Pulled Within (27 page)

I lifted my hand just long enough to take the phone off my shoulder, hit the button he had requested and place it on the seat. “It’s there.”

“I can hear it…and the difference in your voice.”

I was now rubbing circles over my clit. My back wouldn’t keep
still,
or my legs, or my right hand as it slid over the top and bottom of the steering wheel. I wasn’t sure if it was the position I was in, or if it was from driving and trying to keep my focus on the road while all
this was happening, but the build was coming much faster than normal. “I’m close. So
fucking
close.”

“Finger-fuck yourself now. Let me hear just how wet you really are.”

My ass moved down the seat, and I leaned back a little to give me more room. My finger slowly entered—just one. I didn’t try to
quiet my breathing or soften the moans. Hart needed to hear exactly what he was doing to me.

“Shit…you’re so fucking wet,” he said. “That sounds so
goddamn good.”

It was getting harder to concentrate on the road. We weren’t far from town; the street was beginning to weave and climb, unlike the
straight drive that had led us here.

“Hart…”

“I can hear how close you are. Add another finger.”

I inserted a second one, my slickness allowing it to pass in and out so easily. I could feel it dripping on my inner thighs and on the seat underneath me. I kept my eyes open, but it was hard. “Tell me I can come.”

My own fingers didn’t usually turn me on this much. They were mostly orgasms out of need; I wasn’t sopping, my back wasn’t
arching,
I wasn’t moaning so loud the back of my throat hurt…but all of that was happening right now. My body was on the verge. I had reached
the
place where I’d lost control of the build. I couldn’t feel my toes or the
pedal beneath them; my hands were numb; my legs tingled…

“Come for me…”

That was all I needed to hear.

Hart’s command brought out a spark that coursed through my
whole body like a lightning strike, starting in my lower half and
climbing
all the way to my fingers. It jerked me forward, my face looming
near the steering wheel, then it shot back down into my feet.

“Wow.” The word sounded like a moan.

I wasn’t sure if that had come out of my mouth or his. Maybe both.

I caught my breath and put the car in park. We had reached his house.

I felt the chilly rush of air as he opened my door, reached inside,
and pulled me out. My leggings were still around my ankles; my
fingers hadn’t even dried yet. Hart plunged them into his mouth and sucked my wetness off them while he ripped away my pants and carried me in with my legs straddling him.

We got only as far as the foyer before he pressed my back
against
the wall. My pussy ground against his jeans as my lips crushed his mouth. There wasn’t anything gentle about either of our movements. He held me with one hand, cradling me in his arm as he reached down with the other to unbuckle his belt and drop his pants. I stayed
just as busy, sliding out of my jacket and yanking off my scarf and sweater.

“I don’t have a condom,” he breathed into my neck. “We’ll have
to go into the bedroom to get one.”

“Don’t use one,” I whispered.

His body stilled. He pulled his face out of my neck to look up at me. “Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been so sure.”

He smiled, and then he entered me. I slammed against the wall and screamed out in surprise, even though I had been anticipating it. His size was something I was still getting used to again, but his power was something entirely new. He’d been much more gentle
and reserved all
those years ago when we were learning each other’s bodies. What he
was capable of now was much more intense than anything I’d ever had. Not just in the physical sense, though his strength and endurance were more than evident. It was an emotional intensity as
well—the way his hands
gripped me as if slipping through his fingers would cause him the greatest ache, the way he kissed me with so much passion. The
sounds he made
weren’t just moans of pleasure; they were cries filled with the
deepest longing, the most gripping desire.

It made me believe no one had ever wanted me more than he did.

“You were so submissive in your car, listening to every
command I
gave you, and coming with your fingers. Now I want to feel you do
it all again, but on my dick this time.”

My shoulder blades rubbed against the wall, chafing like it was
carpet. It wasn’t painful. It couldn’t have been.

Nothing about this moment could ever feel bad.

“I’m so close again.” I pressed my head into the wall and
released
everything in my mind, in my body. The tension within me
slackened, and I fell straight into the movement.

“Ah, shit…I just felt you tighten around me,” he said.

My hands were the only part of me that hadn’t relaxed. They gripped his neck, feeling the muscles and the strain as he plunged
his body into
mine. His fingers roamed my skin, pinching my nipples, then
rubbing my clit with such speed that I melted into him.

“I can’t stop what’s happening,” I breathed. “I can’t control it.”

His lips pressed against my ear. “Then don’t. Let me feel you.
Let me hear that fucking voice of yours.”

I gave him my voice, like thunder, letting the sounds match the feelings that were building inside me. And when they reached the
absolute peak
of pleasure, my body began to shudder and shake. I came down
from a place I didn’t think I could reach again so intensely, or so soon, after what had just happened in my car.

Hart had given that to me.

His body slowed, though his thrust lost none of its power. I
could
feel how close he was by the way he kissed me, how his muscles tightened
and wracked with spasms just like mine had. His pounding slowly
wound to a complete stop. He didn’t slide out of me or pull me off of
him. We stayed just the way we were, limp against each other. His
breath blanketed me, warming me as I glowed within his touch.

We were the calm after a beautiful storm that I never wanted to end.

WORKING FOR HART
was much different than I’d thought it would be. From the moment I arrived at the spa, people asked me
questions;
they depended on me, they relied on my knowledge to make their jobs easier and to help the construction progress. I wasn’t just holding Jack and Coke on a tray, smiling so people would drop more
dollars in my apron.

I was someone who was trusted to have answers.

Being on the jobsite meant I also got to spend more time with Shane. We had coffee together every morning as we talked about the timeline for the day, and he popped into my office whenever he had
a chance. I shared a workspace with Hart, so Shane was always careful to wait until we were alone before he brought up something personal. It was usually when he wanted to discuss Brady, to hear how I was doing,
and to find out if I was staying on track with my deposits. With Hart paying me even more than I had made at the casino, I was able to increase the amount I put in the bank. But as proud as I was for building my savings, the high quickly wore off when I would
remind Shane of the countdown.

Nine days
.

He knew I was holding myself together and it was probably only because of Hart.

And Hart wasn’t just dominating my thoughts and body; I was
also consumed with maintaining his work schedule. That was why it seemed really strange the morning he kissed me good-bye and said
he’d be gone all day for a meeting. His calendar completely
disagreed with
that; he was supposed to be on-site all day. It was even stranger
when
he left his keys on his desk, and a white Lexus picked him up at the
end of the driveway. I asked Shane about it. All he knew was the same car had picked up Hart the last time he’d disappeared for the day.

I needed to talk to Hart.

***

Hart sent a text later, saying he’d be home around eight. It was well past ten before he walked through the door. I was on the couch, and the TV was on, but I had no clue what was showing on the screen. I hadn’t been able to concentrate on it. Too many things were
running through my head, my thoughts rushing back and forth.

Back and forth
.

“Do I need to worry about where you’ve been?” I blurted out. He hadn’t even set down his messenger bag or taken off his jacket. I
didn’t care. The fear and anxiety had been eating away at me for hours, and I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

He looked surprised. “Why would you worry?”

I’d been cheated on before by that freaky fuck I’d dated, though I
hadn’t learned about the other girl until after I had already dumped him. Apparently my level of freaky hadn’t been enough for him. There had been signs, which I’d ignored. I wasn’t going to do that again. Not when there was so much strangeness about today. Hart
hadn’t told me
who he was leaving with, or that he was leaving with anyone at all.
He
hadn’t even called to say he was going to be back later than eight.
The
fact that he could stand just a few feet away and glare at me like I
was the crazy one for thinking this only got me more worked up.

“Don’t make me feel stupid, Hart. You were gone all day when there was
nothing on your schedule
. You didn’t answer your phone
when
I called you at lunch, and you never bothered to call me back. And according to your text, you should have been home over two hours ago.
So where the hell have you been?” If he made me ask the obvious question, I would hate him for it.

He moved over to the back of the couch, clutching the edge. “I
was
in a meeting, Rae. The only events I put in my work calendar are
things that are related to the spa.”

A meeting that wasn’t work-related…

“So why didn’t you tell me about it?”

He sighed. I could see how tired he was, the way his body
slouched
and his eyelids drooped. I didn’t care. I needed answers before I’d
even consider letting up.

“I didn’t have time,” he said. “It was scheduled at the last minute.”

“No, it was scheduled at the
first
minute…you left before I even had a sip of my coffee.”

He walked to my side of the couch and sat in the spot next to me. I could tell he wanted to pull me into his arms. He didn’t, which was smart of him since it wouldn’t have gone over well. “You’re
making a bigger deal out of this then there needs to be.”

My thoughts began flowing onto my tongue. They were going to
be heard at some point, anyway. There was no reason to keep holding them in. “Please don’t lie to me. If there’s someone else, just
tell me and
I’ll pack my things and get out. I have nothing to offer you—I don’t have money like you, I don’t have your education or your career. I don’t
—
”

“Hey…” He reached forward, and I flinched. He kept moving
slowly.
Carefully. “I’m going to wipe the tears from your eyes
—
just your
eyes,
nowhere else.” Ever so softly, the tips of his fingers landed on the
bottom of my lids and caught the drops before they fell.

His warning suddenly filled me with sadness. I hated that he had to tell me before he touched any part of my face. And that he
touched me cautiously, like I was some damaged, wilted girl, rocking herself in a corner while a pair of clean, safe hands dragged her out into the sun.

Back and forth
.

I guess I really was that girl.

What I wanted to blurt out, to scream, to sob until he understood was that there were only
nine days
left until my brother’s birthday. But I couldn’t tell him that. He’d look at me like I was vile and disgusting.

I’d rather he consider me broken than repulsive.

“There isn’t anyone else, Rae,” he assured me. “You should already know that and be able to feel it. I haven’t been able to keep my hands off
you since you came back into my life.” He kissed below each eye
where it was still damp. “You have nothing to worry about. I’m so crazy about you.”

I didn’t know if I was truly acting nuts and overreacting over nothing or if my overly-emotional state was entirely related to the
next
nine days
. It was likely I was taking my terror out on him. It horrified me that I couldn’t tell the difference.

His hands moved to my knees, and he leaned close to my face. I
tried my best not to flinch or pull away. “As for everything else you listed off,” he said, his tone soft and even, “do you really think I care whether or not you have money? Or if you went to college? Those
are
superficial things that have nothing to do with how I
feel
about you.” His lips brushed over mine. “I’m following my feelings, and I’m
happiest when I’m with you. I always was…I always am.”

The tears only flowed faster; I couldn’t stop them. His honesty
was
just what I needed to hear. It took me by surprise and made me
wonder how I could possibly deserve someone like Hart.