Hardass (Bad Bitch) (16 page)

Caroline

I woke slowly, as if emerging from the most perfect cocoon of warmth. My eyes fluttered open and met a broad expanse of hard chest. Wash. I’d fucked Wash and spent the night.
Shit.

His arms were wrapped around me, one of his legs pressed between mine. His dick was half mast against my hip. My pussy woke up with that little realization. Wash had ridden me hard last night, but the thought of another round had my body heating like a pot on a stove. The slight ache between my legs turned into a need.

Get it together, Caroline.

I pulled back from him, his arms loosening as I eased away. I disentangled my legs from his and was almost out of the bed when he grabbed me around the waist and yanked me back into his arms. My back slammed against his chest with a
thunk.

“Where are you going?” His voice was shot through with sleep, raspy and sexy as hell.

“I was just—”

“You were just?” He squeezed me tighter to him, his cock thick against my lower back.

I tried to calm my heart’s rapid beat, but he nuzzled into my hair and nipped at my ear. My thoughts went
poof
like part of some magic trick.

“I . . . I was saying that I should go.”

“Go?” He pushed his hips against me, his cock sliding against me in a way that sent tingles straight to my clit. “Do I need to cross you, Ms. Montreat?”

“Cross me?”

“Yes.” He pulled my hair away from my neck and licked and sucked, making me sink my nails into his arm. “Let’s begin. You enjoyed last night?”

“Yes.”
Shit. Don’t make it easy for him.
“I mean, it was okay.”

“Okay?” He moved his hand down my stomach. “Tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury what you mean by the word ‘okay.’” He gripped my thigh and pulled it back so my calf was lying over his. Then he eased his fingers to my clit. Blooms of pleasure spread and centered on every movement he made.

“I mean, mm, I mean that it was nice.”

“Nice is the same as okay?” He stroked harder.

“No. I mean, yes. I mean it was—Jesus, Wash—it was better than okay.” I tried to pull my thigh back down, the sensation overloading my body.

“Don’t even fucking think about it.” He pushed my leg even farther back, opening me more to him. “So, let’s go back to my original question. See if you can answer it this time. You enjoyed last night?”

“Yes,” I breathed, his fingers robbing me of any dissent.

“You enjoyed staying the night?” He delved lower and put two fingers inside me.

“I . . .”

“You do remember you are under oath, Ms. Montreat?”

“Yes.”

“So, you enjoyed staying the night? Yes or no?”

“Yes.” I couldn’t fight him, not when his palm was pressed against my clit as his fingers worked deeper inside.

“You want this, don’t you, Ms. Montreat?”

“That depends on what the meaning of ‘this’ is.” My answer ended on a squeal as he pulled my hair back and ran his teeth down my throat.

“Apologies, Ms. Montreat.” He laughed, a deep, low sound that might have come from a predator playing with its food. “Let me ask it better. You want my fingers inside your hot, wet cunt?” He emphasized the words with pulses of his fingers.

“I . . . I . . . yes.”

“You want my cock inside you?” He rolled his hips against my backside, his hard length promising pleasure.

“Yes.”

“You want me to make you come?”

He yanked my head back to claim my mouth before I could even give him the answer.
Yes.

He pulled his fingers from me and rolled to his back before pushing me up and turning me over.

“I want to watch you fuck me.” His eyes were the deepest blue in the morning light—somehow clear but dark.

I straddled him and gripped his cock with one hand, positioning him at my opening. His hands were on my hips, pushing me down. I slid onto him, my pussy already wet and wanting. A slight pinch and then nothing but pleasure.

“Wash.” I couldn’t think of anything else. Just him, what he was doing to me, the way he made me feel.

“God, look at you.” He let his gaze travel my face, my tits, and finally where our bodies joined so perfectly. “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life.”

If I hadn’t been impaled on his cock, I might have swooned off the bed.

He ran his hands down my thighs and back to my hips. “I want to pound up into you, Caroline, but I won’t. Set the pace. I want you to come all over my cock. I want to feel it, to watch, to see you. Can you do that?”

I bit my lip and nodded, my body expanding around him until he was a perfect fit. I edged up, sliding him out halfway before dropping back down. He groaned and tensed, his fingertips retreading the bruises he’d left on me last night.

I moaned as I rose again, this time pulling him out to the tip before settling back down, every tiny bit of friction firing along my skin. My rhythm was slow at first, rocking back and forth on him. He kept his eyes on me, and he groaned when I sat straight up and put his hands in my hair as I ground against him. I leaned over him, putting my palms on his chest as I rolled and swirled. His heart beat like a drum beneath my palm, and he squeezed my ass.

Everything took on a haze as my approaching orgasm began shutting off all the lights except for the one between my thighs.

“Keep your eyes on me, baby. I want to see it.” His jaw was tight, dark strands of hair sticking to the fine sheen of sweat on his forehead.

I looked down at him, keeping his blues locked in my gaze as my movements grew more desperate. My body tightened, my core squeezing him in even closer. Wash moved his hands to my breasts, cupping and kneading them as I sped up my pace. His pecs flexed under my hands, and I dug my nails into him as the heat rose to a roar inside me.

His hips lifted to meet me just a bit, matching my strokes. The extra friction pushed me over the edge, and I came with a strangled moan, his name on my lips as I exploded, wave after wave of heat echoing through my body. I fell onto him, my mouth at his neck as I struggled to catch my breath. He eased in and out of me, slow and controlled as I lay on him.

In one smooth motion, he flipped us over so that he was on top, my legs falling open as he began to surge into me. Even though I’d just come hard enough to leave me light-headed, his rough thrusts sent a buzz through me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he kissed me hard on the mouth. His pace grew frantic, the flames shooting higher as I burned beneath him.

His hands were in my hair, tangling and pulling as he bore down on me with intense strokes. I held on to him, my clit screaming at the continued contact. I couldn’t have stopped him if I’d tried. He was muscle and tension and desire. He released my mouth and I took in a huge breath of air as he bent his head next to mine, his lips on my shoulder. His groans grew louder, his balls slapping into my ass, his body caging me.

He thrust deep and I arched up into him, giving him all I had. Another hard plunge and he bit into my shoulder as he came. He moaned as his cocked pulsed inside me. The thought of my pussy soaked with him had me clawing at his back as he finished. His breath came out in a whoosh of air and satisfaction.

His teeth left my shoulder as he rested his head on the pillow. I wanted to wrap up in him and the sheets and never leave the room. His heart hammered into my breast as I stroked his hair. We lay there, coming back down to earth, for a while. I winced when he pulled out and knew I’d be walking funny for the rest of the weekend.

He moved to my side and propped his head on his hand. “Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

I leaned up and kissed his nose. “No.”

He gripped my waist and pulled me closer to him, his eyes studying me as if I were a painting. “What am I going to do with you?”

“You seem to be doing just fine so far.” Hot sex and amazing orgasms? Yeah, he was doing great.

“I can’t seem to stop complicating things.” He sighed. “But you make it impossible.” He rested his hand on my cheek. “You overwhelm me. You know that?”

I couldn’t stop my smile and the pink that rose in my cheeks. “I do?”

“Yes. I’ve never felt . . .” He blinked hard.

I held my breath.
Go on.

“I’ve never done this before. Let’s just leave it at that.” He kissed my forehead and settled on his back next to me, hiding his eyes.

A pin stabbed into my heart as if Wash were treating it like a voodoo doll. I wanted to be satisfied with our night together and the morning after. I did. But I’d wanted him, all of him, for so long that his reticence to open up burned. My eyes stung, but I forced the tears away. Not here. Not now.

As the sun rose on us, the sweetness of the sex faded, and I was left with nothing but a bitter aftertaste.

“Look what the cat dragged in.” Terrell must have been sitting and waiting in the living room, because he opened the door before I could gingerly place the key into the lock. My down-low walk-of-shame plans were blown to bits.

“Good morning to you, too.” I brushed past him and retreated to my bedroom.

He wasn’t going to let me get away so easily and followed close at my heels. “I want details.”

“We had a good dinner, and then I stayed in his hotel room.” I tossed my shoes into my closet and stripped my dress off before turning the shower on.

“That’s fascinating.” He leaned on the bathroom doorframe as I finished disrobing and stepped under the hot stream. “But you know what details I want. Tell me about the P in the dreaded V, Caroline.” He sighed extra loudly.

I spent the rest of my shower giving him play by play, with random interruptions of “Are you sure he doesn’t want this D?” I ignored the warmth that coursed through me as I remembered Wash’s touch, his kiss, his words. It was all more than just sex for me. I wanted more. But he’d made clear he wasn’t comfortable with more.

I toweled off and wrapped my hair before sliding into my sheets.

Terrell crawled up next to me and turned me around so I faced him. “I liked the sex parts of the story. I truly did. But I’m not a dummy. What’s wrong?”

I shoved my face into the pillow to hide my tears, and Terrell pulled me closer and rubbed my back.

“Did he hurt you?” Terrell’s hand froze on my back, and he tensed.

“No. Nothing like that. I just . . . I’m an idiot.”

He started rubbing me again. “That goes without saying, but what are you specifically referring to?”

I stopped suffocating myself in the pillow and lay face-to-face with him. The concern in his eyes reminded me why he’d been my best friend for years.

“I just thought he would, I don’t know, say it wasn’t just the sex or say he, I don’t know, wanted more. You know?” My tears flowed silently.

His eyes sobered. “Wash isn’t the sort of man who would just jump into feels like that, Caroline.”

“I know.” I sighed. “But after last night, I thought he’d . . . I thought we had a connection. I felt it, you know?”

Terrell wiped my tears away with his thumbs. “I do. Breeders aren’t the only ones who fall in love.”

He’d given voice to what I’d feared for a while. I wasn’t in like with Wash anymore. I’d graduated to the big leagues quite some time ago. I was in love, but he didn’t love me back. The realization cut deep.

“Why doesn’t he love me back?” I asked the question, though no one could answer it but Wash.

“Just because he isn’t forthcoming with the words doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel it, Caroline. Don’t give up on him yet. This is all brand-new. I’ve done my homework on him. He hasn’t had a serious relationship in like, ever. You’ve gotten to him in a way no one else ever has.”

“You’ve been spying on him?” My sob hitched in my throat.

“You think I’m going to let my best fag hag get emotionally invested in an ass hat? No, ma’am. Wash is a good one. He just needs some time to figure it out, is all.”

“I hope you’re right.” His vote of confidence planted a seed of hope in my breast.

“I’m always right. We’ve been over this. Shh.” Terrell wrapped me in his arms.

My tears eventually subsided, and we napped the rest of the morning away.

I spent the first half of the week running more searches on Tyler and Rourke and making phone calls to Angola to speak with Rowan. He couldn’t offer me much more information, but at least he was pleasant enough on the phone. No more rapey vibes from the client was definitely a good thing.

Wash and I prepped for an evidentiary hearing Wednesday afternoon.

I wasn’t sure how I’d feel seeing Wash again. We’d parted well after the morning at the hotel, him dropping me off at my apartment and giving me a gentle, yet still panty-melting, kiss. But then I’d had the meltdown with Terrell, so my compass was turned every which way. We continued on with our work, business as usual, though I caught him giving me long glances more than a few times.

The hearing concerned evidence suppression. Matt Turnbull had given us all the State’s documents but was trying to keep certain expert records away from us. Wash and Matt argued for over an hour before the judge ruled in our favor and scolded the State for withholding materials.

On the way out, Matt hustled up behind us, his face still red from the heated argument. “Hey, Wash, buddy. Did I mention that Fawn’s pregnant?”

Wash paused for only a moment and then continued walking, not saying a word.

“Yeah, just found out last week. Going to be a new Turnbull. Fawn’s over the moon about having my kid.” Matt’s goading voice echoed around the courthouse rotunda.

Wash stopped at the top of the steps and took my elbow, helping me down in my heels. It was unnecessary. I could walk in heels better than in flats, but I appreciated the gesture, all the same. His grip seemed tighter than usual, though.

Matt jostled down the wide marble steps at my other elbow. “Just thought you’d want to hear it from the horse’s mouth, seeing as how you’re in love with my wife.”

The three of us hit the bottom step with a thud. My heart made a similar sound, and an even deeper ache set up shop inside me.
He
’
s in love with someone else
?
My head was spinning. I looked up to Wash, my eyes wide.