Powerplay Read online

  “Stop,” she cried. “Jesus, Mark, you need to stop before I pass out.”

  He tried to pull his mouth away, but the taste of her on his lips wouldn’t let go until finally she grabbed his hair, pulling it, forcing his head away from her sweet spot.

  “Jesus,” she said, panting. “No other guy does that the way you do.”

  Okay, he did not want to hear that right now. He got up, needing to take a breather.

  “Hey, where the hell are you going?” She sat up, resting her weight on her elbows as she pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Get back here.”

  He grabbed a black robe off the hook on the back of his closet door. “Just give me a minute.”

  “Did I do something wrong? Did I say something to…?” She groaned, covering her face with her hands. “God, I’m sorry. I guess a guy doesn’t want to hear about other guys when he’s going down on a girl, does he?”

  He grimaced. “Uh no, not really.” Just the thought of another guy tasting her sweet pussy made him soft.

  “I’m sorry, hon. Forget I said anything.” She patted the bed beside her, letting her legs fall open. “Come back to bed, please?”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  He climbed on top of her, supporting his weight on his arms.

  “I need you,” she whispered. The thought she might need him for reasons that went beyond sexual gratification scared the hell out of her.

  He leaned down, bracing his forearms on either side of her head as he kissed her. “I need you too, Jen. You have no idea how much.”

  She wanted to believe he was talking about sex, but she knew from the look in his eyes, it was more than that. She had been naïve to think one more night with Mark would be enough to satisfy her for the rest of her life. When they’d been dating, she’d forced herself to walk away because she knew he would never be able to give her what she needed.

  She had changed a lot in the past two years, but she hadn’t expected him to be a different person too. Had she known, she never would have put herself in the impossible position of having to walk away after one night.

  He nuzzled her neck, kissing her ear, her cheek. “You make me crazy, baby.”

  She didn’t want slow and sweet tonight; that was too risky. Hard and fast was the only way she was going to be able to shield her heart. “I need to feel you inside of me, now.”

  He looked down at her, brushing her hair off her face. “Anxious, aren’t we?” He flashed a quick grin, revealing deep dimples that almost made her groan aloud.

  The man was irresistible. “You have no idea.”

  He rolled off of her and reached into the nightstand. He had his back to her, but she heard plastic tearing before he resumed his position.

  “Let me fuck you,” she whispered. Being on top would allow her to retain control of the pace and her emotions.

  He chuckled. “Not a chance, baby.”

  She closed her eyes when he slipped his hand between her legs.

  He slid his fingers over her slick entrance and kissed her neck before positioning his cock at her opening. “Open your eyes,” he said.

  She refused to comply, afraid of falling deeper.

  “Please,” he whispered, kissing her lips gently. “I need you to look at me.”

  His plea was her un-doing. She couldn’t deny him, no matter the cost. When she finally found the courage to face him, the look reflected in his dark eyes was so raw it stole her breath.

  “Tell me what you see.”

  She swallowed, trying to find the words to brush him off. She wasn’t ready to acknowledge his feelings for her any more than she was willing to acknowledge her feelings for him. “Please, don’t.”

  He sighed. “Pretending it isn’t there won’t make it go away, Jen. What we have is real.”

  She shook her head, trying to deny his claim. It couldn’t be true because if it was, if she was really in love with him, it would unleash a tornado that would tear through her life, leaving only carnage in its wake. What she felt for Kevin for real. It was the kind of love that withstood time, less intense, less frightening.

  “I can tell you’re not ready to face this,” he said quietly. “I’m okay with that. I’m not going anywhere. And I’m not going to let you go anywhere either, not this time.”

  She had to tell him about her engagement. She couldn’t allow him to go on assuming they could have a future together, it wasn’t fair to him. “Mark…”

  He kissed her hungrily, stealing her words and all rational thought. All she could think about now was satisfying her craving for this man.

  He linked his hands with hers, holding her arms high over her head as he drove into her mercilessly. “Is that what you wanted, baby?” he asked, breathless.

  “Yes, God, yes.” She turned her head from side to side, trying to contain the onslaught of sensations threatening to overtake her. He was filling her, consuming her, stealing her breath, her ability to think. The only thing in that moment was him, his hard cock filling her, the promise of a mind-blowing orgasm hovering just beyond her reach.

  “Just let go,” he whispered. “Don’t think, just feel. Feel my cock claiming you, giving you what you need…”

  “Oh, I’m gonna come…” There was a flash of light behind her closed eyelids, her pulse pounding against her neck, her pussy throbbing around his hard cock, her body trembling under him. A sob escaped her lips, followed by another. She was mortified. Never had an orgasm made her feel like she was releasing a lifetime of pent-up frustration.

  “It’s okay,” he whispered. “Just let go. I’m right here. I’ve got you.”

  His soothing voice was the only sound permeating her mind as she came down from the peak, looking for a safe place to land. “I’m sorry.” She was afraid to open her eyes, embarrassed to own her weakness.

  “Don’t ever apologize for being real with me, baby.”

  She smiled, his words giving her the courage to open her eyes. She didn’t see the judgement or confusion she expected to find. Instead she saw only a deep level of compassion and understanding that stunned her. “I needed to be with you tonight. I thought it was just about the sex, but it wasn’t.”

  He held himself still inside of her, cradling her head in his hands. “I’m glad I could be here for you.” He smiled and began stroking her slowly with his cock, allowing her desire to escalate slowly until she was right there with him again, teetering on the edge of sanity.

  He hung his head, the perspiration beading on his temples. “It feels so amazing when you milk me like that.”

  She loved that she could make him lose control the same way he made her restraint snap as soon as his cock slid home. “Harder, faster, please…”

  He leaned back and braced his hands on the headboard, ramming into her relentlessly until he finally came with a guttural cry that merged with hers.

  She reached up to brush his hair off his forehead and smiled. “Wow, just wow.”

  He shook his head, chuckling. “Yeah, my sentiments exactly.”

  “You must be exhausted.” She pulled him down into her arms, holding him as she stroked the damp hair at his nape.

  His breathing slowly returned to normal as he buried his face in her hair. “God, I…”

  She squeezed his shoulder, trying to sit up. She didn’t want to hear any more of his lies, uttered in the heat of a passionate moment. They’d already been there and done that, and she had no intention of going back to the way things were.

  “Where are you going?” he asked, pressing her back down into the bed.

  “I need to call a cab. I have an appointment early in the morning.”

  “You really think I’m going to let you leave right now?” He grinned. “Stay with me for a little while, sweetheart.” He kissed her temple. “Please?”

  She wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and wake up in his arms, but that was just inviting trouble. It would be easier to just make a clean break now. “I really should go.”

  He rolled over a
nd pulled her into his arms, spooning her as he kissed the curve of her neck.

  She closed her eyes with a sigh as she felt his cock slip between her ass cheeks. Ah, the hell with it. Having sex one more time wasn’t going to change anything.

  Jenna opened one eye to look at the alarm clock. 8:10 a.m. She bolted upright in bed, trying to push aside the muscular arm and leg pinning her to the mattress. “Shit, I’ve got to go. I’m going to be late.”

  Mark groaned, burying his face in the pillow.

  No wonder he was tired; they’d stayed up half the night making love, correction, having sex.

  Once he started drizzling chocolate sauce all over her body and lapping it up, she accepted the fact that she wasn’t going home before they were finished satisfying their insatiable hunger for each other.

  She looked around, trying to remember where she’d left her clothes. Knowing him, he was hiding them to ensure she wouldn’t leave without saying good-bye. She smiled. There was a time when it wouldn’t have mattered to him because there was always someone waiting to take her place.

  “Come here, beautiful,” he whispered, trying to pull her back down on the bed.

  She laughed, in spite of the neon reminder that she had only minutes to get ready and make it across town to meet her bridal party for their final dress fitting. “I can’t. I really have to go.”

  He released her, folding the pillow under his head as he rolled on his side to look at her. “Do you have a meeting with a client?”

  She glanced at him over her shoulder. Big mistake. He looked rumpled and sexy with his hair tousled and dark stubble masking his square jaw. Any woman would kill to be invited into his bed. “No, uh, it’s an appointment for a dress fitting.” She grabbed his discarded robe from the bottom of the bed and slipped into it, laughing when it swallowed her up.

  He grinned, stacking his hands behind his head. “Damn, I’d forgotten how good you looked in my clothes.”

  She would sometimes slip into his T-shirts when they were watching TV or making breakfast together on a lazy Sunday morning. But those times were few and far between. Their relationship was punctuated with late night booty calls and last-minute plans. Neither one of them fooled themselves into believing it was something it wasn’t, which made it easier for her to walk away when it was time to end it. There were no expectations, which made explanations unnecessary.

  They both understood the score. Enjoy it while it lasts and don’t waste tears crying when it’s over. If only.

  “I’ve got to go and find my own clothes so I can get out of here.” She walked down the hall into the gourmet kitchen, blushing when she saw the trail of clothes she’d left behind. Judging by the scene, she couldn’t get naked fast enough. Of course, his strewn clothes attested to the fact he’d felt the same way.

  She turned her cell phone on, groaning when she saw six missed calls from Kevin, the last one at 4:04 a.m. He must have been awake all night trying to reach her. The phone in her hand buzzed. Kevin. Poor guy, he must be worried sick by now.

  She cleared her throat and took a deep breath before pressing the button to answer the call. “Hey, Kev, what’s up?”

  “What’s up?” he asked, sounding frantic. “Where the hell are you? I’ve been trying to call you all goddamn night. I’ve been going out of my mind.”

  She thought back to last weekend, when he had been out all night with another woman. She hadn’t even cared enough to call and check in on him. What did that say about her, about them?

  “I’m fine. Don’t worry. I’m heading out now. I have my final dress fitting, and then the girls and I are going out for lunch. I’ll touch base with you later, okay?”

  “Jen, wait. I know you didn’t go home last night. I went by your place when I couldn’t reach you.”

  She pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for him to continue. It’s not that she intended to lie to him about what happened last night, but she didn’t want to have this conversation now. Mark was going to demand answers, and six women were waiting on her to make an appearance at a boutique across town. She glanced at her diamond studded watch.

  She had forty-five minutes and counting. It occurred to her she should be more worried about her fiancé’s reaction to the news that she spent the night with another man, but given his own indiscretions, she couldn’t muster any concern for him.

  “I let myself in with the key you gave me. I waited there all night for you to come home. Where the hell were you?”

  She chuckled at the irony of the situation. Only weeks before they were supposed to take their vows, they had both been lured into bed with other people, though Jen knew she wouldn’t have pursued Mark had it not been for Kevin’s betrayal. She’d never cheated on anyone before, not even Mark. Even though he’d probably assumed she had been seeing other men while he was out of town, she couldn’t bring herself to sleep with anyone else as long as she was sharing his bed. “I hooked up with a friend last night, Kevin.”

  “A friend? What kind of friend keeps you out all night?”

  She could imagine him pacing the floor, raking his hands through his hair. “The kind of friend you suggested I hook up with after your little incident last weekend, remember?”

  “Are you telling me you actually fucked some other guy last night?” he shouted. “Are you with him right now?”

  She remained silent, refusing to add fuel to his tirade.

  “You are, aren’t you? Put him on the fuckin’ phone. We need to get a few things straight.”

  “Are you crazy? I’m not going to put him on the phone.”

  Mark pushed off from the doorframe when he overheard her last comment. He had followed her to the kitchen, intent on making plans for later, when he heard her answer her cell phone.

  Judging by the tone of the conversation, her boyfriend was pissed. Too damn bad. He reached for the phone, using the element of surprise to catch her off guard.

  She glared at him when he held her phone up his ear. “Give me that phone right now, Atwell.”

  He shook his head, turning his back on her as he walked into the living room. “You wanted to talk to me, buddy? What can I do for you?”

  “Who the hell is this?” an irate male voice shouted.

  He held the phone away from his ear and smiled. He couldn’t blame the poor guy; he’d feel the same way if he were losing Jen to another man. “Mark Atwell.” He gave it a minute for the name to register, before he asked, “And you would be?”

  Jen stalked into the living room, looking decidedly dishevelled in last night’s clothes. Her make-up was streaked and her long blond hair was standing away from her scalp at odd angles. Her lips were chafed from his hungry kisses and the sensitive skin on her neck bore abrasions from his whiskers. Damn, she looked good enough to eat, all over again.

  “Mark Atwell, the hockey player?”

  Mark smiled and winked at Jen, who was standing with her hands on her hips, tapping her bare foot on the hardwood floor. If looks could kill, he’d be a dead man. “One and the same.”

  “Jen didn’t tell me she knew you.”

  Mark chuckled, folding his leg over his bent knee as he stretched an arm over the back of the leather sofa. “Sounds like there’s a lot she hasn’t told you, man.”

  “When did you two meet?” he demanded.

  “I don’t know, a few years ago. Why, what’s it to you?”

  He laughed. “You must have been the asshole she broke up with when she met me.”

  Mark planted his feet on the ground, leaning forward. This guy was the reason Jen left him? If that was true, this wasn’t a casual relationship, as Mark had assumed. This was serious.

  “How long have you two been together?”

  “I don’t know. We dated for a year before we got engaged, so I guess we’ve been together almost two years.”

  Mark jumped off the couch, stalking toward Jen, who backed up into the wall. “You’re engaged?” he shouted.

 
“Yeah,” Kevin said. “We’re getting married in three weeks.” He laughed. “Did my beautiful bride-to-be fail to mention that you were just a way for her to get even with me?”

  Mark felt his blood pressure rise to the point where he thought his head might explode. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  He chuckled. “Let’s just say I had a few too many at my bachelor party last weekend. I slept with some stripper and…”

  Mark flattened his palm on the wall beside Jen’s head, caging her in with his body. If she thought he was going to let her make a quick escape, she was delusional. “You fucked a stripper last weekend?” Mark couldn’t believe any man could be that stupid. He had an incredible woman like Jen, and he cheated on her with a stripper? This loser clearly didn’t deserve her.

  “It was a lapse in judgement.”

  Mark looked into Jen’s eyes, trying to read her expression. Embarrassment, shame, fear… “I can’t believe she didn’t dump your sorry ass.”

  “Believe me, she wanted to.”

  “But?”

  “I convinced her that I loved her, that we could still have a great life together.”

  “That’s bullshit. You wouldn’t have cheated on her if you love her so much, asshole.” If this guy were in Mark’s face right now, he’d knock all of his teeth out. How dare he claim to love Jen after what he’d done to her?

  “You don’t know anything about our relationship. I love her more than anything, and she loves me.”

  “Is that why she made love to me last night, all night long?”

  Jen dropped her head into her hands, looking mortified.

  “You can call it whatever you want to, Atwell. The bottom line is you got her for one night. She’s mine for the rest of our lives.”

  The sharp barb felt like a blade to the chest, piercing his heart. “Don’t count on it.” He punched the end button, ending the call.

  “Mark, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she said quietly, reaching up to touch his face.

  He pressed her phone into her palm and stepped out of reach. “I can’t believe this,” he whispered, trying to process the fact that the woman he loved was marrying another man in a few short weeks.