Then I got off him and handed him the tissue box. “Good job.”
He rolled off the condom, wiped off, and then lay there. “You did all the work, sweetheart.”
“Yeah, but you gave me a reason to work.” I got back into bed on the other side, keeping space between us because we were both hot and sweaty. I turned over and faced the other way, my ass and back to him.
His hand went to my ass, and he rested it there, his fingers squeezing one cheek. “Your body is beautiful.”
I smiled as I kept my eyes closed. “You can thank Pilates for that. What do you do?”
“Running and weights.” His hand moved up to my back then followed the curve from my waist to my chest. His fingers moved farther up until they went into the back of my hair, lightly touching the strands. “You two made up?”
“Hmm?” I was already starting to fall asleep.
“You and Charlie.”
“Oh…yeah. We talked it out. We’re fine now.”
“I’m glad.” His hand returned to my ass. “I was surprised—”
“I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s getting late. Can you let yourself out?” I didn’t want to do pillow talk. I just wanted sex. It was like a hair appointment. Get in and out in thirty minutes. No reason to overthink it.
He was still for a while before he pulled his hand away and got out of bed. He picked up his clothes from the floor and pulled them on. When he was ready, he walked out of my bedroom and shut the door behind him.
I fell asleep almost instantly.
Dax grabbed the bowling ball then carried it to the lane.
“That is one tight ass…” Denise nudged me in the side.
Charlie’s gaze shifted to hers.
“One gorgeous ass,” Kat said.
“Man, I love denim.” Matt stared with the same intensity, not caring about his bowling abilities at all.
Dax got a strike, so he was actually pretty good.
But none of us cheered, still mesmerized by that excellent ass.
“Yay!” I clapped and nudged Kat in the side.
“Oh yeah.” She clapped with everyone else. “Good job!”
He wore a slight smile, as if he knew exactly what happened like he had eyes in the back of his head. He came back to the spot beside me and took a seat.
Dax’s head was turned my way, and he stared at me.
When the stare became impossible to ignore, I turned to face him and met his look.
His arm moved over the back of my shoulders, and he kissed me. It was simple and short, but coming from him, it was so sexy. With those rugged lips, his kiss was practically deadly. “I read your article.”
“Which one?” My eyes narrowed in surprise because I hadn’t expected him to take an interest in my work.
“All of them. But I’m referring to the one you did about ISIS, how they originated because of the war with Iraq, how they’ve grown in power, how their presence has completely changed the country and created a problem no one could have foreseen.”
Wow, so he’d read the whole thing. “What did you think? And don’t worry, you can’t hurt my feelings.”
“I believe that.” He wore a slight grin like he’d made some kind of joke. “You’re a great writer.”
“Yeah?” I asked, loving positive feedback because I thrived on it. If someone disagreed, it turned into a debate that lasted hours. But when someone praised me, it was music to my ears.
“Yeah. I read the paper every day, so I’d already read your articles over the years. But I went back and refreshed my memory.”
“You read the paper?” I asked in surprise.
“A lot of people do.”
“I know… I’m just surprised you do.”
He stared at me for a long time, the sound of balls colliding with pins in the background, the pop music over the speakers. “Why? You don’t know anything about me.”
Touché. “Well, thank you for the compliment. It means a lot.”
He continued to stare at me, like this wasn’t over. “Do you want to know anything about me?”
“Sure. What sport do you follow religiously? Mine is basketball.”
He stared at me with his serious eyes, like that question was off-putting. “Football and baseball.”
“Ooh…I love baseball. We should go to a game—”
“Do you want to know anything real about me?” The question wasn’t hostile, but his eyes burned into mine as he urged me forward, as he pushed my buttons and purposely made me uncomfortable.
“Oh, look.” I pointed to the scoreboard. “My turn.” I got out of the chair and grabbed my ball. I only hit a few pins, but I’d never been good at the game. I just enjoyed playing it. When I returned to my chair, I assumed that awkward conversation was over.
But he didn’t let it go. “You don’t care what I do for a living? What if I’m a janitor?”
“Is there something wrong with being a janitor?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
His features slowly changed, as if he didn’t expect me to say that.
“Whether you’re a janitor or some suit on Wall Street, it doesn’t matter to me. If you want to share your life with me, you’re always welcome. But no, I don’t care about how you earn a living.”
“You’re up, Dax,” Charlie said.
Dax continued to sit beside me, looking me in the eye and ignoring my friends as they watched us. Then he leaned in and kissed me before he got to his feet and walked to retrieve his ball.
And we swooned over his ass again.
When we finished with our games, we said goodbye and parted ways.
“I’ll see you back at the apartment.” Charlie gave me a high five before he headed up the street with Matt.
Dax looked down at me, his arm curling around my waist and pulling me close.
It was hard to look at this man and not think about sex. A man that beautiful was supposed to make all women around him wet, make their ovaries scream, make them desperate to have him.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the street, taking him into a dark alleyway.
“Where are we going?”
I pulled him behind a dumpster, putting my back to the wall and tugging him close. My hands went to his jeans and got them undone.
“Your apartment is just a few blocks away.”
“But I want you now.” I pulled his jeans and boxers down slightly until his cock popped out. He could pretend he wasn’t into this, but his hard dick said otherwise. I lifted up my dress, pulled my thong to the side, and hooked my leg around his hip. My hand cupped the back of his neck, and I pulled him in for a kiss, kissing him hard, kissing him like I’d never wanted a man more. “Fuck me, Dax.”
His fingers dug into my bare thigh, and he moaned against my mouth, getting rock hard at the spontaneity and the dirty talk. He ground against me as he devoured my mouth, and a few minutes later, he pulled a condom from his pocket and rolled it on.
I knew a man like him carried protection everywhere he went—because he could get laid at any moment.
He shoved himself inside me and fucked me hard against the wall, the sounds of pedestrians and cars on the main street loud. Sirens went off in the background, an ambulance speeding down the street. The city was never quiet, so our moans and grunts were drowned out.