Real Men Will (11 page)

She took it slow, building up, pressing small kisses at first, then lingering ones, letting him feel the moisture of her open lips. Then she slid her mouth over him, pressing her tongue to the underside of his head. His taste settled into her, making her hum with pleasure. He smelled like soap and sex combined, and salt touched her tongue when she sucked.

She eased him deeper, aware of how thick he was, how impossible it would be to take it all. Her clit felt painfully hard as she took as much of him as she could before easing back.

His hands still hung by his sides, but his fingers had curled into fists.

Beth took him deep again, letting him push roughly over her tongue. This time when she pulled back, she stroked with her fist at the same time, and Eric gasped. She used her mouth and hand in slow tandem, knowing the sensations would blend together into one nonstop feeling of—

“Christ,” he ground out. Now his hands were open, hovering near her head as if he wanted to take hold of her and thrust deep.

Closing her eyes, she let herself feel everything. His tension. His hardness. The way he seemed to get thicker with each pull of her mouth. This was what she’d always yearned for. Pleasure. Getting it or giving it, that part didn’t matter. She just wanted the pure blankness of it. Wanted it to go on forever. She took him over and over again, loving every minute of it. She lost herself in every stroke of him inside her mouth, taking him as deep as she could manage.

“Beth,” he breathed after long minutes of silence.

She knew what he was going to say. She could taste it on her tongue.

“Stop,” he urged. “I can’t…”

But she didn’t want to stop. Because his hand was finally in her hair—urging her to stay still or take more, she didn’t know. She tightened her fist around him, quickened the slide of her mouth, and felt his hand slip toward the back of her skull. His breath hissed between his teeth, then he groaned and jerked and his come flooded her throat.

It was the most fun she’d had in months.

E
RIC COLLAPSED ONTO THE
bed, his body warm and completely weak. “That’s not what I was planning,” he managed to say.

“Oh?” Beth pressed against his side, chuckling softly. Her hand traced light circles on his chest. “I hope you’re not disappointed.”

His laugh sounded more like a groan.

“So what did you have planned? And when did you start planning?”

“Okay,
plan
may be too strong a word, but I definitely had some major points I wanted to hit.” And none of them had started with having an orgasm three minutes into the best blow job of his life.

“Like?” she asked, her hand dipping lower. He didn’t think it was possible to get hard again so quickly, but if anyone could make it happen, it was Beth Cantrell.

“Like…” He watched her fingers spread wide just below his rib cage. Her hand looked so feminine against him. “Like I thought I’d spend a little time on you first.”

“A little time?” she teased.

“Well, I’ve got to work tomorrow.”

Her nails bit lightly into his skin.

“I thought I’d make you come,” he said. “And then I thought I’d slide deep inside you. Maybe make you come again.” He pushed up to one elbow, and Beth rolled to her back. “Isn’t that what you wanted? Me inside you while you scream my name?”

“I…” Her eyelids fluttered. “That would be good, yes.”

“Yes?” He traced the same spot he’d traced before, the rise of her breast against the dark blue fabric of her bra. Her skin…he couldn’t describe it, not even in his own mind.
Soft
was an utterly inadequate word.

He reached for the delicate bow at the front of the bra and pulled it free. “You always have these little ties.”

“Do I?”

“Yes. I love it.” Last time, the ties had been on her panties, and all he’d had to do was pull them free and she’d been naked.

“It’s my favorite—” the laces finally gave way, and he smoothed the dark silk off her breasts “—brand,” she finished weakly.

“Mine, too,” he murmured, lowering his head to brush his lips over one dark nipple. Everything had been hurried before. Desperate. Now he had time to taste her, touch her. And he was suddenly glad he’d already come, because just this was stirring his cock again, a goddamned miraculous resurrection.

He opened his mouth over her and drew her in, and Beth gasped so sweetly that it made his chest tighten. He knew she was experienced, he knew she’d probably done things in bed that he’d never even heard of. But somehow she sounded like the simplest kiss was a wonder to her. How was it possible for her to be so many amazing things at once?

He found a rhythm with his tongue that made her gasp and writhe, then eased his hand down her stomach and cupped it over the dark fabric that covered her sex. She was wet. Soaked through. He stroked her through the silk, and pressed his teeth to her nipple.

Beth arched up with a little cry, but he wanted to make her scream.

Giving up any teasing, he dragged her panties down and slipped his finger along the seam of her body. Her clit was hard and eager, and when he brushed it, she groaned as if she was in pain.

She was close to coming already, but he wanted to do this right. Thanks to her earlier attentions, he could actually concentrate, and Eric thought of the lesson he’d overheard at the White Orchid. Raising his head, he watched her face as he touched her clit again.

Beth threw her head back. She let her knees fall open and pressed toward his hand. He could make her come right now. Easily. His fingers were soaked. All he had to do was circle her clit a few times and she’d come apart for him. But he didn’t want easy. So instead of concentrating on that spot, he pressed two fingers slowly inside her pussy, stretching her.

“Oh, God,” she moaned. “That feels good.”

When he rubbed the heel of his hand into her clit, her mouth opened on a sigh. Watching her face, he curled his two fingers up and pressed into her body as he fucked her with his hand. He felt it. Subtle, but just what the girl at the shop had described. The faintest little curve of texture in her flesh, hardly even noticeable. He pressed his fingertips against it and rubbed her clit at the same time.

Beth’s eyes popped open. “Oh,” she breathed. He did it again. Her eyes fluttered closed. She whimpered and grabbed his wrist, holding him tight inside her.

His dick throbbed in sympathetic approval.

“Eric…”

Yeah.

“Don’t stop. Just…” Her forehead creased with concentration. Her nails bit into his wrist in sharp points of pain that did nothing but excite him further. He felt her muscles tighten around him as he worked her. Jesus Christ, he wanted inside her. But not until…

“That’s… It’s…” Words seemed to fail her as she whimpered and turned her face away. Finally, a sharp cry escaped her mouth and she was shaking, her hips bucking against him as she came. “Oh, God,” she sobbed. “Oh, Eric.”

He waited until her last sobs had passed before he let her go. Then Beth rolled to her side, still panting. He smoothed a hand over the generous curve of her ass, loving the way her hip rose up from his hand. He shaped every curve, then slid the edge of his hand down until he touched wet heat.

“Mmm,” she sighed, pushing into his fingers as he stroked her.

“More?” he asked, and his cock strained forward when she eased her legs open at his touch.

Eric pulled a condom from his wallet, rolled it on and pushed slowly inside her from behind. It was…heaven. He held her tight to his chest and fucked her as slowly as he could, drawing it out, burying himself so deeply inside her he felt consumed by her body.

A long time later, when they both came again, Beth didn’t scream his name. Instead, she sighed it so softly that he barely heard. And strangely, that was even better.

H
E’D AWOKEN EARLY, GRATEFUL
that Beth was still asleep and they could avoid any morning-after awkwardness. They’d have to talk about what this meant, if anything, but not when they were naked. And not when her cheeks were flushed pink with sleep.

Though he’d managed to dress without waking her, he hadn’t been cold enough to just sneak out. He was still trying to make up for his lies, after all. Stealing out like a thief probably wouldn’t help.

So instead of tiptoeing out the door, he sat down on her side of the bed and smoothed a lock of hair off her shoulder. Beth didn’t respond. She was sleeping on her stomach, her head cradled on her arms, and once he’d swept her hair away, nearly her whole back was exposed to him.

In the morning light, her skin glowed, so smooth that his fingers actually ached to touch her. He wanted to run his hand down her spine, put his mouth to her shoulder blade and work his way up to her neck. He wanted to smell her, taste her,
have
her again.

Just the thought of touching her had him hard as a rock already. But if he slipped back into bed and woke her, there’d be talk of breakfast, then talk of
talk,
and he didn’t want to walk away this morning with any of that tension. He wanted to fucking float.

He brushed the backs of his fingers over her pink cheekbone. “Beth?”

She sighed.

Eric forced himself not to give in to the warm feeling spreading through his chest.
It was just a blow job, man. Get it together. It was just sex.

“Beth? I’ve got to go.”

Her eyes finally opened, widening when she saw him sitting there. “Oh!” She twisted around, holding the sheet to her chest.

“Go back to sleep. I just wanted you to know I’m leaving.”

“I…” Her gaze slid to the doorway and she nodded. “Okay.” She obviously wanted to avoid any awkwardness, too.

“I’ll call later,” he promised, then got to his feet before he screwed up and kissed her. He glanced back as he left, and he could have sworn he caught her smiling. He smiled, too, but not until he was safely outside.

Hard to believe, but…last night had far surpassed their first night together. That had been hot, yes. Desperate. Mind-blowing. But last night had been all that and more. Including the part where she’d fallen asleep pressed tight to his side.

She surprised him, constantly. Every interaction with her left him less sure of who she was. Funny, considering he’d been the one with the fake name.

She just seemed so…soft. Not just her skin, but everything about her. Soft and so much more vulnerable than he’d ever expected. He was really glad he’d gone to her place, though he still had no idea why he’d gone. Well, he knew
why
he’d gone. There was no question of that. But why had he decided to risk it?

Six months ago, it had seemed the height of danger, meeting her. It had felt foolhardy and wrong, sleeping with a stranger, and a notorious one at that. It had been completely out of character.

But now…now he was a different man. Every part of his life felt uncertain. Hell, he didn’t even know what his character was anymore. Compared to that confusion, Beth was solid. After all, there was no question of what he wanted from her, and how much he wanted it.

Three hours later, he was still gliding through his day as if it weren’t quite real. He’d showered and eaten. Now it was time to get to work, but he checked his phone as he stepped into the brewery, just in case he’d missed a call from Beth.

“Just the guy I wanted to see,” a man said from the dimness of the bar.

His eyes were still adjusting, but Eric recognized Luke’s voice. He stuffed the phone in his pocket. “Hey, Luke. What are you doing here so early?”

“I’ve got news about the investigation.”

“Good news?”

“After Monica called your friend, I started pushing a little harder. It seemed suspicious. I mean, more suspicious than the Kendalls usually are. We’ve found some evidence of how Graham broke into other places. Some were just standard break-ins that he paid local thugs to carry out. Some seemed to be crimes of convenience. Renovations that left buildings vulnerable. Stuff like that.”

“Okay.”

“But there was one man who struck me as cagey. So after I heard from you about Monica, I pressed him harder. His place was hit late last year. A big catering and event company that had a lot of employees over the past ten years, not to mention all the payment information from clients. He’d always claimed not to know anything about any of it, but he was lying.”

“He knew Monica?”

“He slept with her. He’s married. That’s why he suggested she come to his office. Or maybe she suggested it, he couldn’t seem to remember those details.”

Eric shook his head. “So it was the exact same situation?”

“Pretty much. Counting the owner of that construction company she slept with, that’s three men. Maybe that’s all there are. But that’s enough to charge her as an accessory.”

“You’re going to charge her?”

“The D.A.’s leaning hard. They’d much rather she give up her brother.” The double doors to the back room opened, and Luke looked up with a smile.

“Hey, Luke,” Tessa drawled with the kind of smile for her boyfriend that a big brother shouldn’t see. Eric cringed, but Tessa ignored that and walked up to kiss him on the cheek. “Eric, did you and Jamie really make up?”

“We talked. We’re fine.”

“Good. I still can’t believe you did that. God. I’m so mad at you.” She glared, but her sternness was ruined by the hug she gave him. “Be nice to Jamie.”

“I was trying to be nice!” he protested.

“Maybe you need to learn how to communicate better,” she suggested.

“Maybe he needs to learn how to grow up.”

Tessa slapped his arm. “Behave.”

“Hey!”

But she just shrugged and started straightening tables.

“Anyway,” Luke said when he finally dragged his eyes off Tessa. Here was a man who was head over heels. “I’ll need to get that information about your friend.”

“My friend?” Eric stiffened and glanced toward Tessa.

“The woman. Beth… What’s her last name?”

“Right,” Eric started. “I’ll—”

“Cantrell. Beth Cantrell. I’ll need to interview her.”

Eric swallowed and watched his sister, who’d stopped shifting things around and was now staring at Luke. “Sure,” Eric said. “No problem.”

“Beth Cantrell,” Tessa said. “I know that name.”

Eric ignored her, but Luke didn’t, of course. “She’s the woman who said Monica Kendall asked her to lie.”

“Yes, but—”

Eric spun on his heel. “No problem. I’ll see you two later.”

“Wait!” Tessa yelped. “I know who she is!”

His neck burned, but strangely, the heat felt like ice crawling down his spine. He stopped, but didn’t turn around.

“I met her a few months ago. She runs the White Orchid.”

“Oh,” Luke said, and then silence fell. Eric could feel their eyes on him. He stared hard at the doors that led to his office, where he could lock himself in and avoid these questions.

“Eric?” Tessa started. “Beth Cantrell called you about this?”

The icy heat worked its way up to the tips of his ears.

“Do you know her?”

Oh, boy, did he know her. “Um,” he said, hoping that would suffice. But when he turned around to find Luke and Tessa standing side by side, they didn’t seem satisfied with that response. Tessa looked blankly confused. While Luke looked…anticipatory?

“She’s a business contact.”

“Oh, yeah?” Luke asked. “What kind of business?”

“Business business. Local stuff. You know.”

Tessa’s eyes just seemed to get wider. “No, I don’t know.”

Best to throw in a little truth in these situations. “I met her at the Boulder Business Expo last year. Her booth was close by.”

“Wait a minute,” Tessa gasped, and Eric could hear the pieces clicking into place as if there were a microphone inside her brain.

Oh, no.

“Ohmigod!” She covered her mouth, muffling the next words. “Oh, my God. She’s the one!”

Luke raised an annoyingly delighted eyebrow. “The one, what?”

“No,” Eric said as sternly as he could, but Tessa dropped her hand from her mouth and pointed it at him.

“You said that woman saw the nameplate at the expo and thought you were Jamie. Holy shit, Eric. You slept with Beth Cantrell!”

Eric shook his head, but he could feel his face showing every inch of the truth.

“Wow,” Luke said. “She, ah…she’s really the owner of that sex shop?”

“Manager,” he murmured past numb lips.

“Wow,” Luke repeated. He crossed his arms and looked Eric up and down as if he were reassessing him. “So.”

Eric swallowed hard and tried to think of something—anything—to say.

Tessa laughed, a sound of thrilled amusement. “I can’t… My mind is boggled. I’m utterly, completely
boggled
right now. Apparently I wasn’t the only one hiding my dating life in this family. You’re like… That’s just… That’s
legendary.
”

This was why no one was supposed to know. The scandalized delight on both their faces was all fun and games now, but soon enough they’d be whispering about it. Wondering. And they’d never, ever look at Eric the same way.

“It was just one date. We had a glass of wine.”
And I got her off right there at the table.
He shook his head. “That’s all.”

“You big fat liar!” Tessa crowed. “You said you slept with her!” She covered her eyes, laughing. “Oh, God, you’re my brother. I didn’t want to know this. She must be… Wow.”

“This is not an appropriate conversation—”

“Eric! Are you… You’re not one of the men she’s written about in her column, are you?”

“Column?” he asked dumbly, momentarily forgetting his intention to spin around and stalk out. “What column?”

“The one she writes for
The Rail.
No. Don’t answer. I don’t want to know which one you are. You’re not pierced anywhere, are you? Never mind! Don’t answer that, either.” Tessa waved her hands as she shook her head. “No.”

“Pierced?” he muttered, his mind veering between horror and awful curiosity. She wrote about sex for a paper? Had she written about
him?

“Is she—?”

Eric cut his hand through the air to stop his sister’s questions. “I’m not going to stand here and discuss her as if she were a news story. Luke, I gave you her number if you need to call. That’s the end of it.”

“Oh, I think I might have to make a personal visit,” Luke drawled.

Tessa elbowed him before nearly collapsing in laughter.

Eric was either going to leave or start shouting, so he chose to leave. He hit the doors too hard and they bounced off the walls with a satisfying crash. For a moment, he considered walking right on through the back room to the door in the far wall. But that would only make the talk worse. The
talk.
Now he’d betrayed Beth again. She’d forgiven him for the lie, but only after making sure he hadn’t told anyone. It wasn’t totally his fault, though. She was the one who’d come to the brewery. Granted, she’d rightfully been upset at the time, but clearly she wanted to keep this just as quiet as he did. If people found out, Eric might never get one of those late-night calls again.

“Shit.”

Before he even reached his office, he turned and headed back to the front room. “Hey.”

Luke’s and Tessa’s heads popped up.

“Please don’t say anything to anyone about this.” He looked at Luke. “Not even her. She’s a very private person. Uh, despite what you may have read.”

Luke nodded. “I won’t.”

Eric was vividly aware of the silence he left behind. He knew it wouldn’t last. As soon as he was safely gone, they’d talk about it. They’d theorize about what a wild woman Beth Cantrell must be. They’d talk about her store and her column. Eric shut his office door and pulled up Google, determined to find out exactly what kind of a wild woman she was.

Were there things she was into? Kinky fetishes that she liked? If so and they kept seeing each other, he was going to have to up his game. Up to this point, both of their nights together had been impromptu. Unexpected. But given time to think about it… Yeah. She’d probably expect more at some point. Thank God that little class had served him well. He’d have to hit the White Orchid website and see what was coming up next. He’d have to read her column.

Assuming there was even a chance he’d see her again. She dated other guys, obviously. Hell, she’d been on a date with someone else last night. But Eric had been the one she’d called for sex.

As for what else she might be up to…Google wasn’t helping. Nothing about a column came up when he entered Beth’s name. He tried going directly to
The Rail’
s website, and there it was, right on the front page. “Sexuality Personified” by Ms. White. Not a very good cover name, but the name of the column damn sure fit.

While his stomach turned flips, Eric raced through the first column. It was actually fairly tame. “Ms. White” said she’d received several letters asking about a partner’s refusal to use condoms. “If he refuses with you, then he’s refused with others. This is not okay. N-O-T. We’ve all had partners who claim not to feel anything with a condom on. Just make clear that he certainly isn’t going to feel anything with it off. Not one little thing. Better yet, walk away. And don’t let a man tell you that he can’t wear a condom because of piercings—yours or his. Genital piercings are very obviously not constructed with sharp edges. Take it from me, piercings are not a problem.”

Take it from me?

Eric glanced down at his own unadorned lap. Piercings. Did that make it…better? For her?
How?

He hit the Archived button and braced himself for what he might find. Only three columns popped up, thank God. One was about transsexuality and dating, a topic which didn’t apply to Eric, obviously. One was a rather funny piece comparing men’s and women’s orgasms. It didn’t offer many personal cues, but Eric focused on one sentence intently. “A recent partner confessed that he was sure women’s orgasms were much more intense than men’s, that he’d never screamed and shaken the way I do….” So that was someone else who’d made Beth scream and shake. Of course, he knew she’d had other partners, but… Shit. His shoulders suddenly ached with tension.