Jessica Lemmon - Hard to Handle

When he was this close, she couldn’t fight. But maybe…maybe she didn’t want to fight. Not about this. She wanted him; she hadn’t lied about that. And he’d be worth it, she knew. Being with Aiden here, or anywhere, would be better than going home alone and reliving the pain of turning him down. But Aiden wasn’t arguing about his proposal. Which made this decision that much easier.

Sadie licked her lips, took a breath, and asked the damn question. “Will you…take me to bed?”

His hold tightened on her hips. “Yes” came his gravelly response. “To bed.” He kissed her lips. “To your car.” He kissed her neck. “Up against this wall.” He leaned into her body, his erection pressing firmly against her belly.

Sadie dropped her head against the wall. She couldn’t think beyond agreeing. First time or not, she’d make love to this man on a park bench in the middle of a Fourth of July parade if he asked.

She nodded like a bobblehead, managing to eke out one word of agreement. “Okay.”

Aiden’s mouth hit hers hard, swirling her senses and stealing her next breath. Kissing him had a drugging effect. Left became right, north became south. What she thought she knew became muddled in a confusing whirlwind of sensations: Aiden’s mouth on her skin, his hands pushing up her dress and cupping her rear end in his palms.

Sadie clasped on to his neck as her tongue met his. Unlike the proposal that had caused her to panic, she knew the decision to make love to Aiden was the absolute right one. She wanted him. He wanted her. She’d wanted him for so long. This part was very, very overdue.

Aiden lifted her leg and hooked it over his hip while he devoured her mouth. She dug her heel into his thigh to pull him closer, but he didn’t complain, leaning hard into her while his hand slid over her dress. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and his thumb found her nipple. He cupped and rubbed her as her panties grew damp.

This was what she wanted the night he stayed at her house, when she’d attacked him in her kitchen and flicked the stud on his jeans. She wanted Aiden wild, out of control for her. And finally, he was. Sadie felt his hardness at her center. He ground against her, one hand stroking the underside of her thigh as he held her leg over his hip, the other sliding from her breast to belly, to her waist, to—oh!

He stopped kissing her to look into her eyes, squatting to hold her in place, his body shaking, no doubt from the lust saturating his bloodstream. She could relate.

Eyes on hers, he trailed his fingertips along the lacy waistband of her underwear, then past the silken barrier. He slipped a finger against her as his forehead collapsed against hers. He muttered a harsh curse, another sign of his losing control.

She loved it. “I thought you weren’t swearing,” she teased, back arching as he continued to rub her.

He buried his face in her neck and said it again and Sadie’s face broke into a smile. Briefly. When he lifted his head and ran his tongue along her bottom lip and slid a finger into her, her smile turned into a soft gasp. “So wet,” he murmured in appreciation.

His harsh language, the dark look in his eyes, the increasing tempo of his fingers and thumb over her most sensitive spot…all of it a lethal mixture. Sadie was going to slide right over the edge in a wave of ecstasy. A few more kisses, a few more strokes, and Aiden’s green eyes trained on hers, and she’d be a goner.

He kissed her softly, gently, all while sliding in and out of her body. Then he hit the spot. He didn’t let up, his hold on her tightening, pressure increasing until Sadie was shaking and whimpering. He kissed her neck, bit her ear, and she tumbled over with a sharp cry, one that he swallowed with another kiss as her inner muscles clenched around his fingers and she clawed onto his shoulders with both hands.

He kissed her lips, her jaw, her neck, then murmured into her ear, “You’re a screamer.”

And Sadie, so relaxed and tingly, laughed. It felt good to laugh. It felt good to be this loose, this comfortable, this amazingly sated.

Aiden slipped his hand away and lowered her leg, holding her steady. Good thing. If he weren’t half propping her up, she would have slumped in a heap to the floor. Sadie had given herself orgasms before, but nothing like this one—brought forth by the rough feel of Aiden’s hands on her body, the smell and taste of him on her tongue, and the words he’d breathed into her ear.

She shuddered as aftershocks washed through her, and gripped his shoulders for support. She hadn’t opened her eyes yet, hadn’t been able to lift her head from the wall behind her. She felt, rather than saw, Aiden tug her dress down and smooth it over her thighs.

He kissed the corner of her mouth. “You should lie down.” His voice held a note of mischief and innuendo, and Sadie smiled, wondered if she’d ever stop smiling.

“Mmm.” She rubbed herself against his tented pants. “Find the coat closet.”

He chuckled and because they were breast to chest, the vibration of it reverberated in her belly, making her feel as languid as a cat that had drunk its weight in warm cream. Her lids were heavy, her body as pliable as taffy.

She opened her eyes to find Aiden wearing a satisfied, proud male smile. He stroked her hair from her face and tilted her chin. “Sorry, beautiful. Your first time isn’t going to be in a closet.”

A shudder tore through her that had nothing to do with the release he’d blessed her with. Sadie had temporarily forgotten about her “sacred” first time. No surprise there; she’d temporarily forgotten her name. Sadie something. She knew it had two syllables…

She took in the darkened room they were in, the slice of light across the floor, the various other doors around the room. Anyone could have walked in on them. Could have caught Sadie, dress hiked to her waist, being braced against a wall by Aiden.

She was fairly sure part of her was trying to be appalled by her ribald behavior, but she couldn’t find the strength to do anything other than smile warmly at the man who had taken her to heaven in under sixty seconds.

Aiden. Only Aiden could take her to the very pinnacle of desire and make her forget who she was. Or maybe, she thought in a burst of insight, when she was with Aiden she was more herself than when she was without him.

“Come with me somewhere,” he said, taking her hands in his.

There was only one answer.

“Anywhere.”

Sadie’s steps aligned with her heartbeat as she walked hand in hand with Aiden out the side door and down the sidewalk. So wound up in the passion preceding their little jag, she didn’t notice he was leading her to his motorcycle until they stopped in front of it.

Sheila sat under a streetlamp at the front of the lot, her orange paint gleaming. Sadie ground to a complete halt, blood freezing in her veins. She met Aiden’s sea green eyes and shook her head. “I can’t.”

He took her face in his palms. “You can.” There was his easy smile again. “Trust me, Sadie.”

She did trust him. She trusted him implicitly. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have lost herself in his arms moments ago. For once, she hadn’t tried to hide behind her inner wall of safety. And it’d been so worth it, the freedom of it, like rolling around on decadent cotton bedding—

What do you have to lose?

They could wreck. They could get injured…And in the banquet hall, they could have been caught. They could have been kicked out. But they weren’t. It was a risk, but in a way, a safe one.

Again, she was struck by how she hadn’t overthought it. About how she had zero regrets now. She’d experienced something exhilarating she’d never experienced before. It was worth it, and it felt wonderful letting Aiden take care of all the worrying for her.

Her eyes tracked to the bike.

Aiden would take care of her. He would make sure she was safe. And maybe this would be exhilarating, too…and lead up to the most exhilarating time of her life. After what just happened, how could tonight be anything less than mind-blowing?

She looked into Aiden’s familiar, handsome face. Of course it would be. Instead of giving him an answer, Sadie pulled her skirt high on her thighs and approached Sheila. “Think I can ride in these shoes?”

“Sadie,” Aiden said, pride evident on his face, “I think you can do anything in those shoes.” He pulled a helmet from one of the saddlebags. It was pink.

She opened her mouth to ask how long he’d had it. He must have seen the question in her eyes. He answered before she had the chance to ask. “Bought it the day I dropped off your phone. I thought I might try and convince you to ride with me then.”

“And you kept it,” she murmured as he settled the helmet onto her head.

“You never know.” He adjusted the strap on her chin and laid a soft kiss on her lips. “You’ll be fine.”

“I trust you,” she said. But just in case, she closed her eyes and said a quick backup prayer.

Aiden put his own helmet on. “You need instructions?”

She opened her eyes. “Hold on tight, lean into the curves, and keep my legs away from the tailpipe.”

He shook his head, his answering smile spreading warmth through her entire body. “I didn’t think so.”

Aiden got on first and Sadie climbed on after him, settling against his back and snuggling in. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he backed them away from the curb. Before he sped off, he clasped one of her hands in his and lifted it for a kiss. Sadie smiled against his back and closed her eyes.