She didn’t say a damn thing.

He closed his hands over hers and laced their fingers. He moved his nose from her neck to buzz along the shell of her ear.

“Do you want me?”

Her chest rose and fell faster and her fingers flexed under his.

“Because I want you. I’ve always wanted you.”

She drew in a ragged breath and let it out on a little moan. “This so isn’t a good idea.”

He scraped his teeth down her neck to her shoulder. “Probably not. Want to do it anyway?” He crowded in like he’d wanted to do since the first day he’d seen her. She was so damn small and compact in ways that made his mouth water and his dick take notice.

He was male, his dick took notice of women whether he wanted it to or not, but she’d been different.

She’d always been different.

And he was stupid for doing this, but he couldn’t think about anything other than losing himself in her sweet, tight body. To hold her there against the brick and slide into her with the night sounds and city lights blurring around them.

He hummed against her neck as he swirled the tip of his tongue around the little spiral of curls behind her ear. “Tell me to step back.”

She tipped her head to the side to give him more access to her neck.

Acquiescence.

Was he just wishing for it so hard he was blind to everything else?

She slid her ass along the front of his jeans with a long, slow undulation.

He released one of her hands then curled his fingers along her hip. He held her closer as he ground against the sweet curve of her ass.

She lifted her free hand to his hair and sank her fingers into his still-wet curls with a soft sigh.

“Hands back on the brick,” he rasped.

Her gentle touch would undo him. And right now, he couldn’t go there. He wanted to show her he could be everything she needed. Even if it killed him in the process. “You don’t want a Boy Scout, you’re not going to get one.”

She slowly lowered her hand back to the brick. “I was only kidding earlier.” Her voice was husky and low.

Enough that he knew she hadn’t been kidding. That if he was going to do this—if he was going to take this step—then it needed to be an all-in situation.

“Palms flat. Don’t move them no matter what I do to you.”

Her short nails went white as the pads of her fingers pressed harder into the brick.

He was certain he’d find her soaking wet if he slid his hand into her jeans right now. The fact that he was currently losing all blood to below his belt meant he was in a similar situation.

He’d played a little with a few girls who were adventurous, but nothing like this. Thrill coursed through him, adding a kick of adrenaline to the already precarious night.

“Last chance.”

“Just fuck me already.”

He flicked open the button to her jeans and dragged them down without fanfare. Definitely not slow, and definitely without finesse.

She slapped the brick, but didn’t let go.

He crouched behind her and pulled one shoe out from her pant leg. He wasn’t sure if they’d be interrupted, so it seemed better to keep it easy for her to be covered as quickly as possible.

He glanced at the windows around them. Anyone could see them. He curled his fingers into the worn denim. The idea of anyone watching her made a growl burn through his chest. But he didn’t want to bring her inside.

Not just yet.

He raked his fingers up the backs of her legs. His nails were short, but it was enough to see faint score lines from his touch rise on the backs of her thighs. A shudder thrummed through her legs as he stood behind her.

The scrap of white-and-red-striped panties had rolled down a little with his swift removal. Instead of shoving them down to her jeans, he snapped them back into place as he widened her stance. “Are you already wet for me?”

“You wish.”

He curled his fingers under the ends of her tank and scored across her belly in much the same way he’d done along her legs. She hissed, but he felt the tremor again.

She liked it.

His dick throbbed.

Denver’s acid-tongued and bravado-filled responses should have been a clue. Even if there was a part of him that wanted to offer softness and romance, right now he fed off her reactions.

She wanted this.

She wanted it a little rougher, a little left of center.

He made circles on her flat belly and down farther into her panties. Her thighs twitched as he made his way lower, to the curve of her pelvic bone and the sweet strip of hair just above her slit.

The rest of her was smooth and damp. From the night? The still, heavy air that held no breeze and no relief.

He delved between her thighs with his two middle fingers and groaned. Slick didn’t cover it. She was drenched.

Her head fell back against his chest and she arched her back. Her nipples were beaded up and pushing against the thin cotton of her tank.

With his other hand, he cupped her breasts and tugged at each nipple through the material until she was squirming against him. Her hands slid to the edge of the brick.

“Hands,” he growled.

She moved them back with a groan.

“That’s a good girl.”

“Fuck you.”

He smiled into her neck. “That’s the plan.” He bit down as he tugged the front of her tank down to expose her breasts to the air. He cupped one roughly and slid his fingers deeper inside of her.

Her fingers started to roll under into fists and he released her breast to grip a handful of her hair. “Palms flat.”

She hissed, and goddamn if her pussy didn’t get wetter. Hair pulling for the win. He tightened his hold and rubbed the heel of his hand along her clit. He didn’t thrust in and out of her with his fingers, just rubbed lightly.

She arched at his hold and her nipples got even tighter. For just one moment he wished for more hands. Or that he could turn her around and feast on her with his mouth, but that wasn’t part of the game.

And right now it was all about the game.

Her breath came out in a pant and he stilled his hand. He didn’t want her to go over this way. He wanted her to come on his dick. This first time it needed to be her squeezing around him.

He slid his fingers from her warm body and she shuddered against him. She hummed out a gasping breath and sagged against the wall. He jerked his buckle open and dug into his pocket for the little box burning against his leg.

Overthinking it would make it worse. All he could think about was getting inside her, making her his.

It was a clawing need he didn’t have the mental fortitude to examine at that moment. Good thing his lizard brain had taken over.

Get inside her.

Get inside her.

He snapped the latex on and tugged out the band holding all her hair away from him. He twisted the thick length around his palm and pulled until she arched onto her toes. He glanced down to make sure he wouldn’t hurt her.

Her palms were flat and braced. Her body ready and tuned to his. Waiting.

He jerked her panties aside and slammed inside of her. She let out a guttural cry that echoed through his chest.

Instinct urged him to ask if she was okay, but that was what a Boy Scout would do. She didn’t want that.

She wanted it rough.

She wanted it raw.

He had to trust it was exactly what she craved, because there was no doubt it was what he needed too.

He wrapped his arm around her middle to shield her from the worst of the brick before he plunged into her again and again.

Curled around her, he felt his thighs scream at the angle. She was so much shorter than him and he had to crouch a little to drive up inside of her.

His dick dripped with her. The clasp of her heat and perfect pussy was the ultimate high. He shot over and up through the pleasure and past the pain until he was mired in her scent and her screams of pleasure.

Quivering thighs—maybe hers, maybe his—were the only things that saved him. Part of him could have fucked her all night long, but there was a deeper drive for release that wouldn’t be denied.

He tried to concentrate on the clasping spasm of her body. He chased it, obsessed with finding the finish line no matter how long it took.

She shattered over him.

There was no other word for the way her voice cracked and her body convulsed before she came all over him. He buried himself to the hilt and followed her. His skin was scorched and his chest heaved with exertion as he filled the condom as if it was the last one he’d ever fucking use.

The lights blurred and the city sounds drowned out against the deep breaths and caramelizing of his brain. He slumped against her and the brick that had scraped the holy hell out of his arm.

Fucking worth it.

The chaos he’d been living with went silent and his chest started working again. She trembled against him and he held her tight. He was loath to pull out of her.

There would be the harsh realities of fucking his best friend.

He wasn’t ready for them.

If he could, he’d walk her into the damn motel with his dick still half hard inside of her. But he couldn’t. He pressed his forehead between her shoulder blades and hissed as he pulled out.

He jerked his pants up and swung her into his arms.

“Ryan!” She gripped his shoulder, her huge brown eyes just a little unfocused. Good. He needed to keep her there.

Shit. Her jeans still hung off one ankle. He shuffled her closer and flicked the denim up until it pooled in her lap. “Inside. I’m not done with you.”

“You’re not?”

“Definitely not.”

He juggled her so he could open the door. No one was in the hallway, so he hurried back into their room. The door was ancient enough not to have locked behind him when he left.

Good thing. He wasn’t quite sure where the key had ended up.

He dumped her on the bed and her sneakers tumbled to the floor before she whipped off her jeans, flinging them over his shoulder. She was tiny enough that he could lift her up and toss her up toward the wrought-iron headboard.

He jerked the comforter out from under her until there was nothing but her golden skin on the pure white sheets. He pushed at her tank until it was up and over her head.

Her dark hair tumbled over her shoulders, her eyes as wild as the thick waves that had fallen forward.

The long strands hid her tiny tight nipples. He crawled between her legs and lifted her hands up above her head. His cock stirred at the way her eyes flashed defiantly. Her breasts and silky hair brushed over his chest and he groaned. Part of him wanted to linger and see where things went.

He was used to a more playful situation when it came to one-night stands. It didn’t matter because he’d be gone in the morning, or the afternoon if it was a really good time. Denver didn’t slide into either of those situations.

She was his friend, but he’d never had a friend under him like this. Add in the fact that she’d been the one to save him tonight and his head was all fucked up. So, he went with the only thing that made sense.

“I want to explore the front now.” He lingered over her as he jerked at his belt with one hand.

“Is that right?” Her eyes widened as he looped his belt around her wrists and dragged them up over her head.

“You think you can handle it?” He looked around for the pillows that had scattered and jammed two behind her shoulders and head. “Comfy?”

She scrunched back until she was reclined with her arms now loosely cinched above her head. “Surprisingly.”

“Good. What’s your word?”

Her eyebrows shot up. “So, you’ve done this before?” She swallowed. “A little bondage, some rougher play.”

“I told you—”

“Yeah, yeah. Not a Boy Scout.”

“Since you’re not surprised, I’m assuming you have too.”

She lifted her chin. “Something like that.”

He was tempted to tighten the belt, but decided he liked that she could move a little. He inched back and indulged his need for a taste of her. He glanced up at her as he sucked on one nipple until it was tight under his tongue, and she hissed in reaction.

He let it go and watched it flush even darker. He moved lower and dragged her underwear down before widening her legs. “Your word, Colorado?”

“Ryan.”

“Nope, can’t be Ryan. You’ll be shouting it anyway.”

“How about asshole?”

“Nah. You call me that too much.”

“Well deserved,” she grumbled.

He grinned. “Word?”

She looked around the room. “Pink.”

He swiped his thumb around her clit. “Like this pretty pussy?”

Her hips jerked up. “No. Like the neon light over there.”

He licked the pad of his thumb with a groan. His mouth watered for more. “Now that we got that out of the way, it’s time for the best part.”

She licked her lips. “More fucking?”

“We’ll get there.” He eased onto his belly. He was too tall, so he had to bend his knees and swing his feet up to keep himself on the bed. He curved his fingers under her ass and lifted her to his mouth. “But no, this is the best part.”

He lowered his head to tease the bottom of her mound, where her honey scent blended with arousal.

Now that his brain was clear again, he could enjoy her. He sampled the sheen of cream on her inner thighs before slowly teasing his way up to her pussy. He lapped at the sweet skin above her clit. “I told you I wasn’t done with you yet.”

She took a deep breath through her nose as he covered her slit with his lips. The seal was complete and his tongue searched out every live-wire nerve.

He watched her face the entire time. Partly to figure out what she needed, but mostly just to see the pleasure roll over her features. The more she flooded his mouth, the more her eyes drifted from hardened resistance to desperate.

His dick pulsed as she fell apart for him. She rattled at the restraints keeping her tied to the headboard and lifted her hips away from him, but he held her still. His arms ached and his tongue throbbed in reaction to her swollen pussy, but he didn’t stop.

He wouldn’t stop until she screamed.

Her jaw tightened and her head thrashed but she didn’t let anything out but a small moan.

He wanted her so far gone that there would be nothing but his name on her tongue. Only then would he relent, even if it killed him.

She tightened her knees around his head. Surrounded by her scent and taste, his vision fuzzed around the edges, but he didn’t let go. He dipped his thumb along the cleft of her ass.

He hummed at the coating of her juices there, waiting for him. She was so fucking responsive. She might not give him an inch when it came to her smart mouth, but her body was his for the taking.

His thumb slid along her pucker and she vised around his head, her eyes widening. He circled it as he circled her clit and her body shuddered. He didn’t stop until his thumb was inside of her to the knuckle.

The scream that ripped out of her was cracked with emotion. Fury and release chased itself around her features. She shook the headboard until the leather unraveled from its knot.

She slid her wrists free and grabbed his hair. Instead of pushing his face away, she held him tighter and panted out his name as she curled around him. The sounds coming from her were feral, and he was so goddamn wound up, he finally pulled his mouth free.

“No!”

He laughed and flipped her onto her belly as he jerked out the pack of condoms. She rose up and he held her down at the small of her back. “She-cat.”

“Oh, God. Fucking hurry up.”

He peeled his jeans away from his dick with a groan. “I know what you need, baby.”

“I need you to shut up and get that cock inside me.”

He huffed out a laugh and rolled the latex down his aching shaft. He shoved her legs together and straddled the tops of her thighs.

“Ryan. What the hell are you doing? I’m not into getting my ass fucked.”

“We’ll see about that.”

She thrashed against his hold.

“Not now, but someday.” He drew his knuckle down the dip in her spine to the high arch of her perfect ass.

She instinctively rose to his touch and he dropped his head back for a moment to get ahold of himself. He blew out a breath before he guided his dick along the slippery tightness of her thighs to her pussy.

He swore as her body fisted around him. The angle and her position was heaven and hell along the surface of his cock. So goddamn tight. He lowered his belly to her ass and stretched over her to reach for the headboard.

She curled her fingers around the same rung under his hand and he growled out her name as he drilled into her until there was nothing but skin and two bodies.

He snapped his hips back and drove into her again and again in long, measured strokes, until the room blurred and the bed squeaked out a protest. And he kept going as the drug named Denver obliterated his brain.

The clasp of her body was the ultimate torment in a day that had gone from amazing to shit, and back around to incredible. When she switched her grip from the iron posts to his wrists, he groaned and buried his face in her neck.

His thrusts went from smooth to erratic as she cried out his name and pulsed around his dick. She moved her head to allow him more access, and he scraped his teeth and tongue down her neck to her shoulder as he fucked her until his body wouldn’t allow it anymore.

Sweat pooled between them, poured off his skin and slicked down his back. He knew she’d come, but it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.

He rolled them until they were spooned and he could hook his arm around her knee to peel her open. His spine screamed at the angle, but he didn’t stop. He burrowed his other arm underneath her to get to her clit.

He powered his cock into her, and her little clit was so fucking high and tight he only had to circle it a few times, and she was lost. Her thigh shook and back arched. It was all he could do to hold on to her as her body milked him.

Gone.

So fucking gone.

He pressed his forehead into her shoulder and growled out her name. His bones fucking melted as he finally let go. When his vision cleared again, and the bed stopped vibrating from the punishing storm, he became aware of her labored breath and the pink neon light washing over her perfect tits.

His cock was still lodged inside of her. It didn’t want to be let go any more than he did. In fact, if he could find a way to stay just like this for the next few days, he’d be happy.

She was boneless and quiet. Both oddly discomforting. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Denver not in a frenetic state. And if not moving, she was usually intently focused on something else.

He grabbed the condom at the base of his dick and slid away from her. Immediately she curled into herself and covered her head with her arm.

Shit.

That was not what he wanted as a reaction. At all.

He quickly tied off the condom and crossed to the bathroom to dispose of it, then detangled himself from his twisted-as-fuck jeans. He flipped them over the shower curtain rod with his shirt and cleaned up before returning to the bedroom with a washcloth and towel.

She pressed her face farther into the pillow as he smoothed the rough washcloth down her back.

“Den, come on.”

She shook her head.

He rolled her onto her back and fought with her to open her arms for him. “Don’t be a spoiled brat.”

Her brown eyes blazed up at him. “Excuse me?”

“I just pounded the hell out of you.”

“Fuck off, Ry. I’m not some dainty emo chick you have to take care of.”

He dragged her up into his arms. “No, you’re my best friend. And I was rough.”

She was stiff in his embrace for a long time, but he waited her out. It was becoming a thing between them.

He figured he better get used to it. Because this wasn’t going to be the only time he was inside her. No way, not after he knew what she felt like, smelled like—fuck, what she tasted like.

Finally, her arms came up and around his back and she pressed her cheek to his shoulder.

“Den—”

“Can we just not?” She nuzzled down closer to his chest. “I don’t want to psychoanalyze this. Please?”

“We don’t have to.”

“Good.”

He eased back against the wrought-iron headboard until she was cradled into his body. His back wasn’t happy with the situation, but he’d grin and bear it.

For her, he would.

He didn’t know how long they stayed that way. Eventually, they ended up in some crazy pretzel that shouldn’t have been comfortable, but it so was.

Maybe he’d have to invest in a circular bed. His bandmate Jules crowed all the time about the one she and her guys, Tris and Randy, had in their bedroom.

The next time he woke it was to a crowing rooster from his phone and an empty bed. He fumbled for his phone and found it next to him on the mattress.

“Den?” He squinted down at his phone. An ungodly seven stared back at him, as well as a twenty.

The twenty and a white envelope stuffed with his rent money cleared out his brain faster than anything. “What the hell?” He looked around the room, but there was no trace of her.

Even her scent was gone.

She’d left the damn money like he’d earned it last night. What in the fuck?

He stumbled out of the bed into the bathroom and found his shirt and jeans folded on the sink with another piece of aged stationery on top.

“This should get you to the radio station. Had to get to the bus,” he read aloud.

He crinkled the note and tossed it into the waste can below the sink. She’d just left him there?

Christ.

He stepped into his jeans and pulled his stiff air-dried shirt on. He looked like he’d been on a goddamn bender.

Or like he’d been fucked to within an inch of his life.

Ding, ding—hello, door number two with a whole new vice.

One Miss Denver Casey.

Son of a bitch.