Fighting Love (Love to the Extreme) (20 page)

him, he delved inside and discovered the sweet, addicting taste of Julie.

And all rational thought fled.

Raking one hand into her hair, he knotted his fingers at her nape and tugged her head back as he shifted

onto his knees. He moved his body between her legs, grunting his approval against her lips when she

spread them without coaxing. As he devoured her mouth, his hand tightening farther in her hair, holding

her immobile, his to do with as he pleased. He loved that fucking thought. Encouraged by her mewls of

pleasure, he shifted closer, pressing her into the couch cushions. His cock stood proudly forward against

the silk of his bottoms, making contact with her belly.

She gasped into his mouth as she slid her palms around his waist to grip his ass, drawing him closer

into her. The feel of his cock flattening onto her stomach made him groan with desire.

He wanted her under him.
Now
.

Blind with need, he ripped his mouth from hers and shifted backward. Grasping her behind the calves,

he dragged her down until she was flat on her back, hair fanned out around her face. Lips swollen from his

kisses. Desire for him burning in her eyes.
Breathtaking
.

As he positioned her gorgeous thighs on either side of his hips, he scooted closer on his knees, easing

her legs wider apart. But not enough for him. Nowhere near enough.

He growled his disapproval. “I want you open, like this.” Pulling her knees up and out, he moved

forward until his pelvis was pressed right against her center.

Her gasped “Yes!” drove him wild. He pushed her thighs wider still, showing her what he wanted—her

completely revealed to him. Nothing hidden. The pink satin–covered mound beneath him made his mouth

water. “Yeah. Like that. I want to see. Everything.”

He rubbed his palms up and down the insides of her thighs. Her lips parted on a moan as she arched up.

Watching her respond to him shoved him into oblivion.

“You like that? What about this?”

He slid his rigid cock against the place he wanted so badly to invade, grinding his teeth at the friction.

When she shuddered and moved helplessly against him, he could almost feel himself pounding into her. He

wanted it. Her. He ground harder against her, right into that blissful valley between her legs.
Fuck. Yes.

Running his hand up her stomach, he engulfed one breast in his palm, pinching the erect nipple

between his fingers. She cried out, loudly this time.

The sound snapped him out of his sexual stupor.

He froze, staring down at her, horrified at what he’d done.

She blinked up at him. “W-Why did you stop?”

He jerked up off the couch, backing away.

Damn! Damn, damn,
damn
.

“Tommy. What’s wrong?”

He was treating her like all the rest. Damn it! He didn’t know
how
to make love. He didn’t know how to

love at all. All he knew how to do was fuck.

Forget the leaving her afterward fear. They would never get to that point. He’d make damn sure of it.

Julie deserved better than him.

She deserved a man who truly knew how to love her.

Chapter 10

The next morning, Julie cracked open her bedroom door and sneaked into the living room, trying not to

wake Tommy. She’d gone ahead and taken a sick day.

She and Tommy needed to have a long talk, and she wasn’t giving him the chance to escape her.

After his freak-out last night, he had locked himself in his bedroom, leaving her to go back to hers,

where she’d proceeded to lay awake mulling over what had happened between them, wavering dangerously

between hurt and puzzlement.

Wondering why he’d looked so horrified before he’d run off.

He’d been totally into what was happening, of that she was certain. Heck, he’d been more than into it.

The man who’d tugged her on her back then compelled her legs apart when she hadn’t parted them wide

enough for him had been overwrought with lust. Tense lines had grooved his face as he’d rubbed himself

against her over and over. And his cock—how big and hard could a man get? The thought of it thrusting

inside her made her shiver with wicked desire.

Just the small sample of him she’d had last night convinced her that sex with Tommy would be dirty-

good, raw, and totally exposed. And it would be like nothing she’d ever experienced before.

Dear God, she had never been more turned on in her life. She’d almost found release from the sheer

intensity of him.

That thrilled her as much as it frightened her.

The fear was coming from a place of self-preservation. She’d already lost her heart to the man, but what

if she lost her body, too? She may not have found anyone to replace Tommy in her heart, but she did have

physical needs she succumbed to from time to time. And her encounters had been…satisfying. At least

she’d thought they’d been.

Funny, until last night, she had always believed she’d had pretty good sex. Apparently not. Tommy had

made her realize how very wrong she was, and he’d only just begun to demonstrate what he was capable

of. Once she’d had him inside her, she had no doubt her definition of good sex would be permanently

altered, and anything else would pale in comparison.

What was worse? Winding up alone and remaining ignorant of absolutely amazing sex, so that mediocre

sex would still be good enough? Or winding up alone, knowing how mind-blowing sex could be…and

never finding it again?

Jeez, talk about a crap choice.

As much as she would love to think of her and Tommy having something more than they’d always had,

it was hard to envision it actually happening. She’d spent so long seeing their relationship for what it really

was, not how she
wanted
it to be, that she wasn’t blinded by the romantic notion that just because this

unexpected mutual attraction had blossomed, they’d find a happily-ever-after.

She wished it would be that easy. But she’d seen too much, experienced too much with the man to be so

naive. They lived two very different lives, and she really couldn’t see him being happy settling down.

Maybe he’d prove her wrong…but it was hard to overlook the glaring evidence of the past fifteen years

since he started dating.

Sighing, she fed the dogs, then made herself a bowl of oatmeal and eased down on the couch to eat. A

few minutes later, she heard the click of Tommy’s door opening, then the pad of his feet on the hardwood.

Her stomach fluttered in both excitement and anxiety. How was he going to act toward her now? She would

just die if he looked at her with disdain.

When he stepped into the living room, he froze, and she saw him swallow. Not the best reaction, but at

least he didn’t do an about-face and go back to his room.

“Morning,” she said.

“Morning,” he mumbled, then hurried toward the kitchen.

She let out a frustrated breath. “Tommy?”

He stopped but didn’t turn to look at her, and her frustration grew. She didn’t know how to handle this

Tommy—how to talk to him, or even begin to. It was like she was dealing with an entirely different man

than the one she’d known most of her life.

And she was, wasn’t she? The man in the room with her now
wasn’t
her friend. He was a stranger, and

she hated the distance between them.

“I think we should talk,” she said.

A long moment of silence followed before he asked, “Are you feeling better?”

“Why?” she hedged.

“Thought I’d look at a couple of rentals today. My insurance check arrived. Think it’s time to move

on.”

Okay. Wow.

So now he was in a rush to move out? “Y-You’re not going to stay home with me?”

“Looks like you’re moving around fine.” He still wasn’t looking at her.

Without another word, he disappeared into the kitchen.

Julie chewed on her lip. Maybe she should just let him go. Obviously he was still freaked out about last

night and wasn’t looking to repeat it. Maybe if he moved out and they got back to their normal routines,

their friendship could come out of this unscathed. But as she listened to him rummage through the

refrigerator, she realized she wasn’t ready for him to go. Not yet. She still had too many questions left

unanswered, and she needed him
here
to get those answers.

Unfortunately, he seemed hell-bent on getting out of the house today. How could she get him to stay?

An idea formed, one so manipulative it made her feel totally guilty for even thinking it. She never

stooped to such tactics. But he wasn’t going to stay willingly.

Feeling like a heel, but backed into a corner, she waited until she heard his footsteps approach the living

room again, then she started to stand. Making it halfway up, she let out a pained, “Oh!” and grabbed her

lower back.

A crash sounded behind her, then Tommy was at her side, his hands on her arms. As he helped her sit

back down, he crouched by her knees, his worried gaze scanning over her. “Are you okay? Shit. Did I hurt

you last night?”

Only my feelings
…

The concern pinching his face made guilt slam hard into her, but she shook her head. “Things didn’t get

far enough to hurt,” she said drily. She didn’t have to feign a grimace when he ignored her pointed remark.

“No, I just tried to do too much this morning. Help me put my feet up before you go.”

Eyes jerking up to hers, he stared at her like she was nuts. “I’m not going anywhere now.”

“Tommy. It was only a little pinch. I’m okay. I just tried to get up too fast. Please don’t let me stop you

from—”

“I
said
I’m not going anywhere. Let me grab the back ointment and some meds. I’ll be right back.”

As he left the room, she couldn’t stop a small smile. She didn’t normally get that devious, but for a

novice, she’d handled that one perfectly. And she’d gotten exactly what she wanted. Tommy was staying.

Even better, he seemed to be somewhat back to his old self.

Maybe now he’d chill out and explain to her what had happened last night. There was no denying he’d

wanted her, but she couldn’t come up with an explanation for why he had stopped.

After he returned, he placed the tube on the coffee table and helped her turn over. A shiver went

through her as she remembered this was just how it had all started last night. When Tommy had slipped his

hand over her butt cheek, she’d been lost.

The repeat performance she was secretly hoping for, however, did not happen. He had that lotion on

her and her shirt pulled back down within five seconds. She frowned into the pillow.

She rolled back over and he tried to push a muscle relaxer into her hand. Waving him off, she shook

her head. “No. Just the anti-inflammatory.”

He nudged both pills at her. “You need this, too.”

Did he want her knocked out? “I’m fine. I don’t want it,” she said more forcibly.

That muscle went to town in his cheek and she realized he
was
trying to knock her out. Probably

cursing his decision to stay, if she were going to be awake. He really didn’t want to talk.

Ignoring the muscle relaxer, she took the anti-inflammatory, popped it in her mouth, and washed it

down with some water. Then an awkward silence fell over the room.

“Would you please sit down?” she said.

He glared at her. Then went and sat on the other end of the couch, his entire body rigid.

Well, the old Tommy had been here all of thirty seconds before the insufferable new one decided to

return. She suppressed an exasperated groan. How could a man she’d known for so damn long have this

annoying, obstinate…
male
…inside him and she not be aware of it?

Don’t be stupid, girl.

Fine, she
was
aware that Tommy could be like this. Just not with her. Not until sex had reared its ugly

head between them. And she hated every damn second he shut her out.

When she couldn’t handle any more of his unyielding silence, she ground out, “Are we ever going to

talk about last night?”

That’s all it took. He shot off the couch and headed toward the hall.

“Tommy Sparks!” she yelled, furious at his refusal to communicate. “You better stop right where you

are if you know what’s good for you.”

His back to her, he halted.

“I’m
not
someone you can ignore! I’m your best friend. I deserve better than this kind of treatment!”

There was a long pause. “You’re right. You do. I
know
this, and yet I still treated you just like I do

everyone else. Which is exactly why I’m leaving.”

Stunned by his statement, she stared after him as he disappeared into the hallway. What the hell did he

mean by that? He
didn’t
treat her like everyone else. She was different. Always had been. Just as he’d

always been different for her. Their relationship was special. And it really irked her that he’d just lumped

her in with every other person in his life.

Ten minutes later, he stalked back into the room, dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, a duffel