Chapter Six
After paying the driver, Brent exited the cab and opened the door for Hayden. Standing above her, silhouetted by the streetlight, he looked larger than life holding out his hand. Waiting for her to take it. She hesitated a moment, suddenly unsure of her decision to bring him home. Admittedly, she wanted him. Badly. At some point, however, it had started feeling like more than just a passing attraction. Somehow, Brent, the person she’d always thought understood her the least, seemed to know exactly what she needed. She herself hadn’t known until he’d said the words in Stuart’s kitchen. Words that now echoed in her head, heating her blood, making her skin tingle. You want to throw me down and fuck me, duchess? Yes, yes, yes. That’s exactly what she wanted.
“You going to stay in there all night?”
Rolling her eyes to hide her jumbled emotions, she took his hand and let him lead her up the stoop to her front door. Once they reached the top, she busied herself trying to find her keys in her purse, but his big hand closed over hers, ceasing her jerky movements. “Hey. I want you, duchess. Bad as hell. But if you’re not completely here with me, I’ll go.”
“You would, wouldn’t you?” She peered up at him, wondering if this other dimension to him had always existed and how she’d missed it. I have a sister. A mother. I take that type of thing seriously. She’d never thought of him as anything but a vulgar meathead. Was it possible she’d been wrong? “What else don’t I know about you, Brent?”
Watching her closely in that distracting way of his, he didn’t answer. Then, in a replay of the previous night, Brent followed Hayden into her town house and pushed her up against the heavy front door. They regarded each other warily as bodies pressed together, hands roamed over curves, breathing harshened.
Hayden felt as though her body would combust at any second. She wanted him with a single-mindedness that alarmed her and didn’t give a damn about the consequences or the fact that they were supposed to hate each other. Or whether or not tomorrow she would wake up and regret sharing her body with someone who usually regarded her with contempt. How did this infuriating man manage to make her feel so incredibly sexy and uninhibited? Never before, not once, had a man gotten this reaction out of her. This relentless need to get and give pleasure. She felt weak and strong at the same time. Unsure, yet determined.
In the back of her mind, however, a little voice whispered that she needed to keep a leash on this crazy attraction running wild between them. The unfamiliar frightened the hell out of her, especially when so many uncertainties lay between herself and Brent. For all she knew, he wanted to take her to bed so he could use it against her. From this night forward, every time she leveled an insult in his direction, he wouldn’t have to utter a single word in response. The memory alone of her begging him to make her come would be enough to keep her quiet.
Another part of her wasn’t so certain he would use their physical relationship against her. He’d managed to surprise her twice tonight. First, by winning over her parents’ tight-knit group of friends, then again when he apologized for letting Stuart near her. She couldn’t yet allow herself to consider that Brent had been a classy gentleman all this time hiding underneath a Mets baseball cap, but…perhaps there was more than met the eye.
It was too soon to take that chance. This other Brent, the one she’d briefly glimpsed under the surface, might be a figment of her imagination. Someone she’d conjured up to justify the insistent desire he’d generated in her. With all these doubts swirling in her head, Hayden put a hand on his big chest and held him back. They would satisfy this inconvenient craving tonight, but dammit, there needed to be some ground rules.
“This is a one-time thing, right?” Hayden asked, wetting her lips. “For some odd reason, we seem to want each other, so let’s get it out of our systems. Then we move on. Agreed?”
His hands coasted down over her breasts, groaning when he encountered her stiff nipples. “Woman, if it means getting your clothes off, I’d agree to change my name to Florence right now.”
Hayden laughed before she could stop herself, marking the first time she’d ever laughed at one of his jokes. They both paused, acknowledging that fact with their eyes, before his hands resumed their exploration of her body. His mouth claimed hers in a heated kiss as he unzipped her dress, then tugged it over her shoulders and down her hips. His tongue stroked in and out, seeking, teasing.
After a moment, she tore her lips away. “We don’t speak about tonight, either. Ever again. None of our friends find out. And no jokes about it, Brent. Promise.”
“Florence, Hayden. Florence.”
She ducked her head so Brent wouldn’t see her smile, but he was too busy watching her dress fall to the floor, revealing her black lace bra-and-panty set, complete with garter belt and stockings. Her tummy flipped a little when he cursed under his breath and ran a hand over his open mouth. His hot regard felt heavy as it ran the length of her body, pausing at her thighs and between her legs.
He tucked one finger into the top of her stocking, sliding it back and forth slowly. Hayden felt each movement between her legs as though he were touching her there instead. She grew increasingly damp with each drag of his finger. “I hate these stockings. Don’t ever stop wearing them.”
Hayden sucked in a breath as his finger slipped around to the back of her thigh. “I-I don’t understand. That makes no sense.”
His hand traveled higher to cup her behind, fitting her against him. “Every time you cross your legs, I hear that material rub together.” He ran his tongue and teeth down the side of her neck. “Your tight thighs, covered in silk, parting and crossing. Parting and crossing. Only you never leave them open long enough for me to see your pussy. It makes me crazy.”
She writhed against the door, his provocative words ratcheting her need even higher. “What are you waiting for? An apology?”
“I have a much better idea.” He grasped her around the waist and deposited her on the bench. The same bench they’d used the night before. She watched, dumbfounded, as he knelt down in front of her, gaze fastened on the juncture of her thighs. “Show me right now. Cross and uncross your legs for me, duchess. I want to see how it looks when there’s no skirt to hide behind.”
Hayden’s chest felt tight, her skin enflamed. Every nerve ending in her body hummed with dizzying arousal. She obeyed his order simply to witness his reaction. Could do nothing else. The first time she crossed her legs, then slowly parted them, she felt his loud growl of approval deep in her belly, vibrating and heating. The second time she let her stocking-clad thighs cross and uncross, he unzipped his pants and reached inside to stroke himself as he watched her, eyes dark with lust.
“Very good. Lose the bra and do it again.”
Trying to keep her breathing steady and failing, Hayden unhooked the clasp between her breasts and let the material fall down her arms. Once again, that low, almost-angry sound emanated from his throat. This time, she moaned in response, letting her head fall back on her shoulders. Of their own volition, her hands rose to palm her breasts, thumbs caressing her peaked nipples. Her body felt hot, shaky. His riveted gaze felt like a touch in itself, moving across her skin, memorizing, devouring.
Brent’s arm banded around her waist, startling her, so lost she’d been in her own pleasure. He picked her up off the bench and rose. She wrapped her legs around his waist, mouth immediately seeking his for a hot, desperate kiss. One of his hands sank into her hair, angling her head. The other kneaded the flesh of her bottom.
“Bedroom. Where is it?” he grated against her mouth. “I need to fuck you.”
She nodded toward the back of the town house, and Brent’s long strides ate up the distance between the semi-dark living room and her bedroom. Halfway there, she forgot to direct him and began nipping and licking his neck until Brent was forced to push her up against the hallway wall outside her bedroom and punish her mouth for distracting him. Finally, he stumbled them into her room, letting her slide down his body at the foot of the bed.
He maintained intense eye contact with her as he quickly stripped out of his suit. When Hayden started to roll the tights down her leg, he stopped her with a harsh sound. “Don’t you dare take them off.” His pants and belt hit the floor. “You never want to discuss what happens here tonight? Fine. But I’m going to remember what it’s like to be between all that silk. There’s nothing you can do to make me forget.” He came toward her slowly, stalking her. “I’m going to think about it. Often. While you’re lying here at night in your big, comfortable bed, I’ll be remembering. Over and over.”
Hayden refused to back up even a step as he reached her, his expression fierce. “I can’t control what you choose to think about,” she responded with more bravery than she felt.
Perusing her body, he shook his head. “No. You sure as hell can’t.” His big hands settled on her hips, flexed. “You’ve got control right now, though. Take it. Before I take it from you.”
Inside her, apprehension mixed with excitement, so heady her hands shook. This is what you wanted, Hayden reminded herself. She’d been struggling to find the missing piece for so long. This could be it. He’d put her in charge. Why was she hesitating? Part of her nerves sprang from the unknown. How deep did the need run? Why had it taken an enemy’s touch to make her realize it?
“Hayden…” he rasped, fingers digging into her flesh.
Now or never. Hayden brought her hands to his shoulders and pushed him with all her might onto the bed. He landed on his back, head coming up immediately to watch her next move. She moved over him on hands and knees, reveling in the way his chest rose and fell rapidly, his erection lying thick and ready on his ridged belly. She took a moment to appreciate the sheer maleness of him. His size, the texture of his skin, his muscular build. Once more, her eyes were drawn to the hard length demanding her attention. After the briefest hesitation, she skimmed her fingers down his belly and wrapped him in her fist. His hands dug into the comforter as his hips bucked.
“Put it in your mouth. Now, baby.” He spoke through clenched teeth. “I’ve been waiting for it since last night. Nothing I do makes it better. It needs to be your mouth.”
Very slowly, she licked the tip, power curling in her belly when he hissed through his teeth. She did it again, this time letting her tongue linger until his hips lifted impatiently. Then she took all of him in her mouth, as deep as she could, sucking hard all the way back to the tip as Brent shouted obscenities at the ceiling. “Is that what you wanted?” she purred against the smooth skin.
“Fuck yes.” He twisted the comforter in his fists. “More.”
“More of this?” Watching him innocently, she ran her tongue around the head in circles. “Or this?” She closed her mouth around him and took him to the back of her throat, sucking once again until she reached the head. Then she flicked her tongue against him with tiny, teasing licks.
He threaded his fingers roughly into her hair, bringing her head up to meet his tortured gaze. “I’ve tongued and fingered you, now it’s my turn. Give me what I need, baby. I’m dying.”
“When I’m ready. Baby.” Without thinking about her actions, simply obeying what felt right, she pinned his wrists against the bed and scraped her teeth over his belly, biting and licking the fevered skin as it shuddered under her mouth. When she took him back between her lips and finally gave him what he needed, she refused to stop stroking him with her mouth until his voice grew strangled from begging her to end the torture.
Hayden reached into her bedside drawer and handed him a condom. As he rolled it down his length, she played with her nipples, tempting him to hurry. She straddled him, her knees pressing into the mattress on either side of his hips. He gripped himself in his big hand and sought her entrance, rubbing the plump head back and forth through her damp center.
“No more games.” Brent thrust into her halfway. “Ride me hard or not at all.”
Hayden wiggled her hips, stretching as she took more of him inside her. He gave an upward thrust, pushing deeper and deeper until she whimpered.
“Jesus, baby.” He groaned loudly, shifted. “Been a while?”
Yes. “No. It’s just you…you’re…”
Brent sat up, putting his face right in front of hers. He bit her bottom lip and tugged. “I’m what?” When she tried to kiss him, he dodged her mouth. “Say it. What am I?”
“Huge,” she whispered.
“That’s right.” His hands slipped up her back and gripped her shoulders. “And you’re going to take it.”
He pulled down on her shoulders, while at the same time driving his hips upward, imbedding himself deep inside her. Hayden’s head fell back and she screamed.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Brent chanted gruffly against her ear. “Oh God, Hayden, you’ve got such a snug little pussy.”
She felt impaled. Full. As though if she moved, her entire body would shatter into a thousand pieces. Already her thighs and stomach had begun to tremble. Brent gave her one hard kiss, then lay back down as if handing her the reins. His hands shook as they stroked up and down her thighs, telling her how much it cost him to give her control.
Wanting to please him as much as she needed to assuage the ache building within her, Hayden moved her hips once, testing, and nearly sobbed at the tingling heat that shot through her system, concentrated between her thighs. Brent’s eyes were squeezed shut, fingers digging into her skin as he muttered a curse. She braced her hands on his shoulders and increased her pace, angling her hips so she could rub against Brent where she needed him most. Sensations slammed through her with each roll of her hips, so intense, so foreign that she had to slow her movements to let her mind catch up with her body.
“Hayden. Look at me,” Brent growled beneath her. “Move those hips faster, or I’ll put you on your back. Do you understand?” Then his hand reared back and slapped her ass. Hard.
“Ah!” A struggle took place inside of her. She couldn’t deny the exhilaration that rushed through her as his hand connected with her skin. Possibly even wanted him to do it again. Yet at the same time, she wanted to berate him for touching her that way. For confusing her already-haywire emotions. “I’m going to kill you,” she whispered.
He sat up once more, wrapped her hair around his fist and growled. “Fuck me, instead.”
Something dark and dizzying raced through her. Need for pleasure. Need to wipe the arrogance off his face. Pure need. She pushed him back down onto the mattress and rode him with fast, bucking movements of her hips. Brent threw his head back on the pillows, face twisted into an expression of intense pleasure/pain, encouraging her further. She took his hands and leaned back, altering the angle without slowing her pace, and they moaned simultaneously at the new friction.
“That’s perfect, baby. Feel how deep I am?”
The beginning of her climax sizzled through her. She felt it coming, raced toward it, her body undulating atop him. Faster, faster, until she felt it scream across her nerve endings, tugging and exploding through her system like nothing she’d ever experienced.
“Brent! Oh my God.”
“Hang on, duchess. This isn’t over.” As the orgasm continued to wreak havoc on her senses, she felt Brent flip her over onto her back. He hooked his arms under her knees, drew them high and wide. Before she could guess his intentions, he began pounding into her, his thrusts deep and powerful. Hayden reveled in each one, each grunt of pleasure against her neck as he worked for his own release. She’d made him lose his control, turned him into an animal. It thrilled her.
As the promise of another orgasm tightened her middle, she dug her nails into his shoulders and raked them down his back, loving it when he bit her neck and pumped his hips faster. “Harder, Brent. Even harder.”
With a snarl, he wrenched her knees higher. “You think you can handle harder?”
“Can you give it?” she countered.
Keeping his gaze locked on hers, he drove into her with such force, the headboard of her bed slammed against the wall. Her insides quaked with the oncoming climax. Lost to the searing heat, Hayden gave in to an urge. Couldn’t stop herself. She raised the hand digging into his back and brought her palm down on his ass with a loud slap that echoed through the room. And watched him come apart.
“Oh, sweet Jesus, Hayden.” He threw his head back, eyes closed on a groan. “I have to come now, baby. It’s too fucking good.” His movements changed, grew staggered. Seeing his reaction, his loss of control, pushed Hayden over the edge once more and they moaned as they found their peak together.