Body Shots (17 page)

Crystal stirred at the familiar tinkling sound. She looked over at Mac and saw his frustration. “This will just take a minute, I promise,” she said as she reached for the phone on the table. “Hello?” The voice on the other end of the line sent chills down her spine. “What do you want, Richard?” Crystal tried to force a measure of calm into her voice, but found she was sorely lacking.

“Now is that any way to talk to your ex-husband, sweetheart?” Richard said, laughing.

“Don't ever call me sweetheart again. You lost that right.” Now she was beginning to feel her temper. How dare he simply phone her after all this time and attempt to sweet-talk her? He was in for a rude awakening if he thought that tack was going to work. She was no longer a young innocent girl.

“I miss you. I've changed a lot since you left,” Richard said earnestly. “I know I made lots of mistakes by you, but just hear what I have to say, and then I will leave you alone. Okay?”

Crystal sighed and decided to let him say his peace and then hang up on the jerk. She turned and saw Mac looking at her with worry etched on his face. In her anxiety over hearing Richard's voice, she'd forgotten Mac was still there. She leaned over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder in a gesture meant to say,
I'm alright
.

“Very well, get on with it, then,” Crystal said, getting more perturbed with every second she spent on the phone.

“I just wanted you to know that I'm in town. I thought it'd be real nice if we got together and talked about old times. What do you say? We could go to dinner and talk things through, figure out what went wrong.”

“I'm going to say this once, and then I'm hanging up the phone. I won't go anywhere with you ever again. Our marriage is over, and I have moved on with my life. I suggest you do the same. Don't attempt to call me again.” Crystal spoke with calm authority in her voice and then hung up the phone. After taking a deep breath, she once again turned to look at Mac's worried face.

“What did he want?” Mac asked, his voice dripping icy venom.

“He says he's back in town and wants to get together for old times' sake.” Crystal went on with vehemence, “Can you believe the nerve of him to call and expect to just pick right up where we left off!” She was angry now just thinking of the whole thing. “What an idiot.” She scooted up next to Mac, pleased when his arm went around her in a protective embrace.

“I don't like him calling you. Maybe you should change your number.”

Crystal stiffened and peered up at him. “I won't hide and cower. Not again.”

Mac stared at her a few seconds before kissing the top of her head. “Okay, but if he calls again, you'll let me know, right?”

“Yes,” she replied, loving that he cared so much. It was such a new experience for her. It was just the thing she needed to send her into a deep sleep.

Mac had no intention of sleeping. Whether Crystal would admit it or not, the phone call from her ex had shaken her up. She was so sturdy and determined, Mac didn't think anything could bring Crystal down. But now, seeing her so fragile, he knew different. Richard. That son of a bitch had no rights to her. She belonged to him and Trent now. Richard was out of the picture. One way or another, Mac would keep it that way.

He carried her inside and locked the door behind him, then took her to her bedroom. He stood her on the floor and murmured, “Come on, sleepyhead. Let's get you tucked in.”

She yawned and started to shuck her clothes. “I'm so sorry. I don't know why I'm so tired.”

“Because Trent and I have been keeping you up late, probably,” he said as he kissed the top of her head. Once she was nude, he slipped his T-shirt over her head and laid her on the bed. He quickly stripped and got in beside her, then closed his eyes. It was several hours later when Mac woke to the gentle feel of Crystal stroking his chest with her fingers. “Is it morning already?” he asked. The room was semi-dark with the shades drawn, and he couldn't tell the time of day.

“Not quite.” She glanced at the clock at the side of the bed. “Three in the morning,” she said as she flicked his nipple with a fingernail. The little sting brought him around instantly.

“Keep that up and you're going to be in trouble.”

Crystal pulled her hand away. “I really love waking up to you. Thank you for staying.”

He tipped her chin up and kissed her lips. “I could get used to it, too.”

“Tell me something about yourself,” she stated. “What are your parents like? I really want to know more about you, Mac.”

He shifted, uncomfortable with this conversation already. His parents weren't exactly the Cleavers. “Well, my dad was very rigid. He insisted his only son toe the line, and if I screwed up, there was hell to pay. Mom followed whatever Dad said. His orders were akin to the law with her.”

Her hand came back to his chest, and Mac relaxed. “I'm sorry. I never knew my dad. My mom did her best to raise me, but I know it wasn't easy,” she said.

He tucked an arm behind his head. “Parents make a huge impact on our lives. I remember my dad telling me once that I was too stupid to amount to anything.”

“God, that's awful.”

Mac shrugged. “When I graduated from law school, he had to eat his words.”

Her head shot up and she stared at him. “You're a lawyer?”

“Yes, but I'm no longer practicing. Trent and I both got out of the business when Kinks began to do so well.”

“That takes a lot of schooling. Do you regret walking away from it all?”

“Not one bit. It was a high-stress job. Besides, Kinks makes a ton more money for me.”

Her palm continued to massage him, and her fingers toyed with his chest hair. Was she trying to comfort him? Probably. And damn, he loved every bit of her efforts. She was gentle and nurturing without even realizing it.

Her finger dipped into his belly button and he had to bite back a curse. “Do you get along with your parents now? And what do they think of the nightclub?”

“They don't know much about Kinks. Just that it's a nightclub. Mom would have a coronary if she knew the deets. Dad and I are civil. I see him on holidays and birthdays. It's not ideal, but it's more than what a lot of kids have.”

Her palm moved a few inches lower, then stopped. “You're right. It's good that you don't hold a grudge. Some kids wouldn't be so forgiving.”

Mac cleared his throat, unable to grasp on to the thread of the conversation with her touching him. “Huh?”

“I'm sorry, Mac. I'm sorry you didn't have the type of parents you deserved.”

Her voice sounded shaky, and he didn't like it one bit. “No, don't be sorry. It wasn't as bad as all that. I'm a grown man, and I make my own way in life. I'm happy with that.”

She smoothed her palm over him. “Yes, you are a grown man,” she murmured.

Without giving her any warning, Mac sat up and flipped Crystal over to her stomach. “Mac!”

“Hush, angel,” he murmured as he straddled her legs. “I did as you asked and talked about myself. Now it's time I get what I want.” He swatted her upturned ass and Crystal yelped.

“You did not just spank me, Mac Anderson!”

“Yep. Now, are you going to give me what I want?” He rubbed away the sting, then swatted her again two more times. She stopped struggling and started moaning. “Damn, you're fucking sexy like this,” Mac gritted out as he cupped both of her ass cheeks in his palms. “Yum.”

She moaned. “Mac, you're driving me wild here.”

“Ah, but it's only fair, since you've been driving me wild from the moment I first saw you.” When she shifted around to get more comfortable, Mac's cock hardened.

“Let me up,” she pleaded. “I want to see you.”

Now they were getting somewhere. “I suppose I can allow that.” He moved to the side, and before he could take his next breath, she was on her knees in front of him. Jesus, she tore him up. So pretty and sweet. One minute he was taking a stroll down memory lane, and the next she was teasing him into a horny frenzy.

“Ah, that's better,” she whispered.

“I'm all yours.”

With her silky mass of tangled brown hair drifting down her back and those big eyes smiling up at him as she descended on his cock, Mac forgot all about distant parents and his lonely childhood. With the first tentative touch of her lips to the bulbous tip, Mac lost all reason. Her touches and kisses pulled a primitive response from him. He put his hands on either side of her head and directed her onto his pulsing shaft.

“Damn, that's nice. I love that sweet tongue of yours, Crystal.”

Her eyelids drifted downward, and Mac felt the gentle sigh she let out all the way down the length of his dick. With one hand, Crystal guided him inside the wet heat of her mouth, then farther still until he was nearly down her throat. She licked and teased, the tiny movements of her tongue and lips drawing his balls up tight. Mac clutched a fistful of her hair and pulled her mouth onto him tighter. She gagged and Mac immediately pulled out. Crystal whimpered and quickly took over, sucking him deep all over again. This time his balls were smashed against her chin.

“Goddamn,” he growled.

He watched as she threw herself into the task. Seeing her so anxious to please him and enjoying his taste had Mac close to coming already. Crystal pulled his rigid length all the way out and placed a gentle kiss to his tip before sweeping her tongue down the underside of his cock. She appeared to be in no hurry, as if she had all day to kneel in front of him and lick his dick. When she cupped his balls in her other hand and squeezed, every thought fled his mind. Only Crystal existed. Crystal and her talented mouth and fingers.

Mac groaned her name as her movements turned rapid, her own excitement growing. Crystal sucked, hard, once more. “Fuck!” He grabbed the back of her head and held her still while he shot over the edge, his come spurting into her mouth and down her throat.

Long seconds passed, with Crystal still on her knees, Mac's cock buried between her lips. He slid out of her and lifted her onto his lap. “I love you,” he admitted, “and I figured it was about time you knew it.”

She froze and stared at him. “Y-you love me? Seriously?”

He chuckled. “That's not exactly what I was hoping you'd say, angel.”

She blushed and looked away. “I'm sorry. It's just . . . I need time to think about all this. Between you and Trent, I mean.”

He tugged a lock of her hair until she was looking at him once more. “Are you worried that you're in love with us both, Crystal? Or is it that maybe you only care for one and not the other?”

She slapped a hand over her face and groaned. “I don't know. You are both so wonderful. I can't imagine not being with the both of you. Saying that makes me feel guilty. Isn't love supposed to be one-on-one?”

Mac shook his head. “Hell, sometimes it feels as if Trent and I are one person.” He winked and added, “We sure fell for the same woman, at any rate.”

Crystal placed her hand on his cheek and said, “Give me time to figure this out, okay?”

“I think I can handle that,” he murmured.

Crystal kissed him lightly and replied, “Thank you.”

“I've got other ways for you to thank me,” he groaned, as he took her mouth as if it were for the last time. Shit, for all he knew, it just might be.

11

T
wo days later, Crystal shook with stress as Trent stood in the bedroom of her apartment, watching her freak out over just the right outfit to wear around people with more money than she would ever see in a lifetime. And every time she told herself it shouldn't matter whether they were rich, she realized she was only deluding herself. Of course it mattered! It wasn't as if she could go to a dinner with Trent's parents wearing shorts and a T-shirt.

“Pick something!” Trent shouted.

Crystal looked at the slate-gray slacks and cream-colored silk blouse, her current choice, in the mirror, standing this way and that, then she asked, “What do you think of this one?”

“I think that one looks as nice as the last thirty you tried. You're much too worried about this dinner.”

Crystal snorted and whirled around to glare at him. “Your mother saw me in your T-shirt and nothing else, Trent. They all three saw me kiss the daylights out of you. It was one heck of a first impression!”

Trent's eyes turned a deeper shade of blue as they roamed over her body from head to toe. “I liked you in my T-shirt, baby, and I truly enjoyed the kiss.”

Crystal wasn't touching that with a ten-foot pole. She whipped back around and looked once more into the mirror. “This will just have to do. I don't really have anything much better without looking overdressed. My wardrobe needs some work, I'm afraid.”

Trent crossed the minefield that used to be her bedroom, and pulled her back against the hard length of him. “My mother will see you as a beautiful woman who has managed to enrapture her son. Stop worrying, Crystal. You don't need to make yourself into anything you're not, simply to please my family.”

Was she so transparent? How was it possible a man she'd only just met could see her so clearly? The entire time she'd been married to Richard he'd never been able to figure her out.

Still, she wasn't quite ready to be so easily read, so she lied. “It's not that. Your mother is clearly more refined than I am, and I don't want her to think I'm some floozy who would go to bed with any Tom, Dick, or Harry.”

In the mirror, she watched with fascination as Trent's sexy mouth tilted sideways. “I'm quite glad you're no . . . floozy. As I remember it, you were rather willful. Not to worry, though. I'm quite confident I will soon make you more . . . biddable.”

Crystal wanted to smack him, and if he wasn't currently palming her breast through her silk blouse, she would have. As it was, she was forced to make a small verbal protest.

“Look, you domineering control freak, your accent makes it sound like you said ‘beddable,' and whether you said ‘biddable' or ‘beddable,' neither is going to happen if you don't quit with the attitude.”

“Domineering control freak?” he asked, his mouth kicking up at one corner, making him look entirely too devilish.

“Yes. You're most certainly that.”

“I see.” Still standing behind her, his gaze wandered the length of her in the mirror, and Crystal's flesh tingled to life. “In that case, I'd have you. Now.”

Have her? He wanted to make love?
“We can't, Trent, we'll be late,” she protested, only half-caring.

“Do as you're told, Crystal, and turn around.”

In a flash, her body went up in flames at the sudden command in his voice. Geez, she loved hearing that tone from him, so aggressive and so male. It was hot.

She hesitated a moment too long, and apparently Trent decided to punish her for her lack of speed with a swat to her bottom. Instinct had her crying out, surprised by the act. “Trent!”

Without even an ounce of remorse, he crossed his arms over his impressive chest and stared at her. “I'm a domineering control freak, remember? Turn around.”

This time she didn't dither. Crystal turned until she was no longer facing the mirror. Now she was looking directly into the bluest eyes of the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen.

“That's better. I like when you do as you're told. Now, off with the blouse and bra. I want to see the soft pink of your succulent nipples.”

Again, Crystal was surprising herself by doing Trent's bidding. She stripped out of the clothing and stood in front of him with only her slacks on.

She saw Trent's right hand move, and then the left, until he was cupping and massaging both of her breasts. He flicked his thumbs over the hardened buds, and then pulled them upward for a long, lazy lick.

His tongue swept back and forth over one tight nipple, while his fingers played with the other. As he pulled back, she watched through half-opened eyes as his tongue moved downward to her belly button. He growled something unintelligible, then his tongue darted out and licked. Crystal pushed against him, on fire already.

Oh God, she was suddenly aching with need. Her entire body yearned. “That feels so good, Trent.”

“I will give you more, much more, but first I want you on your knees.”

Her body quivered, then quivered even more at the idea of purposely disobeying him. Would he smack her bottom again? Only one way to find out.

“I think I'd rather stand, thanks anyway,” she replied, intentionally sounding haughty to wind him up.

“You're too willful, Crystal Shaw. You need to learn obedience,” he whispered, the words a sensual promise to her overactive sex drive.

Trent moved away from her then and looked around the room. His gaze stopped on something, she couldn't tell what, as the room was in total chaos. But when he walked toward her bed and picked up a long black silk scarf, her pussy dampened with the idea of being blindfolded again. She hadn't realized she could enjoy such a thing, but she had. A lot.

When he came back to her, she was taken by surprise as Trent moved behind her and clasped one wrist in his calloused hand. He wrapped the black silk around it, then grabbed the other and did the same. Her hands were securely tied behind her back, and Crystal was now completely at his mercy.

“Mm, I like you this way. You're mine now, to do with as I please. If you're a very good girl, I will let you come. If you're naughty, I won't. Would you like me to tongue-fuck your sweet cunt, Crystal? Would that please you?”

His guttural voice was the single most stimulating thing she had ever heard. There was, of course, only one answer to give.

“Yes.”

“Ah, so compliant all of a sudden.”

She didn't speak. She couldn't. Her blood was liquid fire coursing through her veins.

“I like it when you do as I say. I will reward you for it in a while, but for now, get down on your knees. I have a need to see you that way.”

This time Crystal started to lower herself, but Trent had to help her, and she felt awkward with her hands tied. She couldn't look at him; she was too embarrassed and excited and so many other things all at once.

He cupped her chin in his hand and lifted her face upward. Her eyes connected with his, and she saw the wild frenzy of sexual hunger there. He was as turned on by what they were doing as she was. It was enough to have her loosening up, if just a little.

“Do you know what you look like in this position, Crystal?”

She shook her head, still staring into his eyes.

“You look like my sex slave. A concubine.”

“No.” Her independent streak reared its feminist head at the notion.

“Yes. And you're mine to use,” Trent growled.

“To use?”

He touched her breast, then flicked her nipple as if the action was boring him. “Will you let me?” he asked, his eyes staring at her naked torso.

“I don't know if I can.”

“Stop thinking so hard. Let me take you somewhere you've never been. I want to be the first man to draw pleasure from the very depths of your soul. Let me.”

She was beyond telling him no. The moment she'd let him tie her hands behind her back she had been his to use. Who was she kidding?

“Okay. Yes.”

Not a single sound came from Trent at her acceptance of the game he was playing. He didn't even appear to be breathing hard. He seemed totally at ease. As he moved his finger away from her breast and began unbuttoning his black slacks, she nearly whimpered. Crystal licked her lips, anticipating what was about to come. She wanted him in her mouth, the taste of his sticky fluid on her tongue.

Slowly, as if he had all the time in the world, Trent unzipped and freed his cock, and finally Crystal could see him in all his magnificence. He was hard and pulsing with life, the bulbous head darkly engorged. Jesus, he looked delicious. It was crazy how eager she was.

His cock held firmly in his hand, Trent stepped forward, bent slightly at the knees, and demanded, “Open those sexy lips, baby.”

Crystal tilted her head upward and opened, but just as she would have sucked him in, he stopped her with a hand to the back of her head, pulling at a fistful of her hair just hard enough to bring the slightest sting to her scalp.

“What?”

“Not your mouth, just your tongue. Lick my cock. I want it nice and wet for what I'm about to do to you.”

Crystal didn't know what he could possibly do that they hadn't already done, but if he wanted to be licked, then she was just the woman for the job.

Opening wide and slipping her tongue out, Crystal let her eyes close and tasted the sensitive tip of him. She took the small bead of moisture that had appeared there into her mouth, then she let her tongue roam freely over and down, slowly moving to the underside, and then finally to his balls. She swiped her tongue back and forth, craving their unique flavor and wishing she could take them both into her mouth and suck. But, knowing her orders, she held back and moved her wet tongue over the rest of him instead, giving his cock the thorough licking he demanded.

She felt his hand pulling once more at her hair, and Crystal eased away, leaning back on her heels and opening her eyes. But what she saw was the most feral look on a man's face she'd ever seen. He looked ready to explode. To throw her on the bed a few feet away and fuck her brains out. Had she pushed him too far?

“At times, you tempt me beyond reason,” he growled, then he dipped down, put an arm beneath her, and swung her into his arms. He carried her to the bed, but he didn't throw her down, as she'd feared. Instead, he placed her, ever so gently, in the center of it. She adjusted her hands slightly, trying for a more comfortable position, but when he began stripping off his clothes, Crystal went still.

He could always make her go pliant and mute with the mere sight of his body. He was just too good-looking for her peace of mind. His wild mane of black hair tossed all over his head and just the slightest hint of stubble on his chin, lent to the notion of how incredibly rugged and masculine he was. Trent put one knee on the bed and turned to the task of unfastening her slacks and ridding her of the rest of her clothing. Soon, nothing stood between them and sexual heaven.

He pushed her legs wide, and before she could protest, he descended between them and licked her. She arched up and tried to get him closer, to get his tongue inside her as he'd said he would earlier, but he seemed in no hurry.

“Trent, quit playing and get to it!”

He chuckled and murmured, “You're in no position to be giving me orders,
slave
.”

She glared down at him and muttered, “Don't make me regret letting you tie me down, damn it.”

“Once I'm done with you, you will crave being tied down. Your mouth will water and your pussy will drip with need any time I mention this black silk scarf,” Trent whispered, the heat of his breath stroking her clit, causing her femininity to throb to life.

“So confident of yourself, are you?” She had to struggle to say the words coherently.

“No. So confident of you. You're a woman with great passion deep in your soul, and I intend to suck you dry.”

Now, that sounded promising. “Then quit talking and get to work. You've barely scratched the surface,” she dared.

“Ah, just what I love, a challenge.” Then his tongue delved deep and she whimpered.

He was right about one thing; she would crave him after this. There was no denying it.

 

Trent was exactly where he wanted to be: between the widespread thighs of the woman he loved. He had realized it when he watched her get down on her knees in front of him. Her supplicant position had pulled feelings out of him that he'd never felt before. He had fallen in love with a woman who saw him as a moment of fun and excitement.

He had always thought himself free of entanglements of the heart. His father had warned him once that, when a Dailey man falls in love, it was for life. There would be no going back. Somehow, he was going to have to convince Crystal Shaw, independent go-getter, that they were meant to be together.

It had been fate when she walked into his nightclub. He did not laugh at such things as fate and destiny. Nor did he balk at the idea of a challenge, and making Crystal see that there was more to their relationship than sex would indeed be a challenge.

As he tasted and teased her, feeling the quiver of Crystal's supple body, he knew that if any other man besides Mac ever touched her in such a way, he'd see red. She was theirs. Her desire was for them to play with and nurture to life, no other.

He lifted up and stared up the length of her nude body. Her eyes were closed, her hands behind her back, securely tied, and best of all, she was already in the beginnings of a climax. She looked magnificent and so damn hot he felt singed.

Trent used his thumbs to part her delicate folds, exposing her swollen clit as he did, and then he dipped his head once more and sucked the tiny bit of flesh into his mouth, flicking back and forth with his tongue.