High Score (8 page)

“You are hot, baby!” he said, and put his mouth on her. Flicking his tongue back and forth, he derived pleasure from the shockwaves jolting through her.

She sucked in a deep breath. “Oh, God! That feels so good!”

He backed off, not wanting her to come just yet, not until he was inside her. As he withdrew, she thrust her hips forward, as though trying to keep his finger from escaping.

“I want you, Thor! Right this minute!”

He didn’t need to be asked twice. She was naturally lubricated—dripping, in fact—so he need not worry about that. He reached around her, cupped her buttocks with both hands and, as he straightened, lifted her high against himself. Her perky breasts flattened against his collarbone. As gravity pulled her inexorably downward, his cock waited to impale her.

She locked her legs around his waist, but her grip wasn’t strong enough to keep her in place. Only as long as his hands supported her hips could she ride above his waiting spearhead. Deliberately, he relaxed his grip and put her at the mercy of gravity. Inevitably, she descended, encountered his pulsing knob and began to slide down his shaft.

As he breached her narrow channel, his natural reaction was to thrust. Nothing this side of heaven could have felt so good.

She stiffened with alarm and gasped. Her heels drummed against his backside.

Oh, God, she was tight! Delicious ripples of pleasure radiated through his lower body. Without shifting his hands from her bottom, he simply stopped supporting her and allowed her to plummet. His cock sheathed itself deeply, until his balls wedged against her body.

She squealed as she hit bottom and squirmed helplessly. Squeezing her butt between his hands, he leaned into her, pressing her against the wall. And very nearly lost control. As he mindlessly plunged into her, her whimpers turned to moans of ecstasy. He was a hairsbreadth away from coming, and so was she.

Suddenly, she shuddered, yelling incoherently. Clinging to his neck, she climaxed with a series of strong contractions that pushed him over the edge. With a series of animal grunts, he surrendered and pumped her full of his seed.

He caught his breath for a moment, as she hung limply in his embrace, then carefully bent his knees and set her on her feet. As his cock slipped out of her, he became aware that he’d forgotten something important.

“That was incredible!” she sighed, slumping against him.

Realization hit him like a two-ton truck.

He swore. “Are you on the pill?”

She shook her head, her eyes glazed with the aftermath of orgasm. “I planned to start them on my next cycle.”

“Damn!” He’d left a condom next to the bed on the night table, but thinking about catching her naked in the shower had driven every sane thought from his head. “Quick, we need to douche you. Lie down.”

He grabbed the sprayer off its hook, dropped to a sitting position on the floor of the shower and pulled her onto his lap. “Spread your legs, prop your feet high up on the wall.”

When she was in position, he aimed the spray of water—now lukewarm—into her vagina. She lay back and watched him with a smile on her face. The little nymph was enjoying it!

After several minutes of irrigating her, he released her. “I sure hope that works. It wouldn’t be fair to get you pregnant.”

She reached up to lay her hand on his cheek. “I appreciate your concern.”

“Even if it’s after the fact?” he said, with disgust.

“I blame myself. After all, I have more to lose than you do. My fiancé would come unglued if I got pregnant before the wedding.”

“Wedding?” He stared at her. “You really are getting married?”

“Yeah.”

“Shit! I thought your friend was making that up!”

“Why would she do that?”

“I don’t know!” He shook his head in confusion. “But if that’s true… What in the hell am I doing here?”

Chapter Four

Shelley stood motionless before her closet, still smarting from Thor’s reproachful glare and hasty departure. He'd announced he was going to fetch her car and bring it back, but she could tell he was pissed. She knew what was wrong. He had not been amused to learn she was actually engaged to be married. How could she blame him? Her behavior had been nothing to write home about.

Regardless of how worthless she felt, she had to get dressed and go to work. Without enthusiasm, she reached for the nearest pair of slacks, slipped them off the hanger and stepped into them.

Nothing in her experience had prepared her for the irresistible compulsion, the utter magnetism of sex with Thor. She was no stranger to orgasms, but pleasuring herself could not compare to sharing intimacies with another person. Especially a big, strong man who knew what she needed and how to give it to her. Just the thought of his arms pulling her close to his hot skin left her feverish and yearning.

Which was just too bad, because her little fling with Thor was history.

She considered then tossed aside a cheerful yellow blouse. The oversized black pullover would better suit her mood. How easily she had been induced to give up her last shred of control—not only by Thor, but also by her own mindless, overwhelming passion. And now there was a chance she could be pregnant. The mere thought gave her palpitations!

A small rebellious voice in the back of her mind piped up.
Would your child have reddish-golden hair? Piercing blue eyes? Wouldn’t the two of you make beautiful children?

She glanced down at her flat belly with a worried frown.

The quarrel with Thor still echoed in her ears. “If you’re getting married,” he had said, his face as dark as a thundercloud, “Why aren’t you wearing an engagement ring? Is it something you conveniently leave at home when you’re entertaining other men?”

“No!” She’d cringed in her bed, pulling the blanket up to her chin. “I don’t have an engagement ring! Dickie can’t afford one right now, but he plans to buy me one as soon as he can.”

“His name is Dickie? You’re marrying a guy named Dickie?”

“Richard Gillet, but everyone calls him Dickie.”

He made a cynical sound. “Maybe you should wear a t-shirt that tells the world you belong to
Dickie
.”

The dripping sarcasm in his voice cut deep.

“Rita told you I was getting married that day in your shop!”

“I thought that was her excuse for buying books and sex toys. Lots of people come into the shop with weird reasons for indulging their fantasies. I don’t make judgments. I just sell them what they want.”

“You sound like you’re making a judgment right now.”

“That’s because—” Thor clenched his jaw and made an exasperated sound. “This is different. I want to know what I’m dealing with. If I’m encroaching on someone else’s territory, I want to know about it. That’s all.”

“You knew,” she’d insisted stubbornly.

“Well, I
should
have known. But for some reason, when you came and hung out at the store and accepted my invitation to dinner, I figured you must be available. If you were engaged, why did you go out with me?”

“I don’t know. It sounded like a good idea at the time.”

With a lot of grumbling, he’d gotten dressed and, rather abruptly, roared off on his motorcycle.

As she finished dressing, she decided breakfast was out of the question. If she ate a bite, it would just come back up.

A thump on the front door alerted her to Thor's return. He opened the door and stuck his head in. "You're all set. Here are your keys."

He retained his grip on the door knob and didn't set foot across the threshold. One look at his impassive, cool expression wiped the smile from her face. So, he was going to behave like a stranger, was he? Last night never happened?

Fine with her.

She snagged her purse and headed for the door, head high and back straight. "I'll drop you off at your shop."

He stepped back as she swept past him. "It's okay. I can walk."

"Nonsense." Without glancing at his face, she plucked her keys from his fingers. "Get in the car."

Neither spoke a single word until she braked to a stop in front of High Score. As Thor swung the door open and stepped out, she stared straight ahead, refusing to break the silence.

He turned back with one hand on the top edge of the car door. "Thanks. I'll see you."

Seething inside, the most she could do was give him a stiff nod. Her car was already moving when he shoved the door closed.

She drove to work feeling as hollow as her empty stomach.

* * * * *

The bachelorette party brought Shelley a measure of cheer, even without male strippers. The long see-through nightgown from Rita was the most titillating gift. The guests giggled appreciatively, but made no lewd comments. The party suited Shelley perfectly—subdued, tasteful, and really sweet.

She didn’t deserve such wonderful friends, Shelley thought, as she loaded the passenger seat of her car full of pretty gifts. If they only knew what a two-faced toad she really was, they wouldn’t have anything to do with her.

“Only eight days to go,” Rita said, juggling more of Shelley’s gifts in her arms. “Can you hardly wait?”

“Hardly.” Shelley sighed. She took the packages from Rita and stacked them on the floor below the passenger seat. Her sporty little car was cute and fun to drive, but didn’t have much trunk space.

“What’s wrong? All the plans are coming together smoothly, aren’t they?”

Shelley turned to face her best chum. “Everything’s scheduled, confirmed and locked in place.”

“So why the long face?”

Could Rita tell she was having second thoughts about her upcoming marriage to Dickie?

Don’t go there!

The invitations had been sent out ages ago. Deposits had been paid for rentals on tuxedos, a champagne fountain and the reception hall. Her parents had purchased airline tickets from Detroit. The caterer had confirmed the order for an enormous decorated cake and platters of hors d’oeuvres. Events had been set in motion. It was too late to cancel.

Even if she wanted to back out, she couldn’t do it now.

Shelley shrugged. “Last-minute nerves, I guess.”

“That’s to be expected.” Rita grinned. “Have you read the books yet?”

“Yes.” Shelley smiled at the mix of eagerness and curiosity in her friend’s expression.

“And?”

“Pretty racy!” she admitted.
What an understatement!

“But were they any good? Don’t go mum on me now,” Rita pressed.

“They were…very helpful. I needed a primer on sex, and…well, now I’m primed.”

God, am I primed!

Rita laughed. “Don’t forget I want to read them when you’re finished. What about the video?”

“It was a little too much for me. I returned it.”

“You did?” Rita looked disappointed. “Did you see Thor?”

“Yeah.”
Time to change the subject
. Although Rita was her closest friend, the woman didn’t keep too many secrets from her husband. And he probably didn’t keep too many from Dickie.

She forced a smile. “How did Skeeter like the dildo and French ticklers?”

Rita threw back her head and laughed. “You should have seen the look on his face when I brought ‘em out.”

Shelley decided she didn’t really want to know more about that topic, so she focused her attention on how awkward it was sliding behind the steering wheel of her car wearing a dress with a long, narrow skirt. “Thank you so much for the party, Rita. You’re the best!”

“I hope you had a good time.”

“You know I did.” Shelley started the engine. “Have you heard whether Skeeter is still going through with the you-know-what tomorrow night?”

“Far as I know, he is. Has Dickie mentioned it?”

“Nope. Not a word.” Shelley grimaced. “He’s keeping it a big secret!”

Rita mirrored the grimace. “Men! Can’t be trusted.”

“So true.” With a final wave, Shelley drove away from the curb.

Shelley wasn't used to wrestling with her conscience, which showed what a goody-two-shoes she'd been all her life. Now she alternated between feeling lower than a snake’s belly and defending herself with excuses. The more she thought about Dickie’s lies and deception, not to mention neglect, the more justified she felt about what she’d done.

On the other hand, Thor was disappointed in her, and that hurt. Why she should care, she didn’t know. After all, they weren't close, in spite of the one-night stand.

A glance at her watch told her it was close to eight p.m. Almost of its own accord, her auto headed toward High Score. She did owe Thor an apology. Her treatment of him had been little different than that of the jerks who used to put moves on her. She'd made assumptions about Thor, picked him up, seduced him, and used him for sex.

Before she reached his shop, she spotted him a half block away pulling out into traffic on his Harley. Darn! He’d closed up before the stroke of eight, she realized. Must have been a slow evening for business.

What the heck—she would follow him home. The thought of him holding a grudge weighed heavier than a block of cement.