Just fucking once I wanted to forget.
“Later.”
I called out my goodbyes and hightailed my ass out of the bar.
Thirty minutes later I was pulling into Lauren’s driveway with three boxes of condoms on the passenger seat wondering what the fuck I was doing.
I didn’t do messy.
I didn’t do complicated and tangled.
I didn’t fuck shy, quiet women who were looking for husbands and happily-ever-afters.
But Lauren isn’t looking for that anymore, right?
This wasn’t right. I shouldn’t’ve been there. But now that I was, I owed Lauren an apology. I’d give her what I should’ve given her from the beginning—an explanation—then I’d leave. Ignoring the condoms and wondering if my dick would ever work again, giving me a chance to use them, I got out of my car. I ignored the painful throbbing between my legs that had yet to subside since I’d had Lauren against the bathroom wall.
Bathroom wall! Christ, I was an asshole. Another reason to steer clear of sweet Lauren. I lost my mind when she was near and my control went with it. Thank God, I’d had a shred of decency in me and hadn’t fucked her. Who the hell was I kidding? If I’d had protection her jeans would’ve been around her ankles and I would’ve been balls deep and she would’ve been screaming my name louder than she had been. I was no better than a fucking animal.
Before I could knock on the door Lauren had it open and I nearly swallowed my tongue. Gone were the jeans that hid her tanned legs and in their place was a pair of short sleep shorts that I was positive would show ass cheek if she turned around. The loose-fitting shirt was replaced with a tight-fitting tank top and she’d lost the bra.
Fucking hell.
How in the actual hell was it possible that Lauren was dressed for bed, not seduction, yet she was sexier than any woman I’d ever laid eyes on?
Kill. Me. Now.
“Took you long enough,” she clipped.
Say what?
Lauren stepped away from the door and with a sweep of her hand she invited me in. As soon as I cleared the threshold she shut and locked the door.
“I’ve been thinking,” Lauren started.
“We need to talk,” I said at the same time.
Our words clashed and Lauren’s eyes went squinty like they always did right before she said something that pissed me off.
“Oh, no. Time for talking is over, Logan. You wanted a new game, here we are. We’re playing it. But I set the rules this time. No talking. No calling me Ren, baby, babe, or any other pet name. I’m Lauren. And if you can’t remember that, just grunt—you’re good at that. No dates. No phone calls. No texting. No mixing pleasure with work. No sharing personal information. No asking questions. No expectations. No dinners, lunches, drinks, or breakfasts. We fuck, that’s it. Period. You don’t like the rules, leave.”
Yep, I should’ve gotten in there and said what I had to say before she had a chance because now I was pissed. No, I was red-hot pissed.
“Damn, woman, can we at least be friends?”
“Is that a requirement for you to fuck a woman?”
Oh, yeah, my blood was boiling.
“I guess that depends. If I’m looking for a quick fuck with a Frog Hog that wants nothing more than my dick so she can brag the next day she bagged a SEAL, no. If I’m looking for a blowjob in my car, that’s also a negative. If I’m looking to bang a woman a few times, yeah I’d at least like to respect the woman taking my dick.”
I was being an asshole, taking jabs at Lauren, and I knew I hit my mark when her face screwed up into a grimace.
“You’re disgusting.”
“I’m disgusting? Baby, I walked in here and the first thing you did was laid out some fucked-up set rules. Check this, Ren—you wanna fuck, I’m down. I’ll fuck you any which way you want, anywhere you want it, as many times as you want it. But tell me this; how am I supposed to know when you want me over to play if we’re not calling or texting or talking? You gonna send a message by carrier pigeon?”
“Don’t be—”
“Fuck the rules, Ren.”
“Logan!”
“Straight up, baby, I’m not following the rules.”
Her hands went to her hips, her elbows cocked wide, and her shoulders went back. Her posture indicated she was pissed. It also had the unintended consequence of stretching that damn tank top tight across her chest, showcasing her pebbled nipples.
“But I have to follow yours.”
She wasn’t asking but I answered anyway, “Only got one rule. You stop ignoring me.”
I knew my demand contradicted how I’d behaved pretty much the whole time I’d known her. Further, I knew it made me a dick that over the last few months she’d given me a taste of my own medicine and I found I hated the way it tasted, thus I was putting an end to it whether she liked it or not.
“You’re unbelievable,” she seethed.
No, I’m an asshole.
“Normally, women don’t call me that until at least their third orgasm. Seeing as I’ve only given you one, I’d say we’re starting this…” What, relationship? I don’t do relationships. Were we making a deal? “…Arrangement off on the right foot.”
“God, you’re a…” Lauren shook her head and let that hang.
“I’m a what?”
Three feet separated us. Three strides and I’d be in her space. Three paces and I could kiss that dirty look off her face and hear her panting my name. I took a step toward her and she held her ground but her eyes darted around the room. I took another, and then another, not stopping at a polite distance. I got deep into her space. And since I was so close, I dropped my lips to her neck. When I did everything else fell away. The conversation I’d planned on having with her, the bickering that perversely turned me the fuck on, the sadness I’d seen in her eyes over the last month, the anger she couldn’t hide, my past, and all of the reasons why this was wrong.
It was me and her.
Her warm, soft skin under my lips. The pounding of her heart thumping against the thundering of mine. Our bodies touching. My tongue tasting. Her breath in my ear.
“You taste good,” I murmured against her soft skin.
Lauren’s head tilted to the side, giving me better access, and I happily took what she offered—sucking and biting my way up to her ear. “Wanna taste other parts of you, baby.”
She shivered and brought her hands to my chest—not to push me away but to slide her palms up to my shoulders and curl her fingers until her nails dug in. I didn’t dare touch her with more than my mouth; what little control I had was slipping. My hands went to Lauren’s hips, around then down into her sleep shorts, until I had two handfuls of her bare ass.
“Bed or couch?” I asked.
“Huh?”
“In two seconds you’re gonna be on your back with my mouth on your pussy. You want that on your bed or couch?”
“Bed.”
That was a shame; the couch was closer.
I gave her neck one last kiss, pulled back, and said, “Lead the way.”
“Logan,” she breathed.
Sweet Christ.
“Right here, baby.”
“I’m…” She trailed off.