She raised her arms over her head when he finally lifted the T-shirt off her, leaving her wearing nothing but her now-sodden panties. Bending down, he grabbed the waistband in his teeth and softly growled as he worked them down her legs.
Genna laughed. He glanced up at her. The corners of his eyes had crinkled in amusement. He’d done that on purpose to make her laugh.
Releasing her panties, he kissed her left thigh, then the right one. He admitted what she already knew. “I love hearing you laugh. It’s the best sound in the world.”
“Even better than me screaming your name as I come?”
He rested his cheek against her thigh and laid the palm of his hand flat on her belly. “Making you laugh like that means you’re happy,” he said. “A vibrator can make you come. It can’t make you laugh.”
“Depends on how funny looking it is.”
With a mind of their own, her hands stroked his hair. He was willing to lie there with her, not moving even though she wanted him to. Seeing him like this, the tender side of the man who’d literally ripped Lester’s throat out with his teeth, melted her heart.
“I love you,” she whispered.
He smiled and kissed her thigh as he sat up. “I love you, too. I’ll spend the rest of our lives proving to you how much I love you.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss on the top of her mound, on the pubic bone. “How very, very much.” He worked lower, to just above her clit.
Her hand clutched his hair more tightly.
“I love you more than my own life,” he whispered. His breath blew across her clit as he spoke, making her whimper.
When his tongue caressed her swollen nub, she exploded, crying out, her back arching.
Then he went after her with no mercy, using his lips and tongue to work at her clit, gently pinning her hands to her sides on the bed when she tried to push him away. He fucked her with his talented tongue, sliding it deep inside her flooded pussy, plunging in and out before exploring every fold of her labia, circling her clit to suck on her and make her come again and again.
She lost count.
After what felt like forever, she finally begged him to stop, to give her a moment to rest. He crawled up the bed to hold her in his arms. She kissed him and tasted her juices on his lips.
“I could go to sleep right now, I think,” she softly said.
“Oh, you don’t think I’m done with you yet, do you?” he teased.
She felt the wet spot on the front of his briefs where his rigid cock leaked pre-cum and strained to be freed. He had to be nearly crazy with desire if he was able to turn her into a puddle of goo and still hold himself back.
“I want you,” she whimpered. Suddenly, it was all she wanted, to feel his cock inside her, stretching her, fucking her, owning her.
“You’ll have me.” He nipped her bottom lip, making her whimper again. “But not until I’m satisfied that I’ve taken good care of you.”
All thoughts of sleep rapidly fled her body. She eagerly nodded. “You have! You did! Please?” She squirmed against him, humping his thigh, her oversensitive clit rasping against the fine hair on his leg. She reached for the waistband of his briefs and tried to shove them down his hips, but he intercepted her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it.
“We have the rest of our lives,” he said. “This is your time.”
“Then give me your cock, goddamn it!” she groused.
He laughed. “But I want to lick your pussy some more. I love making you come.”
She pushed him down onto the bed and straddled him. “I’m fucking you, and that’s that!” She yanked on his briefs, pulling them down so his rigid cock sprang free. Immediately, she bent down and sucked him into her mouth, silencing his protests as he groaned with pleasure. He tasted great, salty and sweet, his engorged head smooth under her tongue as she traced the ridges and veins.
His hips thrust up, meeting each pull of her mouth.
Then she sat up again. “That’s better.” She rose and impaled herself on him, both of them moaning as he bottomed out inside her, filling her with his hot, rigid shaft.
“That’s much better,” she whispered.
His hands grasped her hips as she rode him. She braced herself on his chest, taking her time, enjoying the way his cock rubbed against her G-spot.
Then he cheated. He reached between them and started rubbing her clit with his thumb, making her explode around him.
“That’s it, baby,” he encouraged. “Ride me. Use me.”
She did, slamming her body down onto his cock as a wave of orgasms rippled through her like waves on the shore. Only he had ever been able to make her come like this. No man had ever made her feel this good.
Exhausted and spent, she collapsed onto him as he held her. She was well aware of his hard cock still twitching inside her, wanting release.
After she caught her breath, she hooked a leg around him and urged him to roll over on top of her. As she kissed him, she thrust up against him, encouraging him to start moving.
He did, slowly at first, his lips and tongue gently exploring and tasting and teasing her mouth as he kept her own fires simmering with his languid strokes. Unbelievably, she realized she was growing close to another climax as his cock stroked her clit with every stroke.
“Do it,” she whispered.
He picked up the speed, harder, faster, deeper, until his cock slammed into her, driving her up the bed under him. And still he held back.
It wasn’t until her pussy contracted with her release, and she cried out, that he finally let go. His cock hardened, swelled, and exploded, pumping his seed deep into her as his entire body stiffened and he let out a deep, growly moan.
Lying there together, spent, arms and legs tangled, softly kissing each other, she knew she could one day trust him. Not just because of the stellar sex, either. Because she felt every cell in his body screaming out his love, his regret, his desire to take what he’d done back, the pain he’d put her through.
She held him tight, his face nestled in the crook of her neck. She stroked his hair. “We’re going to be okay,” she whispered.
He let out a long, relieved sigh. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I still want us to talk to someone, before I totally let you out of the doghouse.”
He kissed her neck. “Whatever it takes,” he swore. “For the rest of my life.”
“I know.” She closed her eyes and smiled as she snuggled him more tightly against her. “I can feel it.”
* * * *
The next morning, she awoke to find him propped up on one elbow and staring down at her with a loving smile on his face. “What?” she sleepily asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing. Just watching you sleep.” He leaned in and kissed her. “I hated leaving you every night—”
She reached up and pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him. “I don’t want to talk about that anymore,” she said. “Only with a counselor.” She noticed his quizzical look. “Well, you know what I mean. The general circumstances. If I want to talk about it otherwise, I’ll bring it up. Deal?”
He nodded then sucked her finger into his mouth. He laved his tongue up and down her digit, sending a pulse of need to her clit. He arched one handsome eyebrow in a silent question.
“Okay, fine,” she said with a laugh. “Get busy.”
In a flash, he changed position, with her legs slung over his shoulders and his tongue tonsils-deep inside her pussy.
Her next laugh cut off with a moan as he quickly brought her to a throbbing climax. As she lay there shuddering, recovering, he looked up at her with a playful smile.
“I am a very oral dog,” he teased.
She laughed, loud and long. “I’m getting that.”
“You don’t mind, do you?”
She shook her head, reaching down to play with his disheveled hair. “Not in the least.
They finally made it out of bed and into the shower. Lindsey called and asked Genna if she wanted company today, but she d
eclined her offer. She looked at Jeremy, who was scrambling them some eggs. “I think we might actually make it into the office today,” she said.
He smiled.
* * * *
Ivan the dog greeted them at the lobby, tail wagging and tongue hanging out as he circled Lindsey, walked over to Genna, and rubbed his head on her legs. Genna laughed and stooped down to pet him. “Hi, Ivan.”
Lindsey smiled from her seat at the reception desk. “Good to see you’re past your fear.”
“Well, of him, at least.” Ivan rested his head on her shoulder then looked at Jeremy, lifted his lips in a snarl, and growled.
“Oh, stop it, boys,” Genna said playfully, scratching Ivan’s head. “You can quit being pissed at him. We’re working it out. It’s okay.”
Ivan didn’t seem convinced, but he snorted at Jeremy before getting one final butt scratch from Genna and returning to Lindsey’s desk.
“I know I deserve it,” Jeremy told Ivan, “but my patience only goes so far.”
Ivan stuck his head out from behind the desk, looked to see if anyone else was coming, and shifted back into a man, hidden from the waist down by the desk.
He jabbed a finger at Jeremy. “Screw up and I find out about it, and you’ll deal with me.”
Genna laughed, which apparently defused Jeremy’s ire. “Don’t worry.” He pulled Genna to him and kissed her. “Lindsey, call off your dog.”
Ivan started to protest, but Lindsey laughed and put a staying hand on his shoulder. “Easy, mister.” She pointed at the front doors. “Besides, we’ve got civvies coming.” Three people were walking toward the lobby.
“Shit.” He ducked down behind the desk again. Seconds later, Ivan the dog stuck his head out around the corner. He let out one final bark as Genna and Jeremy headed for the elevator.
Jeremy turned and flipped him a bird with a playful smile before stepping into the car. “Back atcha, buddy,” he said.
When the doors slid shut behind them, Genna asked, “What’d he say?”
“It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t polite.”
She laughed again.
He smiled. “But if it makes you laugh when he does it, I’ll put up with it.”
* * * *
They had their first counselor appointment three days later, after work. She had to admit she felt uncomfortable talking about what happened, but she gave Jeremy credit, he didn’t shy away from the difficult discussion.
Especially when the counselor chimed in with his opinion. “It seems, Genna, you’ve already forgiven him. I’m a little confused why you’re here, what your goals are.”
When he’d directed a quizzical glance at Jeremy, he shrugged. “I was an asshole. And I’ll do whatever it takes.”
The counselor laughed. “I wish all of my clients had breakthroughs that quickly. It’d make my job a lot easier.”
By the time their hour-long appointment ended and they were back in the car, she felt a lot better.
“Why didn’t you make another appointment?” Jeremy asked her.
She shrugged, taking his hand in hers and lacing her fingers through his. “Because I don’t know if I need another appointment.” And she really didn’t. She knew her feelings for him had changed dramatically in just a few days, deepened more than she ever thought possible. Every fiber of her being told her in no uncertain terms that his remorse was genuine.
She didn’t want to spend her life dragging him through the muck out of retribution. “Let’s see how I feel over the next few weeks and go from there.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
The next few weeks bled into the next few months. As she became involved in not just the personal and business ends of Jeremy’s life, but in the shifter-politics part of it as well, the more convinced Genna became that forgiveness was the right decision.
She also came to realize she could trust him.
Especially when she learned more about Jeremy’s cousin, who Lester murdered in cold blood.
In fact, Genna found it difficult to understand how Jeremy could forgive her for being associated with the man who had taken the life of such a beloved member of the shifter community. Forgive Jeremy for some revenge?
Piece of cake.
On the night marking their fourth month together, in bed Genna straddled Jeremy and put her hands on his chest. “I think it’s time to let you out of the doghouse.”
He smiled. “Yeah?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
He reached over to the bedside table and pulled out a small, velvet ring box. He opened it, presenting her with a gorgeous emerald and diamond ring. “Then will you do me the honor of marrying this recent doghouse parolee?”
She laughed. “Yes, absolutely.” She smiled as he put the ring on her finger. “But why did you wait this long?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t want to rush you. I didn’t want you to think I was trying to push or bribe you into making up your mind.”
“Thank you.” She stared at the ring. “I’m guessing you won’t give Lindsey and me a hassle about us planning the wedding?”
He laughed. “Nope. I learned my lesson. I plan on staying out of the doghouse for the rest of our lives together.”
She grinned. “And who says you can’t teach an old dog a new trick?”
Puppy Dog Eyes
“So, what are you wearing to the party this weekend?” Tessa asked Scudder.
Her team partner didn’t look up from his computer monitor and simply shrugged. The slight gesture of his broad shoulders made her heart race.
“I don’t think I’m going, Tess,” he said.
Tessa Gilroy crossed her arms and leaned against her desk. “Scudder Harris, you’re not telling me you’re going to bail on the company Halloween shindig, are you?”
He shrugged again. She wished he’d stop doing that. Or take his shirt off before he did. Damn, I bet he has a gorgeous chest…
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.” He finally leaned back in his chair and swiveled it to meet her gaze, which was deadly to her reserve. Dennis “Scudder” Harris had huge, sweet golden-brown eyes that melted her insides and sent all the juices straight to her nether regions, paired with brilliant jet-black hair that glinted with almost blue highlights when they sat outside and ate their lunch.
“Why not?” she asked.
“Why not what?”
“Why aren’t you going?”
He cocked his head. “Because I don’t know many of the people there, and I don’t have a costume.” Employees and their families from all of the regional offices were invited, so several hundred people, most likely, would attend.
“It’ll be a full moon, beautiful night, perfect for a costume party. Come on, you have to go so I don’t have to go alone.”
At the mention of the full moon, a cloud crossed his face. “I’ll pass, sorry.”
She’d broken up with her skunk of a boyfriend a week before Scudder came to work for Callahan Consulting five months prior and was assigned to her team. Team being a misnomer, because it was just the two of them. She knew Scudder was thirty-five, single, and straight, but beyond that his life was a mystery. They talked about a lot of things, just not about him.
Her pouty face usually won him over. “Please?” She leaned forward, her arms on her desk, trying to entice him to look down her blouse.
He kindly laughed. “Tess, I’m sorry, sweetie. I can’t.”
She recognized the stubborn set of his jaw. Short of begging him to make wild monkey love to her on their shared office floor, she’d thrown just about every hint known to womankind at him that she wanted to go out with him. Well, except outright ask him, but he couldn’t be that thick, could he?
It wasn’t like he didn’t flirt back, because he did. One day in particular left her gasping for breath and heading to the bathroom to freshen up when she realized he’d turned her panties into a squishy, sodden mess. He’d stood in front of her desk, those wonderful hands planted right in front of h
er. He leaned in, his gaze never leaving hers, until the tip of his nose was a hair’s breadth from hers. She’d been convinced he was going to kiss her, but eventually stepped back with a playful smile.
And he was gorgeous. Six two and solid, with a fluid, natural gait that left her panting after him when she watched the way his tight ass moved inside his khaki slacks.
“I’m going as a sexy witch.” She purred. “You should see how low, and high, my costume is cut.”
His eyes crinkled. “I’m sure it’s very alluring, kiddo, but we need to get this project done or you won’t be going to any party this weekend because we’ll be working.”
It was Thursday, meaning she had one more workday to convince him to take her to the annual corporate Halloween bash, held at the boss’s large, private estate north of Tampa. She would go regardless, but she didn’t want to go alone if she could talk Scudder into taking her.
At lunch he reached under his desk for his small cooler. “You eating with me today?”
She nodded. “Even though you’re standing me up this weekend.” Who was she kidding? They’d eaten together every day since they started working together.
He rolled his eyes, but smiled. “You’re incorrigible, girl.” He gently kicked their door shut and leaned over her desk. “Maybe I’d like to be alone with you, not with a loud, obnoxious group of drunks.”
Her heart pounded as his eyes playfully narrowed. “Just because I don’t want to go to a party with you doesn’t mean I won’t go out with you. All you have to do is ask.”
Speech escaped her for a moment. “I…I thought you didn’t want to go out with me.”
He gently chucked her under the chin. “I just wanted to see how long it took you to come right out and say it.” He straightened and walked to the door, opening it. She still sat at her desk, stunned.