Without Limits: Austin (Rugged Riders Book 4) (12 page)

“
I
like your pad
,” Zaira said, tracing her fingers along the back of the leather couch taking in the interior of his home. “Everything looks…like a man lives here.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or what.” He chuckled. “Make yourself at home.”

Zaira shrugged out of Trent’s leather coat and laid it out on top of the sofa. She pulled the band out of her hair and redid her ponytail. Her tresses were still slightly damp from the light dusting of rain they got caught in on the way here. Sitting on the couch, she peeled off her damp socks and then her top.

Trent came around the corner with a towel and grinned as he handed it out to her.

“What?” she asked when he didn’t say anything. “It’s a sports bra. Plus, you’ve seen me naked before.”

“You’re not exactly naked…yet” He plopped down on the couch beside her, bend down and pressed a kiss onto her shoulder.

“Mmmm.” She moaned as his lips and tongue made a trail up her neck. Dragging her fingers through his hair, she brought his mouth against hers.

He tasted of strawberry shortcake and fresh night air. She hungered for him like she always did before, but never partook. Now she would…even with the consequences.

Zaira pulled from the kiss and stood up.

“Wait…what now,” he said, holding onto her hand.

“Take off your shirt. Now.” She began unzipping her own jeans and sliding them down her legs.

“Now you’re talking,” he groaned, as he peeled off shirt and tossed it aside.

Just as she began to take off her panties, Trent stopped her. He placed his hands over hers and scooted to the edge of the couch.

“Allow me,” he whispered against her belly.

“Trent…” Her breath hitched in her throat as he pressed his lips over and over again to the intimate spot between her belly button and sex.

He pleased her that way through her panties, driving her insane. Her legs trembled as he licked at her mound between the lace.

“You’re sweet, Zaira.”

“Am I?” She grabbed a handful of his silky dark hair.

“Mmhmm….delicious.” Hooking his finger between a slit in the lacy fabric, he pulled until her undies were ripped into two.

She lifted her foot onto the sofa next to him. “That was one of my favorite pairs.”

“Then I’ll have to remedy that.” He kissed the inside of her elevated thigh.

Zaira cried out the moment he tongued her sex, sliding it deep within her. He pleased her with his mouth, taking his time, and slowly devouring her. He teased her clit until her entire body began to spasm intensely. Her orgasm spiraled through her like a storm and her toe curled against the area rug beneath her foot. The other toe gripped the pillow of the slick leather chair.

After the intensity of her climax, her knees gave out and she ended up on the floor in front of him. She coaxed him out of his jeans to discover he was hard as a rock already. Trent opened a condom wrapper, preparing to sheath his cock, but she stopped him. She wrapped her fingers around his thick flesh and took his cock into her mouth.

He groaned and almost bucked off the chair as she sucked him deep down her throat. She pumped and sucked, alternating between both, causing his veins to pulse with excitement against her palm.

“Oh, yeah…” Trent watched, locking gazes with hers.

He tasted good and Zaira loved pleasing him. When he began gripping the edge of the couch begging for mercy, she gave none.

“I need you now, Zaira.”

She settled for licking up and down his shaft as he prepared the condom. When their protection was in place, she straddled him. “You’re a big man, Trent.” She positioned herself over him and slowly slid her pussy on his cock.

“You’re a sexy woman.” His mouth was all over skin, breasts, and nipples.

Zaira rode him as he encouraged her with the firm grip on her hips. Their union felt magical and she lost herself in the moment. He lifted her up and led her, back first, to the couch cushions.

Trent thrust into her with a strong tempo, holding her thighs up and around him. She couldn’t get enough of him and lifted her hips to meet his. She couldn’t stop touching him, kissing him.

“Look at me, Zaira…”

She met his gaze and saw the brutal concentration on his forehead and the beads of sweat peppering his forehead and temples.

“Trent…”

“I care about you so much. I…”

Zaira kissed him. The feelings were mutual and she shared them. But there was no way she’d let him walk away with her heart.

“Let’s just embrace now,” she said.

He slipped his hand under her ass, elevating her, and took her harder and deeper.

“Is that all you got?” She panted. “Fuck me harder.”

Trent’s eyes sparked with surprised and he grinned. “Oh,” he breathed. “I aim to please.”

His aggression sent her straight into an intense climax. The sensations kept flowing as he kept pumping into her. Before long, he joined her in completion. Even when it was all over, they remained joined together, the heat of their union still floating around them like a cloud.

Trent laid his head against her heart and held her close.

Zaira couldn’t remember the last time anyone had ever held her that close for that long.

* * *

T
rent’s bedroom
was dark except for a single bedside lamp on the king-sized bed. Although there was little light in the room, Zaira managed to see Trent’s handsome face. He was lying on his back, palms folded behind his head, and eyes closed as he listened to the soft R&B music that flowed through the speakers in his room. She lay next to him, letting the smooth tunes relax her as she traced the numerous designs on his chest.

Neither of them had any clothes on. After what was their second round of rough sex, they were both restless—or at least she was.

Zaira slipped her leg over his thighs and let her cheek grace the area on his chest above his heart. “Trent, what really happened to us?”

“I’ve been thinking about that a lot, Zaira, but…the truth is I’m happy where we are now. We share a friendship in the past, but this right here is what I’ve always wanted.”

“I know, but I’ve got to know, Trent. I can’t keep thinking about this,” she said. “I just need to know and I want the God honest truth from you.”

“Okay.” He ran his palm down her hair.

“You’ve showed me a whole other side of you. Don’t get me wrong though. I enjoyed being with you when we could talk about bad dates, sex positions, and the current state of the economy. We’ve shifted gears here a little…well a lot. And I feel I understand you more.”

“That has always been my attention—to open up to you more even though it hurts to think about where I was ten years ago,” he said.

“It’s one thing to sugar coat your circumstances, but it’s another to intentional hold back these things. Why couldn’t you have opened up sooner?”

“Honestly. I thought you would laugh at me.”

She exhaled. “For what?”

Trent sighed. “I wasn’t exactly born into money, Zaira. I don’t give a shit about that either. What I did see was someone whose father wanted her to marry into a rich family…kind of like Marcus’s.”

“Come on…how could you come to that conclusion? Have you ever known me to do what my Dad says?”

He chuckled. “No.”

“Then why didn’t you try to date me back then before that scandal happened?”

Trent turned on his side so that they were laying side by side, staring into each other’s eyes. “If you can’t remember, you’re not exactly the type to stay unattached for long. Don’t you recall all those dinner dates your father set you up on with his business colleagues? You were happy testing the waters and you even told me you were.”

“I did, didn’t I?” Zaira ran her fingers against the dark silky hair on his chest. "You were so nice and honest when you gave me advice about men and how to please them and not get on their last nerves and make them happy…"

“..and I didn’t want to get in the way of your happiness.”

“Did it ever come across your mind that I would be happy with you?” she asked.

There was a long silence before Trent answered her.

“I’ve traveled through life pretty quickly and I think of it like a game of poker. There’s an element of risk. A man could be dealt what he thinks is the best hand at the table, but still only have a fifty percent chance at winning the game. Sometimes you have to know when to fold and likewise…when to raise.”

“So, what does that mean, Trent? Put it in layman’s terms for me,” she asked.

“I’ve never had any serious relationships. Women are complicated and sometimes I can’t even begin to understand their motivations. I’ve never wanted to permanently be with anyone except you. I don’t know how to be a husband. I don't know what it's like to have a wife or mother figure in the home. All I know how to do is make ten dollars out of ten cents, apparently. While that is great, unfortunately, that doesn’t get me a woman for all the right reasons. Do you understand?”

Zaira swallowed and sighed. “Yeah, I get it.”

“You asked me about the married woman connected to me,” he said. “That scandal blew my reputation up, but of course, I didn’t have a pretty one anyway. I stopped gambling for a long time after that.”

Her heart literally cringed every time she thought about the day she learned of the scandal, most of it through the grapevine.

“I liked you a lot,” she said. “More than I let on. After finding out you’d broken up a marriage, I just couldn’t…look at you anymore.”

“You couldn’t even ask me the honest truth like you’re doing now?” His gray eyes sparked bright. “You just accepted what everyone else told you?”

“That was foolish. I know,” she said. “But the fact is that a marriage ended and you were involved. What really happened, Trent?”

“I get into the most trouble when I gamble, so naturally it all started with a game of poker. It was his own fault that he raised so high. One would think since he was the owner of a dozen country clubs and golf courses, he should be able to pay his debts. He racked up a huge debt that night on the card table, but I won, collected my cash, and went on about my business.”

“Jackson was his name,” Zaira added. “My dad has played on one of his courses before.”

“Yes, the last name was Jackson,” Trent confirmed. “So to my surprise, a week later, this Jackson found out where I lived and where I worked. Turns out he had friends in high places and I lost my job at the time.”

She lifted her head slightly when the information jogged her memory. “I remember when that happened and when you told me. I found it strange to that you were only at the company for a few weeks. You said you resigned, though.”

Trent nodded. “They had no legal grounds to fire me but after that I wasn’t about to work there.”

“Right. I wouldn’t have either.”

“Jackson obviously had a grudge and he wanted to get back at me…and he did. I thought it was over. But then he sent his new bride to beg me for the money back.”

“Oh…?” She had not heard this side of the story.

“I believed her when she said Jackson had made a mistake that night in playing with professionals. I thought it was a joke. I actually laughed. What man would send his wife to ask the opponent he lost to for his money back?”

“He could have came over himself,” Zaira agreed.

“Exactly. I made no physical threats after being forced to resign so I couldn’t imagine why Jackson wouldn’t just admit his mistakes anyway. I told his wife to send her husband to see me. A few days went by and nothing happened so I went back to the country club where I won the money and asked for Jackson’s contact information. They handed me an old business card and that’s when they informed me that the place had gone into foreclosure. By that time, I had every intention of giving the money back. People run into hard times and take drastic measures. I come from that lifestyle, so I understood.”

“So did you call him?” she asked.

“When I got home that evening there were clippings of my father being indicted, standing trial, and being sent to prison. There was a nice little note on it accusing me of being a cheater on the card table. At first, the whole thing amused me. I have been called worst in my lifetime. But right then and there, I vowed to stop playing tag with him and put the bitch tactics to bed. I figured that if Jackson wanted his money, he’d eventually come to me like a man.”

“And then?”

“His wife came by for a visit one night. She said she wasn’t there on behalf of Jackson or for the money. She came right out and told me Jackson had sold her wedding ring, put her out, and that she hadn’t had sex in while,” Trent replied.

“And that’s when you started sleeping with her, right?”

Trent nodded. “He followed her over to my house the second time. When he found us, he caused a scene. The neighbors heard and leaked all of the information.”

“Wow…” Zaira breathed.

“So when you tell me that you want to know the good, bad, and ugly…there it is. That’s what happened and how I came to break up a marriage.”

She lay still against him, listening to his heart beat for a few minutes. “Did you like her?”