Dirty Deal (A Perfectly Matched Novel) (Entangled Brazen) (10 page)

“Let me taste you first,” she whispered.

She ran her fingers along the waist of his pants before unbuttoning them and drawing the zipper down over the swell of his cock. He was so hard he could’ve used his dick as a hammer, and he probably should’ve stopped her. His self-control was tenuous at best, but the thought of denying her made every male instinct rail in immediate protest.

She drew his pants and boxers down and his cock sprang toward her, like a heat-seeking missile. Without hesitation, she dropped to her knees, and he groaned at the sight. Jesus, she hadn’t even touched him yet, and the pressure in his balls was already building.

Slowly, she used her tongue to trace a path from his navel to his cock. All the while, her fingers massaged the insides of his thighs. She lapped at his swollen head, and he groaned his approval, sinking his hands into her hair. Her reaction was instant, and she took him deeper into her mouth, so deep that he almost lost his ability to breathe. With his every growl, she hummed back in approval.

This was no perfunctory blow job. She was enjoying herself. And that only made it that much harder not to lose himself in the warmth of her mouth and to sink into oblivion. He gripped her platinum locks in his fists tighter, and she moaned around him, working him faster until he nearly exploded into her molten mouth. The only thing that stopped him was the insistent need to touch her. It was as constant and commanding as his own thundering heartbeat.

She sucked on him long and deep, and he growled in blissful agony before finally laying a hand on each of her shoulders and pushing her away. She fought him, corkscrewing her tongue around him, but he closed his eyes and held firm.

“Lie on the bed.” The words came out more demanding than he’d intended, and she blinked up at him for a moment as if unsure whether to argue. To his surprise, she backed up to the bed and lay on her back.

He followed her, his hungry gaze taking in every inch of her as he went, taking mental pictures that he knew would be burned into his brain forever, right next to the rest.

Her face when she ate something sinfully delicious.

Her saucy smile when they joked around.

The way her eyes had looked that first night on the beach in the moonlight.

The warmth that had been centered at his groin spread to his chest, and suddenly, he was desperate to touch her again. Skin to skin. As if sensing it, she held her arms out to him, but he shook his head and made for the foot of the bed, spreading her thighs and settling between them. She protested softly, urging him upward, but he wouldn’t be swayed.

Hot. Fucking. Damn.

As if the rest of the woman weren’t beautiful enough, her sweet pink pussy was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. It took all of his effort not to pull up and bury himself inside her on the spot, if only to feel the wetness that glistened in the moonlight.

…

Serena caught her breath as he pressed another firm kiss to her thigh. His fingers massaged the other in a gentle, rhythmic caress. With every touch, the tension within her built. She was like a volcano, her whole body hot and packed with pressure and begging to erupt. Blood pounded in her ears, and every other sound had long been drowned out by the thrumming of her insistent heartbeat. In all her life, she’d never been more aware of a kiss, a touch, and each drove her to a near frenzy.

“Please. Please touch me.” She spread her fingers wide, scrabbling at the mattress, trying to grip something that would ground her. Help her to focus on anything but the almost-painful ache between her thighs. She needed Bryan. His lips, his fingers, his thick length.

It was light at first.

The stroke of a finger against her swollen clit. But it didn’t matter. It was electric. She felt the touch in every cell of her body. Her whole being was focused on that one lingering sensation, and then it was doubled as he caressed her up and down. When he finally thrust two fingers inside her and pressed his tongue to that throbbing bundle of nerves, the world disappeared.

Stars exploded before her eyes, and she was lost. The climax that had been building broke over her, and she savored the sweet vibrations as they coursed through her body. This was more than sex. It was lightning in a bottle, and she had to have more.

“Inside me,” she gasped, but he didn’t bother to look up as he lapped her center. “Please. I need to feel you.” The voice was not her own. It was needy, desperate, and pleading, and she’d never heard it before. Any other time, it might have concerned her. She might have tried to play it off. But right now? With this man? She didn’t care about anything but having him inside her and making him feel the way she felt right now.

“Anything you want.” A slow, sweet smile slid across his face as the rough pads of his fingers caressed her hips. He made to stand but she held him in place with a hand on his arm.

“I’m…safe and I’m on the pill so if…”

He froze and gazed down at her, the smile sliding from his face. “Oh, God, fuck yes.” His hazel eyes were dark with need but also something else. “You know I would never do anything to hurt you, right? I’m tested regularly—”

She tugged him back to her and shook her head. “Enough said. I trust you.”

And she didn’t even want to think about how happy it made her feel that he trusted her, too. She didn’t have to fight it long, though, because a second later, she couldn’t think at all. He positioned himself between her thighs and took his cock in hand, sending her pulse clamoring out of control.

“I feel like I’m sixteen,” he said on a pained laugh.

That was good, because she felt the same. Wild and crazy with this…infatuation and want. Like it was filling up every empty space in her body and mind with little bubbles of happiness.

The head of his cock nudged her and then slid inside. She gasped, the world splintering apart as she stretched to accommodate him.

Why had she questioned this? Nothing had ever felt so right. Bryan inside her, skin to skin, no barriers between them.

“You’re so fucking tight,” he ground out. “So wet for me.”

God, his voice might have been enough to push her over the edge, so deep and strong.

She rocked her hips into him and lost herself, taking in every sweet quake of her walls around his thickness. There was a command, a confidence to his movement that sent her body into overdrive. When he moved, he lowered his lips to her neck and nibbled the tender skin there. As if he’d hit an invisible button that only he could see, he worked her toward climax again, and every thrust became more demanding, more passionate, until she was nothing but pure and unadulterated need.

He pulled back to stroke her wet clit, and she came undone. Exploded into a million tiny pieces once again. Whether the tingles were from the cool air on her naked skin or from the ripples of pleasure still coursing through her veins, she didn’t know. All she knew was that the orgasm seemed to span forever, pulsing her whole body with aftershocks of ecstasy.

“You’re so hot when you come,” he whispered.

“You are, too. Let me watch,” she breathed.

And so he did. He grasped her hips to the point of pain and joined her in her release, pounding into her hard and deep. It was his lack of control then, his frenzied, desperate thrusts that dragged her over the edge with him, calling his name as he spurted deep inside her.

The room was quiet except for the sound of their harsh breathing as they came back to earth. Like every time with Bryan, it had been pure magic. But this time, there was no question, she’d given something up to him in the process. As he rolled to his side, pulling her with him to sprawl on his chest, an icy cold finger of fear trailed down her spine.

How was she ever going to go back to the life she’d known before him?

Chapter Nine

Serena plopped down next to Bryan and reached for the sugar bowl.

“Ugh, how many times do I have to tell you no gross medical stuff on the breakfast table?”

The answer was the same every morning for the past week, but who was counting? He kept telling himself he ought to stay at Q’s like he planned and get back to his everyday life, but when he woke up in the morning and found Serena lying next to him? Ideas of leaving faded to black. Especially when those mornings so often led to their making time in the shower, and on the countertops, and on just about every other flat surface in the house.

“And how many times do I have to tell
you
? Doctors have to study or they kill people,” he said with a grin.

She poured a pixie-dusting of sugar onto her grapefruit and grimaced. “Doctoring seems overrated. Constant studying. All that blood. Terrible outfits.”

She dug into her food, and his phone buzzed against the table. He swiped a thumb across the screen. Sort of weird. It was Saturday, seven days since the first night he’d spent here, and he’d barely heard a peep from anybody besides Q breaking his balls and trying to ferret information about Serena from him. At first, he thought this would be the same, and it
was
a text from Q, but instead of some kind of innuendo, it simply said “incoming!”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Serena rumpled her eyebrows, and he realized he’d been speaking aloud, but before he got the chance to respond, his cell phone rang in his hand. With another flick of the thumb, he pressed it to his ear and answered, “Hello?”

“Oh darling, I’m so glad I’ve caught you. I know you’ve been so busy since you’ve been home. Is this a good time?” His grandmother’s syrupy sweet voice poured out from the speakers and Q’s warning clicked. Batten down the hatches, the guilt storm was about to blow in.

His granny was as sweet as her voice, it was true, but he could already tell she needed something, and that would invariably mean she was about to lay it on thick. Real thick.

Serena gestured toward the phone and he held up a finger.

“Hey Gran, no, I can talk.”

“Oh, lovely. It’s so wonderful to hear your voice after all this time.”

She was good. The best way to find out what her agenda was would be to bait the hook, though. See if he could get her to bite.

“You too, Gran. I was just thinking I should come over and visit soon.” He cast the reel.

“That would be lovely, dear, but I won’t be home much. You know with Marcia’s wedding and everything. So much to do.”

And there it was. The blood in the water.

“Marcia’s wedding?”

“Yes indeed, dearie. I’m at your Uncle Peter’s barn today helping with the decorating. We’re all pitching in and putting everything together. Your sister is even working on a little picnic for us while we work. Like a family luncheon. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

And there was the trap. Closing his eyes, he said, “That sounds like a lot of fun. Maybe I should come over and help?”

“Oh no, I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you, dear. We’ll see you at the wedding. I’m sure we can manage without you.” The silence blared tellingly over the line, and he blew out a quiet sigh.

“I insist.” He was so used to the non-arm-bending arm-bending by now that it didn’t even faze him. In fact, it was kind of impressive. She took it to the level of an art form. “I’ll be there in an hour tops.”

“This is why I always said you were my favorite,” she crooned, and a loud muttering sounded behind her until she amended, “Of course, it was more like a pair of favorites, with you and your sister tied.”

“Got it. Tell Q I’ll see her soon.” He ended the call and went back to reading his medical journal. Not because he didn’t notice Serena staring him down for details, but because he knew he was driving her crazy by not filling her in right away.

“What was that about?” A familiar pink flush lit her cheeks, and it was an effort not to fixate on where else he’d gotten that sweet color to bloom not half an hour before…

“Well?” she pressed.

“My grandmother wants me to come over and help with my cousin’s wedding stuff.”

“Sounds like a hoot,” she said with a wince.

“You don’t like stuff like that? Isn’t it kind of your job?”

“I deal with the stuff before the marriage.” She chewed on her grapefruit. “You know, the actual fun stuff.”

Silence stretched between them, like they both felt the weight of the rest of this conversation. He knew she wouldn’t broach the topic, and he didn’t know where to start himself.

It was true that they’d spent most of their weekdays apart. Serena had gone to the office, and he’d spent most of his days at the local VA hospital volunteering. Despite his every effort to stay away, his car seemed to steer itself back to her driveway every evening. And every evening, she was there waiting with a smile.

It wasn’t something they’d ever discussed—it just was. They watched crap TV, listened to music, played card games. And, of course, in the times in between, they’d be curled around each other, screwing like carpenters.

Now, faced with the prospect of this impromptu little party, he wasn’t sure what to do. It felt like she should be there with him, but it felt equally wrong to ask.

Like it would make it—and them—official. His obligation was up in another four months, but he had no intention of resigning his commission. Military for life. Bringing her to family functions would only make it harder for them both when he left.

She set her fork on her plate and stared at her own cell phone. They both knew it hadn’t made a sound, but she slid her thumb over the surface like she was unlocking a message. “I was supposed to go to the mall with Grace today,” she said, her tone airy.

“Sounds like fun.” And it let him off the hook. Now there was no decision to be made because she couldn’t go anyway. It was for the best.

“But she canceled,” Serena finished. She was careful not to look at him as she collected her plate and headed for the kitchen. She hadn’t offered to join him, but she didn’t have to come out and say it for him to know what she’d meant.

“That’s too bad,” he said evenly, tamping down the warmth that spread through him at the thought of having her with him all day. “If you don’t have anything to do and want to join me, I think Q could really use the help. It’s the first wedding she’s ever planned.”

“Sure. If Q really needs the help, I’ll lend a hand.” Serena nodded slowly and then shrugged. “But you know and I know that you owe me for this.” A wicked grin spread across her face, and he returned it before closing his magazine.

She could say what she wanted. She knew what it really was just as well as he did. A date. They were getting deeper by the second, and he knew he’d have to pull back soon…but not today.

“Get ready. We leave in ten.”

…

They left in twenty, but with the way Serena looked, it was well worth the wait. She looked like the world’s sexiest Beverly Hillbilly. Daisy Dukes clung to her toned thighs, and a red checkered shirt was knotted the slightest bit below her navel. Just low enough that he could peek at her tanned skin when she shifted from foot to foot in her weathered brown boots.

She stalked out to the truck and he raised his eyebrows.

“That’s your work getup?”

“Nothing that’s worth doing needs to be done in an ugly outfit.” She hopped into the vehicle without another look, then stuck her arm out the window and patted the side twice. “Now let’s get going. Time’s a-wasting.”

They spent most of the ride with idle chat about whatever junk show they’d watched the night before, but midway there, they both went quiet.

Finally, Serena asked, “So, what’s this luncheon going to be like? Lots of family or…?”

“I’m not exactly sure, but I think it will be pretty small. My cousin, Marcia, and her parents will probably be there. Maybe her brothers and sisters. Q, of course. And my grandmother.”

“Cool, cool.” Serena nodded and tapped her hand against the truck door. “Cooly cool cool. Cool.”

If this was her version of acting natural, he was glad she didn’t have to survive in the wild. He felt her tension in the air like a current, and even though he sympathized, he couldn’t help but think it was…well, kind of adorable.

Feisty Serena worried about the opinion of a little old lady. Imagine that.

“You know those cartoon mice from kids’ movies? Like, the ones that are motherly and knit and stuff?” he asked.

She quirked her mouth to the side but nodded all the same.

“Well, my grandmother is sort of like that. When you see her, you can sort of picture her darning socks and reading stories to kids while they fall asleep. She looks like she should be in an oatmeal commercial.”

Serena’s expression softened. “That sounds sweet.”

“She is. Aside from her cutthroat passive-aggressive guilting techniques. But don’t worry. She only uses those on family.” He waited a beat, then added, “And I think she’ll like you.”

“I’m sure I’ll like her, too,” she said with a pale semblance of the confident Serena smile he knew so well.

When they pulled up and trekked down the winding road to the barn, he found his sister on a precariously placed ladder, straddling the distance between it and a colossal wooden beam. The whole building was already festooned with fake flowers, but apparently Q was in charge of pinning on the finishing touches.

His grandmother sat a little ways off under a tree with a pitcher of lemonade and an ancient silk fan. They approached, and the old lady grinned sweetly as he leaned in to plant a kiss on her cheek.

“Well, don’t you get better looking every time I see you,” she crooned.

“Thanks, Gran,” he said.

“Not you. I’m talking about this one.” She held out her hands toward Serena, who returned her hug with unabashed confusion.

“I’m sorry, have we met?” Serena took the seat opposite the elderly woman and Bryan followed suit, if only to distract himself from the fact that Q was now scaling the beams like a deranged King Kong.

“No, not in person. I do apologize. This old mind”—she sighed—“sometimes it gets confused. No, dear, you don’t know me, but I feel like I’ve met you a dozen times. Quinn told me your name, and I nearly fainted. Your granny never shut her trap about you. She was always showing me pictures and letters.” She shook her head, smiling fondly. “She also told me about the time you put soap in her mouthwash when you were just a tot.” Gran let out a cackle. “You told her you wanted to make sure her teeth were extra clean. What a hoot!”

Serena’s confusion had quickly become wide-eyed surprise, and a soft sort of sadness played over her features. He wanted to reach for her hand, but restrained himself, opting instead to pour the group some lemonade.

“I was a little troublemaker,” Serena admitted with a rueful smile.

“You came by it honestly, I can tell you that much. Your grandmother was quite the upstart, too. And a very dear friend. We used to spend a lot of time together as girls. I admired the hell out of her moxie.”

“Did you ever go to the beach together?” Serena grinned and shot him a look from the corner of her eye. So apparently even touching stories about her grandmother couldn’t repress her mischievous tendencies.

Funnier than that, though, was when his grandmother nodded. “Oh yes, it was a favorite pastime of ours. Going to the shore and meeting young men.”

He nearly choked on his lemonade at that one but managed to keep it together.

“I’m surprised we haven’t met before,” Serena said.

“Oh, these old bones don’t stay in one place long enough for all that. I visited Agnes every now and then, but life took us different directions. You know how these things go. I was very sorry to hear of her passing, though, and I am very sorry for your loss.”

That quiet sadness passed over Serena’s face again for an instant and then it was gone, stowed away under her armor.

“Thank you,” she murmured, then sipped her lemonade and changed the subject. As she had with Q, Serena opened his grandmother up in a matter of minutes. Soon, they were chatting away about things he’d never thought to ask himself. Old boyfriends, what life had been like when she was young, the things she’d accomplished in her life.

With his family situation as fucked up as it was, he and Q had spent a lot of time with their grandmother, but he’d always seen her in the way that children see the people in their lives. As his gran. Never as a full-fledged person.

Now, every story brought a new warmth to the old lady’s smile, and try as he might it was hard not to credit Serena with that. What was it about this woman that had other people so automatically swept up? And what was it about her that kept him there? All his concerns were a million miles away while he watched her holding his grandmother’s hand and laughing.

He pushed from his chair and said, “I’m headed in to see what I can do. Do you ladies need anything?”

They shook their heads and he started for the house, following behind his now earthbound sister.

“You’re bleeding.” He caught up to her just as they walked through the wide barn doors. “Let me get the first-aid kit.”

She smeared the blood on her left arm and looked down at her hand. “Huh. How about that.”

He ushered her into the little side room with a standing sink and end table, a wide window taking up most of the wall space. He could still make out Serena and his gran lounging beneath the magnolia tree. It was sweet, and it made his gut clench in a way that was less than comfortable.

“It’s just a little cut,” Q muttered, dragging his attention back to the issue at hand.