Abby Read online

  “You okay?” he whispers in my ear.

  I give in to the dance and lean my cheek against his bare chest. “Yes.”

  We sway quietly for a few minutes and I slide my hands from his waist, up his solid chest and then wrap them around his neck. He leans down and kisses the top of my head and for a second I forget to breathe.

  “Honey, I don’t want to embarrass you in front of your family,” he whispers to me.

  I lean my head back to look at him. “Embarrass me? What do you mean?”

  “Well, I thought this was a good idea to have you in my arms…” he starts and I stiffen at his words. I start to pull back from him, but his hand slides down my back and cups my cheek. His fingers graze my bare skin at the bottom of my shorts and I suck in a breath.

  He strokes my crease. “How short are these shorts anyway?”

  Instantly, I lift my ass up and press into his hand. “Too short, but I didn’t think it was a big deal, since I have a robe covering me.”

  His hands press against each globe of my ass and flatten me against him. His erection is prodding against me and when I try to get closer, he moans into my hair. “Honey, we’re going to have to get off this dance floor. I can’t take much more of this and I really don’t want to take you with an audience.”

  Reluctantly, I back away from him. What is wrong with me? I just met this man hours ago and I’m about to dry hump him on the dance floor in front of all my family and friends.

  “Hey, Abby. Will you dance with me?” Derrick interrupts us.

  Brent steps between Derrick and me. “No, she’s not dancing with you.”

  But Derrick doesn’t back down. He looks at me and asks, “Please, I just want to talk to you.”

  “No…” Brent starts but I stop him with a touch to his shoulder.

  His eyes lock on mine and his face tightens with every word I mutter. “Brent, it’s okay. I really should talk to him. Our families are best friends. I need to get this over with.”

  He looks at me for a long second while Derrick stands next to us, swaying side to side on the balls of his feet.

  Brent rolls his head between his shoulders like he’s trying to relieve tension. “Off the dance floor. Not in his arms. And he doesn’t touch you.”

  The stern set of his jaw has me nodding my head at him. He walks me to the edge of the dance floor with Derrick traipsing behind us. “I’ll be right there.”

  He points to a spot next to the bar and I nod. He twists his back to look at Derrick. “Don’t touch her.”

  Derrick holds his hands out in front of him and nods at him. Wow. Earlier he was all cocky and running his mouth, now it seems he’s backing down from Brent.

  I watch him walk away, but Derrick starts talking to me so I turn to him. “I’m sorry about earlier, Abby. I shouldn’t have acted that way. I would like a second chance with you. It was wrong for me to assume that I could move in with you.”

  I swallow around the lump in my throat. “No. I should have ended it with you a while back. It’s just not going to work out between us. I’m sorry.”

  His shoulders slump. “C’mon, Abby, we’re good together. Our families are close.”

  I shake my head side to side. I can’t help but think I did this to myself. I attract these type of men, ones that need taken care of. “I’m sorry, but no, we just don’t add up.”

  He seems like he wants to argue, but in the end he just nods his head and starts to put his arms around me for a hug. Almost instantly, Brent is at my side, shaking his head at me.

  I grab on to his hand and try to let him know that it’s okay, but he shakes his head at me. Derrick drops his arms and tells me bye before walking away.

  I pull away from Brent and put my hands on my hips. “You know you can’t tell me what to do?”

  His lips press into a tight smile. “Are you ready to go?”

  I look at him curiously. “Yeah. Let me tell my parents bye.”

  Brent

  The ride home is quiet and I see her squirming in her seat. She starts to talk a few times, but never gets the words out. I know I’m making her nervous, which is not my intent, but I am trying to rein in my feelings before I make a fool of myself.

  I spent the whole night with a line of men touching her, hugging her and talking to her. All of it was innocent for the most part, but I’m not used to the jealous and possessive feelings that are eating at me.

  I help her out of the truck and walk her to her apartment door. She’s staring at me, but I’m not giving an inch. I’m afraid if I start, I won’t be able to stop. “G’night, Brent. Thanks for going with me,” she says before shutting the door firmly behind her.

  The flash of hurt on her face keeps me frozen in place. I put my hands on the door frame and lean into it, taking a deep breath. “Fuck.” I grimace before standing up straight and knocking on her door.

  She opens it and looks at me questioningly. Since she walked in, she had shed her robe. I look her over quickly and ask her if I can come in.

  “Uh… sure,” she says and opens the door wider for me to enter. I walk past her and stop when I get to the couch.

  “Look, I’m sorry, Abby. I know I was a prick. Telling you what you can and can’t do, trying to control you, it’s just…fuck… that’s how I am. I’m not some little boy that’s going to stand by while you move from man to man, all of them hugging you and putting their arms around you.” I grunt out the last part, because damn it was hard standing there watching it.

  “Is that what you think? That I’m fucking half the town?” She kicks her hip out and puts her hands on her hips. She’s breathing heavily and I can tell I’ve pissed her off.

  I walk toward her and grip her shoulders with my hands. “What? No! That’s not what I meant at all. I know it was innocent. But I don’t like it. I don’t want you in someone else’s arms.”

  Confusion is etched on her face. “But… but we just met tonight.”

  “I know that, that’s why I was controlling myself.” I shrug my shoulders heavily.

  She laughs. “That was controlling yourself?”

  I want to laugh, but it’s true. I was holding myself back. I won’t lie to her about it. “Definitely.”

  She looks at me as if she’s weighing her thoughts. A calm comes over her face, like she just made a decision. She saunters toward me until she is standing in front of me and my heart is thumping wildly in my chest. She looks up at me and puts her hand around the back of my neck, pulling me down. “What if I don’t want you to control yourself?”

  Chapter 4

  Abby

  I’ve played it safe all these years. Dating men that I could control. Men that let me be in command of the whole relationship. And honestly, it’s been exhausting. There’s something about Brent that brings me alive inside. He makes me want to let loose and give my control over to him.

  I thought he was mad at me and that was why he didn’t talk to me the whole way home. But that’s not the case. He was trying not to control me, trying not to scare me off. And the fact that he wants to be in charge of me – well, that stirs something inside me, causing my nipples to harden and my pussy to seep.

  His hands dig into my hips and his fists clench at the band of my shorts. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

  I pull my shirt over my head, and my barely covered breasts heave against his hard chest. My erect nipples poke through my bra, grazing his hard torso with every breath I take. “I think I do.”

  He pulls his robe off, drops it to the floor and lifts me up, my legs instantly going around his hips. “I’m too big to be carried,” I tell him matter-of-factly. No sense trying to hide that I’m a bigger woman. He obviously is okay with it, but I also don’t want him to throw his back out.

  With one arm holding me, he grabs on to the back of my hair with the other and yanks it, pulling my head back and attacking my lips. He hungrily kisses me, and the feel of his tongue sliding against mine makes me want to taste all of him. />
  “Let me down,” I say into his mouth.

  “Why?” he asks back and grips me harder.

  “Let me down,” I demand again.

  He slowly releases me, letting my body slide against his until my feet touch the floor.

  I drop down to my knees and take in the large bulge in the front of his shorts. “Take your shoes off.”

  He slides them off easily and once they’re kicked to the side, I put my fingers into each side of his waistband and pull his shorts and underwear down and his hard cock springs up. He’s long and hard. I wrap my hand around him as far as it will go and when I do, I hear him groan my name. I slide my tongue along his length and when I get to the tip, I kiss it and then open my mouth to take him in.

  I pleasure him, moaning around his hard manhood as he pushes in and out of me. He cups my jaw with his hand and I hear his command. “Eyes on me.”

  My eyes shoot to his and he’s watching me as I go up and down on him. His look is intense and it causes me to shiver and moan around him. Suddenly, he pulls back, bends over and helps me off the floor. He grabs a condom from his wallet and with my hand in his, he walks over to the couch and sits down with me standing between his legs. He slides my shorts and underwear down my legs.

  His eyes take me in, and every crevice, crease, mark and roll is on full display. But I don’t even flinch. His desire for me is evident in his lust darkened eyes, the flare of his nostrils and the steady heave of his chest as he breathes in and out.

  He leans back in the couch cushions, pulling me toward him until I’m straddling him. His hands slide up my outer thighs across my belly and then down to my very wet, very sensitive core. “You’re so wet, baby.”

  I push my pelvis into his hand, too lost in his touch to worry about my dripping cunt and whether I should be embarrassed or not. When his thumb flicks over my swollen nub, my hips jerk. “Right there,” I moan and he doesn’t disappoint. He’s rubbing me with the perfect amount of pressure and my hips are jerking uncontrollably.

  “More, I need more.” I grunt at him and he slides the condom on and lines his cock up at my opening. I slide down his long, wide length. When I’m fully seated on him, an intense feeling overcomes me and I take a deep breath to calm myself. I dip my hips and circle them around, all while moving up and down on his hard shaft. His fingers find my clit again and he rolls it between his fingers. The feelings are intense and I start working my hips even harder. He’s grunting under me and the sound of our bodies slapping against each other fills the room.

  “Don’t stop. Don’t stop,” I beg him right before my whole body tightens up and I see stars as we both grunt and moan as we come at the exact same time.

  Trying to catch my breath, I lean forward and he curls his arms around me.

  Brent

  What the fuck was that? I think. In all my adult years, I’ve never experienced anything as earth shattering as what I just did with Abby. I feel blindsided because I didn’t see that coming and I definitely wasn’t prepared for it.

  Holding her in my arms, I stroke up and down her back. I feel my cock jerk against her. Man, I just left her and I’m already wanting back in.

  We clean up and I can tell she’s nervous. She pulls a shirt on to cover her body, and I pull my shorts back on.

  “So, uh, I guess you’re leaving?” she asks me hesitantly.

  “No way I’m leaving, baby. I’m thinking I can fix us something to eat, then we’re going to do that again,” I tell her and stalk off toward the kitchen area.

  “We are?” she asks with hope in her voice. But she then cocks her hip out and asks me saucily, “What if I don’t want to do that again?”

  I smirk at her. “Honey, after what we just shared, once is not going to be enough.”

  After fixing omelets and toast, we eat with her sitting in my lap. By the time we’re done, she’s twitching her ass along my dick and I’m fully erect again.

  “Did you get enough to eat?” I ask her.

  She nods her head at me.

  I pick her up and hold her tightly against me, kissing her nose. “Okay, baby, round two. Where’s your room? I want to have you in a bed this time.”

  Chapter 5

  Abby

  I wake the next morning and stretch lazily. My body is sore in places I’ve never been sore before, but it feels good. We had sex so many times last night, it’s like I can still feel him inside me. We ran out of condoms, but after a long talk and finding out we are both clean and that I’m on the pill, we were able to go another round. I roll over, hoping to catch him still asleep. But instead of a warm hard body, my arm meets a cold sheet and pillow. I shake off the disappointment and grab the note on the pillow.

  Abby, I hated leaving you this morning. I hope you keep my side of the bed warm. I’ll be back soon. Have dinner with me tonight. Brent

  I snort. Lie in bed all day… I wish. I guess I didn’t mention to him that I’m a construction worker. If he’s as controlling as I think he is, I’m not looking forward to that conversation.

  I move slowly off the bed and head to the shower.

  On my way to work, Jackson, my brother and my boss, asks me to stop downtown and pick up the new plans for our next project. I pull into the new offices for Wilder Hotels. Our next project is a new luxury hotel. I guess it’s a pretty big deal. Half the town has been talking about all the new jobs and the boost to the economy.

  I walk into the lobby and the receptionist eyes me distastefully. I guess if I had known that I would be coming in here, I would have probably dressed differently. But whatever, this is how I dress for work. My hair’s in a high ponytail. I have jeans on with my steel toed boots and a vest over my long sleeved shirt. Heck, I didn’t even apply makeup this morning. Only some sunscreen and cherry chapstick.

  I put on a fake smile. “Hi. I’m with Tate Construction. Mr. Wilder was going to leave plans for the new hotel here for me.”

  She stares at me for a minute and then presses a button and speaks into the phone. “Mr. Wilder, uh, Tate Construction is here for the hotel plans… yeah, sure.”

  She hangs up and slowly gets up from her seat. “Follow me. Maybe wipe your boots if you don’t mind.”

  I shake my head at her. Really? This one has all kinds of personality. I look down at my boots and they’re clean. I normally would give her a piece of my mind, but I keep my mouth shut and follow her to an office. She opens the door and ushers me in.

  My heart slams into my chest. Because the bare-chested boxer from last night, the man that made my body do things it’s never done before, the one that brought me to five orgasms in one night, is standing before me. Well, it’s him, but it’s not the man I know. This man has his hair slicked back. A white button-down shirt on under a suit jacket and black pants with black shiny shoes.

  My hands clutch at the bottom of my vest. I’m totally out of my element here.

  He lays the papers in his hands on his desk and walks over to me. His eyes greedily look me up and down. “Abby. What are you doing here? I mean, it’s great to see you.” He looks over my head and dismisses his secretary. “That will be all, Janice.”

  “Uh, do you work here? I mean… duh, of course you work here. What is your last name, Brent?” I stutter.

  His face tenses up and his forehead wrinkles. “Wilder. My last name is Wilder.”

  “You mean to tell me that you’re the owner of Wilder Properties? You…own… all of this. You’re our new client?”

  “Client?” he asks me, ignoring my first question.

  My hands go to my hips. “Yes. Client. I’m with Tate Construction.”

  The surprise on his face is almost comical. However, I can’t bring myself to laugh. “Jackson is going to kill me.”

  “What does Jackson have to do with this?” he asks me before bending down and kissing me, pulling me tightly against him.

  I struggle out of his arms. “I slept with you last night. A client… a very important client to let him tell it.” M
y breath starts coming in quicker. Last night was perfect, but obviously that’s all it will be. I had no idea that he was THE Brent Wilder. If there’s ever two people from more different worlds it’s the two of us.

  I slap my forehead with my palm. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

  He grabs my hand and kisses it. “It never came up. You never told me you worked construction, which you know we’re going to talk about, right?”

  “There’s nothing to talk about. Where are the plans at? I need to get to work.” I tug my hand and step back away from him.

  He loosens his tie and pulls off his jacket. “Why are you making this into such a big deal?”

  With panic in my voice, I ask him, “Why are you undressing?”

  He shrugs. “Honestly? Because you’re looking at me like you don’t know me. I’m just wanting to remind you that you know exactly who I am. If I did my job right, you can still feel me between your sweet thighs.”

  My lower belly tightens at his words, but I’m determined not to be swayed. I watch him roll up the sleeves of his dress shirt and when he bares his forearms, memories from last night flash before my mind.

  “I have to get to work, Brent,” I tell him, but I can feel myself weakening.

  “Oh, I’ll let you get to work. But I’m going to make sure you get there with the smell of me covering your skin.”

  He pulls my vest down my arms and then my shirt up over my head. Before I can even react, he has my breast free and he is already latched onto my nipple before my bra even hits the floor. The moan that leaves my mouth vibrates off the walls. He’s tugging down my pants and underwear in one fast swoop. He picks me up and then stands me back on my feet facing his desk, pushing me face down on it. My naked butt is up in the air and his hands caress my back, sliding down until he’s palming each cheek and massaging me.

  I spread my legs as wide as they’ll go since my pants are down around my ankles. I’m on the balls of my feet, almost begging him for mercy. “Please, Brent. Please.”

  His voice is low and husky. “What do you need, Abby? Tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you.”