CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Come on.” Lila ran for the stairs, surprising a laugh out of Burke.
She put all her strength into dragging him after her. Burke allowed it, but held back enough that she had to work to move him. It sparked ever more determination in her, and Lila determined was a sight to behold.
It didn’t hurt that it served to affirm for Burke that this was what she truly wanted. Because once they made it to the bedroom, Lila was going to find out that he wasn’t quite as easy to maneuver as she thought.
It was starting to dawn on her already. She glanced back at him and stumbled at whatever she saw on his face, in his body language, the tension in his muscles. Yeah. She wasn’t leading him anywhere. She was being pursued.
Lila gave a shocked giggle, dropped his hand, and sprinted for the guest room.
She went the wrong way.
Burke was right behind her. She darted into Kurt’s room, whirled around, and rushed back out, cannoning into Burke. He continued walking forward, lifted her off her feet, and pressed her into the wall beside the door.
Lila squirmed. “Ack,” she said. “Stupid skirt.”
He let her struggle for another few seconds, enjoying the feel of her rubbing against him.
“Do something!” she told him.
He adjusted his grip and swept her into his arms as if she was his bride, carrying her over the threshold of the guest room.
“Ooh,” she said. “How very romantic.”
Started to say.
Halfway through, Burke tossed her on the bed and the end came out in a squeak.
He leaned over the mattress and caught her hands as she reached for him. He lowered them either side of her head and pinned her.
Lila seemed thrilled. She tested his grip without making any effort to break it. “Be more romantic if you took my shirt off.” She arched her back restlessly. “Or let me take it off.”
He released her hands and she shuffled up to her elbows, getting to work on her buttons. He brushed her fumbling fingers aside and slipped the top two buttons free. The skin of her chest was hot and satin smooth. Burke didn’t even try to hold back the rumble of approval. He felt her eyes on his face as he tugged the shirt from her waistband, and hauled it over her head.
He took in a steadying breath and paused to stroke a reverent hand from her throat down between her breasts to her belly. He circled her navel then stroked firmly back up to palm a breast.
Glancing up, he met her wide eyes and popped the front clasp of her pretty lace bra open with a pinch and twist.
The cups of her bra fell to the side as Lila scrambled up to sitting. She slid to the edge of the bed, tucking her legs between his as he stood before her. She took hold of his T-shirt, shoving it up. As he peeled it up and over his head, she leaned in and kissed his abdomen.
Burke was a big man. He was solid. He was in shape, thanks to his running habit and no thanks to his cupcake habit. Feeling the feather-light brush of her lips and teasing scrape of her teeth on his stomach, he wondered if Lila liked what she saw. She spent a lot of time at the gym., among men with hairless chests, waxed or natural. Men with fitness-magazine-worthy six-packs.
Burke’s stomach was flat and he had light muscle definition, but he sure as hell didn’t have the time or the patience to sculpt himself into a woman’s wet dream.
Lila looked up. There was nothing but desire and anticipation in her eyes. She liked what she saw just fine.
She undid his jeans, and whipped the zipper down.
Grinning, Burke slid his hands under her armpits and tossed her up the bed. Putting a knee to the mattress, he crawled over her. She stretched beneath him, humming with delight as she wound her arms around his neck to haul him down.
The moan that slipped from Burke when he felt her skin against his was loud, involuntary, and he wasn’t even sorry.
Lila bumped her hips into his.
Oh, god. She was amazing. They were amazing. This was good. So, so good. Her softness under him, the way she couldn’t seem to get him close enough… Burke was about to lose his mind.
He settled more of his weight on her in self-preservation, in an attempt to corral her movements.
He hadn’t been this hard in forever.
Possibly since his teens.
At the thought, a warning flag went up. Lila shimmied her skirt out of the way enough to hook a thigh over his hip.
Shit. Did she still have her heels on? Burke leaned his weight into one hand and glanced behind him. Yep. Still wearing her stilettos. He looked wildly from her flushed face and passion-ruffled hair, her bare breasts, her sexy shoes, and he really, really did feel like a teenager again.
Not in a good way. In an about-to-lose-it way.
Lila tilted her hips and palmed his ass. The friction dragged rhythmically over his cock.
Burke hissed. He was going to come.
Holy shit.
Right now.
If she didn’t stop moving against him like that, lying under him soft and demanding, her hair spread out on his pillow and her lips swollen from his kisses and…
“Wait.” Somehow, he managed to rasp the order.
“Problem?” Lila kissed his neck.
Burke flexed against her. “Lila,” he gritted, “I’m going to come.”
She smiled up at him. “That’s the idea, big guy.”
“No, I’m going to come right now if you don’t—”
She licked his neck, bit down, and sucked.
Burke swore as his world exploded. Ecstasy rushed through his veins, scouring everything from his mind but Lila, Lila, Lila.
When his vision and hearing returned, the room rang with silence. Burke levered himself up, and glared at her.
As their eyes clashed, Lila nibbled her bottom lip and aimed a smile at his violated jeans. “Oops,” she said.
Burke wrenched away and sat on the edge of the bed, breathing ragged.
He couldn’t believe that had happened. He’d lost every shred of control he possessed, pleasure had hit him with a force he could barely comprehend, let alone have any chance of withstanding, and he came.
In his fucking jeans.
The bedclothes rustled as Lila shuffled over to kneel beside him. She laid a hand on his back.
Burke lunged to standing. He tilted his head enough to catch her expression in the corner of his eye, but he didn’t face her. He couldn’t.
The hand that she’d set on his back rested in the air between them, her fingers slowly closing.
“I warned you,” Burke snarled. He hated how he sounded, harsh and resentful, but he was furious with himself. Furious.
“Okay,” Lila said. “You warned me.”
Burke hesitated a second, then made a disgusted noise and strode for the door.
“Hey!”
“What?” He stopped, trembling with tension. He didn’t turn around.
A pillow smacked him in the back of the head. Burke whirled to face her.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Lila demanded.
He gestured crudely at himself. “Gonna go clean up.”
“Oh no, you don’t.”
Burke narrowed his eyes.
Lila narrowed hers right back. She was on her knees, fists planted on her hips. She pointed at the space in front of her. “You get back here right now.”
Burke moved for the door.
Another pillow clipped him in the back of the head. “Stop throwing pillows at me!” he yelled.
“Then get your cranky ass back over here and give me an orgasm! Unless this is how you roll, Griffin Burke? You get yours, and that’s it? Sexy times over?”
Burke didn’t move a muscle.
Lila’s jaw dropped. “Oh my god. That’s it? What is wrong with you?”
“You made me come in my jeans, woman!” he roared.
“You are welcome!”
“You are supposed to orgasm first. You!”
“Well, I didn’t!”
“I know!” Burke flung his arms out.
Lila sat back on her heels. “Are you really this angry because of the order of orgasms?”
She made him lose control. That’s what he was angry about. He was angry with himself. He’d lost sight of everything.
Burke had wanted to make this so special for Lila that, even though she’d said it was just once, maybe she’d change her mind. If she didn’t, then at the very least he wanted her to remember him as the best sex of her life.
But no.
Instead, he behaved as if he didn’t have the first clue about how to please a woman, pinned her to the bed, and climaxed on top of her.
Lila took his silence for agreement. “That’s sweet of you, Burke, but you should know, I’m not remotely interested in paint-by-numbers sex. I like it wild, I like it unexpected, do not waste my time being polite, and I damn sure don’t care about who goes first. I am not afraid to ask for what I want, and what I want right now is for you to get over here and catch me up. But I guess that isn’t happening, is it?”
Burke had gotten distracted halfway through her tirade, watching her wrangle her breasts into her bra. He was mesmerized by all that soft skin and the way she—he swallowed—the way she did up the clasp and sort of…lifted them and…squeezed them to settle them in the cups.
He blinked when his view was obscured by her shirt as she shrugged it on. He tuned back in to her muttering.
“My judgment when it comes to men is deeply questionable,” she was saying, half to herself and half to him. “First Kurt, now you. Am I projecting? Maybe I am. I’m attracted to a guy physically, I want him to be a nice guy, want there to be more to him than—” she waved a hand at him in a comprehensive sweep, “—all that, and you all turn out to be—”
“Kurt?”
Lila snapped her mouth shut.
Burke said it again, low and dangerous. “You and Kurt?”
“Yeah.” She kicked her chin up. “Kurt. He didn’t think I was worth the effort, either.”
“Explain.”
“Hah. Not a chance.” Lila swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood. She smoothed her hair. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a hot date with my vibrator, because someone thinks it’s okay to turn me on and leave me hanging.”
Burke closed the distance between them in two long strides. He glared down at her.
Unimpressed, Lila tipped her head back. “You’re going to have to move. Sooner would be better. I need to stop by the store for more batteries. Burke. Move.”
He did.
He raised a hand and laid the tips of his fingers on her sternum in a light touch, right between her breasts. He ducked his head and said in a rough whisper, “You want an orgasm?”
She leaned into him. “What was your first clue? Was it me yelling, ‘get over here and give me an orgasm’?”
“You sure?”
“Did I stutter? And to clear up any further confusion, allow me to clarify: some time tonight would be nice.”
Burke gave her a light push. She toppled back and landed with an oof. Half a second later, he was on top of her.
Lila grinned and went for her shirt.
Burke put a stop to that, sweeping her arms to her sides. Then he grasped her hips and flipped her face down. He dragged her to the edge of the bed and stood over her.
She wriggled as he pushed a hand between her and the mattress. “Wait,” she said “Burke, I want to be naked. I want you naked.”
Burke ignored her, slipped his hand under her skirt, found the hem of her panties, and shoved them out of his way. He found her heat, and began to move his hand in a deliberate rhythm.
Lila gasped, arching into his touch. “I want—”
“Don’t care.” Burke increased the pressure, and she cried out.
Sliding her farther up the bed, he put a knee between her legs and placed his free hand between her shoulder blades, holding her there with ease.
He leaned down to watch her face. Her eyes were closed, cheeks flushed. Unbelievably, Burke felt himself growing hard. He set his own response aside and focused his attention on Lila, following every cue she gave him, every shudder and twitch and sigh, chasing her pleasure with ruthless determination.
Lila’s breathless pants came hard and short. Her eyes flew open. Their gazes locked, and Burke was rocked to the core at seeing the bewildered wonder and the unshielded vulnerability in her depths. She said his name. Burke held her gaze and her body as she shuddered through her release, and he didn’t let go of either until she’d quieted.
Lila rested her forehead on the covers, tucking her arms in tight to her sides, hiding from him.
Burke stroked down the length of her back. He circled slowly over her butt, a touch to comfort rather than arouse. She permitted it for a moment, then reached behind her and smacked him away.
She flung herself onto her back as he straightened. She lay there before him, spread out, limp and flushed and about as furious as he’d been.
Her gaze cut to the enormous bulge in his jeans. “You’re on your own with that one,” she said, and scrambled to her feet.
She stepped into his space. Burke didn’t give ground. Her shirt still hung open and her torso brushed against his, bare skin to bare skin. Lila slapped a hand between his pecs and dug her nails in before she yanked his chest hair. Hard. He was already bending down to meet her even as she rose up on her toes.
Her mouth opened under his and she drew his tongue in as she kissed him with overwhelming passion. Burke cupped the back of her head, held her there to rub his tongue over hers, hot and explicit. He couldn’t help it. His lips curved into a smile as she kept trying, and failing, to take over.
Lila wrenched away. “That went great,” she snarled. “Best sex ever. Thanks a bunch.” She stalked past him.
* * * *
Burke took a sip of whiskey and relished the burn as it seared a path to his knotted-up stomach.
He’d been holding the glass for the last hour, since Lila had left. This was his first sip. Until the memory of her lips, her taste, had faded, he hadn’t been willing to give it up.
Resting his head against the back of the couch, he stared at the shadowed ceiling.
He was in the living room, in the dark. He’d watched Lila stomp down Kurt’s driveway to her car, then he’d poured a drink, sat down, and he’d done nothing but think.
Burke still couldn’t believe he’d messed up as badly as he had. He’d blown his chance with Lila. And yes, he knew he’d been fooling himself, thinking he’d be able to dazzle her into changing her mind.
She’d been upfront from the start.
One night.
He heaved a deep breath and shook his head. Lila was a determined woman who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to ask for it. To demand it. Burke had to respect her when she’d said one night, even if he wanted more.
Even if he wanted everything.
And he did. Everything that she had, everything that she was. Burke wanted it.
He took another sip.
He couldn’t have it.
He was used to not getting what he wanted, but he wasn’t used to it feeling like this. Burning. Twisting. Pushing him to get up and do something.
Keys sounded in the front door as Kurt returned from work. Burke clenched his fingers hard around the glass, hearing an echo of Lila’s voice.
First Kurt, now you.
Kurt came into the living room. He switched on the light and flinched when he saw Burke. “Fuck.”
Burke set the glass on the coffee table with a loud clink. He crossed his arms over his chest.
Kurt eyed him. “You okay?”
No. Not okay. “Lila?” Burke said. “You and Lila?”
“Uh…” Kurt didn’t deny it. He looked shifty.
Burke’s heart squeezed. Burke had no rights over Lila, no matter how much he wanted them. He also had no right to tell Kurt who he could and couldn’t be with. But, damn.
It took great effort to force the next question out. “When did you sleep with Lila?”
“Nope. No.” Kurt held his hands up, shaking his head. “Hell, no. I never slept with her.”
Technically, neither had Burke. “When did you do anything with Lila?”
“I never did anything to or with Lila. Other than flirting. We flirt. You know that. And…” He broke off and scratched the side of his jaw before adding, “She asked me out to dinner once. I said no, though. Pissed the little honey badger way off.”
Burke scowled. “What is wrong with you? Why would anyone say no to Lila?” How could anyone say no to Lila?
Kurt relaxed his tense stance. “Burke. Be serious, man. How could I say yes?” He paused for a beat. “You love her.”
Burke blinked.
“I’m not going to sleep with the woman my best friend is in love with,” Kurt said.
“I—”
“Unless I’m wrong and you don’t love her, in which case, I will be over there in a shot.” He spun his keys. “You don’t? Awesome. If you don’t hear from me in forty-eight hours, send help.”
“I love her!” Damn it. Fucker tricked him.
Kurt stuffed his keys into his pocket and rocked back on his heels. “I know you do, buddy. I’ve never seen you like this over a woman before. And I’m talking about back before you’d even spoken to her. You know. Back when you were avoiding her.”
Kurt had noticed? “Was it obvious?”
“That you fell in love with her at first sight, or that you spent eight months avoiding her?”
“Both.”
Kurt grinned. “Both.”
Embarrassing. “Do you think anyone else noticed?”
“Everyone noticed, Burke. Except Lila. Who didn’t have a chance to notice, because you’d see her and—” he cut his hand through the air, “—vanish. For whatever weird reason you had. Totally not my business.”
His reason wasn’t weird. It was valid. He was trying to not get his heart broken. “I was removing myself from temptation.”
“Uh-huh.” Kurt considered him. “How’s that working out for you?”
“Not great.”
“If it’s any consolation, most people probably thought you were in lust. Or shy. They don’t know you like I do. They wouldn’t have been able to tell it was looooove. ‘Course, you’re slipping. If you don’t rein it in, the little hearts circling around over your head are going to be a real giveaway.”
“There are no hearts circling around my head.”
“Little cartoon ones. Bright red. Wings and everything.”
Burke struggled for a response. He settled for, “I didn’t fall in love with her at first sight. I don’t believe in that. It’s ridiculous.”
“It’s irrelevant. You love her. Even when I thought you liked her, I wasn’t going to get in the way. One, because I live by a simple code: don’t be a dick. And two, because I don’t know how long it has been since you had sex with anyone other than yourself. I have a bad feeling we might be talking a year or more.”
Or more.
A lot more.
Possibly that had something to do with his exceptional impression of a teenage boy earlier.
Kurt picked up Burke’s whiskey and threw it back in a single swallow. He sat on the coffee table in front of Burke. “Lila is an amazing woman.”
I know.
“She’s smart, cute, wicked bossy. I like that. Big heart. Like that, too. I won’t lie, I wanted to say yes when she asked, but I couldn’t do it to you.”
“You rejected Lila Baxter because you were taking pity on my lack of a sex life?” Burke said in disbelief.
“Fuck, I was trying not to get in the way of something special, but the way the pair of you have misinterpreted my self-sacrificing gesture, I should have bent her over my desk and—”
Burke snapped upright.
Kurt leaped up and put the coffee table between them.
“Don’t bend Lila over anything,” Burke growled.
“I won’t.”
“I’m not messing with you, Kurt. Don’t do it.”
“I won’t.”
“Unless she asks you to. Don’t hurt her feelings again on my account. Fuck it. Still don’t. If she needs someone to bend her over anything, I’ll do it.”
Kurt cocked his head. “Something happened, didn’t it? he said. “Yes!”
“No.” Burke scowled. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Shocker.” Kurt headed for the kitchen. “I’m gonna get some food. You hungry?”
Not for food. Burke picked up his whiskey glass, saw that it was empty, and put it down.
He gave it another half hour before he gave up and went after Kurt. He hovered in the kitchen doorway. “Do you know Lila’s address? You know where she lives?”
Kurt sent him a curious glance. “You don’t?” He was sitting at the kitchen table.
So was Lila’s laptop.
It was fate. Burke now had the perfect reason to go over there. Perfect fake reason, anyway. He already had the perfect real reason. More orgasms.
Lila had said a one-night-friends-with-benefits-stand. It wasn’t even midnight. He owed it to them both, surely, to go and remind her that they had at least six hours left.
“Burke. Stop smiling at me like that, man. You’re creeping me out. If you want a bite of my sandwich, ask. Don’t eye fuck it.”
Burke’s focus swung in on Kurt. “I don’t want your sandwich.”
Kurt raised a brow.
“Do you know where Lila lives or not?”
Burke didn’t want to have to call Derek and ask him. He was pretty sure Derek would see right through any lame realtor-emergency-based excuse he could scrape up.
“Sure. I’m surprised you don’t.”
Burke hadn’t allowed himself to find out. First he took one look at her and fell in love—in lust—which was still ridiculous. Then he expended maximum effort to avoid her. Oh-so-casually finding out where she lived when she didn’t even know he existed felt a step too far in a relationship that one person didn’t know they were in.
“I don’t. Tell me.”
“She lives over on Cleveland,” Kurt said through a mouthful of sandwich.
Burke waited, but no more was forthcoming. “You got a house number? Or am I supposed to go door to door?”
“You could stand on the street and howl her name.”
“If you don’t give me the number, I might.”
He could call Lila and ask her direct, but he wasn’t confident she’d answer the phone to him in the first place.
She might be busy.
Burke remembered with a sudden jolt what she’d told him she’d be doing once she got home. He’d taken care of her but, if she was even half as fired-up as Burke was, then…yeah, she might be in bed, and…
“Jesus, Burke.” Kurt yanked him back to reality. “I asked politely. Stop smiling at me like that. Are you eye-fucking me or my sandwich? I can’t tell, and you’re starting to turn me on.”
“House number.”
“160.”
Burke turned on his heel.
“Go get her, buddy,” Kurt called after him.
Laptop. Burke marched over to the table and swept it up, tucking it under his arm. He glared at Kurt. “I’m not going to get her. I’m returning her laptop.”
“Bullshit.”
Yeah. He was going over there to get Lila in every sense of the word. “Shut up, Kurt.”
He took Kurt’s sandwich, and left.