entirely off the road. Then she turned off the radio and started digging in her glove compartment for her registration. Had she been speeding? Or maybe her blinker was on the fritz?
A flashlight blinded her, and she covered her eyes, squinting.
“Jeez, wow, that thing’s pretty powerful. What’s that use, nine volt there?” She tried for a smile but with her face scrunched up, she was pretty sure she’d missed the mark on looking innocent and affable and landed somewhere around weird and creepy.
“I’m going to need you to step out of the car, miss.” His tone was sharp, and she winced.
“Uhm, can you tell me what I did wrong, Officer?”
The flashlight went dark and he leaned down to meet her at eye level. “I’m going to need you to step out of the car, miss. Now.”
Her stomach flopped like a landed catfish as the voice registered this time. She still couldn’t see well with her pupils adjusting to the lack of light again, but there was no mistake.
She raised a trembling hand to her hair and made a sad attempt to fix it as uncertainty swamped her. She’d been so bummed when he hadn’t contacted her and now he was here and she wasn’t sure she could go through with it. Talk about the grass being greener. “Look, Rafe, I’m not sure—”
“This is your last warning. Step out of the car, or I will forcibly remove you from it.”
The icy command jarred her into action, and she reached for the door handle. With a yank, she opened it and stepped onto the grass. How familiar this part felt. They were only a few miles from where they’d had their last encounter, and her body seemed to recognize that fact. Her nipples stiffened beneath her tank top under the warm breeze and her pulse skittered wildly.
She could see him now. He was decked out in his dress blues, baton at his hip, gun on his belt. Delicious. His dark eyes were so intense her arms broke out in goose bumps in spite of the warm evening.
“Do you have any weapons?” he asked curtly.
She shook her head. “What? No.”
“Put your hands on the roof of the car.”
“I’m sure this isn’t ne—”
“Ma’am, unless you want to find yourself down at County, put your hands on the fucking roof and spread ’em.”
It was that last part that had her actually considering his request. She knew for a fact she was the only one coming to the cottage this weekend, and there were no other houses down this stretch of “road,” but what if someone made a wrong turn? Unlikely, considering how few cars came up that way, but possible. Before she’d made up her mind, she found herself spread-eagled and cuffed without ceremony. Jesus he was fast.
“Rafe…”
“Listen to me carefully, ma’am, because I’m only going to say this once. I’m going to give you instructions, and you’re going to follow them.”
The precariousness of her position made the butterflies in her belly start flapping. The form he’d had her fill out included a space for her safe word. She had chosen a two word phrase instead. Toy boat. She could “toy boat” him right now and this would all stop. The scene would end.
“Do you understand?”
She nodded slowly. “Yes, Officer.”
He let out a sigh and cleared his throat. “Good.”
She tried to stay still as he frisked her, but it was impossible. He wasn’t gentle. There was no hesitation. He ran his hands up her bare leg from ankle to thigh and down the other, and then between, lingering long enough that she would have filed a lawsuit if this were real. But it wasn’t. So why not have a little fun?
She worked up her courage and tried to keep her voice steady. “Officer, is that standard?”
Her back talk got her a second squeeze through her jean shorts, and she couldn’t stop herself from flexing into his hand.
“What do we have here?” he muttered.
“I can assure you that’s not a weapon, sir,” she said, already hearing the edge of need working its way into her voice.
He released her and slid both hands over her hips, past her rib cage and up until he cupped both of her breasts. Her nipples stood at attention, and he grunted in approval, pinching them lightly before releasing her and stepping back.
“I’m not a hard man by nature,” he said, fingering the links of the cuffs around her wrists lightly. “But I can be, if I’m not happy.” He closed the circle more tightly, two clicks, until the metal dug into her skin. “We can both walk away from this unfortunate incident happy tonight.”
She shuddered at the sternness of his tone, laced with precisely enough sensual promise to temper fear with desire.
“H-how?” And she so wanted to know. As much as she’d enjoyed their first encounter, it had gone against the grain for her to take and not give something in return. It had been bothering her ever since. A low-level annoyance that never really went away. But she had the chance to fix that now.
He didn’t answer her question. Instead, he took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. By the light of the moon, she could make out the pulse pounding in his neck, and it gave her courage.
She stepped toward him, ignoring the twinge in her wrists as she moved.
“Get on your knees,” he ground out.
She paused and cocked her head at him. Was he serious? She tried to read his unfathomable eyes, but came up empty. She was supposed to drop down and go to town or…?
“I’m a busy man, miss. Lots of bad people running around and not a lot of time to catch them. Either you can suck me off or we can put that sweet ass in the back of my car and you can spend the night in jail. Your call.”
Blood pounded in her ears, and, to her surprise, between her legs at the harshness of his voice…the crassness of his words.
She sank slowly down, reveling in the pained expression on his face. Like he wanted her so badly, he could hardly stand it. Like her kneeling pleased him so much, he could barely contain it. Magnifique. She kept her eyes locked on him as her knees touched the cool, soft grass.
“What now?”
…
Great question.
His brain was scrambled ten ways to Sunday, but he was supposed to know. It was his job to lead her, teach her, guide her, and he wasn’t going to let the fact that she continually blew his mind distract him from that task. Her wide eyes stared up at him, glassy with need. He’d been pretty sure she would like this scene.
In spite of her hesitance to fill it out, the survey had been very telling, and he was thrilled to see that most of the things she seemed enthusiastic about were a great match for his own tastes.
Her tongue poked out and wet her lips, and suddenly he was done thinking, opting instead just to feel. And right now, he wanted nothing more than to feel that mouth on him. His cock bucked behind his zipper, and he made quick work of his belt before yanking his pants apart. Her gaze shot down to watch him with rapt attention as he freed his throbbing erection from his boxers.
“Open,” he barked sharply, hot blood coursing through his veins when she complied without question. He couldn’t help but stop to enjoy the view for a few seconds. Courtney, head back, the skin of her throat bared to him as she waited for him to slide his cock between those soft lips. The ache became too much, and he stroked himself hard once, gripping his shaft and working up to the sensitive head.
Her breath went choppy and she swayed toward him, like a willow in the wind. Her tongue darted out again and she leaned in farther. She wanted it. Wanted his cock in her mouth. Wanted to suck him off until he came. The knowledge made him dizzy with need.
He’d been with women who didn’t like sucking dick. He’d been with women who didn’t mind it, and he’d been with women who liked it, especially because it pleased him. But he’d yet to find a woman who loved it for the sake of loving it. If Courtney was that woman…
With a hiss, he gripped the back of her head and fed his cock into her hot, waiting mouth. She wasted no time, moaning low in her throat, drawing him in hard and deep. He let his e
yes drift shut for a second, and lights exploded behind his lids as she leaned away to lap delicately at the aching head. She moaned again when a drop of come leaked out and then tipped her head to catch it with her tongue.
“Fu-uck,” he groaned, spearing his hand through her long hair, using his hold to work her over him, slow first and then faster. She opened, pulling him down into the column of her throat until he reached bottom, and still she dove forward for more, consuming him, swallowing him whole.
The need to come hit him like a prizefighter, making his solar plexus clench, making his balls pull up tight, locked and ready for launch. Too soon. Way too fucking soon. He had a promise to keep and while he was good with his hands, and even better with his mouth, he needed to feel that pussy clenching over him when she came.
He tugged her hair softly at first, then harder, but she didn’t release him. She whimpered low in her throat, and he couldn’t stop himself from caving to her sensual, wordless demand for more.
He flexed hard, driving his cock farther, harder. She gagged, her throat clenching around him, and he let go of her head instantly, and waited for her to back away. Instead, she dropped low again, deep-throating him until he battered the tender flesh at the back of her throat again and again.
“Enough,” he bit out, even as his hands drifted back to her hair. Even as he traced the concave hollow of her cheeks as she did her level best to suck him dry.
The point of no return was so close, he could see the finish line, and if he didn’t stop her now, there would be no stopping until he exploded into her hot mouth.
He gripped her head firmly with one hand and tapped her sharply on the jaw with the other. She met his gaze with dazed eyes, in the grip of a sexual frenzy that killed him to interrupt.
“That’s enough.”
She blinked blearily up at him and nodded, then settled back on her heels, ragged breaths racking her body.
“Y-you said I had to suck you off,” she whispered, eyes drifting back to his dick.
“And now I’ve changed my mind.”
“Did I not do a good job? My ex said it’s slutty to do that and—”
“I stopped you because I need to be inside you. And your ex is clearly the stupidest motherfucker to ever own a dick if he didn’t like that.”
Her cheeks flushed, and she gave him a smile that made his heart squeeze.
“His…ah, wasn’t quite that…” She eyed him again and licked her lips.
If a man could die of horniness, he would have expired on the spot. For all her big talk about what she was into and what she wasn’t, this woman was a fucking dream.
“Stand up,” he demanded, taking her arm to help her. It was slow going, and he realized she was still shaking.
His intention had been to fuck her like he’d said he was going to, but plans changed the second he saw her standing there, long, trim legs spread wide, nipples poking out against the thin cotton of her shirt. He stepped close, his cock throbbing in time with his heartbeat.
Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew the key to the cuffs. “Turn around.”
She did, and he slid the key into the lock and released her before turning her to face him again.
“Until our business is concluded here, you’re still the prisoner, but I want your hands free. Do you know why?”
She shook her head slowly, rubbing at the pink marks on her wrist.
“So you can use them to hold on to me while I eat your pussy until you come all over my tongue,” he explained, his voice more rasp than anything. He watched her closely to see how she reacted to his language, and when her nostrils flared lightly and a shiver ran through her, a surge of satisfaction tore through him. She couldn’t be more perfect if she’d been made especially for him. They were sexual C-4 together.
Without another word, he reached for her shorts. They were blessedly easy to maneuver, no buttons or zippers to contend with as he yanked them to her ankles along with her underwear. He knew she was ready, knew she was hot for him, so he didn’t bother with niceties. He just knelt and set his mouth on her.
“Jesus, Rafe,” she cried, her fingers lacing into his hair just as he’d predicted. He tried to take his time, tried to stop from consuming her, but the scent, the taste of her, jacked his need up to an eleven. Working her swollen clit mercilessly with his tongue, he circled his arms around her, clutching her firm ass, sealing her to his face.
She spread her legs farther apart on a wordless cry and he used the space to get in deeper…to close the very edge of his teeth gently around that sensitive bundle of nerves to hold in place, and then he sucked, hard.
The hands in his hair convulsed, yanking as she screamed his name over and over. She twitched and jerked and still he worked her, her wild, uninhibited response making him insatiable.
“Inside me,” she cried. “Please.”
He barely heard her over the pounding in his ears, but there was no mistaking the pressure of her hands in his hair as she urged him up.
With a silent thanks to the fertility gods that she was on the pill, he hoisted her up into his arms and sat her on the hood of the car. She kicked off her shorts and leaned back on her elbows, thighs spread. “I wanna see,” she said softly, and her already-flushed cheeks went pinker.
“Oh, me too, cupcake.”
He took his cock in hand and moved between her thighs, groaning when the head came into contact with her slick, soaking-wet pussy. She stared down at him, lips parted, as he slid into her waiting heat. It was a tight fit, tight enough that he gritted his teeth from the effort of trying not to come.
“You feel so good,” she murmured, her eyes fluttering closed, rolling her hips into him in a circular motion that looked as sexy as it felt. He gave her more, pushing deeper until she gasped.
“God, that’s—” She broke off, her throat working as she swallowed.
“More?” he growled. She nodded and every nerve ending screamed with the need to finish it. He didn’t hold back this time, letting it loose, plunging hard and deep, until his balls were flush with her ass. His body quaked as the orgasm sang to him, a siren’s song, tugging him closer.
God, he hoped she was close again. He took one, experimental thrust, a long stroke that pulled almost all the way out before sliding all the way back in. The friction was so sublime it nearly ended him.
With a low groan, he slid one hand between her thighs and thumbed her clit as he began to fuck her in earnest, driving forward and back in a relentless rhythm. She sat up then, wrapping her arms and legs around him, working her hips in a frantic dance against his.
“Oh, God,” she murmured once, and then again. A second later she froze, her legs gripping his waist like iron bars as she exploded around him. His brain short-circuited and his hips took over, pounding faster as her pussy clenched over him, milking him like a hot little fist. He shouted her name as the climax ripped through him. Cock pulsing and jerking, he exploded.
It seemed like forever but was probably only a few minutes before his heartbeat finally returned to normal and he had the strength to disengage from her clutches.
Now came the tricky part. What he wanted was to follow her the rest of the way down this road and spend the weekend doing exactly what they’d just done and more, over and over. Out of the question. Not just because he had to meet an informant later tonight, but also because they had a deal. For the first time since he’d implemented the four-scene rule five years before, it didn’t seem like enough. The fact that he’d had to wait so long for her was obviously fucking with his head. Celibacy would do that to a man. After the next scene, he’d be able to see things more clearly.
“You okay?” he asked.
She opened her eyes and nodded. “I’m great.”
Great was very good. He patted her thigh gently and tucked himself back into his pants as she stood, tugging her shorts on. Wasn’t often he wore his dress blues, but she seemed to like them. He filed that information away for possible future use.
&n
bsp; “Listen, I’m sorry I didn’t get in touch sooner. I caught a tricky case at work and spent all of my days and most of my nights at the precinct or out in the field. I wanted to make sure we did this right.”
That was the truth. He had considered calling, but that would’ve crossed the line between a purely sexual contract to something a man would have done with his girlfriend. He didn’t break a date or change plans, he just had taken longer to implement them.
“It’s fine. I wasn’t sure if you’d changed you mind or…”
“Oh, definitely not that.” Her smile spurred him on and the words were out before he could stop them. “Are you meeting everyone at the carnival Sunday night? Galen and Lacey will be back from Puerto Rico, so it should be fun.”
She hesitated and his stomach cramped. What the hell had he brought that up for? This was his first time doing a scene with someone who was also a friend of sorts, and he was cursing himself for blurring the lines between the two.
“I was thinking about it,” she said before he could figure a way to backtrack. “Are we…doing that? I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to avoid each other socially until our business had concluded or not.”
The idea didn’t seem to concern her either way; she looked more perplexed than anything. No point in making a mountain out of a molehill, then. Besides, keeping things as normal as possible would make the transition back to the usual easier on everyone.
“Fried food, balloon animals, and rickety-ass roller coaster? Where else would I be?”
She ran a hand through her mussed hair. “Okay, I guess I’ll see you there, then.”
The response made him way happier than it should have. He stalked back to his car, more determined than ever to focus on their next scene. In fact, it wasn’t like a date, so maybe he’d skip the carnival altogether.
The little voice he was determined to ignore spoke again, a single word this time.
Liar.
Chapter Six
Courtney stared in the mirror, filled with the sort of loathing usually reserved for family holidays and orifice-doctor visits. After five outfits, three hairstyles, and six shoe changes, she was no closer to being ready for the carnival than she’d been when she started.
There was no reason for things to be so complicated. None. This wasn’t even a date. It was like old times, nobody to impress, same as ever. The group hanging out.
No big deal.
Mostly.
No matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise, everything was different, and no matter how many outfits she tried on, there was no way around the fact that she felt completely naked.
She grabbed for her cell phone and shot a quick message to Cat, letting her know she’d be running late. The carnival on the far side of town was only twenty minutes away, but at this rate, she wouldn’t be ready until it came around next year.
With a long-suffering sigh, she pulled on her favorite capri-length skinny jeans, a kitschy off-the-shoulder shirt with a graphic of Marilyn Monroe on it, and a pair of strappy sandals that weren’t as high as she liked, but were plenty high enough for walking around the carnival grounds all night. Staring at herself in the mirror, she fluffed out her hair. It didn’t look too “try hard,” but she didn’t look like something the cat dragged in either. Not bad.
Before she had time to rethink her outfit yet again, she snatched her phone and bag and dashed out the door, refusing to give the mirror one more glance as she passed it. She climbed into her car and sped down the road, repeating over and over to herself what a good idea it would be to get out of the house. And to see her friends.
One of whom is Rafe.
Which reminded her, Lacey had called yesterday the second she’d gotten in from the airport. She’d wanted to tell Courtney in person, but couldn’t wait. She and Galen were adopting a baby girl. They’d gotten word while they were away, and Lacey was ecstatic. She’d known for over a year now that conception would be near impossible, and after some rough patches, things had finally fallen into place.
Because she and Galen were busy painting the nursery and baby-proofing the house, they weren’t going to make it tonight. It was a bummer, but at least Cat and Shane would be there. Not only did she want to see them both, she also needed a buffer from the Costco-sized vat of awkwardness that was sure to accompany her and Rafe’s first post-sex encounter.
No big deal, she reminded herself. Mostly.
She parked in the grassy field outside the fairgrounds and walked toward the entry gate where Cat and Shane had told her to meet them. She searched high and low for her friend’s trademark fiery red hair, but there was no sign of her.
What she did recognize was the towering wall of muscle topped off with a beautiful face, featuring dark eyes that seemed to look right through her.
Rafe.