Dusk Until Dawn Read online

  She pressed her body fully into his, and the contrast between touching his skin and his jeans pushed her desire further. He grabbed her ass, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. She burrowed her fingers into his hair and pulled it out of the ponytail he kept it in.

  “Pull it,” he said. “I want you to.”

  “Don’t want to hurt you,” she murmured against his jaw.

  “Go ahead. I want you to.” He rubbed his jaw against her cheek, and the power filled her with more desire. She wanted to scratch and pull at him, but she didn’t want that out of revenge or to show him that she didn’t need him anymore. She wanted to hurt him because it was fun.

  “Why?” She bit down onto his earlobe and pulled. She yanked his hair until he groaned.

  “Because I deserve it.” His voice sounded tortured and she would do anything to soothe that.

  She pulled back and looked him in the eye. “No, you don’t. You tried to do the right thing. Neither of us were ready four years ago. Now is what matters.”

  He smiled at her and she melted against him even more. “But don’t I make you mad sometimes?”

  “Not today. I want you to fuck me today.”

  “I’d planned on it.”

  She laid her head on his shoulder. “No, I want you to take me. I liked the way you stripped off my dress as soon as we got in the room. I want more of that.”

  “You want me in control?”

  “Yes.”

  He sort of groan/growled again. “Your wish is always my command.” He rolled his hips into hers, and she went lax.

  Then, he reached back and pulled her hands from around his neck. He grabbed her waist and threw her on his bed—launched her at least two feet. For all of his lean sexiness, he had this strength that turned her on like crazy.

  “It would be nice if you took off your pants.” She wanted to see his cock. She wanted him to crawl over her body and own her with it. It might be kind of boring and traditional, but they had skipped missionary the first night, and now she wanted a whole lot more of it.

  “I thought I was in charge.”

  “It wasn’t an order. I just really like you without any pants on.” She stuck out her bottom lip and tried to look as wanton yet deprived as possible.

  He flipped open the button fly on his jeans and pushed them down. But he kept his boxers on. His cock looked like it was trying to escape. She licked her lips and crossed her legs, tried to squeeze her inner thighs together to relieve the pulsing in her clit.

  “Don’t do that.” He grabbed her ankles and pulled her closer to the edge of the bed. His grip made her center warm even more. She tingled everywhere.

  He licked his lips and considered her.

  “Now that you have me at your mercy, what are you going to do with me?” Sarcasm laced her voice.

  “I’ve thought about fucking you a million different ways, and I never thought I’d actually have you in my bed twice and willing to do whatever I asked.” He kept his grip on one ankle, but dragged one finger of his other hand over her pussy. “So, pardon me if I need a minute to figure out which fantasy I want to play out.” Without another word, he speared the finger that had been stroking her lips inside her. She was so wet, that he sank inside her with no resistance. He released her other ankle and grabbed his cock through his boxer briefs. “You left me hard and aching at the club the other night. I fucked you until you were weak-kneed, and you left me with this.” He pressed down on his hardness, and his face contorted in anguish. “I’ve barely had a moment’s relief since I saw you. As soon as my cock is out of you it wants back in again.”

  He started rubbing her clit with the heel of his hand—hard, like she wanted it. Her eyelids felt droopy, but she didn’t want to miss him touching himself for her. It was like he was giving her a show.

  “Then, put it back in again.”

  “But you like this.” He pushed his boxers down, and pulled himself out. He pumped it in a closed fist, squeezed himself so tight, the skin on his knuckles paled. “You like watching me fuck my fist. You like watching how much I hurt for you. You want me to beg to get inside you.”

  “You like those things, too.” She knew it was true. His face was a mask of anguish and pleasure mixed up, and it was so intense that it turned her on even more. “But I don’t want you to hurt anymore. I don’t want either of us to hurt anymore.”

  He released his cock and leaned over her body then. She brushed his hair back from his forehead so she could keep watching his face. He ran his lips over all the ribs on the left side before he reached over to his bedside table for a condom. “The only way I won’t hurt anymore is if I get my cock deep in you, if I figure out a way to stay there and never leave. I—need to have you.” His voice broke a little, like he’d been screaming for a long time.

  She felt like she’d been screaming for him forever.

  * * * *

  Javi felt alive for the first time in years. By giving him worlds of shit, she’d woken him up. If she wanted to, she could slap him across the face right now, and he would beg for more. He knew that he hadn’t done anything to deserve that today, but the fact that he’d wasted so much of their time, it killed him.

  He craved the taste of her pussy on his tongue, but his cock was so hard that he feared permanent injury if he didn’t get inside her. She moved restlessly on the bed beneath him while he put the condom on, like she couldn’t wait for him. He loved that. He was starting to be afraid that he loved her. It was terrifying, but he couldn’t leave.

  He hovered over her before fucking her, just looking at her face. She was so beautiful with her lips swollen and wet from kissing him. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused. He loved the soft puffs of air from her mouth against his face. He wanted to memorize desiring her this much. A feeling like this was way too good to last. It couldn’t. Needing someone this much with this kind of intensity had to burn out. Didn’t it?

  The moment broke when she wrapped her strong thighs around him and pulled his cock to her entrance. “Fuck. Me.”

  When she pulled on the beard hairs on his chin, he slammed inside of her so hard she made a coughing sound, and he felt her go liquid around him. He reared up onto his forearms, which took his face further from hers, but let him see her tits bounce as he fucked into her fast and hard.

  She clawed at his forearms, making inarticulate begging sounds that he liked almost as much as the coughing. He didn’t hold back his body, but a bit of his mind stayed distant. He didn’t want to hurt her. Couldn’t stand to have this moment turn into something that either of them might regret. He wasn’t sure if he was the kind of man who could keep her heart safe.

  “Javi, please.” She arched her back and bucked her hips in time to the next stroke. He gritted his teeth to keep some control.

  “What, mi cielo? Tell me what you need and I’ll give it you.” He thrust once deep and stayed until she squirmed. “Always. Tell me and it’s yours.”

  He knew that she wanted him to take charge of this bout of sex, but he was helpless for this woman. He’d been right to be afraid of her years ago. If Maya ever did what Karrie had, if she left him or cheated on him or realized that she was the one who was too good for him, he would destroy himself completely.

  The woman beneath him was dangerous to his mental health. He was half crazy, and she was moaning for him to fuck her harder and faster, telling him she loved his big cock. That made him feel better than a hundred orgies with supermodels.

  He could feel his orgasm coming, but she had to come first. “Touch your clit, Maya. Let me see you come.”

  She found her clit with her fingertips, and he dropped closer to her, rocked into her, tried to hit her g-spot. He was going to come, could feel it approaching like a storm off the ocean, but he needed her to lose her mind. So she might feel a fraction of what he felt about her. He wanted her so satisfied, so in love with him, that she’d never feel like leaving. That she could never give him up. B
ecause he never wanted her out of his bed, or his life, again.

  Even though she said she trusted him, had shown that he’d made his way into her heart a little bit, he wasn’t all the way there yet. But she trusted him to give her pleasure.

  Her motions got jerky and her chest flushed a few moments before the muscles in her inner thighs started jerking against his hips. One more deep thrust and she seized around him, milking his cock.

  Her head thrown back, he buried his face against her throat and drove into her until his orgasm flooded him with pleasure. He felt completely wrung out, but he was still hard inside her.

  He couldn’t tell where she ended and he began. He pulled out of her, taking care with the condom and cursing the fact that they still had to use them. He’d never wanted to be that close to anyone before.

  She didn’t look at him when he went to the bathroom to clean up. When he returned to the bedroom, he saw why. Her mascara ran down her face. Regardless of whether she said she trusted him or not, their fucking had affected her as much as it had him.

  He got in bed and tucked her against his body. It was late morning, maybe almost time for lunch, but he was keeping her there all day. With any luck, he could make her forget that he had ever made her sad, or anything that had ever made her sad.

  He was breaking down her walls. And now he had to keep her safe.

  Chapter 12

  Maya had never been a deep sleeper. She was too used to being woken up by yelling and broken dishes to really let herself sink into a deep rest.

  That’s why she woke to whispers later that afternoon. The same day that she’d cried like a baby in Javi’s arms after she came. Her skin was still sticky from him. She was actually surprised that she’d napped. After most sexual encounters, she stayed awake, counting the minutes until she could sneak out.

  But, after the conversation they’d had, the way he’d shown her that he was a different kind of man—one who wouldn’t turn tail and run as soon as she let him in—she could rest in his arms.

  He was gone now, whispering with someone else in the other room. Maybe they were being quiet because he wanted to let her sleep. After today, that’s how she should think about it. She should give him the benefit of the doubt. But, the part of her that was always expecting the worst thought that they were just saying things that they hoped she wouldn’t hear.

  She hesitated before getting out of bed and putting her dress back on. If they were talking about her, she wanted to know what they were saying. Maybe it was habit from all the times she’d eavesdropped on her parents. Knowledge as power. Not that it ever saved anyone grief. She couldn’t find her bra or panties, so she still felt almost naked when she walked out.

  Javi wasn’t fully dressed either, but he was talking to his sister and another tall, freckled Latina who looked like Javi—Maya was guessing she was about to meet another part of his family.

  Looking like she’d been through Hurricane Javi. Fucking perfect.

  Four years ago, she might have turned sullen and sabotaged this, made sure that they hated her before they could come to that conclusion because of her dicey past and shitty prospects. Now, she was nervous. She wanted them to like her more than she wanted to protect herself.

  The redhead spotted her first. “I am so sorry.”

  “For what? I was the one that was rude.” Maya thought she’d done a good job because the redhead’s smile relaxed, became more genuine as she rushed over.

  “I’m Javi’s baby sister, and I was a jerk to you.” She grabbed Maya’s upper arms like she was going to forcibly hug her, and Maya had to fight not to jerk away.

  “Carla, right?” Maya looked at Javi, whose grim mouth and disheveled appearance made her think that this wasn’t an expected visit. “Makes sense given what your pendejo of a brother has said about you.”

  Then Carla did hug her and she flinched before she could fully relax into it. She whispered so neither the other woman—Alana she would guess—could hear her, “I love that you think that my brother is an idiot and love him anyway.”

  Love was a big word, one she wasn’t sure she was ready to use with Javi. But she couldn’t exactly deny it; she wasn’t sure she could do it convincingly. Carla released her after a brief embrace, but grabbed her arm and brought her over to the kitchen where Javi and Alana stood.

  “I’m Alana, and I’m assuming that you’re Maya.” Alana was smiling in a way that looked a little mischievous. “I’m smiling because my fiancé, Cole, owes me money.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Alana,” Maya said. “Although, Cole Roberts, really? You’re way too pretty to be engaged to such a dickhead.”

  “That’s what I tried to tell her,” Javi said. He moved and put his arm around her waist. She didn’t move away from his embrace, and both his sister’s beamed at them. So weird, this family.

  “Well, he’s not a dickhead to me.” Alana shrugged. “Well, most of the time. On the rare occasion that he acts like an ass—usually because of this one”—Alana pointed at her brother— “I get presents or lascivious sex acts.”

  Maya couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up or the instinct, new to her, that made her look to Javi to check on his reaction. He looked kind of green in response to his sister’s mention of her sex life, but she sympathized. As much as she’d always adored Cole, she had never wanted to do anything sexual with him. It would be like having sex with Felix. Gross. She’d often wished that she’d had the same kind of fraternal feelings for Javi. It would have made it so much easier to just be friends with him.

  Carla piped in again. “So you and Javi are doing it now?”

  “You have a seriously weird, invasive family, Javier.”

  Javi kissed the back of her neck. It wasn’t sexual, it was proprietary, but it still heated her all over. This whole situation was disorienting. She wasn’t a meet-the-family kind of girl. Never had been. But every little touch he gave her in front of his sisters, making it clear that they were together, gave her a little more confidence that they could really be together, not just behind closed doors and pushed up against walls.

  “Maya’s my girlfriend.” Javi’s statement was simple, but loaded. She had fantasized about what it would be like to be Javi’s girlfriend a thousand different times. Never had she imagined him saying it to his sisters after they’d found them together, lazing away a Sunday afternoon. She’d pictured going to his parents’ house, which she’d seen once in an issue of Ocean Drive.

  But she wasn’t sure if she was comfortable with it now. What happened to “friends with benefits”? Although past Maya had wanted nothing more than to be with Javi for real, she wasn’t sure she was ready about it now. Her heart beat faster and she balled her fists, fighting the urge to walk out. She wasn’t prepared to be paraded in front of his friends and family. It felt out of control, and the urge to run was almost more than she could take.

  “Seriously?” Alana’s question was incredulous, and Maya predicted that the other woman would disapprove, but her green eyes sparkled with delight. “I’m so glad you’re done banging models.”

  Javi grunted, and Maya felt a pang of jealousy, mixed with disbelief at his sisters’ approval, deep in her gut. She didn’t like being reminded that Javi hadn’t come to find her after his divorce. He’d become a shitty fuckboy and she would always be reminded of that, no matter how long she and Javi stayed together.

  “What are you ladies doing here?” Javi sounded impatient. He clutched her hip tighter, which assuaged her jealousy a bit.

  “We were coming to pick you up for dinner,” Carla said. “Did you forget?”

  “I totally did. I’m sorry.” Javi sounded apologetic. She looked up at his face again, prepared to have him ask her to leave. “Maya’s coming with us. Let me get decent.”

  When he walked away, she felt cold, too cold. She wasn’t ready to face his sisters by herself. She’d barely kept herself from running out the door before he claimed her as his
girlfriend.

  And now that she was alone with these two women, these gorgeous, put-together, rich women, she wanted to melt into the floor.

  But she was starting to feel that what she and Javi had together was real. She wanted to believe that they were going to be together as a couple for the long haul. So even though every survival instinct was telling her to go on the offensive, she didn’t. She hung back and waited.

  That wait resulted in several tense moments, until Carla said, “You’re really mad at me. I know I can say thoughtless things, I don’t know.” She threw up her hands and blew air up so hard that it dislodged a strand in her bangs. “I liked you at the store, and I’m not great at making friends with normal people. Or, you know, women.”

  Maya was confused for a second, and then remembered the shitty comment at the club about her not being able to afford fancy lingerie. Sure, she could stay pissed about that, but that wouldn’t be productive. And Carla had been so nice at the store, it didn’t make sense for her to hold it against her. “I barely remember what you said. It’s not a big deal. But you’d be surprised what some of the girls make at those clubs.” Carla’s face eased, and Maya took a step closer to the kitchen island. “I mean, quite a few of them work off the books, if you know what I mean.”

  Alana piped in. “You mean, they’re hookers?” Something about the matter of fact way that Alana phrased it told Maya that they could be friends. She had this elegant way about her that made it impossible for anyone to forget that she was pure, classy rich girl. But, she didn’t mince words, and she’d teased her brother about the fact that she was fucking Cole Roberts, so that said something.

  “Not precisely. They’re more like sugar babies for some of the high profile athletes and celebrities that come in.” Alana squinted, and Maya panicked. She probably thought that Maya was a sugar baby. “I don’t do that. I promise.”

  She wanted to run again, before Alana said, “I don’t think you are. Cole filled me in on what went down between you and Javi while they were in business school. That’s why we had the bet going. He was betting that Javi was still acting like a scaredy-cat little boy, too afraid to go after you. I was betting that he’d been so on the ball at work recently for a reason.”