"You're so warm. Silky soft." His gaze was boring into her, its intensity giving her shivers as his hands mapped her out.

Christy grabbed the blanket, intent on covering her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with it. "I'm not comfortable-"

Looking p.i.s.sed, he yanked the cloth away from her and threw it to the floor, the sudden movement almost making her fall from his lap. Suddenly she was sitting straight on his hard-on, nothing to cushion the contact, and the more she moved, trying to reach the blanket, the more his shaft lodged between her tender folds. With a growl of impatience, he grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands down to her sides, restricting her movements. "Don't hide from me. I've seen you. I've touched you. h.e.l.l, I've f.u.c.ked you. Nothing's wrong with you, sweetheart."

"You don't understand-"

"No, I don't," he replied in a harsh tone. She opened her mouth, ready to tell him all the things that were wrong with her body, but he interrupted her. "Listen to me, babe. You're lush and curvy, true, but there's nothing wrong with that in my book. Your stretch marks are barely visible. Your belly is beautiful. Soft and silky as a woman's should be. Your thighs too. I love how they feel around my waist. Your b.r.e.a.s.t.s are full and plump, perfect for me to lick and nibble, as firm as they ought to be."

She dropped her eyes. She hated this. How insecure she was about herself and her banged-up body, especially in front of him.

He forced her to look up, and held her chin so that she couldn't shake him off. "You do believe me, don't you?"

Yeah, as if. She shrugged. "Whatever. Let's just agree to disagree."

He wanted to argue. It was in his stance, but for some reason he decided to drop it. He bent over and swiped his tongue over her left nipple. Then the other. Suckling and pinching the tender tips until the pleasure took over and all she could think of was the way his mouth made her feel.

"So I got hired, right? You never gave me an answer for my proposition."

She laughed. "I'm naked in front of you. On top of you. You're sucking my t.i.ts and your c.o.c.k is pulsing between my open folds. Do you really need a formal answer to that?"

"Yes, I do. I like things clear. I don't want to have to worry that I'll go out of town and you'll go looking for man wh.o.r.es. I don't share."

"Of course I won't," she said, affronted. "Who do you think I am?"

His eyes were stern, his expression taut in warning. "What happens about the Studsus.com gala invitation?"

He was worried about that? Please. "The girls drew lots, and Annie won. She'll be going. You cost me my birthday present, mister."

The satisfied smile that broke over his face should have irritated her. "I'll replace it, sweet thing," he mumbled, nuzzling her t.i.ts, his stubble abrading her swollen tips and making her shiver in need. "I swear I'll make it worth your while."

He caressed her back, slid his hands down to her bottom, and parted her cheeks while she braced herself on his arms. With him making slow love to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and his c.o.c.k sliding back and forth over her open folds, she could hardly breathe, let alone berate him for being an arrogant a.s.s.

Urged by his hand pressing at her behind, she began rocking against him, which increased the friction to her pubic area. G.o.d, this felt so good. She clutched his shoulders, unable to stifle the whimpering sounds coming from the back of her throat every time his crown nudged at her c.l.i.t on the downstroke. As he caught her pebbled nipple with his mouth and suckled hard, her whole body suddenly tightened and she went over, the force and speed of her release blindsiding her.

He was watching her like a hawk when she opened her eyes. "Miss Speedy p.u.s.s.y is on the move again," he whispered, a grin on his face.

Still breathing hard, she halfheartedly slapped his chest. "Stop calling me that."

"Why? I like it. It has a nice ring to it."

"It does not," she told him with a soft smile.

"I love how easily you come undone for me," he said, sounding almost bewildered, and cupped her face possessively. "How you respond to my touch."

It suddenly occurred to her that if this was a one-o.r.g.a.s.m-per-one-date kind of deal, she was going to be indebted to him for life.

He brought his mouth to hers and kissed her. "You're dripping wet all over me, sweetheart. I want inside you. You sure you aren't too sore?"

She shook her head. She was achy down there, but it had nothing to do with being sore.

"We'll be needing a rubber then." Lifting her with him, he stood up.

She squeaked, encircled his neck. "What are you doing? Put me down. I'm too heavy."

He snorted. "How much do you weigh, sweet thing, one hundred twenty-five, one hundred thirty pounds?"

She shrugged at him, half a.s.senting.

Christy hadn't been on a scale in ages. If she weighed herself and had lost weight, she'd want to celebrate by eating; if she'd gained, she felt miserable and wanted to eat then too. It was a no-win situation. So she didn't weigh herself. As long as her clothes fit-and not the spandex ones-she was okay. Besides, her goal weight had always been her birth weight.

"Please, I've run for hours carrying battle gear much heavier than you. You're nothing."

Yeah, she guessed for someone of his strength, she wasn't heavy. Even after losing those seventy pounds and keeping them off for years, she still felt fat. Inadequate. She probably always would.

Without dislodging her, he got a condom and brought them back to the sofa.

"Hmm, don't you want to do this in bed?" Where it's darker? she almost added.

He shook his head. "Nope. Where were we? Ah, yes, you were going to ride me," he stated while rolling the latex on. "Up on your knees, baby."

He took himself in hand, sliding his erection up and down her slit until her juices were all over him and he glided smoothly. "Okay, let's do this nice and easy. Let's watch this pretty p.u.s.s.y swallow my c.o.c.k."

She eyed warily the thick club about to impale her. Nice and easy her a.s.s. She slipped onto him by degrees, jiggling, little by little taking him inside her. He was so d.a.m.n huge it almost hurt.

"Let me in, babe. Take all of me," he commanded, his gravelly voice washing over her and sending more liquid heat to dampen her core. Fisting her hair, he pulled her to him, taking her mouth hard and deep, leaving her half-drugged and at his mercy.

She managed to take him all in, but she felt stretched to the limit, her p.u.s.s.y muscles pulsing madly to adjust to the heavy presence.

"I don't think this is going to work..." His big shaft was burning inside her, unyielding.

"Open wide and lean back. Put your hands on my thighs," he ordered.

She obeyed, only to realize in this position she was totally open for his perusal. And she could clearly see him, which meant he could see her too. Embarra.s.sment froze her.

"Cole...?"

"Out of your head, sweet thing. Eyes on me," he commanded. "Watch what you do to me, babe...how much I want you." At his words, her p.u.s.s.y clenched and he hissed, growing even bigger inside her. "f.u.c.k, sweetheart. You feel so good wrapped around me."

Her whole body broke into shudders as he caressed her c.l.i.t with his thumb, his gaze glued to her inner thighs. He was so tense, the muscles of his neck bunching, the veins in his arms engorged. There was such intense need in his expression that she didn't feel embarra.s.sment. There was no shame or awkwardness, just scorching heat and pleasure. Her womb pulsed, and she began riding him, which earned her a growl of approval.

"Like this, babe. Forget everything, just feel me f.u.c.king you," he said, increasing the pressure on her c.l.i.t.

She moaned, t.i.ts straining toward him, and he leaned over, kissing and petting her oversensitized nipples while she rode him harder, his hips thrusting up every time she bore down on him.

Reaching over, he ran his fingers through the cleft of her rear until he pressed on her back entrance. She stilled and tensed.

"Shh, sweetheart, relax. I won't go any further. I'll stay at the door. Trust me. Let yourself go."

Before she could form any words coherently, he pressed the tip of his finger in her rear while with his other hand he stroked her c.l.i.t harder. G.o.d, too good. Her nails dug into his thighs. He thrust his hips up hard, reaching deep inside her, and she flew apart into a thousand pieces, her p.u.s.s.y spasming erratically and sending jolts of pure fire all over her body while she cried out his name.

"I need some leverage," she heard him say in a hoa.r.s.e voice.

Before she could recover, Cole had her on her back on the dining table near the window. He grabbed her by the back of her knees and folded her legs up and wide, spreading her totally for him. Then he pulled out of her and, leaning over, took a swipe from her entrance to her c.l.i.t.

"f.u.c.k, you taste good."

Without breaking eye contact, he impaled her with his c.o.c.k and began furiously thrusting into her. t.i.ts jiggling with each ram, she grabbed the table. With daylight flooding the room, Cole looked like a golden G.o.d, a Viking warrior, his gaze intense like a predator about to devour its prey.

She was exposed, but the pleasure was too great and she couldn't make herself care.

Chapter Six.

On Monday, as Christy and the girls entered the diner after a whole day of pampering themselves in the spa, Mike, Cole's foreman, greeted them from the counter with a smirk.

"Playing hooky?"

Christy blushed.

He chuckled softly. "It's okay, honey. At least I now know you haven't been shanghaied."

"Shanghaied? What do you mean?"

"Heads up. Your library was crawling with chicks this morning. When they found out Cole was out of town, they left, but I bet they'll be back tomorrow. Full force."

"What? What did they want?"

He shrugged. "Beats the c.r.a.p out of me. I never understood why women do the s.h.i.t they do."

Penny came over with a take-out box. "Here you go. Eight portions of apple pie."

"Thanks. I better go; the guys are waiting for this," he said, picking up the box. "Ladies."

The girls waved at him.

"What's that about? Why was the library full of women?"

"Oh, that one's easy," Penny said. "They're there to run interference. Since the picnic, word has spread that Cole is vulnerable in the library. They're giving it their best shot."

Christy rolled her eyes. "Why is this such a big deal? Hasn't he been dating?"

Annie snorted. "Chris, anything involving the Bowen brothers is a big deal in this county."

"Cole does go out with women, but seldom for more than a handful of dates. I don't recall him ever having anyone steady," Holly explained. "Cole doesn't let women in. He behaves like a gentleman, f.u.c.ks them blind from what I heard too, but there's always this distance he keeps.

"Which brings me to my next question: How's being f.u.c.ked blind working for you?" Holly inquired with a mischievous grin. "I would have asked before, but seeing as we had all these beauty technicians around us and then we were in the sauna and already having difficulty breathing, I didn't want to risk it."

Christy blushed bright. "Fine." And wasn't that the mother of all understatements. She was still in shock. She'd had no clue s.e.x like that existed. So raw. So animalistic. And yet so deeply pleasurable.

"How is he?"

Her face felt like it was on fire. "Hmmm..."

"That good, huh?"

Yeah. That good. And a couple of thousand bags of chips.

Cole wasn't gentle or nice, yet his dominant streak and his lord-of-the-manor ways did it for her. Big-time.

Still, she was grown up enough to realize she was so in over her head it wasn't even funny.

Holly interrupted her thoughts. "Say, Christy, does popular gossip have it right?"

It took a second for her to understand the question. "Soooo not talking about this."

The girls looked at each other and nodded. "Hung," they all said at the same time.

Cole arrived in Alden Tuesday at noon. He was supposed to come back much later that afternoon, but frankly he couldn't wait. Without pa.s.sing through home first and still dressed in the monkey suit, he headed straight for the library.

"Oh, Cole, it's so good you're back!" Marie screeched. "You can help us decide where to put the kids' section."

He looked around. There were one, two, three, four women in the library, fussing around, his men nowhere to be seen.

"What are you doing?" They were done with the structural renovations, but the place wasn't ready for the public by far. The shelves were all but empty, the computers still wrapped. Boxes full of books all over the place.

"Silly man," she said. "We're organizing this place, of course."

"Of course," he repeated, silently praying for calm.

Marie kept chattering, ogling with open interest the package he held in his hand.

"Where's Christy?"

"We've decided a local should be the one in charge of organizing this place and giving it the final touches. She's not one of us. We know better than to leave such important matters to outsiders. Only G.o.d knows what mess she'll get us into."

The muscle at his temple pulsed, and he loosened his tie. When he saw Mike, he darted toward him.

"What the f.u.c.k is going on?" He'd been out of town for less than forty-eight hours, for Christ's sake. Couldn't his men hold down the fort for that long?