Leave Me Breathless

  “P-please…lick me.”

  “Oh, okay.” He licked the smooth inner side of her thigh.

  “Shit. Not there.”

  He damn near burst out laughing. “My bad. Where? I can’t read your mind, woman.”

  “Lick my pussy, Seth.” He could swear her face went two shades darker red.

  “Thank you. I believe I will.”

  Christ, she was wet. And swollen. And sweet as the strawberries she’d put out on the table this morning. He kissed her tenderly, sweeping his tongue through her folds and collecting the taste of her juices. Her staccato sobs of moments ago turned into long, drawn-out sighs of pleasure.

  His fingers loosened on her wrists, then released. Her arms remained obediently on the bed. He grazed his fingertips against her belly as he lowered first one hand and then the other, feeling her stomach muscles pull tighter under his touch. So sensitive. He tucked one arm under him for support and left one hand free to touch her. When she was ready.

  “Feel good, baby?” he murmured against her.

  “Sooo good.”

  He explored lower, letting his tongue slip over her entrance where her flavor was even sharper, tangier. Her thighs stiffened, and he remembered what she’d said earlier about being sore. She needed this right now. He moved his tongue in slow, soothing strokes around her tiny opening. The need to slide up and plunge his cock into it was there—it never left—but he ignored it. This was all about her.

  “So sweet,” he whispered. “I could do this all day.”

  “I could let you all day.”

  He moved his mouth up to suck her clit. As he drew on her with her moans echoing in his ears, he fluttered his tongue over it, sending her cries even higher. Her thighs opened wider. When he glanced up the length of her body, her hands were on her breasts. Hot as hell.

  When her first orgasm swept her away, he slid a finger deep so he could feel her contractions. Incredible. He could swear her taste and scent sweetened and when he drew his finger out, it was coated in her honey. He slid it into his mouth for a taste, then back into her with another, hooking them upward to tease her upper wall.

  She’d somehow not touched him through her climax. Now she seemed to realize she couldn’t get him to stop without disobeying that order.

  “Seth— I can’t take it,” she said, trying to squirm away.

  “You can,” he assured her. “You don’t have a choice.”

  “Oh my God…”

  He drew out his fingers, nice and wet from her arousal, and gently lowered them to tease the pucker of flesh below her pussy. Just like that, her breath caught in her lungs and, without even touching them, he sensed her thigh muscles go rock hard again. But she didn’t push away; she didn’t disobey and push him away.

  “Have you ever been fucked in the ass, sweet Macy?”

  He carefully watched her reaction. She pulled her lips between her teeth and shook her head, her forehead creased.

  “But you’ll let me, won’t you,” he cajoled as he exerted the slightest pressure with his finger. She was impossibly tight. Her chest suddenly heaved as if she’d just remembered to breathe.

  “I… You’ll hurt me.”

  “Afraid of a little pain, cowgirl?”

  Her mouth quirked at that. “No. But I tend to avoid it if I have the choice.”

  “Well, you do, you know.” A little more, and a little more, he pushed until the tip of his finger softened her tight ring enough to gain entrance. Millimeters. A centimeter. An inch. Macy’s hands were gripping the bedspread, tugging it almost to her face. Her breath sobbed out. She didn’t speak. Didn’t stop him.

  “How do you feel?” he whispered.

  Her lips parted, her eyes opened, turmoil and agony writhing for dominance on her face. “Dirty,” she bit out.

  “That’s what you wanted me for,” he all but growled. His dick was going to cuss him for a bastard if he didn’t get inside her. But he’d just have to take it. This was about leaving her wanting more. “Wasn’t it? To get you dirty. That’s why you know you’re going to let me do it. After I leave and you cool down, you’ll tell yourself you won’t. But one day, you’ll beg me for it, because you know there’s more, and you know I can give it to you.”

  He could swear the word that left her lips was “fuck,” and he couldn’t resist a grin. Already loosening her tongue. He was knuckle-deep in her sweet heat, and sweat beaded on her brow. He eased his mouth back down to her clit and teased it with languid sweeps of his tongue, groaning at the sharp spice of her need. Oh yeah, she wanted it all right. She was practically dripping. While he distracted her with slow swirls of his tongue, he inched his finger deeper until she’d accepted all he could give her.

  When she came, muscles clamping desperately on him, he slowly pulled it out. The keening moan that tore from her throat was a sound he’d hear in his dreams from now on.

  It seemed forever before she settled. Her eyes were wet, her nipples beaded, her skin rosy. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She lay limp, panting, a thin sheen of sweat glistening on her skin in the light from her windows.

  “I really can’t take any more,” she said weakly.

  “That was hardly all day,” he complained, lifting on his elbows, his knees and then climbing off the bed to his feet. If he stood and stared down at her for a moment admiring his handiwork, well, he figured there wasn’t a dude on earth who’d blame him or who wouldn’t do the same. Most of them would probably try to sneak a picture on their cell phones.

  She drew her knees together, hiding her flushed slice of heaven from his view. Damn. He imagined the pout on his face as she did so was akin to a kid learning there was no Santa Claus.

  Once she’d caught her breath, Macy giggled, lifting a hand to cover her face.

  Well, that was a guaranteed way to dispense with any awkwardness with her. And he didn’t want to find himself in that situation again. He trotted into her bathroom to wash his hands. Then, bracing on the bed with his hands, he leaned over and brushed his lips across her cheek. She turned her mouth to his. Knowing she tasted both of them as she kissed him offered no relief to his raging hard-on.

  He pulled back. She whimpered, curling her fingers around the back of his neck, attempting to hold him to her.

  “I have to go, lovely.”

  “But…” Her gaze drifted down to his fly, where he strained against his zipper. He smiled and traced her delicate jawline with his thumb.

  “I’ll catch you later.”

  Before she could reply, he was gone.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I’m ready to come clean.”

  Candace looked up from her steaming mug, one taupe eyebrow arched as she studied Macy from across the booth. “Is this about what I think it’s about?”

  Macy glanced around the coffee shop across the street from Dermamania. The girls had ducked in just before closing time to assuage a sudden craving for hot chocolate. “I’m pretty sure.”

  Candace grinned from ear to ear. “Not that I didn’t know something was going on, but I’m glad you’re finally filling me in. Spill.”

  Macy shrugged, feeling so out of her element. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her friends or didn’t like confiding in them about some things. She’d always prided herself on being the type who didn’t spread her drama around for everyone’s amusement, and swallowing that pride felt like choking down a bowling ball. Her face flamed, and she fanned herself. Candace broke into laughter.

  “Damn, it must’ve been good.”

  “Oh, it was good.”

  Candace reached over and placed her hand over Macy’s—she was wearing black-and-pink-striped fingerless gloves—and squeezed. “I am so happy for you. I’ve noticed a glow about you the past couple of days.”

  “Don’t go picking out shower gifts or anything.”

  “Well, I know, but…you needed a pick-me-up. I take it he sufficed.”

  “More than. I just…I don’t know. He’s great.”

&
nbsp; “I feel a ‘but’ coming on.”

  “A big one.”

  “Macy, if you like him, go for it. Don’t worry about anything else. When Brian and I were getting together, I wasted so much time worrying and—no offense—listening to you and everyone else tell me to forget it, that it would never work. I hurt him, I tortured myself…and for what? It didn’t have to be that way. I should’ve trusted what I was feeling.”

  “You and Brian already had a lot in common, though. It’s like he brought out the ‘you’ that was already there. You guys make a lot more sense than me and Ghost. All we have going for us”—she glanced around, leaned across the table and hissed—”is great sex.”

  “Hey, that’s more than some people have.” Candace winked.

  “I’m afraid that’s all it’ll ever be. He’s got a lot going on right now, you know? It’s really bad timing. Not to mention the psycho ex.”

  Candace scoffed. “Don’t worry about her. Everyone cringes when she comes around, and she likes to run her mouth, but I think she’s pretty harmless.”

  “What’s with this other girl who apparently broke his heart a long time ago?”

  “Oh God. Brian told me a little about that—I don’t think I got the whole story. Apparently this girl totally wrecked him, and he still gets bitter over it sometimes. That’s all I know.”

  “Fantastic. That’s exactly what I need—a man who’s hung up on someone else.” And it was essentially what Raina had been hinting at. “That whole baggage thing I was talking about. I could really do without that.”

  “I don’t think it’s so much that he’s hung up on her. I think it’s that he was fucked over, and it still pisses him off. Bruised that fragile male ego and all.”

  Macy thought about how he’d shut down at the mention of that girl. Oh, it had done more than bruise his ego. It had beaten it to a bloody pulp.

  Candace twirled her mug slowly in her hands. “Brian is really loyal to him. They might talk a lot of crap to each other, but one of them couldn’t jump off a bridge without the other close behind him.”

  “I gathered. And that’s another problem.”

  “What?”

  “Honestly? I get the feeling Brian doesn’t like me. And I definitely wouldn’t want to cause any problems between you and him or put you guys in a position to take sides if Ghost and I didn’t work out.”

  As expected, Candace was already shaking her head. “Brian likes you—”

  “Like he would tell you if he didn’t.”

  “Knowing him? He would. But he’s never said anything to me to indicate he doesn’t, I promise.”

  “Okay.”

  “You have that line between your eyebrows. Stop.”

  Macy chuckled and drained her own mug, licking the last of the chocolate from her lips. “This could just as easily go nowhere, and I’ll have stressed over nothing.”

  “Take it slow; give it a chance. Keep an open mind.”

  “I really don’t think that’s the kind of advice I need at this point. I’m beyond it. I…I can’t quit thinking about him, Candace. It’s driving me nuts. I’m trying so hard to be casual about it because…” She shook her head. “It just seems so impossible right now.”

  “Believe me, it’s not impossible. If it worked for us, it can work for you.”

  “Does he strike you as the type who’s looking for anything long-term? As much as I try to pretend I’m not, I am. I’d love it, you know? If the right guy came along, I’d be so ready to get married and have kids. I put out the vibe to him that I’m not into all that.” When she really listened to herself, she let her head drop into her hands with a groan. “Do you hear what I’m admitting to? I basically lied to get laid.”

  “I don’t know if you realize this or not, Macy, but you can be pretty standoffish. If that’s the vibe you’re putting out, he’s probably doing the same thing. It’s simple self-preservation.”

  “I’m not that bad.” Macy lifted her head and searched Candace’s face. “Am I?”

  “I’m not one to give an objective opinion. I’ve known you my whole life, I’m used to you.”

  “Great. In other words, ‘You’re a raging bitch only a best friend could love’. I had no idea I had so little self-awareness.”

  “Get over it. I’d have to say you’re more a snob than a raging bitch. Oh, and maybe a control freak though you’re better about that now than you used to be. But I love you anyway. So could he.”

  The words stung, the ring of truth biting deep. The Candace of old would never have said anything like that to her. Macy laughed to keep from crying. “It’s only that I don’t see what’s so wrong about being set in my ways and wanting what I want, and liking what I like. And of course, not liking some things.”

  “The bottom line is you have to accept him the way he is and not try to change him. If you’re not willing to do that, Mace, it really is going to be impossible. Give it up now, because I can tell you with absolute certainty, he won’t go for it. I mean, he’s a guy who’ll tell you to fuck off and die if you try that on him.”

  “I know. I wouldn’t do that. He is who he is. Just as long as he remembers that I am who I am too.” Macy sighed, staring out the window at the neon sign of the tattoo parlor across the street. A light drizzle of rain beaded on the glass and slicked the street outside, but even so, she could see that Seth was over there. She could just make him out through the windows, and sure enough, his car was now parked at the side of the building. When had that happened, and how had she missed it? “Hey, I thought you said he wasn’t working tonight.”

  Candace glanced over. “Huh. He’s not. He must be hanging out. Looks like Kelsey and Evan are there too. When did the party start?”

  Macy chewed on her thumbnail. He hadn’t spoken to her since leaving her apartment. It had been days. She hadn’t tried to contact him, either. Was it some kind of game, or did he really not care to talk to her? Whenever she tried to apply motives to him, though, she had to take a look at her own.

  Yeah. She would love to talk to him. She just wasn’t about to be the first one to pick up the phone and give him the satisfaction of knowing she needed him, of giving any truth to his final arrogant words before he’d left her lying lifeless on her bed wondering what the hell had just happened. For nearly an hour after he walked out, she’d stared at the ceiling in a daze. When she’d finally dragged herself up, aftershocks racking her every time she moved, she noticed he’d grabbed the hoodie he’d loaned her off her dresser and taken it with him.

  It had only been there a little more than a day and she missed it. Missed picking it up and inhaling his scent.

  Dammit, someone had to break the cycle. It might as well be her.

  She looked across the table at her best friend. “Let’s go.”

  It had been three days, and he hadn’t heard a word out of her. Ghost might as well face it; she was a girl who stuck to her guns. He admired that. He mostly stuck to his too, except when it came to her, the gun he stuck to was perpetually cocked and ready to fire.

  One excellent thing about his Saturday night was that Gus actually dragged in to practice, cohesively, no less, and they’d just about blown the roof off the house. They’d even started a bunch of new material. Seemed both the axmen had a lot of aggression to work out, and the rest of the guys had stepped up and added their respective flavors too. Even Mark had been happy. Neighbors had complained. It was an incredible feeling, what he lived for. By the time he left, he was still juiced up.

  With nowhere to go and nothing to do. So he swung by Dermamania, thinking what a loser he must be to go to his workplace to hang out on his night off.

  Nah. It just meant he had an awesome job.

  “You know, if you’re so fuckin’ bored, I’ve got plenty you can do,” Brian said as Ghost made his entrance.

  “Ooh. I’m sure you do, loverboy.”

  “Jesus. I guess I left myself wide open for—shit, that’s no good either.”

  Laughter
erupted from artists and clients alike. “You know I can’t go a single night without you, Bri-baby. Is Candace not here? You and I can slip in your office and—”

  “Please!” Starla cried. “Spare us.”

  “You know you love it, my little voyeur.” Starla grinned as if to say there was no use denying it. Ghost hoisted himself up on the counter at his station. “What’s going on tonight, kids?”

  Brian shook his head. “Nothing here. Work, home, sleep.”

  “Come on, man. It’s Saturday night.”

  “Says the guy who hasn’t been here all day.”

  “Old ass.”

  He laughed at that. “I’m no older than you are, dude.”

  “He’s just domesticated now,” Starla said.

  “Poor strapped bastard. Where is the domesticator, anyway?”

  “Across the street at the coffee shop.” Brian glanced up at him. “With Macy.”

  Shit. The pause had been so unnecessary, as were the little grins that passed among the others. Ghost could only hope he kept his expression bland and uninterested.

  “Oh yeah? And here I was hoping you were gonna tell me they were in your office in the sixty-nine.” Good. That sounded like something he would say.

  “You wish.” Brian’s eye was caught by something outside the front windows. “Hell. It’s my brother.”

  Ghost followed his gaze out to see Evan Ross and his wife Kelsey striding quickly through the light rain. Brian waited until Evan had pulled open the door before cupping a hand to his mouth and shouting toward the back, “Hey! Hide all the crack!”

  Ghost laughed while he considered bolting. He didn’t have one reason to be concerned that a state prosecutor was walking into his place of business, but Evan had a way of making them all feel like they had something to hide. Even when he was in jeans instead of a suit, the dude wore authority. He couldn’t help it.

  They laughed good-naturedly at Brian’s joke, Kelsey walking over to give her brother-in-law a hug. Evan glanced around the shop with his all-too-assessing gaze, nodding at Ghost when he caught his eye. Always good to have friends in high places. Even if you never actually cared to see those friends.