I watched her out of the corner of my eye while we walked the aisles of the store. She looked vaguely familiar, but I knew for a fact she’d never been into Al’s Hardware before. She did not look like the type of woman who would be getting her hands dirty, and I definitely would have remembered her if she’d ever set foot in my store.
I stopped in front of the toilet flappers, wondering if she was going to actually buy one or not. Of all the things to need, this had to be the least sexy. A woman in a tool belt? Hell yes. A woman who knew how to use those tools? Oh yeah. But fixing a toilet was the least desirable task for most homeowners and maintenance workers.
“Is there a difference between them?” she asked.
She was actually studying them. Guess she was there to buy one.
“No. It’s a pretty standard part. I’d go with this one just because it’s universal, unless you have a specific brand you need.”
She shook her head, that long ponytail curling over one shoulder with the move. I couldn’t wait to wrap my hand around it and find out if it was as soft and silky as it looked. “I don’t think so. This should be fine.”
There was something she wasn’t saying. Something that made me think she wasn’t shopping for herself. I was probably playing with fire by asking, but I had to know… “Are you sure you’re single?”
She blanched, fumbling the flapper and nearly dropping it. She clutched it to her chest and leveled me with a glare. “I’m pretty sure I would know if I were involved with someone.”
“You don’t seem to know what you’re buying. If you were here to get this for yourself, you probably wouldn’t be unsure about it.”
She shook her head. “I’m helping out a friend. She couldn’t get here before you closed, and I said I’d run over.”
I nodded. That made more sense. “Got it.”
“I don’t cheat.” The vitriol in her voice told me there was more to the story than she was letting on. But she said no names, and no tomorrow, so I didn’t have the right to push for more. As long as I wasn’t going to get a jealous significant other banging on my door.
“Good.”
I gave her a bag for the flapper and waved off her offer to pay. She had cash, but it felt awkward to accept money from a woman right before I slept with her.
“I really hope the sex is worth more than the five dollars this thing would cost me.”
I snorted a shocked laugh. “I was just thinking it felt sleazy to accept payment from you.”
“And like I said, I hope you’re better than five dollars and a free toilet flapper.”
I stalked around the edge of the counter, keeping my gaze locked on her face. I loved a woman who could hold her own in a conversation, in bed, and in the world around her. This one already proved two out of three, and I was ready to show her the way to my bed.
I didn’t stop when I got around to her side of the counter. It was hard enough to keep my hands off her from the moment she forced her way into the store. Now that her business was done, it was time for pleasure.
I grabbed her ponytail and tugged, her lips parting with surprise just in time for my mouth to seal over them. I pressed my tongue inside, getting a moan from her at the first slide of my tongue against hers.
She didn’t stand there and take it, though. Hell no. This woman was an active participant, and she kissed me right back. Her tongue dueled with mine. Her hands slid up my chest until she reached my neck. She didn’t stop there and dragged her fingernails into my beard.
Damn. I didn’t know that could feel so fucking good.
I groaned and pressed my body against hers, letting her know just how much I wanted her. She pressed right back.
My greedy side wanted to lift her onto the counter and have her right there, but I wanted to see her in my bed. Even if it was just for one night, I needed that memory.
I pulled away from her, grabbed the bag she’d dropped to the floor, and took her hand. She didn’t resist or question me, just hurried in those fuck-me boots after me toward the back of the store.
I flipped the switch to turn off all the lights up front, then unlocked the door between the store and my apartment. Then I had her back in my arms.
She spun us and pressed me against the door. I smirked at the force of her, throwing her weight around and getting what she wanted.
And thank God, what she wanted was my dick in her hand.
“Fuck,” I hissed when she wrapped her fingers around me. She hadn’t even bothered to unzip my jeans. Not that I was complaining.
She stroked me in short, impatient jerks, her movements restricted. I unzipped my jeans and shoved them down my hips until my cock sprung free.
I saw fucking stars when she squeezed and pumped her hand along the entire length of my erection.
“Marry me,” I teased her.
She laughed, like I hoped she would.
I pulled her lips back to mine and kissed her like I had nothing to lose. Because I didn’t. Our chemistry was off the damn charts, but that was all. One night. Let off some steam. Move on.
As we kissed, I moved her toward my bedroom. My place was small, one bedroom with one bathroom, a kitchen that barely counted, and a living room big enough for a couch and a TV. I loved it, though, because I put my hands on every inch of the place and made it my own.
I didn’t bother with lights when we got to the bedroom, opting for the soft glow of the rising moon to highlight her. I reached for her jacket, then lifted her shirt, getting my hands on her bare skin for the first time. It was soft and smooth and warm. Her full breasts heaved over the edge of her green lace bra. I bent down, erasing the six inches between us, and licked the upper swell of her breast.
Her hands went into my hair and held me in place as she lifted her breasts and pressed herself against my mouth. I tugged the cup down and captured her nipple, biting lightly before I licked it.
“Oh, God, yes,” she moaned.
I loved a woman who wasn’t afraid to tell me what she liked, and this one was already getting vocal.
I nudged the bra straps off her shoulders and released both breasts, alternating between them until she was panting and hanging on the edge of an orgasm. Fucking hell, she was stunning.
“Please,” she whispered.
My hands went to her jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping as quickly as I could. Her hands brushed mine aside, shoving her jeans and panties down while I moved my hand between her thighs.
She was wet and warm and ready for me, her hips jerking with the first brush of my fingers. I couldn’t go slow, and I couldn’t give her time to adjust. I needed to feel her come around my fingers.
I plunged two inside her, dragging my thumb over her clit, and she let go. Her shout was full of praise and demands for more. Her channel tightened around my fingers as she coated my hand and her body begged for more.
My cock pulsed, needing to get in on the action, but I wasn’t ready to stop just yet. I pressed a third finger into her and pumped them in and out quickly. Her jeans kept her from spreading her thighs wider, and the restriction seemed to send her over the edge faster.
She whimpered and hung off me like her bones had turned to liquid. I held her with one arm, careful not to touch her nice clothes with the hand that had been inside her. I walked her to the bed and wiped my hand on my jeans before letting them fall at my feet. I put my hands on her jeans, meeting her gaze for approval.
“You just made me come twice. I think modesty has gone out the window here.”
I laughed with her and eased her jeans and panties down her legs. I stopped when I reached her boots, untied those and tossed all of it to the floor. When I looked back at her, she’d discarded her bra and was beautifully naked on my bed.
“Damn,” I whispered.
Her gaze slid down to my cock. “Same.”
I chuckled. I never thought of myself as all that impressive, but I’d also never whipped it out and compared myself to other men. Besides, the size of another man’s dick never mattered to me. All that mattered was if the woman I was sliding into was happy with my performance. So far, I hadn’t had any complaints.
She eased herself up the bed to lie on the pillows while I dug into my nightstand for a condom. I made a mental note that I had five more in there, but I didn’t take them out. I didn’t want to be too presumptuous, although I was not opposed to using a few more before she hightailed it out of my place and disappeared into the night.
I crawled onto the bed over her, settling myself between her widespread thighs. She smiled at me, a connection between strangers who were sharing something special.
I held myself still with one hand and pressed into her. She let out a moan, her body resisting me as it tried to pull me in. Back and forth, push and pull, we moved together until I sank all the way into her and our bodies rested against each other.
“How in the hell did it feel so good before you even really did anything?” she whispered.
I swallowed back my own need to let go and nodded. “I was wondering the same thing.”
“I’m not sure I’m going to survive the night if this is how good it is already.”
“Then I guess we better get started so I have time to call you an ambulance.”
She chuckled and squeezed her pelvic muscles.
I groaned, the tightening around my dick making me see stars.
“It sounds like I’m not the only one who’s going to need medical assistance.”
“Death by orgasm. I’m willing to risk it.”
She slid her hands up my chest and met my gaze. “Me, too.”
I eased back and slowly pushed into her. We stared at each other, watching the other for cues as we slowly built up the tension and passion between us. Her eyes fluttered closed and her lips parted in a silent moan, and I thrust a little harder into her.
She lifted her thighs and brought her knees up alongside my hips, widening her entrance so I slid deeper into her. We both moaned, and I went faster.
Sweat trickled down my spine and beaded on my forehead. Droplets appeared between her breasts. We both held back, resisting the pull toward the edge, wanting the moment to last.
“Please,” she whispered. That one word again, her waving the white flag and needing to fall.
I slammed in harder, changing the angle just enough that her core clenched tight and her body flushed red. I watched her breasts rock with my movements, and I couldn’t stop myself from pounding into her, losing my mind as I lost my battle to stay in control.
She cried out and moaned, her body tightening just before she let go. I swore as I followed her, just a few seconds later, unable to stop the racing need to come with her.
She reached up for me, her fingers once more going to my beard. The gentle tug of her fingertips and the scrape of her nails sent a tingle down my spine that had my cock twitching and hardening again before it even had a chance to fully soften.
I collapsed onto her, my muscles shaking and my body wrung out. She wrapped her legs around me and held me to her, neither of us speaking for a few minutes as we fought to catch our breath.
My breathing finally slowed, and I rolled off her. I had to get rid of the condom, but before I did, I wanted to look into her eyes and make sure she was good.
She forced her brown eyes open and smiled. “Hey.”
“Hey. Are you okay?”
“Better than I’ve been in months.”
I smiled and nodded once, then went to the bathroom. I trashed the condom and washed my hands. She hadn’t moved from her spot on the bed, but her gaze followed me.
“You’re welcome to the bathroom, and whatever else you need.”
“Bathroom first. Then I think I need more of you.”
My cock twitched, hearing the praise and ready to accept his prize.
She grinned. “Glad to see you’re on board.”
“Absolutely.”
I wanted to know more about her, but I fought the urge to ask. We agreed to one night, so I kept my mouth shut. Maybe someone would know who she was and I could run into her somewhere. Although, my guess was she didn’t live in MacKellar Cove. If she did, I would know who she was.
While she was in the bathroom, I grabbed bottles of water. We chugged them, then went for round two. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been reluctant to let a woman out of my bed. I enjoyed sex, but I had gotten sick of sex without a connection. Even without knowing anything about this woman, I felt the connection.
Sometime after round three, we lay in the dark, panting and lazily touching each other. She whispered, “I’m glad I met you.”
“Me, too,” I told her.
She curled up against me, her body warm against my side. I wrapped an arm around her and let the lazy patterns she drew on my stomach lull me to sleep.
My alarm blared to life, scaring me upright in search of my phone. I found it on my nightstand and turned off my alarm, but I already knew she was gone.
The sheets were cold, and there was no trace of her except the three condoms in the trash and the second empty bottle of water on my nightstand.
She lived up to her end of the deal. I couldn’t help but wish she hadn’t.
I stomped around my apartment, grouchy and pissed off, as I got ready for my day. When I walked into the store, I found a five-dollar bill on the counter with a note.
Definitely worth a hell of a lot more than this.
I smiled and pocketed the note, then unlocked the front door and started my day.
