Attraction: (A Temptation Series Stand-alone) (The Temptation Series Book 4) (19 page)

‘What are you doing?’ I giggled.

‘Taking you to bed. I’m not finished with you yet.’

He gently laid me down on the crisp white linen of the
suite’s king-sized bed and then crawled up and over me, placing a soft kiss to
my forehead, my nose, my lips and my neck. I hummed my appreciation, closing my
eyes and savouring his attentive lips.

My moment of appreciative bliss came to an abrupt halt when
Derek began to unbutton my jeans. ‘Don’t,’ I blurted, stopping his hands with
my own and propping myself up on my elbows. ‘I don’t do red-sex.’

He raised an eyebrow then shook his head with amusement. ‘I
don’t do it, either, baby, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you sleep in
your jeans.’

Relaxing, I nodded. ‘Good,’ then lay back down and let Derek
remove my pants.

‘Your body is gorgeous, Carly,’ he said with an appreciate
smile as he slowly ran his hands up the outer sides of my legs. ‘Do you
work-out?’

Do I work-out? Pfft, I work out how not to work-out.
That’s how Carly works out.
‘No. I don’t. I’m just lucky.’

He laughed and shuffled up my body to straddle my hips and
then began to blissfully knead my breasts, his masterful hands working my chest
in a tantalising fashion. I closed my eyes, arched my back and threw my hands
above my head, reaching to grab hold of the edge of the mattress.

‘I swear to fucking god that these tits are the nicest I’ve
ever seen,’ he praised.

Opening one eye, I couldn’t help smiling boldly. ‘Really?’

‘Oh, yeah.’

‘The nicest you’ve ever seen?’ I asked with a seductive, yet
overjoyed drawl.

He nodded and leaned forward to take my nipple into his
mouth. ‘Definitely the nicest,’ he mumbled.

I laughed and closed my eyes once more, realising that
non-sex was not all that bad when it was with Derek.

***

The next morning I woke to the smell of coffee and bacon. It
was definitely a good smell to wake up to, but even better was the sight of
Derek wandering around the room in nothing but a towel hanging dangerously low
on his waist.
Fall, goddamn it. Slip. Untie. Unravel and drift to the floor
.
Willing the towel’s descent with every bit of mental telepathy I could conjure,
I soon gave up with an inward grumble of disappointment when it didn’t budge.

Instead I took a moment to admire him in the sunlight,
filtering through the window of the thirty-fourth floor suite we were occupying.
His body was simply perfect: his chest, arms and abdomen rippled with taut
muscles. I knew that firefighters had to be fit, carrying around heavy
equipment and climbing stairs and shit, but fuck me, he certainly looked after
himself.

‘Hungry?’ he asked, breaking my perve-sesh.

Quickly wiping my eyes to insinuate I was just waking up and
not eye-fucking him instead, I sat up and stretched. ‘Yeah, smells good.’

‘I figured you’d be good with bacon, considering you aren’t
one of those “salad and water girls” that we talked about,’ he playfully
explained.

‘Bring it on! I love a good pork in the morning,’ I blurted
out as I climbed off the bed.

‘Well, this is as good as it’s going to get today. But next
time, I promise your morning pork will be a hell of a lot better.’

Sidling up to Derek, I wrapped my arms around his waist and
kissed his lips. ‘Mm ... thank you. This is perfect.’

He gestured for me to sit down on the tub chair where I
settled with one foot on the edge and leaned forward to rest upon my leg. I had
only my black lace, boy-leg panties on and nothing up top, being comfortable
with my body and not afraid to show it. Another of Carly’s cardinals was: if
you’ve got it, flaunt it. And I sure as hell had it.

‘You cold?’ Derek asked.

I bit down on my bacon. ‘No. Why?’ I mumbled curiously.

He nodded toward my peaked nipples.

‘These?’ I queried, looking down and tweaking them. ‘Oh,
they are always like this.’

‘Always?’ he asked, nearly choking on his coffee.

‘Yep, I’m in a constant state of arousal,’ I smiled
jokingly, winking at him seductively.

He let out a mild laugh, but kept eyeing my breasts with a
heated expression. ‘So ... got any plans for today?’

Leaning back, I spread my arms across the back of the chair,
poking out my chest for his entertainment. Then, gathering my hair into a
ponytail within my hand, I answered casually, ‘No, not really. I was just going
to lounge around and utilise this fine establishment.’

His eyes widened at my now prominent display. ‘Do you like
footy?’ he ground out, still staring at my breasts.

‘Yes, I’ve followed Essendon all my life. Lexi and I are
Bombers crazy.’

A sly smile spread across his face. ‘Excellent! Hurry up and
eat then. You now have plans.’

***

Just under two hours later, Derek and I were seated on the
ground level of the MCG, watching the players of both the Essendon and
Collingwood Football Clubs undergo their pre-match practice and warm-up. The
stadium surrounding us was enormous and filling quickly as people scrambled
along the aisles in order to find their seats.

‘Here you go,’ Derek said as he draped an Essendon Bombers
scarf around my neck. ‘Worst fifteen dollars spent in my life,’ he joked. He
also passed me a plastic cup of beer as he sat down next to me.

I laughed at his stab at my beloved team. ‘Thanks. Your
support of the Dons is very much appreciated.’

‘You do realise you are going to get flogged today,’ he
added with an unapologetic tone.
Oh ... you have no idea how much I want to
be flogged. And by you.

‘Don’t be so sure,’ I countered. ‘You know ... that’s the
biggest problem with you Magpie supporters, you’re all cocky fuckwits.’

Derek laughed and placed his arm around my shoulders. ‘Baby,
we have reason to be cocky. It’s called fifteen premierships.’

‘I’m sorry ... haven’t we won more?’ I asked carelessly,
trying to hide my smug smile because I knew that we had.

He turned toward me slightly and raised an impressed
eyebrow. ‘Let’s not go there, all right?’

I laughed again, his playful attempt to change the subject
highly adorable. In true Magpie supporter style, the Bombers were a very touchy
subject, the fierce rivalry between the two teams transferring to their
supporters.

‘So how does a small wager sound?’ I suggested, while
stealing a chip from the tray lying across his lap.

‘You crazy?’ he mockingly laughed, stealing it back from
between my lips before I had a chance to completely consume it.

Narrowing my eyes at him, I stole another one and quickly
shoved it in mouth. ‘You scared?’ I mumbled then nearly spat the chip out,
instead opting to flap my hands in front of my face in an attempt to cool down
the contents of my mouth.
Fuck, that was hot.

‘No. I’m more concerned for you in what will be inevitable
failure,’ he laughed, taking in my flappy idiocy.

‘Pfft,’ I responded, then shouted praise to my favourite
player, Brent Stanton.

From out the corner of my eye, I noticed Derek shake his
head with amused disapproval, so I deliberately kept my eyes focussed on the players
and continued, ‘You know what? I think you are just a pussy and don’t like to
lose.’

The siren sounded and both teams gathered in their
respective circles, revving themselves up with last-minute game plans and
advice before assuming their positions on the field. The crowd roared to life,
and I sat up taller in my seat to gain a better view.

Derek leaned in and nuzzled my neck then whispered in my
ear, ‘You said that all wrong, baby. Let me rephrase it for you ... I don’t
lose and I like pussy, especially yours.’ He gently licked the side of my neck
then pulled away, shouting, ‘Carn the pies!’ and leaving a cool sensitised
trail behind.

***

After the game Derek drove me home, his demeanour relaxed
and contentedly happy due to Collingwood winning by thirty-four points. He even
attempted to cash in on the bet he never agreed to.

‘So, what do I get?’ he asked as we stood outside my house.

‘You get nothing,’ I exclaimed, stubbornly crossing my arms
over my chest as I rested my arse against the front guard of Suzi.

Derek was standing opposite me, leaning his arse against his
blue Ford Ranger, his hands in his pockets and feet crossed at the ankles.
‘Bullshit! We had a wager.’

‘Noooo ... I offered a wager at the beginning of the game
and you, being a pussy, didn’t take it.’

His sexy grin teased at the corners of his mouth. ‘Say pussy
again. I like it when you say pussy.’

I smiled and even blushed. ‘Pussy.’

‘Say, “Derek, when I’m no longer surfing the crimson wave, I
want you to lick my pussy and then fuck it hard.”’

Pushing off from Suzi and stalking toward him, I stopped
when my chest brushed up against his. ‘Derek, next week when we meet up again,
I will let you lick my pussy until your tongue hurts. And then, I will ride
your cock until the cows come home,’ I whispered, before gently grazing his
lips with my tongue.

As I walked toward my front door, he called out, ‘You don’t
have cows.’

Raising my eyebrows suggestively, I answered, ‘Exactly.’

***

The following week at work was business as usual, the normal
boring day in, day out, clock-torment crap I had to forever deal with. If it
weren’t for the close friendships I had with the teachers, and if it weren’t
for bearing witness to the hilarious shit that kids sometimes do and say, I
would be — at best — a friggin’ nut case.

It was Friday afternoon and Lib, Brooke, Sally and I and a
few of the other teachers were sitting around the tables in the staff room.

‘So, to tie up Emergency Education Month before the end of
the term, I asked the kids a partial question and they had to fill in the
blank,’ Lib said, obviously excited about the story she was telling. ‘Some of
the answers were hilarious. Want to hear?’

Sally leaned over and grabbed a handful of M&M’s from
the open packet which sat in the centre of the table. ‘Yeah, shoot.’

‘Okay, so I said, “Where there’s smoke there’s ...” and
asked them to raise their hands with answers that I would then write down on
the brainstorm board. Here are some of their responses: pollution, a smoker, a
teepee, a cold morning, burnt toast, a bushfire and, of course, a fire.’

‘Burnt toast?’ Brooke laughed. ‘Oh my god, I love it.’

Lib was shaking her head with a smile that showed admiration
for her kids. ‘I tell ya, trying to explain to Jet Bradley that our breath on a
cold morning was not smoke was definitely a tough task.’

Trying to explain anything to Jet Bradley was a tough task.
But before I could add to the conversation, my phone rang from within my
handbag. I pulled it out to find Derek’s name on my screen.

Instantly, I stood up and went to walk away for privacy.

‘That wouldn’t be the sexy-arse firefighter who is “not”
your fuck-friend, now would it?’ Brooke asked, a teasing smile on her face.

I glared at her and turned my back as I pushed through the
double swinging doors and out of the room before hitting accept.

‘Hey, what’s up?’ I asked as calmly as I possibly could. For
some reason, I couldn’t help sounding giddy whenever I bloody spoke or texted
him.

‘Hey, gorgeous. Bad news,’ he said sullenly.

My stomach dropped and a sense of disappointment washed over
me. We were due to meet up again tonight and, by the sound of his voice, that
was not going to happen. ‘Is everything all right?’

‘No, not really. I, ah ... I have to go to Sydney for a
while. It’s family related. I could be gone for a week or maybe two.’

‘Oh, when are you leaving?’

‘Now! I’m at the airport. It’s kind of urgent,’ he said with
an apologetic tone.

I waited for him to perhaps fill me in on exactly what was
so urgent, but he didn’t impart further. His reluctance to open up to me, yet
again, was kind of devastating.

Sucking in a breath in order to sound nonchalant, I
straightened my shoulders. ‘Well, I hope you sort whatever it is out. Let me
know when you’re back, if you want to.’

‘Carly,’ he said firmly then paused, waiting for me to
answer.

My shoulders lost their vigour and slumped. ‘Yes?’

‘Of course I want to. And I will, as soon as I touch down in
Melbourne again. I have to leave. I have to do this.’

‘What is “this”, Derek?’ I questioned sadly, knowing he was
keeping something from me, the unknown acting like a silent noose.

‘I can’t get into it right now. But I will, eventually. I
promise.’

I took a moment to deliberate whether I believed him or not.
I wanted to. REALLY wanted to. But he made it difficult when he so easily shut
me out or left me in the dark. I was not the nocturnal type; I liked the light.
I liked clarification.

‘Baby?’

Sighing, I answered. ‘Yeah?’

‘I’ll be back as soon as I can. And when I am, we have some
unfinished business to see to.’

Sighing again, I was no longer sure whether that unfinished
business would ever be resolved.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

After ending my call with Derek, I was back in the realm of
what-am-I-fucking-doing? A major part of me wanted to believe in him, have
faith in him, and trust that what we had was real. But where my heart
advocates, my mind guards, keeping me grounded, balanced and in control. I
never let one dominate the other, and as much as I desperately wanted my heart
to reign, I just could not bring myself to let that happen. I had to keep
thinking that what Derek and I were embroiled in was fun and impetuous, and in
no way serious. We were simply pleasure pals, fuck buddies — except we hadn’t
yet got to the ‘fucking’ part.

To be honest, if it were any other time, I would look at
this situation and be highly embarrassed. We’d been ‘not’ seeing each other for
nearly three months and hadn’t even fucked. I mean, who did that? NOBODY!