Chapter 10

Audrey

I savored the warmth and strength of Dallas’ grip around my hand. So much had become crystal-clear in the last few days. Perhaps I was slightly crazy to let myself keep playing with fire the way I was with Dallas. This was nothing more than a fling, and I needed to remember that. Yet, I couldn't help myself. We were here together, and there was no one else to interfere with our time. I was going to wring every drop out of this that I could. Cold air hit my face when we stepped outside. The snow had finally stopped, and the air felt sharp and crisp. I paused for a second, looking up into the sky. Stars glittered in between wispy clouds drifting across the night sky.

I released his hand and spun in a circle. Bay Bistro was in the center of downtown Haven’s Bay. It was lovely here at night in the winter. Holiday lights glittered, snow-covered tree branches reflected against the sky, backlit from the lights below. I took a bracing breath of air and let it out with a sigh. When I looked back at Dallas, his gaze was waiting, dark and unreadable.

I didn't know what he thought, nor did I know why I felt the need to explain to him that Matthew and I hadn't been intimate in months. I supposed that was more for myself than for Dallas. No matter how lukewarm things had been with Matthew, I didn't like thinking of myself as someone who would bounce from one man to the next in a matter of days. Somehow, it made me feel better to know that the writing had been on the wall with Matthew. If I were honest with myself sooner, I’d have seen we’d been nothing more than roommates really for months. Even at the beginning when he was charming, I’d never felt much more than a warm affection, nothing close to the explosive desire I felt when I was with Dallas.

As Dallas and I stood there staring at each other, he caught my hand in his again and reeled me closer to him. I came flush against him, gasping at the heat radiating from him. It was icy cold out, and he gave off heat that I wanted to burrow into. God, he felt so good—tall, strong, and solid, everything I'd wanted for so long. I hadn't quite realized how effectively I had stuffed my feelings for him into a corner. Perhaps because I hadn't seen him in so long. I had forgotten the potency of him, the raw power of his presence when we were close. His hand slid through my hair, sliding down to cup the nape of my neck.

“Should we talk?” he asked, his words low and taut, the sound vibrating through me.

“About what?” I whispered.

“This. Us. This thing we’re doing.”

I shook my head quickly. I didn't want to talk. I was afraid if we talked about it we would stop. We would each come to our senses and realize this was a dangerous game we were playing. Dallas had made it quite clear that all we could have was sex. While I knew I wanted far more than that, I was willing to take all I could get out of this.

At the shake of my head, he was quiet, his eyes searching mine.

“Okay then. Let’s go,” he said softly.

My body yearned for him the moment he stepped away, but I knew what I wanted, and it wasn't going to happen here in the icy cold in the middle of downtown Haven’s Bay. So I let him lead me away. Everything he did made me feel taken care of in a way I hadn't felt before. He was a gentleman, he always had been. He opened the passenger door and made sure I was situated inside before closing the door. Then we were driving home, his headlights guiding the way through the dark night. I was hot all over, restless with need.

We were back to the house and inside within minutes. He hung his jacket, quickly adjusted the heat and started flicking on lights. I threw my coat off, kicked off my boots and walked across the room to him. I was impatient and restless, my emotions a tornado inside. Oddly enough, seeing Matthew had let the gates down inside. I’d been letting myself be emotionally and sexually half alive for too long. I felt so alive now, my skin prickling all over and need roaring through me.

I reached Dallas as he passed through the archway into the dining room, nudging the light switch on with his elbow. I caught his arm, and he spun back, opening his mouth to say something. Whatever he meant to say, he stopped when he saw the look on my face. I tugged him to me, sliding a hand up around the back of his neck and pulling him down. The moment our lips met, our kiss exploded. He didn't hesitate as I'd feared he would. He tangled a hand roughly in my hair, the other sliding down my back and pulling me tight against him.

I moaned at the feel of his cock hard against me. He kissed me as if I was the very air he needed to breathe. I wanted to let myself go up into flames with him. Somewhere along the way, I tore my mouth free, gulping in air. He yanked at my sweater, tossing it aside with my bra quick to follow.

He shoved my jeans and panties down, and I kicked them free. His fingers delved into my folds. “Fuck Audrey, you’re so wet.”

Restless and drenched with need, I frantically shoved his shirt up. I gasped as his teeth sank into the side of my neck, hot shivers racing through me. Inside of a second, I was moaning at the feel of his hands cupping my breasts and teasing my nipples. He rolled one between his thumb and forefinger, laving the other with his tongue. I savored the scrape of his stubble on the sensitive skin there, the soft bite of his teeth when they closed down around one of my nipples.

I was near frantic, yanking at his jeans, curling my palm around the hard, hot length of his cock. He lifted his head.

“Fuck, Audrey. What you do to me,” he growled.

“What do I do to you?”

I looked up to see his dark gaze on me, his eyes so hot I felt the burn of them. He stared at me, the air around us heavy. After a moment, he sifted his fingers through my hair.

“I want you. That's all. Just you,” he murmured, his voice like a caress on my skin.

I'm not sure what I’d expected him to say. His words hit me, right in the heart. I shifted my legs restlessly, attempting to relieve the ache between my thighs. I pushed him back as I knelt in front of him, shoving his jeans down around his hips. His cock sprang free. I curled my palm around it, dragging my tongue along the bottom up to the tip, savoring the salty tang of the drop of pre-cum there. He tightened his hand in my hair and muttered my name roughly.

I swiped my tongue along his cock again. When I got to the head, I drew it into my mouth, all the way.

“Fuck, Audrey,” he growled, his grip in my hair rough, the sting on my scalp a relief. “Let me…”

Whatever he meant to say was lost in a rough groan as I set to sucking on his cock. My wet grip slid up and down his length with my mouth. His cock hardened further under my touch. I savored every muttered curse, every time he said my name as if it was a curse and a prayer. I felt his balls tightening when I cupped them. I wanted to make him come right now, but suddenly he moved, yanking at my hair and lifting me swiftly.

“I'm not…”

“I know you're not done,” he cut in “but that's not how this is ending, not tonight.”

Inside of a few seconds, he stripped me bare and was lifting me onto the dining room table. He leaned forward, swiping his arm across the surface, knocking papers and file folders from his work onto the floor. The wood surface was cool on my back—the contrast to the heat of my body notching the wildness inside even further up. I looked up at him. My mouth went dry. He was so hot it was ridiculous. His chest was all muscle. My eyes were drawn to the corded muscles of his arms as he grabbed my hips and dragged me to the edge of the table. His jeans were hanging open, his cock wet from my mouth.

All of a sudden, his eyes widened slightly and he started to step back.

“Where are you going?” I asked, near frantic.

“Condom,” he bit out. “I don't have one on me. I have to go check my luggage upstairs.”

I shook my head. “Forget it. I'm clean, and I'm on the pill. I have been for years. I can't imagine you’re anything other than clean. You're always prepared.”

Dallas stared at me, his eyes dark, his expression unreadable. I started to have doubts. I'd been so lost in sensation I wasn't thinking through how my comment might've been interpreted.

“It's okay. I probably shouldn't have said that. If you want…”

He shook his head sharply. “Oh no. I want. Trust me, I want,” he said bluntly.

Then, he was stepping back between the cage of my legs. He gripped his cock in his fist and dragged it through my folds. I almost came right then. The sensation was so sharp when his hard cock passed over my clit.

“Dallas please…”