Vindicated (24 page)

Randy rose from his knees to suck one of her nipples into his mouth. The combination of lips on her breast and fingers twitching deep inside her sent her over the edge. Her body exploded into ripples and shudders as her orgasm radiated from her womb into her limbs. Flashes of colors and lights patterned the back of her eyelids. He stilled his fingers, riding out the wave with her, until the last spasm left her lying boneless and quivering.

The man had some serious bedroom skills and the most talented lips and fingers she’d ever encountered. Their one-night stand had been hot but nothing like this. Had he been holding back then, or did the emotional connection between them ramp up the heat?

The sound of tearing foil brought her back to reality. The black boxer briefs were gone. Randy stood before her, naked and glorious, his long, thick erection proud between them. She lifted on an elbow and watched as he stroked a hand over his length, dark eyes glued to hers. On impulse, she sat up and took the condom from him, stretched it over the tip, and smoothed it down his shaft. A low moan came from his throat, possibly the most erotic sound she’d ever heard.

“Move back, baby,” he whispered. With one of his knees, he parted her legs and crawled up the mattress with her. The width of his shoulders and chest blocked out the overhead light as he lowered himself over her and positioned the head of his cock at her entrance. “Are you ready, Karly? Let me show you what I can’t say.”

The touch of his nose to her hair sent a shiver of lust through her already sated body. He drew in a deep breath, scenting her, nuzzling her neck and ear. The muscles in his back arched beneath her touch when she ran her hands up and down his spine. Desire and need warred against each other. Nothing mattered more than having him inside her and giving him pleasure. She jerked her hips up, eager to begin.

“Mmmm, so sweet, Karly,” he mumbled against her throat, cock nudging her entrance.

The moment their lips found each other, he shoved into her, sheathing himself to the root. The welcome intrusion brought a cry from her lips, swallowed by his greedy kiss. She felt every inch of him inside her, the steely length encased in velvet, ridged with veins. Despite her efforts to move, he held perfectly still, concentrating all his attention on her mouth.

The tender touch of lips, the bristly softness of his beard on her chin still carrying her scent, and the strength of his rock-hard thighs as he spread her legs wider made her fidget with impatience.

“Randy, please,” she said, tearing her mouth from his. “You’re killing me here.”

“Patience, babe. We’re going to do this at my pace, or it’ll be over before it starts.” With a feather-light touch, he brushed the hair from her forehead and pulled back to look at her. The uncloaked tenderness in his eyes brought a lump to her throat.

A shy smile twitched his lips. He began to move with slow, leisurely strokes, savoring her body. Pulling all the way out before thrusting all the way in with deliberate control, he gave her every inch of him. Instead of winding down, the unhurried pace ignited an aching burn deep inside her. She undulated her hips, following his lead, rising to meet him, enjoying the dance he created.

The muscles of his back rippled beneath her fingers. She smoothed her hands over his skin and down further still to feel the clench and release of his buttocks as he moved inside her. Their eyes locked and held for what seemed hours. He let her see the depths always so well hidden. This unexpected privilege touched her. She smiled and cupped his face. He turned his head and kissed her palm, shutting his eyes and shutting her out.

“You feel so good, Karly,” he said. “I can feel you clench around me when I try to pull out. It’s so hot, such a turn-on.” A guttural groan reverberated through his chest and into her breasts. “Your body was meant to have me inside it. You know that, right?”

And just like that he was back, his gaze cutting into hers with heated intensity while his body did unbelievable things to hers. She swallowed hard. How could she ever be the same after this? What if he wanted to walk away again like he’d done so many times before?

“I know, Randy. I just didn’t think you knew.”

“I’ve known from the day I picked you up after work that first time,” he said. One side of his mouth quirked in a sexy curl while he kept up his languorous rhythm, stoking the fire inside her. “I was too stupid to admit it.”

“You’re not stupid,” she said, cupping his face again and rubbing her thumb over his lips. “You’re sexy and smart and everything a girl could ask for.”

Oh, no.
Shit, shit, shit.
The bittersweet squeeze of her heart brought the sting of tears to her eyes as the L-word hovered on her lips. She bit her lower lip to hold it back. Panic filled her chest and stole her breath. The last thing a guy wanted to see during sex was tears, or to hear a confession of love. Randy, being averse to displays of emotion, would probably freak out and burn rubber in his haste to flee.

“I want you to come with me,” he whispered into her ear with tiny flicks of his tongue along the shell. Shivers of pleasure ratcheted through her spine. “Wrap those beautiful legs around my waist and hold on tight. I’m going to ride the hell out of you.”

The shift in rhythm brought a squeak of surprise from her. Randy shifted his weight to his hands, bracing himself over her, and pounded into her with passionate force and speed. On each thrust, his hips met hers with a meaty smack, and the headboard thumped against the wall. Pressure built inside her, burning and all-consuming. Randy’s groans were her undoing. This untamed, rough man was giving her everything he had and then some.

The knowledge that she could undo him sent her rocketing over the precipice. She lost all control. He fucked into her like an animal, and she responded in kind, raking his back with her nails, biting his shoulder, and screaming out his name. The coil tightened inside her until the pleasure bordered on pain.

“That’s it, Karly. Come for me. Now.”

The muscles in her thighs stiffened. Her toes curled. He shoved into her one last time, grunting and swearing, the tendons standing out in his neck from the strain. The jerk of his cock as he came launched a thousand white-hot spasms inside her. Intense bolts of sensation fired along her synapses, followed by wave after wave of pure bliss. She cried out, clutching his torso, and shuddered against him.

Randy held her tight until she stopped shaking then gently lowered her back to the bed. Still inside her, he buried his head in her neck and collapsed on top of her, chest heaving with exertion, breathing shallow and labored.

“Jesus,” he muttered as if to himself, his voice muffled in the pillow. “What the fuck.”

It wasn’t a question, and she didn’t try to respond, her brains too scrambled for speech. After a few minutes, he rolled to the side and threw a forearm over his face, shielding his eyes from sight while she tried to pull herself together. The mattress shifted beneath her as he stood and padded to the bathroom. She heard the toilet flush, followed by the sound of splashing water. He must have left the bathroom door open, and she found it oddly endearing.

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was his face. He stood beside the bed, still naked, and surveyed her with smug approval. Pleased with the results of his efforts, he crawled up the length of her and stretched out on his side at her left, head propped on an elbow. One of his fingers stroked along the length of her belly.

“I suppose you want to talk now,” he said.

“Can’t,” she managed to squeak.

“For real? Are you saying that I fucked the words right out of you?” His throaty chuckle brought a smile to her lips. “If I’d known that was all it took, I would’ve tried it sooner.”

“You got your point across,” she replied.

“I’m not so sure,” he mused, scratching his chin, his fingers rasping over the stubble. One of his hands gripped her hip and yanked her to him. His erection nudged her belly. “I think once more will really drive the point home.”

Despite Randy’s declaration and the evidence pulsing between them, he made no move to take her again. Instead, he continued to stroke his fingers along her belly, down the length of her thigh, and back again. Their eyes met and they shared a smile.

“If you want to talk then we need to do it now,” he said. “I’m in a rare sharing mood and it only comes once every century or so.”

“Okay, well…” She bit her lower lip, unsure where to begin, feeling pressured to say something before he changed his mind. “So what exactly do you do to make money? I know you can’t live on what you make at Felony.”

The trajectory of his fingertips halted for a second then started up again. “I tell you we can talk, and that’s what you ask me? Seriously?” He raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head. “I bounce at a few clubs here and there on my off nights from Felony. I help Skeeter out at his garage whenever he needs me. I’ve got a pretty successful bookmaking business, and I’m kind of a collection agent.”

“Collection agent? What does that mean exactly?” Through their conversation, she could barely keep her hands from him, stroking and touching every lean, muscular inch of his body, enjoying his presence in her bed.

“It means if you owe someone money and you find me on your doorstep, you’re in deep shit,” he replied with a self-deprecating snort. “And sometimes, I collect people. Bail jumpers, shit like that. That’s how I met your brother.”

At this last confession, her eyes flickered up to meet his, unable to hide her surprise. “Is that why you seem to know everyone in this city?”

“Pretty much. You’d be surprised how many so-called successful people like to gamble. Some of them are pretty high profile. Judges, attorneys, cops. And they’ll go to great lengths to keep it a secret. ” He closed his eyes as her fingers circled around his navel then tickled through the hair on his chest. One eye opened and leveled a dark gray stare on her. “Is that it?”

“Oh, no. I’m just getting started.” The ability to concentrate diminished with every stroke of his fingers along her inner thigh.

He slid the tip of one finger into her cleft with deliberate slowness. “Go on. I’m listening.”

“Well…” Her words escaped in a breathy whisper as his finger went deeper inside her. “I, um…why can’t you talk to me? I get that you’re a guy and macho and all that, but most of the time I have no idea what you’re thinking. If you’d give me a clue, it would make my life a whole lot easier.”

The rhythm of his finger stopped. He let out a long sigh and lifted his head to meet her eyes. “How can I possibly tell you when I don’t know myself?”

Chapter 47

Grayish-pink light filled the room when Karly awoke to the sound of Randy’s rhythmic breathing. His large body curved around her smaller one, one arm wrapped about her waist and a long leg thrown over hers. When she tried to wiggle out from under his arm, he tightened his grip and drew her backward into his chest. He snuggled his nose into her neck and bit her gently on the earlobe.

“No,” he murmured. “Stay here for another minute.”

The ticking of the alarm clock on her dresser sent a shiver of ominous foreboding down her back as if telling her that time was running out. She twisted in Randy’s embrace until she faced him and ran a gentle hand over the planes of his face lit by the half light. A smile twitched his lips as she brushed a lock of hair off his forehead. Relaxed and unguarded, he looked so much younger, and she realized she didn’t know how old he was. Twenty-seven or twenty-eight probably.

Even though he’d made love to her several times throughout the night, he never really answered her last question. Sure, she felt the affection in his hands and saw the emotion in his eyes, but she needed to hear the words. Maybe she was wrong to want it. The warmth of his touch and the fervent need in his lovemaking should be enough. It wasn’t. Until he verbalized how he felt about her, she would always wonder where she stood with him.

“Why?” he asked, eyes still squeezed shut, lashes fanned over his cheeks.

Geez!
Her heart skipped a beat at the impromptu question. Was he a fricking mind-reader as well?

“Why what?” she asked.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“It’s not every day that I have a sexy man-beast in my bed,” she replied, trailing her fingers down his chest to twine in the wiry curls there. “I need to take advantage of every minute.”

“Are you throwing me out?” With this question, one charcoal gray eye opened to a slit.

“No.” The questions raced around her head, begging to be spoken. She bit her lip and tried to concentrate on the feel of his arms around her instead of the nagging insecurity. “I was just wondering if this is another pump-and-dump or if you’re going to stick around this time.”

Oops. Shit.
There it was. The question popped out before she could stop it. Both of his eyes opened and narrowed in a scowl, furrowing between his brows. His arms slid away from her waist as he rolled onto his back with a dramatic sigh and stared at the ceiling. The muscle ticking in his jaw suggested she’d gone too far.

“Are you seriously asking me that after last night?” He put both hands behind his head.

“It’s a fair question. One that you never answered. I keep misreading your signals, so I need you to spell it out for me, nice and simple.” It was her turn for a dramatic sigh. She picked at the corner of the bed sheet, worrying the cotton edge between her fingers. “Last night? Was that a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing or a wow-I-really-care-about-you-and-want-to-keep-seeing-you kind of thing?”