揓as-per. Where you off to??
揈xcuse us, please, Gina,?he responded, voice weary. 揓ust showing Rita the new eatery addition out back.?
揙h right, the addition.?Miniskirt Number Two elbowed her friend. 揧ou know, you can try and clean this place up, but it抣l always be dirty. Just like you, isn抰 that right??
揗mmhmm. You come find us when you抮e done with this little tour,?said Miniskirt Number One, putting air quotations around the word tour. 揧ou抣l still have enough energy for the both of us, if memory serves.?
They started moving again梖ast梑ut Rita抯 feet had transformed into sandbags. She wanted to pull her hand out of Jasper抯 grip but didn抰 want to be left standing like a loser in the middle of the bar, so she all but jogged along behind him. The few sips of beer she抎 taken were like ball bearings in her stomach, rolling around and knocking together. She was used to being treated like she was invisible, but not in front of a man with whom she抎 been making a sad attempt to flirt. Those women hadn抰 even spared her a passing glance, that was how nonthreatened they were by her. She just wanted to go back to the motel, crawl under the covers, and die a slow death.
揕et go of me.?
揅an抰。？
揧ou can.?Seeing what she assumed to be the office doorway up ahead, she attempted to free herself and failed. They were inside the office with the door closed a moment later. With the music抯 volume muffled, their heavy breathing took precedence in the room. She waited for him to turn on a light, but he didn抰， just paced in front of her, his frustrated profile highlighted by the street lamp just outside the window. 揑 need to get back to棓
揥hy did you come here tonight??
She threw up her hands. 揧ou asked me to.?
He stopped pacing, irritation clear in the lines of his hard body. 揜ita, I抳e known you less than a day, and I know you don抰 just do things because someone asked.?
Okay, fine. So what did he want to hear? She抎 come because he fascinated her? Because she was attracted against her will? She抎 rather draw and quarter herself with a carving knife after that scene with Miniskirts One and Two out in the bar. 揗y sister made me.?
揥rong again.?
Rita ground her teeth together. A rebellion took place inside her, building and building in intensity. He wanted the truth, did he? What did she care? She抎 already been humiliated, and tomorrow morning they would leave this nowhere town and never look back. Revealing her secret motivation might be embarrassing, but she抎 survived worse. Internet notoriety. Her restaurant burning down. Life in general.
In fact, what if she went one step further with that line of reasoning? This man wanted her, whether it was a simple hankering for something new or genuine interest. What did she have to lose? At least it would feel good. At least she would feel something other than the failure and self-pity that had been dogging her lately.
Rita sucked in a breath. 揑 came here so you would fuck me.?
Chapter Nine
There it was.
To be fair梐lthough what the hell did fair even mean?梬hen he抎 asked Rita why she抎 come, he抎 been flat-out begging for this answer. She抎 come for the sex. Of course she抎 come for the sex. What did he think lured her here? His dynamic personality? His oh-so-impressive career? Maybe he should ditch his new plan to be a decent human being and just take out an ad in the Sunday paper.
Come on down to the Liquor Hole. Tuesday is 10-cent wing night. Don抰 miss your chance for meaningless sex with the no-account owner.
There might have been a chance for Rita to see more. He抎 vowed to himself they would stop at kissing. Just enough to fulfill the promise he抎 made earlier outside the garage. Just enough that his every other thought wouldn抰 be What does she taste like. 匴hat does she taste like. 匫h, GOD, what does her mouth feel like? Then his past had popped up and bitten him in the ass once again, the suspicions she clearly already had about him confirmed in the space of thirty seconds.
Well, fine.
Fine.
If that was the way fate wanted to play, bring it on. Common sense might be loitering in the back of his head, telling him his next move was a mistake, but he was too pissed off to heed the warning. And, yeah, he was ashamed. Probably even more than he was mad, actually. He抎 been ashamed for a long time, though, and right now blocking it out seemed like a damn fine idea.
I came here so you would fuck me.
Didn抰 matter that Rita appeared desperate for the world to swallow her whole now, flames blooming in her cheeks. The words had been said, intentions made clear. 揓asper, I shouldn抰 have棓
揟hat is why you came, isn抰 it??Talking dirty to a woman was just like riding a bike. Jasper rubbed a hand over his stubbled jaw and gave Rita a deliberate, head-to-toe once-over, watching her thighs flex under his notice. His cock gloried in the sight, hardening in his briefs. Right, beautiful. I抣l fit myself between them with enough force to show you who抯 taking the lead. 揧ou抮e an up-against-the-wall kind of girl, aren抰 you??
揂ll girls are up-against-the-wall girls,?she whispered, then look surprised at herself for having spoken. 揑-I think.?
Damn her for making him want to laugh when he needed to break something. 揧ou have me there. Why do you think that is??
Jasper propped one hand high above her head, tracing the waistband of her black jeans with the other, back and forth across her belly button. Slower. Lower. 揢m厰 Her stomach hollowed underneath his touch and shuddered back out. 揟here抯 nowhere to go??
揟hat抯 right. You have nowhere. To go.?He flicked open the button of her pants. 揗aybe every girl does like it against the wall. But not every man can keep her up there long enough to call it fucking. It抯 only fucking when a man finishes the woman, in my book.?He sucked his lower lip through his teeth. 揟hat抯 why you抮e here, isn抰 it? You need a good, leg-shakin?finish and decided I抎 be up for the job.?
She opened her mouth to answer, but he eliminated whatever her response might have been by shoving a hand into her jeans and roughly cupping her pussy. Jasper groaned into the space above her head. Fuck yes. She抎 be a tight fit. Rita almost collapsed, a sob wrenching from her throat, kicking up an ache in his chest. No hiding, no pretense in her pretty features. Just梡ain. Need. Gorgeous, breathtaking need. It slapped the edge off his anger, brought him back to the present. Almost, anyway.
揌ow long has it been??
When she flinched, he realized he抎 barked the question. 揑-I抦 not answering that. It抯 none of your business.?
He should have left it, but there was a driving need for knowledge about this woman that wouldn抰 be satisfied, despite her disinterest in anything apart from how he could get her off. So he went about getting information the best way he knew how.
Pressing his open mouth over her ear, he teased the edge of her underwear with his knuckle, letting it slip under just a touch. 揧ou know you want to tell me. The longer it抯 been, the harder I抣l set to work between these legs.?
揥hy do you want to know? So you can laugh at me like those women did? So you can write me off as a charity expense on your taxes??Her breath puffed against his lips. 揝crew you. I don抰 care what you think.?
Everything inside Jasper seized. With denial, surprise, anger. All of them leapfrogging to be in the lead. 揥hoa, now, Rita. Hey. You just wait one damn second there棓
She kissed him. It was such an unexpected move that his mind drained of anything but the soft curves of her lips interlocking with his. The subtle taste of original-flavored ChapStick. A pounding began, loud and dramatic, between his ears, growing louder when she opened her mouth to invite his tongue inside. There was a reason he should pull back梒larification of one pretty fucked-up misunderstanding was sure-as-shit necessary梑ut he couldn抰 fathom a way to stop. Not when she kind of fell into him like his mouth held the key to eternal happiness. For the first time in his life, he forgot he had his hand between a woman抯 legs because her mouth took precedent. Her breath, her scent, the way she sighed. If he could carve it with a chisel on his memory, he would抳e done it with gusto.