Any Given Sunday (9 page)

He pushed her down on the bed, coming over her, never breaking the union of their

lips. He reached up with his hands, tangling them in her ponytail, tugging at her hair.

Her body flew into overdrive with his forceful grasp. She spread her legs and wrapped them around his hips as he began to drive his jeans-covered cock against her pussy.

Desperation seemed to lace Sean’s movement. Lauren wondered what prompted it.

He continued to lay siege to her lips and though she tried to break away, tried to

put some distance between them in an effort to find air, he held her immobile, hostage to his whims.

“Sean,” she whispered, but he swallowed her words, kissing her harder, driving his

tongue into her mouth.

Her mind fought him, tried to force this stranger away, but her body was held in

his thrall. She tightened her legs as he thrust against her faster. He was driving her arousal higher with each touch, each unspoken demand.

She tried one last-ditch attempt at feeble resistance. Dragging her nails along his

back, she scratched him. Hard. She grinned when she heard his hiss of pain. She’d

scored a point.

She was surprised when he released her hair and reached for her hands. Grasping

them tightly by the wrists, he pulled them above her head, holding them against the

mattress.

“Trust me,” he said against her lips, his words deep, powerful. He didn’t give her a

chance to respond. He merely punctuated his command with another hard kiss.

She tried once more to free her lips from his. She needed to breathe, needed space

between them so she could think. He was driving her arousal higher with each touch

until she found it impossible to form a coherent thought. He adjusted his grip, holding both her hands with one of his while the other took control of her head. His implacable clasp told her he could easily possess her.

She continued to fight, to struggle—though the effort was halfhearted at best. The

combined feeling of his cock against her needy center, his fingers in her hair, his lips and mouth consuming her as he held her immobile against the bed, was working some

sort of magic on her.

His tongue swept along her lower lip before diving into her mouth again. Suddenly

the fight went out of her. She brushed her tongue against his, letting her arms lie slack in his grip.

She understood. She knew now where it was Sean wanted to take her and for the

briefest of moments, submitting to him sounded heavenly. She was tired of fighting

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him, fighting her attraction to Chad, fighting this incredible feeling. To hell with the consequences. She knew wherever Sean led, she’d follow willingly.

The hand holding her ponytail loosened and Sean pulled away only an inch, his

gaze capturing hers.

He gave her a victorious grin. “You’re mine, Lauren.”

She tried to assimilate his words while the riotous emotions rocketed through her

body. One word kept pounding in her brain, taking up the same rhythm as the blood

coursing through her veins.

Submit. Submit. Submit.

Isn’t that what she’d just done? Put herself in Sean’s hands? Given him control of

her body? Yes. She had. She thought she’d be more uncomfortable with the realization, but her mind and body seemed to agree on only one thing. She wanted to give him

everything she had to offer, but she needed more.

Sean pulled her T-shirt over her head, bending down to take her pebbled nipple

between his lips. He sucked hard, the rough suction sending impulses along every part of her body. She pushed her hips against his, needing more stimulation, more sensation.

Her body was on fire, held hostage by his mastery.

As he stripped her pants off, she reached to shed his clothing as well.

“Put your hands back on the bed.” His voice was deep, firm.

“I want to see you.”

Sean paused. That charged moment was all she needed. His face told her he would

have his way on this and she put her hands back on the pillow by her head.

“I know what you need, Lauren,” he said. “Now let me give it to you.”

His lips returned to hers and his kiss washed away every other thought. All she

needed was relief.

Then, the image of Chad’s face flashed in her mind.

“God,” she groaned when he pulled away to suck on her breast once more. Her

mind was running in a million different directions, her emotions on system overload.

Sean moved farther away, knelt between her open legs. His gaze drifted from her

pussy, slowly up her body until it landed on her face.

Then he reached forward and pressed a finger inside her. She groaned. She’d been

waiting for that touch but it still wasn’t enough.

“You need more,” he said, his eyes holding hers captive.

She nodded.

“Tell me what,” he prompted.

“Another finger,” she whispered.

He complied, adding a second finger to the first, the thrusts still shallow, still not creating the incredible friction she’d grown accustomed to.

“You need more,” he repeated. “Tell me.”

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Any Given Sunday

“Harder,” she begged. “Faster.”

Again he took her at his words, driving her to the peak of her climax quickly. Even

as her body flushed with heat and need, it wasn’t enough.

“Tell me,” he said once more. “I’ll give you everything you need, Lauren.

Everything.”

“You.” She reached for him but he was too far away. His eyes narrowed and she

remembered she wasn’t supposed to move. She put her hands back on the bed. Pleased

by her acquiescence, he quickly opened his pants, bent forward, placed his cock at the entrance to her body and shoved inside in one firm, hard, beautiful thrust. He filled her in an instant, a millisecond, but still…

“What else, Lauren?”

Her eyes had closed when he’d entered her, but now they flew open. “What?”

He smiled, setting a steady rhythm as he fucked her into oblivion. Even as he

moved, she knew he waited for an answer.

Her body was flying on autopilot, heading toward the orgasm it desired, and

basically it didn’t give a shit about the fact he wanted to talk.

“God,” she cried, when he hit that one spot, deep inside. Lights flashed behind her

eyelids. She reached up, gripped the tops of his strong arms, searching for something to anchor her to this spot, this moment.

“Tell me.” Sean paused just seconds before her climax. Her body trembled in pain

as he withheld what she needed most.

“No!” she yelled, but he didn’t move.

“You want more, Lauren. All you have to do is ask.”

She found it difficult to breathe, the air in the room stifling hot.

As she looked into his beloved face, she saw determined lines around his eyes and

mouth and in that instant, she realized.

He knew what was missing.

“Chad,” she whispered.

He smiled and began to thrust harder, faster. Somehow she’d freed them both with

her confession. It was out in the open. With her confession made, she felt lighter, freer, alive. Her hips rose to meet Sean’s, the pounding pleasure of his lovemaking driving

her straight into the white-hot magic.

She screamed as she came, a cacophony of words flying from her lips, Sean’s name,

Chad’s name, words of love and forever.

“Yes,” she heard Sean hiss, and then she felt the hot splashes of his release fill her.

He would give her everything she wanted. Everything.

For several moments they clung to each other and Lauren let herself remain adrift

in the blissful aftermath. The real world would return too soon.

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“You’re in love with him.” Sean didn’t seem surprised or even sad, his words a

statement rather than a question. He rolled away, claiming his side of the bed as he

faced her.

With some distance between them, her head felt clearer and her senses returned.

“Yes,” she admitted. “I love you, Sean. I really do. It’s just—”

“You love him too.”

She smiled sadly. “I love him too. Do you hate me?”

Sean chuckled. “God no. Never.”

She fell silent. His words so typically, wonderfully Sean.

“We have time, Lauren. I meant what I said. I’ll give you everything you want. You

just have to trust me. For now, sleep.”

She curled against his shoulder as he engulfed her in his large embrace. For once,

she wasn’t trying to solve the puzzle. For once, she gave up all her internal struggles and placed herself in Sean’s capable, strong hands. And for the first time in a long time, she felt happy.

* * * * *

Chad’s legs gave out and he let the wall support him as he slid slowly to the floor,

his mind trying to process what he’d just heard.

He’d returned from dinner with Lily, exhausted, nothing on his mind except falling

into bed. As he reached the top of the stairs, he’d heard the creaking mattress. He’d been tempted to turn around and go back to the living room to sleep on the couch.

Then Lauren had screamed.

Sean’s name—and his.

His.

Stunned, he stared at the closed door to Lauren and Sean’s bedroom, trying to

figure out what the hell that meant. Sean must have heard her. Yet the door remained

closed. The room quiet.

And Chad stayed on the floor, staring at the door, wishing he were on the other

side.

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Any Given Sunday

Lauren looked around the room full of women and grinned. She took another sip of

Riley’s famous vodka punch, perfectly aware of the fact she’d already consumed too

much of the stuff. She didn’t care though. Chances were she’d have lots more before the night was over. The alcohol was dulling the sharp pain that had been slicing through

her heart since waking this morning to find Sean gone. Granted, he’d had to work, but the distance had given her too much time to think, to doubt. Chad had been

suspiciously absent as well and she was now a bundle of nerves as she questioned

everything that had happened last night.

She’d escaped her silent torture a few hours earlier, volunteering to help Riley

decorate for the shower in an attempt to think of anything other than how she was

royally fucking up her life.

More laughter pulled Lauren from her heavy thoughts and she pushed them away,

determined to enjoy the evening. Riley and her friend Bubbles had organized what was

quite possibly the craziest baby shower she’d ever attended.

They’d just finished played Pin the Diaper on the Bad Baby. She wasn’t sure where

Riley had found all the posters of hot, naked men, but Lauren was hoping Riley would

let her take the cowboy one home. Prior to that, Lauren had kicked ass in the baby

bottle chugging contest, though Lily had given her a run for her money. The ladies in attendance had already consumed one large bowl of the punch and were currently

working their way through the second batch.

Natalie, the mother-to-be and one of the few remaining sober women in the room,

was almost finished opening the pile of shower gifts and was currently wiping away a

happy tear as Teagan strummed the last chord in the lullaby she’d written for Nat’s

baby.

Lauren had gotten to know most of the Collins women quite well over the years

through her relationship with Sean. They’d never failed to make her feel like one of

their own. She watched Natalie gently rub the large bulge of her belly and she knew

Ewan and Nat’s baby was one of the luckiest kids in the world. She could only imagine how awesome it would be to grow up with such a large and loving family.

A tap on her shoulder pulled Lauren from her thoughts and she turned to see Keira

standing behind her. “Riley said you wanted to talk to me.”

Lauren nodded, suddenly feeling nervous. The cowardly part of her had actually

decided tonight wasn’t a good night to approach Keira. A quick glance at Riley’s smug smile told her that her friend knew she’d planned to chicken out.

“I, um…” She cleared her throat. “I have an assignment for class, but now might

not be a good time. I mean, it’s your sister-in-law’s baby shower and I’m not sure—”

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Keira raised a hand to cut her off. “Now is fine. The presents are almost all opened

and I have a feeling Riley has another twisted game planned. If I drink too much more of that punch tonight, I’ll be dancing on the tables soon. Of course, Will likes it when I dance for him.”

Lauren laughed. “Actually, it was sort of you and Will I wanted to talk about.”

Lauren lifted her glass and tossed back the rest of her spiked punch, hoping it would relax her. How was she supposed to ask Keira about her submissive lifestyle?

Although, after discovering the buttons Sean had pushed in her last night, it was

clear she needed to get some answers to her questions. She was on the verge of

spontaneously combusting from the bonfire of lust this assignment had fueled in her

body. She needed to know what this meant. If it was normal.

Keira smiled kindly. “Come on. Let’s top up these drinks and find somewhere

quiet.” Keira refilled both their glasses and they headed down the hallway to the

kitchen as the rest of the party broke into howls of laughter. Bubbles was explaining the rules to the next game, something involving banana baby food and pacifiers.

As they entered the kitchen, Keira took a seat at the table, gesturing to the chair next to her. “I swear to God only
my
sister would ask an ex-Vegas hooker to organize games for a baby shower.”

Lauren sank down in the seat. “Yeah, I know. Bubbles is great. I’m having a blast.”