Watch Me Fall(27)

Now those lips were touching him. One of his thighs slipped between hers. The almost catlike way she undulated against him was nearly his undoing, but she pulled away to look at him, eyes dark with need. He felt that same need flickering through his body like heat lightning. Hotter and brighter than anything happening outside these walls. “I promise I haven’t had too much to drink,” she said. “Even if I had, I would remember this.”

Chuckling, he stroked her silky hair, watching the colorful strands slide easily between his fingers. “Hmm. I’m not sure I’m convinced.”

A wicked twinkle ignited in her eyes. “Then I guess we’d better work extra hard to make it memorable.” Sitting up, her gaze never breaking contact with his, she pulled her T-shirt off in one swift motion. His lungs locked down and his heart seized at the sight of her creamy skin with its vibrant tattoos. Tentatively, he lifted one hand and trailed his fingers over the cluster of orchids blooming on her right shoulder. Her skin was as petal soft as those flowers appeared. Starla’s eyes closed as he followed the lines down to the upper swell of her breast. His dick throbbed so hard, he knew she felt it even through their jeans; a throaty sound fell from her luscious lips and he shot upright to catch it, kissing her deeply and then dropping his head to see if her skin tasted as sweet as it looked. It did. Jesus, sweeter. Her hands grasped desperately at his hair as his sought the closure on her lacy black bra, making quick work of it and pulling it from her shoulders, down her arms, and finally flinging it to the floor.

She was breathtaking. He’d expected no less, but as much as he’d dreamed and speculated about seeing her naked, he wasn’t prepared for the sight. The little silver rings in her taut pink nipples begged him to play with them. Jared drew one caressing palm over her breast, feeling the wild beat of her heart and the hitch of her breath, teasing her nipple with the barest tip of one finger until she urged his head forward and he drew her into his mouth. So warm, so soft. He flicked her ring with his tongue, gently sucking.

“Oh God, yes,” she breathed. Her hands clawed at his shirt, and he let her go only long enough to let her wrench it off over his head. It went to join her bra on the floor, and then her hands were on his naked flesh. “Jared.”

She smelled so fucking good. She tasted so fucking good. He kissed a path to her other nipple and gave it similar thorough attention before murmuring, “Will you remember this?”

“Fuck, yeah, I will.” Though her words were tough, her voice shook, and he realized she was trembling. The couch didn’t give them much room to maneuver, but somehow he got her up and under him. Her hair shimmered in the grayish light from the TV. That same light caught and fractured in her dark eyes as she gazed up at him. He could just look at her all night, but there were also a million other things he wanted to do with her.

She was holding back. He didn’t know how he knew, but he did, and it gnawed at him, this feeling that she wanted to tear him apart but wouldn’t let herself. Maybe she worried what he would think. Or maybe she was nothing like he had anticipated. Bracing himself up on one arm, he trailed a knuckle down her stomach and watched the muscles twitch under his touch. So sensitive. The button on her jeans gave easily, and she wriggled her hips to help him get them off. He ended up on the floor in the process, and they both had a laugh, but when he realized he was at the perfect level, he moved her thighs on either side of him while she watched him intently with those amazingly direct eyes of hers.

Down here, her scent went straight to his fucking head and short-circuited it. Pure feminine need. He stroked her thighs, leaning down to take a little nip of her inner thigh with his teeth. Sighing with pleasure, she opened to him, raising one knee and dropping her other foot to the floor. He didn’t take off her panties, not yet. He teased, touching over damp, fragrant fabric until her hips began to move…

But the hard little nub under there was like nothing he’d ever felt before. Oh fuck, she didn’t…

Gently, he pulled her panties aside. Oh fuck, she did. A lovely little silver piercing rested in her folds.

No wonder she was watching him so closely. Wondering what he would think.

It was the hottest goddamn thing he’d ever seen. That a woman would be so dedicated to her own pleasure only made him want to pleasure her all the more. He dropped his mouth to her pussy, savoring her sudden sharp, joyous cry. As if she’d been waiting for this so long, so long…

The sound ended on a gasp as the lights flickered and blinked out. Sudden, impenetrable darkness engulfed them, and he couldn’t see her except in flashes of lightning. No sound but the thunder and their heavy breathing and the wet sounds of his sucking and licking her. He didn’t stop. Her hips threatened to throw him off, but he wrapped his arms tight around her thighs and held her down, held her open, her panties wrenched to one side, her hand buried in his hair. Then the words tore from her throat, a chant, a musical prayer: “Make me come, make me come, oh God, Jared, yes, don’t stop don’t stop don’t—”

He wanted nothing more than to surge up and plunge into her, feel her hot and wet around his throbbing cock, but not when she was so close, so delicious. He teased that tiny silver sphere until she came apart around him, her thighs clamping hard on him and her fist damn near ripping hair from his head. He’d give it gladly to make her feel this good. Because she deserved it. And maybe it was only his imagination, but she tasted even sweeter as she came. His name had certainly never sounded sweeter from anyone else’s lips as it did when she shouted it.

“And will you remember that?” he asked as she finally floated back down from her heights, loving her dark, dirty laugh as her muscles eased.

“I don’t know. I might need you to do it again, you know, just to be sure.”

Slowly, he pulled her panties off her hips. She lifted her legs so he could divest her of them completely. “Good. Because I can do this all night.”

“I wouldn’t survive all night.” His eyes had adjusted to the dark somewhat. She sat up and reached for the button on his jeans. Only then did he realize it was already undone. He must have unfastened it at some point to relieve the unbearable pressure. “Come here, baby,” she crooned, reaching deep to take him into her hand. His entire body seemed to groan with pleasure as her fingers found him. She kissed him, drawing him out of his jeans. Jared felt her smile against his lips. “I wish I could see you.”

Yeah, he couldn’t formulate a reply. Her grip was too damn perfect. He couldn’t see anything but neon explosions against the back of his closed eyelids. Her sweet scent still drew him, her softness. She sighed as he trailed his fingertips down her slit and nestled at her entrance. Both of them released a moan as he slipped a finger inside. Wet. So wet. So tight; she gripped him as if she couldn’t bear to let him go. He pushed in another, savoring her whimper, her increased pressure as she squeezed his dick. Not nearly as much as she would squeeze him when he slid inside—

His phone took that damned moment to ring, and worse, it was Shelly’s ring. Which most likely meant Mia. With the power being out, he knew right where this was headed.

He dropped his head to Starla’s shoulder, gently pulling his hand from her though she mewled in protest. “That would be my daughters.”

“Oh.”

“Shit.”

She laughed, but there was a sad quality to it. He could understand. He wanted to cry. “Go ahead,” she urged. “Be a good dad.”

Wincing, he stuffed himself back in his jeans and grabbed the phone while Starla began blindly searching for her own clothes. As soon as he answered, Mia started babbling, but he caught the gist: Daddy, the power’s out, Ashley’s scared, she’s such a baby (No I’m NOT!), whatever, we’re bored, can we come stay with you tonight?

They knew he had a generator, and any other time, he would already have it fired up by now. “I’ll come get you,” he told her, cramming the heel of one hand into his eye.

“Yay! Bye.” And she was gone as fast as she’d shown up.

Forcing himself to gently set his phone down on the coffee table lest he wrench it to pieces and fling it across the room was a struggle, but he managed. He put a hand on Starla’s leg to still her movements. “Hang on, and I’ll get you some light.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Not that I wouldn’t love to keep you naked right here in the dark.”

“Are you sure you don’t have time…?” She left the question hanging, and yeah, he was facing a serious case of blue balls, still so hard it hurt. It wouldn’t take long… Jared released a shuddering breath as her hand snaked its way back down his abs, but he gently caught her wrist. Getting his dick sucked while his kids were waiting on him to rescue them from a dark house just seemed wrong.

“It’s okay, darlin’,” he told her, and gave the back of her hand a consolatory kiss. He had to get away from her before he gave in. “Hang on.”

Movement helped somewhat. From years of habit, he was able to get to the kitchen and the drawer with the flashlight. Then it was out the back door and into the rain, a steady patter that was the equivalent of a cold shower on his overheated bare skin, hitting him like needles. The worst of the storm seemed to have moved on, though—too bad he couldn’t say the same for the one in his body.