Chapter Four
The phone vibrated as she latched the door. Dropping her purse and clothes on a cushioned chair set in the corner, she checked the incoming text.
Where are you? her father asked in his typical, direct manner.
Emergency landing in Breman, TX. Won’t make it to Houston until tomorrow.
Victoria.
She pressed her lips together, her head echoing with the hard note he added to her first name when he was annoyed. Which was most of the time.
If you’d called for the jet like I told you, you wouldn’t be stuck in the middle of God knows where.
True, but then she, boring, quiet Celeste, wouldn’t have ended up by the town’s square, with a man’s hand up her skirt.
Found Breman. Sending a car. All flights are grounded.
Fate pulled at Celeste’s elbow. A sandbag had landed in her stomach the moment she learned The Great and Powerful Oz wanted an extended visit. Something he’d never bothered to do, even before his life got complicated.
Please don’t. Roads are closed due to flooding. I’ll be there tomorrow, before noon.
Okay, she might be a tad overconfident, but she’d worry about updating him later. Seconds ticked by as she chewed on her bottom lip.
So I’m to sit here waiting for you.
Shutting her eyes, she smothered the urge to tap out an angry message about her inability to control the weather. But as things were, her bad decisions and “The Great Delay” would haunt her for years.
My apologies. I’ll be on the way as soon as the roads clear up.
He didn’t reply.
Regardless of the detour, putting everything on pause to take time for herself sounded better and better. It was a perfect opportunity to step outside of her comfort zone and figure out what Vix would do in this situation.
A quick knock cut through her thoughts. “Mary Lou thought you’d like these.” Rio draped what looked like two outfits over the door. “You’re going to need a suitcase by the time she’s finished.” The outfits were a burst of color, nothing in the muted shades she would have chosen. Somewhere along the way she’d gone from discreet to dull and drab. “Celeste?”
She clutched the screen to her chest, staring down at the heavy boots under the door.
“You okay in there?” His concerned whisper floated over the door. His hairline was visible over the fitting room door, so hiding anything from him would be impossible. She slid the phone into her purse before stepping over to pull back the latch. Better to tuck away the family secret and avoid any complications.
“What’s wrong?” He frowned, dropping his bag by the doorway. Obviously he didn’t plan on moving. Not that he should.
“Nothing,” she assured him with a shake of her head. A smile peeked at the corners of her lips. In this exorbitant situation, she knew one thing for sure; she was going to have sex with this man. Just once. She wanted, no…she needed to burn through this urgency she’d never experienced before. Tomorrow, they’d part ways, and she’d go back to being shoved into the background. He’d be the wicked little secret she could think about when she felt all alone.
He crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe. “You tried them on,” he said in a low rumble.
She shook her head. “No. Not yet.”
He stretched out to caress her waist. “You don’t have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”
It was odd to have someone tell her she could do or not do whatever she wanted. For too long she’d been in dire straits. Forced to make choices that would literally be life and death for her or her family. But with more options, came doubts. Somehow he knew what she wanted because in the next breath he was kissing her, sharing his strength. “Tell me what you want, baby. We can walk out right now.”
Her tongue suddenly felt too big for her mouth. This would be so much easier if she typed out a blog post for him to read while she waited somewhere else.
“Don’t.” He leaned into her, nipping at her lips. “It’s just you and me here. Nobody’s going to hear what you say but me.” His palm covered the back of her right hand, his fingers working under her clenched fingers. “Close your eyes.” She did, and he slipped his other hand under her hair and cupped the back of her head, bringing her forehead to his chest. “I need to know what’s going through that pretty little head of yours.” His thumb started doing a circular motion at the base of her skull. “Especially the sexy parts.” She smiled against his shirt. “Because apparently I have a problem with boundaries where you’re concerned.”
A chuckle slipped past her lips. His arms tightened around her. Little by little, her muscles relaxed.
His lips brushed her temple. “You liked finding me hard.” It was a statement, not a question. Shocking in its bluntness, but true and honest.
Heat licked at her insides, easing the tension. “I did.”
“And you liked knowing you got me that way.”
She gave a tentative nod.
“I liked finding how wet you were. Knowing I did that to you.”
Her sex clenched, and her breath hitched.
“Tell me, what did you think about on the plane? Were you sitting in my lap?”
“Mmhmm.” He didn’t need to know about Vix or her overactive fantasy life. Because then he’d figure out the real Celeste was boring as unsweetened tea.
“It didn’t matter that we were on the flight, did it? Nobody around us mattered.”
She managed a slow nod, imagining Vix with heavily lined eyes, and jeans with a hole at the inner thigh. Bold. Brave. Not giving a damn what anyone thought. Doing all the things geeky Celeste couldn’t dare want… She’d created her that way. Which meant she knew what to do. What to say.
The back of his index finger caressed her cheek, sending her pulse skittering through her body. He was so patient, while she was ready to jump out of her skin, wanting him. It was time to put on her big-girl panties, literally, and stop living in the imaginary world of her alter ego.
Moving closer, she ran her fingers across his stomach, letting the truth set her free. “I want to try the panties, but I’m too wet to put them on.”
Did she actually say that out loud? Any second now she’d be properly horrified. Any second now…
Eyes darkening, he pushed off the doorway, backing her into the dressing room until she was against the wall. Her breasts rose between them with every breath, but he still wasn’t close enough.
“That’s the hottest thing I’ve ever heard,” he murmured between kisses.
Was it? The hard shaft seemed evidence enough.
Palming her thigh, he slid up at a maddening pace, adjusting her over his leg, letting the smooth, warm leather play against her. She wound her leg around his hip, pressing into him with a move she’d only ever imagined.
“Baby.” His voice turned gravelly again. He cupped her breast, his fingers circling her nipple. “Tell me, have you ever fucked?”
She blinked, her mind tearing away from the caress. Oh god, if sex was supposed to be like this, she was a freaking virgin. She bit her lip, suddenly embarrassed about the pathetically inadequate state of her sex life.
“I’m not… I’ve had sex before.”
He tightened his jaw, shaking his head. “No, little angel,” he rasped, setting her directly over his shaft. “I mean, have you ever wrapped your legs around a man and just let him pound into you so hard you knocked the riding crops off a display on the other side of the wall?”
Her eyes widened. Lord. He wanted to have sex here. In the dressing room of Mary Lou’s boutique. The image filled her head, leaving her both excited and a little lightheaded. She curled her fingers into his arms. “No. Never.”
“I’d give anything to fuck you right now,” he rasped. “Hard.”
And she thought she was wet before.
“But we’d shatter this hollow wall before we were through.”
Her breath left her lungs, and she wasn’t quite sure her legs would hold her up.
“Holy hell, Rio.”
He put his finger on her mouth. “I know, boundaries.”
“No.” She parted her lips and rubbed them along his knuckle. “The images you put in my head.”
A lazy grin spread across his mouth. “I’m still trying to get past the tree thing.”
He kissed her jaw, then her neck, moving steadily down, leaving a trail of goose bumps along the way. “Was the shade really what you thought about?”
…
The gravel in his voice caught him by surprise. Damn, but this woman threw him out of his element. He’d never dealt with anyone like her. Baby. He’d called her that, a word he always used because he couldn’t be bothered to learn a woman’s name. Something inside him contracted at the realization. He’d never be able to call her that again. Angel seemed appropriate. Though, thankfully, his angel wasn’t as lily white as she looked.
Her eyes were huge, her skin flushed down past the edge of her rounded collar. She was venturing into new territory and still didn’t know how far she’d go. The fact she hadn’t bolted was already a win. He breathed in her perfume from the warm spot between her breasts.
Dropping his lips to her throat, he basked in the heavy beat of her pulse, but she didn’t utter a protest. She’d broken through her shell, and his cock was ready to burst at the possibilities. Though he wouldn’t run the risk of embarrassing her if Mary Lou busted them. Not when there were so many other options.
Under her dress, he hooked his thumbs into the elastic on either of her hips and tugged. She wore cotton. Something plain that covered all of her, the high cut at the legs the only break in the severe design. They’d be a solid color, likely white. It was a nice change from the thin strips of nothing that passed for underwear. They left little to the imagination, and imagination played a big part in this thing between them.
He splayed his fingers, curving around silky thighs to caress her incredible legs. Every few inches he paused, dropping kisses down her body until he was kneeling, helping her step out of the white panties. The scent of her arousal surrounded him, and he spread his legs, relieving some of the pressure on his aching cock. Endless seconds passed as he memorized the way the skirt’s flower print draped along the sexy little V of her mound. How her breath echoed in the closet-size room. And how she braced herself as he cupped her calf, bringing her leg up until it was level with his mouth. As promised, he started at the inside of her knee, pushing her skirt up while he explored the soft skin covering her firm, muscled thigh.
He bunched up her skirt, stopping to admire the pale hair at the juncture of her thighs. Every female body was essentially the same, yet they weren’t. Just now, with this beautiful woman, he realized how different they could be.
She sucked in a breath, and he didn’t hear her exhale, so he stopped torturing them both. Using the tip of his tongue, he ran up the crease along her mound, reveling in how she raked her nails behind his collar. Then, setting her leg on his shoulder, he gave a long, wide tongue lick to her heated center, enjoying her cream, then going back for more. Above him, she moaned, arching until the wall protested around them.
He teased the sensitive skin along her slit, one side then the other, until neither one of them could stand the wait. Parting her with his thumb, he explored her inner folds, reveling in every bit of her welcome. Knowing he triggered all this heat. All this moisture.
Celeste whimpered above him, her calf muscles tightening against his back. She tilted her hips, giving him better access to her swollen folds and a view he’d like to mold out of clay.
This was supposed to be a quick taste. Just enough to keep the image of him going down on her in the front of her mind. But she was so damn sweet. Her throaty purrs egging him on, making him want more. More of the sexy little noises. More of her pleasure. Fuck. He needed relief. Needed to bust out of his jeans and stroke his cock as his tongue tunneled into the tightness of her body until she screamed her release and brought every leaf of the imaginary tree down around them.
“Y’all okay in there?” Mary Lou called, dropping more clothes over the door.
Hell. He hadn’t even heard her coming past the rush of his blood. Pulling back, he pressed his eyes closed for a second, keenly aware of the unlatched door. Celeste wouldn’t appreciate being caught this way, and she’d be in no condition to answer. “Yep.” He gave her another deep pass before he let his thumb take over the caress. “Just helping convince my girl she’ll need more of these panties.” He looked up to find stormy skies alive in her eyes.
Mary Lou chuckled on the other side of the door, obviously used to the occasional mischief in her dressing rooms. The little bells chimed, announcing another customer, and Celeste released a breath. “I’ll be right over here if you need me.” With that warning, she turned away in a click of high heels.
Celeste closed her eyes, letting her head drop against the wall while she settled her skirt.
Much as he wanted to, he didn’t push. Any more and he’d end up inside her, fulfilling his threat to knock over Mary Lou’s kinky displays, despite whoever waited on the other side of the damn door. He sucked the edge of his thumb while he stood, savoring the last taste of her. He kissed her, pushing through to stroke his tongue along hers, then watched her eyes shoot open as she tasted herself on him. She rewarded him with a jagged whimper.
He cupped her breasts, kneading them as he studied every minute reaction. “Do you need to come?” he asked against her mouth. Erotic possibilities flashed through his mind. “Or will you put on the underwear?” He plucked at one hard nipple, wishing he was using his mouth. “And think of me on my knees, enjoying every lick on your beautiful pussy.”
“Yes.” She pressed his hand against her, stopping his play. “I’ll wear them. And I’ll take two more to go.”
They needed to get to the hotel. Someplace he could fuck her properly. He drew back, adjusting himself. Six o’clock couldn’t get here soon enough.