Staking His Claim

“Spanked me. Manhandled me.” She didn’t know where the words came from, only knew that now that they’d been spoken, the air thickened between her and Matt. In the space of seconds, her breath had grown shallow, cheeks flaming. She might have stopped there, but Matt’s chest shuddered and she couldn’t hold back the truth. “I liked it, Matt.”

“Stop.” He stepped even closer, contradicting his harsh command. As though he couldn’t help himself, his gaze dropped to her br**sts where, thanks to her excitement, they swelled at the top of her dress. “It doesn’t matter. Now that I know who you are, touching you would be inexcusable.”

“But you want to.”

He sucked in a breath. “Lucy, that’s enough.”

The authority in his voice brought her back to the motel room, when he’d given her no choice but to obey him. If his intention was to push her away, his demands were having the opposite effect. Her pulse drummed loudly in her ears; her hands ached to run up his sculpted chest. She’d come out here to apologize for her lie, but now that they stood so close and she could feel the undeniable pull between them, she wondered if her lie had affected yesterday’s outcome whatsoever. This attraction would have been there even if he’d known her identity from the beginning. She was sure of it. This wasn’t a lie.

The girl she’d been before, the one who catapulted headlong into the unknown, wanted to push him to admit it. What they’d shared couldn’t be chalked up to convenience. A way to kill time as the car was repaired. No, he’d shown her a part of himself she suspected he didn’t reveal to many women. In turn, he’d taught her something about herself. Unlocked a side to her she hadn’t known existed. Lucy closed the distance between them, letting her curves brush against him. His muscled chest heaved before her eyes. She could feel him, huge and straining at the front of his dress pants. For her. It was the final encouragement she needed. “I thought of you every time I sat down today. Just like you told me to, Matt.”

As if a rope had snapped inside him, Matt fell on her with a strangled groan. His hands dropped to her bottom, hauling her off the ground. Their mouths fought a battle, but she was too overcome with need to acknowledge the stakes. She processed movement, registered Matt walking them into a darkened doorway just off the street. Lucy tunneled her fingers through his hair, letting her head fall back as his teeth raked up the side of her neck.

“Goddammit, I shouldn’t be doing this.”

She gasped as he bit her ear. “W-what are you doing?”

“I’m considering giving you my c**k right here and now. Would you like that, baby girl? Would you like to be rewarded for following my instructions?”

“Yes, please.” She slid her inner thigh up his leg until it reached his waist, moaning when he gave a quick pump of his hips against her core. Already, she was damp for him. She felt trapped in between Matt’s demanding body and the hard surface behind her. It was an amazing feeling. New and familiar at the same time, as though she’d been desperate to be immobilized without consciously knowing. When his hands wedged between their bodies to squeeze her breast with just the right amount of pressure, Lucy writhed, desperate for everything he could give her.

“What the f**k am I supposed to do, Lucy?” He grated the words against her lips. “Now that I’ve felt the tight squeeze between your legs? Watched your ass absorb my punishment? I’m f**ked now, aren’t I?”

“Matt,” she breathed, trying to hook her legs more firmly around him. “I need to feel you again, too. Please.”

A car passed, blaring music. She could feel Matt come back to himself then, as if an invisible tether had yanked him back to reality. His fist connected with the wall behind her as he slowly put distance between them. Lucy wanted to sob at the loss of pressure and heat.

“Come back,” she said shakily.

“No. No,” Matt ground out, frustration visible in the tight lines around his mouth. “Even if you weren’t Brent’s sister, which is more than enough in itself…”

“Yes?” Lucy prompted him after a moment.

Haunted eyes met hers. “I don’t tolerate liars. Ever. I’ve been there. You’re all the same and you never change.”

Lucy couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe around the ache his words spawned in her chest. What could she say? He was right. She’d deceived him, making her the liar he accused her of being. Measuring her with a final look, Matt walked away and left her there, not glancing back once.

Chapter Seven

Matt stood in the precinct locker room, securing his Kevlar vest and buttoning his NYPD Emergency Service uniform shirt over it. When he heard Brent ribbing another officer in the next aisle, an uncomfortable feeling settled in his chest. He might have done the right thing by walking away from Lucy last night, but that hadn’t stopped every imaginable sexual scenario from playing out in his head after he’d left. Starring Brent’s deceptively sweet-looking little sister. Sure, she might taste sweet, but the things she’d said to him as they stood face-to-face on the sidewalk last night proved she was the furthest thing from it.

She’d known exactly what buttons to push to test his control. Looking up at him with those contrite green eyes, she’d stripped his defenses and tapped into his base desires so effortlessly it should have alarmed him. No one had ever seen through him like that. It was unacceptable. Only he’d been far from alarmed. He’d been turned on to the point of frenzy. Inside the party, his resolve had been unshakable. But with just the two of them standing there, memories sparking between them, everything had changed. She’d been asking him for something he desperately wanted to give her. What felt like his duty to give, even if that made no sense.

He’d gone home and unzipped his pants the second he walked in the door. Picturing Lucy’s mouth, br**sts, reddened ass, he’d pressed his forehead to the door and jacked himself off like a horny teenager. He’d thought one time would be enough. Then her words would drift through his head. I thought of you every time I sat down today. Just like you told me to, Matt. Just like that, he’d grow hard again, treating him to a vicious cycle that had lasted until the early hours of the morning. Still, still, he wasn’t satisfied. Might never be again. Not after he’d experienced his real-life fantasies with Lucy. Making it twice as difficult, she wanted to do it again. Had begged him for more.

No. He couldn’t allow it to happen. Not only did his desires have no place around a younger girl with a brighter future, but he hadn’t lied to Lucy. Lying was a deal-breaker with him. For the first time, he welcomed a bitter memory that he normally kept hidden under lock and key, hoping it would serve as a distraction. His ex-fiancée’s utter horror over his “disgusting” needs. Her seeking comfort from his best friend. It had all rushed to the surface last night when he found out Lucy lied to him. After exposing himself to her the way he’d done, it had felt like the worst kind of betrayal. It’s why he was so careful about who he spent time with, who he could actually call a friend. Once you’ve been burned, that shit didn’t come easy anymore.

Had the lie stopped him from wanting Lucy? Hell no. If anything, he wanted to find her this minute and punish her in a way that ended in her screaming his name. He wanted it so bad, his hands shook. The urge was painful to deny, especially knowing she would wrap that limber body around him and tell him to give it to her hard. Fuck. He had to stop thinking about her now or work would be impossible. Loss of focus in his line of work was tantamount to failure, and he refused to fail at his job.