The Unblocked Collection (46 page)

And this one belonged to Derek.

“Do you mind grabbing me another beer?” he asked, handing me his empty bottle.

I jumped off the counter and grabbed an IPA from the back of the fridge. He kissed me as I set it down next to him. I tasted the butter on his lips from when he had sampled the sauce. It was savory, even more so because he made it, because the flavors had come from a mouth I so desperately desired.

As my eyes left his face, the lighting fixture that hung in the living room caught my attention. It was pieces of wood shaped like antlers, aged and rustic, with lights woven through the various levels. It took a second to realize why it looked so familiar. “That’s the same chandelier that was in the hotel room we stayed in.” He looked to where my finger pointed.

“Is that right?”

“Yeah…that’s right.” I could only see his profile, but he wasn’t hiding his smile very well. “My job is to notice details, and this is one I could never forget. It’s not a coincidence, is it?”

“No, it’s not.”

“I don’t understand.” I turned him toward me, resting the spatula on the side of the pan so I could hold both his hands. “What did you do?”

His breath hit my cheek. “I had my decorator swap out some of the décor in the hotel room.”

“Why?” He just stared intently, saying nothing. “Do you change the décor in every hotel you stay at?”

He laughed. “Hell no.”

“Then why, Derek?”

“I wasn’t ready to bring you here, so I tried to bring
here
to you.”

He’d hired his decorator to make the hotel room look like his house? I didn’t understand why he wouldn’t have told me that, as though it were something simple that didn’t matter, something that wasn’t worth speaking about. It wasn’t simple at all, and it wasn’t just worth noting; it was a gesture I would cherish.

“You cared enough to do that for me,” I said. “Even then.”

“I wanted that room to be special for the night I had planned for you. I wanted it to feel like me.”

“It did.”

His thumb grazed my bottom lip, his eyes tracing it with the same speed. “And here…are you starting to feel me?”

His layers were slowly being peeled away, and I was enjoying everything I saw beneath.

“Yes. I feel like I’m finally learning who you are.”

“I’m going to show you more.”

“I know.” I kissed him quickly. I wanted it to last longer, but I knew the timing wasn’t right yet. “And I can’t wait.”

DEREK

DURING DINNER,
Frankie told me she wanted to spend some time in the wood shop and make something together. I’d never taught anyone before, never created with anyone other than my father. But the idea of designing a piece with her, our hands running over the same wood, enticed me. Hell, it was the biggest fucking turn on. So after we cleaned the kitchen, she told me to go ahead, and she’d meet me there with some drinks.

Leaving her inside, I walked down the back steps and took out the key from my pocket. A head start gave me time to choose the wood—to feel the warmth of a thick plank of walnut, a knotted slab of oak, or the smooth surface of bamboo. I hoped it would tame me, calm me down. Otherwise, Frankie was going to find herself on top of one of those surfaces instead of sanding it.

As I reached the front of the workshop my phone beeped:

Hayden:
I got the name of another one. He’s been injured a year. I’m meeting him in the morning. He’ll sign, I’m sure of it.

Me:
Good job. Be careful. Call me if you need me.

I dropped my phone back in my pocket and unlocked the door. In my stockpile was a piece of red sandalwood that had the same finish as her home office and there was just enough wood to make a few bookends. Having no experience, it would be a good project for her to start with—not too much cutting or sanding, and it wouldn’t take us long to finish. I could show her how to…

My thought ended when I saw her in the doorway.

“I’m sorry I’ve kept you waiting, Mr. Block.”

She had on one of my flannels and a pair of heels…and nothing else. It rested over her braless tits and hard nipples and landed in the center of her long, lean thighs. The unbuttoned collar exposed the soft, sensually scented neck I loved to devour. Her hair was in messy waves, perfect to grip between my fingers and pull her toward my cock.

Fuck.

Frankie had many looks—sweet and natural in the morning before she opened her eyes; erotic and feral when I made her come; fierce and determined when she was in the office. But in my flannel and those black heels was the sexiest I had ever seen her.

I turned away from the lumber and shoved my hands into my pockets. I prayed I could keep them there. The second they got free, they would be all over her, in her…ravaging her so goddamn hard, she’d be coming in seconds.

Her heels clicked as she walked over the cement floor, stopping just inches from me. She ran her hands over the red sandalwood. “I’ve been thinking…”

“I bet you have.”

She adjusted the collar, revealing even more of her exquisite thighs. I was doing everything I could not to wrap them around my face. “…about all the memories we could make in here tonight.”

“Nothing is going to be made in here tonight…except a pair of bookends.”

She laughed. “I want to change that, Mr. Block.”

That spicy mouth made my dick twitch against my zipper. “What you’re wearing isn’t safe for…woodworking, Ms. Jordan.” If she wanted to play—and she was damn good at it—then I was going to play, too.

“I thought you might say that.” She rubbed the front of my jeans, her fingers tracing my zipper. “It’s a good thing I came prepared.” She chewed the corner of her glossy lip, and I watched the way her teeth slid across it, wishing they were my teeth biting it, my tongue licking it.

“Prepared?”

“Yes…prepared.” She took a step closer, moving until our bodies finally touched. “With my decision.”

I clamped my hands around the worktop behind me, leaning against it so I could put a few more inches between us. If the surface hadn’t been concrete, I would have crushed it for sure. “Tell me.”

She looked around the room, taking it all in as she’d done upstairs when we had first arrived. This room, what I had revealed inside it, was who I was. It looked like she was accepting it. “I used to feel the biggest rush when I closed a deal. It was a burst of adrenaline that would consume my entire body and I would hurry to close my next one so I could feel it again.” Her voice changed, and so did her eyes. She was still acting provocative, but she had taken a more serious, sincere tone. “It filled a void, an emptiness, because I had completely shut myself off emotionally. Work became my relationship.” I knew that feeling well; I’d been practicing it since my ex had left. “I want my career; I want to be the top agent, I want those sales and to feel that rush. I also want things that work can’t give me. Things only you can give me, Derek.” She reached for my hand, lifting it off the worktop and holding it between her palms. “I don’t want to fight my emotions anymore. I want to listen to them, to listen to you, to be open and vulnerable and…” Her hand pressed on my chest. I felt the heat of her skin over my heart, the heart that had awakened because of her. It was fucking hammering now. “I want to give you all of me.”

I brought her fingers up to my lips and kissed each knuckle. “I want all of you, Frankie.” I exhaled, working through the internal struggle. She needed my confession as badly as I needed hers. “And in return, you’ve got all of me.” I leaned my forehead into hers. “Every bit…it’s all yours, baby.”

She wrapped her arms around my neck, standing as tall as she could to reach my lips. Her mouth pressed softly against mine, her breath easing, her body loosening from letting out everything she’d been holding inside. She finally pulled away, her cheeks flushed and her eyes ravenous. “Please don’t make me wait a second more.”

That was one demand I wouldn’t fight her on.

My hands circled her waist and I lifted her onto the workbench. I pressed my lips to the base of her jaw, the coconut and amber scents so strong on this part of her body. My mouth trailed down her neck, past her collar and around her face. “My house feels so far away from here,” I said.

“Then don’t take me to your house.”

She wanted me to have her in here, in my workshop, where my creativity flourished, where my inspiration was born. The most important space on my property…the space where I was more myself than anywhere else.

My dick practically tore a hole through my fucking jeans.

I pushed her legs apart and stood between them, running my hands up her thighs until I reached her pussy. She was wet. Hell, she was dripping. “You’re always so ready for me.” I licked her juices off my fingers and began unbuttoning her shirt, leaving it on but pushing the fabric to each side so I could see all of her.

“Touch me.”

“You’re so demanding, my pink ivory.” I kneaded her nipples between my fingers, pulling just hard enough to speed up her breathing. Then I squeezed the base until her head fell between her shoulder blades.

Moans poured from her mouth. “More,” she begged.

It had been days since I’d tasted her. I wanted to take my time licking every part.

I sucked her right nipple into my mouth, tugged on the end with my teeth and swirled my tongue around the tip. Her legs rose until her feet rested on the table, her toes folding around the hard edge. She was pulling me closer…dragging me into her.

I wanted my cock inside her as much as she did. But it wasn’t going to happen yet.

As I moved to her other nipple, I dipped my finger into her cunt. Not all the way in; just as deep as my knuckle. I didn’t move it. With my mouth on her tit, my thumb massaging her clit, she began to grind against me, easing more of my finger into her and slowly pulling out. She never let it get farther than my nail before she slid it back in. I felt her pussy contract; every time she squeezed it inside her, she let out the longest moan. When her thrusts began to deepen, her tits bounced against my lips.

“More,” she demanded.

I gave her a second finger, and she immediately pumped her pussy against it. I didn’t want to waste her wetness when it began dripping down my hand, so I buried my face between her legs. That sweet fucking cunt was so slick, my tongue glided right into it. I could smell the sawdust, the perfumed wood that was stored in the workshop, both combining with Frankie’s flavor. I’d never had another woman in here. Never mixed my personal passion with my sexual pleasure. But all that was changing with Frankie. She owned my heart as much as I owned her body.

My hands wrapped around her thighs and I yanked her even closer to my face. I flicked my tongue across her clit as quickly as I could, my fingers still buried deep within her. I could feel her orgasm building. Her pussy was tightening; her moans were deepening. She was practically milking my fingers like they were going to fill her with cum.

“Can I?” she begged.

“Fuck yes.”

Her screams made me lick faster, my fingers reach farther. Her stomach began to shudder as she closed in around me, her thighs quivering as they pressed against my cheeks.

When she finally stilled, my mouth moved up her body until I reached her lips. “Lick yourself off me,” I said. “I want you to know how fucking good you taste.” I kissed her, my tongue sliding into her mouth the same way it had inside her pussy.

She sucked it like it was my goddamn cock and pulled at my belt and unzipped my fly. Before my pants dropped, I grabbed my wallet from my back pocket and reached into the inside flap. She looked down just as I pulled out the condom. “No, Derek.”

“No?” With my one night and one morning rule, not wearing a rubber wasn’t something I had ever considered. It was a habit now and there was no exception.

She took both the wallet and condom out of my hand and laid them beside her. “I want to be able to feel you.”

“Frankie…”

“Do I have something to worry about?”

“No. Not at all.” I knew the risks my lifestyle came with, even using protection. I tested often, and I tested clean every time.

”Neither do you,” she affirmed.

I hated to ask this because it was a topic that pained her, but I had to. “Are you on…birth control?”

“I take the pill diligently.”

I stared into her gunmetal eyes, still uncertain about where this was going to take us.

“Please, Derek. This is what I want.” She used her heels to push my jeans down. I stepped out of them as they hit the ground, kicking off my boots at the same time. My boxers then fell and Frankie helped lift my flannel over my head. There was nothing separating us anymore. Her hands reached for my stomach and stopped mid-air. “Can I touch you?”

I’d always demanded a certain placement of her hands and I hadn’t done that tonight. The thought hadn’t even occurred to me because I wanted her to touch me, to feel my warmth and let it bleed through her. I hadn’t wanted that with anyone since my ex. I had controlled all the other women because their hands on my flesh were a reminder of how little I cared about them. When I was inside their pussy, it was a distraction I didn’t need. “Yes, Frankie. Touch me.”