Going Down Hard Read online

  Fuck. His cock was hard, his balls had drawn up, and he wasn’t the one who would be getting off from this. And that was okay. Another thing that made her unique. His desire for her pleasure over his own. Again.

  He began to rock his thigh into the vee of her legs, and she rubbed herself against him, seeking harder, deeper pressure. He released her breasts, needing to kiss her. When she came, he wanted to taste her moans, to have his tongue tangled with hers, thrusting inside her mouth the way he couldn’t do with her body.

  His lips caught hers. At the same time, he shoved her skirt up and slid his hand into her soaked underwear, his fingertip finding her clit.

  At the initial touch, her fingers pinched his flesh so hard he’d have bruises on his sides later, and he didn’t care. He slicked her juices over the tight bud, and she came apart, her entire being a beautiful, quaking mess, her breaths lost in his kiss.

  She rode out the waves, and he continued to slide his finger over her sensitive flesh until she was arching away from him, unable to take the sensations another minute.

  When she collapsed against him, he was ready, taking her slight weight and pulling her into his arms. “You keep giving without taking in return,” she said, her breath warm against his ear, her tone in utter awe.

  What was wrong with the assholes who’d come before him? Not that he wanted to think about them, but she seemed truly stunned.

  She reached for the button on his jeans, and he grasped her hand, stilling her before she could free his aching cock. If she so much as touched him, he’d come like a teenager first thing in the morning.

  “But…”

  “But nothing. Today was for you.”

  “And last time?” she asked, easing away so she could meet his gaze.

  “Also about you. Remember what I said. I’m not about to fuck you for the first time on the floor or my desk.”

  He had a hunch he wasn’t going to fuck her at all. Messy emotions were destined to make his life a hell of a lot more complicated. And he couldn’t stop the feelings if his life depended upon it.

  He stepped away, taking in her disheveled appearance. “C’mere.”

  She wrinkled her nose in confusion, and he leaned forward to kiss her there. “Let’s get you fixed up.” He helped her tuck her blouse back into her skirt, and she smoothed her hands over the wrinkled material.

  “My hair is a mess.”

  “It’s fine,” he assured her. “But let’s smooth it out a little.”

  She blushed and began to run her fingers through the tangled strands.

  He didn’t think she’d want to do a walk of shame through his office so everyone looking would know what they were up to in here. Not that she’d have a choice. All the adjusting in the world wouldn’t hide her flushed cheeks and well-kissed lips.

  He snapped his fingers. “I have an idea.” He headed to the phone on his desk and dialed Kade’s office. “Do me a favor? Call a meeting of the assistants in your office.” Those were the people who’d notice them walking to the elevators.

  “Why?” Kade asked.

  Derek rolled his eyes. “Don’t ask me questions. Just keep everyone busy for a little while.”

  Cassie’s lips parted in surprise. “Derek!”

  He held up one finger, indicating she should wait.

  “You’re going to owe me,” Kade muttered. “Tell me what to say to them.”

  “I don’t know. Give ’em a raise. Or a Valentine’s Day bonus.”

  Kade muttered a curse. “You’re fucking crazy.”

  “I’d do it for you.” He hung up the phone, turned to Cassie, and grinned. “We’re leaving in five minutes.”

  “I look that bad?” she asked, horrified, her hands coming to her hair again.

  “You’re beautiful,” he said, meaning it. “But you deserve better than to have everyone know what we’ve been doing.”

  She blinked, silenced at least for the second. “You’re a true gentleman,” she murmured.

  He shook his head. “I’m not.” At least, he hadn’t been. She brought out the best in him. “Come back to my place?” he asked.

  As far as he was concerned, they weren’t finished. Not by a long shot.

  “Okay.”

  Chapter Seven

  Cassie couldn’t wait to get back to Derek’s apartment and finish what they’d started. What he’d started and she intended to finish. Twice, she’d climaxed hard in his arms, and he’d expected nothing in return. She was desperate to feel him skin to skin, to give back and watch him come.

  First they had to get past greeting Oscar. The dog, who she really thought was adorable, met her on his hind legs, begging for pets and kisses. She gave him plenty of each on his furry head before Derek excused himself to walk him.

  Once she was alone in his apartment, she headed straight for the master bedroom, having already decided how she would welcome him when he returned. She kicked off her shoes, tucking them beneath the bench in front of the bed. She pulled off her blouse and laid it on the brown leather bench cushion, then gathered her courage and removed her bra. She moved on to her skirt and panties, folding them and placing them over the rest of her clothes.

  A quick glance at the bed told her he wasn’t a multi-pillow guy, so she merely folded down the comforter and settled herself into what she hoped was an alluring position, propping herself against the headboard, one knee bent. She waited, her nerves at an all-time high as the time ticked by slowly.

  According to the clock, however, he took the dog for a short walk and returned quickly, hopefully because he was as eager to resume their activities as she was.

  “Oscar, bed,” she heard Derek say.

  “Cass?” he called out, his footsteps growing closer, his deep voice causing her nipples to pucker into tight peaks.

  She curled her fingers into the sheets. “In here,” she replied.

  He stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. He leaned against the wooden frame, taking her in. His gaze slid from her face down to her chest, lingering on her bare breasts, her stomach, pausing at her sex before moving on down to her toes. When he finished his slow perusal, he worked his way upward again.

  “Wow,” he finally said, appreciation in his gaze.

  The long stare gave her time for arousal to take hold, for her body to light up with sparks of need.

  “You like?” she asked.

  A sinful smile eased across his lips in reply. He lifted his sweater over his head, tossing it to the floor, revealing his broad, muscled chest. A light sprinkling of hair dusted his skin and traveled a path down into the waistband of his jeans, which he quickly removed, taking his underwear with them. One strong arm was tattooed, covered in a gorgeous sleeve, but her gaze quickly moved lower. At the first glance of his large erection, she swallowed hard, her entire body trembling with desire.

  He wrapped a hand around his straining length and pumped his hand up and down the long shaft. A drop leaked out of the head, and it was all she could do not to moan out loud at the sight.

  She patted the bed beside her. “Join me,” she said, her skin tingling with the need for his touch.

  “With pleasure.” He strode over to her slowly, clearly more comfortable with his nudity than she was with hers.

  He slid a hip on the bed, and then he was beside her, pulling her into his arms. His cock pressed insistently against her thigh, causing tremors of awareness to shoot through her body. The desire to feel him took hold, and she reached over, wrapping a hand around his cock.

  He groaned at her touch. He was long and thick, and her sex contracted at the thought of him gliding fast and deep inside her. She took pleasure in the sleek feel of him gliding through her hands.

  And when his mouth came down on hers, his tongue began to thrust and tangle with hers. She pumped her hand along his length in time to the momentum of the kiss. Her palm glided over the velvety-soft skin of his erection. Over the rigidness beneath. She couldn’t wait to feel him thrust hard inside he
r.

  With care, she slid her thumb over the sticky pre-come on the head of his cock, and he tore his mouth from hers, gasping for breath. “Damn. I don’t know what’s better. The feel of your hand or your mouth.”

  She grinned. “Decisions, decisions.” She definitely wasn’t used to having power, and she liked that she could cause this sexy, confident man to shake with need. For her.

  He grasped both wrists and pushed her back against the pillow, throwing one leg over her waist and straddling her body with his stronger one. “You’re teasing a man on the edge.”

  From the way his cock glided over her damp sex, leaking from the tip, he wasn’t joking.

  “Far be it from me to tease you.” She lifted her hips and rocked her pelvis against his, intending to tempt him further. Instead she was tormenting herself, need washing over her in unexpected waves.

  He ground his hips into her body, and he felt so good, his hips pressing into hers. “Princess, you are killing me.”

  “But what a way to go, right?” she asked, her gaze holding on to his. And soon they were lost in another soul-touching, spell-binding kiss.

  He gripped her wrists in his hands and rocked into her, simulating sex, his cock gliding over her clit, back and forth, over and over until she began the climb toward climax. Her body undulated beneath his, his erection rubbing against the exact right point of contact.

  Pleasure took hold, her body quaking, on the precipice of ultimate gratification. “Oh God.”

  He released her hands and grasped his cock, gliding it over her sex hard, and she shattered, her climax rolling through her in delicious waves. She lost herself to sensation and his ability make her orgasm last.

  And last.

  Until she finally opened her eyes, small contractions still racking her body, to find him staring at her, a pleased look in his eyes. One that immediately turned hungry.

  He obviously wasn’t finished with her yet. He rolled to the side and pulled open his nightstand drawer, producing a condom, which he deftly rolled on. And then he was over her again, the head of his erection poised at her slick entrance.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Then hold on because I’ve been dying to get inside you for too damn long.”

  He started gently, pressing into her, and she felt him, the head of his cock parting her sex, then filling her completely, pressing into her, inch by inch until he was as far as he could go. She gasped at his size, so big she felt him everywhere, and she arched up, her inner walls contracting around him.

  “Derek,” she whispered in awe as he lodged deep.

  “I feel it, princess.”

  A perfect fit, she thought, and then she couldn’t think at all because he began to thrust. In and out, faster and harder, and she raised her arms and grabbed on to the headboard, grounding herself.

  He braced his hands on either side of her shoulders, arching his back, and he pounded into her. It was as if he’d been given the okay, and knowing she was braced and could handle it, he had the freedom to let go. Because she could handle him.

  And she could. She wanted to. Every hard thrust took her higher. He altered his angle, bringing his cock into direct contact with a spot deep inside her she hadn’t been familiar with until now.

  “Derek,” she said in awe as stars lit up behind her eyes and a harsh roar began to echo in her ears.

  She wasn’t inside her body anymore; she was part of something bigger than herself. Lost to sensation, only aware of his cock hitting that one glorious place, his big, damp body rocking over hers, his voice encouraging her to fly. And suddenly she did, peaking, screaming as she came harder, faster, and longer than she ever had before.

  Her climax released his, and he came with a roar, his flesh slicked in sweat, his shoulders shaking, body trembling as he took her over the edge once more.

  Time eluded her until finally he collapsed, but she hardly felt his weight, was barely aware of her surroundings. Her breaths came in short pants; her own skin was damp. She felt completely sated and wiped out.

  After a time, she wondered if she’d passed out. It was as if all the years of waiting for him, which it felt like she’d done, and the current wondering of what could be between them had built up and exploded in a blinding flash. She curled her fingers into his shoulders, grounding herself in the reality of having Derek in her arms.

  Without warning, he pushed himself off her and headed for the bathroom. As she lay in his bed, the air around her cooling her skin, she listened to the sound of running water as he moved around the other room.

  Finally he returned, standing beside the bed, arms folded as he stared down at her, an unreadable expression on his handsome face.

  Self-conscious, she pushed herself up against the pillows, wondering what the protocol was here. It was the middle of the afternoon, but this wasn’t her apartment. “Umm, I can go—”

  “What? No.” He sounded surprised she’d offer. “Why would you say that?”

  She shrugged, her face heating. “You never know what the other person wants … after. You looked… I couldn’t tell what you were thinking.”

  “I was just admiring you, in shock that we were together in my bed. After so long.”

  So his thoughts had mirrored hers, she thought with a smile. As if to silence her doubts, he dove onto the bed, smothering her body with his, kissing her until she was breathless again.

  “I’m not going back to the office today,” he said, settling himself on top of her. He held himself up enough not to crush her, but his heavy bottom half pressed into her pelvis, making her plenty aware of him. “In fact, I plan on spending the afternoon in bed. You?”

  She laughed. “Well, considering I’m shadowing the billionaire tech god, I guess I’m staying in bed too. Although I don’t want to make a habit of lounging around. I can’t exactly write about the time you spend here in bed.”

  “Don’t you think it’s just as boring? My life isn’t exactly titillating. I came from a poor background and I helped create an app that caught on. Big deal.” He rolled to his side, wrapping himself around her.

  She relaxed into him, and he played with her hair, sifting the strands beneath his fingers.

  “I don’t think your life is boring,” she said. “Your background, how you accomplished your success… It’s a big deal. People go to sleep at night and dream of winning the lottery. They make plans based on what they’d do with billions of dollars. You lived the American dream, and people want to know how you did it. That’s exciting for them because they think if you can do it … so can they.”

  He groaned. “Well … when you put it that way, I understand the need for the interview a little more.” She could tell he still wasn’t comfortable with the idea.

  “People are going to read, be fascinated by you. But there is an ironic part to all this.” She breathed in the musky smell of his skin, her body automatically softening. Wanting him again.

  “What’s the ironic part?” he asked.

  “Despite what people think, despite the sense that they want to be able to relate to you, to be you, the truth is, they can’t replicate what you did. They only wish they could. You had the brains to create the app. You and your friends had the courage to act.”

  He smoothed a hand over her cheek. He cupped her jaw, turning her face toward him. “You’re just flattering me so I’ll do this thing. I already gave you my word.”

  She shook her head. “I’m serious. You are an example of preparation meeting opportunity. So even though I’ll write the story, and people will dream as they read, they’ll still know the truth. That you’re special.”

  “You’re biased.” He brushed his lips over hers, distracting her from her mission of convincing him of his uniqueness, explaining why she wanted to write about him.

  “No. I just see something special in you,” she murmured. She always had.

  When she’d hung out with him all those years ago by the pool, she’d seen some
thing in him. Something that made her show up again the next night, even though she’d fully expected him to blast her with his anger after what she’d said about him.

  Later, she’d watched his meteoric rise, all the while knowing he had that it factor. Brains, good looks, the right timing, and knowing how to capitalize on all of it.

  All his partners possessed the same thing. Except in her eyes, Derek was beyond unique. He was loyal to his family, humble in ways she hadn’t expected. He’d rocked her world in bed… And she was falling for him.

  And though he hadn’t kicked her out after sex, she didn’t delude herself. Nothing good could come of them being together. They had too many outside obstacles working against them.

  But that didn’t stop them from being together now.

  * * *

  Derek didn’t want to talk about himself. Not when he had a pliant, warm woman in his bed. Not when he could pick up where they’d left off. And his cock was ready to play again.

  “Let’s shower,” he suggested, knowing full well they’d be doing a lot more than cleaning up in his oversized stall.

  “Good idea. I can’t stay too late. I have to take the train to the station where I left my car.” She closed her eyes and groaned at the thought.

  “You have got to move to the city,” he said, already liking the feel of her in his bed. Of having her in his life. Around when he wanted to … play.

  “Speaking of moving,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “I’ve decided which apartment I want to move into. The one on Eighty-Sixth street.”

  “Because it’s closer to me. Good choice,” he said smugly.

  She rolled her eyes. “No, because it’s larger than the others. It’s going to be a big enough adjustment leaving a house for a one-bedroom. I might as well go big,” she said, giving him a more rational explanation.

  “Ouch. Way to deflate my ego.” He liked his leap much better. But he’d enjoy having her close by, so he had no complaints. “I’ll have Brad send you the lease agreement.”

  She nodded. “Thank you. I’d like to deal with this quickly. I don’t want to take up too much time with the move. I’d rather have it be done and get on with my life, you know?”