Lead

  We were one hot, surging entity seeking that high. Crazy but true.

  Jimmy drove his cock into me, over and over. The more my fingers dug into his sweaty skin, the further I fell into oblivion. Hands sunk into my hair, gently tugging, as his mouth sought out mine. It was an unending battle for domination where we both won. The thick length of him surged into me harder and faster. A truly piteous mewling sort of sound escaped my throat.

  I lacked the will to care. If I could just come ...

  His mouth traveled over my jaw, stubble scratching against my neck. Teeth nipped and my pussy squeezed tight. Jimmy groaned and went faster, pounding into me. There was every chance I'd be bruised from top to toe by the end of things, but good god was it worth it.

  Lots of time passed, I have no idea how much. The turn on the kitchen table must have been a quick summary. On my back in a bed, he gave me the full story.

  We were all about the frenzied fucking.

  His hand held my thigh against him, keeping my good leg wrapped around his waist. The intensity of his gaze held me trapped, daring me to show him everything, exactly how much he was affecting me. In that moment, he was in control of my body, not me. The lines and angles of his face seemed etched in stone, a mask of concentration. All I could do was hold on tight, keeping him as close as possible. His pelvis slammed against mine, driving his cock in, sending me higher.

  "Jimmy," I moaned.

  Everything inside of me tingled and tensed, every muscle shaking, and that was before I started coming. His cock plunged deep, the base grinding against my clit and boom! Fireworks. A whole sky full of them. My body was one big exploding entity. Stars going supernova played it more subtly. My innermost muscles clenched down on his cock, fingernails digging into his back. If my throat hadn't closed, I'm quite sure I'd have screamed the house down.

  When I came back to myself, Jimmy was carefully climbing off.

  "Hey," I whispered.

  Thud. His big body hit the mattress, making me bounce. Sweat covered me from top to toe and a sublime kind of lethargy crept through my veins. It seemed to take forever to catch my breath.

  "Jimmy?"

  He lay on his stomach, ribs working hard to give him back his breath. I'd done that to him, me and my vagina. Go team. Now and then a muscle spasmed in my thighs or lower belly, the last of the orgasmic repercussions. My legs were like jelly, wobbly and weak.

  "You okay?" I asked, daring to reach out and touch. My fingers traced over the musculature of his arm, down to his hand.

  "Yeah," he said, sliding his fingers between mine.

  He rolled over onto his back, dealt with the condom. It was safely deposited into a tissue for throwing out later.

  "Why don't we do this instead of jogging?" I asked.

  He smiled.

  "I think I prefer burning calories this way."

  "We'll do both," he said, giving my fingers a squeeze.

  "Okay." I breathed deep, shuffling a little closer toward the heat of his body. The scent of a room after we had sex was the best. In a perfect world I'd bottle it and carry it on me always.

  "You mind if I crash here with you?"

  "No. I'd like that." I pulled up the blankets, turned off the light. It felt so nice and normal. So right. He kept hold of my hand the entire time.

  "Tired," he mumbled.

  "Sleep," I said.

  A nod.

  And we slept. I had the most amazing dreams.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  "Lena, do something with your life." Jimmy teased.

  "I am," I said, fiddling with my camera while sitting on his bench press.

  His fists pounded into the punching bag, smack, smack, smack. Little wonder my groin felt tender this morning given he had all that strength at his disposal. Vaguely related, my god, the view. He wore only a black pair of sweat pants and tennis shoes. Beneath the bright lighting, his skin gleamed godlike all of his gorgeous muscles on display. The lines of his face so distinct, the determined set of his lips, I could have watched for years and never gotten bored.

  "Watching me working with the bag isn't doing something." Hands stilled and he sucked in deep breaths.

  "I'm taking pictures of you too." I held up the shiny new camera and clicked off a few in demonstration. "You don't mind me taking your picture, do you?"

  "No."

  "Excellent. Can you take all your clothes off for me please? I'd like to get some nude shots."

  He gave me the look.

  "It's for artistic purposes, I swear."

  "I don't think so." He undid the straps on his glove things. They weren't the full traditional boxing gloves, but less bulky.

  "I'll make it worth your while." In a move that should have been beneath me, I toyed with the v in the neckline of my sweater.

  "How?" His eyes darkened with interest.

  Oh, the thrill of having some small amount of sexual power over this man. I got giddy on just the thought of it, my hormones rushing about like crazy. "All sorts of ways. I'll have you know, I can be very inventive when motivated. You just have to trust me."

  He walked toward me, all slow and casual. But his eyes told a different story. "You playing with me, Lena?"

  "No." I lowered the camera. "You let me lead last night. It wasn't so bad, was it?"

  "When you kissed me?"

  "Yes."

  He bought his face close to mine. "When you made me lie on top of you?"

  "That too."

  "Thought you didn't like my sweat," he said, taunting me. "In fact, I distinctly remember you saying as much, and telling me to go shower."

  "Do not hold that against me. I was trying to resist you at the time, it was a survival thing," I groaned in desperation, my mouth watering for the taste of him.

  Then my cell started ringing over on the other side of the room. Jimmy jogged over and grabbed it, checking out the screen. "Who's Alyce?"

  "My sister." I waved a hand dismissively. We'd barely talked in the last year or so, whatever she wanted could wait. Me kissing Jimmy, on the other hand, could not. "Let it go. I'll call her later."

  With a sly smile he tapped the screen and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

  No fucking way. My face fell, it plummeted.

  "Yes, this is Jimmy Ferris her boss." He paused, listening. "That's right, I'm from Stage Dive." Another pause accompanied by a smug grin my way. "Thanks, didn't know you were a fan." Again he listened. "Lena has mentioned you to me, yeah. She actually told me a bit about how you fucked her boyfriend and now you two are getting married. How's that working out for you?"

  "Jimmy. No." Shit, shit, shit. I put the camera aside and started the delicate process of getting my ass over to him, hobbling across the padded gym area floor. "None of your business."

  The bastard took a step back, and then another, lengthening the distance between us. His face was serious now, mouth a harsh unimpressed line. Apparently whatever he was hearing did not please him.

  He snorted. "I don't think so. Thing is Alyce, at the end of the day, you stole your sister's man. Unless you're calling to finally apologize to her, I don't really see what there is to talk about. I don't much give a shit if it was true love or whatever. You did wrong. You wanna know how I know that? Because I did a similar thing to my brother. It's a dick move made by insecure shits, but you know what, Alyce? At least I have a dick. What's your excuse? "

  I mimed sliding a blade across his throat, still hopping toward him as fast as panic and a med boot would allow. When I got within snatching distance, Jimmy slid an arm around my waist, stopping me from reaching up. I stretched and strained but my mediocre height was firmly against me.

  "You're not helping," I hissed. "Stop it."

  "Yeah, I guess I am Lena's protector. Or maybe I'm just the only person prepared to call bullshit on this whole situation."

  "Give me the phone." I tried to climb him to get closer, but my fingers slid over his slippery sweaty shoulders. Damn his hot body.

 
My sister's voice sounded small, far away. I couldn't quite make out the words. Her tone however carried fine, all worked up and pissed beyond belief. You could just bet the perfect princess wasn't enjoying this conversation one little bit. Part of me kind of enjoyed that, but the larger part wanted to tear Jimmy to pieces for sticking his nose in where it did not belong. Despite everything, I did not need to go to war with my sister. And war was exactly where we'd be if he kept this shit up.

  "Give it to me."

  He ignored me.

  "Jimmy!" Frustration bubbling over, I slapped his face (I know, I shouldn't have, but I did). It got an immediate reaction. He scowled down at me, then he slapped me good and hard on the ass in return. I yelped, my wobbling butt cheek on fire.

  "Don't do that again, Lena," he said.

  "Give me the phone." I grabbed at his arm, trying to force the far-too-damn-strong limb down.

  "You are fucking kidding me," he said into the cell, voice incredulous. "Why on earth would you ever imagine your sister would be willing to step in and be one of your bridesmaids when you're marrying her ex? Why should she save your ass, huh? This friend of yours that dropped out, you fuck her man too?"

  Much distraught shoutiness came from my cell.

  "She wants me to do what?" I asked, confused. I must have heard him wrong. Alyce couldn't possibly ask me something so horrendous and tacky. Me standing up at the altar while she married my ex, the man she done stole, just as Jimmy said. "No way."

  Rage made my blood hit boiling point. I could feel the steam pouring out my ears.

  "You god damn thoughtless, insensitive, spoiled, fucking cow!" I screeched plenty loud enough for my beloved sister to hear.

  Jimmy's brows jumped.

  "I don't believe you, Alyce."

  He handed me the phone.

  I held it to my ear. "You seriously expect me to step in and be a fucking bridesmaid? I left. I did my best not cause drama because everyone was so damn thrilled about your engagement. But how dare you think it mattered so little to me. You're supposed to be my sister! Does that mean nothing to you?"

  "Lena," my sister said, sounding distinctly surprised. "Um ...

  "You never even said sorry. God, Alyce, if you'd just once admitted that would you did was wrong I would have gotten over it, you know? I would have forgiven you." I leaned against Jimmy, borrowing his strength. "But you acted like he was your god-given right and fuck anyone who got cut in the process."

  "I-I love him."

  "Yeah? Well I loved him too. And it hurt. It really hurt, what you did to me. What you both did to me."

  Jimmy's hand stroked up and down my back, his other arm holding me tight. I rested my cheek against his chest, feeling him breathe, hearing his heartbeat.

  "I'm sorry," she said finally, breaking. "I ... you're right. What we did to you was wrong and I'm sorry. I should have said it to you at the time."

  Finally. All of the air left me in a great rush. My shoulders collapsed and I had the worst feeling a few tears had managed to escape my eyes. "Thank you."

  "Will you please come back for the wedding? I'd like you to step in as bridesmaid since Tiffany took off on me. But I'll understand if you say no. It just feels wrong for you to be missing. You're still my sister."

  Oh, man. I didn't know if that was something I could do. The stupid joyous occasion was only in three days. Jimmy gave me a squeeze, just letting me know he was there. It helped.

  "I don't know, Alyce. Let me think about it."

  "Okay, I understand. Thanks, Lena." She hung up.

  With my arm around his waist and my face pressed up against him, I stood there, taking a moment to get my bearings. "That was unexpected."

  "Hmm."

  "Don't answer my phone again."

  "Don't slap me again."

  "Sorry." I set my chin on his chest, gazing up into his flawless face. His hands settled on my shoulders and he frowned. Perhaps now he'd push me away, reclaim his personal space and stop all of this touchy feely nonsense. But he didn't.

  "My butt stings," I said, just making conversation.

  "Good. You going to your sister's wedding or not?"

  "I honestly don't know. She seemed sincere, but ..."

  He crossed his arms, looking all kinds of big, strong, and drop-dead gorgeous. How protective he'd been of me with Alyce warmed the cockles of my heart.

  "Would you come with me if I did?" I dared ask.

  He pulled a face. "I don't know. I'm not so good with family stuff."

  "Yeah, maybe it's for the best."

  "If you brought me as your date, I'd have to meet your whole family, and that would be awkward considering the nature of our relationship"

  I squinted up at him. "And what is the nature of our relationship Jimmy?"

  "I'm your boss and occasional hookup partner," he said, giving me a jaunty wink.

  "You are?" I said, my voice completely devoid of expression.

  "Well, yeah. Though speaking of hookups, I heard wedding sex is supposed to be pretty hot, so maybe ..."

  "That's quite alright Jimmy, no need to overcomplicate our casual relationship. Now if you'll excuse me."

  "Christ Lena, what did I say now?"

  "Got work to do!" I gave him a wave on my way out. It was probably more than he deserved.

  # # #

  Jimmy was watching me. I could feel his eyes on me from the other side of the room. Despite it being pleasurable, another time would have suited things better. Sometime when we weren't surrounded by every last member of his extended family along with a few other people also.

  The girl's night out he'd suggested Ev organize for me the night of that awful date with Reece had finally come to fruition. Except given the media onslaught caused by his mom's TV debut, we couldn't really hit the clubs to shake our booties. It seemed every camera in the country was pointed in the Ferris brothers' direction, particularly Jimmy's. Therefore, we were all hanging at David and Ev's. Music was playing and people were drinking, pretty much everyone except Jimmy and I. Couldn't help but wonder if that made him feel left out, apart. He lounged as only he could on a white sofa, Mal chattering on about something beside him. Anne sat on the drummer's knee, sucking back a Corona and playing with his hair. I stared in their general direction, just chillin'. David and Ben were somewhere nearby, no doubt messing with guitars.

  I was just happy to be liberated from the dreaded med boot. My ankle still ached a little. I would, however, survive.

  "Psst."

  What the ... ?

  "Psst, Lena." Ev's bestie, Lauren, threw a pecan into my cleavage. A nice enough girl, but lobbing nuts at me was unnecessary.

  I fished it out and popped it in my mouth. "Something I can help you with there, Lauren?"

  Ev and Anne's sister Lizzy also closed in on my neutral position near the balcony windows. The condo really had a gorgeous view out over the Pearl District. Plus, Jimmy.

  "We come seeking information regarding you and Jimmy," said Ev.

  "Bullshit," laughed Lauren. "She's already banged him. It's blazingly obvious."

  I pushed my long dark hair back off my shoulders while perusing my would-be interrogators. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "Did you really bust your ankle trying to kick in his door?" asked Lizzy, sizing me up.

  "Well, yes. That happened."

  Her face went all dreamy. "I think that's really romantic."

  "I think it's hilarious," said Ev. "Apart from the part where you got hurt, of course."

  "Of course." I smiled.

  "What's going on, Lena?" Ev leaned against the glass door, eyes curious.

  "I do not know what you're talking about."

  Her eyes narrowed. "Please, the way he's looking at you."

  "How is he looking at me?"

  "Like you invented ... what, help me out here ..." She turned to her friend.

  "Blow jobs," supplied Lauren.

  "Right." Ev crossed her arms. "Jimmy's looking at
you like you invented blow jobs and you're still trying to play innocent with me? That won't fly. You and he are very, very involved."

  I gave away nothing.

  "Anne wouldn't tell me anything either. You girls are useless for gossip." Ev sighed. "You wouldn't hold out on me, would you Lizzy?"

  "No, Ev. I wouldn't dare."

  She gave me a side eyed glance. "Why do I not believe you?"

  Lizzy laughed. "Okay, I'm going to go wrestle my sister away from her boyfriend for a few minutes. Later, ladies."

  "Later," I said, doing a subtle look over my shoulder to check out the lay of the land. Jimmy was staring straight at me, eyes troubled. With Mal now busy talking to Lizzy and Anne, he had no distractions. I on the other hand had Ev and Lauren watching my every move.

  "She's a goner," said Lauren.

  "Yep," agreed Ev. "But I suspect he's rather smitten himself."

  I ignored them both. Sort of. "How about instead of worrying about what romantic dramas I may or may not be going through, we wonder what's going on with their bitch mother? Any news on her?"

  Ev winced. "Last David heard she'd taken the money and run."

  "Jimmy acts like it doesn't affect him, but it must," I said, going back to staring at the object of my heart's desire in the reflections in the window.

  His dark hair was slicked back and he wore a black dress shirt and a pair of blue jeans, shiny black boots. The sleeves were rolled back on his shirt, showing off his tattoos. I'd still never heard the story of those, what they meant to him. It was sad, the way there'd probably always be things left unfinished between us what with me only being his occasional hook-up.

  "Lena?" Ev moved closer, lowering her voice. "Are you okay?"

  "Yeah. Sure." I gave her my best smile.

  She didn't return it.

  I let mine go since it was so completely unconvincing. "There's just a lot going on right now."

  "You're not still thinking of leaving, are you?"

  Lauren had wandered off to be with her boyfriend, Ev's brother, Nate. We were alone. Ev, me, and all my worries and doubts standing in the corner at the party, watching life go by.