Booty and the Beast, page 5
“Lady’s choice.”
“What an honor.”
I grinned. “It would be. I don’t do anything half-assed. I put in 100% on the football field, but I do even better in bed.”
Charisma nibbled her plump, bottom lip. Christ, every inch of the woman had become a fucking shrine of sexuality. The arch of her eyebrows. The puffy pout of her lips. Her cardiac curves that stopped my heart with every bump of her hips.
And that booty.
A guy could die happy just knowing that lovely ass existed in this world.
“If you’re anywhere near as good as you are confident, we might have a decent night,” she said.
“I’m a man of my word.”
“Fortunately for me, I know what that word is worth.”
That stung.
I expected it. Not like I was proud of how I acted back then. Maybe if I had treated her better—people better—I wouldn’t have been so goddamned desperate.
But, at the end of the day, the only possession a man truly owned was his pride. And when he had none of that left, the only way he could survive was to fake it.
I’d learned that lesson long ago.
“I’m different now,” I said.
Charisma circled me like a hungry lioness. “Thank God.”
“And I’m willing to prove how much I’ve changed.”
She slowly wagged a finger. “No…you’re sweet-talking me because you’re impressed by how much I’ve changed.”
“You can’t deny that you’re beautiful.”
She raised her chin. “It’s nice to hear someone else say it.”
“Someone…handsome, rugged, and worth wrinkling the good sheets?”
“Someone stubborn, irritating, and supremely unlucky.” Charisma winked. “Imagine finding the woman of your dreams after all these years only to be rejected.”
“Imagine refusing the pleasure of a lifetime over some silly, long-forgotten drama.”
She snorted. “And I suppose you’d promise me the world? That I’d be thrilled, spoiled, and thoroughly ravished?”
“Not how I work,” I said. “I fuck. You hang on for the ride of your life. Take what you can get while I’m offering it.”
“And just when you couldn’t get any more despicable.”
“Never had any complaints before. You’d be begging me to stop.”
“Let’s try it. See if it works.” Charisma crossed her arms. “Stop.”
“You don’t really mean it.”
“Does the mind-reading help you get into a woman’s pants?”
“Only when she’s throwing her panties at me.”
Her laugh charmed me, even when she wielded it at my expense. “Can you even remember the last time a woman rejected you?”
I answered that in all honesty. “It’s never happened before.”
I’d regret giving her that ammunition.
“First time for everything, huh?” she asked.
“I’ll let you know when I find a girl who isn’t interested.”
“What makes you think I want you?”
Easy. And it wasn’t the waver in her voice, trembling of her fingers, or twisting of her hips.
“Because I know what a beautiful woman looks like when she’s too proud to ask for what she needs.” I pushed off the couch.
To my delight, Charisma didn’t retreat.
Brave girl.
Beautiful girl.
Dangerous girl.
What was it about this woman? I’d never been so infatuated with a pretty face, slim waist, and punishing hips before. Charisma awakened something deep inside me—an instinct. A need. A raw, devil-borrowed intensity that usually only surfaced when I had my hands on a football and full daylight before me to run.
She despised me, spared me a smile to watch me sweat, and invited me into her home only so I’d realize how badly I’d fucked up my chances with her.
I’d faced a hell of a lot of challenges in my life.
None were as tempting as Charisma Cassidy.
I lowered my voice, and the words teased over the woman. The distance between us closed. A sizzling tension crackled between us. The hair rose on the back of my neck, but I liked that warning. Couldn’t be sure what she’d do when I encroached. Fight? Surrender? Make my life hell in the best possible ways?
“When was the last time you had a night of shameless, undignified, animalistic sex?” I whispered.
Her eyes widened, a bit of shock and curiosity that stirred the beast in me.
“What if I told you I had that every night,” she said.
“I’d know you’re lying.”
“How?”
“Because if a girl like you were getting fucked the way she needed, you wouldn’t have let me in your home.”
Charisma’s temper would be the ruin of her.
And the greatest pleasure.
She edged closer, lifting her chin to look me in the eyes.
“What if I wanted to torment you?” she asked.
“What a waste of energy.”
“But I think I’m getting off on it.”
I laughed. “You won’t think you’re getting off with me. You’ll know.”
“Let’s find out.” She locked gazes with me, a stare that might have intimidated a lesser man. “Step outside. I’ll lock the door. We’ll see who cracks first.”
“Why not experiment in the bedroom?”
“You wish.”
“I only obey yours.”
Her words turned sultry. “If you think I’m gonna sleep with you…”
“You know we’re not gonna sleep,” I whispered. “Why would you deny this? Don’t tell me you’ve changed so much, transformed into this beautiful woman, but you’ve never relieved your stress on the first thick cock you could fit inside you.”
She reared back to slap my cheek, but I grabbed her hand. She stumbled, off-balance, and crashed into my chest. Her harsh breath revealed far too much. A little rage. A lot of frustration.
And that heady, desperate pant of pure heat.
“It’s just you and me here.” I squeezed her hand and bathed the woman in goosebumps. “Tell me every vulgar thing you’ve ever wanted.”
She obliged, her voice a blend of hostility and covetous desire. “I want you to get fucked.”
I respected the threat, but it only encouraged me. Our bodies pressed together, and the heat nearly scorched the shirt from my chest.
She might have whispered every curse that would expel us from Heaven, but the truth of her desire would welcome us both to Hell.
“Why waste time when we both know what we want?” I asked.
Charisma bit her words. “Why? I bet you’d be done quick.”
“I’m all about endurance. Can go the full sixty-minutes.”
She scolded me with a harsh stare that lingered on the mistake tenting my pants.
“Let me guess,” she said. “One minute to ruin my high school fantasies, and fifty-nine for you to insist that this never happens.”
I didn’t let her pull away. I reached for her, daring to stroke my finger alongside her cheek. She didn’t bite it off. Surprising. But I hadn’t prepared myself for the gut-punch that was the softness of her skin, the silken promise of her lips, and the desperation hidden in her words.
“I’m used to being underestimated,” I said. “We’ll call it under-doggy style.”
“Romantic.”
Never heard anything so foolish in my life. “You don’t need romance. You need a man to prove to you how fucking irresistible you are.”
Her grin stung like a viper’s strike. “Like hell. I know how good I look.”
“Then flaunt it.”
“Unlike you, Nick Hart, I don’t seek other people’s approval for a bit of confidence.”
Harsh words.
“All I want is for anyone who ever doubted me to feel like the fool they are,” I said.
“You were a dick in high school, and you’re a dick now.”
“At least I’m man enough to admit I was wrong about you.” I brushed my fingers over her bare shoulder, savoring her shiver. “I feel like there’s a lot to learn about you, Charisma. I’d like to find out.”
I never thought resistance could be so ball-breaking.
Or sexy.
She peeked up at me with batted eyelashes. “All this time, I thought you were some meathead jock. Some wannabe athlete who’d do anything to dig his cleats in the dirt. Now I know better. You’re only after pussy.”
“Thought we could do each other a favor.”
“You fucking me isn’t a favor.”
“It will be, once you realize how great I am.”
Her smile slayed me. “I don’t doubt you at all. And that’s all the more reason to deny you.”
For Christ’s sake.
“Why?” I asked.
She tip-toed her fingers over my chest. My heart thudded in time. Racing.
Fucking strange.
Since when did my pulse ever raise when I wasn’t dead-lifting or facing a vengeful cornerback?
She stood proud, her lips inches from mine. Close enough to claim. Study. Imagine them wrapped around my cock.
“Because this is a punishment,” she whispered. “You won’t ever enjoy a single moment with me. Such a shame too, because I’m really good in bed. I’ve got all sorts of devious things I can do with my tongue, and I can move this new body in ways even an athlete like you couldn’t handle.”
“That right?”
“Best part is, I know how hard it’ll be for you to fall asleep tonight while you wonder how sweet I taste.” She leaned forward, taking my bottom lip between hers. “And I’m very, very sweet, Nick.”
She tried to kill me.
That’s what this was.
A fucking trap.
She’d have to make it look like an accident, so the damned vixen would spike my blood pressure until my cock popped off like a fucking rocket.
“Never took you for a tease,” I said.
“I’m not teasing. I’m being kind.”
“Might as well grab the handcuffs and a whip. I like your sort of sadism.”
She licked her lips. “You aren’t ready for me, Nick. No one is. Last thing I want right now is to worry about settling down, playing the happy little homemaker, setting the table and putting the kids to bed between loads of laundry.”
“I’m thinking about loads of something entirely different, Charisma.”
“All roads lead to Rome, but the one that detours through my bed would only complicate things,” she said. “One taste of me, and you’d want everything.”
“You think you’re that good?”
“I think I deserve it.” She shrugged. “I’m not the sort of girl who sleeps around, but I’m also not ready for any sort of commitment or complications or dead weight. My only concern right now is my work—and I devote every ounce of my energy to the health, welfare, and nutrition of every Ironfield Rivet. There’s no time for any…” Her eyes darted down to the troublemaker straining my pants. “Pick-up games.”
“We have something in common,” I said. “Nothing distracts us from our goals.”
Her eyebrow arched. “You seem very distracted right now, Nick.”
“Man’s gotta eat, sleep, and fuck. But my only goal right now is making the team, and you’re standing in my way.”
“Is that why you’re trying to get me on my knees?”
“Call it a perk.”
“I called it an inconvenience.”
I brought her hand to my lips. Her breath shuddered as I kissed her palm. “Could be magical.”
“It’s a mistake.”
“I don’t make mistakes.”
She swallowed. “No. You create messes.”
“And I’d love to make one with you…out of you…in you.”
“We do that, and I’ll never get you out of my bed.”
“You make it sound so dangerous.”
“No one has ever hurt you before.”
It wasn’t true, but I wasn’t about to admit it.
“And you’d be willing to plunge that dagger into my back?” I asked.
Her eyebrow arched. “I hate you, Nick…but I’d love to break your heart.”
Enough fucking games. I still held her hands. She stayed quiet as I guided her backwards. I tightened my grip over her wrist and pinned her against the wall.
“I’m a tough guy. I won’t get hurt.”
“All muscle and no brains,” she said. “You’re obsessed with winning at all costs, aren’t you?”
“Nothing wrong with a little healthy competition.” My body fit so perfectly against her. Eager to grind. Mount. Seize. “All I’ve ever wanted was to be the greatest fighter, player, lover…”
“Man?”
Her words stung.
“I never claimed to be a good man.” I supposed it should’ve shamed me. She was good at that. “But I’m the fastest on the field and the best between the sheets, and that’s all I need.”
I edged my knee between her legs. She acted tough, but her secret practically seared my thigh. I pushed up, bumping the part of her that weakened her body and earned a quick sigh.
Would she ever admit she ground against me?
Probably not, but I’d wear goddamned calluses into my palms reliving the memory.
“You’re an asshole, Nick.” Her voice ached with heat. “A bastard. A bully. You’ve always used your strength to get whatever you want, and you’re doing it right now.”
“Only because you won’t admit what you need.”
“I’d love an ice cream sundae and a slice of pizza, but I’m resisting my urges.” She tested my hold on her wrists. Her breath caught as she realized how firmly I held her. “Can you resist what you want?”
“No.”
“You’re such a beast.”
“No shame in instinct.” I drew her arms up, holding her wrists over her head. She stretched for me. A hint of her dark tummy peeked between her tank and leggings. Christ. The woman would destroy me. “What’s the harm in surrendering to those animalistic needs?”
“It’s a mistake.”
“It’s passion.” My words shadowed in a dangerous growl. “I push my body to the brink every goddamned day. No sense in wasting that sort of stamina…”
Her eyes closed, but her hips ground harder against my thigh. “Can’t waste that strength.”
“The endurance.”
Charisma sighed the word. “All that muscle…”
I fell over her, surging upon her lips with every damning, unrepentant ferocity that I’d honed from years on the gridiron. I’d never once quit. Never once surrendered. Never admitted defeat.
But after years of disappointment, the frustration coalesced into a rage more beast than man. More instinct than manners. More primitive than proper.
The woman enthralled a dark and dangerous part of me, a beast that had only before existed on the field, bleeding and bruised in the mud.
So much for a quick fuck. I’d hoped for something raw and rough, a release of pent-up aggression that would alleviate the strain coursing through my body, a feral urge that shredded my patience and flashed red in my mind.
Christ, was I wrong.
I pinned her against the wall, but, without the support, I’d have fallen over like a goddamned dog in the dirt. Wouldn’t have been so bad. A fierce tumble on the floor. A hard, well-earned fucking without a second thought to any complications.
I hardened to the point of pain as she moved her body against mine. The woman nearly blistered me with heat, and every kiss left me panting like an animal. I captured her whimpers. Slipped my tongue against hers and tasted pure desire.
And rage.
And lust.
And hatred.
All the best and worst and most dangerous emotions blending into a singular mistake of conquering passion.
I released her wrists only to pull her closer, but her phone vibrated from her pocket. The sensation buzzed through me. I could only imagine what it did to her. She giggled against my lips before pushing me away.
Damn the interruption.
Charisma warded me away with a wave of her hand. “You really are a slick bastard, aren’t you?”
“One of us is slick, baby girl. Care to take a guess who?”
The woman seemed proud of herself. “Do I have your attention now?”
Fuck, I couldn’t even remember my name.
“Tell them you’ll call them back.” The words grunted from my straining throat.
But Charisma teased me with a coy wink. “No can do.”
Did she want me to beg? “Think about what you’re missing.”
“I’ll survive. Will you?”
“Surprised I’m still fucking standing.”
“What a shame…” Her pout plumped her kiss-swollen lips even more. “Guess I’ll have to try harder next time.”
Should’ve realized Charisma was pure trouble wrapped in mischief and cloaked with wicked intentions.
She teased me.
And enjoyed it.
I’d been a worthless son of a bitch in my time. Done some shit things to good people and suffered the consequences.
But nothing compared to this.
The woman tortured me with the promise of pleasure.
I wasn’t much of a masochist, but for another nibble at her lips I would’ve face an entire blitzing defense buck naked during a sold-out Monday night game.
Hers was a twisted sort of torment.
Only made me like her more.
“You know, Nick…” She punished me with a sultry glance. “As much as I like toying with you—”
“—Believe me. I enjoy it too.”
“I have a better use for you.”
“More than one, I’d hope.”
“I do need a favor.”
“Can I do it lying down?”
She tutted her tongue. “Don’t get lazy on me now.”
“Not lazy,” I said. “Just pacing myself.”
“I think I need you, Nick Hart.”
My cock throbbed. “Fucking name it.”
She checked her phone again before sending a quick text.
“I don’t have patience for any questions,” she said.
I grinned. “Kinky.”
“And you will do everything I say.”
“That was a given.”
That satisfied her. “For the next twenty minutes, I’m going to be the only woman in the world for you.”
