Dirty (Dive Bar #1)(51)

GAH. “Fine. Let me take a quick shower then I’ll be in.”

“Thank you.” She hung up in my ear.

People were the worst. I dramatically flung my arm over my eyes, quietly crying. Okay, so they weren’t real tears. The sadness, though, was unfeigned.

Vaughan took this opportunity to bite my thigh, sinking his teeth into my flesh and holding on. It hurt. “Ow.”

“That’s for not putting your happiness first.” He kissed the sore spot a time or two. Then he licked it. “And that’s for helping my sister. I’ll make it feel better when you get off work.”

“You better. Jerk.” I put his cell back on the bedside table, climbing off the bed. “Keep biting me like that and I’m going to buy you a teething ring.”

“Your skin’s so pretty, I can’t resist leaving my mark on you. It’s your own fault.” Not even a hint of remorse from him. “Go on. I’ll make coffee, you shower.”

“Thanks. Can I borrow your car?”

“I’ll drive you in, pick you up when you’re finished.” Arms wound around me as he hugged me from behind, pressing himself against my back. I’d forgotten how nice having a hot and horny male around felt. This one in particular worked for me big-time. Huge.

“Are you sure?”

“Gives me a chance to pick up some strings from Andre. Run a few errands.”

“Cool.” I ran my hands over his arms, enjoying the feel of him, of being with him.

He lined up the length of his cock with the divide between my butt cheeks, rubbing himself against me. Whoa. What an interesting sensation. My spine stiffened then relaxed, getting into the feeling. He rumbled a low noise of approval in my ear.

“We don’t have time,” I said, getting turned on once again. I was a wet and wanton, swollen mess. No way could Nell cook me anything delicious enough to make up for losing out on bed time with Vaughan. Impossible.

“I know.” Big hands gripped my hips, pulling me firmly back against him. “Fuck, that’s sweet.”

“Vaughan.” The feel of him hardening, lengthening, made breathing difficult. Thinking was pretty much right out.

“I like your ass, babe. I like it a lot.”

“Thought you were a breast man.”

His hot mouth pressed against my neck, lighting fires wherever it went. One hand splayed over my belly, the other playing with a nipple. He continued to rub himself against me, making everything that much worse. Or better. Both, maybe.

“So did I,” he said. “But I pretty much want to kiss, lick, bite, and f*ck every bit of you.”

Oh, god. My knees shook.

“Shit. Nell’s timing sucks.” He groaned, stepping back. “Go shower.”

“Right.” My weak knees wobbled. “Go make coffee.”

“Yeah.”

I stumbled toward the door. Then stopped, befuddled in body and mind, but curious about something. “Hey. You never did finish that story last night.”

With a pained face, he held his cock against his stomach. “What?”

“The one about the girl and you coming too soon.”

He half smiled. “Ah, yeah. So she tells me to think about something else that I like while we’re f*cking. To take my mind off of being inside her and everything. Next time we’re doing it, I think about Fender guitars. I think about them good and hard. I tell her my plan so she knows that I’m trying.”

“And?”

“I lasted. She came shouting, ‘Yes! Fenders!’” He smiled. “Woke up her parents. I’ve never climbed out a window so fast in my life.”

Quietly, I laughed, shaking my head. “Great.”

“Mm.”

“Why were you telling me that?” I leaned against the doorway, watching him. Carefully, slowly, he sat on the edge of the bed. “I mean, it’s a great story. But why last night?”

“I don’t know.” He sighed. “To get you to relax, to take your mind off worrying about your body.”

“Oh.”

A shrug.

“Thanks.”

“I didn’t like you trying to hide parts of yourself from me.” Vaughan stared at the wall. “I’m not like that *, picking and choosing which bits of you suit him and expecting you to change the rest. I’m into you, Lydia. All of you.”

My heart felt huge. Out of control.

“It worked,” I said, voice thick with emotion despite my best efforts.

He turned his head toward me.

“I’m standing here naked, not covering anything. That’s not usually me.” I shrugged, nervously laughing. Somehow having my pale wobbly ass and bumps and bulges on display hadn’t sent me running for cover. Yet. A miracle, really. The earlier tug-of-war with the sheet had been more about fun than anything else. “I don’t know … I guess I trust you. I mean, I must.”

Nothing.

Not a goddamn thing.

Ouch. When would I learn? Baring your soul sucked. I looked at the floor, the wall, at everything but him. It didn’t even make any sense; I mean, so he’d told me a silly story. So he’d been kind, understanding. He was always being kind and understanding. This was nothing new. That he’d then screwed me senseless, giving me the best sex of my life thus far, meant we’d had a great night. But not some life-altering, perception-changing, stars-aligning experience. I just happened to be going through a growth period and he just happened to be a part of it.