IF SAM COULD pretend that sheer force of will was enough to overcome our issues and attempt a relationship that was obviously destined to fail, so could I.
Hell, I could probably pretend for the rest of my life if he continued to hold me the way he did.
Kiss me the way he did.
Touch me the way he did.
Save me the way he did.
With a firm squeeze around my waist, he lifted me off the ground. Never breaking the kiss, he carried me, dangling in his arms¸ to the couch.
He sat on the cushion and attempted to pull me on top of him, but I sank to my knees instead.
“No,” he objected as I went to work on the button of his jeans.
“Yes.”
“Levee, no.” He shoved his hands under my arms and lay down, dragging me with him.
“Stop!” I laughed as I fought against him, but somehow, he’d managed to wedge me between the back of the couch and his body.
Pinning both my hands above my head with only one of his own, he rolled on top of me. “I’ll stop when I’m done eating your pussy.” He slid a hand between my legs and used the seam of my jeans to rub glorious circles. “But, when I’m done, I promise I’ll give you my cock anywhere you want. Mouth.” He popped the button on my jeans open with one hand. “Pussy.” Releasing my hands, he tugged my pants over my hips as I kicked my shoes off. Pausing, he arched an eyebrow. “Ass.”
I scowled, which caused him to chuckle as he pulled my panties off as well.
“Okay. Okay. So maybe no ass.”
“Good call,” I said, sitting up to remove my shirt. It was still in my hand when his mouth crushed over mine and his hand dove between my legs. “Sam,” I gasped as two fingers suddenly filled me.
“Sit up,” he ordered, kneeling on the couch while continuing to piston his fingers in and out.
I wasn’t going to argue. I was, however, going to take it further.
While Sam used one skilled hand to unsnap my bra, I flipped the button on his jeans and snuck my hand inside.
“Fuck,” he cursed.
A moan escaped my own throat as I closed my hand around his length.
Sam’s dick was incredible—the perfect combination of long and thick women dreamed about. However, it was the memories of the barbell that graced the head that had caused me to kill more than one set of batteries over the last week. I’d never been with anyone who’d been pierced before, but after having felt the metal glide over what I assumed was the elusive G-spot, I knew it was about to become a requirement for all future boyfriends.
Or maybe, somehow, someway, I’d be lucky and get to keep Sam.
Leaning down, he took my mouth in another hasty kiss. I matched the rhythm of his hand until he suddenly stepped out of my reach. He removed his fingers and peeled his shirt over his head. I would have complained about the loss, but his fingers quickly returned, and within seconds, his mouth followed, sealing over my clit.
“Oh God.” I arched off the couch as Sam attempted to settle between my knees. His tall body wouldn’t fit on the couch, so he hooked my legs over his shoulders and turned us so he could kneel on the ground in front of me.
My fingers tangled in his hair as he trailed a hand up to my breast, deliciously rolling my nipple while his mouth worked me from all angles. It wasn’t enough though. He was devouring me, and I could have easily come within minutes, but I wanted more. We were wrong on so many levels, but the way he made me forget about the free fall while he was inside me made it absolutely right.
At least, for me.
After the night we’d had, I didn’t want to come against his mouth. I wanted his weight on top of me, grounding me while reminding me of what we now had. And, better than that, what we could possibly have in the future.
Giving his hair a rough tug, I said, “I want you inside me.”
His tongue continued to flick against my swollen clit, but his eyes lifted to mine.
“You’re driving me mad, but I need you inside me. I need to know I’m driving you mad too.”
“No,” he murmured. Then his tongue darted out.
“Sam, please,” I cried, pulling on his hair.
His hand left my breast and disappeared out of my view. His shoulder moved against my leg as he stroked his dick while he watched his fingers moving inside me. “Rest assured that you’re driving me in-fucking-sane. But I get one night with you. Then all I’ll have for the next month are those memories. Stop fighting it, and give me one of this sweet cunt coming on my mouth.”
Jesus.
Like I was going to say no to that.
Who was I to deny the man a memory?
I was going to need the memories too.
“Okay. Umm…I guess you should stop talking and get back to work, then.”
A devilish grin grew on his lips.
Then he did just that. Sam licked and teased with a fierce determination. His tongue swirled and his fingertips circled, working me harder and pushing me higher than ever before. I still wanted to feel him inside me, but once I let myself go, I was no longer willing to lose his mouth.
As my muscled tensed, attempting to fight the impending climax, Sam’s hands disappeared. His tongue stayed the course, and even with as lost as I was, I became vaguely aware of his shoulders shifting and the familiar crinkle of a condom wrapper. I lifted my hips, silently asking for more, and Sam more than answered. Two fingers thrust inside me, curling as he sucked hard on my clit. I couldn’t even fight.
I sat up straight and ground against his face as the orgasm tore through me.
I was still pulsing and riding the high when Sam was suddenly gone.
Less than a second later, he was everywhere.
His body covered mine, forcing me down to the couch just as he slammed to the hilt inside me. He cursed loudly, but all coherent thoughts had escaped me. A new orgasm sparked within even before the first had left. My legs shook as he wrapped them around his hips. His hand snaked into my hair, and he roughly drove into me, each thrust deeper than the last.
Sam’s golden eyes filled with feral possession as they rose to meet mine.
In that moment, the perpetual free fall was no match for the way he made me feel.
I was still falling at unstoppable speeds—only, in his arms, as his body claimed me without a single word spoken, I was suddenly falling…up.
A tear slipped from my eye and a smile tilted my lips as I clung to his back while another orgasm washed over me.
Sam continued to chase his own release until finally he came whispering my name. It was more musical to my ears than any note I had ever sung, written, or played.
“Hey.” His gravelly voice caught my attention as he pushed up to catch my gaze. “Good or bad?” he asked, using the pad of his thumb to wipe away the wet trail then pressing it against my lips.
“Good,” I mumbled around it. “Really, really good.”
“Good,” he whispered, replacing his thumb with his lips. He breathed deeply, but kept it chaste. “Let me get rid of the condom. I need a smoke. Then we can take a shower.” He winked, climbing off me and sauntering away.
Sitting upright, I collected my clothes off the floor with a silly smile.
Yeah. We can do this.
“You want something to sleep in?” Sam asked, emerging from the hallway in a new pair of jeans riding low on his hips with a shirt slung over his shoulder, an unlit cigarette already dangling from his lips.
He looked downright edible. My eyes raked over the tattoos covering his chest and down his arms and his sides.
Under my scrutiny, he stood proudly, flexing to define his six-pack. “Fuck, I love when you look at me like that.”
“Perfect, because I love looking at you like that.” I motioned my finger up and down his body.
“It’s official. I’m burning all of my shirts. You want to rescue this one from the fiery pits and sleep in it tonight?” He offered me the one off his shoulder.
“Please.” I laughed as he threw the cotton top in my direction.
As I tugged the oversized rePURPOSEd T-shirt over my naked body and stepped into my panties, he slowly made his way over to me.
Cupping my jaw, he rubbed his thumb back and forth over my cheek. “I’m really fucking happy you’re here.”
“Me too.” I smiled.
He removed the cigarette from between his lips and was bending over to touch his mouth to mine when a sudden pounding on the door stopped him. Sampson went nuts barking, and Sam’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“What the fuck?”
Devon’s angry snarl permeated through the wood. “Open the fucking door.”
Henry’s voice quickly followed. “Would you calm down? She’s probably getting the dick right now.”
“Oh God,” I groaned.
This is not happening.
Devon replied, “Or she’s dead on that dick’s floor.”
“She’s fine.”
“You don’t fucking know that. You should have heard her on the phone.”
The loud pounding returned, and Sam stared at the door as he said, “I think that’s for you.”
“She is going to kick your ass,” Henry scoffed.
“I’ll survive. Besides, you were the one who gave me the address. She’ll probably kill you first,” Devon continued to argue as I stomped to the door and snatched it open.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I seethed at them.
Their eyes raked over my outfit—or lack thereof—and Henry’s smile spread as he elbowed Devon in the side.
“See? Told you. She was getting the dick.”
“Let’s go,” Devon barked at me.
“Yes, please go,” I snarked, slamming the door in their faces, but Devon snuck a foot inside preventing it from closing completely.
“You called for a ride home. I’m here. Get in the car,” he replied, pushing the door wide and stepping inside.
Sam’s arms suddenly folded around my hips from behind. “Go get dressed. We can have this conversation when you aren’t half naked with my front door wide-ass open.”
I knew the moment Henry saw Sam. His jaw slacked open and cartoon hearts might as well have floated from his eyes. Sam and Devon recognized the moment too, because Devon’s eyes flared wide and Sam instinctively took a step away with me securely tucked into his side.
Henry prowled forward as Sam’s gaze bounced down to me in bewilderment.
“You probably should have been the one to get dressed first,” I told Sam as Henry continued his nonconsensual eye-fucking of my boyfriend.
Boyfriend?
Maybe that’s a bit much.
Is it?
Sam’s hand flexed at my hips, and I couldn’t help but smile at the idea. I hadn’t been so excited about the idea of calling someone my boyfriend since fifth grade, when Jay Rogers passed me a note asking me to check yes or no.
I was still lost in schoolgirl musings when Sam interrupted my thoughts.
“Hey, so, I’m Sam. You must be Henry.” He extended a hand forward.
I laughed when Henry looked down at his hand then bent to the side, licking his lips as he openly checked out Sam’s package. Then I laughed even louder as Sam shifted me in front of him to block Henry’s assessment.
I should have said something to defuse the insanely awkward situation, but where was the fun in that? I looked up at Sam and very matter-of-factly said, “I told you he was going to try to woo you.”
“This is wooing?”
“You would be surprised how many men have fallen victim to him with far less.”
Devon shook his head as Henry continued to stare in awe, pacing a tight circle around us.
“Is he going to say something?” Sam whispered.
“Unfortunately, yes. And when he does, you’ll wish for the weird silence again.”
Suddenly, Henry stilled and peeled his shirt over his head, announcing, “Threesome.”
“Excuse me?” Sam questioned as Henry advanced.
“Fine, twosome, but Levee gets to watch. She is my best friend, after all.”
I giggled as I pressed a hand into Henry’s bare chest. “Put your damn shirt back on and leave him alone.”
He groaned, finally dragging his eyes off Sam. “This is so not fair. Why would you flaunt this fine specimen of a straight man in front of me and not even let me nibble. Do you not love me at all?” He pouted.
“No one is nibbling anything,” Sam quickly added.
Henry winked. “Yet.”
Sam stepped away and dug into his pocket. “Jesus, I need a cigarette.”
“Oh, me too. Let’s go outside,” Henry agreed, starting to follow after him.
I caught his arm. “Don’t you dare! First of all, you don’t smoke. Second of all, Sam is completely off-limits to you. Let it go.”
His shoulders sagged in defeat. “You’re so selfish,” he whined, pulling his shirt back on.
“Maybe, but if you quit your bitching, we could watch him walk away together. His ass is insane.”
“Seriously?” Sam asked cynically.
“Well, now, you’re just being mean. But I accept.” Henry tossed his arm around my shoulders.
We both turned to Sam, who was squinting his eyes in disbelief at our objectifying exchange.
Henry made the shooing motion toward him. “Go ahead, hot man. Smoke your cigarette. And, before you ask, yes, I’m perfectly okay with you envisioning it’s me you’re putting in your mouth.”
“Henry!” I scolded then burst into laughter.
“What?” He feigned innocence.
Sam curled his lip in disgust then barked a laugh while scratching the back of his head in what could only be described as astonishment. “Yeah. I…uh… Come on, Sampson.”
The dog trotted after him.
I slapped Henry on the chest. “You dumbass. Don’t screw this up for me. You know I like him.”
“Yes, I do. And I completely know why now. Fuck, that man is sexy.”
“He really is. And he’s such a nice guy.” I sighed. “He deserves so much better than me.”
Henry rubbed my arm. “Nonsense. If he’s smart, he’s probably on his knees out there, thanking God that he gets to be with you.” He swayed his head from side to side. “And, since he’s already on his knees, maybe I should go check on him.”
I slapped his chest again. “Shut up! Leave him alone.”
Henry chuckled, throwing his hands up in defense. “Okay, okay.”
Devon spoke up, interrupting our conversation. “Show’s over. I’m bored. Levee, get your clothes and let’s go.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Come get us in the morning.”
Devon’s eyes flared wide. “Us?”
“Sam’s going with me to LA. He can ride back with you after the show.”
“Awesome,” Devon mumbled.
I wasn’t sure what Devon’s problem with Sam was, but he’d made it blatantly obvious he had one. He’d always been protective of me. It was his job, after all. Literally. But our relationship was more than just employee-employer. Over the last few years together, Devon and I had forged a friendship that had eventually evolved into more of a brother-sister bond. I loved and hated it all at the same time.
It would have been nice to have an employee who just did what I said. But I loved knowing that Devon was always there for me, no matter what the task.
“So, who wants a beer?” Sam asked as he came back inside wearing a wrinkled hoodie and holding a six-pack of brews.
“Where do you keep magically producing beer from?” I inquired.
“I have a stocked fridge in my shop out back.”
“And the hoodie?”
His eyes flashed to Henry. “My Jeep. I didn’t think it was safe to come back in without a shirt.”
“Smart move,” Henry said, walking over and pulling a beer from his hand. He winked as he twisted the top off and tipped it to his lips.
“Okay. As very entertaining as this has been, can you two please leave? It’s late, and Sam and I were just about to take a shower.”
Henry’s mouth was full, and he lifted a finger as he swallowed.
“No, you can’t join us!”
“Why are you so hateful?” Henry grumbled.
“Take him home. Please,” I begged Devon, who was glowering at the whole situation—and especially at Sam.
“Levee, we need to talk. Stewart isn’t going to be happy about you being here. We don’t know this guy, and a lot of things are going down for you right now. We need to keep this among the family for a while.”
I walked over and stopped in front of him, craning my head back to meet his eyes. “A lot of things are going down for me right now, but Sam has had a front-row seat to everything for a while. There’s nothing he doesn’t already know.”
“Levee—”
“Devon, I’m good. I swear. I know you’re worried, but there’s no talking me out of this. Now, please, just take Henry and go. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He stared down at me blankly for several beats before rolling his eyes and calling out, “Henry, we’re pulling out.”
Henry set the beer down and headed toward the door, pausing to give me a hug. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Then he shouted over his shoulder, “Night, Sam! Call me if you change your mind.”
I groaned.
Sam walked over, draping his arm around my waist, and called back, “Will do! Goodnight.”
As soon as the door clicked behind them, my whole body sagged. “God, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. That was…interesting.”
I laughed. Interesting didn’t even come close to it. But as I nervously peeked up through my lashes to get a read on Sam, he was sporting a huge smile.
“It was fun, Levee. Don’t look so worried. It’s going to take more than Henry Alexander trying to get in my pants to run me off.”
“I’ll make him quit. I swear. I’m not sure I can promise the same about Devon though.”
“Stop.” He folded me into his chest and kissed the top of my head. “You’re stuck with me.”
I breathed in deeply, praying that that was true.
“Let’s shower. You stink.” I tugged at his hoodie.
“Yeah, this thing is filthy.” He pushed me back a step and dragged it over his head. “Sorry, but there was no way I was coming back in half naked.”
“I can’t blame you there.” I giggled into his chest.
He glided a hand over my ass. “Hey, next time people show up at my door, clothing is not optional for you.”
“Oh, please. It’s just Henry and Devon.”
His other hand snaked into the front of my panties and through my wet folds. “Maybe. But this is mine now. No more peep shows.”
A moan escaped my throat, and it was only partially because the tip of his finger had dipped inside me.
“This is mine now.”
“Yes,” I breathed before his mouth landed over mine.