Return of the Bad Girl (20 page)

“You are so fucking sexy,” he said, bending down to tease the lobe of her ear, drawing it into his mouth with his teeth and loving that she countered his teases with the scrape of her nails on his skin.

“Oh, yeah?” Her voice was hushed and breathy.

He reached between them and cupped her through her jeans. “Hell yes.”

Her head fell back, and he took advantage, kissing below her chin and delivering open mouth nips and sucks until he reached the top of her breasts. He’d been dreaming of her like this, and as badly as he wanted to savor the taste of her skin, he found himself feeling frenzied. What if she changed her mind? She had to know that he’d let her go in an instant if she asked.

God, please, don’t let her ask that.
It might just kill him.

Reaching behind her back, Gabe released her bra, and after slipping it down her arms, he cupped one breast in each of his hands before dipping down to take one of her nipples into his mouth. Her hand cupped the back of his head as he closed his lips around her and sucked hard, gently grazing the peak with his teeth until she was writhing under his ministrations. Her soft cries were music to his ears and encouraged him to experiment. He wanted to please her, to make her feel safe and cherished.

Cherished? You need to stop thinking like that, man. This is sex—raw and hot, heat-of-the-moment play, and the minute it’s over, she’s gonna walk away.

Which is exactly what he’d been looking for, right? He’d wanted sex with no strings, just pure physical release. So why did the thought of meaningless sex with Caroline make him almost hesitate going further?

“Oh, Gabe,” she whispered softly.

It was exactly how he’d imagined she’d say it.

Gabe pulled away from her breast and moved his other hand down her body until he had the button of her jeans flicked open. The zipper was tricky one-handed, but when it finally opened, he pushed his hand down the front of her jeans. His fingers slipped inside her panties, pressing between her folds until he found the hard button of her clit. When her hips jerked up, he leaned over and placed his mouth against the shell of her ear.

“The ride’s not over yet, princess.”

Chapter Seventeen

“Sex is supposed to be messy, chaotic . . . and fun. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

—Miss Know It All

“O
HHH!”
C
AROLINE CRIED
as Gabe swiftly lay her flat on the desk.

Before she could move, he was removing her boots, tossing them to the side so fast, it caused laughter to bubble up her throat.

“Are we in a hurry?”

Her teasing was met with such heat, she sucked in her breath. Sure, she’d thought of sex with Gabe, imagined all the mechanics, but the raw wanting in his eyes made her weak. His gaze was possessive, and as his hands started inching her jeans down over her hips, every touch felt like a brand against her skin. His lips touched every inch of flesh he revealed, and she wasn’t sure anymore whether she was arching away from or toward his mouth.

She had always liked to be in control, had never just let a man do what he wanted, but after their turbulent first meeting and the last few weeks of back-and-forth, somewhere along the way, she had begun to trust Gabe. She trusted him to know what she would like and that he wouldn’t hurt her.

At least not physically, she amended, as her jeans hit mid-thigh, and his mouth hovered over her hips. There was no way she’d trust Gabe with more than her body. Even if he wasn’t the bastard she’d originally thought, she still couldn’t picture a future with him.

She felt the hot, wet press of his mouth through the black cotton of her panties, and the hard nub of his tongue piercing made her squeal with delight, the sensation dragging her out of her head for just a moment. He stopped tonguing her long enough to take her jeans all the way off, pulling her panties down her legs until she was completely exposed. It wasn’t the first time she’d been bared to a man in the daylight, but as the fabric of her underwear scraped softly down her skin, she felt nervous and jittery. Maybe because his hands were so gentle, suddenly in no hurry to rid her of this last scrap of clothing.

And then her panties circled her ankle before, with one final pull, they silently fell to the floor.

Gabe sat down in his office chair, gliding forward until he was right in front of her. Then he spread her legs and hooked them over his shoulders. As she looked down the line of her body to meet his dark gaze, she felt too exposed, the whole situation too intimate. Most of the men she’d been with hadn’t been all that interested in foreplay, and she’d never had a man in the position to see . . . well, everything. She started to tell him to stop, but he spoke first.

“Hang on.”

Without further ado, his big hands cupped her ass and brought her to his mouth. The wet heat sent her body lifting off the desk as the first sweep of his tongue set her aflame. Pushing his tongue inside her, Gabe flicked that metal bar against her clit in hard, swift strokes that had her nails digging into the wood to the point of pain.

God, sex had never been this intense or hot. Maybe it was the tongue ring or the way he took charge—never asking, just doing what he wanted—that had her dripping wet and throbbing. Then that familiar pulsing began, and whether it was his skill or the fact that her last orgasm had been over two months ago, she was suddenly lost moments later, shaking from the inside out—and it was a-fucking-mazing.

When she finally started to come down, all she could think was that she wanted to do it again and again and again.

The sound of metal on metal drew her gaze back to Gabe, who had already unbuckled his belt and was standing there with his jeans spread open, revealing the tops of his boxer briefs and the hard bumps of his abs above them. She stared at his six-pack, and a silly smile spread across her lips.

“You know, when you came out of the shower that first time in a towel, I thought your abs were hypnotizing.”

He stopped his movements, and she saw a square condom wrapper in his hand. “What?”

“Yeah, I pretty much think you could get away with walking around town nude, and no one would mind.”

“Have you lost your damn mind?” he asked before ripping the package open with his teeth.

“Just stating the facts. You . . . are . . . fucking . . . ho—”

Before she finished, he was kissing her, his hands cradling her face as his tongue slipped into her mouth, sweeping along her teeth. He tasted musky, and she realized it was her essence.

When he pulled away, he was sucking in air as he said, “For the last two weeks, I have done nothing but think about you. About how good you smell and the way you would feel if I could just get you into my arms. The thought of being this close to you has haunted me, and I have a feeling I’m never going to be able to get the reality of you out of my head.”

What did he mean? Was this not just a one-time thing? No, if his behavior hadn’t shown her how much he despised intimacy, he had told her as much.

Caroline reached up to pull his mouth back down to hers, wanting to cut off anything else he might say. Gabe let her take the lead for a few minutes, but when he pulled away from her to push his jeans down, she saw his cock stretching out the fabric of his boxer briefs and sucked in her breath. He was just so beautiful, so perfectly put together. She ran her hand over his flat stomach to the top of his boxers and slid her hand inside, gripping his velvety breadth, and pumped him with her hand. Caroline rubbed her thumb over the tip of him, and his cock jerked in her hand.

He grabbed her wrist and lifted her hand from his shorts. “Not that I don’t like the way you’re touching me, but I want you too bad to wait.”

Most guys would have sat back and let her continue, hoping it would turn into her going down on them. The fact that Gabe wanted her so bad he couldn’t wait to be inside her was new and tantalizing.

And it turned her on so bad, she was ready to leap off the table and tackle him.

It was a fantastic feeling, and as he shoved his boxers down his legs, she licked her lips, watching him roll the length of latex over himself.

Without another word, he stepped between her legs and grabbed her ass with both hands. As he lifted her up, she wrapped her legs around his hard waist and rubbed against the stiff erection pressing at her entrance. She felt the brick wall at her back as he adjusted himself and slipped inside, inch by inch, slowly tormenting her until her eyes rolled back, and she whimpered with impatience. She didn’t want slow and sweet. She wanted fast, crazy, buildings-falling-down-around-them sex, and to get her point across, she gripped his shoulders and rolled her hips sharply. He looked up at her, their eyes locking across the inches, and she saw need in those dark depths . . . but also uncertainty.

Gabe? Uncertain?

She must be losing her mind.

Suddenly, he thrust up, hard and deep, seating himself all the way inside her, and the motion left them pressed tightly against the wall. They were so close, eyes and mouths close enough to touch, yet he didn’t kiss her or say anything. Still, their breath mingled with each movement, and he never looked away.

Caroline had had sex, had been fucked—but she’d never had a guy watch her so intently. It was like he was searching for an answer in her expression while he took her. But it didn’t matter what the question was; she wasn’t prepared for this.

When he slipped out again and pumped her several times with quick strokes, she closed her eyes, breaking the eye contact to hang on as each zing of pleasure shot through her body. She tried to concentrate on the way her body felt and to push those dark, searching eyes from her mind.

Her moans gained pitch with each pass, and she buried her lips into his shoulder as her muscles clenched, and her second orgasm of the day brought about wave after wave of relief. Spent and relaxed, she held on as he shouted her name, a warm smile spreading across her lips when she felt his cock flex inside her as he came. His chest heaved against her, and while she waited for him to collect himself, she drew lazy patterns over his back.

Besides, she was quite out of breath herself.

He pulled away enough to look down at her. “If you want to go again, you might have to give me a minute.”

A breathless giggle escaped her as she admitted, “When you said sex with you was a ride, you weren’t just whistlin’ Dixie.”

“Whistlin’ Dixie? Who are you, Granny Clampett?”

“My mom used to say it. She was originally from Mississippi and moved here when she was thirteen.”

His harsh laugh caused her stomach to flip-flop all over. She’d never heard him laugh, and damn, it was sexy. But Gabe’s laugh also sounded hoarse, like he didn’t use it very often. She’d always loved to make people laugh, especially as a kid.

Involuntarily, she smoothed her fingertips across his lips, lingering on the edges and then trailing up to the crinkles at the edge of his eyes.

“You searching for more scars?”

“No,” she said, removing her hand. For just a minute, she had forgotten this was a fluke—a one-time thing—and had been trying to memorize the moment. As if she wanted more.

Unwrapping her legs from his waist, she felt him slide from her body and shivered as her muscles clenched again. Still, Gabe didn’t release her right away, holding her at her waist until she dropped her arms from his shoulders.

She could definitely go another round, but she didn’t plan on making a habit of jumping Gabe whenever she had an itch her vibrator wouldn’t satisfy. He was a self-proclaimed bad guy, and although she wasn’t perfect, she did want to find someone she could have a future with. A mature adult with his life together.

Besides, if she was ever going to breach her father’s defenses, there was no way she was going to do it with a tattooed ex-con by her side. If her father pitched a fit at Val’s squeaky clean former marine Justin Silverton, he’d have another heart attack if she introduced him to Gabe.

Damn, have you always been a snob, and it’s just been lying dormant? You aren’t exactly the type of girl nice guys bring home to Mama
. . .

“I should get dressed and get back home. The kittens are probably hungry, and I—”

“You don’t have to explain,” Gabe said as he walked to where his briefs and jeans lay. “I get what this was.”

“You do?”

“Yeah,” he said, his back to her. She saw him drop the condom into the wastebasket before he stepped into his boxer briefs, pulling them up and over those hard, drool-worthy calves and thighs until his sculpted ass disappeared beneath the navy cotton.

She bit her lip to shut her mouth. If she didn’t stop staring at him, drool was going to start dribbling down her chin.

He turned around to face her as he shook out his jeans and pulled them back on. “You were horny as hell, and I was available. I understand, and believe me, I didn’t mind.”

Okay, so maybe she’d been thinking almost the exact same thing, but that didn’t mean he could just assume that she was using him to get her rocks off.

Why not? That’s what it was. Why can’t he call a spade a spade?

Because despite her best efforts not to let it get to her, when he’d looked into her eyes, part of her had felt like he could see into her soul.

“Is that what it was for you?”

He had the damn nerve to shrug. Bastard.

“Huh.” She moved over to where he’d tossed her jeans and took several long, calming breaths.

“I say something wrong? Was this supposed to be something more?”

“No, of course you’re right,” she said, pulling her jeans on without her underwear. “I helped you move your shit around just so you would fuck me. I had this whole thing planned. I’m like some kind of moving prostitute. I help you move, and you—”

He pulled her to him so fast, her mouth snapped shut.

“I think I liked you better when your mouth was making those little moans against my neck.”

She jerked away from him. “You’re a pig.”

“Wanna get dirty?”

“Hell no,” she said, gathering up her shirt and undergarments and heading toward the front of the building to get dressed. “In fact, the next time I’m feeling horny, I’ll be sure to go elsewhere to get my jollies off.”