Dangerously Safe (6 page)

Her self-consciousness over her body had taken him by surprise. Now that he thought about it, why wouldn't she feel that way? Guys who had tried to force themselves on you and the way her folks had told her she was worthless from the start would have been enough to send most people to the nuthouse. He'd supported her through the few times she'd opened up about it
, and then he'd done everything he could to earn her trust last night. They’d worked on that, hadn’t they?

It didn’t matter. He couldn’t let this sit. Hannah would reinforce all of her protection in her precious arsenal, and they’d come too far even if it was only because of last night. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, let his shoulders slump, and followed the path Hannah had just taken to the back.

“I like you, kid.”

Chris stopped and dared a glance at Roxy. She  stood at her usual place behind the bar wiping out the inside of glasses with a towel. Roxy didn’t look his way or say anything more, so he wondered if he’d only imagined she’d said something.

He took another step. Roxy slammed a glass on the bar harder than necessary. He froze and didn’t dare look this time.

“But I like Hannah even more. You and I both know she’s got some trouble when it comes to trusting people, and I sure as hell don’t approve of the way she loves ‘em and leaves ‘em. But at least she wasn’t getting’ hurt. You’d be a different story, buddy.”
Chris cleared his throat and turned to Roxy, who was back to wiping glasses. “Uh, yes, ma'am.”

Roxy set the next glass down with less force this time and leaned on the bar with one hand. “If I could handpick a guy to settle down with Hannah, you’d be first on my list. But I don’t know exactly what you’re after with her, and I don’t wanna know. Just remember this.”

Chris swallowed hard and waited for her to speak again. The older woman took her time leaning forward and balling both fists on the counter. “Walk away if you’re not prepared to see her through everything that’s gonna come with being with her. She’s messed up, buddy. She’s got shit to work through that most people would let ruin their lives. But she’s a fighter, and if anyone can bring her to a good place, it’s you.”Roxy narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth. “But if this is about baggin’ the girl you could never have before just ‘cause you can, walk out that door now. Because if you hurt her, I will kill you, bud.”

If the threat had come from anyone other than Roxy, Chris would have laughed it off. But  he'd seen the older woman throw muscular, rowdy young guys out of her bar as if they were nothing more than bags of flour dragged across the floor.  She might have been a small woman with wrinkled skin
, but the woman was a lot stronger than she looked. Roxy meant business.

Fortunately Chris had no doubts about Hannah. He loved her, and this was it for him. She’d just have to get used to the idea one way or another.

He nodded his head once and said, “I have nothing but honorable intentions, Roxy. Hannah means the world to me, and I can’t imagine a day in my life without her.”Roxy raised one eyebrow and twisted her lips to the side. “I don’t doubt that, buddy. But you’ve got one hell of a battle waiting for you back there. Better get moving.”

He’d been dismissed. Roxy returned to her chores at the bar, and Chris took a deep breath. Facing Roxy and her threats would be nothing compared to what waited for him when he caught up with Hannah.

She was in Roxy’s office behind the door. He would have walked right past her if she hadn’t cursed under her breath as he went by. She was hiding with a box of unopened tissues.

The door whipped at him when she caught sight of him entering the room. His reflexes kicked in, and he held out the palm of his hand to stop it making it bounce back and slam into Hannah.

“Mother Fff…”  He peeked around the door to see her palm pressed against her forehead.

“Shit. Did I hit you?”

“You sure are a genius, Sherlock. What the hell?” She stomped to the plush loveseat Roxy had angled across from her desk. More than one employee had needed to sleep off a bit too much on that sofa over the years. Hannah plopped down hard enough to make the loveseat scrape along the floor.

“What do you want, Chris? I really don’t want to get into it with you tonight,” she sighed as she rested her forehead in her hands.

He sat down next to her and didn’t miss how she angled away. Her head still rested in her hands, but he didn’t dare ask her to move. Instead, he bent down, twisted so that he was on his back, and slid his face underneath her arm to stare up at her.

Hannah squealed and laughed at the same time, sat upright, and swatted him on the top of the head. “You’re insane, Christopher. Shit.”

He stayed with his head in her lap, and she didn’t move to shove him off right away. At least she wasn’t clawing his eyes out.

Hannah looked down at him, and for the first time, he noticed the dark circles around her eyes. God, she looked tired. And he was the reason why.

“You okay?” He swallowed hard and waited.

She rested her head on the back of the loveseat and closed her eyes. “I have no idea.”

He wanted to get her to talk. But that path clearly wasn’t going to work tonight. It was time to figure out another way through her blockade.

Taking his time, he reached up to her chin and ran his finger along her jawbone. She tensed but only for a brief second, so he continued along her chin and then down her neck. He could see goose-bumps break out over her skin.

“You okay now?” he asked.

“Mmmhmm.”

He chuckled and continued along her collarbone and down one arm. His fingers grazed her breast, and she sucked in a breath but didn’t move. He did it again but this time with obvious intentions. Her chest thrust forward with a small arch of her back.

Damn. Did he dare push her further? The pain of his cock straining against his fly clouded his mind.

His hormones ruled as he ran his fingers over the curves of her breast, circling through her shirt around one beaded nipple and then the other. Hannah grabbed his hair with one hand and reached to cradle the bump at the apex of his legs. Chris hissed through his teeth.

“Hannah…” His voice strained as she tugged his hair, lifting his face so she could kiss him. Damn, she tasted like sweet cinnamon.

He’d only wanted to talk to her. She’d been hell bent on walking away and pretending nothing had happened between them. What the hell?

Shit. Who was he to turn down Hannah, especially when her hand was rubbing his dick up and down, driving him crazy? If she wanted him, he sure as hell wanted her right back.

He broke away from the kiss realizing too late that he’d lose her hand over his groin. Moaning in frustration, he stood, pulled Hannah into his arms and slid his hands underneath her t-shirt. Her sports bra presented no challenge as he lifted it and cupped his hands around her tits. She gasped as he squeezed them, pulled them apart and then brought them together repeatedly.

Her hands slid down his chest and worked at his button and zipper. A tiny voice in the back of his mind screamed at him. She’d fought him on exactly this situation minutes ago.. This could backfire—badly.

He stilled her hands with his. “Hannah. Are—”

Hannah kissed him hard, pulled back and said, “Just don’t talk. Fuck me, Chris. I need you to fuck me now.”

Aw, hell. No warning could stop him from his mission now. He held up a finger before turning to close the door and secure the lock.

Hannah licked her lips as he approached and reached out to wrap her arms around his neck. He shook his head and said, “Take your clothes off.”

She raised an eyebrow before narrowing her eyes, but she did as he commanded, first removing her shirt and then her jeans. Only her sports bra and thong were left. He crossed his arms, and they stared at each other until she rolled eyes before removing the rest of her garments.

Hannah’s body was made for loving, he thought as he took in the way she curved in all the right places, her large, puckered nipples
, and the soft vee of curls between her legs.
Shit
. He had to be inside her soon.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face the loveseat. She reached to put her hands over his, but he swatted them away. “Just enjoy this, baby,” he whispered in her ear before he ran his tongue along the outline of her ear and down her neck. She shivered.

The hard-on straining against his fly ached from pressing against the teeth of his zipper. He reached down and yanked the fly open making a loud noise in the otherwise silent room. Pulling his shirt off next, he pulled Hannah against his skin setting it on fire.

She moaned and rested her head back against his chest. Chris used his hands to run them up and down her torso, over her breasts and ending when his fingers delved into her pussy, making her cry out.

Hannah’s hips moved against him, rocking to take him deeper. The wet juices dripped onto his hand, and all he could think about was opening her up and tasting her.

He took his hands, put them on her hips and pushed her forward onto the loveseat. She placed both knees on the cushions while he applied gentle pressure between her shoulder blades to bend her down over the back.

His cock ached to plunge into her wet heat, but the urge to spread her wide and taste her needed to be satisfied. He ran his hands over her soft, round ass and ran a finger down the center part until her reached the damp folds of her pussy. Using two fingers on each hand, he opened her wide and breathed, “Fuck.”

Hannah clenched and whipped her head around. “Don’t, baby,” he said. His voice sounded rough and strained to him. “You are so fucking beautiful. Just let me have a minute to look at you. I can’t get enough of the way you taste.”

He dipped his tongue into the opening of her vagina, and she called out his name as her muscles relaxed. His tongue lapped up her liquid. He couldn’t get enough of her taste—berries and cream.

Her hips rocked in time with his tongue, and he could hear her breathing becoming shallow and labored. He ran his tongue from her opening, up to her sensitive bundle of nerves, sucked the nub and then back down again. She shuddered and rocked even harder.

Having her respond by letting go once more was more than he could take. He righted himself, put the tip of his erection at her opening and plunged inside making her scream. At first he thought he’d hurt her until she pulled her ass forward and slammed back onto his cock, shocking and hardening his balls.

The loveseat scraped back and forth on the hardwood floor with each thrust, only heightening his arousal. He angled his head to try to see Hannah’s face. All he could see was the swinging of her tits back and forth each time he pounded into her.

He needed to be closer to her. She deserved more than a rough fuck.

Chris rested his back on hers and reached around with one hand to fondle her breasts while taking the sensitive nub between her legs with his other one, pulling and pressing on it in time with their movements.

“Chris!” It was all she said before he felt her body catapult over the edge. Her tremors pulsated and rocked all around his cock.

That was all he needed to follow right after her over that cliff. The pull on his balls bordered on pain. He gritted his teeth and let out a primal growl as he spilled himself inside of Hannah.

They stayed hunched over the back of the loveseat together breathing in sync until his pulse returned to close to normal. He righted himself and pulled his jeans up while Hannah turned, sat down and pulled on her bra, t-shirt, and thong. She didn’t say a word or look at him.

He sat down next to her and waited. She stayed still for a while before bending down to find her jeans on the floor. When she found them, she stood up, pulled them on, bent over to smack his knee and said, “Thanks for that, buddy. You’re awesome. I’d better get back to work now. See you later.”

And then she was gone. He couldn’t formulate a single response to get out while she unlocked and practically flew out the door.

What the fuck?

He’d thought they’d turned a corner. Hannah had just given herself to him. Wasn’t that a concrete sign she wanted to be with him? Hell, it felt like more than a sign.

There was no doubt Hannah had some issues, but if she wanted to just have him as a friend with benefits she would be sorely disappointed. It had to be all or nothing. A relationship just didn’t work like that, and they had to start off the right way if they were going to have a chance to make it together.

He double-checked to make sure his clothes were on straight before he left the office and marched into the bar. Roxy hadn’t moved. The older woman caught his eye and then winked. Chris furrowed his brows, and Roxy tilted her head towards Hannah who was serving a couple of young guys wearing sweatshirts from the local college.

Roxy was giving him her approval. Chris looked at Hannah again. She was a completely different person from when he’d walked in tonight. Her posture was relaxed, and she smiled and laughed with the guys like nothing had happened.

He’d done this. She was smiling because of him. His chest filled with pride and excitement.

Until one of the little college pricks put his hand on Hannah’s ass. Hell, no!

Chris knocked over a chair in his rush to get to Hannah’s side, and everyone in the bar turned to watch him. Hannah’s eyes widened when she saw him coming. She put her hand out.