Keeping His Promise: A When It Happens Novella, Book 2 Read online

  “But this is crazy,” she wailed, painfully aware in that moment of exactly how differently she was built from the other women she’d seen him with. “You can’t carry me!”

  He snorted, jostling her in his arms as if she weighed less than a bag of sugar. “The hell I can’t.”

  “Damn it, Sean.” She thumped him hard on his shoulder, which only made him laugh. Practically growling now, she snapped, “You’re going to break your back. I’m too freaking heavy to carry!”

  “Fuck that. You’re perfect,” he rumbled, pressing his lips to her temple again.

  “I’m…curvy,” she heard herself mutter, wishing she could shove her own foot in her mouth to shut herself up.

  He pressed those warm lips to her cheek, nuzzling it with a heady combination of affection and lust, while his fingers dug deeper into her ass. “Hell, yeah, you have curves. And I’m damn grateful for each and every one of them.”

  She shivered at the intoxicating need she could hear in his rough voice, and could feel her inner muscles gripping onto him like they never wanted to let him go.

  “Fuck,” he growled, drawing his head back and staring down at her as he laid her back on her double bed. “You feel so good, Nat.”

  “You…you feel good too,” she panted, digging her nails into the mouthwatering curve of his biceps. The only light in the room was a soft glow spilling in from the hallway, but it was enough that she could still see him clearly. He was looking at her like she was the only woman on earth who could make him feel like this, and she felt some of the tension knotted inside her begin to ease, while her need pulled tighter, making her restless and demanding.

  “You’re like a hot little mouth sucking on my cock.” His voice was getting deeper…huskier. “Only tighter. Sweeter.”

  With most of their damp clothes still covering their bodies, he came down over her, bracing himself on one muscular arm, his big hand planted just beside her head. He kept his feet braced on the floor, as he lowered his lips to the side of her mouth, kissing her there, while his other hand ran up and down her side in soothing strokes.

  She knew he was trying to get her to relax enough that she could enjoy herself, and as his mouth started to do just as much exploring of her skin as his wandering hand, she found the sting of pain from his penetration melting beneath the steady rise of heat…of pleasure.

  It was like a huge, slumbering beast inside her was slowly climbing its way to the surface, blinking against the bright rays of light pouring into its world as it slowly stretched its way into awareness. It licked its lips, blinked a few times with sensual appreciation—and then decided that it was fucking starved. For more. For Sean. For all of him.

  Clawing at his T-shirt covered shoulders, Natalie heard herself chanting words she never, not in a million years, ever thought she’d hear: “Sean…Sean…Oh, God. More. I need more now. I need all of it. All of you.”

  “Not yet,” he rumbled, the muscles beneath her hands vibrating with restraint as he buried his face in the side of her throat. “You’re not ready yet.”

  “Now,” she demanded, practically shouting at him. “I want it now!”

  “It’s too soon,” he bit out, still waiting for her body to fully adjust to his penetration, his hips moving in slow, coaxing nudges that were suddenly driving her mad. “Damn it, Nat. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  The roots of his hair were damp with sweat as she gripped handfuls of it, then yanked his head back so she could look him in the eye. “I don’t care. I need it. I need you.”

  “Natalie,” he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.

  “Do it,” she begged, digging the heels of her sandals into the edge of her mattress for leverage, then pumping her hips against his. “Please.”

  As if that one word was his breaking point, he pulled back until only the fat head of his cock was lodged inside her, then slammed back in so hard it knocked the air from her lungs.

  “Shit, are you okay?” His eyes shot open the moment he gave her his entire length, the color so blue it was like looking up into the brilliant, burning intensity of a sunlit sky, as breathtaking as it was beautiful.

  “Good, great, awesome,” she panted, barely able to think through the sensations. She was packed full of him, her body stretching so wide around him that it hurt, but she didn’t care. Not when it felt so freaking incredible she couldn’t help but love it. “Just do it again.”

  He cursed as he pulled his hips back, paused, searching her eyes for a moment, before he tightened his muscles and slammed back into her so hard it shoved her across the bed. She shouted over the sound of his deep, guttural growl, their bodies so hot she was surprised the rainwater in their clothes wasn’t turning to steam.

  “Again!” She reached around his hips and squeezed the upper part of his ass to emphasize her point, loving the feel of his hard-muscled body.

  He groaned, pulling back again until just the heavy, plum-sized head was lodged inside her snug entrance, then pushed back in with a deep, hammering thrust. “Christ, that feels so fucking good.”

  “Looks good too,” she whispered, holding onto his rigid arms as she stared down at the place where they were joined. It was an explicit, but beautiful view, the dark curls at the base of his thick cock smashing into her red ones with each of his powerful downstrokes. The mouthwatering muscles on his abdomen rippled with each hard, pumping thrust, his cock glistening with her juices, his heavy balls slapping against her.

  He used his magnificent body to fuck her so thoroughly it was insane, his corded muscles bunching and flexing beneath his hot skin as he drove himself into her, pumping his cock so deliciously deep, like he never wanted to be anywhere else. Like he was exactly where he belonged, and she couldn’t stop her nails from digging into his broad shoulders, her back arching as heat arced through her body like searing, blistering jolts of lightning.

  For the first time since Natalie had moved into the apartment last year, her bedroom filled with the slick, moist sounds of sex, their breathing harsh and fast, her headboard slamming against the wall in a way that was sure to get her neighbors’ attention. Not that she gave a damn. She loved that they were noisy and wild and out of control.

  Keeping his weight braced on one arm, he gripped the back of her head and took her mouth again, kissing her like he couldn’t stop, his body still powering inside hers, while his tongue did wicked, carnal things to her. She couldn’t breathe, her skin hot and slick, blood rushing through her veins, and she freaking loved it. Loved having him on top of her, pressing her down, his body hot and hard and stunningly dominant.

  God, had she ever known anything as incredible as this? For once, she wasn’t beating herself up for letting go of her fear and need for control, which meant she could actually enjoy the pleasure he was giving her. He made her too damn greedy to worry about anything but how much more she could have and want.

  “Come for me,” he growled, his muscles bulging as he fucked her harder, faster. He used his muscular thighs and ripped abs to drive himself into her even deeper, grinding against her clit at the end of each devastating, addictive thrust. “Now, Natalie. ‘Cause I’m about to come so fucking hard for you.”

  He leaned down, biting at one of her hardened nipples through the fabric of her dress, and that was it. She literally screamed from the shocking burst of pleasure that suddenly tore through her, and didn’t have any choice but to do exactly as he said.

  She came so hard it was like falling into a burning, blinding explosion, her body shaking from the devastating force of the orgasm, it was that violent. That intense. That different from anything she’d ever known before. And when he followed her over, a guttural shout on his lips as he threw his head back and slammed himself into her with a brutal, desperate thrust, it only got better…sweeter…and infinitely more satisfying.

  With her own heart pounding so hard that it hurt, Natalie couldn’t help but hold onto him as his powerful body shuddered from the explosive force of his release. God, s
he was holding onto him so tightly, both with her arms and her legs, like she never wanted to let him go. Which should have freaked the hell out of her, seeing as how she was the polar opposite of a clingy woman. But something about holding Sean Cartwright so tightly, as he fucked her through the mother of all orgasms, just felt too good to feel bad about.

  When the pleasure had finally mellowed to a warm glow, their lungs no longer working overtime, she gave him another greedy hug, letting him know how much she enjoyed having his weight on her, and then forced herself to ease her hold so that the poor guy could actually get some air.

  She felt him pull in a deep, rumbling breath, and waited as he slowly lifted his head, more than a little undone by the breathtaking expression of satisfaction he wore on his rugged face. She couldn’t help but stare up at him, thinking he was the most gorgeous, sexiest man in the entire world. And he had the thickest, most beautiful eyelashes she’d ever seen, making his eyes look even bluer.

  “Shit!” she yelped, blinking her way back to awareness, the dreamy spell broken as he started to carefully pull himself out.

  “Sorry, baby.” With one hand gripping the base of his cock, holding the condom in place, he did his best to be careful, but her body was clasping him too tightly, unwilling to let him go. “I’d stay inside you forever, but I don’t trust this fucking condom not to split.”

  “It’s okay,” she breathed, forcing herself to relax enough that he could pull free. And he was right to take care of it, the condom fuller than she’d ever seen one when he slipped it off. He stood, giving her sprawled body a heated look before he turned and headed into her bathroom to throw it away. He came right back, and crawled right back between her thighs, which she’d been too freaking lazy to even close.

  “You sure you’re okay?” he asked in a low voice, stroking his rough palm over her hip and waist, as if he enjoyed the feel of her too much to stop.

  Feeling better than she had in years, she heard herself say, “I’m great, actually.”

  The smile that curved his lips was pure, provocative sin. “You most certainly are.”

  She swatted him on the shoulder as she laughed. “That wasn’t what I meant!”

  “But it’s the truth,” he said huskily, the smoldering look in his beautiful blue eyes telling her that he meant it. That she could believe him. Believe in him.

  “That was…” She swallowed as her voice trailed off, then licked her lips. “That was…kinda crazy. The sex, I mean,” she finished awkwardly, feeling her face flush with heat.

  “It was fucking incredible,” he rumbled, curving his fingers around her head as he held her in place for the hard, thorough kiss that he gave her. A kiss that was so good it made her toes curl in her sandals, her heart giving another excited flip in her chest. With his warm lips still against hers, he added, “Now pack a bag.”

  “What? Why?”

  He drew his head back and locked his pleasure-heavy gaze with hers, a small smile tugging at his sensual mouth. “Because I want you to come home with me.”

  “Why?” she said again, suddenly thinking about the fact that if they spent the night together, he’d probably want to get her completely naked. And while she wasn’t usually self-conscious of her figure, it was difficult not to be critical of herself when faced with so much freaking male perfection.

  There he was, looking like the most masculine, mouthwatering male specimen she’d ever seen. And then there was her, pale and on the short side, and sporting the body of a girl who spent way too many hours enjoying nachos and not enough killing herself in the gym.

  Pulling her lower lip through her teeth, she added, “Because I’m, uh, not sure that’s such a good idea.”

  “It’s the best damn idea I’ve ever had,” he told her, stealing another quick kiss, before moving to his feet and pulling her up along with him. As her dress fell back down over her thighs, he pulled her close, fingers under her chin to tip her head back, his dark gaze burning with determination. He could no doubt sense she was getting ready to run scared, and had every intention of cutting her off at the pass. “You’re coming home with me because I want you in my bed, Natalie. Yours is too damn small for the stuff I want to do to you.”

  His thumb stroked the corner of her kiss-swollen mouth, his deep voice even lower as he added, “And because I plan on spending the entire night packed up deep inside you. Hour after hour, until we’re both so exhausted from the fucking that we can’t do anything but pass out. And even then, I want you close to me, sleeping beside me.”

  She blinked up at him, mesmerized not only by the things he’d said, but by the way he was looking at her. She could see his strength and need and desire, and even a hint of his vulnerability. God, she’d be lying through her teeth if she said she didn’t want to go home with him. That she didn’t want everything he’d just told her would happen.

  She wanted it so bad she could freaking taste it.

  But if she went home with him, she had to accept that there was a chance that Sophie and Chris would find out. Hell, they could run into them in the parking lot, or walking to Sean’s front door.

  Was she willing to take that chance? To risk getting caught by her best friends, when she hadn’t even planned on telling them about tonight, knowing it would only complicate the issue. Sophie’s little romantic heart would forever be trying to match them up, thinking Sean would be her happy-ever-after, when it was probably nothing more than a hot night of wild, wicked sex.

  Would it be worth it?

  Apparently she thought it would be, because as she held his hot, intense gaze, she heard herself say, “All right. I’ll go.”

  Before she could second-guess herself or change her mind—or get lost in the beautiful look of male satisfaction on his handsome face—she stepped around him and got to work. From the corner of her eye, she watched him refasten his jeans and belt as she snatched a new pair of panties from her underwear drawer and pulled them on. Then she grabbed her overnight bag from her closet, threw in a pair of panties and its matching bra, her favorite jean shorts, and a pretty blouse, before exchanging her killer sandals for a cute pair of leather flip-flops.

  After a quick trip to the bathroom, where she collected her toothbrush, hairbrush, and make-up bag, she was done. Without uttering a single word, Sean grabbed her hand and pulled her with him toward the door, acting as if he couldn’t wait to get her out of her apartment…and into his bed.

  Biting her lower lip to keep from grinning like a sex-crazed fool, she grabbed the small umbrella she kept in the hallway closet, since the storm was raging even harder than when they’d arrived. They stepped outside, into the violence of the wind and rain, and suddenly her heart was pounding in her throat, her breath hitching as she realized just how far out of her comfort zone she was going for this guy.

  Am I crazy? she wondered, huddling close to his side under the umbrella as they made their way to the truck, and loving the way he’d wrapped his arm tight around her waist. Or is this the best freaking decision I’ve ever made?

  Needing to focus on something normal, so that she didn’t freak out over the giant leap she was taking, and the questions that kept spinning through her head, she said, “Won’t your brother need his truck back?”

  “We’re going to stop by his place real quick and grab my SUV,” he told her, opening the passenger-side door and helping her up, before tossing her bag in the backseat. “Then I’ll give him a call and let him know his truck is in its parking spot.”

  She gave a completely girly sigh after he took a moment to give her another deep, toe-curling kiss, her lips tingling as he pulled back with a groan, followed by a low, shaky laugh. “You’re fucking addicting,” he rasped, shaking his head a little as if to clear it, before shutting her door and jogging around the front of the truck.

  He climbed inside and started the engine, and just as she expected him to reverse out of the space, he turned toward her and reached out, taking hold of her jaw in a firm but gentle grip. “You
won’t regret this,” he told her, stroking his thumb against the corner of her mouth again, her skin hypersensitive to his touch. “You won’t regret giving me a chance.”

  This time, her heart flipped so hard it was all she could do not to gasp from the sensation. “Is…is that another promise?” she whispered shakily, the quiet words barely audible over the pounding of the rain against the windshield. But she could tell by the heat in his eyes that he’d heard her.

  “Yeah, it is.” He tossed his arm over the back of her seat, a sinful, gorgeous smile on his lips as he turned his head to look out the back window, before reversing out of the parking space. “And I never promise anything I can’t see through.”

  Chapter Six

  Since his freshman year in high school, nearly twenty years ago, when he’d gotten lucky with one of his friend’s older sisters, Sean had been to bed with a lot of beautiful women. Experienced women. Smart, funny, talented women. But he knew, with unwavering certainty, that he’d never wanted a single one of them the way he wanted the tempestuous Natalie Richards.

  The storm was in full force, lightning arcing through the sky as they headed to his condo in his SUV. They’d already dropped off Paul’s truck, and left the key in his mailbox, since his brother was still out. Considering the weather, Sean’s demand that they go to his place had probably been a bit crazy, when they could have just stayed warm and dry in her apartment. But he could hardly be blamed for not thinking straight after what had happened between them.

  Jesus, the sex…it had blown his fucking mind and left him reeling, his dick demanding he get back inside her as soon as possible.

  He’d suspected she was different to him, but until he’d been buried balls-deep inside her and felt her clenching around him, he hadn’t truly understood just how strongly she affected him. He was off balance, his heart thudding in his chest like he’d just finished a damn marathon. He’d known the chemistry between them was potent, but shit, he hadn’t been prepared for the full impact. For how intoxicating it was to have her in his arms, his to touch and please and explore.