Hard Compromise (Compromise Me 2)

Luckily, the room offered other options, and a myriad of erotic possibilities flashed through her mind. Pinned between the plaster and Booker’s body, digging her heels into his calves as he nailed her to the wall? Bent over her sturdy, antiqued white dresser, watching him in the mirror and holding on for dear life while he rocked her up onto her toes with every thrust? Or maybe…her attention slid to the far corner of her room…something new? She hooked her finger into his belt loop and tugged him over to the chaise she’d splurged on for Christmas because she couldn’t resist its sensuous lines.

“Fuck, that’s sexy.”

“I know.” She stroked the white velvet covering the rolled arm of the chaise—another nod to the impractical and romantic. Nothing to do at this point but own it. “A little Christmas gift from me, to me.”

He hauled her against him, and snuggled her there in the harbor of big body. “I meant you, walking across the room wearing nothing but high heels, soft light, and the whisker burn I left on your ass.”

His words flowed into her ear, and tickled down her spine, finding weak points along the way. What else should she call those parts of her that went soft in response to an unexpected compliment?

This is not a seduction, for Christ’s sake, it’s a hookup—a long overdue one, born out of simple but persistent physical attraction.

Right, and the sooner she focused on the physical, the easier it would be to remember what tonight was all about. She wriggled out of his grasp, and sat on the chaise.

The velvet felt cool against her backside, and she realized he was right. His teeth or his scratchy jaw had left her a little tender. The slight sting shimmered along receptors in her skin, transmitting the sensation directly to her clit. Or maybe the reaction was some primitive response to the notion that Booker had left his mark on her. Would being with him tonight leave other marks? Marks invisible to the eye, but potentially more permanent?

A stain on your soul…

Her soul had stood up to worse than Ethan Booker. She leaned in and pressed a kiss to the pale strip of skin just above his boxer briefs.

“Wait,” he said, and started to take a step away.

Ah, sweet revenge. She reclaimed his belt loops and stopped his retreat. “Close your eyes, say a prayer—whatever you need to do—but don’t you dare hold anything back from me.”

The corner of his mouth quirked. Deliberately, he took the step back and toed off one shoe. Then the other. “Try to have a little patience, Jailbait. There’s a two hundred pound man attached to that cock you’ve got your eye on, and I sincerely doubt you want me tangled in my pants.”

Damn.

He pulled his belt off. The friction of the strap sliding over her knuckles heated her skin. Then he rolled the length, and gave it a toss. It landed on her bed with a small slap. The sound, combined with the sight of stark, masculine accessory made her insides quiver. Silence hung in the room, and she belatedly realized he waited for her to let go of him. When she did, he dipped his head and shucked his pants and underwear off, but not before she saw the flash of his teeth.

All right, another point to him. But starting now, the tables would turn. He wasn’t the only one with skills. She knew a few tricks. Once she busted out the practiced and perfected techniques that never failed to get a standing O, she’d have him begging for merc…

Mercy. Nature had been generous with Ethan Booker. She couldn’t help staring as he straightened, then scooting to the edge of the seat when he wrapped his hand around the thickest part of his shaft and dragged his fist toward the head, pulling hard enough to lift his balls. “Think you can handle me, Lauralie?”

Yes…no. Maybe. While her hormones, her self-preserving instincts, and some part of her she refused to identify offered conflicting answers, the never-back-down rebel inside her stood up, and grabbed the mic. “What you need to ask yourself, Booker, is how much you can handle.”

To her surprise, he laughed. She reached for him, but he caught her mid-grab, and wove their fingers together. “At this moment? Not much.” He tipped her chin with his other hand, and traced her upper lip with his thumb. “How badly do you need to do this right now?”

Badly, came the humbling response. She usually considered this a treat offered up for the benefit of her partner, with her takeaway being the satisfaction of wielding the power. But not tonight. Tonight she wanted this for her own selfish reasons—to stretch her lips around him, flatten her tongue against his hard, vein-ribbed shaft, and taste him from base to tip.

He manhandled his cock until the head pointed her way. Her tongue crept to the front of her mouth. She licked her lips, parted them, and started to close the distance between them.

“Uh-uh. Don’t move. Wait for it.”

The unexpected instructions actually made her pause for a moment. “I’m not a patient woman.”

He pulled his length out of her reach. “Do we need to skip this after all?”

The bastard. She counted to ten, and then shook her head. “No.”

“Good. I’m impatient, too. But tonight’s been years in the making, and we’re going to do it right”—he gave his cock another stroke, as if he knew watching him handle himself frustrated and aroused her at the same time—“which means I can’t let you finish me off with your talented mouth. Cooperate, Lauralie, so I can take care of you. You won’t be sorry.”

Oh, she might be sorry. Something told her she might be very sorry in a way completely unrelated to sex if she let Booker take care of her, but denying herself now was out of the question. She tucked her hands under her legs, licked her lips, and opened her mouth.

He ran his thumb along the corner of her jaw. “Wider.”

An inner voice protested again. The idea of sitting before him, naked and waiting, with her mouth open and exposed to his watchful gaze felt unreasonably vulnerable. But refusing would only reveal the vulnerability to him. She’d walked into this game of chicken with her eyes open and she refused to blink first. Which left only one option.

She complied.