CHAPTER 14
Sterling paused in the entryway. He’d been dragging his feet returning to Prairie all afternoon, but he couldn’t wait any longer. Travis expected him back this evening. And the work was piling up. He pulled Emma close, reveling again at the way her soft curves fit against him, then calculated how long it would take them to christen the entryway the way they’d done every other space in the condo over the last twenty-four hours. His cock sprung to life again at the thought of taking her against the wall. They hadn’t tried wall sex yet.
“When will I see you again?” As soon as the words came out, he regretted them. Their tryst was supposed to be a one-off thing. A means to slake the chemistry between them, not the beginning of something. Macey’s grief-stricken face flashed in his mind. “You know… so we can work on the fundraiser?” he recovered quickly.
She stiffened in his embrace. “We? I thought I was working on the fundraiser and you were just signing off.”
He laughed easily, relieved she hadn’t read more into his slip-up. “Of course. But you still need to run everything by me.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t think that this,” she flapped a hand between them, “gives you license to take over my project. Now that we’ve set the general direction, there’s not much for you to do.”
That wouldn’t do. She needed his ideas, their banter, even if she didn’t realize it yet. “There’s plenty to do. You need my connections. And anything taking place on the ranch needs to go through me first.”
Two spots of pink bloomed high on her cheeks. “Is that so?”
“Definitely.” He dipped his head to steal a kiss, sucking gently on her lower lip.
She softened, returning the kiss, then sighed. “Sterling, don’t think you can sweet-talk me into letting you call all the shots.”
“Who said anything about sweet-talking you?” He swept a thumb down her jaw and cupped her face to kiss her again. He flicked his tongue languorously against hers, hands sliding down her back to stroke her ass. “I’d much rather dirty-talk you.” His voice came out rough with the sound of his rising need.
She notched her core against his growing desire, hooking her hands around his neck. “Mmmm. It won’t have any effect on me.”
He spun, pinning her to the wall with his hips. “None?”
Her eyes lit as she pressed back into him. “Give it your best shot.”
His cock stood at full attention now, ready for a last go-round. “And what do I win when I make you come in under five minutes?”
She held his gaze and slowly licked her lower lip, then arched a brow, angling her head so the smooth column of her neck was exposed. “A cookie?”
“Only a cookie?” He licked a trail from her collarbone to the sensitive spot below her ear. “You can do better than that.” He slipped a hand underneath her sweater, fingers grazing the soft skin just under her waistband. “Your breathing gives you away. You’re already turned on.”
She gasped as he slid his hand down the front of her pants.
He nipped at her earlobe, letting her perfume permeate his senses. “What am I going to find when I slip my fingers under your pretty little lace panties?”
Her head dropped back to the wall, and she shut her eyes, biting down on her lip. “Nothing,” she squeezed out. He’d give her props for attempting to stay cool. Her efforts were valiant. Cute, even. But he had her. He could tell by the rise and fall of her chest.
“Nothing at all?” he murmured, fingers playing with the scrap of lace that separated him from his goal.
“Nope,” she squeaked.
“Liar,” he breathed. “We both know how wet you are. How ready.”
She made a noise in the back of her throat that went straight to his cock. It was the little things like that which set his blood on fire. A glance, a sly smirk, a sigh. Fuck. Who was he kidding? Just being around her heightened his awareness. Set his nerve endings alight. Made him want to do every naughty thing with her that popped into his head. He slipped a finger through the slick wetness he knew he’d find, grazing her clit. Her mouth dropped open with a sigh.
“You’ll have to do better at resisting than that, sweetheart.”
“I am impervious to your charms.” She took in a ragged breath and bit down on her lower lip again.
He laughed low. “Are you?” He slipped a finger inside her, grinning as she rolled her hips and sighed. “So I should stop now and go home?” He pulled out, sliding his desire slicked finger around her clit before removing his hand entirely.
Her eyes flew open as she gasped, then she narrowed her eyes, reaching for his belt buckle. “You still only win a cookie,” she hissed breathlessly as she buried her hand in his pants and stroked his hard cock.
He laughed, then lowered his head to hers, claiming her mouth in a searing kiss that left both of them breathless. “You like the game as much as I do, sweetheart. Like going toe to toe with me. You love the challenge and the sparring. The difference is, I can admit it. Now put your leg around me and let me fuck you.”
She gave a slow pull on his cock, squeezing his length. Fuck. Everything she did to him made him see stars. He shoved down his pants, then yanked on her leggings, pulling the damn things off with a ferocity that surprised him. He wanted her to see them here every time she walked in the door. Hitching an arm underneath her knee and bringing it to his hip, he pressed her into the wall. She wrapped her other leg around him and he clapped her hips, bringing her down on his length. They both cried out together.
“That’s it, right there,” she gasped, pressing her forehead against his.
“You like watching, don’t you?” he grunted, pushing into her then pulling out slowly. “You like seeing my cock fill you up?”
She gripped him with vice-like strength. “Yes,” she moaned, her tone of voice telling him she was close.
For a moment, his breath caught in his throat as he watched his cock disappear into her pussy. The way she moved on him sent waves of desire racing up the back of his legs. So many firsts with her. He brushed away the wave of emotion that bubbled up from a hidden part of himself and concentrated on pleasing her, on stroking her clit until she cried out from the joy of it.
He braced a hand against the wall by her head, and with the other, cupped her neck drawing her mouth to his, sweeping his tongue into her mouth and filling her. Her legs squeezed his hips and tightened around him as she kissed him back with equal fervor, moaning as they soared higher until she shattered on his cock with a cry. His belly tightened and the most intense orgasm exploded through him, spotting his vision and nearly buckling his knees. “Holy smokes, Emma. I’ve never, I’ve never–” he caught himself and let out a harsh sigh.
“Never what?” she murmured, running her hand through his hair.
He shoved the feelings back to the hole they’d crawled out of. He could never tell her that in a moment of sex-induced weakness he’d thought about forever. “I’m never gonna taste anything as good as that cookie.” He winked and gave her sweet ass a little pinch as he helped her stand on her feet.
She gently socked him on the shoulder. “Ass. You better hope I don’t put salt on it.”
He bent to retrieve his pants. “Even salt can’t diminish the taste of victory.”
Her eyes turned soft. “I had a nice weekend, Sterling.”
His throat squeezed painfully. Regret filled him as the words left his mouth. “You know we can’t do this again.”
She let out a little sigh and dropped her head, nodding stiffly. “I know.”
There was so much meaning there. So many words left unspoken. His heart twisted hard in his chest, and a cold ache seeped in to replace the warm buzz of post-sex bliss. For a heart-stopping moment, he considered taking back his words. But then the picture of Macey and Sophie, bent and broken at Johnny’s graveside, slammed into his mind with the force of a sledgehammer. This was the right thing, even if it sucked at the moment. A little time apart and it would be like nothing had happened between them anyway.
She gave him a small smile “You’re bad for my work schedule.”
Shit. He didn’t like this. Didn’t like the flash of pain he saw in her eyes before she hid it with a smile. Didn’t want to go home to his cold trailer and his cold sheets. And that was very dangerous. “It’s for the best.” A woman like Emma could make him forget everything, and that would ruin them both. In spite of that, his tongue seemed to have a mind of its own. And his body seemed to be more interested in staying rooted to the spot, touching Emma. “I have Guard duty next weekend, and then Travis, Cash, Weston and I leave for a week to go observe the Horses Helping Heroes organization in Montana.”
She raised an eyebrow, a ghost of a smile curving her mouth. “I guess you’ll just have to wait a little longer to see what I have planned, then.”
He appreciated her attempt to push his buttons. Put them on more even footing as they said their goodbyes. But the only buttons he wanted pushed had to do with burying his cock deep inside her one last time. And the fact that those buttons wouldn’t be pushed ever again left him… sad. He drew a finger down her cheek, imprinting her softness into his memory. “I’ll call you.”
“No need to.”
The look she shot him told him she didn’t believe he’d call even once. That stung. He wasn’t an asshole. Screw that. He would call her every damned day just to show her he could be a gentleman about this. That they could still be friends. “What if I want to?”
She shrugged, mouth quirking like she was trying to cover a smile as she pushed him toward the door. “Goodbye, Sterling.”