Lucky Break (12 page)

He reached into the pocket of his discarded pants, pulled out a condom and turned to her. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” Her eyes went wide with confusion, but she allowed him to guide her outside the glass door that connected to the patio. A pristine Olympic-sized pool sat a few yards away.

He led her toward the shallow end of the pool, dropped the condom by the stairs, and turned to her.

She hadn’t voiced a complaint or hesitated, and he loved it. “Sit down, sweetheart.”

A small frown puckered her brow. She did as he asked; sat on the stairs with water lapping over her ankles. He went down a few steps, sank to his knees, and watched arousal flare brighter in her eyes. She’d figured out what he was about.

“Spread your legs for me. Show me that pretty pink pussy again.”

She moaned and opened her legs wide, until he could see her glistening folds calling him for a taste.

“Baby, you’re so wet.” He rubbed two fingers between her pussy lips, loving the way she whimpered.

Cool water rippled around his legs as he bent forward and moved his head between her thighs. She leaned back, widening her legs and bracing herself on her elbows. He licked her deeper and she shuddered.

“Oh…yes…”

He loved the hitch he heard in her voice. It incited him to bring her to the edge and watch her fall. Her musky scent drove the hungry part of him to taste more of her. He slipped his tongue into her, licking and sucking on her essence. She tasted of sexy woman, better than ice cream and the chocolate she loved so much. Her legs shook. She moaned, groaned, and whimpered for him to keep going. It was empowering to know he was bringing her so much pleasure. He licked down to her dark anal entrance, knowing he’d soon get to fuck the tight hole, and sucked his way up to her clit.

“Oh!”

She tensed. He delved his tongue in and out, fucking her with it.

“Yes! More!”

Twirling circles over her tight little pleasure nubbin, he felt her body vibrate with her need to come. He sucked her clit and flicked his tongue over it, hard and fast. And that’s when she snapped. She jerked, screamed, and her body shook with the force of her release.

Lucky was dazed and still suffering from slight shockwaves after the orgasm Jared gave her. She tried to blink her eyes into focus, but her vision was hazy. Goddamn, that man was going to kill her. Oh, but what a way to go.

The sound of tearing foil got her attention. She glanced down to catch him sliding a condom over his hard cock. Her pussy throbbed again. It didn’t matter that she’d just come hard or that he seemed to be the first man to make her body shake and convulse like that. Nope. All her body knew was it wanted him inside her, stroking her with his steel length and bringing her back to the precipice of bliss.

He glanced up, his face tight with need. He held out a hand. “Come here.”

She sat up, slipped a hand into his and stood. He guided her farther into the pool, until the water was lapping at her breasts. He caressed her face with wet fingers.

“I don’t know why I need you so much, but it only seems to grow. I can’t stop wanting you.”

Her breath abated at the possession he displayed looking down at her body. He slid his hands up and down her spine, bringing her body flush over his. Their lips met in a soft, heart-melting kiss. Her back hit the side of the pool and she curled her legs around his waist. He lifted her up by her ass and slid her down his cock, until he was balls-deep inside her.

Fire raged in her pussy. In her blood. Hell, her entire body was blazing. He slid in and out of her in smooth drives. She held on to him, moaning into his mouth. Every thrust into her pussy made her tremble with anticipation. Tension gathered inside her, almost like the lava bubbling inside a volcano, waiting for the perfect moment before it burst free and flowed seamlessly.

He thrust harder, with an edge of desperation that mimicked the need inside her body. Tearing her lips from his, she groaned and threw her head back. He licked at her neck, biting and sucking on her jaw and throat.

“God, you’re tight, and feel so good.”

She panted. Air fought its way into her lungs. She whimpered, loving how hard and rough he turned. Her pussy was scorched by how badly she needed to come again.

“Please…”

He slipped a hand between their bodies and rubbed her engorged clit. He kissed her jaw and licked her earlobe. “Come over the edge for me, baby, I’ve got you.”

His words, said with so much conviction, destroyed the barriers inside her heart. The tight ball of nerves inside her broke. She screamed his name without meaning to when her orgasm tore through her with the force of a category 5 hurricane. It struck with devastating speed and catastrophic impact. She convulsed, her body continuing to shake through the waves of pleasure.

Still trying to catch her breath, she moaned when he quickened his thrusts, until he stiffened in her arms and sucked on her neck. He groaned, shaking with his own orgasm.

“You’re incredible.”

His words were a soft rumble by her neck. She held on to him, hugging him tight, and smiled when he moved them farther into the cool pool water.

“Stay with me tonight.”

She gazed into his face and felt her heart flutter. He was staring at her with a soft look in his eyes. How was she supposed to say no to him when he gave her those kinds of smiles?

“OK.” Like a game of poker, she knew there were risks. But she decided to hold and see where the cards fell.

Chapter Ten

Lucky woke up to the smell of fresh coffee and breakfast. She also got a large dose of soft kisses on her shoulder. She tried to hold back a smile but failed miserably when his stubble tickled her.

“Ah, there she is. I was starting to worry you wouldn’t wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”

She blinked her eyes open and grinned at Jared’s scruffy face and sexy naked torso. “This isn’t fair.”

He frowned. “What?”

“You, looking this good in the morning. I probably look like something the cat dragged in.” She sat up on the bed, tugging the sheet up to cover her breasts. She ran her hand through her knotted curls and winced.
Yeah, real sexy, chica.

He laughed and passed her a cup of coffee. She inhaled and stopped. “Who told you how I like my coffee?”

“Nina.”

Figured. Nina had made it clear to her that she would push her matchmaking to the limit trying to get Lucky to spend time with Jared. Her sweet cousin played dirty. She sipped and sighed. The sweet combination of coffee, cream, and cinnamon were ones that could always make her relax.

He grabbed the cup over her hands, pulled it away from her mouth, and kissed her, licking the sweet coffee and cream concoction from her lips. “Mmm. Yummy.”

“Nuh-uh. This here is my coffee. Get your own,” she said, slapping his hand away when he tried take it out of her hands.

He stood, picked up a tray of food, and placed it on his empty side of the bed. She didn’t wait for him to fix himself before munching on buttered toast.

“How about I play you for some of that coffee?” He grabbed a deck of cards from the tray and put it between them. He sat across from her and shuffled the cards while she ate.

“Hmm. I don’t know. You’re supposed to be a pro.” She sipped on her coffee, still unable to tear her eyes away. He was practically naked, bar his boxers. She gulped air like a fish out of water. His sexy, scruffy face looked even better than when he was clean-shaven. And dear God, his body was tight with muscles, and the tattoo was in full display in front of her. And it felt so…right.

“True, but you’re supposed to be
lucky
, so I’d say we’re even,” he taunted.

She grinned. She knew his game already. He was trying to bait her into doing what he wanted. She was not that easily convinced, but she loved their banter, and last night had been almost magical for her. After the private pool party for two, they’d had dinner and continued their private session up in his room. She couldn’t think about it without smiling.

“Fine. Let’s do it.”

She bit down on a piece of bacon and watched him place cards in front of her.

“Loser answers whatever question the winner asks.”

“And when did I agree to that?” She continued to eat, wondering where he was going with this game.

“Come on. It’s another way of getting to know each other better. Didn’t we agree that’s what we wanted?” His smile belied the intense way he gazed at her.

“I’m such a sucker, but…fine.” Her usual luck wasn’t with her that morning. She glanced at her cards and winced. She had seven. “Hit me.”

He winked. Another card was placed in front of her. OK, now she had ten. “Again.”

He chuckled and gave her a third card. Eighteen. Crap. She’d have to stay or risk going over. “I’ll stay.”

She studied his face while he checked his cards. He had a magnificent poker face. She had no clue what type of game he had. Damn, he was good.

“I call twenty.” He said, showing his cards.

“Eighteen.” She pouted. “Why did I let you convince me into playing when I’m still half-asleep?”

He grabbed her cards, leaned forward, and kissed her again. While she was distracted with their kiss, he pulled the coffee out of her hand and sat back.

“Hey!”

He grinned and sipped. “This is really good.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know that. Why do you think I drink it?”

The smile dimmed, and he appeared undecided on what to say. Her heartbeat doubled and she wondered what was going on.

“Tell me about the McKinley-James wedding.”

She glanced down at her hands. An instant knot formed in her throat, cutting off her ability to speak. He cupped her cheek and she glanced up.

“Please?”

His eyes held concern and another set of emotions she wasn’t clear on, but she decided to tell him the story anyway.

Clearing her throat a few times, she put the piece of toast she’d had in her hand back on the plate. “I was with someone. Nick. Or as we have come to call him for some months now, Nick the Dick. We’d been dating for almost a year before he was offered a high-level position down in Florida.” She laughed. It sounded so hollow to her ears. “He asked me to move down there with him and promised that we’d let things grow at their own pace. After six months, I started to wonder where we were going, so I asked him point-blank what he was thinking.”

Jared said nothing but continued to watch her with concern. Lucky no longer felt dread churning in the pit of her stomach.

“He said he wanted to be with me, but he wasn’t ready for marriage or a family yet. I wasn’t happy with settling for anything less than full commitment, so I told him I’d need to think about things. The McKinley wedding took us both to Paris. He worked with the Jameses and I was handling the wedding.” She stopped, visualizing the scene as it unfolded. “He traveled with his assistant everywhere he went, so it wasn’t anything new. She had recently become pregnant and so he was very careful with her, saying she had a delicate nature. What I didn’t know was that his assistant was his ex. Nor did I expect to walk into the study we’d been using as an office and…catch him screwing her.”

Jared clenched his jaw but said nothing.

“I guess they heard the door, because a few minutes later he was running after me to the main salon where the reception was taking place.”

“What happened then?” He had a dark scowl covering his face and appeared ready to hit something.

“He tried to whisper for me not to make a scene.” She laughed. “You know something? Until he said it, that was the farthest thing from my mind. But then I turned to look at him and I got really angry.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I kneed him in the crotch and punched him in the face, breaking his nose.”

“You what?” The anger was replaced by surprise.

“Yeah. I know. It wasn’t a good moment. I let my frustration guide me, and I hit him. Twice. Until he was lying on the floor, whimpering like a little bitch, sniveling through his tears for a doctor.”

“What happened with the other woman?”

She shrugged. “She showed up, took one look at Nick the Dick, and threw herself over him. It created quite a stir. I’d forgotten the event was being televised—my actions were all over European tabloids for weeks. They called it the ‘knock-out wedding of the decade.’”

She didn’t know how he managed to keep a straight face. Most people would laugh at such a ridiculous scene. Hell, now that she remembered Nick on the floor, crying like a bitch, it was pretty funny. “But you didn’t do anything to her?”

“Why would I? He was the one I was in the relationship with. Whatever she did, those were her decisions. What Nick did, that impacted me.”

She sighed. It was weird to have it all out there, to have said the entire sordid story without someone snickering or making fun of her stupidity for not noticing that Nick really was a dick.

“I’m sorry, Lucky. What he did was low and immature. Not the actions of a man who loves a woman.”

She nodded. She knew that, and yet it was the getting played part that still bothered her. “I know.”

She lifted her gaze from her hands. He had a smile on his face that made her feel less worried over sharing her past with him. “Your turn.”

“What?” He reeled back as if she’d slapped him.

“It’s your turn to tell me about your ex-fiancée. Come on, I won’t judge. Shit, I’m the last person to judge.”

“I don’t think that’s something we should be discussing now.”

She frowned, confusion and anger growing inside her. “What do you mean? I came clean and told you my past—at your insistence, I might add—and now you won’t share yours? I wouldn’t have asked you if you hadn’t brought it up first. I thought you said you wanted us to get to know each other better?”

“I just don’t think I’m ready to talk about that yet.”

“You felt I should be ready to discuss my life with you, but you’re off-limits? That’s how it works, right?” Her voice rose, anger made her almost lose her temper.

“Calm down. It’s not like that. You don’t understand—”