Chapter Seventeen
“I told you,” Zane said to Bea as they crossed the parking lot of the diner, “you didn’t have to do that.”
Not that he would ever complain about spending more time with her.
She waved him off as they walked over to his car. “And I told you that you saved our asses today, big time, and we’re both extremely grateful. Buying you dinner was the least I could do.”
It was a start. But he could think of more things she could do for him. More things he wanted her to do.
It had taken him almost an hour, but he’d been able to solve the issue with their software so they could give their presentation. He could have completed the task even faster had he not worried over the text message he’d briefly seen on her phone. He didn’t know who Billie was, but he sure as hell wanted to know why he was meeting Bea at a classy Italian restaurant tomorrow night.
Zane had eventually been able to convince himself that it was some type of business meeting. Probably with a client. He couldn’t fathom any other alternative, so he did his best to wipe the entire incident from his mind.
Because he didn’t want anything to tarnish his memory of that afternoon.
He loved that she had come to him for help; there was no denying that. But the best part had been afterward. When she had looked at him like he was her hero. She’d had this goofy smile on her face, making him feel ten feet tall.
He had been hard ever since that adoring smile, so hard he was sure his balls had turned black-and-blue.
He leaned against his car, loving how her eyes followed his movements. “Thanks, but not necessary. I’m just glad I could help.”
“But if I know you,” she said pointedly, though her lips curved up, “you’d use my debt to your own advantage at a time most convenient for you.” She poked him on the chest. “This way, I don’t feel like I owe you.”
He scratched his chin to hide his expression. “Fair point. But I don’t know if dinner qualifies us as being equal. That was a pretty challenging problem. It might take a bit more than a meal to completely cover your debt.”
“Someone’s being greedy.”
He spread his legs when she stepped between them, and pulled her into his embrace. His dick stirred against her thigh, appreciating the new position.
She noticed and her lips quirked. “Very greedy.”
He groaned at the way she pushed her hips into his, deliberately torturing him. “Look who’s talking.”
She giggled and rubbed her breasts against his chest. “So, what did you have in mind, then? To cover my debt?”
“Well, first of all, I don’t think there’ll be much coverage to speak of…”
He trailed off when she started whispering in his ear, licking his jawline. He couldn’t bloody concentrate when she did that.
Oh, but the things this woman did to him.
With phenomenal restraint, he managed to grip her arms and pull her back so he could look into her eyes. “Second of all, would you like to accompany me back to my place?”
She ran her hands down his chest, her fingers circling his nipples. “How do you make such a formal question sound so dirty?”
“One of my many talents, luv.”
When he couldn’t stand the distance any longer, he smashed his lips against hers with a hunger that had them both going from zero to sixty in an instant. Her tongue licked across the seam of his lips and he was done.
“Yes,” she breathed against his mouth before diving back in for another possessive kiss.
That’s what it was, too. Every time he took her mouth, it felt like they were both taking possession of each other’s entire being. As though making a statement to anyone who came too close that only he was allowed to touch her that way, and that he wasn’t up for grabs to any other woman.
And he fucking loved it.
“Yes what?” he asked, trailing kisses down her neck.
“Yes, I’ll accompany you back to your place.”
He smiled against her skin. Damn straight she would. “Mmm…maybe I’ll never let you leave.” The sound of her sharp intake of breath fueled him. He grabbed her hand and placed it over his bulge, guiding her movements when she immediately closed her fingers around his shaft, stroking him through his pants. “This is what you do to me,” he panted. “All of it’s for you, sweetheart.”
She hummed in her throat. “Well, in that case, let’s get out of here so I can play with it.”
He thrust into her hand. “By play with it, I hope you mean take it into your mouth or between your thighs. Or both.”
She put pressure right on his tip, drawing a hiss from between his teeth. “Guess you’ll have to get me home and out of these clothes to find out.”
Home. She’d called his place home.
“I’ll drive.”
He sped out of the parking lot, his goal being to get them to his flat as fast as humanly possible. In the midst of dodging other cars and timing red lights, he felt her nimble fingers unbutton his pants and slide down the zipper without a word.
No, she’s not.
Her fingers slid under his briefs and grasped his straining erection.
Yes, she is.
“What the hell are you doing?” He let out a deep moan when the tip of her finger rubbed over his slit, smearing the moisture that had gathered there.
“Shh,” she crooned. “You just watch the road and let me handle everything down here.”
Easier said than done. “I can’t concentrate when you’re doing that, luv.” Although he wasn’t ready for her to stop, either.
“Yes, you can,” she told him. “You will because you want this bad enough.”
Christ but he did.
He fought to keep his eyes focused on the road and not on the way her hand worked him. Slow and steady at times, then harder and faster at the base, moving up his shaft. Without warning, she leaned over and gave his tip one good, long lick.
“Fucking hell!”
It was a good thing there were no cars in front of them because his foot had reflexively slammed down on the accelerator. When he glanced down for a second, he knew the image of her dark hair fanned out across his lap as her head bobbed up and down would be permanently engraved in his memory. Most erotic thing he’d ever seen.
“Bloody Christ. You can’t do that. I’m going to lose it.”
She lifted off him, raising her head slightly. See, look what you did. “Either you want to come in my mouth or you don’t,” she said in a low voice. “If you do, shut up and let me suck you. If you don’t, tell me now and I’ll sit back in my seat and get myself off with my own hand.”
Was that supposed to be some type of punishment? Because watching her finger herself would be a gift from God.
But he was in too much pain at the moment to wait until they got to his place. He needed some relief now.
He placed his hand on the back of her head, lightly pulling on the strands. “Fine. I’ll keep my mouth shut if you keep yours full.”
He pushed her down onto him, groaning when she not only allowed his manhandling, but immediately took him all the way to the back of her throat.
“Oh, fuck, that’s good. Swallow me down, luv. That’s it.”
How he was able to keep one hand on the wheel, one hand on her head, and still manage to drive safely through DC traffic, he couldn’t understand. A few times, he had to do some quick maneuvering to avoid being seen by other drivers. He wasn’t worried about being caught. He just didn’t want anyone witnessing him getting blown by the sexiest woman on the planet. Especially other men who would ogle her arse, which was sticking up in the air.
No, he wanted that fucking fantastic moment to be between them and only them.
God, her mouth was incredible.
She was sucking him down with mind-blowing force, her devious tongue sliding all over the place. It didn’t take him long to start thrusting up into her, seeking more of her warm heat, craving more of her moans. Her mouth was just that good.
He worried that he was being too rough with his hand on her head. But when he started to remove it, she snatched it up and slapped it right back down where it had been.
Hottest. Woman. Ever.
He felt his need climbing to the surface and knew he was getting close. He felt the car slowing down as he let off the gas—losing himself to the sensations coursing through him—but he didn’t care. He was close to begging her for mercy.
“I’m so close. Don’t stop, please.”
He needed to come—desperately—but he somehow sensed that she needed it, as well. Maybe it was her way of saying thank you for his help, a way of paying him back. Maybe she was just super horny. Whatever the reason, his desire to give it to her, to satisfy her, was far stronger than his need to come down her throat.
Though he was more than willing to do that.
“I’m about to come,” he told her, warning her, giving her the chance to pull away.
She didn’t.
With a vicious roar and one last upward drive of his hips, he emptied himself inside her mouth. “Fucking take it all!” He felt her throat work as she swallowed his release, prolonging his pleasure. “Every last drop.”
After draining him, she licked him clean and tucked him back into his underwear. As calmly as you please, she sat back up in her seat and straightened her hair. He wanted to demand how she could be so relaxed when he was revving up his engines for another go-around. Then, he saw the sly grin curving her lips.
She finally turned to face him. Her cheeks were flushed, and there was a distinct glint in her eyes. “Deep breath, Mr. Price. We’re not done yet.”
God bless this woman.
“We most certainly are not, Ms. Paxton,” he growled as he parked in the lot of his building. “A performance like that deserves hours of attention to show my gratitude.”
She licked her red lips, breathing heavier. “Don’t let me stop you.”
They stumbled through his front door, stripping off their clothing in record time and falling onto his bed in a frenzy of tangled limbs and bare skin.
But the moment he entered her, everything felt different than before. Good different, but more intense. Like everything between them had suddenly shifted into something…more. He had no other word for it. It was as if what they’d had before was just the ingredients, but now they had the whole enchilada.
They never broke eye contact as they brought each other to the peak of desire. It was like an invisible tether was forcing them to acknowledge all the changes they felt occurring around them.
He knew it was the moment of no going back.
This was no longer a casual hookup they could easily walk away from.
Perhaps it never had been.
When he came back to earth he pulled out of her, though he wasn’t ready to sever that connection. Instead, he wrapped himself around her and held on tight. He wasn’t sure what she was thinking, but he was afraid if he let go, he might lose her forever.
As he was drifting off, losing consciousness, he squeezed her to him and whispered in her ear, “Stay with me.”
He wasn’t sure whether he meant just for that night…or for always.
The same thing was true when she responded, “Baby, I’m not going anywhere.”