Accidental Protector: A Marriage Mistake Romance Page 17

  He nods, biting back a smile. “She always has a book with her.” A shine appears in his eyes. “The year I got out of the Army, I surprised her by turning my old bedroom into a library. Built shelves on three walls, even made one of those little rolling ladders so she could reach the top shelves.”

  He chuckles. “She knew what I was doing, but never let on. Acted completely surprised.”

  Once again, I’m strangely touched by his thoughtfulness. And there's a new sexy thought rolling around my head when I picture him stretching, hammering nails into wood.

  “How'd you know she knew?”

  “Because she always knows everything. Woman's got a sixth sense like a cat. The day I moved the bed down to the basement and told her not to go in my old room, she jokingly asked me if what I was doing was legal. When I assured her it was, she gave me one of those green-tinted library lamps. Said it was perfect for reading.”

  Tickled by the story, I laugh.

  “I put the lamp on a table between the two reclining chairs I bought for the room,” he says.

  His happiness is so real, so genuine, I can’t help but admit, “I wish I could see the room. Bet it’s beautiful.”

  He turns around and crosses the room, picking his laptop up off the top of the dresser. “She likes it. That’s all that matters. Damn if she wasn't grateful, though. Once that thing was done, she whipped up a rhubarb crisp to die for. Jess had to fight me for her share.”

  I smile softly, tentatively, hoping his cousin's name doesn't bring out the darkness in him again. Then I turn, heading into the bathroom.

  I take my sweet time getting ready for bed. It’s going to be tough, next to him all night, knowing we have to keep our hands, our mouths, our everything to ourselves.

  Talk about willpower.

  I’ve never really been challenged like this before – never had to stare down this powerful desire coming alive inside me.

  When I can’t find anything to waste more time on, I gather my things and switch off the light.

  Noah sits stretched out on the bed like a lion, on top of the covers, staring at his laptop. He’s still Hercules to the core, all sleek and inked and muscular.

  His tattoos add to the magnificence. Each one enhances his build. From the eagle on his chest to the long, dangerous bayonet going up his arm, to the splash of Latin on his forearm.

  There's one word written in a flaming black script: illicitus.

  I know what it means.

  Forbidden. Off limits. Illicit.

  He couldn't have picked a truer, more mysterious word.

  I can't peel my eyes off him. Once again, I have the desire to completely explore them, ask him about the significance behind each tat. I know there’s a reason for every design. He wouldn’t have them if there wasn’t.

  Noah Bernard is a careful man. He lives behind a wall. There's nothing he'd wear on his skin and in his heart without putting his full soul into it.

  Not wanting him to catch me gawking, I finally replace my things in the suitcase and walk around to the open side of the bed. Before I climb in, he reaches over and flips down the covers for me.

  Sweet Jesus. This man may just be my end.

  “Thanks,” I whisper, trying not to let on how touched I really am by such a simple gesture.

  “No problem,” he says. “I usually sleep on top of the covers. Didn't want you getting cold, darlin'.”

  Crawling into bed, I tell him, “You must've read my mind. I think I'm part cold-blooded. Also, fair warning, a notorious blanket stealer.”

  “Nice.” He grins.

  “Is it?” I ask.

  He closes his laptop. “What kind of work does Charlie boy do?”

  Charlie? I shake my head, wondering why he’d bring him up.

  “He works for his father,” I say. “Donald, his dad, owns a promotional business. They make little things for all kinds of organizations and schools: custom business cards, pens, keychains, you name it. That’s why, Carol, his wife, owns the embroidery place. Donald sells the schools around Phoenix the uniforms and stuff, and Carol embroiders them.” I wiggle farther down beneath the covers so my head is centered on the pillow. “Charlie heads up the ink pen division of the company. Actually, he’s the only one who calls it a division.”

  A bit of revulsion ripples through me. “You have no idea how many different kinds of ink pens there are. No one does. Not until you hear about them constantly.”

  He chuckles at my groan.

  “I’m being serious,” I say.

  “I believe you.”

  “Why?” I ask, turning onto my side to look at him. “Why do you want to know more about Charlie?”

  “Curiosity, Lucky.”

  “Well, then, I guess I should tell you he’s made partner of the year for several different manufacturers. That’s why he’s in Aruba. They footed the whole bill for the trip.” I’m still disgusted over the entire thing. Even more so rehashing it.

  Slowly, I roll onto my back. “His father said we could use the trip as our honeymoon, if we wanted, just go before the wedding. Charlie said no, that Debbie had to go with him. Because without her, he wouldn’t have made partner of the year.” I shake my head. “I really don't give a crap. I mean, everyone wants to go to Aruba sometime in their life, but when I go, I want a vacation. Not an ink pen convention. So I packed his bags. That’s when I found the copy of the prenup drafted from his lawyer, one-way infidelity clause and all.”

  Noah's face tenses. He leans over the edge of his side of the bed and sets his computer on the floor. “Packed his bags? Did you live with him?”

  “No. Yes. I mean, not really.” My cheeks go blistering red. “I keep everything at my parents' place. Only stayed at his apartment when he needed me to.”

  “Needed you to? Like a damned maid?” A glimmer appears in his eyes. “Friday nights, you mean?”

  “Don’t go there,” I warn.

  “Go where?”

  “Sex talk.”

  “Sex? Fuck, darlin', we're talking about Charlie boy.”

  “Don't play coy. I heard the meaning.”

  He shrugs, an angst in his eyes, like he's holding something in.

  The humor in his eyes shines brighter than the street lights at midnight. “I love how you act confused,” I say. “Ha. Ha. Very funny.”

  He rolls onto his side, places one hand on the covers over my waist and moves it around in slow circles, turning my insides to a knot of glowing coal.

  “Don’t know what you’re talking about, woman,” he says huskily. “If I wanted to talk about sex, I wouldn't waste my breath on a little fuckboy who never had you like a man.”

  My breath hitches. It's so true and so shockingly worded I fight not to burst out laughing.

  “I’d start with revisiting the storm. Asking if you had a good time with me,” he growls, his blue eyes piercing mine.

  Like he doesn't already know.

  My breath catches at the memory, how we reached heights I’d never known.

  “Maybe.” I try to sound nonchalant. “Did you?”

  “Hell yeah.” He kisses my shoulder. “Especially when you came four times on my dick.”

  Holy hell. He...he kept count?!

  I barely find the ability to smother the moan working its way into my throat, both at his admission and the way his hand winds lower.

  I want to throw aside the covers, feel the heat of his palm against my skin.

  I want to push his hand between my legs and turn the tables.

  I want to ride his fingers until he can't stand waiting to replace them with his dick a second longer.

  He kisses my shoulder again and then whispers near my ear, “You loved how I felt inside you? Every damn inch of me?”

  “Yes!” I hiss helplessly, arching my hips upward. “I was scared at first.”

  His hand pauses. “Scared? Why?”

  “Because you’re so...so big. Not like anyone I've ever had.”

  It's a brutal c
onfession. In this case, anyone means Charlie. But that takes nothing away from the fact that I know – just know – Noah was born well-endowed. My pussy still aches from his size, his pounding, but it's the kind of sweet, sweet torture making me want more.

  He laughs, then finds the space between my legs, making me curse the covers more.

  “It’s true,” I say in my defense, arching into the press of his hand. “Much larger than any I’ve seen.”

  “You trying to give me a big head, darlin'?”

  “You already have a big head.” I stretch over and kiss the underside of his chin, loving how his short beard rakes my face. “Two of them.”

  “Do you want my dick inside you again?”

  His hand is still going, working me into a frenzy despite the blankets. “You know I do. But...your aunt's in the other room.”

  “I locked the door. There's no time like the present to become a pillow-biter.” He nibbles my earlobe, sending a rush of heat down my spine, straight to my throbbing clit. “And you took so long in the bathroom, beautiful, the whole damn building has to be asleep by now. Aunt Judy, too. She does most of her reading during the day. Finishes a chapter or two and then passes out. Heavy sleeper.”

  Excitement flares inside me. “You should be sleeping, too. It'd make this easier.”

  It's an obvious lie.

  “And you,” he growls, moving his fingers faster. Harder. “Can't say there's anything easy about drifting off with a pussy so hot and wet for me you're dying, little girl. But fuck, if that's what you're into –”

  No! It's certainly not. I can't take a second more of this.

  I shove the covers down and kick until I’m lying on top of them, then reach over and slide my hand inside his boxers.

  He’s already hard. Seething. Whatever size comes after ginormous.

  I wasn’t lying about that at all. I was scared the first time I sank down on his fullness.

  Now, I’m excited. Thrilled. Eager.

  Even more so when he lets out a low groan as I wrap my hand around his cock, gingerly stroking his thickness up and down. He glides wonderfully in my fingers.

  “What about you?” I ask, growing more brazen. “Do you want your dick inside me again? So bad it's all you've been thinking about?”

  “Fuck yeah.”

  “This dick?” I give it a couple long strokes. “The one I’m playing with right now?”

  My shorts are loose-fitting, and having hope, even knowing there are a million reasons why I shouldn’t, I’m not wearing any underwear. He pulls aside one leg hole of my shorts and runs a single finger along the entire length of my labia, so purposefully the air snags in my lungs.

  “Yes,” he says. “Inside this pussy I’m playing with.”

  I stroke him again, slowly, meaningfully. “When? Tomorrow?”

  He slips a finger inside me, shooting me a dirty look as I slow my strokes. “Sooner, darlin'.”

  Luxuriating in the sensations, it’s a long minute before I find my voice. “How soon?”

  He finds my clit and teases it, sending fiery pleasure bursts swirling deep inside me.

  “We in a hurry?”

  Much like he had this afternoon, his foreplay sends me straight to the edge, screaming for release. It’s incredible how my body responds. So is the idea of fighting it.

  Trying not to come until I've given as good as he's delivered.

  “No,” I whisper, hoping I still have the willpower I think I do. “No hurry. We've got all night.”

  “Good.” He slides a finger inside me, deep, and then slowly pulls it out.

  It dawns on me then that two can play at this game.

  I let go of him long enough to push down his boxers, exposing his glory to my sight. More than pleased by what I see, I reach down and cup his balls before sliding my hand up the length of him. Slowly. Deliberately.

  “No hurry at all,” I say, stroking him painfully slow again.

  Noah's blue eyes are two angry skies. I enjoy the rumble, the thunder in his throat.

  “Need you naked, Lucky.” He gathers the fabric of my shorts in the middle and tugs them down. “Need you under me. Right the fuck now.”

  I wiggle my butt up as he pulls my shorts down, reluctantly releasing his cock as he pulls my shirt off over my head. I reach for him again, but he’s moving. The next thing I know, he has my legs spread wide and his face fills the emptiness.

  Oh. Hell.

  The heat of his breath hits my pussy. Leaves me gasping.

  Pleasure shudders through me from head to toe as his tongue takes its first swipe. He parts my folds with delicate precision. I have a lot of catching up to do in the tease department. Because he's just that good at pressing buttons, lick by lick, suck by suck, pulling my clit into his mouth until I want to scream.

  I give in. Completely to the mind-boggling bliss. I hook my legs over his shoulders in surrender, opening myself for him to do whatever he wants.

  His tongue works my clit with a skill I never imagined. He knows a woman's body, how to pluck and strum. It's in his rhythm, too, the slow fiery build as his tongue sweeps across my pussy, then works its way deeper, focusing on my clit last, after he's thoroughly, sweetly licked my inner walls to nirvana and back.

  His hands are on my tits, squeezing my hard nipples. My whole body begs him not to stop. To never, ever stop.

  I'm shaking.

  I’m about to explode. About to go off. About to be undone.

  Somehow, I'm holding in the best climax of all time, and every second blurring by without release warns me it'll be that much more intense when it finally hits.

  I fight it. Not wanting to be consumed.

  Not yet. I want him inside me.

  Grasping the sides of his head, I dig my nails in.

  “Stop,” I gasp. “Noah...”

  He lifts his head. “Darlin'?”

  The fire burns inside me, surging higher. I’m barely able to catch enough breath to say, “I-I can’t t-take any more.”

  “Then don’t. Fucking come.”

  “Wait, no, I mean –”

  He cuts me off mid-sentence. His devil tongue returns, licking and sucking and terribly focused on my clit. His finger slides inside me, pumping, fury in his friction.

  Leading me closer and closer to no return.

  Too much. Too intense. I can’t take it.

  I can’t freaking breathe. It’s happening.

  I’m peaking.

  I'm –

  “Noah...coming!”

  And I do.

  His hand flies over my mouth a split second before the ecstasy makes me scream.

  With a wave of joyful pleasure that nearly ends me, the pressure explodes, sending me tumbling over an invisible, indescribable edge, shearing me in two.

  Coming!

  So hard. So swift. So strong.

  For him.

  I bite into his hand while my body convulses, holding on while his tongue fucks deeper. He buries my clit in more licks. More heat. Another fierce growl.

  The rapture takes forever to let go.

  No complaints.

  It stays with me as I float back down to earth, sinking deeply into the soft mattress. I lift my eyelids, still in a haze, and see his smiling face over me, licking his lips.

  I find his neck and wrap my arms around him numbly. Holding on as he places streams of kisses over my face, down my neck.

  “Good grief,” I finally whimper. “You're amazing, Noah. Amazing.”

  He kisses my forehead. “Not half as good as you, Lucky. Just try not to wake up Aunt Judy.”

  He winks. I'm mortified, gasping softly.

  “Oh, crap. Surely, we didn't?”

  “Nah. I was quick to keep you from getting too loud. Love it rough, too.” Smiling, he holds up his hand, and I see a few imprints from my teeth. “Don't clam up on me, darlin'. We're not done by half.”

  “Noah...” I'm rethinking this thing, insanely ashamed, worried I won't be able to shut myse
lf up if we continue.

  “Mindy, whatever you're thinking, it can't be any hotter than this.” His lips brush mine, another probing kiss, withering my doubts, my fears, my second-guesses.

  He's too good. Too much. Too irresistible.

  In just seconds, I'm kissing him back, chasing his tongue when he pulls away. His fingers run through my hair. My body trembles, loving the heat of his breath on my throat, still wanting so much more.

  “Quit your worrying. I'll keep us quiet. Promise.”

  The blood is finally back in my veins at full roar, reviving me. “Promise. Why?”

  He bites the edge of a condom package I didn't see until now, shredding it open. “Because now I’m gonna roll on this condom and fuck you till you can't even speak.”

  Unbelievable.

  Unbelievably hot. Fresh adrenaline arcs through me. “Right now?”

  I can't believe we're really doing this. Or that I want to, but my body lost all sanity the instant we became bed buddies.

  “Yeah, Lucky. Now.” He sits up and pulls the condom out of the package. “Open your legs for me, darlin'.”

  “You mean...right now?”

  He nods.

  His eyes are shining, sparkling, two blue suns. They only leave mine just long enough to look down as he rolls the condom over that heavenly dick I’d been playing with a short time ago.

  I think about tasting it, sucking on it like he did me. I will, soon, but first thing's first.

  Spreading my legs wide, I arch upward, giving him full access.

  “Bring it, Hercules,” I whisper. “Give me all you’ve got.”

  “You mean now?” he asks, teasingly throwing my words back at me.

  “Now!” I whisper, stroking the backs of his legs with my feet.

  This time, his eyes don't let go. His cock edges my pussy apart, slowly, shifting ever downward. Then he claims me in one long thrust.

  A thrill like no other erupts as he slides inside, filling me completely. One smooth movement.

  Absolute perfection.

  I’ll never get tired of this. The way he sets me on fire, burns me down, and restores me again.

  The way I crave him morning, noon, and night.

  The way I love having him so deep, it's like we're joined at the soul.

  He starts moving, thrusting, and I join him, grateful the bed doesn't make much noise. We take it slow and easy so we both get our joy, full satisfaction from each and every stroke.