Chapter Sixteen
The streetlights flickered by on a consistent bloom and fade as Carson drove through the San Francisco streets. He glanced at Avery, his gaze lingering longer than it should. The shadows played off the curve of her jaw and line of her nose. Her mouth was parted, lips still puffy from their romp in the hotel hallway.
He’d almost fucked her right there. Pants down, dick in, propriety lost to her.
Almost.
His grip tightened on the steering wheel, and he refocused on the road. His erection ran a hard line over his lower abdomen fueled by the desire simmering just below his guise of civility.
“Where are we going?”
Avery’s soft question cut through the silence to remind him of how abnormal this was. Her, him, where he was taking her. “My place.”
“Oh.” Her response was more of a sound than a word. It whispered through the air to dance over his nerves.
Nerves. Why the fuck was he nervous?
“Is that okay?” he asked.
He could feel her studying him, her gaze singeing those sensitive nerves he’d thought long gone. Her low “yes” came without preamble and no follow-up.
The weight pressing on his chest lightened, and he sucked in a long, slow breath. Visions of her sprawled across his sheets, hair splayed around her head, eyes heavy with passion almost had him groaning aloud. He’d never imagined a woman in his bed before, and now the thought of Avery in it was seared into his brain.
The air crackled with a note of promise tied to the unknown. In many ways, this car ride with Avery was the same as the ones they’d taken to Boardroom events. Yet it was very different. It was just them. No pending scene or audience.
And that was both frightening and exciting. He was making a big leap here. Hopefully, he wouldn’t fuck up their arrangement by doing so.
The car coasted down the hill, dipping with each flattening for a cross street. The darkness of the bay was a pitch of oily black and gray visible at the end of the incline. His place was tucked into the Marina district, just a few blocks from the water and the Palace of Fine Arts.
His headlights flashed over the front of his building, highlighting the gray stucco and crisp white trim on the three-story structure. Avery’s low giggle caught his attention as he pulled into the garage, which defined the first floor of the building.
“What?” he asked, a smile pulling at his lips. Her laugh was contagious, especially when paired with that open smile of hers.
“Nothing.” She shook her head, a teasing mischief twirling in her tone. He lifted a brow and cut the engine. The dome light came on to reveal the same amusement sparking in her eyes. “Really,” she insisted with a small shrug. “I was just envious of your garage. Which is silly.”
“My garage?” That pricked at his ego for some strange reason. “I have no idea how to respond to that.”
“Right?” She squeezed her eyes shut, that adorable red flush rising over her cheeks. She was nervous, and the understanding eased his own.
He cupped a hand around her nape and drew her in. Her eyes sprang open to trap him with the purity of her emotions. Want and fear. Desire and hesitation. “Only what you want,” he told her, his lips hovering a breath from hers.
“What?” Her brows dipped.
“I won’t push you, Avery. Into anything.”
She searched him, more questions flashing before the dome light faded out to leave them in the hazy glow of the garage light. “What if I want you to?”
His dick twitched a leap of want that matched the twisting lurch of his heart. That one question opened so many doors. Ones that led to things he’d avoided for so damn long.
Ones he suddenly wanted to set free and explore.
“I trust you,” she whispered.
Her words nailed his heart as her lips closed over his. She pressed in, taking the kiss into a deep clash of tongues and heat. Her brazen honesty twisted every burning want that dug through his groin and ran rampant over his logic.
He dug his fingers into her hair and slowly forced her head back, following her movement until he had control of her and his wild thoughts. He kissed her until she gasped for breath and he ached for her heat.
He reluctantly released her with a last nip at her bottom lip. He could suck on it all night, taste her peppermint flavor and get lost in the sweetness. But not here. He exited the car before he acted like a hormonal teen and tried to fuck her in the front seat. Not when there was a king-size bed waiting for them two stories up.
Her smile was weak when she met him at the back of the car. He took her hand and led her up the stairs to his unit on the top floor. The one-bedroom condo was spacious and maxed with the upgrades he’d demanded before moving in.
He flicked on the entry light and led her straight into his bedroom, which was off the foyer. Their shoes clicked on the hardwood floors and echoed through the room. He took her purse from her free hand and set it on the dresser. Her grip tightened when he turned to face her, but there was no hesitation in her eyes. No doubts.
The light drifted in from the entry to cast a halo around her blond hair, leaving her face in shadow. His heartrate kicked up with the sucker punch to his chest. “You’re so damn beautiful,” he whispered before claiming her mouth yet again.
He couldn’t get enough of her, still. Even after weeks of having her, tasting her, watching her grow and explore and revel in her desires.
The kiss deepened immediately. Passion and fire and lust exploded in a rush to escape. It was always like this with her. Crazy, heated, intense beyond a normal hookup.
She clutched at the back of his head, her fingers digging into his skull. The bite was familiar now and set off a chain reaction to his balls. He swung her around and backed her up to the bed, never breaking their kiss.
He swept his tongue over hers, each stroke a mirror of what he wanted to do to her pussy. The memory of her musky scent assaulted his mind, and he groaned with his hunger. He tore his mouth free to nibble up her jaw before trailing his tongue down her neck. She hummed in approval, drawing him closer. That fresh peppermint scent of hers was missing tonight, replaced by a sultry heat that matched her red dress.
One he wanted off, now.
She slipped her hands beneath the collar of his suit jacket to shove at the material. Yes, damn it. The need to feel her skin against his, to finally touch every part of her unhindered after weeks of fucking half-dressed, overrode caution and any remaining patience.
“I want you naked,” he said near her ear. “Sprawled on my bed. Legs spread wide and open for me.” He scraped his teeth over her neck, her throat working with her hard swallow.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Please.” She ground her hips into his, and he bit down on her tender skin. Christ. His dick had been hard for what felt like years, his need at a boiling point.
Her cry drove him even more. He had to have her soon, yet he wanted to do so much more too. The rush to reach fulfillment was tempered by his first chance to fully play with her.
To tease and nurture her desire like he’d been able to do in the Boardroom scenes, but this would be just for them.
For her.
The slash of her zipper broke through their rough breaths as he eased it down the back of her dress. The material loosened, the front sagging when he straightened. Her eyelids were heavy with lust, her passion so visible he could’ve drowned in it.
She lifted her chin to him, lips parting on a slow exhale. “You, too.” She ran her palms up his chest, a trail of fire and want sizzling in their wake from that simple caress.
He stepped back, and her lips curled up in a wicked tease that was so damn sexy. She kept her eyes locked on his as she reached up and removed the little clips holding her hair up. Curls tumbled down to fall around her shoulders in a waterfall of silky temptation. And she knew it.
She bit her lip, let it slide out before slicking her tongue over the same spot. The move was obvious yet so damn hot coming from her. This was the dangerous, wild Avery who’d emerged in the Boardroom. The one who owned every part of herself along with the wanton desire she harbored.
And she was all his.
He loosened his tie, tugged it off. His jacket followed, his eyes glued to hers as he tossed it over his dresser. Her smile turned sultry when she drew her dress down her arms. The bodice fell free to reveal full breasts beneath a lacy pink bra. Dark nipples were outlined under the design.
His mouth watered as his throat went dry. He undid his cuffs before working his way down the buttons on his shirt. She tracked his movements, a flush darkening her cheeks when he tugged his shirttails free and tossed the material to the side.
Cooler air swooped in to caress his heated skin. Anticipation prickled over his chest and swirled in his stomach. Her breast rose and fell in telling beats with each inhalation. The tension strung between them on a note of promise based on past knowledge. He could already feel her clenching around him, hear her shortened gasps right before she came. His neck and shoulders tingled with the coming crescent-bites of her nails.
A little nudge was all it took to have her dress falling in a pool of red material at her feet. She opened her hand and let the collection of hair clips tumble to the floor. He swallowed hard, his gaze traveling from her saucy red heels, up her long legs to the matching pink lace of her thong. He licked his lips, the thought of her taste whetting his palate.
Two steps, that was all it took to reach her. He hauled her to him, breath hitching when skin met skin. Her lacy bra teased his nipples, sending sparks racing to his groin on a train of lust.
He ran his fingers through her hair, the silky strands tickling his hand before he cupped the back of her head. “What the fuck am I going to do with you?” he mumbled.
That slow smile of hers worked its way over her lips. She drew his head down, pausing a breath away in a trick she’d picked up from him. His pulse raced as she looked into his eyes, the heat and want mixed with an honesty he couldn’t reject. This was more for her too. Not just another fuck.
His heart did a clench-and-hold that tightened his stomach and nipped at the longing he’d blocked years ago. He was heading into the unknown and he couldn’t get himself to stop. Not with her.
She lowered her gaze, her lips brushing his as she whispered, “Fuck me.”
He was on her then, his mouth claiming hers in a desperate drive to stake his ownership when he had none. Not yet.
But there was no way he’d be satisfied with one night. And there was no damn way he’d let another man fuck her. Not after this.
Whatever the fuck this was.