Making His Move Read online

  But he’d been too busy thinking with his dick, and now he was screwed. And not in the fun way.

  It was just after six in the evening, which meant that Sophie had had the entire damn day to stew about what had happened. Too many hours to convince herself that he wasn’t worth the trouble and she wanted nothing more to do with him.

  Now that he’d found her, he wasn’t about to let another minute go by without letting her know that he wasn’t going to let it stand. That he was here to fight for her. To get down on his goddamn knees and beg for another chance, if that’s what it took.

  His eyes widened with surprise when her front door opened just as he lifted his hand to knock, and she literally plowed right into him.

  “Chris!” she gasped, blinking up at him after she’d stumbled back a step. “What are you doing here?”

  “I hacked into the employment files at work and got your address. Not that it helped,” he muttered, brushing past her as he moved into her apartment, not wanting to give her the chance to slam the door in his face. Turning around, he took in her short-as-fuck denim shorts and tight white T-shirt, and somehow managed to speak around the knot of lust in his throat. “You haven’t updated your file since you changed apartments three months ago.”

  She closed the door, then turned to face him with her arms crossed over her chest, her big eyes sharp with irritation...and an unmistakable edge of hurt that was killing him. “Looking at my file was illegal!” she snapped.

  “Like I give a damn!” he growled, shoving his hands deep in the front pockets of his jeans, when all he really wanted to do was pull her into his arms and kiss the hell out of her.

  Her eyes closed as she pulled in a deep breath, blinking open when she slowly let it out. Softly, she asked, “Shouldn’t you be back at your condo with your girlfriend? I imagine she’s still pretty pissed at you. What happened? Was she meant to be out of town? It must have been a hell of a shock when she showed up this morning.”

  “Listen to me, damn it. Erin is not my girlfriend. We are not a couple. She’s my psycho ex and nothing more. I am not with her, Soph. I haven’t been for a long time.”

  “Wait. She’s your ex?”

  “Yes. Which I would have been happy to explain if you hadn’t run out on me.”

  “Oh...Oh, God.” She pressed her hands to her cheeks, her beautiful eyes shocked wide with what looked like a strong surge of embarrassment and regret. But he didn’t want her feeling either. “I freaked, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah,” he muttered, shoving a hand back through his hair in frustration. “Not that I blame you. This is my fuck-up, Soph, for not warning you about her. I hate it, but you had every right to react the way you did.”

  Lowering her hands, she slowly took a step toward him. “You’re not with her anymore?”

  Chris shook his head. “We didn’t officially break up until four months ago, but I haven’t slept with her since before I came to work at Blackwood. I wanted to ask you out the day I met you, but I needed to clear things up with Erin, and then, when things went weird, I didn’t want you getting caught up in it. I thought she would get tired and move on, and then I’d be free to go after you. But she didn’t, and you just kept treating me like your fucking buddy, and I started thinking you weren’t even interested. At least not enough to deal with this kind of crap.”

  “So you really weren’t ever going to ask me out?”

  “I was,” he bit out, shooting her a hard, irritated look. “Even though I expected you to say no, I was going to do everything I could to wear you down, once this shit had been dealt with. But her parents are nice people, and when she started stalking me after our breakup, they asked me to give it some time while they tried to get her help, instead of going straight to the police. So that’s what I’ve been doing. Biding my goddamn time, and going crazy in the process.”

  “She’s been stalking you?”

  He grunted as he gave her a sharp nod. “Why do you think I’ve never asked you to do anything outside of work? I was too worried she would follow us and cause a scene. But this morning was too much. I won’t have her putting you in a shitty situation and breaking into my home.”

  “Breaking in? She didn’t have a key?”

  “Hell no. I changed the locks the day we broke up and she went psycho on me. I’ve had to leave Max with Karin during the day, because Erin started threatening to take him. I even made sure we took your car yesterday, so that if she checked the parking lot at the condo, she wouldn’t think I was home. But I’m done putting up with her tantrums. I’m not letting her get between us.” Taking a step toward her, he exhaled a rough, audible breath, and said, “That’s why I called the cops this morning and had her arrested for breaking and entering.”

  “Ohmygod.”

  Wanting like hell to take her into his arms, he said, “I’ve meant every word that I said to you, Sophie. I want you. Just you.”

  Her soft words were thick with regret. “I should have let you explain, but it was...”

  “Fucking nuts, I know.”

  Eyes glistening, she gave him a tremulous smile. “Yeah.”

  “Sophie, I would have had her arrested months ago, if I’d thought there was a chance you were ready to be with me. I was just trying to be a good guy for once.”

  Her lips curled with a small smile. “You’re always a good guy, Chris.”

  “Not really.” He shoved his bruised hand back through his hair again. “To be honest, I was a dick when I broke it off with her. Things weren’t going great between us, and then I met you and I just...I knew it was time to end things with Erin. I didn’t love her, but we’d been talking about maybe taking a vacation together and trying to make things work. You changed that and it blindsided her.”

  “That doesn’t make you a bad person. You were honest with her, and it might have hurt, but you didn’t screw her over. She didn’t have any right to go fatal attraction on you.”

  “But I shouldn’t have ever let it get as far as it did with her. I just, I’d started thinking I wasn’t going to find anyone who really made me take notice, and I was tired of hooking up when I needed sex. It was getting old. So I let Erin get her way. Then I met you, and it was like a kick in the face.”

  “Gee, thanks,” she murmured dryly, the look in her beautiful eyes making it clear she was teasing him.

  “You know what I mean, Soph. I met you, talked to you, felt like I’d been knocked on my ass the first time you ever smiled at me, and I just...I knew.” He stepped closer, wanting to take her into his arms so badly he could taste it. Praying like hell that she would believe him, since it was the God’s honest truth, he said, “I knew I’d finally found the woman I was meant to be with. I just wasn’t sure how I was going to get you to feel the same way. You’re so damn different from anyone I’ve ever known, and I didn’t want to fuck up and scare you off.”

  Softly, she said, “And in the meantime, she was making your life hell. You had to be worried I might do the same.”

  He laughed. “Seriously? That never even crossed my mind, Sophie. You’re sweet and honest and loyal. Playing games isn’t your style.”

  Her slender brows knitted with a frown. “I wasn’t honest about how I feel about you.”

  Shaking his head, he said, “That wasn’t out of malice, baby. That was just because you’re shy.”

  She took a quick breath, cheeks turning that adorable shade of pink that he fucking loved. “If I’d thought there was a chance that you wanted me, Chris, I’d have gotten over my shyness a long time ago.”

  “I should have told you that I wanted you. And I should have told you about Erin.”

  Shrugging her feminine shoulders, she said, “I had a feeling there was something going on that you were keeping from me. When you told me about the text, I convinced myself that was it.”

  He winced, hating that he’d caused her any pain. “I wanted to tell you. I swear to God. But I couldn’t. I was too worried about how you would take it. I mean, sh
e’s a pain in the ass, and that’s some heavy shit to ask someone in a new relationship to deal with.”

  “It is, but you’re worth it, Chris.” She pulled in a deep breath, then slowly let it out as she finally took another step toward him. “That’s why I was heading back over to your place.”

  His heart gave a hard, satisfied thump. “You were coming to see me?”

  Nodding, she said, “I spent most of the day feeling crushed, but then” — she flicked her tongue across her sweet lower lip — “then I realized that you’re too important to me to let things end like that. With me running away. So I was going to face you down and demand an explanation.”

  Holy shit. Chris wanted to growl with hunger and shout with victory all at the same time. Feeling like the luckiest jackass alive, he said, “I’m important to you?”

  “Very,” Sophie whispered, and the next thing she knew she was in his arms, crushed against his solid chest, and he was kissing her like he needed the taste of her mouth to survive. Which was dramatic as hell, but exactly how it felt. He shuddered, holding her tighter, one big hand under her bottom, pressing her against his growing erection, while the other slid up her back, tangling in her hair as he held her in place for the raw, aggressive demands of his mouth.

  When he finally let her come up for air, she touched her fingertips to the golden stubble on his jaw, and said, “So is that what this is? The start of a relationship?”

  Satisfaction burned hot and thick in his heavy-lidded gaze. “Damn straight it is.”

  “Good.” That single word held a wealth of emotion.

  “I meant what I said yesterday, Soph. Whether that text came through or not, I was done waiting. I’ve wanted you too much, for too long, to stay away from you any longer. I had to know if you felt the same. Then I got that text, and I wanted to fucking shout, I was so relieved. I got the opening I’d been waiting for and I took it.” His voice dropped, the husky rasp of it making her shiver. “I took you.”

  “You can take whatever you want from me.”

  “Jesus,” he groaned, lowering his forehead to hers. “Don’t say that. You have no idea how greedy I am when it comes to you.”

  Wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders, she squeezed him tight as she said, “I’m greedy about you, too. Why do you think I was so jealous of Lila?”

  He instantly pulled his head back, looking her right in the eye. “I’ve never been, or will ever be, interested in Lila. The only woman who interests me is you. And I know we’ll disagree sometimes and have our moments where I’ll probably drive you crazy, because I’m damn possessive when it comes to you, Soph. But it won’t ever be anything more serious than that. Other women aren’t something you ever need to worry about, baby. You have my word on that.”

  She gave him a wobbly smile, and had to sniffle back a rush of happy tears. “You really are a righteous kind of guy, aren’t you?”

  A deep, sexy-as-hell laugh rumbled up from his chest, his dark eyes smoldering. “You wouldn’t say that if you knew what I wanted to do to you right now.”

  Sophie lifted her brows and smirked. “Make that a nice guy at heart who’s dirty as hell in the sack.”

  He grinned like a devil, holding her tighter against his blatant hard-on.

  “Which means I’m a lucky girl,” she whispered, lifting up and nipping his chin with her teeth.

  “This mean you’re giving me a second chance?” he growled, his wicked gaze locked hard with hers as he quickly lifted her into his arms, cradling her against his chest.

  “I’m not stupid.” Surprising herself with her boldness, Sophie looped her arms around his neck and told him, “I plan on holding on to you so tightly, you can’t ever get away.”

  “Then I’m the lucky one.” Turning around, he headed toward the short hallway that led to her bathroom and bedroom. “And Soph.”

  “Yeah?” she whispered, burying her face against the side of his throat.

  “You won’t regret it.” His deep voice was gruff with emotion. “Not ever. I swear.”

  She couldn’t help but smile, honestly feeling like the luckiest woman in the world as he set her down on her feet beside her bed. Fading arcs of sunlight slipped in between her slanted blinds, casting the room in an ethereal, otherworldly glow. And that was how it felt. As if she’d stepped into a fairy ring, and was now lost in her dreams. Ones that were as precious to her as they were beautiful. As daring as they were tender.

  And as vital and necessary as a breath...or a heartbeat.

  If anyone had told her when she’d gotten home from Chris’s that morning that she would be standing in his arms as the sun went down, Sophie never would have believed them. His ex had been polished and gorgeous and built like a freaking lingerie model. Physically, the woman was everything that Sophie had always wished she could be, but wasn’t. And, God, that had hurt.

  But the blow to her ego hadn’t been nearly as bad as when Sophie had listened to the things Erin was screaming, and mistakenly assumed that Chris and her were still involved. There weren’t even words to describe how badly that had sliced her open, leaving her emotions eviscerated and raw. And on top of being completely devastated, her heart feeling like it’d been pulverized with a mallet, she’d been mortified by the thought that she’d gone to bed with another woman’s boyfriend.

  Given all that, she was still finding it difficult to believe that this — this insanely amazing moment — was actually happening.

  As if he sensed the delicacy of her emotions, Chris lowered his face over hers, and spoke in a quiet voice that was rough with determination. “This is real, Soph. And it’s going to last. Because we fucking belong together.”

  “Then convince me.” They were bold, breathless words, because she wanted him to see that while she might be shy, she was more than strong enough to handle him.

  With a sinful, gleaming look in his dark eyes, he picked her up and tossed her into the middle of the bed. As she kicked her sandals off, her shirt and bra were shoved up over her breasts, his talented tongue licking hungrily at one of her plump, sensitive nipples, while he ripped her shorts and panties down her legs. When he had her lower body bare and her thighs spread wide, he kissed his way over to her other nipple, sucking and licking at it like a juicy piece of fruit, his deep voice rough with need as he muttered words like perfect, beautiful and forever. Then he pulled back, gripped her hips in his hands, and lifted her glistening sex to his avid mouth, his tongue slowly thrusting into her, lapping at her tender flesh, as if he were savoring the taste of her.

  “Chris!” she screamed, trembling with shocking jolts of pleasure, her blood pounding in her ears while he ate at her slick sex like he was addicted to it. He sipped from her opening, sucking at her juices, his tongue lapping and thrusting, doing wicked, intimate things to her from her clit down to her clenching entrance...and even lower.

  “I fucking love your greedy little cunt,” he growled, licking wildly at her opening, before thrusting his tongue deep enough to send her into a stunning, breathtaking wave of convulsions as she came so hard she saw stars. Her pulsing tissues kept contracting around his tongue, while his visceral sounds of satisfaction made no secret of the fact that he loved what he was doing.

  By the time he lowered her hips back to the bed, her skin was flushed and misty with sweat, and she was pretty certain her orgasm had actually blown a few of her brain cells.

  “You convinced yet?” he asked huskily, his mouth and chin wet with her juices.

  Still panting for breath, she gave him a teasing grin. “You’re getting there.”

  “Then let’s not waste any time.” He reached for his wallet in his back pocket, where Sophie guessed he’d put another condom. But she grabbed his wrist to stop him, drawing his narrowed gaze back to hers.

  “Leave it,” she whispered. “I want you. Nothing but you.”

  “Soph,” he mumbled, looking pained...and so damn tempted. “You don’t have to do that, baby. I’ll wait for you to be read
y.”

  She couldn’t stop the slow, happy smile that touched her lips, knowing in her heart that this was exactly what she wanted. “I’m ready now, Chris.”

  “Sophie.”

  “Trust me,” she told him, satisfaction burning hot in her veins when he looked too desperate to make another protest, as if he hadn’t just spent an entire night buried deep inside her.

  It took only seconds for him to lose his clothes, and then his magnificent body was coming down over hers, her legs spreading for his lean hips, her hands gripping tight to his broad, colorful shoulders. The first touch of his hot, heavy cockhead against her entrance made her gasp with excitement, the thought of having him bare inside her, skin on skin, so intimate and sweet she wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time. She was swollen and tight, and he had to work for it, taking her in careful nudges as he slowly fed his thick cock into her clutching, greedy tissues.

  “Jesus...you feel so...goddamn it, I want to last,” he groaned, his color high as he stared down at her. Seeing the strain on his handsome, masculine features, she whispered she was sorry she was so tight, but he just shook his head, pressed a hard kiss to her mouth, and told her he wouldn’t change it for the world.

  Then he set about seducing not only her body, but also her heart and her mind...and even her soul.

  With whispered, husky words of praise, he touched and kissed every part of her he could reach, his hunger for her like a physical thing that Sophie could taste and feel, his body pushing into hers again...and again, until the rhythm was so hard and fast, her bed was slamming against her bedroom wall. There was a raw, primal edge to the act that came with feeling him bare inside her...in knowing that there was nothing between them. That when he came, she would be able to feel the heat of him, and know, on the most primal of levels, that he’d found his pleasure.

  She’d already climaxed three delicious, breathtaking times, before he finally let himself go over, his need reaching critical mass by that point, so that when the first searing spurt of semen finally shot inside her, he literally roared like an animal. Call her easy, but it was so freaking hot that she came again, her body milking his beautiful cock for everything it could give her.