Unfiltered & Undressed (The Unfiltered Series) (18 page)

I continued, my throat tight as I realized I should have told him all this in the first place. “I overheard him—your uncle—threatening Tess one day when she was leaving. He told her he would send a social worker to your place and have her taken away from you if she didn’t get him more money.” I winced, because then his expression shifted again, this time going rigid and dark.

“That piece of shit was threatening my sister? I’ll kill the bastard!”

I reached up and ran my thumb across the muscle of his jaw, which was twitching, and then stroked the thick stubble. “Probably not the best plan. Then Tess’ll have no one.” The last thing I wanted was for Will to get into trouble.

He let out a shallow breath and frowned, looking torn. I knew this had to be tough for him. “You’re right,” he finally conceded. “But your plan was just as bad. Guys like Cam don’t just take the cash and disappear.” His lips pressed into a hard line. “They’re like leaches. They latch on until they bleed you dry. He would have dragged this on until Tess turned eighteen.”

I bit my lip. “What do you mean,
would have
?”

“I mean, he no longer has anything to hold over us. You should have come to me instead of trying to handle him yourself; I’d never let anything happen to Tess. And I would never have forgiven myself if Cam would’ve done something to you.” He rubbed his hand over his face. “It doesn’t matter now. The paperwork’s final, and I’m Tess’s legal guardian.”

“Will! That’s amazing! Tess must be beside herself.” I was so excited I forgot all about keeping Will at a distance, and I threw my arms around his neck. And when I did, I found myself staring into those intense, green eyes of his, and feeling every ounce of his strength, all bunched and tense beneath me, just waiting to unleash.

WILL

I caught Lauren as she threw herself at me, and I knew she meant to congratulate me about Tess, but that’s not what the embrace turned into. Once she was in my arms, once I could feel her body against mine, everything changed.

I forgot all about my dickhead uncle and the nightmare I’d gone through searching for her. All I could concentrate on was the way she felt against me and all the things I wanted to do to her.

And when I opened my mouth, all the speeches I’d been planning in my head about how reckless her behavior had been, and how I’d been out of my mind with worry when I’d realized she’d up and bolted, and everything else I’d come up with during the long drive from California to Colorado, flew out the window. “This was the worst fucking week of my life,” I confessed in a rush.

I thought she might try to defend herself or explain her actions. Instead, I felt her lips, hot against my neck. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so,
so
sorry.”

And just hearing her voice and feeling her touch, but mostly her touch, everything inside me unwound. I crushed her to me and shoved her against the wall, all in one swift motion. My knee parted her legs, but she didn’t try to stop me. “I don’t want to be without you again. Do you understand? Ever.”

She watched me with those coffee-colored eyes of hers, nodding, while her lips parted on a slow smile. She was so damn soft and smelled so fucking amazing. I buried my hands in her hair and she leaned back, letting her head fall against the wall.

I told myself that I was the one in control, and I swore I’d go slow this time—not like last time when everything had been urgent, rushed. But even as I tried to convince myself, I wondered if I’d ever really be in control again. She was in my head, making a mess of me.

When I felt her hips tilting forward to meet mine, I nearly lost myself. Groaning, I settled my mouth over hers and reached beneath her, lifting her all the way off the floor. I knew she could feel how hard I was, and a breathless gasp escaped her lips when I carried her away from the wall and settled her down on the rug in front of the sofa.

I hovered over her, mesmerized by the way she looked up at me with those incredibly liquid brown eyes of hers. My breath caught when her fingers slipped beneath my shirt, stripping it off and wandering over my skin. She planted white-hot kisses along my chest, using her teeth in all the right places.

Suddenly, there were too many clothes between us, and I stripped her of her sweater, her thin top, and her jeans. Her bra was tiny and lacy, and barely covered her full breasts, and I didn’t have to undo it because she did, giving me a meaningful grin as it fell away. I wanted to ravage her, but I forced myself to slow down.

“I’ve thought about this for so long,” I told her, going to work on one of her luscious nipples. Her skin was sweet like honey and the peak of her nipple hardened as my tongue stroked it. She moaned beneath me, making me even harder. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to hold out.

When she reached for my jeans, I stopped her. “No way. You first.”

She gave me a confused look, and then, as I began to move lower, still glancing up to watch her, her eyes went wide with understanding and she bit back a smile.

Goddamn, this girl would be the death of me.

Her barely-there panties were all that stood between me and her as I lowered myself between her thighs. She was trembling as I held her hips. “Relax.” I let my thumbs find their way beneath the lace, moving slowly toward the center of her. “Trust me.”

“I do,” she said, sounding so much more bold than I thought she would as she reached down and wiggled out of her underwear.

My fingers parted her then, gliding inside of her. She was slippery and hot, and feeling her like that nearly pushed me to the brink. I lowered my head and my tongue slipped between her slick folds as I lost myself. I barely felt her fingers in my hair, barely heard as she whimpered my name or pressed her hips higher and harder as she begged me to finish what I’d started.

I couldn’t get enough of her. And when she finally came, thrusting against me in one last urgent shudder, I gripped her, waiting until she’d finished trembling.

“Will,” she gasped, pulling me up then and fumbling with my jeans. I kissed her demandingly.

I put on my condom and settled between her legs, trying not to scare her with how goddamned badly I needed her. I was desperate to be inside of her.

My mind went blank as I thrust inside of her, and it was over within minutes as I shuddered above her, collapsing in a satisfied heap on top of her. When I felt her stroking my back, I rolled to the side and took her with me, never wanting to let her go.

She pressed her hand over my heart, and I heard myself say, “I never thought I’d be the kind of guy who would fall in love.” I dropped my hand on hers, hoping I hadn’t just terrified her with my confession.

LAUREN

Love?
It was the last thing I’d expected Will to say.

“Will…” I started to say, pulling a blanket from the couch and draping it over the top of us. But Will scowled at me.

“Stop. You got to go first, now it’s my turn.” He turned onto his side so that he was facing me. He had that look, the one he always seemed to have, like he was hiding a smile just behind that serious expression. He bit his bottom lip. “I’ve been a total jackass pretty much my entire life, Lauren. I’ve treated girls like they were disposable, never getting attached, never giving any of them a reason to want to
be
attached to me. And then one day you walked in, and…” He frowned, and somehow even managed to make that look like he was hiding a smile as he shook his head. “I can’t explain it, but you refused to put up with my shit, and it fucking turned me on.”

I reached between us and ran a hand lazily over his bare stomach, doubting I’d ever get tired of admiring this view. “I came here to get over you, you know.”

He caught my hand, narrowing his eyes. “I thought you came here because you were in some kind of trouble. Emerson seemed to think this had something to do with unpaid parking tickets in Rio Verde.”

He had my complete attention now. “Parking tickets?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Parking tickets.” He lifted an eyebrow as he studied me. I got the feeling he knew I thought it was something else. ‘’When your volunteer paperwork was run, it came back that you had somewhere in the neighborhood of $500 in unpaid parking violations from campus security. Apparently, they take those things pretty seriously.”

There was no way I could hide my relief. “Emerson said she wired the money to the college the day after you left, so you’re no longer a fugitive. Everything’s been taken care of.” Will ran his hand absently along my arm. “And for the record, I don’t want you to get over me. I want you to come back to California and move in with me. Anything you
think
is going to come up—any problems you’ve been running from—we can figure them out together. I mean it, Lauren, I love you.”

“What about Tess?”

“Tess is a big girl. Plus, I told her where I was going, and we talked about this.” He looked down at me. “She likes you.” He grinned, and my pulse sped up. “Says you’ve got mad computer skills.”

If only things were that simple. There was a reason I was so good with computers. “I’ve done some shitty things, Will.”

“So have I. Didn’t you hear that part where I was an asshole?”

“Not like that.” I wasn’t sure I could do this, but if I didn’t tell him now I never would. Besides, it was the right thing to do. “I…” I sat up and went for it. “I used to strip.”

Will sat up too. “As in, dancing?”

I shook my head. “No. As in, on the internet. I ran an online peepshow. I did it to be anonymous—no one ever saw my face, but I took off my clothes for money.”

When he didn’t say anything, just kept watching me, I shrugged, feeling more self-conscious than ever. “I told you it was shitty.”

“Seriously? You thought
that
would scare me away?” He reached for me, and I swear I could feel the relief coming off him as he gathered me in his arms. “Jesus, Lauren, you actually scared me for a second.”

“That doesn’t freak you out? Not even a little?”

“I mean, I hate the idea of other guys looking at you. And I really don’t want you doing it anymore. But it’s definitely not the worst thing I’ve ever heard. If I’m being totally honest…” He drew away so I could see his face, and he plastered a kiss on my neck, and then lower, on my collarbone. When he reached my breast, his tongue circled my nipple in lazy circles. By the time he lifted his head again, my stomach was tied in knots. “It’s actually sorta fucking hot.” He tackled me, drawing me beneath him.

“Is that where you got all that money?” His voice was somewhere between a growl and a groan.

“Some of it.”

He lifted his head, and my body rebelled against having his lips that far from me. “But not all…?”

I shook my head. I didn’t want to have this conversation. Not now. And Will seemed more than happy to oblige as he dove back down to kiss my breasts. His tongue traced the dark halo around my nipple as he worked it into a taut point, finally taking it into his mouth. His lack of concern over the bag of cash he found at my place was confusing to me, and even as I arched up, to give him better access, I couldn’t help asking, “Don’t you want to talk…about…the money?” The last two words came out on a strangled sigh, and Will laughed as he took a teasing nibble of my skin.

“I do,” he admitted. “I want you to feel like you can tell me everything. But I won’t push you.” He eased up on his elbows, so he was watching me, and I wondered if he could see the ache he’d caused inside of me. “Look, I know you told me a long time ago that you don’t need to be taken care of, but if you let me, I’ll be there along the way. I can keep a secret, Lauren.” He ran his hand along my thigh, letting it slip higher and higher, until his thumb was teasing me, stroking that need even hotter. “I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe…but only when you need me, and not a minute sooner.” He grinned as I shifted, so I was lifting my hips toward his hand, begging him without words to put me out of my misery. “And if you play your cards right, I might even teach you to swim.”

I gasped, reaching for him and pulling him on top of me. “Oh, I can swim,” I said against his lips, when I opened my legs and felt him plunge inside. “You lost your chance for that.”

“Then maybe I’ll teach you some other things…” he said, and I closed my eyes as he did exactly as he promised.

‡

We didn’t leave first thing in the morning, or even early in the afternoon. It wasn’t until late in the day that we’d finally peeled ourselves out of bed and showered, and then ran out of hot water because of all the things we’d done in the shower.

Will was a great instructor—much better than he’d been at the pool—and I was eager to learn the things he was teaching me. Along the way, I managed to surprise him with a few tricks of my own, giving him a private peek at why my website had been so popular. I’d put the “tease” in striptease, and by the time I was finished, Will was begging me to put him out of his misery.

Who was I to argue?

I guessed there would be several detours on our way back to California.

After throwing the last of my things in the trunk, I came back in and caught Will admiring the view from the window, and I did a little admiring of my own.

“You have the best ass,” I told him, easing behind him and wrapping my arms around his waist. My hand dropped, and within seconds he was already responding to my touch, stiffening beneath my fingers.

He turned, his eyes searching my face. “Should we stay another night?”

“I thought you had to get back to start your new job?”

He searched my face. “You sure it doesn’t bother you?”

I feigned surprise. “What? That you get to be a lifeguard and I don’t?” Will hadn’t laughed when I’d confessed my lifelong obsession with becoming a lifeguard, and I wasn’t as envious as I’d expected when I’d learned that’s exactly what he’d be doing. “If you can’t join ’em, sleep with them. Isn’t that what they say?”

He pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose. “Well, if they don’t, they totally should.”

I was surprised how comfortable he made me feel, and how easy it had been to explain why I’d started stripping in the first place. More though, I couldn’t believe he was so willing to accept my past. He made me feel safe. Loved.