Need You Tonight (14 page)

She huffed a sound of disbelief, unable to stop herself.

His hand tightened around hers. “From the moment you walked into my restaurant, I
couldn’t stop watching you and imagining what you’d feel like against me. I’m not
easy on a woman. Some size four twig would break under what I enjoy. Your body is
built for the things I crave.”

He moved her hand away from him and guided her fingers to the curls between her thighs.
His fingers intertwined with hers and stroked over her clit with slow, deliberate
motion, his thick warm fingertips alternating with her cold ones. The sensation had
her biting her lip and tilting her head back. “Kade . . .”

“So if you insult your body again or try to hide it from me, I’ll turn you over my
knee and redden that pretty round ass of yours. Understand?” He pressed his fingers
inside her and she gasped both at the feel of it and the threat.

“You’d sp-spank me?” she asked, having trouble grabbing onto words as he pumped his
fingers inside her with slow precision.

He chuckled softly against her ear. “Now who’s the stutterer?”

“Cocky bastard,” she whispered, no ire behind it.

“Yes, and a kinky one—spanking included.”

She lowered her forehead to rest on his shoulder, needing him for balance. His admission
had her blood moving faster, fear of the unknown warring with ravenous curiosity.
“
How
kinky?”

He cupped the back of her head with his free hand and touched his lips to her ear.
“So kinky that there’s probably not a fantasy you can tell me that I’m not willing
to make happen for you. And a thousand filthier ones that you haven’t even considered
yet that I can introduce you to.”

Guh
. Her belly dropped to her toes and a hefty dose of
oh-God-YES
dumped into her bloodstream. Fantasies. Lord, she’d harbored many over the years,
illicit images weaved late at night while reading naughty romance novels and lying
awake next to her uninterested husband. Secret desires filed away in the darkest recesses
of her psyche and never spoken aloud. Things Doug would’ve called her a slut for even
considering.

Kade must’ve noticed her reaction because she could hear the smile in his voice at
his next words. “The question is . . . where do we start?”

THIRTEEN

Kade could feel the shudder go through Tessa’s body at his words, and he had to hold
back the groan of satisfaction. There were nerves there, anticipation. Her pulse was
beating hard at her throat. But he didn’t sense fear in her. He knew he was coming
on strong by making her strip out here. She wasn’t his submissive. She probably wouldn’t
even know what that meant. But he needed to do something to push her boundaries to
see how she’d react. He had no intentions of letting this be their last night together,
but he had to make sure she wasn’t turned off or freaked out with how he liked things.
Because he could make a lot of accommodations, but smothering his dominance wasn’t
an option. He’d tried in the past, trying to convince himself it was something he
could take or leave. Epic fail.

But now he could breathe a bit. Tessa had protested out of surprise at first, but
as soon as he’d assured her he’d keep her safe, she’d complied. And when he’d mentioned
fantasies, she’d gone so hot and wet that he’d damn near spread her out on the hood
of the car for a taste. But it was way too chilly for a Whitesnake video reenactment.
He needed to get her inside.

He pulled a strip of silk from his back pocket. “Lift your head. I’m going to blindfold
you.”

She raised her head, her gaze startled, but she didn’t move away when he fastened
the black strip over her eyes. She reached out and gripped his biceps. “I feel like
I’m going to fall.”

“Shh, take a breath. The first few seconds can be disorienting, especially in unfamiliar
surroundings, but trust that I have you and won’t let you hurt yourself.” He moved
to her side and grasped her elbow. “Now walk.”

Tentatively, she put one foot out in front of her and tapped as if to make sure a
trap door wasn’t going to open up. Kade bit back a smile. Soon, he hoped to have her
trusting him so much that she’d sprint ahead blindfolded if he told her to. But he
knew that’d take time and he still didn’t know if she’d agree to see him for more
than a two-night stand, so he let her do her little herky-jerky steps forward while
he kept her steady. When he guided her inside the cabin, he made sure she was holding
onto the door frame, and then stepped back a moment to soak in the sight of her. The
cabin was still dark and the moon backlit her form, highlighting every curve in silver.

Never in his life could he have imagined that the girl he’d so lusted over—maybe even
thought he loved at one point—would be beautifully naked, waiting for his command,
in the same place she’d spurned him after he’d tried to kiss her so long ago. It was
a gift he wouldn’t take for granted. If a teenage Kaden Fowler had hopped into Doc
Brown’s DeLorean to visit the future, he would’ve never made it back because this
vision would’ve made his brain implode.

Tessa reached out to find the other side of the doorframe. “Where are you?”

“Just looking at you, Tess,” he said, taking her hand again and leading her all the
way inside. He pulled open the curtains to let some moonlight flood in. “And wondering
how best to rechristen this cabin.”

“I have a few ideas,” she said, a shy undercurrent in her voice.

“Tell me.”

She rubbed her lips together. He got the impression that she wasn’t someone who was
used to voicing her needs or fantasies. That would change quickly if he had anything
to do with it. He wanted to know every sordid thought that had ever gotten her hot.
But to her credit, despite her obvious qualms, she answered him. “When we used to
come here, even after I’d promised myself that I’d only think of you as a friend,
I’d catch you watching me with this look that . . . I don’t know . . . it was so intense.
I remember wondering what you would do to me if I gave you the green light. And even
though I knew it was wrong, part of me was desperate to know. I’d lie in bed at night
and imagine me saying yes to you, imagining what your hands would feel like on me.
I’d . . . touch myself and imagine it was you doing it.”

Christ
. The words were painting a picture straight out of his teenage spank bank. How many
times had he gone home with the same thoughts? Tess saying yes, Tess choosing him,
Tess being his. He was surprised he hadn’t developed a chafing problem with as much
as he was jerking off that year. “I would’ve given you whatever you wanted.”

She squeezed his hand. “I know. I used you as my emotional crutch. You were more my
boyfriend than Doug was after a while, but I wouldn’t grant you the right to act as
such. You got the tough stuff without the fun benefits. So maybe the best way to rechristen
this cabin is to right that wrong. You have all the green lights you want now. Take
what I wish I would’ve given you back then.”

“Tess,” he said, pulling her against him, an ache in his gut . . . and decidedly lower.
“Are you giving me your virginity?”

She gave him a heartbreakingly sweet smile. “Second time’s a charm.”

He pulled off her blindfold at that, needing to see her eyes. “I wouldn’t have known
what to do with you back then. But I would’ve done my best to make it good for you.”

“I know,” she whispered, her gaze a little wistful.

“If we hadn’t had consequences back then and we were back here for a study session,
what would you have done?”

She tugged his hand and led him toward the couch. The furniture had changed, but the
arrangement was the same, like stepping back in time, the vortex sucking him through
the portal. When they reached the couch, she guided him to sit. Though he wasn’t used
to being directed to do anything, in this situation, he was more than happy to oblige.
The woman had definite intent in her eyes, and he loved a woman on a mission.

“You always sat in this corner with your knee hiked up,” she said, her voice timid
in the dark. “And I couldn’t help but . . . look. And when some moment would pass
between us, you’d grab one of the throw pillows and put it over your lap to prop your
book up. I knew why you did that. You weren’t always quick enough, so I saw your reaction
to me.”

He chuckled, remembering the embarrassment of his defiant hormones. “I was a seventeen-year-old
virgin. The thing had a hair trigger around you.”

She looked down at him, her teeth dragging over her bottom lip. As if on cue, Kade
could feel his cock hardening. “One of my fantasies back then was to take the pillow
away and ask if I could touch you. I’d heard my friends talking about the things they
did with their boyfriends. I wanted to know how that would be with you.”

His breath left him for a moment. If she’d asked that back then, he probably would’ve
proven that death by spontaneous combustion existed. Boom. Done. Here lies Kaden Fowler.

She lowered herself to the ground, settling herself between his spread knees. Her
gaze tracked down to his erection. “Can I touch you, Kade?”

He groaned at the soft plea in her words and pulled his belt all the way out. “Show
me exactly what you wanted to do.”

She wet her lips and hell if his dick didn’t flex toward her at the sight. She reached
out with pink painted fingernails flashing in the moonlight and tugged down his unfastened
pants to his thighs along with his boxer briefs. The cool air of the cabin swirled
over him, sending goose bumps along his skin. After getting his pants down past his
knees, she took him in her hand, and the softness of her touch nearly pulled another
groan from him.

She glanced up at him, all big eyes and long lashes. “Tell me how you like it. I wouldn’t
have known then, but I’m not much better off now.”

Kade ran a hand over her head. Usually, he made a point to be with experienced women.
They knew what they were doing and were more comfortable with his brand of sexuality.
Plus, nothing was hotter than a woman who absolutely owned her desires without apology.
But he couldn’t help but be endeared by Tess’s unsure approach. It called to the dominant
in him, made him want to tutor her all over again but in things far more base than
Shakespeare. He threaded his fingers into her hair, the strands like silk around his
knuckles, and guided her forward. “Take my cock in your mouth, beautiful. And keep
your eyes on me, I want to watch you as you suck me.”

She shuddered in his grip, her eyes going a little wide at first then dreamy as she
obeyed his command and lowered her head. Her gaze stayed on his as her glossed lips
parted and slid over the crown. His toes flexed in his shoes at the feel of her tongue
tentatively flicking along the bottom side of his shaft.

“Fuck,” he muttered, his teenage ghost possessing him for a moment and stealing his
normally unshakeable restraint. He grasped the base of his cock, taming the urge to
rush, and guided her down further. “That’s right. You can’t do anything wrong, baby.
That feels amazing.”

Apparently buoyed by the encouragement, she grew more bold with her tongue and hands.
Before long, she was working him over with steady determination and enthusiasm, bathing
him in slow, decadent heat and making his eyes want to roll back in his head. But
he wasn’t going to look away from her and break the connection.

Her gaze stayed fixed on his even though he could tell it was a struggle to maintain
the intense eye contact. He could see the insecurity there, the exposed vulnerability.
The man she’d trusted had hurt her more deeply than she was letting on. There was
a kicked puppy vibe that hadn’t been there when he’d known her before. She’d always
had cracks in the veneer. Even by high school, she’d lived a harder life than anyone
should be expected to. But this was different. It was almost as if she was just waiting
for him to tell her that she was bad at this, that it wasn’t doing anything for him.
It’d been the same when he’d offered her the job—the knee jerk lack of confidence.
She couldn’t see her own strength. It made him want to gather her into his arms and
rewind all those years they’d been apart. Change the course.

But before his mind could run away with him, Tessa’s hand slid beneath him, cupping
his balls, and her lips kissed the fingers he still had around the base of his cock
as she took him deep. Sparkling threads of pleasure raced up his spine. He tilted
his head back with an expelled breath, finally breaking the eye contact. “Jesus, baby,
you’re better at this than you think. Touch me wherever you want.”

She seemed to appreciate the compliment and used her free hand to follow the slick
path back up as she moved toward the tip again. He peeked down through hooded lids
as she licked at the head with long strokes. The move nearly undid him because in
that moment, he got the real sense that she wasn’t just doing this to make him feel
good. She was thoroughly enjoying the exploration.

“You’re like a kid with a new toy,” he teased. “Trying to see how many noises you
can get me to make?”

She gave him a pleased little grin. “Three groans and a few sighs so far, if I’m not
mistaken. I like that I can do that to you.”

“Mmm, someone likes her own slice of power,” he said, knowing the dominant in him
should probably mind but only getting more turned on by the thought. He’d always preferred
submissives who were naturally sweet and yielding. But the idea of Tessa trying to
wrest a bit of the power and challenging him made his blood race and his cock harder.
Maybe he wouldn’t mind that kicked puppy showing some teeth.

She kept her hand on him, stroking slow and steady, but looked up at him. “You made
me lose it the other night. I want to do the same for you.”

“Think you can make me come, Tess?” he challenged, fingering one of her blonde locks.
“I’m pretty good at holding out these days, especially when I put my mind to it.”

A little break in confidence flickered over her face but then she tilted her head.
“What do I get if I can make you?”

“Besides a dose of protein?” he teased.

She sniffed.

His mouth curved. More challenge and fire trying to break through her surface. He
so wanted to see what happened if it did. “You get to give the next command. Whatever
you’d like me to do to you, I’ll be game.”

“And if you win?” she asked.

“Another date. In public.”

Wariness moved over her expression, but she nodded. Agreement made. “Can you move
closer to the edge of the couch? I need your pants further down.”

“Whatever you need,” he said, in a tone that he hoped conveyed utter confidence even
though he wasn’t so sure. Tessa’s continued stroking already had his blood burning,
and he couldn’t remember ever seeing anything quite as sexy at his feet than a naked
Tessa McAllen.

He scooted to the edge of the couch, and she tugged his pants down to his ankles.
She moved closer and spread his knees wider, then she was lowering her head again.
The moment her hot, wet mouth enveloped him, he knew he’d made a sucker’s bet, but
couldn’t find it in himself to care. What she’d done tentatively the first time bloomed
into full assertiveness, her mouth and tongue working him to within an inch of his
control. Her fingernails scored lightly over the tender skin of his testicles and
his teeth ground against each other. Sweat broke out on his lip.

He grabbed the edge of the couch cushions, trying to focus. Control over his own release
was usually easy for him. He fed off the anticipation and the delayed gratification
for him and his submissive. That usually created the biggest payoff for both. But
Tess was lobbing grenades at his defenses. When her fingers crept lower, beneath his
scrotum and to the sensitive skin of his perineum, he let out a strangled grunt that
revealed how badly he was tanking in this challenge.

As if sensing victory, Tess took his cock as deep as she could and then circled his
back entrance with the tip of her finger, moving her tongue in the same motion along
his length. Her touch was still unsure, as if she’d never tried that before but thought
it could be a good idea, and the innocence of it pulled the ripcord on his control.
His back arched at that and white split his vision. He moaned her name and gripped
her head in his hands, holding her hard as he pumped his hips and emptied inside her.