CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Griffin Burke was a controlling asshole in bed. Who’d have thought?
Lila loved it.
He was also really, really sensitive about going off early.
She didn’t love that so much.
She’d enjoyed it when it had prompted him into flipping her over and working her into an orgasm in three minutes flat. She’d enjoyed the angry kiss after.
She didn’t enjoy the fact he’d seemed genuinely upset about it.
Lila drove home, her emotions jangled, her hormones whipped into a seething mess, and her heart aching with the idea that their fun night had gone sideways.
She hated the idea that being with her had been anything less than good for Burke. Yes, she’d wanted him. She’d wanted him happy.
And it hadn’t panned out.
She’d pulled over twice, thinking about going back and…and she had no clear plan as to what she’d do once she got there. Which was why both times, she started her car up and continued home.
After a soothing shower, she made herself a cup of hot chocolate and took it to her bedroom. She dressed in a pair of plaid sleep shorts and a loose navy tank top, and twisted her hair into a clip. She pulled on a pair of fluffy socks, then curled up on her grandmother’s old armchair that she had alongside the window, for reading and daydreaming purposes.
She stared glumly out into the night.
Her small house was in an older area of Emerson undergoing a generational shift as younger families moved in and the original owners moved out to retirement homes. Or something more permanent.
She watched headlights turn at the top of the street, the dark bulk of the vehicle resolving into a large truck as it grew closer. She waited for it to pass. It didn’t. The truck slowed.
Lila sat up.
The truck stopped in front of her neighbor’s driveway.
She slumped.
Then she sat up again as the headlights blinked back on and the truck rolled another few feet. This time, it stopped in front of her driveway.
Lila’s pulse accelerated. Instead of tensing, every muscle in her body seemed to soften as her breath came faster.
A tall figure stepped out.
Burke.
She didn’t recognize the truck, couldn’t see his face, but she recognized the shape of him in the semi-darkness. He closed the door quietly, beeped the locks, and turned to her house.
Lila held her breath as he scanned it, his attention raking over the windows. She didn’t have the light on. She was almost sure he couldn’t see her. It must be her imagination that he paused at the window she sat in.
He strode for the door.
Lila sprang out of the armchair and flew down the stairs. She slid over the hardwood floor in her fluffy socks, caught herself against the front door, already opening it when the soft knock fell.
“Hey.” She stuck a hand on her hip and tried not to look too thrilled. “This is a surprise.”
“Is it?” he asked.
She gave her head a single shake and opened her mouth to say something cool or sassy, or, no, seductive, before she registered that he was carrying her laptop.
Shit.
Ah, hell. For a moment, she’d thought he was here for her. He wasn’t, was he? He was being helpful.
Burke nodded at the laptop tucked under his arm. “Thought you might need this tomorrow.”
“How very kind of you to bring it over.”
Lila made no move to take it. Burke made no move to give it.
Lila huffed. “Are we having a stand-off?”
Burke shifted. He didn’t come any closer, he just seemed more there somehow. His shoulders blocked out the night behind him, and he angled his head down, staring at her intently.
Any minute.
Any minute now, he’d push her back and come in.
Lila hoped.
Aaaaany minute.
“Lila?” A voice behind them broke in.
Burke stiffened, but didn’t move.
Lila leaned around him and waved. “Hi, Mrs. Kowalsky.”
Her neighbor was walking her two enormous German Shepherd dogs for their last bathroom break before bedtime. She lingered by Burke’s truck as her sharp eyes went from Lila to Burke and back. “You’ll catch a cold standing out here in your jammies, dear,” she said. Her tone of voice clearly indicated that she wasn’t worried about Lila’s lack of proper attire, but had some concerns about the big stranger looming over her.
Burke sighed and turned to face Mrs. Kowalsky. “Evening, ma’am,” he said.
Mrs. Kowalsky lifted her phone and snapped a photo.
Burke blinked.
“It’s all right, Mrs. K,” Lila called. She glanced up at Burke, reading his expression. Resigned. A little embarrassed. Probably because a sixty-year-old woman took a photo of him ready to give to the police when they came asking questions about her disappearance and possible murder. Lila put a possessive hand on Burke’s chest. “Secret lover,” she told Mrs. Kowalsky in the loudest stage whisper known to man.
“You’re sure, dear?”
“Oh, yeah.” Lila’s hand slipped down Burke’s chest and hooked into the waistband of his jeans. He gave a surprised grunt.
“Okay, then. You have fun, now. Be safe.” Mrs. Kowalsky and her dogs ambled off.
“Secret lover?” Burke said to Lila.
“Or Secret Laptop Delivery Man?” Lila withdrew her hand.
Burke held the laptop out.
“Oh.” Hopefully that didn’t come out as disappointed as she thought. Lila took it.
Burke turned her by the shoulders and pushed her over the threshold, shutting the door behind him with a decisive click.
Hugging the laptop to her chest, Lila walked into the living room. Burke followed. His steps were quiet, but every cell in her body hummed with awareness of him.
She put the computer on the small desk by the window and snapped on the desk lamp. When she turned to Burke, he was sitting on the couch.
Before she could say anything, he crooked a finger.
He didn’t have to tell her twice. Lila scampered over and jumped on.
Burke winced and rearranged her.
“Sorry,” Lila said. “Forgot about your hair trigger for a moment.” His face blanked. She stroked his cheek with an apologetic half-smile. “We’re not ready to joke about it yet? That’s fine.”
Burke took in a deep, slow breath. “Lila.”
“Yes.” She pecked a firm kiss on his lips. It wasn’t enough. She changed the angle and did it again, following up with a flick of her tongue at the corner of his mouth that had him turning his head to chase it. Better. She sat back, getting comfortable on his hard thighs.
“Earlier this evening,” he began.
“Uh-huh.” She picked up his hand and began to play with his fingers.
She had to admit it. She had a serious thing for his hands. Not because they were so big, or because she now knew from delicious experience that he was very talented at using them, but because they were so strong and capable, and gentle. She traced the thick veins on the back with a forefinger. Powerful.
Burke continued, “It didn’t go quite as well as it could have.”
“Sure.” Lila put his hand on her breast.
Burke sucked in air, and stared at the sight. Lila looked from his face to his hand and back again. By his reverent expression, you’d think he’d never touched a boob before.
This man, Lila decided, could do terrible things to her ego. She was going to start thinking she was a goddess or something, if he carried on looking at her like that.
She picked up his other hand. His fingers flexed in hers, but he made a valiant effort to regain his train of thought. “I came over because I wanted to…”
Lila opened his fingers wide and slid her palm flat under his, measuring the size difference. She made a pleased sound, lifted it, and set it on her other breast.
Burke swallowed. Lila arched her back and he sighed. His thumbs brushed the undersides, sweeping up in a slow drag. His eyes glittered.
“You were saying?” Lila prompted. He didn’t reply. Okay. She’d teased him enough. Lila caught his wrists and pressed them to the back of the couch. “What are you trying to say, Burke? What do you want?”
He rotated his wrists in her grip, even though she gave it her all to hold him there, and gathered her hands behind her back. “What do I want?”
She nodded.
“You. I want you, Lila.” He laid his mouth over the pulse fluttering at the base of her neck. “I want to be with you.” His mouth glided up the side of her neck.
Lila tilted her head to give him better access.
He sucked her earlobe between his teeth and bit down, gently. “We said one night. Night’s not over. I want all of it. Every hour, every minute, every second.” He grasped her chin and turned her to face him, holding her close enough to kiss as his eyes bored into hers. “I want to take everything you’re willing to give.” He dragged a thumb over her bottom lip, then pressed a light, open-mouthed kiss to her parted lips. “I want to make you scream my name.”
When this guy turned the tables, he really turned them. As in, he picked them up, and tossed them across the room. “Thought I already did.”
“You didn’t scream it. You whimpered. I want screaming.” He threaded his fingers through her hair. “I want to drive you crazy, make you beg.” His voice roughened. “Want to make you feel a fraction of what I feel.” He fisted her hair and held her for a kiss. “Want to be inside you.” He kissed her again. “That’s what I want, Lila.” He whispered against her trembling mouth. “What about you?” Releasing her hands, he sat back. “What do you want?”
“That,” she said. “Yes. What you just said. Sounds good. Yes. I am on board one hundred percent.”
“Yeah? You want to come apart under me? Want me to hold you down while I put my mouth on every part of you? You want to carry the ache of me with you for a week?”
Good lord. Her thighs tightened. Dirty talk. Lila was going to explode.
It had been damn hot when Burke was kissing her between telling her what he wanted to do to her. Sitting there with his eyes on hers, slouched back against the couch and not touching her, his deep voice quiet and steady in the dim room, was something else altogether.
“Yep,” Lila said. “You nailed it. That is what I want. Yes, yes, and yes.” She peppered his face with kisses. Then she straightened. “Hold up. No.”
Burke pressed clenched fists to his temples and groaned. “Lila.”
“Not until you promise me you’re not going to freak out again.”
“I didn’t freak out.”
“Burke. You freaked out.” She slid off his lap and backed up. Burke stood and followed, not allowing any distance to open between them.
“I didn’t freak out. I was disappointed.”
“Disappointed? Wow. Second to dirty talk—and it’s close—that is exactly what every girl wants to hear.” She hit the stairs, continuing to back up.
Burke reached for her and set his big hands at her waist, making sure she didn’t trip, but he kept his hold light. “With myself,” he said. “Disappointed with myself.”
They were at the top of the stairs. “Are we back to the order of orgasms again? It’s not math, you know. It’s not like, hmm, do I multiply first, or divide first, and what about the brackets?”
As if he couldn’t prevent himself from doing it, Burke tightened his grip and took her off her feet. There was no skirt to get in her way this time. Lila wrapped her legs around his hips and rested her forearms on his broad shoulders, staring into his face.
“I can do better,” Burke said. “Earlier, it kinda took me by surprise.” He hesitated. “What’s wrong?”
Lila was squinting at him. “I don’t believe it. You have freckles. Could you be any cuter? How have I not noticed until now? You have tiny little freckles, right at the top of your cheekbones.” She got so close his features blurred and she had trouble focusing.
Burke, the man with the dirty talk and the talented hands, was still her shy guy. He blushed hard. “I’m not cute.”
“No?”
“No.” It came out aggrieved, and a touch indignant.
“Sorry.” Lila tossed her hair. “Take me, you sexy animal.”
He glanced around questioningly.
“Take me through the second door on the left,” she told him, and kissed the line between his dark eyebrows.
“I wanted it to be good for you, Lila.” He stopped by her bed and laid her down, settling on top of her. He searched her eyes. “I’m going to make it so good.”
“Smile for me,” she said suddenly.
“What?”
“I love your smile.” She brushed her fingers over his mouth, which was already starting to curl. “Smile for me.”
He did. His heartbreaker smile. Something inside Lila’s chest squeezed so hard, the breath caught at the back of her throat in a tiny protest.
Burke kissed her forehead, and pushed off, swatting her hands away when she reached after him. “Take off your clothes.” He stared at her as he pulled his shirt over his head and undid his jeans. “Now.”
Lila whipped off her tank top, flopped onto her back and raised her hips to pull down her sleep shorts. Once she had them down to her knees, Burke grasped them and dragged them the rest of the way. She made a move to help him with his clothes.
He shook his head. “Stay there.”
Lila lay under his gaze, naked and impatient, as he toed off his boots, stripped off socks and then jeans, his focus on her the whole time. His boxer briefs were last to go, and he stood before her, eyes hot, letting her look her fill.
And there was plenty to admire.
Plenty.
He was so damn big, built along lines of power and strength that made everything in Lila sit up and take notice. And want to grapple.
She tracked her gaze from his wide shoulders, down his broad chest and tapering waist to his hips, and lower. Same as the rest of him, his cock was big, powerful, and she wanted to grab it.
Lila bit her lip and glanced up at Burke from below her lashes, in time to catch the dawning horror on his face.
“Shit,” he said, and bent to scoop his jeans from the floor.
Lila flung herself across the bed. “Oh no, you don’t—”
“Condoms,” he said. “I forgot condoms.”
She wrestled his jeans off him and threw them behind her to the other side of the bed. “I’ve got condoms.”
“Thank god,” he said. Then he laughed, loud and carefree. “Thank god.” He leaned over her, bracing a fist either side of her hips. “Where are they? Bathroom?”
“Nightstand.” She scrambled back to the top of the bed.
Burke opened the drawer and went still.
“Burke? They’re in there, right?”
He turned to her. In one hand he held her vibrator, in the other a box of condoms.
She grinned.
Burke’s lips twitched as he returned the vibrator to the drawer. “We’ll come back to that,” he said, and opened a condom. There wasn’t a hint of hesitation or shyness left as he rolled it on.
Lila had never felt as wanted in her life as Burke made her feel, right that moment, as he came down over her. She wrapped her arms around him and offered up her lips. He kissed her. No hesitation or holding back here, either.
His tongue filled her mouth in languid, deliberate thrusts as a strong hand swept from her collarbone, down her ribs and over her hip, to grip the back of her thigh.
He drew her leg up high and curved it over his ass as he reached between them and guided himself inside.
They both held still. Burke’s eyes closed as if in pain and Lila kissed each eyelid in turn, tenderly. She gasped when he suddenly tangled his fingers in her hair, his face fierce, and started to move, rocking into her with powerful, demanding strokes.
Lila locked her ankles at the small of his back, shivering at the hot slide of his flexing muscles, the delicious jolt of his body against hers. She lifted her hips to meet him. He increased the pace, twisting into her as if he couldn’t get deep enough.
“More,” Burke said. He brought a knee up for better leverage, without breaking his rhythm.
Oh, god. He hit a spot deep inside that made Lila’s neck arch and her mouth fall open as she panted. “Burke.”
He got the other knee under him and sat back on his heels, fitting his hands to her waist and dragging her up onto his lap. He never stopped moving. Lila stretched her arms up and over to brace on the headboard. With each of his thrusts, the headboard banged against the wall. Lila burst into giggles.
Face alight with amusement, Burke laughed at her. His laughter quickly broke down into moans. “More,” he growled. He curled one hand around her neck, skating a thumb along her jaw to brush over her bottom lip as he stared at where they joined.
Lila bit him. “Come down,” she said. “I want you on me.”
“I’ll crush you.”
“Please. Please, I love this but I want you on me, Burke. I want to feel you everywhere. I can take it. I want it.”
He adjusted their position until he was over her again, breathing hard, skin scorching hot. “Tell me if I—”
“I will, I’ll tell you, please don’t stop—”
“Lila, I l—” He broke off and kissed her again, driving into her relentlessly. He tore his mouth away when she bucked hard into his flexing hips, arching as she called his name.
Eyes gleaming, Burke slid a hand between them and worked against her, pushing her orgasm higher, higher, until she screamed his name. “There it is,” he said.
Gasping for air, Lila held onto his shoulders and held his possessive gaze as his devastating rhythm stuttered. She caught his moan of release in her mouth and reveled as he shuddered against her.
For one short moment, his body relaxed, before he tried to move.
“No.” Lila tried to stop him, but there was no stopping Burke when he wanted to move. Braced for the chill of both the night air and of reality when he separated them, she had to press her lips together tight to not humiliate herself and beg.
But he didn’t separate them. “Stay with me,” he said instead, keeping them connected as he shifted to his back, bringing her on top. He smoothed a hand down her hair, down her back, spread his fingers wide over her butt. “Stay. I’ll take care of things in a minute. Just…stay with me, Lila.”
She smiled against his heaving chest. Her eyes fell closed even as she cupped his cheek.