Copping To It (6 page)

“You’re gorgeous, Claire. Gorgeous and
wonderful,” he breathed. “Even better, you are so bad, so bad I
can’t believe how lucky I am, because I love how bad you are. To
know that side of you, to know I’m the lucky bastard that gets to
see it and experience it, makes me so hard I fucking ache.”

He emphasized the last word with a
particularly hard thrust that made her cry out. Without
withdrawing, he ground himself in tight circles against her,
manipulating her clit so that the sparks of sensation caused her to
bite her lip. With a groan, he began to thrust again, picking up
the same steady pace he’d used earlier.

“But you know what? Even when I didn’t know
for sure how bad you were, even when I knew just one side of you,
I’ve been hurting for another taste of you. I’ve lain awake at
night, remembering your taste and touch and smell, and I couldn’t
stand it. I’ve touched myself, fisted my cock and jacked off to
your memory, night after night. I’ve been jacking off since
practically the first day I saw you, Claire. That’s what you do to
me.”

His words poured out of him, revealing all
he was to her. Revealing his very soul. He could tell she liked
what he was saying by the way she mewled and tried to climb higher
on top of him, so he kept going.

“When I pleasured myself, I imagined taking
you every way I could, standing up and sitting down and bent over,
with your lush ass wiggling in invitation. I’m going to take you
that way soon. I’m going to take you in so many different ways. But
first, you’re going to go down on me again, Claire. You’re going to
swallow my cum and take the edge off my desire, and then, when
we’re out of here, when we have the time and a nice big bed with
clean sheets, I’m going to plant myself between your thighs, bury
my face in your pussy, and feast on you for hours, forcing you to
have one orgasm after another. And I won’t stop. No matter how much
you beg. No matter how hard you cry. Because you have no idea the
kind of pleasure I can draw from you.”

Right there. That’s when she exploded. Her
head thumped back against the wall and she screamed so loud and so
long that he knew she’d be embarrassed if she ever realized it.
Given that blissful sound, which was accompanied by the desperate
clench of her muscles against him, he couldn’t hold back any longer
either.

He felt his sperm build up in his balls and
then shoot out in hard pulses inside her. The pleasure was
incredible. It blinded him to all else, made him deaf and dumb to
everything but her and the unbelievable sensations coursing through
his body.

Eventually, however, as he lowered them both
to the floor and collapsed against her, he became aware of two
things: one, he hadn’t used a condom; and two, he’d screamed his
pleasure even louder than she had.

As Claire struggled to catch her breath and
blink back the hot sting of moisture in her eyes, she kept her arms
loosely around Ty’s neck. She’d never felt such a connection with a
lover before and the fact that Ty had felt it too was unmistakable.
His own chest heaved as he gulped in air, and his shouts of
pleasure still rang in her ears.

She’d thought living without him had been
tough before — how was she going to survive without him — without
this
— now?

He pressed his lips against her temple in a
prolonged kiss then pulled back to stare at her. “Claire —”

Several loud thumps on the door made her
jump.

“Hey, Ty,” a deep voice called. “How about
letting a brother enjoy some of what you’ve got in there.” A
cacophony of male hoots followed the crude request.

She closed her eyes, mortification rushing
down on her. Oh God. How had she let this happen? Everyone outside
knew exactly what they’d been doing. And if anything, that
knowledge had stirred them up. How was Ty going to get her out of
here without —

“It’s Luke,” he said, pulling back
slightly.

Her eyes flew open. “Luke?” she
whispered.

“I need to let him in.” His gaze was steady.
Assessing. No longer filled with uncontrollable passion, but
tempered hunger. Glancing down, she saw his cock was half-erect but
growing as she watched. Nonetheless, when she looked up at him
again, his expression had gone blank.

Slowly, she lowered her arms and hugged her
knees to her chest, feeling exposed and cold. She rocked herself
for a few seconds, then said, “I’ll get dressed.” She shifted to
move around him but he placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his
head.

“Don’t bother.”

Shock made her eyes round. She pulled her
knees up again. “What?”

His gaze didn’t waver. “What’s happened here
— not with us, but with the gang — it’s all been for show, Claire.
Jed bringing you to me doesn’t make sense. No matter how nosy you
were being, he’s not that sadistic. Which tells me he was trying to
prove something. If not to me, then to the others. The fact that I
took him up on his offer helped allay any suspicions about me, too.
Now…” He glanced at the door. Muffled male voices could be heard on
the other side.

“Now what?” she snapped. “You want me to
screw Luke in order to do the same for him?” Was that how he saw
her? Did he think she was that sexually perverted that she wouldn’t
give a second thought to screwing his partner, even if it was only
to keep their cover going?

She jerked away from his touch. “You’re —
you’re sick.” But even as she hurled her accusation, a dark fantasy
raised its head. She’d never been with more than one man before. If
she was ever going to do it… Luke was handsome. Sexy. A California
surfer stud that would play off Ty’s dark horse sensuality. Before
she’d broken things off with Ty, he’d mentioned Luke’s success with
the ladies, and the fleeting thought had occurred to her that if
the two of them partnered up in the bedroom as well as they did on
the streets, the two men would be unstoppable. What if they
partnered up
in her
?

As her thoughts spiraled out of control,
Claire ran wet between her legs, her juices combining with the
thick essence of Ty that still clung to her thighs. Rejecting her
thoughts, she tried again to move around him. Once more, he stopped
her.

Ty’s nostrils flared, as if he’d caught a
whiff of her arousal. She flushed, causing him to narrow his eyes.
Those same eyes darkened with understanding. With an arched brow
and a small smile, he said, “You want him, don’t you?”

Mortified, she automatically shook her head
and forced herself to laugh. “What? No. Are you crazy?”

His expression grew serious. “I’m crazy
about you, Claire.”

She sucked in a breath. Shook her head
again. “I — I —” She didn’t know what to say. She was crazy about
him, too, but what had just happened between them had to have been
a fluke. A product of adrenaline and this whole weird situation.
When they got out of here —
if
they got out of here —

“You don’t have to say it back. The thing
is, though…” He ran a hand through his hair and abruptly stood to
pull on his jeans. His movements were efficient. Brisk. His face
determined, as if he had formulated some kind of plan he wouldn’t
be swayed from. Briefly, he disappeared into the bathroom and she
heard water running. He came out, handed her a damp cloth, and
red-faced, she used it to clean herself off before he took it and
tossed it into a trashcan. Hands on his hips, he stared down at
her. He didn’t bother zipping his pants or putting on his
shirt.

Her gaze ran hungrily over his body,
admiring the muscles that rippled beneath his smooth skin and the
light dusting of hair that arrowed into his jeans. As she watched,
his penis swelled beneath his pants. She was just about to lunge
for him and press her face against the magnificent bulge when he
spoke.

“You make me want to prove to you — once and
for all — that nothing about your fantasies is taboo as far as I’m
concerned. Whether we actually do anything about them, or how we
satisfy them or when, is always up for discussion. But you can be
honest with me, and I won’t think less of you. All I’ll be thinking
is how to give you what you want and how to make you want more than
you ever thought was possible.”

She ripped her gaze away from his dick and
stared at his handsome face. Wow. Who was this guy? What he was
saying was incredible. Too good to be true. She snorted. “Then
you’re a rare breed, Williamson.”

Something about her voice must have given
her away because he frowned. “Is that why you ran from me? Did some
asshole use your fantasies against you?”

“That’s none of your —”

“Answer me,” he snapped, his expression
turning grim.

She swallowed hard, then nodded. “Yes,” she
said, too afraid by the sudden violence in his eyes to lie to him.
“He was an asshole, okay? Can we drop it?”

“Did he hurt you?”

She said nothing, but she obviously didn’t
have to.

“What’s his name?”

“Why? So you can hunt him down and kill
him?” she tried to tease.

“Yes.” There was nothing teasing about his
response. He meant it and the lightning bolt of sensation that
knowledge caused in her pussy was just wrong. Wasn’t it?

“No,” she said.

He studied her, not taking his eyes off her
even when more thumps and shouts barraged them. “Yo, Ty. Come on,
man. Don’t be greedy.”

Ty looked toward the door, then back at her
again. “So how about it, Claire? If I fulfill your fantasy…let Luke
touch you…will you finally believe I want all of you? The straight
and narrow reporter, as well as the kinky wild wanton?”

He was bluffing. He had to be. He was an
alpha male, and alpha males didn’t share. Did they? “You really are
crazy. Besides, what makes you think Luke would even want to —”

“He’ll want to.” He sounded so certain.

“Want to fuck me, maybe. But that’s not…I
mean, yes it would be nice to try something like that once in my
life but only if…” Her face was probably cherry red given how hot
it felt. She looked away, unable to complete her thoughts.

She heard him approach, and then he was
kneeling in front of her. He hooked his finger underneath her chin
and tilted her face up, forcing her to look at him.

“Hey, Ty — ” Luke called again.

“Hold up,” he shouted, still looking at her.
She trembled and bit her lip. “Say it,” he said.

“No,” she whispered, instinctively unwilling
to say what he wanted her to. What she’d almost blurted out on her
own.

“Say it, Claire. You want to know what it
would feel like to be touched by Luke but only if…what?”

“Don’t.” What did he want her to do? Expose
her soul? Hand him the power to hurt her?

“Only if what, Claire?” he asked, his voice
growing louder. More demanding. “Damn it, you know I won’t hurt
you. Take a chance and tell me.”

As she stared at him, her body naked and her
emotions feeling exactly the same way, she finally heard his own
vulnerability. Her mind replayed everything that had happened.
Everything he’d made her feel since the moment they’d met. Excited.
Scared. Horny. Amused.

Protected. Not safe, because the intensity
of her response made her fear for her heart, but she’d never felt
more protected than when she was with him.

You know I won’t hurt you
.

He was right. She did know that.

Maybe it was time to take a chance. On the
both of them.

Closing her eyes, she said in a rush, “It
would be nice to try something like that once in my life but only
if you’re touching me, too. I don’t want him to touch me unless you
are.”

The pulse of silence was brief. “Then open
your eyes and tell me why that is, Claire. Please.”

It was the please that cinched it. Her eyes
popped open and before she knew what she was doing, she raised her
trembling hand to his cheek. She caressed him, loving the way he
smiled and leaned into her palm. “I — I think I could love you,
Ty,” she said. “But I’m scared. Not of you, but of how strong this
thing is between us. I tried to let you go, but when I found out
Hoyt was gone, that he wouldn’t be here for the initiation, I
couldn’t stop myself from coming. I wanted to see you so badly. I’m
scared of how you make me feel.”

He turned his head and kissed her palm. “I
know you are, baby girl. But believe me, you’ve got nothing to be
scared of. Because I know if you’ll let me, I’ll love you, too. And
I’ll spend the rest of my life making you happy.”

With that, he stood, walked to the door,
then turned to stare at her. He waited for her to protest. When she
didn’t, he smiled, jerked the door open, high-fived Luke, then
ushered him inside.

***

As Ty locked the door, he heard Luke’s
swiftly indrawn breath. Turning, he saw exactly what had prompted
Luke’s response. Claire was once more hugging her knees to her
chest and she’d turned slightly to the side. With her long hair
flowing over her shoulders, she was managing to cover her most
vulnerable parts. Nonetheless, her creamy skin, tinged a becoming
pink, was displayed to advantage, and the sides of her breasts
peeked provocatively out past her knees and arms, jiggling with her
rapid breaths. She kept her gaze averted and focused on the wall in
front of her.

“Luke,” he said.

The man jerked as if he’d been in a trance
and licked his lips. When he turned to Ty, lust edged the other
man’s expression before he could wipe it clean. Ty clenched his
fists. He hadn’t told Claire, figuring she wouldn’t appreciate the
information, but he’d shared the occasional woman with Luke in the
past. Before he’d met her. But sharing Claire with this man? Any
man?

The idea bothered him in a way it never had
before. It was because his feelings for Claire were different.
Intense. Possessive. For this one time, however, he would share
her. Because he wanted to please her. And more importantly, he
wanted her to accept the sensual side of herself that was open to
forbidden fantasies. Wanted her to believe he’d always do his best
to fulfill them even as he stayed close to make sure she was
safe.