Under Pressure(18)

Slowly, his eyes tracked up from the floor, over her calves and thighs, her hips and belly, bare breasts and tightened nipples.

When he reached her face, finally meeting her own stare, what she saw nearly had her running for the door. Because she was no longer confident she could handle this man.

Wild need, an unchecked drive for possession.

Asher wasn’t the kind of man who did anything half-assed. He was intense, focused, thorough...

A shiver ricocheted through her body at the thought of that intensity pointed solely in her direction. Dangerous heat flared out from him, threatening to consume her.

“Give us both this,” she managed to whisper. “No strings, no expectations. Just the next few days.”





9


ASHER GROANED. HE was done. Couldn’t walk away. And he knew it.

Kennedy stood there, legs spread, defiance in her eyes, and dared him to do his worst. The problem was, he wanted to give her only the best. Which wasn’t smart, for either of them. Especially considering what she’d just told him.

Her words, I’m leaving, tied knots in his gut. They’d miss her at Trident, no doubt, but his reaction was more. And something he didn’t want to dwell on. Especially not right now when Kennedy was naked before him, begging him with those tempting golden eyes to surrender to the physical need pulsing between them.

Asher stalked forward. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he brought her tight against his body, but kept going until her back connected with the wall of the room.

She gasped, the muted sound echoing through his head like a thunderclap. The soft swell of her breasts rose and fell against his hard chest.

Dipping his head, he found the curve of her neck and licked. “I don’t do forever, Kennedy,” he whispered against her fragrant skin. She smelled like sugar and sin.

“Please.” She laughed. “Retract that ego. You aren’t the kind of man I could ever see myself with long-term, Asher. You’re arrogant and dictatorial. Stubborn and insufferable.”

“And you like boys you can bend to your will?”

“Not at all. Do I strike you as the kind of woman who prefers easy?”

“No.” Kennedy didn’t go looking for trouble, but she didn’t shy away from hard topics, either. He admired the hell out of her tenacity and persistence. Even now, pressed against the wall and at his mercy, she was giving him attitude. And he liked it.

His mouth curved into an appreciative smile as he trailed his lips down her shoulder. His body raced with energy and excitement.

“It’s sex, Ash, nothing more.”

“Just so we’re on the same page,” he said, punctuating the statement with a playful bite of her shoulder.

She squeaked and then melted against him.

His hands roamed, touching as much of her as he could claim. Her skin was so smooth and silky. And he was damn well going to take his time and enjoy every second of this experience.

“Why the hell couldn’t there be a bed?” he growled. He wanted to stretch her out and explore.

Kennedy scraped her fingernails lightly down his back, his skin tingling. Bringing her mouth to his chest, she trailed her tongue across his pec. And then paid him back by sinking her teeth into his shoulder. The bite was quick and didn’t leave more than a momentary sting. It was the statement behind it that had his entire body revving. He could do anything he wanted, but she’d collect exactly what he got from her.

He didn’t have to worry about her bending or breaking beneath the weight of his need. She could take whatever he dished out.

That was a heady thought.

Reaching between them, he yanked her panties down over her smooth thighs. Before he could even ask, she was stepping out of them, flicking a foot to send them sailing across the room.

She wanted this as much as he did.

Palming a thigh, he wrapped her leg around his hip and pressed against her.

Her dampness soaked into him through the barrier of his shorts. He needed that obstacle there to keep him in check. Without it, he would have simply sunk deep into her, uncaring about anything but the driving need to feel her wet heat wrapped around him. And she deserved better.

Reaching between them, Asher let his fingers play across her belly and hips. The crease of her thigh. Lightly dancing over the swell of her sex. Her hips arched, grinding tighter against him.

Finding her slippery with need, Asher groaned in the back of his throat. “Kennedy.” He could just imagine how good it was going to feel to sheath himself inside the tight confines of her body.

Rolling her hips and chasing after his fingers, she said, “Touch me, Asher. Now. Right now.”

How could he ignore such a sweetly implored order? Plunging one finger into her sex, Asher quickly realized that wasn’t enough—for him or her.

He watched passion contort her features. Her head dropped against the wall, but she didn’t close her eyes. She watched him, that light brown gaze devouring his every move. There was something sexy about her direct stare, the way she didn’t flinch or hide from what was happening between them.

She faced it head-on, accepting it for what it was. For a second, Asher felt a curl of jealousy. That kind of pragmatism must be liberating. He wanted to be able to look at the world and see it exactly the way it was. The way Kennedy saw it.

Plunging another finger deep inside her, Asher curled them and stroked, searching for the spot that would make her world shatter.

He knew the moment he found it. Her fingers tightened around his arms. Her eyelids flickered, going drowsy and heavy. Her breathing hitched. Her hips jerked. Her skin flushed a hot, beautiful pink.

“That’s it, darlin’. Right there. I’ve got you,” he murmured. In and out, over and over, he worked that single spot until she was panting and mindless. He added his thumb to her clit, gently rolling the bundle of nerves with just enough pressure to inflame but not send her over.

A dewy sheen that reminded him of heavy, humid summer nights back home slicked her skin. Leaning closer, he flicked his tongue over her collarbone, tasting salt and sex. Then he slipped down and sucked the tight bud of her breast deep into his mouth. The flavor of her burst across his tongue, and he wanted more.

He wanted to lap at her sex, drinking in everything she could give him as she writhed beneath the torment of his mouth.

Later.

Right now, he wanted to see her come.

“Please, Ash,” she gasped, telling him she needed it almost as much as he did. He could practically feel the way her body throbbed. Or maybe that was his own pulse straining against the torturous band of his shorts. The same tempo was pounding at his temples, a rhythm taunting him to take.

Kennedy’s hips moved against him, restless, needy. He could feel the muscles of her sex winding tighter, clamping down on his fingers. She trembled everywhere, her body so balanced on the edge that it wouldn’t take much to send her over. God, he wanted that. To know he could bring her pleasure.

With several quick strokes, Asher sent her over. The orgasm ripped through her, and for a second it felt like the fury of it had claimed him, too. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, trying to keep the keening cry locked inside her throat. What he wouldn’t give to be somewhere truly private where he could make her scream over and over, each sound only for him.

She collapsed, sharing her weight with him and the wall at her back. Her fingers dug into him, as if she was afraid if she let up even a little she might slide to the floor.

Burying her face in the curve of his neck, her words caressed his skin. “Holy crap.”

Pride and satisfaction ripped through him, mixing with the pounding desire that still rode him hard.

He barely had enough brainpower to grab the condom he always kept in his wallet before shedding his shorts. Somehow he managed to keep Kennedy upright at the same time, never losing his grip on her.

He was about to roll the condom over his erection when her hands covered his, stopping him.

“What?” he growled, for a second thinking she’d changed her mind. He should have known Kennedy wouldn’t do that. She was many things, but a tease wasn’t one.

Instead, she took the ring of latex from him, grinning with a smile that had restlessness and hunger mixing in his belly. Mischief and promise. In that moment he would have given just about anything to know the thoughts streaking through that diabolical and brilliant mind of hers.

Popping the condom into her mouth, Kennedy sank to her knees in front of him. This time, Asher didn’t stop her. From beneath her lashes, she watched him.

Wrapping her hand around him, Kennedy leaned forward and used her lips and teeth to roll the condom down his hard shaft. The heat of her mouth was pure torture. Pressure. Perfection.

Asher pressed his palms to the wall, trying to keep himself upright. His knees felt like jelly as she stroked him, up and down, sucking hard and then barely touching him.

This was not how he wanted to come, but it felt so damn good.

Finally unable to take anymore, Asher grasped her and pulled her up. Spinning back to the desk, he’d never been so grateful for a cleared surface in his life.

Setting her on the edge, he spread her thighs wide and plunged deep inside. Kennedy groaned, arching her back and letting her head drop. She pushed up into each of his strokes, trying to get more.

God, could she be any more perfect?

Her body trembled against him. He could feel her winding hard for another orgasm and wanted it—for her and himself. He was greedy, craved everything she could give him.