He didn’t like it. But he couldn’t deny the feelings welling up inside him. He tapped them down and shoved the lid back on them. Like a volcano, emotions bubbled deep inside him. He’d keep them there like he always had. That was safe. That was smart. If you didn’t expect things then people couldn’t let you down.
Satisfied he had everything under control once again, he walked into the room with a smile on his face. “Where’s that beer you promised me?” he asked his friend.
Lucas handed him one and he took a swig, letting the cold brew slide down his throat. Missy eyed him, a slight frown on her face. He smiled and shook his head.
She gave him a questioning look before turning back to Candy.
T.S. relaxed as the evening wore on. Good food, great friends and a hot, classy woman who was going home with him tonight. What more could a man want?
Missy’s entire body was humming when she unlocked the door to her apartment several hours later. T.S. was right behind her, his bulk surrounding and sheltering her, constantly reminding her he was there.
The evening with their friends had been fun, making Missy realize how much she’d missed that kind of thing over the past few years. Oh, she and Candy did stuff together, but it was different with a group. Tonight had been an eye-opener.
She’d become too rigid in her life. She’d had to be that way in the beginning in order to survive, but she was a mature adult now with her life under control. She knew who she was and what she wanted. She was different from her parents and brothers. She could afford to relax and simply enjoy life a bit more, not always be so focused on a goal.
She’d forgotten how great it was to sit around with friends, drink beer and eat way too much good food. They’d laughed and joked and talked about work and mutual acquaintances. Nothing cultural about the evening. Just plain old-fashioned fun.
Thankfully, she’d worn a dress and didn’t have to worry about the button of a pair of pants popping open. It really was Lucas’ fault. The man had produced the most sinful chocolate cake for dessert. With raspberry filling, no less. Of course she had to have a piece. It was only polite.
She groaned and kicked off her shoes.
“You okay?” It was the first words T.S. had spoken in a while. He’d been unusually quiet most of the evening.
“Too much cake.” She hung up her coat and purse and sighed. It was good to be home.
One corner of his mouth kicked up. “Yeah, that was a killer cake.”
“Lucas wooed Candy with baked goods.” She smiled at the memory of the magnificent brownies he’d brought to work for Candy. They were still her favorite cookie.
T.S. stood just inside the door, boots and coat still on. Her stomach roiled and it had nothing to do with too much cake. “Aren’t you staying?”
“Do you want me to?”
Missy frowned, not quite able to read his mood. “If you want to. If you’re too tired, I understand. You didn’t have to follow me home. I can get home on my own just fine.”
She thought she heard him mutter “I know” under his breath, but couldn’t be sure.
Enough was enough. She wasn’t in the mood to play guessing games. “Look, if this is the ‘it’s been fun’ speech, then just give it and leave.” She crossed her arms over her chest to keep from showing how badly she was trembling. She’d known it was inevitable, but she’d hoped for longer with him. But if he was going to break things off it was better to do it quickly.
He scowled and stalked toward her. “Has it just been fun?”
She snorted, ignoring how large he seemed as he loomed in front of her. She might be almost as tall as him, but T.S.’ shoulders dwarfed hers. “It’s been fun all right, but at the moment, not so much.”
“I don’t like what I’m feeling for you?” He might have been talking about having a root canal without painkillers for as miserable as he sounded.
“Me either,” she shot back. She hadn’t planned on getting so close so fast. On many levels, T.S. was so wrong for her. On others… Well, he was too right on other ones. She wanted him to the point where she couldn’t stop thinking about him. At work. When she was working out. When she went grocery shopping. It was crazy.
“So what do we do about it?” His dark, stubbled jaw made him appear dangerous and very sexy.
She looped her arms around his neck. He automatically caught her around the waist and pulled her close. “What do you want to do about it?” She rubbed up against his erection, loving his hardness and heat.
“Damned if I know,” he gritted out. “But this will do for starters.” He kissed her and she tasted need and desperation. She returned it, giving him her tongue and then coaxing his into her mouth.
She lost all sense of time and place as the kiss went on and on. His hands clutched her ass. She was almost desperate to get closer to him and tugged at his coat. He swore and pulled away long enough to shove off his coat and drag off his shirt.
Missy gave a low murmur of approval, running her hands over the large expanse of sculpted muscles. T.S. was one fine specimen of manhood.
He captured her mouth again and then bent down, put one arm behind her knees and scooped her off her feet. He carried her down the hallway to her bedroom. Missy would never admit it aloud, but she loved being carried by him. It made her feel feminine and delicate and cared for. Not something a modern, independent woman wanted to admit, but there was no denying it. A woman her size didn’t get carried very often. In fact, T.S. was the first to ever do so.
T.S. lowered his head and kissed her. There was a sense of urgency about the act that permeated her awareness. She wanted to ask him what was wrong but was swept away by the sheer physicality of the situation. Sex first. Talk later.
Her feet hit the floor and she didn’t waste any time. She wanted him naked. Wanted their bodies joined together, flesh to flesh.
She reached for her zipper as he bent down and undid his boots. The muscles in his shoulders bunched and rippled, his biceps bulged as he removed them and went to work on his jeans and boxer briefs.
Then he was naked, his cock jutting proudly in front of him. She was still totally dressed. “Let me help you with that.” T.S. reached around her and tugged down her zipper. The metallic hissing sound was loud in the otherwise quiet room. The muted sound of traffic and the city seemed far away from them. Nothing could touch them here.
T.S. peeled the sleeves of her dress down her arms, exposing her one inch at a time. He paused occasionally, licking and kissing her flesh. God, she was so hot. Her panties were damp, her pussy swollen and wet and her breasts ached.
But more than that, her heart yearned for T.S. To be as close to him as possible. To hold him and never let him go.
Her dress fell to her waist and then slithered over her hips, pooling around her ankles. His fingers traced the lace on her bronze-colored bra. “You look good enough to eat. Sweeter than anything Lucas could ever create in his kitchen.”
The man was seducing her with words alone. That and the hot, lusty expression in his piercing golden eyes.
His fingers twisted the front closure, releasing it. The bra cups peeled back. “Oh yeah.” He brushed his lips over one pert nipple, then the other. “Riper than any raspberries.” He nuzzled her skin. “Richer than any dark chocolate.”
Missy moaned and clutched at his hair, pulling him closer. He laughed and nipped at her flesh before soothing it with his tongue. “You want me, don’t you, babe?”
“Yes.” Did she ever.
“Mmm.” He made the sound of pleasure as he eased the bra straps down her arms. The garment joined her dress on the floor. His thumbs hooked into the waistband of her panties. He didn’t hesitate to shove them down her thighs. She gave her hips a wiggle and felt his thick erection against her stomach.