His eyebrows shoot up and his jaw falls open.
Exasperation floods me. “Oh, close your damned mouth, Buck. You didn’t think I’d stay all chaste waiting on your ass, did you? Besides, it’s not as though you’ve been the model of morality these last few years.”
He stands, hands at his hips. “You want to hear my proposition or not?”
The curtains wait for me to push through them, to go my own way, to make this work on my own.
But three times the amount Sadie makes? That would sure as hell pay for the repairs on Aunt Delores’s house a lot quicker, freeing me up to get on with my life.
“Fine. What do you want?”
His big hands close around my hips, and he pulls me close. “Like I told you before—I just want you. I want all of you.”
THIRTEEN
I toss Thug One the key to my bike and usher Lou into the backseat of the SUV. Thug Two rolls up the darkly tinted dividing window between the front and back seats, giving me the privacy I crave.
As we pull out of the parking lot, Lou turns in her seat. “So, how’d you know where I was?”
I shrug. “Delores told Nan you took a job working nights at a convenience store near Slidell. I’m no mathematician, but I can put two and two together.”
“And getting past Lonnie and his watchdogs?”
I grin. “Lonnie was easy. Fucker’s as greedy as they come. He never has liked me, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to turn down the wad of cash I offered. Getting him to call off his bouncers and give me the room only took another handful of bills.”
She smoothes her hands over her thighs, picking at the side seam of her jeans and staring out the window. Her hair flows down her back; all those luscious waves call for my touch.
As soon as I slip my fingers into her dark tresses, she whips around to face me. “Okay, you’ve got me. What are you going to do with me?”
I bet she thinks she’s the only one who can play the shock and awe game?
I cup her jaw, rubbing her high cheekbone with my thumb. “First, I’m going to savor every inch of you. I want to feel you come apart as I lick that hot pussy, sliding my tongue over your clit and sinking my fingers into your folds. Then I’m going to watch as you taste every god damned inch of my fucking cock.”
She makes a little sound at the back of her throat that feeds my erection.
I pull her to me and whisper, “After that, I’ll taste you again. And when I fuck you, I’m going to wipe every guy you’ve ever been with from your memory and lay claim to any and all pie you’ll ever serve up from here forward.”
Her breath comes in little pants between puffy lips. Lips I’m dying to taste again.
Moisture seeps to my pussy when he slides the keycard into the lock, anticipation of what’s to come already revving up my hormones. God, I’m such a slut.
Fuck.
What am I thinking? This has to be the stupidest thing I’ve done since I first talked Buck into taking my virginity. It gutted me last time. No telling what shape I’ll be in when he’s done with me this go around.
Buck closes the hotel room door with a click that could rival gunfire the way my gut clenches and my hands shake. I tuck them under my arms as he flips the privacy bar into place.
“Sorry the drive took so long, but there aren’t really a lot of nice places between Slidell and home. It had to be New Orleans.” He whips his shirt over his head. His chest flexes, drawing my gaze and quickening my pulse.
I stroll through the suite. The deep green carpet, sitting area, and the king sized bed scream luxury. “This is the fanciest place I’ve ever stayed. I would’ve been fine at a Holiday Inn. You forget who you’re dealing with here, Buck.”
He slides his big fingers over my hips, slipping them beneath my top. “I know exactly who I’m dealing with.”
“Do you? Because I sure as hell don’t recognize you.”
He tugs me closer. “You think I’m that different?”
“I think you must be. The Buck I grew up with wouldn’t have suggested an arrangement like this—not in a million fucking years.”
“Well, maybe I’ve changed some. I know what I want now. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get it.”
“So you just want to fuck me? And you’re willing to pay all that money to do it? You could have pretty much any girl for free—why me?”
His fingers inch around to my back. “Because, I’ve always wanted you. And you don’t seem real inclined to let me do this the traditional way, so I’ll color outside of the lines. Why are you agreeing to it if it’s so distasteful?”
“I guess we’ve both changed. I know what I need, and I’ll do what I have to in order to make it happen.” Besides, the idea of having sex with Buck isn’t offensive at all. It’s what I’ve hungered for over the last five fucking years. I just can’t let him in on that.