Chapter Seven

 

Cora

 

No matter my mood, sex with him was always the answer. If I was sad it made me feel better. If I was angry it calmed me down. If I was stressed it relaxed me. Tonight it helped me to forget. I didn’t know if we were making a huge mistake or not, but when he took my clothes off I could suspend all thought and just feel.

I could absorb his kiss, map his body with my hands and mouth, give and take pleasure, and believe there was nothing more important in the world in that moment that sharing myself with him.

It was sensual and erotic. Intense and powerful. It scared me and made me feel alive. It made me remember and helped me forget.

I closed my eyes and got lost in the sensations as he kissed and licked me all over. His tongue danced over my nipples before drawing them into his mouth and sucking hard enough to give me that bite of pain that always made me moan for more.

I laced my hands through his hair, watching him feast on my breasts. That was the thing about Dex. He didn’t do sex half-assed like most of the guys I’d been with. He wasn’t in it for a quick release, his, before bailing before I could get mine. No. He made sure I got mine. First. Last. And in between.

His smirk was cocky when he glanced to find me watching him. “Feel good, baby?”

“You have no idea.”

“Then why don’t you show me.”

He moved slowly down my body, killing me with anticipation as his lips brushed my stomach before trailing over my hips. He pressed one finger into me, followed by another as I arched my back, taking it deeper.

“Hmmm, feels so good, doesn’t it?”

My breath caught in my throat when he hooked his fingers, finding the spot that resulted in a hot rush every time. His tongue just grazed my clit before swiping at it when I begged for more. He loved to hear me beg, to know how much I needed him to get off.

“I need to come,” I whispered, gasping as he blew on my clit. “Please, Dex.”

“So fucking hot,” he muttered. “I could lick you all night.”

Yes, please! If I had to choose between having him lick me and fill me, I couldn’t. Both ranked among the best experiences of my life.

His tongue glided over the tight bud, back and forth, side to side, making me scream as I bucked, every muscle in my body clenching until I was shivering and trying to remember how to breathe.

His blue eyes were darker and more intense as he inched up my body, all pretense of amusement long gone. He had his game face on and I knew that meant I was in trouble. He wasn’t going to stop until he’d drawn multiple orgasms from me… and made me forget the reason we were at odds. He was a master at this game and I was too weak to rewrite the rules, especially when the reward made playing by his rules so worth it.

He didn’t just kiss me. He invaded my mouth, stealing my breath, while pinning my arms over my head. My tits were rubbing against his chest, making me hot all over again as I spread my legs wider to accommodate him.

“My greedy little thing,” he said, nipping at my bottom lip. “You want to come again, don’t you.”

God, yes. Preferably all over him this time. “What do you think?” I asked, refusing to beg for it the way he clearly wanted me to. He may think he held all the cards, but I still had a few tricks up my sleeve to challenge him. I rotated my hips, coating the tip of his shaft as it slipped between my folds.

His grip tightened and I could tell he was fighting the urge to drive into me.

“What are you waiting for?” I asked, tipping my hips up to meet him. “You don’t want this?”

“You have no fucking idea how much I want this-you.”

“Then take me.” He may have my arms pinned, but I wasn’t completely at his mercy. Not when I could still kiss him. When it came to kissing, this man could write a book. He didn’t just kiss. He explored. With a purpose. He was communicating without words. Arousing me without his hands. Turning the tables on me… Okay, maybe I was at his mercy and not above begging.

“Please, Dex. I need you.”

That statement was rewarded with a flash of white teeth. “Yeah?”

“You know I do. Fuck me. Please.”

Those few words transformed him from a cocky tease to a man on a mission. And his mission? To ruin me for all other men. To make him the only one I wanted for all time. It became obvious with the slow slide combined with his whispered words in my ear. “You need this, don’t you, baby? You crave it?”

“Yes.” I was already writhing, seeking freedom so I could touch him.

“Tell me. I want to hear you say it.”

“I thought about it all the time.” I was past the point of caring whether I embarrassed myself. Words were tumbling out of my mouth faster than I could process them, but it was the unfiltered truth. “I’d go to bed at night and remember…”

He rumbled with satisfaction while picking up the pace, pinning me with his deep, fast thrusts.

“What it felt like to have you filling me like this. I’d touch myself and pretend you were between my legs licking me.”

“Fuck….”

I could tell my words were getting him closer, but I knew my man. He wouldn’t come until I had.

He flipped me over and grabbed my hips, hoisting my ass in the air. “This,” he said, smoothing his rough palm over my tattoo. “You don’t know what this does to me.”

I cried out when he rammed into me hard, without warning. But the pain morphed into pleasure when he shifted, hitting just the right spot. I curled my fists into the sheets, thinking about the last time we’d been in this bed together. It was the night I told him it was over and I’d cried myself to sleep when he stormed out.

I closed my eyes, squeezing out the bad memories when his hand came down hard on my ass.

“That’s for pretending you don’t belong to me.” He smoothed his hand over the sting. “When this says otherwise.” He curled his body over mine, making me gasp when he rolled my engorged clit between his thumb and forefinger.

He’d always gotten off on hearing that word. Mine. And I felt like a hypocrite every time I said it because there was a part of me that wanted him to possess me like he was now. But there was also a part of me that was terrified of his jealous streak.

His finger was stroking my swollen nub now, hard enough, fast enough to take me where I was dying to go. But I knew he was exerting his control now, reminding me what it would take to cross the finish line. “Dex, I…”

“Let me hear it, baby.” He glided his tongue up my spine, making me shiver as I pushed back, seeking more. “Let me hear you say you’re mine.”

It was a familiar dance. I give him what he wants. He gives me what I want. I stroke his ego. He strokes my clit. “What if I don’t?” We both knew I would, but I liked to make him sweat.

He chuckled before sinking his teeth into my shoulder. “We both know my sexy, dirty girl wants to come again.”

He was so hard, so deep, and I was so turned on. He was right. I’d never last. Still I rolled my hips before opening wider for him. I curled my lips into a satisfied smile when I tightened my hold on him, closing around him like a vise.

“Fuck… Cor…”

Damn. That shift of power felt good. I eased my hand between my legs, hoping he wouldn’t notice. No such luck.

“Oh no, you don’t.” He grabbed my arms, pinning them behind my back. “I say when you come. Your orgasms are mine.”

Everything he did turned me on. It wasn’t fair. I should be mad at him for standing between me and the release I so desperately needed, but I couldn’t because I knew when it came it would rock me.

He grinded against my ass, using my hands to gain leverage as he picked up speed.

He was rocking the huge bed with the force of his thrusts, making me wonder how it was possible he wasn’t splitting me in two. It should hurt. Instead it felt incredible as the anticipation built.

My mouth was open and he slipped two digits inside, ordering me to lick them.

Once I’d gotten his fingers wet, he rimmed my ass, making me push back against it without thinking. It had been a hell of a long time since I’d had anything in there. But I trusted Dex. I knew he would never hurt me.

“I want to fill you up.” His voice was rough and hoarse, like he’d just smoked a pack. “I want you to take me. Everywhere.”

I curled my toes and swore as his words carried me away. I felt like I was spinning out of control, caught up in a storm as he swelled inside of me, intensifying the sensation. I was still throbbing as he let out a guttural moan before flooding me.

He finally released my hands before resting his chest against my back as we both caught our breath.

 

***

 

Dex

 

She hadn’t said the one little word I wanted to hear. Mine. But I knew she would. It was only a matter of time. She pressed that sweet little ass into me, making my dick stir again, like I hadn’t just had her.

I kissed her shoulder, smiling when she squirmed. She’d always loved my scruff, but claimed it tickled her soft skin.

“About tonight…” I knew we couldn’t avoid the topic forever. “You’re welcome.”

She laughed. “Since when do I have to thank you for getting me off? You used to tell me it was your job.”

“Still is,” I said, slipping a hand between her legs and cupping her mound possessively. “But I was talking about getting rid of that loser for you. You’re welcome.”

I knew that guy wasn’t her type. She needed someone who could talk dirty to her, fuck her hard, and lick her good. That guy has probably struggled to get it up and keep it up. The lame fucker. Cora was so out of his league he didn’t even have the right to talk to her, much less date her.

“You are such an arrogant ass,” she said, slapping my arm. “And if you think that was make up sex, it wasn’t. I’m still pissed at you.”

“Yeah, right.” I’d take her again and make her forget that bastard’s name. “You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.”

She rolled on to her back, pulling the blanket up to hide her perfect tits. If she thought she was punishing me, I was determined to get the last laugh. I tugged at the blanket until it gave way before leaning over and sucking her pebbled nipple into my mouth. She gasped before I pushed both mounds together and divided my attention, nipping, laving and sucking until she was threading her hands through my hair and pulling my head away from her breasts.

“You’re trying to distract me again.”

I grinned before falling back on the pillow. “Is it working?”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, you bastard.”

I threaded my hand through hers before bringing it to my lips. “Seriously, you want me to apologize for getting other guys out of my way, but I won’t. You belong with me. To me.” I still hadn’t said the words that might help my case. I was trying to give her more time to adjust to the idea of us before I did, but I knew I’d never stopped loving this girl.

“Is that right?”

“You know it is. Tell me another guy has ever been able to do this for you. To you.” And if she started naming names I’d start kicking asses.

“You know what you and I have is… unique.” She smiled when I laughed. “Okay, our chemistry is off the charts. This should be bronzed,” she said letting her gaze wander down my body.

“Why, thank you.” I shifted her free hand so it was grasping my shaft. “Maybe we should look into that.”

“But,” she said, drawing her hand back before giving me a pointed look. “Sex isn’t enough, Dex. If it were we’d still be together.”

“You wanted me to change. I have.”

“I know you have,” she said, sounding hesitant. “But in a lot of ways you’re still the same. You proved that tonight.”

“Yeah, I am. I’m still a jealous son of a bitch. I don’t like other dudes trying to make dates with my woman. Who the fuck does?” I knew I wasn’t being unreasonable. Sure, maybe she’d been seeing the guy before I came back into her life, but I was back now and I wasn’t going anywhere. Ever.

“I need you to trust me this time around.” Her gaze drifted to my chest. “If you can’t do that it’ll never work.”

“What?” I never believed she would cheat on me. I did trust her. It was the horny bastards always hitting on her that I didn’t trust.

“Do you know how much it hurt to hear you accuse me of liking that kind of attention?”

Cora was a stunning woman. Everywhere she went heads turned. And sometimes guys got grabby, especially when they were drunk. It rarely happened when I was around, but I was sure it happened too often when I wasn’t. And that thought made me see red. No other man had the right to put their hands on her. Only me.

“Baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“Just hear me out,” she said, softly. “You called me a cocktease.”

I closed my eyes, cringing inwardly when I thought of the arguments we’d had when I’d thrown that word around too freely. I knew she wasn’t, but when she tried to step between me and some guy who was hitting on her I lost it.

“I shouldn’t have said that. I can promise you I never will again.”

“I appreciate that, but it’s more than that. I need… more freedom.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” She’d had her fucking freedom for the last three years. I wasn’t going to ask her to marry me again right away, but she would be my wife again. I was sure of that.

“You used to hate it when I’d go out drinking with my girlfriends or wear short dresses to bars or have male friends.” She shook her head. “I can’t live like that again. I won’t. I need to go where I want, wear what I want, and be friends with whoever I want.”

I had no problem with her having friends. She could have as many friends as she wanted. But male fucking friends? I clenched my teeth, questioning whether I could concede on that. I knew most guys befriended her because they were hoping to get close enough to drive a wedge between us. I wasn’t stupid. I saw the way they looked at her when they thought I wasn’t looking.

“So you’re okay with me having girl friends?”

“Of course,” she said, frowning. “Why wouldn’t I be? I trust you.”

She was always so rational. So reasonable. I hated it. “You only say that because you haven’t seen them. They’re hot.” I was being a prick and I knew it, but I wanted her to feel some of the fierce jealousy I experienced on a daily basis being with her.

“They’re hot,” she repeated. “And that’s supposed to make me feel… what? Insecure? Is that what you want, Dex? For me to be insecure? Jealous? Miserable in this fucking relationship again?”

“No!” Christ, this was backfiring. Why couldn’t I just learn to keep my big trap shut?

She threw the blankets off and started running around the room, collecting the clothes she’d tossed off in her haste to get naked for me.

“What are you doing?” I asked, sitting up. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

“Home.”

“Fuck that, Cora. You can’t just walk out every time we fight.”

“You don’t get it, do you?” She shook her head as she shimmied into her snug pantsuit. “That’s all we ever do is fight! It was like that when we were married and clearly nothing has changed.”

I couldn’t deny we’d had a few disagreements, but that was normal. We were still working things out, establishing some new ground rules for our relationship. “You’re not leaving.” I got up and grabbed my boxers.

“You can’t stop me.” She slipped into her heels and grabbed her purse. “And if you were smart you wouldn’t even try.”

She had me between a rock and a fucking hard place, I realized as I grabbed a pair of sweats from a drawer. I couldn’t let her go and I couldn’t stop her. If I let her go she’d go home and stew about how much we still fought, coming to the conclusion that we’d never be compatible. If I tried to stop her, she’d lose her shit and claim I was trying to control her again.

“I’m still in love with you, that’s gotta count for something.” I knew the truth was the only way I could hold on to her now. Her eyes softened immediately as she stepped towards me.

“Dex…”

“Sssh,” I said, placing a finger over her swollen lips. “I need to say this.” I held both of her hands in mine, hoping I could make her see how much it cost me to admit my shortcomings. “When we first met I thought there was no way a girl like you would give a guy like me a second look.”

“You were wrong about that,” she said, sounding amused. “I seem to recall a second, third, and fourth look before you finally offered to buy me a drink.”

“I knew the deal,” I said, intent on revealing things to her I never had before. “You were a good girl looking for a bad boy. Someone to show you a good time, to make you feel things you never had before. It was just supposed to be physical, right? Until it turned in to more.”

She didn’t respond and I knew I was right.

“You didn’t expect to fall for me, but I knew after that first kiss that I was gonna fall for you. Hard. And I did. You may not realize it, but you really messed me up, Cor.”

“How?”

“You made me crazy.” I looked up, holding her hands against my chest. “I thought about you all the time. Every second of every day.” I couldn’t tell her that back then because she would have thought I was some obsessed stalker. “I wanted to know what you were doing, where you were, who you were with.”

I wasn’t sure I was helping my cause because hearing myself recall the truth made me sound pretty fucked up.

“I knew you were too good for me.” It pained me to say it, but it was true. She was a fine Merlot. I was draft beer. She was centerfold gorgeous. I was biker tough. We didn’t fit together. But I wanted us to. I needed us to. “I kept waiting for you to figure that out.”

“I never saw it that way,” she whispered, curling her hands around my neck.

“You may not have, but every guy who saw us together did.” I felt the familiar surge of rage when I muttered, “I saw the way those fuckers would look at us, wondering how the hell I landed someone like you. They wanted to take you away from me. And I wanted to bust them up. Every last one of them.”

I’d never opened up to her like this, not even when we were married. I kept up the tough guy persona, letting her believe that jealousy was just a part of my personality.

“No one could have taken me away from you. Don’t you know that?”

Her voice sounded so sweet, so loving, as she tried to reassure me. It almost made me believe her. “You can’t say that. You don’t know who might have come along and turned your head.”

And I’d known I’d have only had myself to blame when she left me. I let things get out of hand until the paranoia and frustration got the best of me. And her. She couldn’t take it anymore. She couldn’t handle living under a cloud of unfounded suspicion. I got that. Yet here I was doing it all over again and I didn’t know how to stop myself. I was my own worst enemy when it came to this woman.

“Are you listening to yourself right now?” she asked, stepping back. “One minute you’re telling me you love me and the next you’re saying you can’t trust that I’ll go on loving you.”

“Do you still love me?” I was terrified to ask, but I had to know.

“Would I be here if I didn’t?” She gestured to the bed. “Sex is a big deal to me. I don’t sleep around. And I never would have slept with you again if I didn’t think we had a chance of putting things back together again.” She sighed, sounding exhausted. “But I don’t know how to make you believe me. I can’t make you trust me. And it doesn’t seem to matter what I say, you’re determined to be overprotective and wary of everyone I meet.”

I couldn’t let her leave like this. I knew if she did there was a good chance she wouldn’t come back. “Tell me what you need me to do.”

“I already told you,” she said, her voice softening. “I need you to trust me. I need my freedom. I need you to believe that I’m not going to stop loving you, no matter who I meet.”

That was a hell of a lot easier said than done. “I’ll work on it.” That was all I could promise for now. I just hoped it would be enough.

She nodded. “I’ve got some work to do too, Dex.” She patted my chest. “And some things to think about.”