MoreThanWords (8 page)

She turned on her hands and knees to find Travis smiling at
her. Not the sexy I-want-to-eat-you-up smile from their hot and heavy make-out
session in the living room. More of a you’re-so-cute smile. Didn’t quite go
with the solid erection filling in his boxers. At least he still had that.

“What?”

“Just appreciating the view…of you…and your room.”

She glanced around, trying to see it through his eyes, then
groaned. White-and-purple striped wallpaper, fancy pillows, a zillion candles
and more than a few stuffed animals. More of a little girl’s bedroom than an
entrepreneurial woman who ran a sexy store. And then there was her. A quick
peek down and she groaned again. A sexpot she was not. Boobs flopping out the
top of her bra, skirt bunched around her waist.

“Not exactly an advertisement for a romance store, huh?”

“You look pretty perfect to me.”

It sounded good. Too good. The words came through lips
that’d kissed god knows how many women. Not that she blamed any of those women.
Heck, she was about to become one of them. And why not, look at him. From his
dark hair, soulful hazel eyes and sinful lips to his hard, cut body sporting
dark tattoos from wrists to collarbone—Travis was the poster boy for sexy. Add
his brain, charm and musician status into the mix and jumping into bed with him
was more automatic than breathing. He could say anything he wanted and get away
with it. But to tell
her
that she looked perfect or beautiful or
sexy…just knocked it home that he was here for one reason. And her personality
wasn’t it.

So what. One night with Travis would be better than anything
she’d ever done, regardless of his reasons for settling. No more analysis or
worrying, just fun. She could do fun for one night. Serious and steady would be
waiting for her in the morning, same as always.

“I grabbed protection from downstairs before you got
here—it’s on the dresser you slammed into.”

He didn’t give it a glance. “Don’t need it.”

“Uh, yeah, we do.” She sat up, tugged her skirt enough to
cover the basics and crossed her arms over her freewheeling boobs. “I’m not on
the Pill, obviously, since I haven’t had sex in…a while…and you’ve probably
been with, I don’t know…hundreds of women. Probably so many you’ve lost count.”

“I meant we don’t need it
yet
.” The bed shifted under
his weight as he sat, then propped on one arm alongside her. “I want to be with
you, Calli. You. Very much, as you felt for yourself. But I’d rather go back in
the living room and play a purely innocent game of Scrabble with you than do
anything we need a condom for. Not if you don’t want it and not while you’re
upset.”

No promises to make her feel good or guilt trips for getting
cold feet. Shame on her for sticking him in the jerk column because of his
looks and his profession. Now she’d killed the mood like a skunk under a Mac
truck. “I won’t make a dumb scene if you want to leave.”

“Did I say I want to leave?”

“No.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No.”

“Good,” he said, reaching up to tug a chunk of her dangling
hair.

If she was going for it, time to do it right—right now. She
backed off the bed, unhooked her bra and let it fall away. The skirt followed.
She wiggled it to the floor, leaving her wholly exposed to a man who’d probably
been with ten-out-of-tens on a regular basis. God, give her the strength not to
dive under the bed.

“You have an incredible body.”

“I’m sure you’ve seen—” She bit her tongue before
better
slipped out. “Thank you.” Anatomy didn’t lie, and Travis’ boxers still
contained evidence that she turned him on. Go figure. His eyes roamed her naked
body, heating her skin, drawing her nipples to taut peaks, making her slick
between the legs. She twined her fingers together and fidgeted. For all the
thousands of romantic books and movies she’d devoured, she didn’t have a clue
what to do next. What little sex she’d had fell into the
on-her-back-in-the-dark category. It had started fast and ended fast. None of
this drawn-out seduction stuff.

Travis shifted to a half-sit and reached for her hand.
“Sweetheart, we can save this for another day. Let’s go play some Scrabble—regular,
pedestrian rules.”

Oh no. If she let him walk out of her bedroom now, that’d be
it. She steeled herself with a deep breath and moved to the bed. With a light
shove, she pushed Travis to his back and straddled him. “I’m sick of going
backward.”

Chapter Six

“Forward it is. Or any other direction you like—upward,
downward, sideways…” Subtle movements accompanied his offer, all of them
bringing his jersey-covered erection in contact with her clit.

“I’m sorry for saying those bitchy things before.” Goose
bumps populated her skin en masse as his hands skated over her hips, up her
stomach, breasts and neck to her face. “I’m just nervous. I’ve never done
anything like…well, like any of this. But I want to.”

A smile ticked on his lips. “Picking up a guy online on your
bucket list, is it?”

“No—god no.”

“Having sex with a stranger?”

“I’m not that kind of girl,” she said, and he cocked an
eyebrow at her. “We’re not total strangers…otherwise I wouldn’t know about your
cat.”

“True.” His fingers worked their way back down, stopping at
her breasts. He cupped them, stroked them, circled his thumbs over her nipples.
“What else do you know that proves we’re not strangers?”

“I know your name. Your job.”

“Think so?”

“Travis Graham. Bassist for Black Box.” She’d Googled his
band after he and Caitlyn had left the store yesterday. Read his bio and ogled
his headshots. That didn’t count as honestly knowing him, of course, but it
gave her some ammo to win his little challenge. “You’ve played all over
Ontario, Québec, Michigan, Ohio and New York. You haven’t been signed to a
label yet, but you have a few original indie songs on iTunes.”

“Hot, naked Wikipedia—I like it, but you’re incorrect about
that being my job. Playing guitar doesn’t pay my rent.” He tweaked her nipples hard
enough to send a pain-pleasure streak straight to her core. Before she could
grind her needy body onto him, he rolled her to her back, holding himself out
of contact range. “Maybe it’s not sex with a stranger you want…it’s sex with a
guy from a band.”

The words were playful enough, but his voice had taken on an
edge. A shadow had fallen over his face, one that had nothing to do with the
low lighting in her dinky bedroom. Her heart raced as she stared up at him. All
the months she’d hidden in this apartment, protecting herself from any possible
danger…now she’d possibly invited it into her bedroom. Stripped naked for a man
she truly did not know. He could do a lot worse than her mugger had. She just
didn’t believe he would.

“It’s not the band thing or the stranger thing,” she
whispered. “It’s the way you use words. That’s what first turned me on about
you.” Her pulse pounded, so loud he had to hear it as he stared down at her.
“The fact that you’re also ridiculously hot is like—bonus points.”

The darkness receded, replaced by a smile that took her
breath away. “You’re saying I’m like the Q on a triple-letter square?”

“Better. The Q on a triple-letter square, played in both
directions, in a seven-letter word for a bingo.”

“That’s a hell of a lot of points.” His head lowered. Lips
connected with her shoulder and blazed a trail of kisses up her neck, along her
jaw to the dip below her mouth. “I’ll do my best to earn every one of them.”

Travis’ bottom lip brushed hers. Soft and slow, teasing.
Inviting her to open for him. She arched into him, sighing when he met her with
the length of his body. His tongue slid along the seam of her lips, then dipped
inside, torturing her with its delicious in and out motion. This is what the
hype was about. Why people steamed car windows or got caught in indecent
situations. A girl could lose all reason while being kissed like this, forget
that she was plain and boring. With Travis’ mouth on her, Calli was alive. A
sex goddess, ready and wanting everything he offered.

Hands in his hair, legs around his waist, she pulled him
down. He moved against her in a long, slow grind. Each pass deeper than the
last. He dragged his hard length up her slit, across her clit, pushing her
closer to the edge. Oh god, she wanted to come—wanted it so bad her clit
throbbed.

Travis pulled his lips away and a low moan escaped. Hers.
Low and brazen, it filled the room, and she sucked in a breath at the sound of
it.

“Oh god, I-I didn’t mean to be so…noisy. Kiss me again.”

“If I swallow any more of those sexy noises of yours, I’m
going to come before you do.” He thrust along her again, adding a swivel at the
top that took her closer to finishing.

She
was getting to
him
? Wow.

He rolled their bodies again, positioning her squarely on
top of his jersey-sheathed cock. He gripped her hips and urged her into a
circular grind as he tilted into her. Once she’d joined in the rhythm, his
hands moved to her breasts. “Stop fighting it and let me earn some of those
damn points.”

Blunted fingernails scraped her nipples. She shivered and
moaned, eliciting a ragged curse from Travis.

“Bite me…” Her request barely made it out as a whisper. He
groaned in reply, taking one diamond-hard nipple between his teeth.

“Oh god, that’s so…more, please, Travis…” Heat bloomed
beneath his mouth as he nipped and laved—one nipple, then the other. She
arched, her body making an S as she sought more pressure for both her nipples
and clit.

A growl rumbled against her skin. His hands shifted to her
ass, cupping her, opening her. Her breath hitched as his fingers slid inside,
fucking her needy channel. His five o’clock shadow abraded her breasts. His
breath caressed her skin, his deep voice a mixture of compliments and curses,
all demanding she come.
Now.

So she did. Louder, longer and rougher than she ever had,
before disintegrating on Travis’ hard, muscled chest. “Bingo.”

Laughter jostled her happily sated body. “Not yet,
sweetheart.” He kissed her forehead and slipped out from beneath her, grinning
ear-to-ear when she grumbled in protest.

Oh, the view as he walked to the dresser. Tattoos crossed
his upper back, barely a break to be seen between his shoulders and the dark,
thick ink work. Vines, creatures, wings? Hard to tell without a close-up
investigation, but stunning nonetheless. So were his wide lats. And his ass.
Especially after he shoved the boxer briefs down. Holy mother. Buns like that
should be on display for women everywhere to admire. How was it even fair for a
guy to have such a perfect behind?

Travis looked over his shoulder while tearing into the
cardboard box. “What’s with the sigh—you’re not getting sleepy over there, are
you?”

“Like you said before, I’m just appreciating the v—” She
choked on her tongue as he turned. It’d felt big in her hand, but looking
directly at it… Dear god, he intended to fuck her with that thing? “Wow,
that’s…impressive.”

“Not really, you grabbed a box of the padded condoms.”

She laughed, but still tried to scurry up to the headboard
when he crawled onto the bed. “There’s no such thing, I ought to know. We sell
a ton of condoms in the store, and I’d sell five times as many if there was a
padded variety, believe me.” She wiggled her feet in mock-kicking as the
beast—and his beast—stalked toward her.

His hand closed around one ankle, then the other, and
dragged her closer. Her knees brushed his sides. His palms skimmed her legs,
belly, upward, to her breasts—that small stretch bringing the tip of his
sheathed cock to her entrance. Every cell in her body vibrated. Every nerve
ending hummed in anticipation—and a small measure of fear.

“I-I’m not sure you’ll, you know…fit.”

“Sweetheart, I’m flattered, but I’m not that big. Average.
Maybe a bit above.”

“Uh, think again. You put even my biggest dildo to shame.”
Blood rushed to her cheeks. “In my inventory, I mean. The store’s inventory,
not mine personally.” Oh shit, this was getting worse with every word.

“You’re so damn cute.”

“Just what I wanted to hear while I’m naked in front of
you.”

“Nothing wrong with cute. Cute works for you.”

“I’d rather be sexy. Why can’t sexy work for me?” Like it
did for her sister. Or the majority of women who shopped in her store.

Travis lowered his body until it subtly touched hers in
every possible place. His lips moved against her skin as he spoke, starting
below her ear and moving slowly downward. “It does. Your cuteness is part of
what makes you sexy. Your sense of humor too—very sexy. And when I saw you for
the first time, all buttoned up like a school teacher on top, but with these
incredible legs that belong on a dancer… I had to stand by your counter so you
wouldn’t see just how sexy I found you.” He punctuated the last statement with
a kiss high on her inner thigh.

“Okay, I believe you,” she said while sucking in a breath.
Limited
was too generous a description for her experience in the oral sex department.
None of what she’d received had been memorable. Sloppy and fast, zero finesse.
Travis’ mouth was still inches away and she was already halfway to coming.

“I don’t think you do.” His tongue traced the length of her
slit. “I think I need to prove it to you.” He added light pressure at the top,
enough to bring her hips off the bed. His tongue slid back down again, dipping
inside for a little extra torture. “You’re a very sexy woman, Calli. I’m going
crazy from wanting you.”

His warm breath tickled her wet, sensitive skin. Beyond the
words, his desire was there, woven into her name as it rolled off his talented
tongue in a voice now tinged with a raspy edge. She did believe him. She wanted
him to know that.

“Travis…” She opened her eyes to find his waiting, locked on
her face while he continued his sensual ministrations below her mound. Oh dear
god, those eyes. The bob of his head as he continued his magic. “You make me
feel sexy.” Crinkles set in at the corners of his eyes and he hummed against
her clit, making her moan.

He curled his fingers into the flesh of her hips, holding
her where he wanted her—tight to his mouth. The slow teasing ended as he drove
his tongue at her sweet spot. Her thighs shook. Her nipples tightened and heat
spread through her belly, becoming a white-hot fuse to her clit. She dug her
heels into the bed, grabbed Travis’ head and let go.

“Say it again,” he said as he climbed over her, one knee
draped over the crook of his arm.

“You make me feel sexy.”

“I’m glad, but I meant my name. Say my name.”

“Travis.” His mouth crashed against hers. She tasted herself
on his tongue, his lips, only it was different from the times she masturbated.
Spicier, more intense. Because of him and the mind-blowing climaxes he’d coaxed
from her body. The taste—
her
taste
—sent a fresh ripple of arousal
through her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him lower, forcing
him to kiss her harder.

His back was firm and taut. She flattened her palms,
exploring the muscles, the bumps of his spine, the divot at the base. Closer,
she needed him closer.

“Travis, fuck me,” she said between clashes of teeth and
lips and tongues. He groaned into her mouth. Thrust into her body. God, he was
huge.

“You okay?” He’d stilled at her sucked-in breath, only
partway buried. Under her palms, his ass clenched and shook—evidence of the
effort it took to hold back.

“I’m good. Perfect. Don’t stop.”

He slid deeper. Slowly, rolling his hips, retreating and
advancing. “You feel so good. So fucking good.”

“So do you.” The way he filled her, so completely. Each
stroke brought his cock deeper inside her body, and right or wrong, closer to
her heart. This was fucking, pure and glorious. But more, at least to her.

Travis caught her arms and brought them above her head. He
pinned them with one hand while kissing her. Softly, erotically. Making love to
her mouth while he moved inside her, over and over, bumping her clit with each
pass.

“I want you to come.” He breathed the words across her lips.
“I want to feel you squeeze my cock while you come this time.”

“I-I don’t know how.” The words were so pathetic. And true.
Worse—the choked-up sound in her throat.

“I’ll help you.” He guided one of
her
hands between
their bodies, chuckling when her eyes popped wide open. “You touch yourself,
right, sweetheart? I know you do—you were doing it while we were online
earlier.”

“Yes, but—”

“No buts. That’s for another time.” Another wicked smile as
he coaxed her hand to make circles over her clit. “Show me how you touch
yourself, how you make yourself come.”

Could she? Her body said yes. Travis’ fingers twined with
hers, following her lead. She tightened the circle. Increased the pressure and
speed. The familiar thrum built inside her. Travis drove his cock into her,
matching her pace. She rubbed harder, faster. His hand stayed with hers, the
press of his fingers adding to the frenzied climb, as if she were on an
orgasm-coaster, clicking toward the summit.

And the thrilling descent.

“Oh, oh god…” She clung to him as her climax took over. Clawed
at him with her left hand, pulling him deeper. Having a man inside her, filling
every inch as her muscles contracted in pleasure was—

“Fuck, Calli, you’re so fucking sexy, goddamn it, I have to
come…” He groaned and pounded into her one more time, pushing both their bodies
closer to the headboard.

She wrapped her legs around him. His cock pulsed inside her.
Heavy breathing filled her head as he collapsed with his mouth near her ear,
the tickle of his lips lightly brushing her skin making her shiver.

“Cold?”

“Perfectly the opposite.” She extricated her hand from
between them. Wet from their skin, from the heat they’d created. She threaded
both hands through his thick, damp hair. “I never thought sweat could be sexy.”

He shifted to his elbows, cupping her jaw and brushing his
thumbs over her face. “I never thought going on that cheesy website would lead
me to somebody like you.”

“Like me?”

“Beautiful, hot, intriguing as hell.” His lips skimmed hers
for a sensual kiss. “Real. In every way.”