Drunk Dial (Hard Core #1) (Hard Core Series) (19 page)

“Most definitely.” Since I was training, I was all about eating clean. But tonight, with Lacy, I planned to get very dirty.

I set the can on the nightstand before reaching for the button on my jeans and peeling them off slowly. Her tongue circled her kiss-swollen lips, making me even harder. I watched her watching me as I lifted my T-shirt, exposing the six-pack I’d worked so hard for. I was working out to beat my opponent, but the look in Lacy’s eyes reminded me of all the other benefits of being a beast in the gym.

“What about those?” she asked, her eyes darting to my black boxer briefs while she tipped her legs open. “Aren’t they coming off?”

My erection was already straining to break free, so I hooked my thumbs in the waistband, giving her a cocky smile when the evidence of my arousal became even more obvious. “You like what you see?”

“You have no idea how much,” she whispered, her voice hoarse.

I had some idea. No other woman had ever turned me on the way she did, and I hoped the feeling was mutual. She set me on fire in the sack. But the fact that she could light me up outside of it had me convinced she was
the one
.

“Hold on,” I said, my eyes flicking to the iron posts decorating my headboard. “And don’t let go.”

She sucked in a sharp breath but did as she was told. I knew that wasn’t easy for her. Lacy was used to giving orders, not taking them. But the fact that she trusted me with her body gave me hope that she would one day trust me with her heart too.

I climbed on top of her, supporting my weight with my hands as I looked into the most breathtaking eyes I’d ever seen. I could read everything she was thinking and feeling in those eyes: trepidation, excitement, anticipation. I claimed her mouth, even more turned on by the fact that she couldn’t touch me the way I knew she wanted to.

I had a pair of handcuffs in my nightstand for occasions such as this, but given Lacy’s history, I couldn’t imagine using them. At least not until I was one hundred percent certain that she trusted not only me, but her feelings for me.

“You’re gorgeous.” I’d told her before, but it had never been truer. With her disheveled dark hair spread over my crisp white sheets and her face flushed with excitement, she looked like the perfect combination of angel and devil. My fantasy come to life.

“So are you,” she said, her eyes hungrily tracing my chest before dipping to my erection, which I swear grew bigger and bolder from her attention.

I grabbed the whipped cream while she raised her hips, trying to make contact with the part of me she’d confessed was her very favorite. I hoped in time she would learn to love my heart even more than my body, but I would take what I could get. For now.

I leaned back, resting my weight on my calves as I took her in. She was humming with eagerness. I held the pointed tip above her taut nipples, licking my lips as I imagined how good she would taste combined with the sweet, creamy treat.

“We’re going to get your sheets all sticky.”

“It’s okay,” I said with a half-smile. “We would have anyway.”

After drawing a perfect circle around each of her rosy nipples, I leaned down and lashed the swirl with my tongue until she moaned, arching into my mouth. I licked her clean before drawing a line down her tight stomach while air seeped through her teeth.

“Jesus, York…”

I knew I was driving her crazy, but not half as crazy as she made me. This girl had been teasing and tantalizing me since the day I laid eyes on her, and I wouldn’t relax until I had some assurance that she wasn’t going anywhere.

I took my time licking her flushed skin, drawing circles and figure eights with my tongue until she was spotless… and breathless. I glanced at her hands, wrapped around the brushed iron. Her knuckles were turning white, giving me some hint as to how much she wanted to touch me.

“Hmm,” I murmured, pretending to consider my options as my eyes mapped her beautiful body. “Where should I use this next?”

“Oh God, please…” she cried, gyrating her hips. “Don’t torture me. I can’t wait to feel your mouth on me.”

She wasn’t the only one who was anxious. I was already salivating. I tilted the star-shaped point so it was mere inches from her swollen clit, and she whimpered before biting her lip to control the sound. But she couldn’t hide anything from me. I could see how much she wanted me. I could smell it in the air, clinging to her skin, and I couldn’t wait to taste it.

The sound of the dispenser filled the silence while the cream gathered, covering all of the delicate skin I couldn’t wait to kiss and lick.

“It’s cold,” she whispered, her eyes locking with mine.

“And you’re fucking melting it.”

This woman turned me inside out, making it hard to remember my own goddamn name sometimes, and I knew we’d only scratched the surface. I would soon be so lost to her there’d be no way out. But I wasn’t looking for an out. I was looking for a way in. Her heart. Her life. Forever.

“Please, York…”

Her quiet plea did me in, because I knew how hard it was for her to acknowledge she needed anyone or anything. The fact that I made her feel weak and needy and desperate, just as she made me feel, pointed to progress. But not enough. Maybe by the end of the night, after I’d worshipped every inch of her body, erasing every bad memory the worthless bastard who’d touched her before had imprinted, maybe then she’d admit she
needed
me in her life.

I lashed at her with my tongue, revelling in her taste and the sound of her cries as I nipped her clit before devouring her. Within seconds, her entire body was trembling as she thrashed, trying to hold on while letting go.

Kissing the inside of her thigh, I made my way up her stomach, pressing open-mouthed kisses on her warm, sticky skin. “Sweetheart,” I whispered, pressing my lips to her ear. “Are you on the pill?”

Her eyes widened in stunned silence while I reached for her hands, then kissed the insides of her wrists. “Yeah. Why?”

I knew this would be a huge step in our relationship, if she’d let me forgo the condom tonight. It would convey a level of trust I craved, but I didn’t want to pressure her. It had to be her decision.

“Lace,” I said, framing her face with my hands as I looked into her eyes, “I’m clean. I swear to you. I’ve never had sex without a condom, but with you…” I dropped my head to her shoulder, suddenly feeling vulnerable. “I want to feel as close to you as I can get. I want you to feel me. I want to fill you…” I nipped her shoulder. “I want to be a part of you.”

Her palms pressed into my shoulders, and at first I thought she was pushing me away. She sighed. “I want that too.”

“Are you sure?”

I’d never do anything that made her uncomfortable, but this was as big a deal for me as it was for her. I’d dated more than a few women who’d hinted at getting pregnant with my baby. The fact that I was willing to take Lacy at her word about the pill sent the message that she didn’t have to prove anything to me. I believed in her and what we had.

“Positive.” She kissed me passionately, tangling her tongue with mine while our bodies found each other.

“Last chance to change your mind,” I said as I probed her, waiting for her to seal the deal.

She did with a thrust of her hips and a wicked gleam in her eye. I held her hips as I inched into her, fighting the urge to thrust into her hard and fast the way I wanted to.

“Don’t hold back.”

The last thing I wanted was to hurt her in any way, but my body took over while my brain short-circuited at her quiet command. When I was fully seated inside her, I had the good sense to stop for half a second to make sure she was okay. Her nod of assurance answered the question I hadn’t asked.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” she said, sensing my hesitation. “I’m good.”

Though a part of me wanted to unleash all of the pent-up hunger that had built while watching her all night, imagining all of the things I wanted to do to her, I forced myself to ease into it for fear of hurting her.

Seemingly frustrated with the slow build, she lifted and pivoted her hips, drawing me deeper. She got that naughty little sparkle in her eye that said
, game on,
as she clenched me so hard I swore from the intensity. I finally pinned her hands above her head and gave her exactly what she wanted. Hard and fast.

I filled her completely, but nothing could compare to the way she filled me. She made me feel whole, complete, in a way I never had before. Not even winning a championship fight could make me feel the way making love to her did. Because that’s exactly what this was. Even though she made me lose control, I was still making love to her, saying with my body everything she wasn’t ready to hear me say with words. I loved this girl, and I wanted to tell her and show her the only way she would let me.

“Oh…” Her breath was coming in short bursts, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

I could tell she was close when I commanded, “Open your eyes. Look at me.”

She did as I asked, and as she came apart with my name on her lips, I saw everything she was too afraid to say. She was falling in love with me too. I knew it. I could sense it in the way she let go with me, feel it every time she touched me or looked at me. Her smile told me I made her happy, and making this girl happy was suddenly the most important thing in the world to me. For every time she’d been sad and scared and frustrated, I wanted to make her smile.

She was still pulsating, unintentionally clenching me in her tight heat, when I couldn’t take any more. I groaned as I flooded her while kissing her, pouring everything I had into her, wanting her to take all of me while giving all of herself to me.

I love you.
The words were burning the tip of my tongue, but I bit them back, breaking the kiss while our hearts seemed to beat as one, letting me know we were in sync, whether she was ready to admit it or not.

“Wow,” she said with a half laugh when we finally broke apart. “That was incredible.”

I curled my hand around her face, my eyes lingering on hers long enough to convey my adoration before I whispered, “You’re incredible, Lace.”

Lacy

Spending the night at York’s, in his arms, waking up to breakfast in bed, made me feel safe, secure, loved. And it had been a long time since I felt those things. Hell, if I were being honest with myself, I’d have to admit I’d never felt those things. Safety and security were never words I could associate with my home life when I was growing up. As much as my brothers loved me and tried to take care of me, they were just kids themselves, trying to figure out how to deal with the shitty hand life had dealt us.

And my marriage, if I could call it that, had always made me feel more insecure and uncertain than I’d ever been.

But with York, everything was different. He was different. He made me feel different. I wasn’t the same woman I’d been before I met him. He made me feel free to be myself, and I pushed fear to the back of my mind as I embraced this newfound feeling of happiness and possibility instead.

When I walked into our apartment, the next morning I was greeted by a huge bouquet of flowers that instantly made me smile. Ace must have given them to Rachel. While I tried not to get caught up in my friend’s love life, I was glad she’d finally met a man who appreciated her for the incredible person she was. Even if it meant my brother had to go on punishing himself for not realizing it sooner.

“Hey,” Rachel said, looking up from her eReader. “I don’t have to ask how your night was. Those came for you about an hour ago.” She smiled. “Beautiful, aren’t they?”

I couldn’t deny I was surprised. York didn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would buy flowers for no reason. But then, neither did Ace.

“Wow,” I said, walking slowly toward the massive bouquet of assorted blooms. “He must have called these in before I woke up, or when I was in the shower.” I picked up the pink card and read the message—
You’re Beautiful—
before setting it back down with a smile. “This is a first.”

“What is?” Rachel asked, tucking her legs under her as she set her eReader down and reached for her coffee.

“Getting flowers,” I said, sitting on the chair while she hogged the couch.

She frowned. “No one has ever given you flowers before?”

“Nope.” I guess I just wasn’t the kind of girl who made a guy think I’d appreciate romantic gestures. Though I certainly appreciated this one.

I fired off a quick text to York.
Thx for flowers. Beautiful.
My fingers hovered over the screen before I finally added a little heart emoji. God, I was getting so sappy.

Rachel’s expression was thoughtful when I finally looked up. I didn’t have to ask what she was thinking. I just knew.

“Don’t,” I warned, knowing she was going to tell me how perfect York and I were for each other.

“What?” she asked, all wide-eyed innocence. “I was just thinking how nice it is to see you happy for a change.”

I frowned, wondering if I’d wasted every day since I met her being miserable. I didn’t think so, but maybe she saw things more clearly, from the outside looking in, than I did. “For a change? What does that mean?”

“I couldn’t figure out what had happened to make you so sullen most of the time. Now that you told me about your douche of an ex, I get it. But the way you’ve been since you met York…” With a slight shake of her head, she said, “I don’t know. I’ve just never seen you like this. I like it. I hope the new Lacy sticks around for a while.”

She would as long as York was in my life, but there was no telling how long that would last. It was still too new to assume it would last. Forever was a word I’d stopped using a long time ago. Nothing lasted forever. Especially love and marriage.

My cell buzzed, and I could have sworn my heart stopped beating when I read his response:
What flowers?

“Are you sure those flowers are for me?” I asked Rachel, without looking up from my phone.

“Yeah, the delivery guy said they were. Why? York didn’t send them?”

I shook my head slowly, knowing if York hadn’t sent them, only one other person would have. Fuck! I was never going to be rid of that monster. Just when I thought I was finally getting my life back on track, he came back to remind me I’d never really be rid of him or free from my past.