Brock grinned when I opened the door. “Damn, you look good.”
“Right back at you.”
He was wearing a pair of tight jeans that hugged his ass and drew attention to the bulge in the front, and his short-sleeved shirt made his eyes stand out, not to mention the way it showed off his muscular torso. I had no doubt that wherever we were going, he'd be getting quite a bit of female attention.
Anastascia's words came back and I frowned.
“You okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, let's go.”
The club was close enough for us to walk, though I suspected we'd take a cab back later tonight. It was closing in on nine o'clock so the street traffic was switching from the work force to those heading out for fun. We followed others in our age bracket, all dressed for various forms of entertainment, and soon turned down a street I recognized. A couple streets down, I saw a rainbow-flag and knew where we were going. It was the last straight club before we hit the section of town where all the clubs and bars were gay. Anastascia and I had come down here a couple times growing up.
“Here we are,” Brock said, leading me down some steps and through a set of glass doors.
Pulse-pounding music greeted us as we went through another set of doors, these designed to keep the noise inside. The place was dark, lit only by the brightly colored lights that moved in time with the music.
“Do you want a drink?” Brock leaned close to shout the question in my ear.
I nodded. “Nothing too hard,” I shouted back. I didn't want a repeat of the wedding reception. Well, at least not a repeat of the hangover part of it. I wasn't sure I'd mind a repeat of the sex.
We finished our drinks as we observed the scene, deciding where we wanted to go. I hadn't been big into the club scene, but two years working at a strip club would get anyone familiar with how things worked. Granted, The Diamond Club didn't exactly have a dance floor, but the concept was similar enough that I actually felt comfortable here.
“Ready to dance?” Brock yelled.
I nodded and he led me onto the floor. I was a bit surprised when he headed straight for the center, but went with it. As nervous as I'd get around a bunch of rich kids, put me anywhere with music playing and let me dance, and I was the most confident person in the world. It was the one place where it didn't matter how much money someone had. Either you could dance or you couldn't. And I could.
Brock put his hands on my waist and the two of us began to move together. Our bodies fell into a rhythm immediately and it didn't take long for the two of us to start getting admiring looks from the other people dancing around. One song blended into another and we kept going. The people around us changed, but we didn't even slow down. We lost ourselves in the music and, by the time we decided to take a break, it was close to midnight and we were both dripping with sweat. Brock ordered another round of drinks and then asked if I wanted to leave. Gazing into his eyes, it was clear he wasn't asking if I was ready to call it a night.
I thought of Anastascia and what she'd said. I thought of his note and the promise of ten thousand dollars. I found myself once again on the brink between my own desire and the moral standards that had once meant so much to me.
He hadn't said I had to have sex with him if I wanted the money. Hell, the first time we'd been together, I'd initiated it. Now, he was giving me a choice. If I said yes, what we did would be my decision. I would do it because I wanted to, not because of the money.
I also didn’t want to be with him to prove Anastascia wrong or because, in the back of my head, I knew that Reed was probably having sex with his wife right now and not thinking about me at all. I'd done well over the last two days and I didn't want to ruin it now. Sex with Brock had done been a soothing balm before, why couldn’t it be again? Besides, he was a nice guy and I liked him. That and how worked up I'd gotten from dancing seemed like good enough reasons.
“Let's go.”
He took my hand and we went out to get a cab.
We didn't talk or even do much touching on the ride to his apartment, only holding hands, but I felt like the cabbie's eyes were on me, accusing me. I kept my head down but in reality, I was used to being judged by those who didn’t know me, it had happened my entire life. I reminded myself that I really did like Brock and I'd be doing this even if he hadn't made the offer of extra money. I didn't listen to the voice that asked if my hotel room and food for the week wasn't payment enough.
By the time we reached the elevator, I was sick of the voices in my head and just wanted them to shut up or at least quiet down. As soon as the doors closed, I stepped into Brock’s arms, pressing my body close to his. As he wrapped his arms around me, I tilted my head and he leaned in, responding to my wordless request. When his tongue teased at the seam of my lips, I opened my mouth in invitation. He wasn't rough, but there was an edge that told me he wanted me and I pushed myself up on my toes to deepen the kiss. I wanted someone who wanted me. Only me.
One hand moved down to my ass, squeezing as his other hand fondled my breast through my shirt. I nipped at his tongue and he ground his hips into mine. Desire burned even hotter inside me and I reached between us to cup his erection. He spun us around so that my back was against the wall and the hand on my ass moved between my legs, shoving up my skirt until he could reach what he wanted.
I moaned into his mouth as his fingers pressed against me through the silk of my panties. I spread my legs as he rubbed the damp material, getting it more wet by the second. My eyes closed and I tried to concentrate on the way his tongue was thrusting into my mouth and the feel of his strong fingers through the silk. I only wanted to think of the physical. The way my arousal was spiking. The little ripples of pleasure that were radiating out from the center of me.
Then the doors were sliding open and he was pulling away, leaving me to tug my clothes back into place before following him out of the elevator. As soon as we were in the apartment and the door was closing behind us, he pulled me toward him for another kiss. I ran my hands over his firm chest and then down his stomach, enjoying the way the muscles twitched beneath my fingers.
“Baby,” he gasped as he broke the kiss. “I have to feel that velvet mouth around me.”
I grinned as I went to my knees, my hands working open his jeans, pushing them down until his cock was free. I shivered as I remembered how it felt to have that thick shaft pushing into me. I wrapped my hand around the base and then put my lips around the head. I tasted the salt from pre-cum as my tongue circled him. When I moved forward, he put his hands on my head, giving me gentle, guiding pressure. I took him as deep as I could without gagging, then started to pull back. His fingers tightened in my hair, but he didn't try to stop me.
“Fuck, you feel so good,” he moaned.
I increased the suction until I was at the tip and then started all over again. My hand covered what my mouth couldn't reach and it didn't take me long to get a good rhythm going. Little words of encouragement fell from Brock's mouth along with the moans I took as an indication I was doing something right. When his hands tightened this time, I pulled back completely. He nearly snarled in frustration as his dark eyes looked down at me.
“Can’t end the party too soon, can we?” I teased as I got to my feet.
With a growl, he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I laughed as he carried me toward the bedroom, his pants still undone, his cock jutting out in front of him, leading the way. I bounced when he tossed me onto the bed and before I'd stopped, he was looming over me, his hands searching for the zipper on my skirt.
“I got it,” I said, quickly locating the zipper and shimmying it down my legs.
Brock pushed himself up on his knees and pulled off his shirt. Damn he was built. I let my eyes roam over him as I took off my top. Our clothes were on the floor in a matter of moments and I spread my legs in deliberate invitation. The hungry expression on his face was making me hungry too. He'd seen me naked before, but it was different this time. As for me,
I was enjoying having my eyes explore every inch of his body.
He dropped between my legs, his hands curling around my hips as he yanked me closer to him. My squeal turned into a full-out wail when his mouth covered my pussy, his warm tongue sinking deep inside. He took long, strong licks from the center straight up to my clit, leaving fire in his wake. Each pass brought me closer to release and I rocked my hips, trying to get more friction where I needed it, but he held me fast and continued his torment.
Just when I thought I'd get there anyway, he stopped.
“No,” I protested as he rose to his knees.
A wicked gleam came into his eyes as he reached into the top drawer of his bedside table and pulled out a condom. He slid it on, rolling it slowly down his length, taking his time, enjoying this bit of tease.
Well, two could play at that game. I ran my hand down my stomach and between my legs, parting my folds with my fingers. My slick fingers slipped easily over the little bundle of nerves, while my other hand went to my breast, rolling my nipple between my fingers. I gasped, I was close, so close. I needed him inside me. Now.
His smile widened as he stroked himself, making sure everything was on just right. Before I could take myself over the edge, he was there again, knocking my hand out of the way. The moment he pushed inside me, I came.
Crying out, my body tightening and rising at the same time, forcing him further inside even as my muscles contracted.
“Fuck!” He swore as our bodies came together. His arms slid around my back, pulling me up enough that he could lower his head and wrap his lips around my nipple, filling me with sensation everywhere.
The orgasm that had been fading roared back, crashing into me with enough force my nails dug into his shoulders. Without moving, he increased the suction on my breast, drawing a line of pleasure straight through as another wave of pleasure washed over me.
Finally, he let it slide from his mouth, his teeth scraping over it as it went. I moaned as pleasure morphed into pain then cried out as he began to move inside me. He thrust hard and fast, but his strokes were evenly paced, nothing erratic or uncontrolled about his movement. These weren’t frantic, like someone close to the edge, but rather of someone intending I remember every moment of this in the morning.
And that was exactly what I wanted too.
It was almost painful, how hard he drove into me, but I encouraged him nonetheless. This wasn't some drunken quickie in a storeroom. I'd made this choice and wanted to feel every instant of it. His angle kept the pressure off of my clit and I was determined to get off at least one more time. I was riding high on sensation and not climaxing would leave me far too frustrated to even consider.
“So fucking hot,” Brock grunted. One of his hands left my hip to grab my breast, his thumb teasing across the nipple before pinching it between his fingers.
“Fuck!” My entire body jumped at the jolt.
“Hmm, sounds like you liked that.” He pinched me again as my fingers pressed against my clit, rolling and pressing to increase my pleasure.
This time, electricity shot straight through me, a bolt that cut right down into the building inferno, connecting those two points in an explosion that made me cry out. I sank my teeth into my bottom lip, stifling the name I had almost called out, realizing it didn't belong to the man who was still fucking me. I rode out my orgasm, bringing my focus back to the moment, to this man thrusting in and out of my body. I watched his face as he gazed down at mine, his struggle to hold back his own release. He couldn’t. One thrust and then another, he came.
His body dropped onto mine and I gasped as he weight pressed heavily down on me. I felt a moment of panic. I couldn’t breath and tried to push against his shoulder to get the dead weight off of me. After a minute, he sighed and rolled onto his back, sliding out, leaving me empty. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about how, even when I'd been experiencing an amazing climax, I'd been unable to completely stop thinking about Reed.
“Piper.”
I rolled onto my side so I could face Brock. He turned his head, his eyes meeting mine.
“Move back.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
“Move back to Philadelphia,” he said. He rolled toward me and propped himself up on an elbow. “I want to be with you.”
I stared at him, unable to believe what I was hearing. He couldn't be serious. He'd seen how his parents had been at the wedding. There was no way he could tell anyone we were dating. I was already Reed's dirty little secret, I didn't need to be anyone else's. It didn't matter if I thought he was sweet. I'd be a joke, and then I'd be something worse.
I had no doubt the Michaels family would hire a private investigator who wouldn't have to look far to find out what I was. Once they did, it'd all be over. Just because he knew what I was didn't mean he wanted anyone else to know.
“Hey.” He brushed the back of his hand across my cheek. “I don't care what anyone says or thinks. I want to be with you.”
“I don't know,” I said, uncertainty in my voice. How could someone like him want to be with someone like me?
A determined light came into his eyes as he correctly read the reason behind my hesitation. “Then I'll prove it to you.”
Seven
“Say that again?” I stared at Brock.
He was propped against a stack of pillows, stark naked, and grinning down at me where I was stretched out, recovering from our second round of vigorous sex. I tried to move, and felt the aching in my muscles. I was definitely going to be sore tomorrow.
“We're having a family dinner tomorrow evening to welcome back Reed and Britni. I want you to come with me.”
Part of me wanted to ask why two very wealthy people had only gone on a short honeymoon, but I refrained. It wasn't any of my business, and I really didn't want Brock getting the idea I was overly interested in his brother-in-law. So, I focused on the part of those two statements that concerned me.
“Why in the world would you want me to come to your family dinner?”
Brock moved so that he was laying on his stomach, his feet on the pillows and his head next to mine. His face was uncharacteristically serious. “I told you, Piper, I want to be with you. Part of that means I’ll want you to come to boring family functions and keep me company so I don't go insane.”
I gave him a skeptical look.
He reached over and took my hand. Raising it to his lips, he kissed my knuckles. “Piper, what's it going to take for you to believe I want us to be together?”
I didn't answer because I didn't know. All of this was happening so fast. It was supposed to be a simple weekend. Let Brock apologize for something I didn't remember, buy me some things, get some money, enjoy making Reed squirm and then go back to Vegas. Nothing was supposed to really change. And I certainly wasn't supposed to end up staying longer to hang out with Reed's brother-in-law.
Brock's fingers tightened around mine and for a moment, I had the crazy thought that he knew what I was thinking. I leaned forward and brushed my lips across his.
“Look, it's all just a lot to take in.” I moved closer so that the lengths of our bodies were touching. “You asked me to come out here as a date to apologize for...” I let my voice trail off for a moment. “I wasn't expecting this.”
“You weren't expecting me to like you?” Brock asked.
I shook my head. “I wasn't expecting me to like you.” I flushed. He was asking a lot of me and deserved to know at least this part of the truth. “I thought you were...”
“Like every other guy who hires strippers for bachelor parties?” he finished the sentence. “Or like the assholes who come to The Diamond Club?”
I hesitated. How was I supposed to tell him that's exactly what I'd thought?
“I was one of those assholes who went to The Diamond Club,” he admitted. “And when I asked you to be my date, I did it because I was sorry. Also because you're gorgeous and we'd look good together at the wedding.” He gave me a childish gri
n. “It didn't hurt that I knew it'd piss my sister off that I brought someone I met in Vegas. She keeps trying to set me up with Rebecca.” He made a face. “That's weird, right?”
I nodded. “Definitely.”
He grew somber again. “Then we hung out together and I realized I was enjoying spending time with you.” He brushed hair back from my face, letting his fingers linger on my cheek. “And our little encounter in the janitor's closet proved we have great sexual chemistry.”
“So that automatically means I should come to dinner at your parents' house?” Now I was getting nervous. When he said everything like that, his actions seemed completely logical and my brain wanted to know why I was arguing.
“No,” he said with a smile. “That means you should move back here so we can be together. You should come to dinner for two reasons. One, it'll annoy the hell out of my sister and Rebecca. Two, I told you I'd prove to you that I wanted to be with you. What better way to do that than for me to introduce you to my parents as my girlfriend.”
I was pretty sure I looked like a deer caught in headlights. How had we gone from wedding date slash apology to girlfriend? Okay, we'd fucked, but somehow Brock didn't strike me as the type who required someone to be his girlfriend before he'd have sex. According to Anastascia, he preferred not to have any strings attached.
“Or I could say we're dating and leave the label alone.” The look he gave me said he understood what I was thinking. “Either way, I want them to know that you aren't some one-date fling.”
I sighed. He was being very persistent and charming, a dangerous combination. I threw out my last protest, which, now that I thought about it, I probably should have used first since it was entirely practical.