Lori Foster (22 page)

“Already wet and hot.” He pushed two fingers into her, his gaze hard, going darker with her gasp. “Nice and tight, too.”

The pleasure coiled, and she tipped her head back, arching again.

On his knees beside her, Rowdy touched her breasts even while fingering her, and all the while, he watched her in absorbed fascination.

“I want you to come for me, Avery, like this.” He brought his thumb up to her clitoris, touching her with a tantalizing rhythm. “Once I get inside you, I’m not going to last.”

What he said and how he said it turned her on as much as what he did to her.

She got her eyes open and stared at him. “Please kiss me.”

He looked at his hand between her legs. “Here?”

Oh, God. She swallowed and held her arms out to him. “Rowdy.”

Half smiling, he leaned down and lightly brushed his mouth over hers. “Tell you what,” he said, then sealed his mouth over hers in a hot, tongue-twining kiss that left her breathless. When he lifted his head again, he murmured against her mouth, “There’s that kiss.”

Muscles already quivering in a rising climax, Avery stared at him, suspended in anticipation of what he’d do.

He touched his mouth to her throat. “And this kiss.”

Next his hot breath teased her breast right before he drew on her nipple in a soft leisurely suckle that ended with a lick. “And that one.”

He worked his way downward again, and with each kiss the pleasure sharpened until she was gasping.

“And now...here,” Rowdy whispered, lightly kissing her where she was most sensitive, priming her before he closed his mouth around her and drove her wild with the rough stroke of his tongue.

There was no holding back, no conscious thought of guarding his injured back. All she could do was cry out as the climax swelled inside her. Flattening one hand on her abdomen to keep her still, Rowdy pushed her, moving his fingers in her, his tongue on her.

She fisted the sheets to anchor herself until finally the orgasm began to fade.

Rowdy groaned, holding her close a moment before rushing to his feet and shedding his jeans.

Breathing hard, her heart drumming furiously, Avery watched him through a fog of satisfaction, how he hurriedly rolled on a condom in record time.

He stepped back to the bed, hooked his arms under her legs and pulled her to the edge of the mattress. “Sorry,” he murmured, his face set with some dark emotion. He positioned himself, then used her wetness to glide against her.

With all her nerve endings still tingling, the sensation was too acute and she tried to pull back. Impossible with the way Rowdy held her.

Watching her intently, he leaned in and slowly thrust in. She groaned and drew tight around him.

“So good,” Rowdy murmured, straining against her as he buried himself and then went still with an obvious effort.

“Rowdy,” Avery whispered, loving him so much. She touched his shoulders, down over his chest hair. He was rock solid all over, now more so with his arousal. She loved the contrast of his solid muscles and soft chest hair. “You don’t need to wait,” she promised him. “I’m ready, and I want this. I want
you.
”

His jaw locked, shoulders tensed and gaze burning...
“Fuck.”
He broke, driving into her hard and fast, keeping her legs high, pressing them out and back until he was going so deep Avery felt another climax building.

She continued to watch his face, seeing everything he felt, which made her feel it, as well. He pressed closer to kiss her, and that was incredibly hot, too. This time when she came, it took her by surprise. Instead of building, it hit her like a tsunami, racking her body and emptying her mind of all thought but the pleasure.

Having Rowdy inside her, filling her up and rocking her with that slick friction, made it almost too intense to bear. He put his forehead to hers and growled as he joined her with his own powerful release.

Avery held on to him as his big body slowly relaxed over her. He kissed her oh-so-gently this time, carefully untangling her legs from his arms, easing them down. But he didn’t relax. Already he explored her again, stroking, fondling.

A little amazed, Avery said, “Rowdy?”

“I need about twenty minutes.” He lifted his head to look at her. His gaze went over her hair and though he didn’t smile, she saw something in his eyes, something lighter than the usual emotion there.

“Twenty minutes?”

“Yeah. To recoup.” He blew out a breath and moved to the side of her, staying up on an elbow so he could look her over in more detail. “This little body of yours is even sexier than I’d imagined.”

She had no idea what to say, but she was starting to feel... Well, not so much flattered. Maybe...less inhibited?

Rowdy was just so bold, so raw about his sexuality. The appreciative way he studied her let her know he liked what he saw.

He put his hand on her stomach, his thumb dipping in her navel. As if he talked about the weather, he said, “I want to roll you over and take you from behind so I can get a better look at that sweet ass.”

Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.

“That’d be fine for my back, so don’t worry about it, okay? In fact, I can’t even feel my back right now. So why don’t you forget about it, too?”

“I...”

“I want you just to feel, Avery.” He drifted his hand down between her legs. “I like this, by the way.”

She lifted her brows. “This?”

He smiled. “A true redhead.” Leaning over, he kissed her breast. “And these soft pink nipples...all put together you make such a hot package.”

Never had she been complimented on anything so ridiculous. She didn’t know what to say, but tried a lame, “Thank you.”

He smiled lazily. “You’re welcome.”

She didn’t want to bring up Fisher, but she had no idea if his change in mood meant he forgave her. She tried a roundabout question. “May I spend the night?”

“Since I’ll be fucking you for hours, yeah. You should stay.”

She scowled at how he worded things, but that made Rowdy laugh.

“Oh, no, you don’t, lady. Don’t get all prim on me now.” He cupped a hand over her jaw, amused and not bothering to hide it. “You damn near stopped my heart, skinning down to those see-through panties and sashaying across the room like it was nothing.”

“I don’t sashay.” She’d been so nervous—and so cold—it had taken considerable concentration just to get one foot in front of the other.

“All this,” he said, running his fingers over her still-damp hair, “playing peekaboo with the good parts.” He gave a low growl of appreciation. “You are the sexiest little package I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

“The things you say.” He sounded like he meant it, which left her warm with pleasure. No one had ever showered her with outrageous compliments, especially not on anything so private.

She’d dated, of course, but men did not beat her door down in pursuit. In comparison to how the women flocked to Rowdy, she was in the minor league.

“It’s true,” he said. “You have a sinful little body made for fun.”

“You’re the only man I know who ever thought so.”

Only after the teasing words were out did Avery realize it was the wrong thing to say, because it reminded him of Fisher and the secret she’d shared.

As if it had never gone, Rowdy’s regular, hard-edged demeanor fell back into place. Shadows filled his eyes and anger tightened his muscles.

He didn’t move away from her, didn’t stop stroking her so gently, but everything...changed.

“I guess that brings us back to Fisher, doesn’t it?”

She shook her head, but Rowdy sat up. “Shower first, I guess.” He removed the condom as if he didn’t have one very fascinated lady watching. “I’ll find you another shirt to wear while you turn on the dryer.”

Grateful for the reprieve, brief as it might be, Avery sat up and pushed her hair away from her face. “Could I just go ahead and wash everything?”

“Do whatever you want.” He looked her over again, then shook his head. “Make yourself at home.” Going to the dresser he found a T-shirt—this time white—and tossed it to her.

As she tugged it on, he asked, “Hungry?”

Now that he mentioned it... “A little.”

His attention lingered on her legs. “Can you wait for an hour?”

She had planned to be sleeping in an hour, but she shrugged. “I guess. Why?”

He caught her hand and pulled her forward. “Because I’ve changed my mind. Fisher can wait.” His hands went to her backside, palming her under the T-shirt. “Right now, this is more important.”

“What—”

Lifting her up, he kissed away her protest.

The man definitely knew how to use his mouth—in many ways.

He seemed to take a lot of pleasure in her hair, too, tangling his hands in it, bringing it over her shoulders to rest over her breasts. He stripped the T-shirt right back off her.

Avery thought he’d rush her, and after coming twice, she wasn’t sure she could keep up. But if that’s what Rowdy wanted and needed, she was more than happy to accommodate him.

What a joke.

By the time he bent her over the bed and slowly entered her, she was wild for him, demanding that he hurry.

Holding her hips, he said, “Rise up on your arms, honey.”

She struggled to her forearms.

“Nice.” He stroked her waist. “Arch your back a little—that’s it.” He groaned, nuzzling against her nape, giving her a hickey or two.

He said near her ear, “I like it this way,” in a voice dark with arousal. “I can get to you easier.”

She found out exactly what he meant when he slipped one hand between her legs, the other up to a breast.

The way his fingers toyed with her, she was on the edge of release in minutes.
“Rowdy...”

“Not yet, babe.”

She moaned and pressed back into him. He tightened, so she did it again, rocking against him, clenching her muscles.

“Avery,” he growled in warning.

“Soon as I can get you on your back,” she promised, “it’s going to be my turn—”

“Damn it.”
He went still for a second, trying to prolong things.

Needing him now, Avery encouraged him, squeezing around him, moving.

He straightened, clasped her waist and gave in with a harsh groan.

This release was just as incredible, going on longer, easing away more slowly. She relished every second, languid from expending so much energy, numb from head to toe. She collapsed to the bed with a moan, Rowdy sprawled over her.

If he’d left the decision to her, she’d have dozed off just like that, warmed by his natural heat, cocooned by his big body. But he stayed with her for only five minutes before groaning and manfully pulling away.

“I need that shower more now than ever.”

Avery made a sound of agreement, but didn’t bother opening her eyes or moving.

She sensed Rowdy walking away, heard the shower start, and then he was back, scooping her up again. He kissed her forehead tenderly and said, “I’ll wash you if you can stay on your feet.”

The smile came sleepily. “No.” She put her nose in his neck and sighed. “I’ll take off your bandages and wash your back.”

“Appreciate it.”

“But we have to make it quick,” she admonished.

“No problem. I figure we need to eat and then catch a nap before I can have you again anyway.”

Her groan ended on a laugh. The man was insatiable.

How much luckier could a woman get?

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

R
OWDY
DID
HIS
best to act like business as usual, but she’d left him poleaxed with her disclosures. It was starting to make sense now, how jumpy she’d been the night she missed the bus, the weird phone calls she kept getting.

Fisher’s car trailing them.

She believed it wasn’t Meyer, but prank phone calls, while a sick and effective way to torment her, were a little lame for the rapey type. Rowdy wanted to know everything, but he could wait until she finished her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

He enjoyed the sight of her at his table in nothing more than a T-shirt. He wore only his boxers. It was...cozy.

If she’d be hanging around—and she would—he needed to pick up some real groceries. As a bachelor who, until very recently, had moved around a lot, he’d never gotten into the habit of stocking up on food. Little by little he’d accumulated a few things, but he’d get a list from Avery and...do what? Fucking play house?

Disgusted with himself, Rowdy bit into his own sandwich.

Avery eyed him. “Are you sure you don’t want me to put the bandages back on?”

He shook his head. “Feels better without them.” He sat back in the chair to prove it to her. “I might need one more night before I can have you bouncing on me, but sleeping on my back won’t be a problem.”

She threw her napkin at him.

Rowdy grinned. “I can picture it now.” He cocked a brow at her breasts. “And the picture inspires me.”

Pausing, she looked at his chest, down to his abs, and smiled. “Sort of inspires me, too.”

Oh, dirty pool. Not joking, he said, “Keep it up and we’ll be back in bed before you finish your milk.”

“No way.” She pointed her sandwich at him. “I need sleep, Rowdy, and so do you. You’ll just have to rein it in until morning.”

“We’ll see.”

Brows pinching down, she took a deep breath to deny him, and Rowdy said, “So all that boasting you did about me being a badass, that was meant as a deterrent to good old Fish, huh? You used me to warn him off?”

She deflated with guilt and looked away. “Can I be totally honest with you, Rowdy?”

“That’s how I’d prefer it.” What did she think? That he wanted her to lie?

“Well,
I’d
prefer that you not go after Fisher.”

“We’ll talk about it.” She could give him her reasons why he shouldn’t, and he’d explain why he was. Easy enough.

She wasn’t convinced, but she gave in anyway. “You are a very capable man and you know it. I had hoped that Fisher would realize it wouldn’t be easy to get to me again. That maybe he’d think I wasn’t worth the trouble.”

He knew Fisher’s type. Men like that didn’t want to lose—ever. And Fish himself had spelled out his continued interest. “You figure it’s him dicking around on the phone?”

“That’s the only thing that makes sense.” She pulled the crust off the last piece of her sandwich. “In one of the calls, I think he fired a gun.”

Rowdy lost his teasing mood. “A gun?”

“That’s what it sounded like. At first there was no one, then the gunshot.” She fidgeted. “After that...a man laughed. I can’t say that it necessarily sounded like Fisher, but it was muffled and I was shaken.”

Hell, if she’d told him that earlier, he’d have annihilated Fisher on the spot, piece of cake with a cherry on top. When he’d met Fisher at her homecoming, he’d wanted to stomp the bastard anyway.

Now he had good reason.

“He was the one following us that night.” Rowdy finished off his milk, giving her time to take that in.

Eyes rounding, Avery stared at him. “But...you’re saying he already knew where I was?”

“Guess so. I recognized the car and license plate when we got to Meyer’s.”

“That’s why you asked about it.”

He shrugged. “Fisher didn’t deny it. He said he was making sure you were safe.”

“He’s the reason I’m not safe!”

Pushing the last of his food aside, Rowdy leaned his forearms on the table and gave her his no-nonsense stare. “I need to hear all of it, babe. No more secrets and no more holding back. What exactly happened between you two?”

She withdrew, emotionally and physically.

Done playing, Rowdy left his seat, scooped her up and headed for the bed.

“Rowdy!”

He did like holding her. “Hmm?” No way should he have been horny again, but she pushed all his buttons, even when disgruntled. He needed to take it easy or she’d leave him just to rest.

“You cannot keep toting me around like a—”

He dropped her onto the bed, then crawled in beside her and situated them both so that they reclined, he on his back, she tucked into his side.

Avery fussed at him, shoving and swatting to free herself, but not really giving it her all.

“This would be more fun,” he said, tugging at the T-shirt, “if you were naked again.”

She gave up.

He kissed her forehead. “Comfortable?”

Sighing, she snuggled closer and nodded. “Yeah.” Her hand on his bare chest, she asked, “It’s okay on your back?”

It was his dick he was worried about. If the damn thing didn’t stay down, how could they finish talking? “All good. Now, about Fisher?”

She tucked her face against him. “Mom and Meyer wanted me to marry him. They were pushing big-time, but I never felt that way about Fisher.”

“You two dated?”

“A few times. Mostly company events. That sort of thing.”

“Ever sleep with him?”

She shuddered. “No.”

Satisfaction rushed through him. “So what did you do with him?”

“A few kisses only, and that was more than enough.”

“No need for details.” The last thing he wanted to hear about was Fisher touching her in any way sexual, even a simple kiss.

“There isn’t anything intimate worth telling anyway. I didn’t like him. He’s not the sterling example Meyer and Mom see him as, or the caring philanthropist everyone else thinks him to be. He does what’s expected of him to keep his good name, to get a write-off, or to build a connection to another company, not because he actually cares. To me he was condescending and bossy and critical.”

“Critical how?”

“No matter what I wore or what I said, he didn’t think it was good enough.”

What an ass. Rowdy teased his fingertips down her arm, her waist, her hip. “I like you best when you’re wearing nothing, but you look awful cute in your jeans, too.”

He felt her smile, then a kiss to his ribs. “Thank you.”

“And your hair...” He stroked his fingers through it. “Gotta say, it’s a turn-on.”

“Fisher tried to insist I get it cut and styled. He even set up an appointment with his salon.”

“Fisher has a salon?”

“A very expensive and exclusive place where he goes to get his hair cut. He had me scheduled for the works because he said I looked like a wild child.”

Rowdy had to lift up and stare at her. “You’re shitting me?”

She blinked up at him. “Uh...no.”

“God, he’s an idiot.” He rested back again. “You’re always classy. Nothing wild about you.” He gave her a brief hug. “Except maybe in bed, and Fisher knows nothing about that.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“So you told him to hit the road, and what happened?”

“Well, I tried to be a little kinder than that. I told him that we didn’t suit, so I didn’t want to take up more of his valuable time and that it’d be better if we just parted ways as friends, and only friends. He pressed me, saying my parents disagreed and that once I got settled down, I’d find my way.”

“Your way to
what?
”

“To being a good wife to him.” Her hand fisted on his abdomen. “He wouldn’t let it go. For weeks, he kept dogging me everywhere I went, showing up at events and acting like we were a couple.”

Hiding his growing turmoil, Rowdy waited, saying nothing, just encouraging her with casual strokes down her arm, over her silky hair, her cheek.

“We were at a park fundraiser.” She swallowed hard. “I tried to dodge him, but he wouldn’t leave me alone. He was obnoxious, being deliberately rude. He embarrassed me. So I was going to leave. I thought I had slipped away from his eagle eye by going out the back door of the pavilion. I figured if I could just make it to my car, I’d leave and then I’d stay away, regardless of Meyer’s business and the stuff Mom expected me to attend.”

Rowdy knew only too well how hard it was to outrun your problems. “He found you?”

She nodded. “I have no idea how he knew I’d left, but he was furious, saying I’d walked out on him. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t there
with
him anyway, that we’d arrived separately with no arrangements to hook up. In his mind we were a couple and I was just supposed to go along with that.” Curling in closer, her voice strained, she said, “He grabbed me. He’d been...rough before, deliberately hurting me, but not like this.”

“Hurting?”

For the longest time she didn’t reply, then she crawled up to his chest. “When you picked me up and carried me in here, you didn’t hurt me. Not at all. I knew if I said for you to stop, you would.”

“I’m glad you realize that.”

“We were sort of playing, and I enjoyed it.” She kissed his chin. “But every time Fisher would touch me, he’d...I don’t know. Squeeze my arms too tightly, push me too hard.” Her breath became more shallow, her words tight. “Everything with him was on the verge of being pain. It was almost like he enjoyed seeing red marks left behind. He’d hold my wrist so tight that I’d wince, then he’d look at it and...I don’t know. There was something in his eyes.” She swallowed, looked away and whispered, “Like maybe it turned him on.”

God, how Rowdy wished he had Fisher close at hand right now. “It was worse that night?”

With a trembling hand, she pushed her hair away. “He grabbed my upper arm and...and literally dragged me into the natatorium. I was so scared. I screamed for him to let me go but he wouldn’t.”

It wasn’t easy to ask questions when all he really wanted to do was hunt up Fisher and teach him the error of his ways. “A natatorium?” He’d never heard of such a thing.

“It’s a building that houses a pool. That time of night, with the fundraiser at the pavilion, it should have been locked. But somehow he had it opened.” She touched Rowdy’s jaw. “That’s the thing about Fisher, you know? He’s so well received in the community, so trusted, a supporter of so many causes, that he has unbelievable access...and trust.”

“You’re not alone now.” Rowdy wanted her to understand that. He hadn’t liked Fisher on sight, and now he had a good reason to chew on that dislike. “I trust
you,
not him.”

Her eyes grew wet. “That means so much.” Firming her lips, she stoically fought off tears. “No one else believed me, but I know Fisher intended to rape me. He deliberately ripped my dress and the way he kissed me—” She had to fight for another breath. “It hurt. I tried to turn away from him, but there wasn’t anything I could do.”

“Shhh.” He stroked her, kissed her and wished he could kill Fisher with his bare hands.

“I had his fingerprints on my arm for a week.” She looked at him. “And for more than a month, I could barely sleep.”

He knew all about having reality plague your dreams. Rowdy hid his rage and continued to soothe her. “How did you get away?”

She shook her head, as if remembering and sorting it out in her mind. “He’d backed me up to a wall and was trying to...to paw me. I wouldn’t hold still, so he just grabbed the front of my dress and tore it away.”

Yeah, Fisher was a dead man.

“When he tried to pull me down to the floor, I pushed away from the wall and we both stumbled. Fisher tripped over the material of my dress and fell backward. There was some pool equipment there and...I don’t know...he just sort of floundered and his feet came out from under him and I heard a big splash.”

Using his fingertips, Rowdy trailed up and down her arm. “You ran?”

Avery nodded. “It was dark and I couldn’t see that well, but I knew he fell in awkwardly. I heard the thud before the splash, but it wasn’t until later that I found out he’d hit his head on the way in. He ended up with a black eye and a busted nose and several stitches.”

“He deserved a hell of a lot more.”

She didn’t disagree. “Before I could even get home to tell Mom, Fisher had called them on his way to the hospital. He’d made up this elaborate lie about me accusing him of cheating and being furious.”

“Bullshit. You were furious at me and all I got was a soppy bar cloth to the chest.”

She gave a watery, tearful laugh and bent to kiss him. “I’m sorry about that.”

“You’ve long been forgiven.” He was glad to lighten her mood—but the teasing did nothing to alleviate the storm gathering inside him. He despised abuse at any time. But against a woman? Against Avery? That was almost too personal to bear. “I guess your folks believed you’d caused the problem?”

“They claimed I’d misunderstood and overreacted. He told them that he was upset at how badly I’d treated him, and my dress got ripped as an accident when I refused to talk to him. He said he was reaching for me and I shoved away—and of course, that’s how he fell in the pool and got hurt. But Rowdy, I swear, I know what he was going to do. He was so...ugly. So mean and out of control.”

“Shhh. I believe you.” She shivered, so Rowdy pulled her down and wrapped his arms around her. “That’s when you left home?”

“Only a few days later. Fisher had already spread his lies far and wide. I was furious that my friends and family all thought me a nutcase who’d had a jealous fit and attacked poor Fisher. I was humiliated and hurt and I just wanted away from it all.”

“Do you ever think you’ll return?”

She said immediately, “No.” Coming up to see him again, she added, “No, permanently. I meant it when I said I like my life now. I’m...free.”

“And poor.”

“And
free.
” She kissed him softly. “I have everything I need.”

Was he one of those things she needed? She’d said she loved him, but that could have been desperation, a way to find a safe haven. A way to get protection.

He was more than happy to oblige her. And maybe, even after he resolved the issue with Fish, she’d feel the same. “Stay with me.”