head stayed in the crook of her shoulder, his breathing hard against her skin. She felt his body sag briefly before he let out a ragged sigh.

‘Ruben?’ She said his name waiting for him to lift his head. The eyes that looked down at her finally were saddened and full of remorse. She could see he felt guilty and ashamed. Once more, she felt bad for provoking him earlier. In some ways, she was much stronger than him.

Unwinding his limbs from hers, he sat abruptly, propping his head in his hands. ‘I’m such an idiot,’ he mumbled into his palms.

‘Hey, it took two of us to have this fight you know.’

‘I am so sorry, I just get mad with jealousy,’ he explained. ‘When I saw you kissing that guy, I lost my mind a little.’

Bethany
told him again what had happened, finally managing to make him understand what he had seen. He got angrier as he listened, disgusted at the behavior of a so-called friend. By the time she finished the telling, she had to stop him from going back to punch him out.

‘That doesn’t excuse my behavior,’ he continued. ‘I should never have been that rough with you.’

‘Do you hear me complaining?’ She smiled, desperate to take the look of pure desolation from his face. The thin smile she got in return didn’t reach his eyes. ‘I’m sorry too—I could see you were losing it and I provoked you.’

He didn’t look convinced, so she decided to change tack. ‘Besides, it will be a cold day in hell before I can’t handle you with one hand tied behind my back.’

He laughed finally before gasping as she slipped her hand down to gently caress him. He surprised them both by springing to life instantly.

‘Is this mine?’ She asked, laughing at him, making him blush.

‘Hell, yeah.’

Ruben threw the microphone to the floor, before swinging around to glare up at the sound engineer. ‘What the hell is going on? How hard is it to stop a little feedback?’

God, he had to get a grip on his temper
. The guy had visibly paled, unsure why he was in the firing line.
It wasn’t his fault—hell, it wasn’t anybody’s fault
, Ruben thought. Nobody else was responsible for the fact that he was no better at controlling his temper than his father. It hurt to have to admit that to himself.

It had been about a week since their terrible fight. He hadn’t been able to forgive himself, despite Beth’s assertions that she was fine and felt equally responsible. Ok, so she’d admitted provoking him, but she wasn’t capable of making him do something that wasn’t in his nature. The fact that it had ended in sex only made things worse in his opinion. That was something else he had in common with his father—his parents had always gone to bed after their battles, without a thought or a care for the terrified child hiding under his bedcovers in the next room.

Ruben wasn’t in the mood for work. Gesturing to Byron that he was going backstage, he moved quickly, desperate for some fresh air. Finding the stage door, he forgot himself and threw it open, striding out into the alley. The screams that rent the air stopped him dead.
Idiot.
He’d forgotten there would be fans outside—there were always fans outside.
Shit, why couldn’t they leave him alone?
Slamming the door quickly, he stalked to his dressing room.

Wishing Beth was around, he sank onto a sofa and tried to relax. She’d stayed in
London an extra day before joining him in
Madrid
. The charity project was going well and demanded a lot of her time. He didn’t like her being away from him at all, but if there was a good reason for them to be apart, this was it.

Ruben wanted so much to believe her when she said everything was still ok between them. She said she had forgiven him, but how could he be sure? Maybe she was right; maybe he was the only one who had a problem with what had happened.

Bethany
had teased him over it at first, saying how wild he had been until finally, he snapped, asking her if she was proud of making him lose control. She’d been hurt and shocked, saying she had no idea he’d taken it all so seriously. After a few hours spent trying to convince him that it hadn’t changed her opinion of him, she’d given up. Neither of them had mentioned it since.

Byron came into the room, surprising Ruben by tapping on the door as he entered.
Since when had Byron ever knocked?

‘What’s up?’ Ruben asked, his eyes flicking from the concerned look on his friend’s face to the piece of paper he held in his hand. ‘Bad news?’

Byron looked nervous, taking a seat before handing him the email. ‘You’d better just read it.’ Frowning, Ruben snatched it from his hand, scanning it quickly. ‘Don’t worry about it, we will get it sorted out,’ Byron said nervously. ‘The lawyers will handle it.’

Reading it for a third time, Ruben still couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He had a child? Scanning Byron’s face for some guidance on what to think or say, he was stunned, his brain simply not functioning. ‘I’m a father?’

Byron jumped from his seat to stand at Ruben’s side and place a comforting hand on his shoulder. ‘Hold on, that’s what this woman claims, but that doesn’t make it true,’ he said softly. ‘Don’t worry about it for now. We’ll know more once the tests are in.’

‘Tests?’

‘Paternity tests, Ruben.’

‘Do I even know this woman? When was this supposed to have happened?’ Ruben couldn’t remember the last time he’d had sex with anyone except
Bethany. Oh God…Bethany.
What was she gonna think?

‘She is a dancer from
Miami—claims she met you in
Brazil last August. Remember we were there for the World Music Festival in
Bahia?’

His stomach churned as he remembered the girl he’d been with that night. She had been hot enough to break through his boredom and spark his interest. Watching her samba for an hour or so, he had been ready and waiting for her when she turned her attention his way. Their night together hadn’t been particularly memorable. He grimaced. ‘I remember.’

He bristled at the judgmental look Byron leveled at him. ‘Hey, don’t look at me like that. I was careful. I always wore protection…you know that.’ Ruben ran a hand through his hair. ‘Hell, I still wear it with
Bethany.’

‘What are you going to tell her?’

‘Beth?’ He shook his head. ‘Nothing.’

‘You can’t possibly keep this from her!’ Byron exclaimed.

Ruben’s face set in defiance. Avoiding his friend’s censure, he dropped his head into his hands, groaning at the absurdity of it all.

‘Look, I know this kid isn’t mine. I wore a condom,’ he reasoned aloud, as if trying to convince himself. ‘And as soon as the tests are in, this will all be forgotten.’ Searching Byron’s face for reassurance but finding none, he continued. ‘Things are really difficult between Beth and me at the moment. I am not gonna risk losing her over this.’