Sexy Beast Read online

  His hands were so big. How come I’d never noticed that before? And how come I’d never noticed just how hot he was either?

  I looked up and had to tilt my head back just to meet his gaze; the butterflies in my stomach fluttered harder. My breathing had gone AWOL and the atmosphere was suddenly crackling with a weird sort of electricity that seemed to be solely generated by Everett’s intense blue stare.

  The way he looked at me, like I was the sole interesting thing in the universe, was...disturbing. And the way he loomed over me was disturbing as well, because it was making me feel...small. His big hands made me feel almost...dainty.

  He was so very, very male and for the first time in my entire existence I felt very, very female.

  I didn’t like it. I’d come to terms with my height and my build. To the subtle slights my aunt sent my way about how I was a ‘big girl’ and that I had to be careful with overly feminine dresses because they would look strange on a ‘woman of your size’.

  She meant well. She wasn’t being deliberately cruel. But I wasn’t like her or her three daughters, my cousins. I wasn’t small and slender. I didn’t like dolls or tea parties as a kid, and I didn’t like shopping as a teenager. I preferred hanging out with my uncle as he worked on his old Chevy, where there was no pressure to act or look a certain way. Where I wasn’t being picked at or told to be more like my cousins. Where all I had to do was hand him a wrench now and then.

  So yeah, I didn’t want to be frilly and feminine. And I didn’t want to feel small and dainty, or any of the other female kinds of things I hadn’t measured up to. Especially not when I was supposed to be trying to settle Operation Orgasm.

  So what are you going to do? Push him away?

  I couldn’t do that, not now I’d asked him to help me out. And anyway, he was still my best chance. Zero percent failure rate, right?

  So I tried not to think about his hands on my hips or his granite chest in front of me. Or how much he was towering over me right now. Instead, I went for my usual response: a joke.

  ‘Whoa there, tiger,’ I said breathlessly, pushing at his chest a little. ‘Give a girl some air.’

  He didn’t move. Not even an inch. ‘Am I making you nervous?’

  His voice was a dark, deep rumble, his blue eyes glittering with sparks of green, and I had the sudden sense that maybe I’d bitten off more than I could chew.

  But that was crazy. This was Everett. My best friend Everett. And yes, I’d been lusting after him since I was a teenager, but I wasn’t a teenager anymore. I’d been with plenty of guys and pretty much they were all the same. They were either intimidated by me and tried to make up for it by being extra aggressive and douchey, or they wanted me to make all the decisions for them. Or, in the case of my last date, they started off confident and then, when I failed to get into it, they blamed me for not being sexy enough.

  Everett wasn’t like any of them, it was true, but would he really be that different?

  I was afraid I already knew the answer. And I was afraid because if he was different this would make everything so much more pressured. What if he couldn’t do it? Or, even worse, what if I couldn’t?

  And what if he could?

  One warm hand gripped my chin, forcing my head back, and I found myself looking into his eyes. ‘Answer the question.’ There was a steely note in his voice, one I’d never heard him use with me before.

  ‘W-What question?’ I asked, stammering for no good reason other than the heat of his fingertips on my skin was making every thought in my head fray and shred like wet paper.

  ‘Do I make you nervous?’

  ‘No, of course not.’ My response was automatic and also a complete lie, because yes, he was making me nervous. He was making me very nervous indeed. ‘I mean, come on, E. You’re you. I’ve known you since you were ten years old and you’d cry when you missed a hoop—’

  Unexpectedly, his thumb pressed down over my mouth, shutting me up.

  I blinked, momentarily stunned silent.

  ‘You talk a lot when you’re nervous,’ he said. ‘You turn everything into a big joke, because that’s easier than being afraid, right? So what are you afraid of, Little? Tell me.’

  Afraid? Ha! As if. At least not of him. But I didn’t want to tell him all about the stuff I was afraid of. Such as how I was worried that there was truly something wrong with me. That the reason I couldn’t come had something to do with a defect in me. Because I was supposed to be fine with myself the way I was. I was supposed not to care.

  So, in lieu of answering, I opened my mouth and bit his thumb instead.

  At least, I tried to. Because the second I was about to bite down, he murmured, ‘Uh-uh. Little girls who bite don’t get what they want.’

  It was honestly so stupid that I should have laughed. Little girls who bite? Come on. Yet I’d never felt less like laughing in my entire life.

  I was very conscious that the tip of his thumb was in my mouth and that he tasted salty, the flavour of his skin on my tongue making me both hungry and thirsty for something I didn’t know how to ask for.

  ‘Good girl,’ he said, when it became obvious to both him and me that I wasn’t going to bite down. He removed his thumb. ‘Now, answer the question. What are you nervous about?’ There was no doubt he expected to be obeyed. No doubt at all.

  And instead of laughing, of telling him what a dick he was being, I heard myself say, ‘That I can’t do this.’

  He didn’t laugh. He didn’t even smile. He only frowned slightly. ‘Why would you think that?’

  I didn’t want to go any deeper into all the insecurities I’d thought I’d shrugged off over the years, that were all apparently still there, so all I said was, ‘We’re in a hallway and there are people around. And it’s not even like I can get naked or anything.’ I let out a breath, suddenly miserable. ‘It’s not going to work.’

  Everett arched one blond brow, as if he’d never heard anything so stupid in all his life. ‘First, you’re assuming you have to get naked to come. And second, you’re assuming that I don’t know what I’m doing. And I do.’

  Man, he could be arrogant sometimes.

  ‘Oh, yeah?’ I didn’t hide my scepticism, because this was all starting to feel a little ridiculous. ‘How?’

  He tapped me lightly on the forehead. ‘You use this.’

  I scowled. ‘Hate to break it to you, E, but my clit is not in my forehead.’

  Ignoring my joke, he only gave me the most intense, stern look, that made me want to squirm. Then, very lightly, he trailed his finger from my forehead down the centre of my nose to the tip, and then further down, pressing gently in the dip at the top of my lip, before brushing over the curve of my bottom lip, a brief touch on my chin, and then away.

  I froze, my heartbeat roaring in my ears like it did after a particularly hard workout at the gym.

  It felt like he’d drawn a stripe of fire right down the centre of my face. Like he’d picked up one of the arc welders I had in my garage and turned it on my skin, searing me. My skin burned, my mouth incredibly sensitive.

  What the hell had he done? With a single touch. Other guys had touched me before, but it had never felt like that. As if I’d been burned. It was almost too much, too intense. Like if he kept going, kept touching me, I’d break apart or collapse in a puddle of liquid metal at his feet.

  ‘Oh, yeah,’ he said, nothing but utter certainty in his eyes. ‘This is going to work.’

  I swallowed, weirdly unable to look at him. Sure, I’d always had the hots for Everett Calhoun, but I hadn’t expected to respond this strongly to him and I didn’t understand it.

  It made me want to shove him away and go back to the hotel, and then maybe get the next plane out. Run straight back to Texas and retreat into my garage, hide under the Maserati someone had brought in last week, lose myself in fiddling with engines.
They, at least, were simple.

  I couldn’t do that, though. I might have opened a can of worms with this dumb orgasm idea, but closing it now was pointless. Especially since all the worms had escaped.

  ‘What was that for?’ My voice had gone oddly husky.

  Fascinating sparks of green glittered in his blue eyes. ‘Reconnaissance.’

  I reached for another joke, trying to put some distance between me and my weird reactions. ‘Well, you know, I’ve been calling this Operation Orgasm in my head so I guess reconnaissance works. I’m kind of on a mission, right?’ I tried to grin. ‘You gotta plan strategy and tactics, that kind of stuff.’

  ‘Uh-huh,’ Everett said.

  A silence fell, yet all I could hear was my voice echoing around the hallway, saying stupid things and trying to be funny. Trying to cover the fact that I was deeply unsure, and failing. And Everett only stood there, an implacable wall in front of me, staring at me, the tension around us getting more intense and electric.

  I flushed and tried not to squirm under the pressure of that stare, my head filling up with all kinds of stuff I should say to make the moment less intense. To make myself feel less embarrassed and exposed. To make myself feel less vulnerable. Which was odd when I’d never felt this way around him before.

  But my mouth wouldn’t work. He was so...big. His hands had come to rest on my hips again, and they were so hot. And I could smell the familiar scent of his aftershave, fresh and outdoorsy, like a forest on the edge of the sea. I’d always liked the way he smelled. It was sexy and familiar, and it made me feel good.

  Except, the kind of good it was making me feel now was almost overwhelming. My heart was beating even faster, a heavy feeling between my thighs.

  You’re getting hot for him. Way too hot.

  Yeah and getting way too hot for him had never been part of the plan.

  ‘Dude, looking at me isn’t going to get this orgasm show on the road.’ I tried to sound casual and not at all like I was on the verge of a panic attack. ‘You have to actually do something.’

  His stern gaze didn’t even flicker. ‘You’re talking too much again. Which is a good sign. Because if you weren’t nervous, I’d be worried.’

  ‘Yeah, I don’t think nervousness is a good thing when it comes to coming, if you know what I mean.’ I pushed playfully at his chest. ‘Come on, you’re crowding me here.’

  He didn’t move.

  ‘E.’ I pushed at him again, but it was like trying to move a mountain. A huge, hot mountain. ‘Dude, seriously. I need some air.’

  Again, he didn’t move, that intense stare burning right through me. ‘No, you don’t.’

  ‘Yes, I do. There’s—’

  ‘Plenty of air. You only feel like there isn’t because you’re breathing very fast.’

  ‘Yeah, because you’re standing right there and I don’t like—’

  ‘You do like it.’ He cut me off, his gaze on mine like a searchlight, shining into all the dark corners of my mind that I never went to. ‘You’re turned on by it. And you don’t want to be turned on, do you?’

  ‘Wow, who knew there’d be this much talking?’ I tried for yet another joke, desperately uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation. ‘Geez, E. Can’t you just go for my clit like a normal man?’

  He completely ignored me. ‘You’re fighting it. Why?’

  ‘I’m not.’

  ‘You are.’ He shifted and my entire attention was caught by the way his big body moved, the pull of his tux across his shoulders, the stretch of the cotton over his muscular chest. ‘Why don’t you want to be turned on, Little? Is it me? Is it the situation? What?’

  I glanced away. The intensity of his gaze was too much, so I tried concentrating on a spot just over one of his powerful shoulders. ‘I told you, I’m a challenge.’

  He shifted again and then one of those big, hot hands slid down between my thighs, coming to rest directly over my pussy through my dress.

  I went utterly still, shocked. Not so much at how he was touching me, but at my own intense reaction. I stared at him, trembling. Hard.

  His thumb moved, exerting a slight pressure on my clit.

  ‘Holy shit,’ I choked out, the words coming out of me before I could stop them. Because I had no idea what the hell was happening. I was hot, burning up, all the heat concentrated where his hand was, where his thumb was, and on the pressure that was way too much and yet not enough.

  ‘A challenge?’ Everett murmured, his blue gaze gone turquoise as it searched my face. ‘No, Little. Far from it. You’re seconds from coming already.’

  ‘I’m not.’ The denial was automatic, because it couldn’t be true. It normally took ages for me to feel good with a guy and I’d usually turn my attentions on him, since that was easier. Sometimes, I could get myself to at least enjoying the proceedings, but I’d never, never got to trembling point at one touch, not like this.

  ‘Yeah, you are.’ Everett’s gaze was like a laser and I knew he could see my shock, my disbelief. ‘And you thought you were a tough nut to crack, hmm? Too easy, Little. Too easy. So, I’m going to make it harder.’ His focus intensified, making it harder to breathe, my pulse getting faster and faster. ‘You’re not allowed to come, okay?’

  I couldn’t move and I couldn’t look away. It was like his stare was a tractor beam, holding me completely immobile. ‘B-But,’ I stuttered, my voice thick and hoarse. ‘Isn’t that the whole point?’

  ‘Don’t argue. Just do as you’re told.’

  ‘E—’ I broke off, gasping as his thumb shifted minutely between my thighs, the slight pressure on my clit sending the purest, most exquisite bolt of pleasure radiating through my entire body.

  ‘Don’t come.’ He virtually growled the order out, shifting again, moving closer so he was almost pressing against me, surrounding me with his heat. ‘If you do, I’ll be very disappointed.’

  I barely heard him, too shocked at how my body was reacting and so turned on I could hardly speak. Because he was right. I was seconds away from coming right here in the hallway. All he’d have to do was move his thumb again, and that would be it. I’d be gone.

  How was this happening? What was it that was making me feel this way?

  Not what. Who.

  I stared up at him, unable to do anything else, looking into his fierce blue-green eyes. It was him, wasn’t it? It was him, Everett, making me feel this way. With his height and his power. With that stern Viking stare. With the weird electricity that was crackling between us.

  I’d always known I was attracted to him. I’d just never guessed that he would have this effect on me. And if I had...

  You would never have come to him for help.

  The thought arrowed through me at the same time as voices echoed down the hallway as a group of people came out of the gallery.

  I tensed, but Everett didn’t move and neither did that maddening hand between my thighs. ‘E...’ I said shakily. ‘There are people coming.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘But I—’

  ‘Eyes on me, Little.’ He moved even closer as the voices got nearer, not looking away from me, shielding me with his body. And then his thumb moved again, a light touch, sending another bolt of pleasure pulsing along every nerve ending I had.

  I bit down on the desperate sound that threatened to break free, trembling harder, going hot, then cold, then breaking out into a sweat. There was a thudding ache between my thighs and a tension coiling right down low inside me.

  The group of people was moving past us, but I barely paid attention. The entire world was made up of Everett’s blue eyes looking down into mine, the heat of his body radiating into me, and his hand pressing lightly between my thighs, driving me half out of my mind by doing nothing more than just resting there.

  ‘E...’ I whispered, not even sure what I was asking for. �
��E, please.’

  ‘What do you want?’ His thumb moved again, and I shuddered helplessly against the wall. ‘Because if it’s to come, then I’m sorry but the answer is no.’

  ‘But I...’ I was panting and I must have lifted my hands to his chest at some point because my fingers had curled into the white cotton of his shirt, holding on as if I was about to fall down.

  ‘No,’ he repeated, iron in his deep voice, a hard glint in his eyes. ‘Don’t you dare make this easy for me.’ And then the bastard moved his thumb once more.

  I shuddered, white-hot pleasure almost blinding me. This was insane. I’d spent years trying to get off with guys and now, here I was, in a hallway with my best friend’s hand between my thighs and all I could think about was not coming. Because I wanted to do what he said. I wanted to please him.

  ‘S-Stop touching me then,’ I stammered.

  The green in his eyes glittered like sparks of emerald in a churning blue sea. ‘Try harder.’

  But his thumb was pressing down and the pleasure was building, and it becoming impossible to resist. Telling me not to come was like telling a starving woman not to fall face first into a chocolate cake.

  I couldn’t drag my gaze away from his, couldn’t stop myself from moving restlessly against the wall, every part of me wanting to press against him, relieve the relentless ache that was building higher and higher. ‘I... I...’ I began.

  Everett leaned in, his mouth near my ear, his breath warm on my sensitive skin. ‘Naughty, Little. You can’t stop yourself, can you?’ Then he pressed his thumb down firmly on my clit.

  A lightning bolt of pure sensation hit me, sizzling down through my head, along my spine and out through my feet, and my mouth opened, a scream of raw ecstasy trying to escape as the climax hit me, ripping me apart.

  But Everett turned and put his lips on mine, capturing my scream, silencing it. And his arms came around me, holding me as I burned to the ground where I stood.

  CHAPTER FOUR