But then they’d kissed some more, and Alex had shimmied out of his shirt and wrapped her legs around his hips. In that moment he’d been gone, completely lost to her.
And then, then she’d whispered, “Please.”
The longing in that one word, the need, it had lit him up like a lightbulb switching on. He’d known in that moment Alex was it for him.
The memory was so vivid it could have happened yesterday. The way she’d trembled in his arms, her soft cry as he’d pushed inside her for the first time, the way she’d begged him not to stop when he’d tried to pull away, worried that he’d hurt her. The single tear that had slid down her cheek after she’d come apart beneath him.
He couldn’t mess this up, not again. And he sure as hell couldn’t let Emily stand in his way anymore. Steve needed to take control of the situation. It was time to cut the ties and move on; they’d been stuck in this destructive cycle long enough.
The last thing he wanted to do right now was go away for two days. Now that he had Alex where he wanted her again, he could barely handle a few hours away from her. He cursed when he looked down and took in the condition of his shirt. Makeup stained the front and collar.
He only had the remainder of the day left before he had to leave for his trip, and he planned on spending it with Alex. And as much as he wanted to spend those hours in bed, this was the perfect opportunity to show her she was so much more than a convenient fuck. Plus, if he got her into bed now, he wouldn’t be able to leave.
Doing up his jacket to hide his shirt, he grabbed his briefcase and headed down to the parking garage. Time for home, a quick change of clothes, then he was taking Alex out. He wanted to treat her, make her feel special.
She was in for an afternoon of shopping.
Chapter Thirteen
“Can you believe that asshole?” Rusty planted her hands on her hips. “He looked me right in the eye and said, ‘Women should be home having babies, not fixin’ cars,’ then turned his sexist ass around and walked out.” She threw her hands up. “Who says shit like that?”
Alex curled her lip in disgust but did her best to calm her friend rather than fuel the fire. Rusty had a temper, and this asshole had hit every one of her hot buttons. “The guy’s a dick. He’s not the first and he won’t be the last who’ll think crap like that. At this point all we can do is work our asses off and prove them all wrong.”
Her friend’s spine lost some of its steel. “I know you’re right, but it still pisses me the hell off.” They walked out of the garage, and Rusty locked up. “You got plans for the rest of the day?”
They didn’t usually work Sunday, but an urgent job had come up, which meant they could charge at a higher rate. Not something they could turn down right now. “I plan on chilling on the couch and pretending to watch TV but really napping.”
Rusty grinned. “Hard weekend, huh?”
She inwardly winced. “Yeah, something like that.” She’d only left Deacon because the job had come up. She’d probably still be with him right now if it hadn’t.
Rusty snorted. “You’ve turned into such a prude.”
“Have not.” It was just easier saying nothing than lying to her friends constantly.
“Have too.”
“Have not.”
“Have too.”
“Jesus!” Alex crossed her arms. “Fine. You’ve got me. I’m a prude.”
“I know. That’s what I just said.”
“You’re a pain in the ass, you know that, right?”
“It’s my one true goal in life.” Rusty tilted her head toward the cottage. “Okay, Mary Poppins, me and Pipe plan on having a big night at the grocery store. You sure you don’t want to blow off your nap and party it up at Costco with us?”
“Tempting, but I’ll pass.”
“Spoilsport.” Rusty slapped her ass, then headed off across the parking lot toward the cottage, calling over her shoulder, “Catch you tomorrow.”
Alex watched her friend go and shook her head. The woman was a nut. She climbed the stairs to her place, then headed straight for the shower.
She’d just finished drying off and wrapped her towel around her chest when someone knocked on the door.
“Hang on!” She kicked the clothes she’d stripped off out of the way, jogged to the door, and opened up.
Deacon stood there, a smile on his face, then his gaze dropped and his sexy grin slipped. “Christ.” His gaze flew to hers, and he was scowling.
“What? I wasn’t expecting company.” She held the door wide. “You wanna wait while I get dressed?”
“No,” he growled.
“No?” The way he said it had her body heating, desperate for the guy in a split second. Not that it had really cooled completely after spending most of the weekend together.
He shook his head and stepped inside her place, forcing her to back up. “I came here with good intentions. I’d decided to take you shopping. I hadn’t planned on fucking you.” He slid his fingers around the back of her neck and fisted her damp hair. “If I take you to bed, I won’t want to leave. I’ll miss my flight and a very important meeting.” He leaned in, nipped her lower lip, his hungry gaze moving over her bare shoulders, the tops of her breasts. “Answering your door like this, you’ve messed up all my plans.”
“It’s a dilemma, all right.” Deacon had told her the day before that he was going away, but suddenly the idea of not seeing him for forty-eight hours straight didn’t hold the appeal she thought it would. “So what are you going to do about it?” She tugged on the towel and let it fall at her feet.
He sucked in a breath. “Since you’re forcing my hand, it looks like I have no choice.” He spun her around, hands going to her hips, pulling her into him, and rubbed the hard ridge of his erection against her bare ass. She moaned softly, couldn’t help it, a tremor moving through her body as soon as he took control. God, she loved it.
“I still plan on taking you shopping,” he rasped against her ear. “I want to see you try on beautiful dresses in all the best stores, baby. Do you remember when you told me that?” he chuckled. “You were seventeen and buzzed on the beer you and my sisters stole from the old man.”
Her belly did a happy flutter. She twisted, looking at him over her shoulder. “You remember?”
“Of course. I wanted to be the one to do that for you so badly, to make your secret wish come true.” He brushed his lips against her throat. “Now I can. But for me to give you that, our only option at this point is hard and fast.” He walked her forward until they stood in front of her tiny kitchen table. “Bend over, Alex. Hold the edge tight.”
She shivered at the rasp of his voice, his warm breath against her neck, and did as he asked.
“Very good.” He slid his hand from the base of her neck down her spine and over her ass, then dipped down between her cheeks. One of his fingers slid the length of her slit, grazing her throbbing clit. “You wet for me?”
“Yes,” she whispered. All he had to do was touch her.
He groaned and slid his finger deep inside, holding it there and swirling the digit. He trailed hot kisses up her side and over her shoulder, then bit gently on her earlobe. “You ready for me?”
She arched back, lifting her ass higher, needing more. “God, yes.”
The soft clink of his belt buckle being undone followed by his zipper coming down made her shiver. The fact that she was completely naked and he was still fully clothed was a massive turn-on. “Spread your legs wider, let me see how much you want it.”
She stepped out, doing as he asked.
His hand went back to her ass, skimming her heated skin, then he squeezed. “You’re a very bad girl for tempting me like this. Maybe I’ll punish you, what do you think?” His voice was rough, but there was also a teasing, playful note that she loved.