Her Twin Surprise (Forsaken Sons Book 2) Page 2

  He shook his head, taking a sip of his whiskey. “I’m sorry, Stevie,” he said with heartfelt sincerity.

  She shrugged again. “Eh! Teachers don’t join the profession to become millionaires. We’re in it for the job satisfaction. And life balance. At least I’ll be able to sit down with my family every night for dinner.”

  “I guess there are benefits.”

  Someone must have signaled to Stevie because she looked over his shoulder and nodded.

  “Time to close down the bar?” he asked, understanding the reluctance in her eyes.

  “Yes. It’s closing time.”

  “Let me drive you home, Stevie.”

  She stared at him for a long moment. They both knew what his offer meant. He wouldn’t push her for more than what she could give him, but damn, he wanted to kiss her goodnight. He couldn’t do it here in the bar, but if he could see her outside of this place, then he could…well, maybe just a small kiss. He couldn’t believe how many times he’d dreamed of kissing her!

  “Okay,” she finally replied. It was just one word, but it seemed to explode around them, hanging in the air for a tense moment.

  He stared, then slowly nodded his head. Standing up, he put a fifty dollar bill down on the countertop. “I’ll wait outside then,” he told her.

  “Wait, let me get your change,” she said.

  “Keep it,” he said over his shoulder, walking out of the bar. His body was too tight, too ready. He needed a moment to calm down, to remind himself that Stevie was a kindergarten teacher. She might have the body of a pin-up girl and the mouth of a goddess, but she was still a sweet, beautiful woman with a generous heart. And he needed to tread carefully.

  Chapter 2

  Fighting to rein in his lust, Janus leaned against his car, his arms crossed over his chest and one foot over his other ankle, staring intently at the bar door . He knew the employees used this door at night. So he stood there, waiting, anticipation thrumming inside of him.

  Ten minutes later, the door opened and Stevie stepped out. Her black tie was off and she’d unbuttoned the top two buttons of her white shirt. She wore black slacks and the ugliest black shoes he’d ever seen, but he knew that they must be comfortable. They were also slip resistant. He required his restaurant employees to wear similar footwear.

  Still, she looked surprisingly beautiful for a woman who had been working for more than fourteen hours.

  She hesitated as she approached him, stopping several feet away. “Hi,” she whispered, staring at the toes of his shoes.

  Shyness? He loved it! The women who normally approached him were aggressive, offering up their bodies for whatever his kinkiest desires might be. He was a man who appreciated a sexually confident woman, but some of what those women had suggested had shocked even him!

  Seeing this shy side of Stevie after the interesting and lively conversations they’d had over the past several weeks was…fascinating. And it brought out the caveman in him. The protective caveman, he thought with increasing surprise.

  “Hi,” he replied, then pushed away from his car and opened the passenger side door with a flourish.

  She hesitated for another long moment, then stepped closer. When she was less than a foot away from him, she stopped, tilting her head back to look directly into his eyes. “You’re not a serial killer or a wife beater, are you?”

  He blinked at her for a stunned moment, then threw back his head, laughing at her audacious question. “No,” he promised, wrapping an arm around her waist. “I’m definitely not a serial killer. And I’ve never hit a woman in my life. Not for any reason.”

  With that assurance given, he bent his head and lightly brushed his lips against hers. Softly. Back and forth, experimenting. When her soft, tentative response came, he knew a victory unlike anything he’d ever felt before. He had three Super Bowl rings to his name, but nothing could compare to the feeling he had right at this moment.

  He couldn’t believe how hard it was to pull back and release her. “Thank you for letting me drive you home tonight.”

  She nodded. No smile. The look in her eyes whispered that she was just as surprised by the effect of their kiss as he was. Good! He didn’t want to be the only one!

  Stevie ducked into the passenger seat and he closed the door, looking at her legs in the black, cotton pants. Not tonight, he told himself sternly. He would strip off those pants, but not tonight!

  After closing the door, he moved around to the driver’s door, chanting “Not tonight” under his breath.

  The drive to her apartment took less than five minutes, which was probably why she walked home most nights. It was only a mile away and the five minute drive time was only because of the red lights. Too soon, he pulled into the parking spot and shut off the engine. “I’d like to walk you to your door, Stevie. I want to kiss you goodnight, but I promise I’ll only kiss you. Nothing else. If that’s okay?”

  He saw her shoulders relax and a smile finally appeared on her soft, full lips. Like Angelina Jolie, but…better. Softer.

  “That would be nice,” she replied.

  He stared at her for a long moment, wondering if he could…!

  “I’d better walk you to your door or that kiss is going to happen right here.”

  She laughed and, before he could walk around to open her car door, she was standing on the pavement. She pulled her bag over her shoulder so that it went across her body, between her breasts. Now that the black tie was gone and the buttons released, Janus could see that she had lush, full breasts. Bigger than he’d thought.

  “Oh!” she gasped and pulled open the ugly bag. “Here,” she said, pulling out a wad of cash. “This is your change.”

  “The rest was a tip for you.”

  She shook her head. “No. I can’t accept that large of a tip,” she told him firmly, waving the bills at him with emphasis. With surprise, he took the money and stuffed it into his pocket, shocked that she’d give it back. In his world, most people were trying to steal his money. It was rare…actually, unheard of…that someone would give money back to him.

  Janus moved closer, putting his hands on her waist. “You need the money, Stevie.”

  She shrugged. “Everyone needs money. That’s the way capitalism works.”

  That was true, but Janus didn’t need the money. Hell, he was thirty-one years old and had a disgusting amount of money!

  “Next time, I’ll sneak it into your purse,” he warned.

  Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “Please, don’t do that. It would feel…” she hesitated, searching for the right words. “It would make me feel…cheap if you gave me money and then kissed me.”

  He understood immediately and pulled her closer. “That’s not what this is about, Stevie.”

  “I know, Janus. Just…please, don’t give me money. It would make this feel wrong. When you touch me, it feels so good. Very right. Don’t sully that by trying to give me money.”

  He thought about it for a long moment, then nodded. “Fine. But I’m still going to walk you to your door and kiss you goodnight.”

  Instantly, he felt her relax, almost leaning into him. He pulled her closer, trying to eliminate the “almost” in her touch. He wanted her leaning against him. Hell, he wanted a whole lot more than just leaning, but this felt pretty damn good! “I won’t do it again.”

  She beamed and his reaction to her approval seemed to be out of proportion for the issue.

  “Thank you,” she replied and stepped away. Janus wanted to curse. Why was it that Stevie felt so damn good when she touched him while he’d always steered clear of clingy women in the past?

  Sighing, he took her hand in his and let her lead him to her apartment. “You never told me how you hurt your nose,” she said, the silence of the night cocooning them in the early fall weather.

  “I was tossing a ball around and wasn’t paying attention. The ball hit me in the face.” Her soft chuckle soothed him like nothing else ever had. He didn’t bother to tell he
r that he’d been at football practice at the time and that he’d been distracted by thoughts of visiting her. It had been a rookie mistake and his teammates had laughed at him. He’d felt like a genuine fool at the time. The team’s opening game was this Sunday and he had to focus. It was an important game and he couldn’t let himself be distracted.

  So why the hell was he here, ready to kiss this utterly distracting woman? Hell, he’d been playing football since he was a kid and nothing had ever distracted him from the game before.

  Although, he had to admit, the game was beginning to lose its appeal. He was tired of getting hit by two hundred and fifty pound linebackers when his defense couldn’t stop them, tired of the constant pressure, and beyond sick of the weekly grind. It wasn’t just the weekly games from August through January. There were publicity events, interviews with sports reporters – and every one of them asked the same damn question. And he gave them the same, tedious response that didn’t really mean a whole lot.

  This…he looked down at Stevie as they climbed the stairs to her second story apartment. This was nice, he thought. Just being with a gorgeous woman who wanted nothing more from him than a kiss.

  Stevie pulled out her keys and looked up at Janus. “This is my apartment,” she announced, wishing that she didn’t sound so nervous.

  “Is it a nice neighborhood?” he asked.

  She turned and leaned back against the wall next to the door. “Do you care?” she teased.

  “Not really,” he replied. She could see the lie in his eyes even in the dim light of the hallway. He cared, she thought. The realization warmed her.

  She felt his hands on her waist and knew this was the moment she’d been waiting for since he’d walked into the bar so many weeks ago. This kiss was the culmination of many nights of flirting and talking and getting to know this man.

  “I think…” she started, but before she could finish, his mouth covered hers. He pulled her closer, pressing her hips against his, her breasts against his hard chest. Exactly what she wanted. He was so strong, so commanding, and his movements obliterated her nervousness. Tilting her head back, she deepened the kiss, needing more, fearful that he’d stop. Her hands crept up his arms, her fingers exploring the hard muscles there, curling around his shoulders.

  Janus must have felt the same thing because he deepened the kiss, unconsciously lifting her into his arms and pressing her back against the wall. That pressed his prominent arousal against her and Stevie automatically lifted her legs, wrapping them around his waist, kissing him as if her life depended on it. And it kind of did! She knew that if he stopped kissing her, she would burst into flames. The apartment manager would have to sweep up her ashes in the morning.

  So she didn’t pull back. Instead, her fingers slid into his short, dark hair, pulling him closer.

  “Stevie!” He groaned against her lips. She was frantic now. His tone sounded as if he might stop kissing her but, she knew that she’d die if he stopped!

  Her hands slid lower, her fingertips caressing the skin of his neck, his ears, then back into his hair, silently begging him not to stop. Just a little longer, she begged silently.

  He tore his mouth away from her lips, so Stevie moved to his neck, pressing a kiss there. Just a touch, she thought. But that touch wasn’t enough and her tongue snuck out. Surely, he wouldn’t notice if she tasted him? Would he? Her tongue darted out and he shifted, his erection grinding against her in the most erotic way.

  “Stevie!” he growled, his mind spinning with the need to bury himself in her body! But he’d promised her, just a kiss. “I have to go!”

  She pulled back, her hips still shifting against him and he felt as if he was going to explode.

  “Leave?” she asked, then closed her eyes as she shuddered with her imminent climax.

  “Stevie,” he snapped, holding her hips still. “If you’re going to do that, then we need to go into your apartment!”

  “Yes!” she sobbed, her head dropping to his shoulder, as if she no longer had the strength to hold her head up. “Inside!”

  She dropped her legs and turned toward the door. But as she shifted, her bottom rubbed against his throbbing erection. Closing his eyes, he vowed that he’d only…only give her pleasure! Then he’d get out of there and finish himself off when he was alone.

  “Now!” she whispered, grabbing his hand and tugging him inside. She literally slammed the door behind them and then slid her hands up his chest once again.

  “Stevie, we should slow….” She did that thing with her tongue against his neck, then nipped the same spot with her teeth. No woman had ever taken the time to kiss his neck, so he hadn’t been aware of how sensitive it could be. That teasing touch, plus her fingers skimming over his nipples drove him out of his mind with lust.

  He kissed her and, being true to his promise, he unzipped her slacks, his hand sliding lower and lower. The whole time, he kissed her as his fingers sought out those soft, wet folds and…she was so damn wet, he had to stop for a moment, fighting for control. Because every instinct in him wanted to unzip his own slacks, release his erection, and…!

  “No!” he growled, shaking his head and refocused on Stevie. He felt her stiffen, those gorgeous brown eyes looking up at him questioningly.

  “No?” she asked, starting to pull away.

  “I didn’t mean ‘no’ as in stop,” he told her, lowering his head to kiss her again. Her lips were soft, but she didn’t kiss him back immediately. His hand froze against her lower stomach, waiting for a sign that she wanted him to proceed. He got it a moment later, her head once again tilting back, kissing him with increasing fervor. Only then did he move his hand lower and lower until…he felt that swollen nub, sliding one finger, then two, into her heat. Moving his thumb back and forth, he kissed her deeply while his hand pressed into her, pressed against her.

  Almost too quickly, she shuddered, crying out softly as he felt her inner muscles tighten around his fingers. She stopped kissing him, her hands gripping his shoulders as her first climax washed over her.

  Janus watched, more turned on than he’d ever thought possible. Stevie was beautiful in the throes of passion. Beautiful and sensuous and startlingly erotic.

  “Wow!” she whispered as the waves of pleasure slowed. “Can we…?” she stopped, looking up at him. “Can we do that…together?” she whispered, her tongue darting out to wet her lips.

  “Hell yes!” he declared, but his hands moved to her hips, holding her still. “Not tonight though.”

  “Why not?” she demanded. Then she froze. “You have to go!” she gasped and pulled out of his arms. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…!”

  “Stevie, stop!” he pulled her back against him and kissing her. When he lifted his head, he could barely see straight. “I just think that you need more time before we have sex.”

  Stevie looked at him, stunned and touched. But she didn’t want to wait. “Janus, if that’s all that’s holding you back, I’m telling you that I don’t want you to leave. I’m clear headed and looking you straight in the eye. Please don’t leave unless you don’t want to do this.”

  He stared down at her and Stevie could almost feel the debate raging within him. But in the end, she won. He scooped her up into his arms. “Damn, Stevie. I didn’t mean for this to happen, but I can’t turn away from you. I never was able to stay away.”

  And with that, he carried her down the hallway to her bedroom, laying her on the bed as he stood up, stripping his clothes off.

  “Don’t move,” he told her when she reached to pull her clothes off as well. “I want to do that. And I want you touching me while I do.”

  When he was magnificently, proudly naked, she stared at him, her mouth falling open. He was…huge and glorious!

  And all hers! At least for tonight, she reminded herself as she started to sit up, wanting to explore every inch of him, to know and feel him under her fingers.

  “Don’t move!” he ordered, then reached out to pull her slacks
off. Since they were already unzipped, it was easy to tug them down over her hips and her legs. She was left with just her ugly black socks, which he peered down at and grinned.

  “Nice,” he teased.

  “Just…let me…”

  He laughed, his hand tightening on her ankle. “I get to do this, Stevie,” he insisted.

  She almost choked on her embarrassment, but she leaned back on her elbows, cringing at how ugly those black slacks looked against her pale skin.

  “Are you ticklish?” he asked, slipping a finger underneath the top of the sock that was now gathered around her ankle.

  “No!” she hissed, but it was too late. His finger slid against the bottom of her foot, but this didn’t tickle! Oh no, his touch sent a bolt of lust right up her leg, pooling in that spot that was throbbing with need.

  “Ah! You are!” He laughed, then did the same thing to the other foot, adding a kiss on the arch of her foot.

  Stevie was literally writhing, aching for him to stop fooling around and just… She glared at him. “You’re driving me crazy!” she yelled.

  He shook his head and climbed up onto the bed, hovering over her. “Yeah, me too.”

  With that, he spread her legs wide, settling against her as he whipped her white blouse up and over her head. He didn’t even bother with the buttons, and it was loose enough that it didn’t matter. Her bra was gone seconds after that and she sighed as his hand covered her breast, his thumb flicking against her taut nipple.

  “You’re larger here than I’d thought,” he commented, focused on her breast. Then his mouth lowered, covering that nipple and she groaned, her hips grinding against him, like she’d done earlier. “I have big hands,” he added conversationally. “And your breasts fill them perfectly. I like that.”

  She tried to smile, but his thumb moved over her nipple and she forgot how to breathe for a moment.

  He groaned, shaking his head again. “You can’t move like that if you want this to last!” he growled, then lowered his head to take one of her nipples in his mouth. She screamed, her fingers diving into his hair as she arched her back. Immediately, her legs lifted, encircling his waist as he pressed his hips against hers, feeling that hard part of him that was close, so damn close!