“What does that mean?” Vandy asked.

  “You’ll have to find out if you’re up for an adventure,” Royce said, giving her a seductive grin at last.

  That decided her. “I’m in.”

  He reached around her hip, pulled her phone out of her pocket, activated the camera, and took a picture of himself. “Send that to your friends.”

  “They need that?”

  “Don’t want your friends to worry when you leave with me.”

  “I thought I was being adventurous?”

  “No reason to be dumb. My brother’s a cop.” He brought his lips close to hers. “And I promise any DNA will be willingly given.”

  She opened her mouth and thought better of it. He confused her with his combination of hot and cold, danger and caution. He acted like he wanted her to come with him, but didn’t.

  Screw it. It was her birthday. She stood on her tip toes and kissed him.

  Those hard tattooed arms enclosed her with an unyielding grip as he kissed her back. He tasted like sake. Sweet, heady, and boiling. She wanted to climb onto his body, grip him with everything she had.

  When she pulled away, she could hear cheers from his friends. Vandy, feeling bold, said, “Fuck them. It’s my birthday, and adventure can be my present this week.”

  She couldn’t quite read his expression, but he definitely looked hungry. He took the keys, and she followed him out. Anna and Tara gave her very enthusiastic thumbs ups before chatting up his firefighter friends.

  When they got in the truck, Vandy wasn’t sure how to feel. She may have just agreed to a one-night stand. “Where are we going?”

  “On an adventure. Not to the red room of pain.” He put the truck in gear.

  “Red room of pain?”

  “You know… Fifty Shades of Gray. The movie. It was a book first,” he pointed out, “and fanfic before that.”

  “I didn’t read it. I heard it sucked,” Vandy said, trying and failing to sound more edgy.

  “That’s the point. Hide it under another book cover. Pretend you were reading something intellectual. What do you do for fun?”

  “Study. Chat with my friends. I’m doing an internship in an accounting firm this summer, so I work events with them.”

  “That’s a lot of things you do for other people. What do you do for you?”

  “I exercise. I swim. We have a really nice pool at the college and the firm has a gym. Hey, don’t judge me. What do you do for fun other than firefighting and sake tasting?”

  “I taught myself to play the ukulele. And I sing with it. I think I want oboe lessons even though I can sing while playing it.”

  “You want to play the oboe? I played that in middle school band. Back when I had braces and a perm. And I can’t believe I said that out loud.” Vandy covered her mouth as if her crooked teeth and fried hair could come back.

  He laughed, “Why?”

  “Because I’m driving to parts unknown with a hot guy on an adventure, and I told him about my crossbite and Cheetah Girls phase. “

  “If I didn’t want you to talk, I wouldn’t be talking to you. And you don’t seem like a badge bunny.”

  “What’s a badge bunny?”

  “You don’t need to worry about it. You’re not a badge bunny.”

  “Tell me or I’ll Google it.” She waved her phone with mock threat.

  “Badge bunnies are people who have sex with firefighters because they’re firefighters. They’ll sleep with any firefighter they can find. They’re not particular.”

  A completely ridiculous wave of jealousy swept over her. “You know badge bunnies?”

  “I can’t say I ‘know’ the badge bunnies, but I’ve seen them.”

  “‘Seen them’ or slept with them?” Vandy’s nerves were on edge now. She’d known Royce for at best an hour, and she was irrationally angry about anyone he’d been with before.

  Irrational didn’t even describe it. Crazy. Insane. Pathologically jealous for no stupid reason.

  “I don’t sleep with badge bunnies.” His answer came short and clipped.

  “Then why did your firefighting buddies say… and why are you with me?” Her emotions went on full spin cycle. Jealous, needy, horny. He liked her enough to leave with her, but the way his guy friends acted…

  “My friends have big mouths and think a dick in any chick equates happiness. It doesn’t.” He parked with unnecessary force in an empty parking lot. “I just didn’t want my job to be the thing that made you interested. We’re here.”

  “Where is here? And does this mean we aren’t going to—” Her black hair had to be redder than his.

  “Open the glove compartment and take out what you find there.” Royce took a blanket out from behind his seat.

  She obeyed and a wide array of condoms fell into her lap. “So ‘yes’ on the sex thing?”

  “We’re having an adventure.” He dropped his suit jacket on the driver’s seat before opening her door. He offered her his hand.

  She considered it.

  Royce waited. “I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to.” He scrunched up his face and dropped his voice. “Come with me if you want to live.”

  “Are we going somewhere dangerous?”

  “It’s from Terminator. I guess you haven’t seen it. We’re at Edgewood Park Beach.”

  That decided her. She took his hand and made sure to lean into him. Her breasts pressed into his solid chest, and she felt that weird electric shock of her nipples hardening. She let her legs straddle one of his.

  He closed the door and pressed her against the truck, letting the hard planes of his muscles push back. Royce’s face was inches from hers, and she could actually feel his heartbeat increase against her breasts. His hand cupped her butt and lifted her up against a bulge down by his crotch.

  “What are we doing here?” she whispered, the cool night air refusing to enter her lungs.

  He gave her a wide grin full of wicked temptation. “We’re going skinny dipping.”

  Chapter 2

  This was not how Royce Murphy had planned his night. He’d planned to go out with his friends from Firehouse 19, get quietly drunk, and then go home to revel in his aloneness with his cat.

  He had not expected to be sober with a plan to get a hot girl naked.

  Vandy had seemed so disappointed about not getting to order a drink that he’d helped her out. And within the first couple minutes, he had discerned a few informative tidbits.

  She was inexperienced and somewhat naïve, whereas he had become so jaded he was almost unrecognizable from who he’d been at her age. They had nothing in common since she was an accounting student at a top university, and he hadn’t even taken a single college class.

  And his body gave exactly zero fucks about that because it wanted her naked and beneath him.

  “I’m really not a virgin. Really. I really like sex,” she said, following him across the soft sand. He’d have believed her more if she hadn’t said it with all the enthusiasm of someone getting their tooth pulled.

  “Then your first skinny-dipping shouldn’t be a problem.” Royce spread the blanket out near the water and set the condoms on it. He started rolling up his shirt and was gratified to hear her quick intake of breath. The past six months of running and weightlifting had paid off in a six-pack.

  He’d stripped down to his boxers when she said, “You’re serious about skinny dipping.”

  “I’m going skinny-dipping, with or without you.”

  “We won’t get arrested. Will we?” she asked.

  “I can’t promise anything, but public nudity is more of a problem when the beach is crowded.” He indicated the deserted beach.

  “Oh.” Her hands went to the zip on her tiny excuse for a skirt. She had it partway down, revealing the edge of a thong, before she repeated, “We won’t be arrested?”

  “It’s a risk you’ll have to take.” Vandy’s expression was so tense he took pity on her. “The police usually have bigger problems. I worked in the hypothermia tent during February’s Polar Plunge. They didn’t arrest the people who ran into the lake naked.”

  With that reassurance, her skirt and top came off in rapid succession. The bright pink bits of lace pretending to be a bra did very little to hide her excitement. She might not have been aware, but her nipples were hard points. They’d been just like that while they were dancing, and only her nervousness kept him from pursuing anything beyond a phone number.

  For him, it was a big step.

  However, his dick responded in the most appropriate fashion.

  “Are you a virgin?” she asked just as he hooked his thumbs on his waistband. Her gaze was drawn to his hard-on slowly emerging from its prison.

  He smirked when her eyes grew to the size of saucers as he casually stepped out of his boxers. “Definitely not.”

  She bit her lip and unclasped her bra. Now he was the one staring at her dark skin and even darker nipples. His dick twitched again because it knew what it wanted. This past year had left it more than lonely.

  Royce’s recent policy of keeping his distance from women typically prevented this kind of encounter. While he hadn’t been actively searching for this, if she was offering, he’d be taking. The long-denied beast inside of him growled with salivating hunger.

  “What did they mean about popping your cherry?” She took a tentative step or two forward. He didn’t move, allowing her to approach him. With a few more steps, she was trembling slightly and resting her smooth belly against the tip of his cock.

  That felt way too good on the sensitive tip. His blood roared in his ears. She made it worse because she placed her hands on his length and began to stroke.

  Fuck, that felt too good. “Because I was a one-woman man. Engaged,” he admitted. Though right now he couldn’t even bring up his ex’s face. Vandy’s hot hands were blanking every memory.

  Then she dropped to her knees and took him in her mouth.

  His hands were already in her long black hair, guiding her. She made up for her inexperience with enthusiasm. “Holy fuck, Vandy. Focus on the tip.”

  Perhaps she was a little bit less innocent than he thought because she complied without hesitation. Or she learned fast, because she didn’t hesitate to follow his lead when he showed her how to pull and stroke his sac.

  He was going to cum in her mouth if she didn’t stop soon. He gave her one strangled warning. “Spit, swallow, or pearl necklace?”

  “Pearl necklace?” She sat back on her heels, her hand working the shaft.

  “In your mouth or on your chest.” Royce hoped his words didn’t come out as a growl.

  “Oh,” she tilted her head up to stare into his eyes and pointed his cock at her breasts.

  That was enough because he came with a loud groan, emptying himself. His white seed sprayed across her pert tits, his heart pounding wildly.

  He opened his eyes, which he hadn’t remembered closing. She was examining the white resting on the upper slopes, and she swiped a finger in it… and put it in her mouth.

  “Huh, I’ve never done that before.” She smiled with what he imagined to be a dizzying dose of feminine power. “I think I like it.”

  Royce gave her a hand up, bringing her to her feet. “Which part?”

  “I’ve never finished a guy like that. Usually we’d mess around, maybe I’d do a little down there, and then we’d…”

  “Screw?” He went with a gentler version of the preferred word.

  “Pretty much. It was always disappointing… I thought it had to be me. And now…” She averted her eyes, instead looking at the pale beads clinging to her bare breasts.

  “Now you feel horny as fuck and wish you could do something about it?”

  “Yes,” she squeaked.

  He captured her mouth with his, inhaling her novel taste. She answered by writhing her body against his, bouncing up and down on his thigh. He could already tell how wet she was.

  Wet and about to get wetter.

  “Take those off. Time to wash up.” He helped her out of her thong, and she unhesitatingly followed him into the warm July water.

  Fortunately, she hadn’t exaggerated her ability to swim because it made it easier to ‘wash’ her off. He swiped her breasts clean before sucking each tip into his mouth. Vandy purred and moaned and pulled on his hair. He brought her higher and higher, pushing her pleasure points.

  She arched backward, giving his hand access to the black curls covering her folds. He kept suckling as he got one finger between her legs. She was hot and tight, stoking his lust.

  And even better, she was very responsive.

  So responsive. No faking, no posturing, no pretending. Completely unrestrained, because she had no clue how good it could be when done right.

  Sure, he didn’t know her, and she didn’t know him, but he’d promised adventure, and she’d given him her trust.

  And he’d prove himself worthy, even if it was only for tonight.

  When his fingers found her clit, he grinned at the sound of her hiss. She mumbled something; it sounded like begging for more, so he didn’t stop. He felt her tense, and this time he pulled back long enough to watch pleasure rush over her.

  Magnificent. He had a beautiful naked woman in his arms on a moonlit night coming down from one hell of an orgasm.

  Then she went limp, and he dove to catch her before she went under the water.

  “You okay?” He pulled her fully against him.

  She draped her head on his shoulder. “It’s another first. I’ve never done that without batteries.”

  “Did I outperform your vibrator?”

  “Way ahead.” She peeked down, noticing his cock stir from its position trapped between their bodies. “But I need more.”

  He sucked on her lip for a second. “Why? You just came.”

  “Because I know there’s more. And if you can do that to me, I want everything.”

  “You want me inside.” He shifted her hips to let the head of his cock tease her opening. “You want me to show you how good it can be, birthday girl. So greedy.”

  He squeezed one of her nipples, twisting it slightly, making her moan. “Please, Royce.”

  As if a man could ever resist that. He carried her back to the blanket and laid her down on her back. “I’m definitely not done cleaning you up. And once I get you clean, I’ll get you all dirty again.”

  He didn’t give her time to think because he put on a condom and got between her legs.

  Not the way she expected, because he put his head between her legs and said, “Lay back.”

  He licked her from top to bottom, listening to her purrs and whimpers. Vandy was a huge fan of the way he twisted his tongue inside her slit and then back up to her clit. He was never going to get her clean because, as planned, she got wetter and hotter with every motion. She kept thrashing so he gripped her legs to keep her wide open to his mouth. She went rigid in a wordless scream, right on the cusp of a second orgasm.

  “You ready, birthday girl? Your hole is dripping wet and empty. Tell me what you need.” Royce accompanied his words with more attention to her slick bud.

  “Royce, I need you. Inside me. Please.”

  “Like this?” He scooted up and slid the first inch inside her grasping channel. It strained his control, but he’d had plenty of practice lately.

  She shook and raked him with her short sensible nails. “Stop fucking with me, Royce!”

  He shoved home, letting her take his full length, which was by no means small. Her eyes crossed for half a second as she adjusted to his invasion. Royce gripped her knees, widening them to drive deeper, and dropped his mouth to hers. She met his kiss with a desperation of her own, moving with him instinctively, matching his rhythm in a way she hadn’t on the dance floor.

  There wasn’t much room for thought when it went to all sensation. Her heat, the close fit of her channel, the taste of her lips and skin. Though his control frayed, he needed her to come first. Whatever asshole hadn’t treated her like the perfection she was needed to be replaced with him. He could make it good enough for both of them that nothing remained.

  One flick over her clit as he plunged in the furthest yet was enough. She spasmed, and he paused, wanting to see her come undone again, under him, because of him. It was as gorgeous as the first time, but she wasn’t the only the one who needed to forget the past.

  He waited for the last twitch before he thrust a few more times and let go, his orgasm practically blowing his head open.

  A few minutes later, he rolled them over and found her covering his face and top of his chest with kisses.

  His buddies at the firehouse had told him what he should do now—compliment her and pay her cab fare.

  But that wasn’t who he was, and hoped he’d never be.

  Instead, he asked her, the second woman he’d ever slept with, one question. “Want to go back to my place?”

  Chapter 3

  Vandy woke up late Monday morning with two beautiful green-eyed redheads.

  The first redhead yawned and stretched from her spot on the bed. She fluffed her hair and licked her lips before giving Vandy a self-satisfied smirk.

  “Meow.”

  The ginger cat jumped off the bed, and Royce also stretched. Unlike his cat, he curled back around her and kissed her naked shoulder, right above a love bite she’d acquired overnight.

  After their little foray on the beach, they’d reached his apartment. Rather than go to sleep, they had spent several hours exploring each other. He had done… things to her she’d heard about but never believed were true. Hopefully, she’d given as good as she got. At least he’d called her name more than once when he’d had her in every position she’d imagined and some she hadn’t.

  A weird beeping noise came from outside of the room. “What’s that?”

  “Umm, I don’t know.” He nuzzled her shoulder. “Phone or something.”

  Vandy checked the clock and sat straight up. “It’s two in the afternoon!”

 

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