Damage Control

  I had a feeling the woman next to me was on to me though. She knew I was preoccupying myself so I wouldn’t look at the real thing that fascinated me – her.

  “I was just wondering if you had anything specific you wanted on your pizza.”

  “No. I’m easy.” Then I paused. “Unless you’re going to get really crazy and put fish or fruit on it.”

  She laughed softly. “Okay. No anchovies and no pineapple. Maybe a supreme? I’m craving a big, messy pizza.”

  “Yeah. Fine.” From the corner of my eye, I glanced at her, hoping she’d leave. Hoping.

  But she still stood there.

  Straightening, I met her eyes. “Did you want to go out and get it or are we ordering in?”

  “Oh, ordering in. Definitely.” She grimaced and dropped down on the couch, kicking off her bright yellow sneakers. “I’m worn out, and my feet are killing me. I just…well, I wanted to say thanks. I know this is an odd kind of job.”

  I laughed. “Odd? You think this is odd?”

  It felt weird to stand there, practically looming over her, so I sat down, careful to keep a few inches between us.

  “Okay, if you want, we can call it outright insane.” She sniffed primly, crossing her legs, and folding her hands in her lap. She gave me a look of mock affront, but I could see the humor dancing in her eyes.

  Already some of the worry and fear were melting away, and I struggled to hold onto them. I couldn’t forget why I was doing this. Slowly, I sat down on the huge slab of wood that served as a coffee table in this decadent hotel room. My flat back in Sydney hadn’t been this nice. Not even close.

  “I should be the one thanking you, really,” I said, meeting her eyes.

  “Why?” She laughed. “You’ve always wanted to get hooked up to a crazy chick with parental issues, and then get dragged to a family reunion where you’ll be the object of stares and awkward questions about a baby that doesn’t exist? That’s what will happen, you know. They’ll assume you got me knocked up and we had to get married.”

  “They do realize it’s not exactly 1955. That isn’t how things go anymore.” I meant it jokingly.

  But Piety wasn’t smiling when she looked back at me. “They do in my world. You’ll see when you meet them. And trust me, by the time this is all over, you’ll think you’re getting ripped off.”

  “No, I won’t.” The sadness in her voice tugged at me, so I did something stupid. I touched her.

  She looked up at me, and I felt myself drawn even closer. Instead of moving back, I brushed her hair away from her face, then skimmed my fingers along her jawline. She had silky, soft skin. And she smelled so good – so damn good.

  “It won’t be all that bad. You’ll be around, right?”

  She laughed weakly. “That’s not much of a bonus, Kaleb. I’m the one who got you into this mess to begin with.”

  “See, I should be the one thanking you.”

  “You’re sweet.” Her gaze dropped, and it hit me straight in the chest when I figured out just where she was looking.

  Straight at my mouth.

  I’d been careful not to spend too much time checking her out today, although I was probably wasting my time, trying to hide the fact that I found her attractive. We’d already ended up in bed – and married. But this…

  The tension between us began to simmer, and when she laid her hand on my cheek, I decided that I was overthinking this. Why bother being cautious about this of all things?

  I was just about to kiss her when she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to mine, taking the debate out of my hands.

  Her taste…

  I groaned and reached for her waist, pulling her toward me even as I went to my knees in front of the couch.

  She came willingly, and I wrapped one arm around her, pushing the fingers of my other hand into her hair. Her breasts went flat against me, and in the back of my mind, an image flashed, my hands on those pretty little tits, her tongue stroking out to dampen her lower lip.

  Then it was gone – and so was she.

  “Damn. I’m sorry,” she said, breathing hard as she backed away from me.

  “You’re sorry?” Catching my lower lip, I sucked it into my mouth, savoring the faint taste of her as it faded. “I don’t think you need to be apologizing, Piety.”

  “I…look.” She blushed, and it was so adorable, I wanted to grab her, pull her against me, and never let go.

  But then she turned away, her shoulders hunching protectively, and that was when it clicked – something wasn’t right.

  “Look, I’m not paying you to sleep with me,” she blurted out, bolting upright just as the last word escaped her lips.

  For a minute, I didn’t quite get what she meant. When I did, I tried to hide my laugh by turning it into a cough. It didn’t quite work.

  She glared at me as I stood.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head, and holding up a hand as she took a step toward me, looking like she wanted to throttle me. “I’m just…look, that never crossed my mind. When a beautiful woman kisses me, do you think I’ve got my mind on anything other than her mouth on mine? Or…”

  I didn’t intentionally drop my gaze, but…well, I had other thoughts in my head besides her kissing me, or me kissing her. And all of them involved us naked and touching each other. None of them involved money.

  That was foolish, because right now, everything I did should involve thinking about money, whether I was taking a piss, eating or trying to figure out how to stretch five dollars into twenty.

  But Piety shut my brain off.

  And I loved it.

  Her chest hitched.

  If I hadn’t been staring at just that portion of her anatomy, I might have missed it, but her breasts rose and fell in an erratic rhythm several times over, and I didn’t let myself think about the steps I was taking to close the distance between us until I’d already done it.

  And then I was only thinking about it because there was still too much space between us even though, unless I had her naked and under me, we couldn’t get much closer.

  Right. Clothes. I wanted those off right now.

  Her hands twisted in my hair while I reached for the zipper at the back of her sundress. It was surprisingly difficult to concentrate on something so complex as a zipper when her tongue was stroking across mine. My fingertips brushed her shoulders as I pushed her dress off, and a zing of electricity went through me.

  I needed to feel her skin. All of it. I needed it more than I'd ever felt like I needed anything else in my life.

  Her bra went next and I couldn't stop myself from shifting enough to get my hands between us. She moaned the moment I cupped her breasts, and I made a similar sound when I felt her nipples harden against my palms. I'd never given much thought to whether I had particular type when it came to women, but I couldn't imagine a set of breasts more perfect than the ones I was touching right now.

  Her hands were at my waist now, tugging at my shirt, so I tore my mouth away to deal with it. I wouldn’t have done anything more than that, but as I lost the heat of her body, it suddenly occurred to me that I needed to find protection before things got even more heated. Now I just needed to figure out where in the hell I’d put my condoms. I knew I had a pack. Somewhere.

  “Kaleb?”

  The uncertainty in her voice had me looking up, and the sight of her perfect, porcelain skin, those high, firm breasts...she took my breath away.

  “Just being safe, sweetheart.” I tore my eyes away from her as I dug through my pack until I found what I was looking for.

  In the two minutes it took me to find them, Piety had plastered her front to my back, and I could feel the soft, silken smoothness of her curves, the hard, pebbled flesh of her nipples. I had to close my eyes. Her hands slid across my stomach, and my muscles twitched beneath her palms. Her touch was light as she toyed with the button on my jeans. In short, she was going out of her way to drive me out of my mind.

  And she was damn go
od at it.

  Turning back to face her, I caught her in my arms and guided us onto the wide couch. She laughed breathlessly, the sound fading as I put her under me. I allowed myself another moment to appreciate the sight of her body, bare except for a pair of tiny white lace panties.

  If I would have known she was wearing those under that bloody dress of hers, I would've been hard pressed to resist as long as I had.

  “You drive me insane, you know that?” I caught her lower lip between my teeth and tugged.

  “Stop talking and kiss me.” She put action to words and pulled my head closer, licking at my mouth until I kissed her.

  Sliding her hands between us, she reached for the button, freed it. Then she dragged the zipper down, and I groaned the second she shoved her hand inside and wrapped her fingers around my cock. Her teeth scraped against my lip, and I tightened my hold on her hip.

  Thrusting into her touch, I ground down against her hand, pleasure coursing through me at her touch.

  She laughed, the sound wild and hungry. “You better not enjoy that too much. Wouldn't want you to miss out on the main event.”

  “We couldn't have that,” I agreed.

  Shoving up onto my knees, I hooked my fingers in the elastic of her panties and pulled them off, her eyes locking with mine as she raised her hips and let me pull them off. Her legs settled on either side of of me, revealed dark curls and pink flesh.

  Fuck.

  I fumbled the condom out of my pocket and tore it open. As much as I wanted to taste her, I needed to be inside her more. Without another word, I settled in the cradle of her hips. The heat was unreal, and when I brushed against her, we both shuddered.

  Hooking one of her knees up over my arm, I drove into her, listening to her cry bouncing off the walls as I slid home. My head fell forward as her wet sheath gripped me tight. She moaned, low in her throat, and I pressed my lips to the satiny skin just above her pulse.

  She reached for my shoulders, sinking her nails into my skin. The sweet little bites of pain went tripping down my spine as I rocked back, then thrust deeper still. Her pussy contracted around me, squeezing me like a fist. She opened her eyes, and we stared at each other.

  This was too good.

  Too perfect.

  The pleasure so acute I couldn’t even process it, I gave up trying and just let it go. Let my body sink into hers, move with hers. Each stroke sent another ripple of pleasure through me, each breath rubbing her nipples against my chest. Unlike women I'd slept with in the past, she was tall enough that I managed to bend my head down to capture one pale pink nipple between my lips without missing a single thrust.

  She arched her back, nails scratching at my scalp even as she pressed my head closer to her breast. Not that I had any intention of releasing my prize. Her sounds of pleasure were almost enough to send me over the edge, and I knew I'd want to hear them again. And again. And again.

  Piety was hot and sweet, her cunt rippling around me with sensations that became tighter and tighter as she moved closer to climax. She writhed and moaned and twisted under me, her nails scratching against my back and chest until my skin stung.

  Neither of us spoke, and for that I was grateful. I didn't want to lie to her, to say things in the heat of the moment that I couldn't keep to later. Better to show her how attracted I was to her, how much I enjoyed being with her. I couldn't make her promises, but I could make her feel good.

  I buried my hand in that thick, soft hair and used it to tilt her head back, baring her throat to me. I could feel her trembling around me, beneath me, and knew she was close. I pulled her leg up high, her ankle on my shoulder, and leaned down, opening her wider. As I pushed in deep, I bit down on her soft flesh, worrying at her skin with teeth and tongue until she exploded. The sound she made was something so primal, so real, that I came, unable to hold back any longer.

  Fuck.

  Dropping my head down so that my forehead rested between her breasts, I closed my eyes. Her arms and legs were still wrapped around me, holding me to her, as if she was worried I would run away.

  She…this…all of it.

  Dammit!

  Why couldn’t I have met her some other time?

  Some other place?

  Eight

  Piety

  “This family reunion, is it something your family does every year?” Kaleb asked.

  His fingers drew small circles on my side as we lay on the bed. We might've moved from the couch to my bedroom, but we still hadn’t gotten around to ordering pizza. We would have to get something eventually, because my belly was growling, but I wasn’t in any hurry. I didn't think he was either.

  I was entirely too comfortable with him. I hadn’t been with too many other guys, but I couldn’t think of a single one who had been so easy to just be with.

  It was nice.

  “Every two years. And that’s about five years too often.” Grinning, I reached up to run my hand through his hair.

  He caught my hand. “That math doesn’t add up.”

  “I know. It’s not that I don’t love my family, but they’re not the easiest people to be around en masse.”

  “Why not?” he asked, rubbing his thumb over my inner wrist.

  I bit my lip, considering how to answer. He watched me, not pushing, not judging, and I answered as honestly as I could. “Have you ever had anybody who expected certain things of you? I mean like all the time?”

  He started to shake his head, then stopped and shrugged. “In a way. I don’t think it’s quite the same thing you’re putting up with.” He kissed my hand. “But I think I get it. It can be exhausting.”

  “You nailed it.” I curled in closer to him, enjoying his warmth. “Thank you. I know you don’t want to hear it, but thanks for helping me.”

  “I’ve already told you, I should be thanking you. The money…well, I need it, so you're helping me.” As he spoke, a dull flush rose to stain his cheeks, and the tips of his ears turned red. It was oddly charming.

  “Family stuff?”

  He gave me a lopsided grin, but offered no real answer. His eyes shifted away, distancing himself even if his body stayed close.

  Understanding the need for privacy, I rested my head on his shoulder so he didn't have to feel like he was avoiding looking at me.

  “You know, twenty-four hours ago, I was brooding and pissed off. I had no idea I was going to be doing this today. I had no idea I would be meeting you.” I laughed a little. “All in all, I’m pretty pleased with how the day is going. Granted, last night…” I exhaled a long breath. “My mind is still kind of blown. I wish I could remember everything that happened.”

  “According to Astra, we got hitched.” He said it in a tone dry enough to make me laugh again.

  “That’s not what I meant.” I nudged him. “Well, not entirely. I’m talking about…” Now was my turn to blush and avoid his gaze. “I mean, last night. We slept together, but I don’t remember anything. Considering how amazing what we just did was, I sort of wish I could.”

  He cleared his throat. “I kinda have an answer about that I think.”

  I pushed up and turned around, facing him. “What do you mean? You know what happened?” He wouldn’t meet my eyes directly, and he didn’t answer right away, so I prodded him, poking him in the side. He flinched a bit, and I tucked that into the back of my head. Ticklish… “Come on, tell me.”

  Kaleb sat up, scooting until his back was against the headboard. “I don’t think anything happened.”

  “But this morning…” I stared at him. “There was a condom wrapper on the nightstand, and you were…” I cleared my throat. “You had a condom on.”

  “Yeah, about that.” He flushed bright red. “It…ah…well, it wasn’t used.”

  “But…” I couldn't think of a single response to that.

  “Maybe we were just both too drunk. I don’t know.”

  Baffled – and oddly disappointed – I stared at him for the longest time, uncertain of what I wa
nted to say. I couldn’t think of a single thing, although there were a hundred stops and starts inside my head.

  “Mystery solved, right?”

  “Yeah.” I managed a weak smile. “Mystery solved.” I leaned against him and snuggled in closer, tucking my head into the hollow between his neck and shoulder.

  His arm came around me, and it fit – we fit. We felt…perfect together.

  Why did I feel so disappointed that we hadn't had sex last night? I didn’t understand it, but there was this strange hollow feeling inside me.

  “Are you okay?” Kaleb stroked his hand up and down my back.

  “Oh, I’m fine. Just thinking.” I was careful not to let my voice reveal anything. I’d become all too good at that. That was a skill you picked up early, being a politician’s daughter. Certain things, a girl just didn’t let show.

  From where my head rested against his chest, I could feel the steady beat of his heart, and it was oddly soothing, comforting. My hand was on his stomach, moving up and down with each breath, and in that moment, it made a deep, gurgling noise. With a little laugh, I straightened. Before I could tease him about it, my belly rumbled in agreement. “I guess we should get around to ordering that pizza. What do you think?”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  I kicked my legs over the edge of the bed and grabbed the first thing that came to hand. It happened to be his t-shirt, but I pulled it on without a second thought. It came to mid-thigh, and the scent of him wrapping around my body made me shiver a little.

  “Hey.” His voice had a low sexy rumble to it that made my pussy throb.

  I glanced back at him.

  “Did I say you could borrow that?” The glint in his eye said he was teasing me.

  Two could play at that came.

  “Well…” I reached for the hem.

  “Don’t.” He groaned and looked away. “Keep it on or we’ll never eat, and I’m starving.”

  I laughed and blew him a kiss. As I moved over to the phone, though, I could feel his eyes on me, and when I glanced back at him, he was watching me with heavy-lidded eyes.

  Heat swept through me, and I averted my gaze as a voice came on the line. By the time I finished ordering the food, I could hear water coming on in the bathroom, and I thought about joining him. We had half an hour.