Mr. Virile and the Girl Next Door (7 page)

“Jesus,” he murmured against her mouth as she ran her hand up and down his shaft. “You’re going to kill me. I feel like I’ve wanted you forever. How is that even possible when I’ve only known you for a couple of weeks?”

The weight of him was heavy in her hand and she focused on that instead of his words. She didn’t want to hear pretty sentiments right now, not when she knew she was going to say goodbye to him after this.

She had to.

Holly stepped back, leaving his hard cock for the moment, and caught his hot gaze with a sultry one of her own. Keeping him in her sights, she lowered her hand and began slowly unbuttoning the top of her pajamas. She hoped she didn’t look ridiculous as she tried to tease him with peaks of skin beneath the stupid flannel sheep, but she needn’t have worried.

Dane was transfixed. He wanted her. God, he wanted to devour her. He stared at the valley of naked flesh between the panels of her shirt like it was his first look at a woman. She turned, smiled coyly over her shoulder, and lowered the shirt inch by tantalizing inch. When it rested in the crooks of her elbows and she was bared to mid-back, she saw the change in his eyes.

“You’ve had your fun, Holly. I hope you’re ready to face the consequences of breaking the rules.” He hooked a hand in the top of the shirt and yanked it to her wrists, gently binding her arms behind her back. He turned her to him and smiled like the devil before he cupped one breast and brought his mouth down.

She cried out when he sucked at her nipple greedily. The wet heat of his mouth and the slight scrape of his teeth shot arrows of lust from her breast to the apex of her thighs.

“You like that, sweetheart?”

Holly bowed her back, arching and offering him her breasts, silently begging him to never stop. Please, never, never stop. The shirt constrained her arms, frustrating her, but Dane lavished attention on her other breast and she forgot she had arms. He stroked and caressed her breasts, her stomach, and she was melting under his skilled touch. It seemed her whole world was pooling at her center.

She shook her arms free just as he went to his knees. Dane watched her face as he slowly lowered the bottoms of her pajamas. With expert hands, he stroked from her buttocks down the back of her legs, all the way to her ankles and back, all while staring into her eyes. Her legs trembled beneath his touch and he planted a kiss on her tummy. And then lower, and lower, and lower until he kissed her intimately where all the nerves in her body led.

She wouldn’t be able to stand it long. Not while his lips and tongue plundered, seeking, delivering crushing kisses and teasing caresses. “So fucking good,” he said between licks. He held her bottom tightly in his big hands and then he rolled her clit with his tongue.

She bucked as his tongue stoked the fire of her desire to a roaring inferno.

“Oh yeah,” he murmured. “Let go, sweetheart, let it all go.”

And she did. As one peak subsided, he brought her to another with his mouth. She cried out his name and who knows what else as the pleasure stretched her taut and then left her boneless. If he hadn’t picked her up, she’d have melted onto the floor. Instead, she found herself being whisked into her bedroom as if she weighed nothing and the house was on fire.

“You’re still dressed,” she said while he lowered her to the mattress.

“Not for long.” Reaching behind him, he pulled the t-shirt over his head in one fluid motion. She rose to her elbows to watch him take the rest off. He was really something else. A dream man come to life. Dane pulled out his wallet and tossed it on the bed next to her. “Condom,” he ordered while shucking off his jeans.

“So bossy.” But she pulled the condom out anyway, holding it palm up.

Dane cupped the back of her head and brought his face down close to hers so that she was trapped in his gaze. “You haven’t begun to see bossy yet. I’m going to fuck you, Holly. I’m going to make you cry and moan and beg. I’m going to pay you back for every moment of desperation you’ve put me through. If you can walk after I’m done with you it will be a miracle.”

Nobody had ever talked like that to her before. She loved it. “Tell me more,” she said, reaching for his cock, enjoying the way it pulsed when she touched it. It was already like stone, but it continued to harden, proudly pointing at her.

Dane groaned a sound from deep in his chest. “Tell you more? Oh baby, I’m going to show you more. God that feels amazing.” He hadn’t let go of the back of her head, but his other slid down between the slick folds of her sex. “
You
are amazing.”

She shivered, already banking towards another climax as he swept his fingers over her clit. Dane released her head when she handed him the condom, realizing that she didn’t have the mental capacity left to deal with the packaging.

He tore it open with his teeth like some kind of primal beast. Something deep inside her responded with a
Hell, yes! Bring it on
. She threw herself back on to the mattress and submissively waited for him to begin his ravishment.

He was on her, in her, so quickly that the invasion shocked them both. They stilled as her body relaxed to accommodate his impressive size. It didn’t take long before her hips were rocking of their own accord to bring him closer.

“Wrap your legs around my waist,” he ordered, and when she did, he plunged deeper inside her. His head snapped up and his gaze shot to hers, trapping her again. It was too much, too intimate, but she couldn’t break the connection.

He withdrew, and then drove into her again, harder still. Each thrust brought him deeper until she was mindless as he moved within her faster and faster. Each thrust of his body tortured her even as it pleasured. She’d never known a hunger so dark.

Dane reared back violently, his whole body clenching, his muscles seizing. He was holding back his climax and she wanted to see him lose himself to her. To forget his reputation, his lovemaking skills. She wanted him panting and unable to control himself, so she squeezed her inner muscles tightly. “Fuck me harder. I want you to come inside me.”

“You’re killing me,” he groaned. Holly tilted her hips a touch more, and Dane hissed as he savagely grabbed her hips and pistoned into her over and over, her name like prayer on his lips. She hit her head on the headboard when he plunged one last time and the near feral tremors of his body rocked her to another climax into the edge of oblivion.

Dear Mr. Virile,

I’m worried that I am too loud in bed? I can’t help it. Do guys care?

Signed,

Aurally Sensitive

Dear Aurally,

Most men love to hear a turned on woman. And they feel like they are doing their job well when it’s our name, or God’s, on your lips. I know that it’s commonly accepted that men are visually stimulated…but haven’t you seen us drool over sub-woofers too? The best sex is uninhibited sex, so stop worrying and let yourself go.

Yours,

Mr. Virile

Chapter Seven

Dane was not a cuddler. He usually gave himself ten minutes, tops, to stay in bed after sex. His arm was asleep, her bed was too soft, and his dog probably had to go out after eating all the rich doughnuts. Yet, he didn’t want to move because Holly felt…good.

Really, really good.

He’d like the opportunity to go for round two because, while the sex had been amazing, he knew he could do better. It had all been very rushed and chaotic, which was to be expected, he supposed, since he had never
wanted
, but not
gotten
, sex for that long before. But Holly was probably expecting more, given his reputation. He wanted to make sure she was good and satisfied, and also, he wanted back inside her more than he cared to admit.

She shifted in his arms and he watched her face as she came awake. She was beautiful, really. There were probably more poetic ways to say it, but the warm, unfamiliar sensation in his chest distracted him from coming up with anything better.

She was simply beautiful.

Holly blinked a few times, surprised for that split second, to find him in her bed.

“Wow,” she said.

“Yeah,” he replied. He brushed a lock of fire from her brow. “I was about to wake you. I’m a little concerned that I shouldn’t let you sleep too long in case you have a concussion.”

She crinkled her nose and then, remembering, rubbed the top of her head. “Oh, yeah. The headboard.”

Dane wanted to freeze time. Everything at this very moment felt perfect, preordained almost. And if he let himself think about it too hard, it would ruin the moment, so he tried to shut off his brain.

Holly, on the other hand, rolled away from him.

“Hey, where are you going?”

She was already stuffing her arms into the sheep shirt, which was inside out. “I have a million things to do today.” She trudged across the room, stopping to plant a quick peck on top of his head. “Thanks for stopping by with breakfast. I need to get in the shower. Call me later?”

He couldn’t answer her. She didn’t actually give him the opportunity to answer. He heard the lock click on the bathroom door before he could so much as say, “What the hell?”

Dane growled while scooping up his clothes. Thanks for breakfast? Seriously?

He felt…used. And stupid. Like he’d been reading a map upside down. This kind of thing was exactly the reason why he didn’t want to get involved in relationships with women. You never could tell which way the wind was blowing. Holly accused him of running hot and cold with her, but she was giving him frostbite on top of third degree burns. And to think he thought maybe they had something special. Okay, so he hadn’t actually told her that. But he was new at this kind of thing and she was supposed to be all-knowing and wise, wasn’t she? Surely she should know that he could almost want something to maybe work between them, right?

He slammed his feet into his shoes, found his wallet, collected his dog, and paused with his hand on the knob of her front door.

How many times had a woman paused at his door like this? He’d always been very clear that sex was a one-time thing—but hell, even he’d gotten caught in his own trap this time. Had he made other people feel this small? This insignificant?

He shook his head. No. He didn’t feel any of those things. Because he got what he wanted from Holly and he should be glad she’d been so accommodating and reasonable. Instead of turning a morning of good sex into some sort of commitment that neither of them wanted, like some women would, she’d enjoyed it for what it was. She didn’t cling or make more of it than that it was just good sex. Which was exactly what he wanted.

Wasn’t it?

Thanks for breakfast indeed.

A week later, Dane picked up his cell phone and wanted to swear. Instead, he downed his Scotch and signaled the bartender for another.

Dammit. She wasn’t returning his calls.

He’d given her space. He’d sent flowers. He texted quick thinking of you messages. He’d even resorted to commenting on one of her blog posts. She’d casually responded to him at first, but he was forced to admit she was giving him the brush off now.

He supposed it was only to be expected. He couldn’t bat a thousand forever. There were bound to be women that just…got away. The lining of his stomach protested that thought as it mixed with the booze. It just bothered him because, before they slept together, they had been friends. And now they were nothing.

What had she told him on the phone the last time they’d spoken? Some nonsense about how she thought he was great, but that she’d have been a better match for Dante Martino than Dane Martin. What did that even mean?

He spotted Holly’s agent, Mitch, at the other end of the bar. Dane’s first impulse was to go pump him for information. Subtly, of course. Like women did. But the closer he got, he realized that the guy looked rough, just sitting there and staring at the ice melting in his glass. Well, maybe Dane could do some good instead of moping tonight. He loosened his shoulders, went for the indolent slouch he was so famous for, the one that showed just how unconcerned he was about anything, and swaggered over to Mitch. Checking out the blonde in the fuck-me heels and the brunette in the halter dress along the way.

They checked him out too. But he felt…not a whole lot. Damn. They were sending all the right signals, too. What was wrong with him?

Dane pulled out the stool next to the sad sap. “Mitch.”

Mitch took one look at him and snorted. “Perfect.”

Dane frowned. Not really the reaction he’d been expecting. “You okay, man?”

“Not really, Mr. Virile. Not really.” He scrubbed his hands across his cheeks, the stubble rasping lightly. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?” Obviously, Mitch had been drinking for quite a while. The kind of drinking that either turned a man mean and invincible or into a country western song cliché. “How about some coffee?”

Mitch leveled a glance at him. “I’m pretty happy with rum, but thanks anyway.” He tipped his glass, drinking around the ice cubes. “You ever been in love?”

Dane stared at Mitch with equal parts bafflement and horror. “God, no.”

“You’re a lucky bastard, then, Mr. Virile. Love will suck the marrow right out of your soul.”

The mixed metaphor confused Dane, but he let the moment pass. Mitch would undoubtedly keep talking. That’s what drunk men did.

Mitch sighed. “It’s weird. The way you look at lots of women and they’re all fine and lovely and then the way the light attaches to one is different. She’s all sparkle and dazzle and it’s captivating, but it’s like looking straight on at the sun. And then it doesn’t matter if you try to look away because her light is scorched on your retinas and you’re blind forever.”

The bartender brought them another round. Which was good because Dane suddenly needed a drink very much. “That doesn’t sound lovely at all. So, don’t fall in love.”

Mitch chuckled a hoarse sound. “That’s where the falling part comes in, my friend. It’s not a choice, it’s an accident. You just fall down, down, down.” He motioned with his hands and made an explosion sound.

Dane had managed to side-step around the hazards of “falling” this long. And for that he was thankful. “You need to brush yourself off and get back out there.”

“It’s not that easy. Once love sinks its teeth in, you can’t just get back out there and go on to the next.”

Dane’s stomach lowered an inch. He hadn’t been with another woman since the night he met Holly. Surely that was a coincidence. A bead of sweat formed on his temple. Cold sweat. “How do you know it’s love, not just misbegotten lust?”

“When she’s all you think about. When you find yourself picking up your phone a thousand times a day to share something with her because you know it will make her laugh or she’ll make you laugh.” Mitch shrugged. “When you want to slay all her dragons.”

Dane thought of the tornado warning, how he’d wanted more than anything to make Holly feel safe. But surely that was different. He barely knew her then. It was testosterone, not love. Right?

“I don’t know how to explain it to someone who’s never felt it. It’s just that the world feels right when she’s with you. And you can tell her your secrets and your fears and you know it’s safe. You don’t have to hide anymore.”

Dante Martino. Dane had never shared his past with anyone before, and he’d told Holly the one thing that could undo everything he had going for him now. And it had never occurred to him that she could use it against him because he knew she wouldn’t. He trusted her.

He didn’t have to hide with her. He didn’t even have to hide from himself when he was with her.

Dane swallowed hard and his stomach pitched even lower. He thought of her voice, her freckles, the way she made him laugh. He thought of her heat, the way he wanted to hold her when he was spent. Jesus. How could he have not seen what was happening to him?

And the one thing he didn’t think of, what he hadn’t thought of once, was getting “back out there.” Because he didn’t want out there. Not anymore. He wanted to come inside from the cold, finally.

What if it was too late?

…

Holly didn’t know how long the doorbell had been ringing because, well, brunch was getting out of hand. She wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and set down her Mimosa. “Oh my God, you guys. We’ve had three bottles of champagne and haven’t even mentioned the reading yet. We are the worst book club ever.”

She hefted herself off the floor and did a mental headcount. Everyone was here, so who was at her door?

Thank God for her friends. They’d gotten her through the last two weeks in one piece. Mostly. She’d let herself fall for the biggest player of them all. The Kingpin. She deserved the beating her heart had been taking, but that didn’t mean it hurt less. At least she wasn’t in love.

He’d been calling. Texting. Doing and saying all the right things, but the right things were second nature to men like Dane. He was, as he had told her, a gifted actor. He didn’t want to settle down. He didn’t want a relationship with her or anyone else. The attention he’d been giving her was to salve his wounded ego because she had said goodbye first.

It had been the hardest, smartest thing she’d ever done. Of course, sleeping with him had been the stupidest.

The seven drunk women, piled all over her living room like a debauched literary harem, were still laughing when Holly opened the door and the bottom of her world fell out, leaving her moorless in heady waters.

“Dane?” she asked.

The man in front of her didn’t look like the Dane Martin she’d come to know and lust over. Gone were his contacts and immaculate suit. He even seemed…vulnerable…in his ill-fitting khaki pants and collared shirt. His eyes, hidden behind huge black rimmed glasses, were pensive, and he’d done something to his hair that made it look as if his mother combed it for him before he left the house.

If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought that maybe he kept all his superpowers in his expensive wardrobe and without it he was a normal human being. Except, of course, she’d seen him naked and knew for a fact that wasn’t true. His superpowers were kept in his suit all right…his birthday suit.

As he stood before her, adorably rumpled and exposed, her heart lost the endless battle it had been waging and she surrendered, oddly triumphant, in the lost war against falling in love with him. Dante Martino, her very own endearing Clark Kent. A fantasy come to life more than even the sex-god she’d made love to. This man, this beautiful, currently awkward, man was everything she ever dreamed about.

But what did he want?

Dane gulped as though he were swallowing around a jawbreaker of emotion. He was nervous. The idea of that made her want to scoop him to her breasts and pledge her undying love. “It’s a bad time, isn’t it?” he asked.

She glanced behind her, her friends stilling their raucous laughter in hopes of hearing whatever was happening in her doorway. “Book club.” She tilted her head to get a better look at him. “Are you okay?”

“My high school reunion is tonight.”

She nodded, as if that made all the sense in the world. “Okay…”

“It’s about a four hour drive. I’m going.” He paused, stared at his shoe for a moment, and then met her eyes with a surprisingly intense gaze. “Like this.”

Something like hope bubbled and fizzed in her chest. “I’m not sure what you’re trying to tell me.”

“I’m going like this, and I’m going to face that kid inside you say I’m so afraid of, and I’m going to do it without all the defenses that come with being Dane Martin. Except one. I’d like you to come with me.” He didn’t wait for her to answer his invitation. “You were right. I stuffed that clumsy, embarrassing kid I used to be into a locker in my mind just like the bullies used to do to me in the hallways of my high school. Instead of being a man, I became an actor. I’m not whole, I’m not happy, and I don’t have enough to offer you now, but I’m hoping you’ll give me a chance to show you a fully realized adult human being is underneath it all somewhere. If you help me find him.”

Holly inhaled a breath that caught on the jagged edges of her heart, snagging and ripping and tearing her emotions. Every girl should have a Jerry McGuire moment in her life. She just never thought she’d get one with the modern day rake.

Could she trust this grand gesture? Dare she? Dare she not?

He searched her eyes for a moment and seemed to find what he was looking for in them. “You are the only real thing I have in my life. I’m not going to let you push me away this time.”

His words electrified her. She didn’t know what to say or do. Except one thing. “I guess I need to go change my clothes so you can take me to your high school reunion.”

The smile he gifted her with… God. She choked on a sob with the joy and awe of making the sexiest man in the world look like a kid just given his first ice cream cone. On tiptoe, she pressed her lips gently to each cheek and then laid a soft kiss to his lips.

“I love you,” he whispered against her mouth, his arms tightening like bands around her, which was good because she was about to fly apart into a million pieces.