Authors: Clara Bayard

One Night Stand (4 page)

"Why?"

"Because, I've lived in this filthy city my whole life and never seen anything so beautiful."

"Sam, you're already naked in my bed. No need to lay it on that thick."

His face was deadly serious. "I mean it. This isn't a line. I wanted you from that first second and it's just gotten stronger. I think you felt it too."

"I did. But then you left us and I…"

"I know, I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd get to come back and find you, but I did. And I know I had a very specific plan for this, but feeling you so close, so warm, so soft, it's really messing with that."

My thoughts went back to what he'd said in the cab and my eyes widened. "Messing with it how?"

"Instead of savoring you I think I have to gulp you down. Take everything I can and see what happens from there."

He shifted slightly between my thighs, rubbing at my clit and I gasped. "Sounds like an even better plan to me."

"Mmm. You've been so good. Is there something you want to do?"

"I want to touch you," I whispered, a little embarrassed.

"Do it, but stop when I tell you."

"Okay." I lowered my arms, flexing my fingers as they tingled. My hands ran through his long, curly hair that covered the back of his neck, and then down over his shoulder blades and a ridge of muscles I didn't know the name of. In that position I couldn't reach much further down so I went back up, sliding my fingers along the gentle curve of his arms. He moved to brace himself next to my shoulders, giving me more room to play.

I raked my fingers through the short pelt of hair on his chest, feeling a scar here or there that I filed away to ask him about later. As my hands moved his hips pressed tighter against me and the tip of his member prodded my entrance. It felt like heaven, but a tiny part of my rational brain remained.

"Sam, wait. Do you have…"

"Shit, I almost forgot. Do you see what you do to me?"

I smiled and shifted position so he could reach out for the nightstand to grab what he needed, the foil packet flashing in the moonlight.

When the safety concerns were handled, Sam kissed me again. Our tongues tangled together and his stubbled cheek scratched me softly.

I moaned and grasped his shoulders.

Sam kissed me once and then pushed back so he could look into my eyes. His member pushed inside me slowly, spreading, stretching. I was oh so ready, but he went millimeter by millimeter, his eyes never leaving mine.

The intensity of the thick invasion and the heated gaze was overwhelming. My fingernails dug into his skin and he kept pushing. He fed his impressive length into me for an eternity and gave me less than a second to adjust when it stopped. He pulled back just as slowly and then repeated the action again and again. Beads of sweat appeared on my skin and my body tightened around him, to no avail. He kept up that slow delightful assault until I couldn't stand it. Every nerve-ending in my body was screaming for more.

"Sam," I breathed, and he understood, but refused to abide.

"Give and take, Carly. You agreed."

I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes. I had agreed. And it certainly felt wonderful. But I could feel his muscles straining for control and knew he was close to losing it. With an agreeable nod I didn't mean, I wrapped my arms around his waist. And when he slid completely home the next time, I twisted my hips and arched my back hard while tensing my internal muscles as tight as possible.

Sam froze. "Evil," was all he muttered, but I felt him swell inside me and his pace quickened. Soon he was driving into me, long strokes that drew mewling cries from my mouth. Our bodies collided again and again, any semblance of control or rules abandoned.

The power of my climax ripped through me almost painfully and I screamed his name, my hands flailing against his back. For his part, Sam just chuckled and kept going. Harder and faster still. This was my punishment for failing to play his little game and I loved it. I peaked again and again, rising higher and higher each time until I was barely conscious of anything but the heady sensations filling my body.

Sam started varying his pace, never letting me adjust to the rhythm. His fingers cupped my butt and he yanked us together tightly. He finally slowed when I wailed loud enough to wake the neighbors, but still didn't stop.

It was enough to allow me a moment to breath, and I did, in deep pants. "Oh fuck."

"You like this?"

"Uh huh."

"Me too. You're so beautiful when you climax."

"You mean red-faced and sweating?"

"Yes."

I shook my head and then buried my face against his chest, listening to his heart beat as his hips flexed.

"You want more, Carly?"

"Yes. Maybe after a nice break."

Sam pushed deep again and locked his eyes on mine. "Not a chance."

"But…"

"You promised to let me. Do you really want me to stop?"

"No," I replied, honestly. "I don't ever want you to stop."

He cupped the back of my head tenderly. "I feel the same way." His other hand slid down my side, tracing the curve of my body. "God, you're perfect."

He was talking nonsense again but I didn't care. And for all my protestations, it didn't matter that my body was exhausted. Each slow thrust gave me new energy as arousal built and swirled up again. It was going to be a very long night and I couldn't wait to see what other tricks he had to show me.

Chapter Four

I woke up feeling strangely warm. Most mornings I'd be wrapped tight in blankets but still cold, regardless of the weather outside. Some bizarre combination of bad insulation and old heating system kept my apartment perpetually cold, even in the spring.

So how was I so cozy with just a sheet covering my naked body? As my brain started functioning I smiled and turned over to find the source of heat. Sam was sleeping on his side, one thick arm slung over his head, face lost in the messy halo of his long curls. His chest – man, that fucking chest – rose and fell evenly and I bit back an exclamation of joy. Part of me had thought he was a dream. But there he was.

My gaze swept over the long lines of his body, happy for a chance to really see him in the shaft of sunlight that came through my window, like a spotlight on his masculine perfection. His hips were covered by the sheet and my fingers twitched, wanting to slide it away to reveal the rest of him as memories of the night before flooded my mind.

"Enjoying the view," he asked without opening his eyes.

"Shit. Sorry. I thought you were still out cold."

"I'm a light sleeper."

"Mmm," I replied, still distracted by the sight of his beautiful form. I propped myself up on one elbow and pulled the sheet tighter around me.

"Stop fidgeting."

"How do you know what I'm doing? Your eyes are closed. For all you know I'm baring myself to you, preparing to be ravished again."

"I just know. But that is a good idea."

"What?"

He growled playfully and his big brown eyes finally opened. "Guess."

I laughed as he pounced, going from complete relaxation to action gracefully and almost faster than I could follow.

Sam whipped the sheet away off the bed and covered my body with his. The heavy thickness of his member came to rest between my thighs and any fleeting thoughts about morning breath and visible imperfections disappeared from my mind, shoved away by memories of pleasure and desperate desire for more.

We kissed briefly and then his mouth moved down to my chest. He lapped at my nipples a few times and kept moving. One of my hands held tight to his shoulder, feeling the mass of muscles bunch beneath the skin as he slid his torso down, spreading my legs wide to make space.

"Oh Sam, you don't have to…"

"Shut up. I want to and I'm going to."

"But…"

"Don't argue with me, Carly." His breath washed across my sex and I shut my mouth. "You gave yourself to me and I'm not done yet."

A few replies drifted through my mind, but as his lips touched my most intimate flesh I let them go and just took the pleasure he gave, and gave, and gave.

Soon I was writhing so fiercely that Sam had to hold one of my hips to keep me in place. His tongue was an instrument of exquisite torture, bringing me to the brink of climax over and over, but never letting me quite reach it. Just as he slid two fingers deep inside my pulsating heat a sound shattered the quiet room.

I opened my eyes and looked around, but couldn't tell where it came from. That is, until Sam's tongue stopped working me, and I realized it was a phone ringing, and not mine.

With fingers still teasing me, he muttered, "Hand me my cell? It's next to your head."

I fumbled around on the nightstand and found it, passing the noisy disruption over with a frown that turned into a smile as he thumbed my clit.

Sam swiped at the screen and motioned for me to be silent as he lifted the phone to his ear and baked out a "Yeah?"

I looked down at him and sighed. His tanned skin gleamed in the sunlight and his dark eyes flashed as he continued to touch me while listening to whoever was on the other side of the call.

"I didn't forget, I just don't care." He paused and winked at me. "Fine. I'll be there are soon as I can. Cover for me."

He hung up without saying goodbye and dropped the phone onto the bed. "Mmm, now where were we?"

I laughed. "Don't you need to go?"

"Yes. Immediately."

I started to sit up but he pushed me back down gently, but firmly. His mouth lowered to my body again and my toes curled up.

"Sam, stop," I gasped. "You obviously have somewhere important to be."

He looked up, hair hanging in his face. "Very."

"Then shouldn't you go?"

"Yup." He licked at me a few times. "In a big hurry." His thick fingers twisted and swirled inside me, making my back arch.

"Sam!"

"What?" His thumb drew circles over my sensitive nub.

I moaned and managed to get out a breathless "Never mind."

"That's my girl. You finally get it."

I wanted to laugh but I couldn't. He was being ridiculous, but I didn't care anymore. If he wanted to be late for whatever it was and spend the morning between my thighs, I'd be stupid to argue.

When Sam finally did leave it took me an hour to actually get out of bed. I showered and dressed, enjoying the sweet aches from a night and morning of passion, and the warm lethargy from lack of sleep for the best of reasons.

I padded into the kitchen in my robe and stood in front of the refrigerator for a few minutes. Suddenly ravenous I pulled out eggs and fixings for an omelet. I flipped on the television and watched a silly local news show while I cooked, grinning the whole time. When the food was ready I sat down with a big mug of coffee and dug in, devouring the creamy concoction quickly, but savoring the coffee slowly.

Once I'd had my fill of both I dug my cell phone out from my purse and saw I had three messages. The first two were from Anna, first letting me know she got home okay, and the second telling me I better be busy getting it on with Sam. Based on the timestamp I was happy to be able to report back I had been.

But the third message made the smile slowly slide off of my face. It was my boss, The Slug. He was only calling to remind me about coming in early on Monday, but the thought of the office and what had happened the day before chilled me. I'd nearly forgotten all about the rude man who'd creeped me out so much, but it all came rushing back.

"Relax," I said to my empty apartment. "It was just some jerk. Nothing to worry about." Buy saying it aloud didn't make me believe it. Whether it was from instinct or past experience, I'd always thought something wasn't quite right about Courier Express and I knew this man fit with whatever the problem was.

Back when I was still going to trauma counseling I'd learned that my fear-response was well-honed and very accurate. That meant I could sense a wrong situation, but could also overreact to it easily. The trick was figuring out what triggered the reaction and assessing the actual threat.

On one hand the man had been bad news, no question. If the boys hadn't arrived when they did, he was going to start some kind of confrontation. That much was clear. But why? And what was he willing to do to get the information he wanted? I had no idea.

Maybe he was just upset or high or something. I'd been working at Courier Express for months without any real incidents, so this could have just been a fluke. Some old acquaintance of Mitchell's who liked to try and intimidate vulnerable women. I certainly knew there were plenty of men like that around.

My heart started to beat faster and the food in my stomach curdled as my brain processed everything. I struggled to stay calm and go through the familiar steps. Without access to any other information, I needed to let it go. Stay alert, but not obsess. Aware, not paranoid.

Thankfully it worked. I looked down and unclenched my hand from the mug, taking slow, deep breaths.

I would go to work Monday and everything would be back to normal. I'd mention the man's visit to Mitchell and leave it at that. Everything would be fine. I repeated the words in my head like a prayer until I was relaxed again.

After taking a few minutes to clear up, I climbed back in bed and called Anna.

"Carly! Girl I've been waiting for you to call. Please tell me you've been ignoring me for a good reason."

I laughed. "Yes, I have."

"Oooh, I know that voice."

"No you don't."

"Do too. That's your post-all-night-sex-a-thon voice."

"I don't have a post-all-night-sex-a-thon voice."

"Yes you do. And I'm listening to it right now."

"You're so full of shit, Anna."

"Uh huh. So tell me, how did you spend last night?"

"Well…"

"A-ha! See? Who knows you better than me?"