One Night of Sin by Elle Kennedy
“What’s the fantasy?” she repeated, a twinge of anxiety in her voice.
He shoved a hand in her hair, yanking hard on one thick strand before lazily twining it around his fingers. “Getting fucked by a stranger. That’s what you want, isn’t it? For me to fuck you right here, right now, against this wall. Isn’t that what you want, Skyler?”
The anguished noise she made was the sexiest thing he’d ever heard. “Y-yes. That’s what I want.”
A dark laugh slid out. He licked a path from her ear down to her neck, latching his mouth on her hot flesh. Lord, she was burning up. And she’d started grinding her lower body against him, rocking hard, each desperate glide over his cock sending him closer to the edge. Hell, at this rate, he’d come in his pants before he even took his dick out.
But no. No. He may have boarded this bad idea train, but now it was time to derail it.
Except he couldn’t stop, couldn’t think straight, couldn’t concentrate on anything but the warm, willing woman in his arms. He trailed kisses up her throat, paused briefly to nibble on her jaw, then zeroed in on that pouty mouth. Screw it. One kiss. Just to find out if she tasted as sweet as he suspected.
But holy hell, it was even better than he could’ve ever imagined. The moment their mouths met, every shred of common sense flew out the window. Her lips were warm and pliant and eager as hell as she kissed him back like a woman starved. Her body melted against him like hot butter, slender arms wrapping around his neck as her tongue greedily slid into his mouth. Gage slicked his tongue over hers, groaning when a shock wave of lust roared through him.
He tugged on her hair, angling her head so he could drive the kiss deeper. He was a fucking goner. Maybe he could’ve stopped it—if she didn’t taste so good, if her body wasn’t so soft and warm, if her throaty moans weren’t vibrating against his lips. But stopping was impossible now, not when she kept swirling her hungry little tongue over his and riding his thigh with zero abandon.
His mouth stayed locked with hers, even as he lowered his hand to his zipper. Goddamn it, he had to be inside her. Right fucking now—
“Uh, boss?”
The male voice sliced into his ear like an electric current and promptly jump-started his brain.
He tore his lips away from Skyler’s. Breathing hard, trying to recover from that mind-blowing kiss.
“Shit,” he mumbled, then sucked in another breath and touched his ear. “What is it, Jerry?”
Skyler blinked. “Huh?”
He gestured to his earpiece, then focused on the amused voice of the man who monitored the club’s security booth. “Reed wants to know if we should shut off camera two. You know, for privacy.”
Aw hell.
Gage stifled a curse, his gaze moving to the camera mounted right above the staff entrance. The blinking red light was practically waving at him, a reminder that even though they were alone in the alley, they weren’t actually alone.
“We don’t mind watching, though,” another voice piped up, this one belonging to Reed Miller, Gage’s best friend and one of Sin’s co-owners.
Rather than answer, Gage shifted around and gave his audience the finger.
Then he shut off the feed and turned to Skyler, whose face still held the flush of arousal. “Go inside and find your date. Get him to drive you home.”
“No.”
The fortitude in her eyes was dangerous. And she still hadn’t fixed her dress. It was bunched around her waist, revealing firm thighs and pale skin and a perfect view of her panties. They were red, just like the shoes, and so skimpy his mouth went dry, because he knew it would take no effort at all to rip them off her. With his teeth.
He fought to speak past the lust clogging his throat. “The fantasy isn’t gonna play out, Skyler. I’m not the right man for the job.”
She stepped close and pressed her palm over his groin, cupping his erection with a boldness that surprised him. “I don’t know…I think you might be exactly the right man.”
He thrust into her hand. Just once, just one second of contact, before he eased out of her grip and tipped his head at the camera. “Do you really want to put on a show for my partners? Because that’s what we’re doing.”
“Partners?”
“I’m co-owner of this joint. And even though my behavior these last ten minutes might say otherwise, I don’t make it a habit of screwing around on the job.” He paused meaningfully. “And you don’t strike me as the kind of girl who screws around at all.”
She had the nerve to smirk at him. “I’m not a virgin, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“I’m not implying anything.” He smothered his growing aggravation. Christ, the one time he tried acting like a gentleman, and look where it got him. “I don’t know you, but I’m pretty sure you don’t go around doing strangers in public. I have no clue why you decided to do it tonight—maybe it’s that asshole Mick, maybe you had too much to drink. But the best thing for you to do right now is go home, Skyler.”
“Why do men always assume they know what’s best for a woman?” she demanded. “And FYI? I didn’t drink anything but water tonight, and I was over Mick about five minutes after he picked me up. You want to know why I’m out here with you? Because I was attracted to you and decided to act on it. For once in my life I was acting on impulse, not thinking about consequences or overanalyzing things.” Her gaze sharpened as she studied him. “You, on the other hand, you’re all about impulse, aren’t you? You strike me as a man of action.” There was a beat. “I’m kind of surprised you wimped out at the thought of getting busy in front of a camera.”
He clenched his teeth. “I didn’t wimp out.”
“Really? Are we having sex right now?” Another beat. “Nope, I didn’t think so.”
She finally straightened her dress, much to his overwhelming relief. Those red panties had come dangerously close to stealing his common sense again.
Gage sighed. “You really should go.”
“Oh, I will. The moment’s over, anyway.” Her blue eyes flickered with something that made him uneasy. “What would you do if I came back tomorrow night?”
A groan lodged in his throat. He was trying to do the honorable thing, to save her from the regrets she’d undoubtedly have after sleeping with a total stranger, but the infuriating woman didn’t seem at all appreciative of his caution.
“You shouldn’t do that,” he said in a low voice.
“Why not?”
“Because you’re right. I’m impulsive, and I don’t usually show much restraint. No matter what you think, stopping this, stopping what we were about to do, was damn hard for me.”
She glanced at the bulge in his pants. “I can see that.”
Gage grasped her chin, forcing her gaze away from his aching cock and up at his face. “Don’t tempt me, all right? You’re beautiful, Skyler. Beautiful and sexy and so goddamn tempting. If you come back, I won’t be able to control myself next time.”
“Is that a promise?”
Oh hell. He released her, taking a hasty step backward. “Go,” he muttered. “I mean it.”
He waited for an argument, but miraculously, she didn’t give him one. Instead, she smirked again before sauntering away, hips swaying with each step she took.
His gaze followed her all the way to the door, staying glued to her slender form as she walked back into the club. And then the door swung shut and she was gone.
But Gage had the unnerving feeling that he hadn’t seen the last of her.
Chapter Two
“I did something crazy last night,” Skyler announced.
Lacey snickered. “Yeah, you went out with Mick the Dick. We know.”
“No, not that. I did something even crazier.” She dragged her tired body to the kitchen counter, poured herself a cup of coffee, and took a much-needed sip.
She hadn’t slept a wink after Mick had dropped her off last night. Instead, she’d spent a solid hour on the computer, followed by several more lying in bed and t
Gage Holt.
Yep, she’d Googled him. It hadn’t been too difficult to find him after he’d let it slip that he owned the club. Two minutes was all it took to pull up a newspaper feature about the grand opening of Sin, with a picture of Gage and his two partners underneath the headline. Another search, and she’d discovered that he was a former fighter. He’d fought on the professional mixed martial arts circuit since the age of eighteen, winning a ton of matches before retiring a few years back. She hadn’t found any online footage of his fights, so she’d had to satisfy herself by staring at his picture from the newspaper article.
And seeing his face, even in grainy black and white, had only reignited the fire of lust he’d set inside her.
“Sky?”
May’s voice snapped her from her thoughts. She gulped down some more coffee, the caffeine successfully turning her brain from muddled to alert.
“Sorry, what?” She turned to face her roommates.
“I asked what could possibly be crazier than going out with Mick,” May said dryly.
Skyler drifted to one of the stools around the cedar work island and flopped down next to Lacey. She was kind of surprised that all three of them were even in the same room. She’d shared the old Victorian house with Lacey and May for four years, but their hectic schedules didn’t usually align to allow them to spend much time together. Still, no matter how busy they all were, the two women were Skyler’s closest friends.
And they always gave her damn good advice.
“I made out with a total stranger at the club,” she confessed.
Two jaws hit the kitchen floor.
“You’re shitting me.” Lacey started to laugh. “You had an anonymous hookup? That’s so not your style.”
“I know.” She wrapped her fingers around her mug. “It just sort of…happened. Somehow.”
“Uh-huh. You just opened your mouth and somehow a dude’s tongue slipped inside it,” May teased.
She offered a sheepish grin. “Fine, there was more to it than that. I went outside for some air—Mick was acting like a total ass, by the way. I was dying to get away from him.”
“I told you not to go out with him,” Lacey grumbled. “Didn’t you learn anything from my experience in freshman year? The asshole forgot he asked me out on the same night he asked someone else, and when the other chick and I showed up at the restaurant at the same time, he tried to convince us to have a threesome!”
“Seriously, why did you even agree to go on a date with that jerk?” May sighed.
Because he asked.
Skyler bit back the words, not wanting to admit just how dismal her love life had become. School and work kept her so busy she didn’t have time to meet many men, and all the ones who did hit on her? No thank you. The guys in her psychology classes just tried to “analyze” her, and the male customers who flirted with her at the restaurant were usually creeps.
Sad as it was, Mick the Dick was the first viable candidate she’d come across in months. When they’d bumped into each other at the university library and he’d asked her out, the thought of actually leaving the house had eclipsed her memories of Mick’s douche bag college days. She’d wanted so badly to crawl out of the work-and-school rut and have some fun.
No, it was more than that, she realized. She’d wanted a change. She’d wanted new and exciting instead of old and boring. Mick might have been a jerk in college, but he’d also been impulsive and larger than life. A part of her had hoped that maybe those traits would rub off on her.
And boy, had they. She’d all but thrown herself at a complete stranger—it didn’t get more impulsive than that.
“I was hoping Mick might have grown up since then,” she answered. “But you were right. He’s still the same cocky, self-absorbed jerk.”
“And your mystery man?” May prompted, her blue eyes twinkling. “Was he, um, cocky?”
Skyler’s thighs clenched as the memory of last night floated through her head. God. She’d almost melted into a puddle of mindless need when Gage had started grinding his rock-hard erection into her.
“He was…intense,” she admitted. “One minute we were talking in the alley—I don’t even remember what about—and the next we were up against the wall pawing at each other.”
Her roommates exchanged wide grins. “About time,” Lacey declared. “I keep telling you, celibacy isn’t healthy.”
“I’m not celibate. It’s just been a while since I met anyone I wanted to sleep with.”
May frowned. “Why didn’t you sleep with Mystery Man?”
Annoyance rose in her throat. “Because he said no! He stopped it before things got too hot.”
After a long pause, both women were laughing again.
“So he was perfectly cool with playing tonsil hockey in an alley but then refused to take it further?” May said.
“Pretty much.”
May looked even more bewildered. “But you, you, Skyler Thompson, wanted it to go further?”
Her friends were right. Casual hookups weren’t her style—hell, she didn’t even put out on the first date—and yet she couldn’t muster up a single regret about last night.
Gage Holt… Oh boy, everything about him turned her on. His smoldering gray eyes. That ruggedly handsome face. The dark stubble dotting his strong jaw. And his body…holy moly. He’d towered over her, every inch of him deliciously hard and rippled. Broad shoulders, muscular chest, long legs.
But she’d been attracted to more than his looks. It was also his…presence. When he’d trapped her against the wall with his massive body, the most incredible thrill had shot through her. She’d never been dominated like that before, and it embarrassed her to admit just how badly she’d liked it.
“I know, it’s totally unlike me,” she confessed.
Lacey snickered. “Big time.”
“But it was so…exciting.” She sighed. “These past couple months I started noticing how boring my life has become, and I just wanted to try something different, step out of my comfort zone, you know? And then my stranger came along and he was so…God, he was…” She couldn’t even come up with any more adjectives to describe how incredible the man was. “Honestly, in that moment? I would have gotten naked in a heartbeat. I would have done anything that man wanted.” The confession heated her cheeks, and she had to avert her eyes.
“Aw, she’s blushing,” Lacey teased. “It was that hot, huh?”
“Yes.” Skyler released a glum breath. “I think he was trying to do the ‘right thing’”—she used air quotes—“by stopping. He pretty much said I was a ‘good girl’”—air quotes again—“and that I’d end up regretting it if I did anything with him, which is pure and total bullshit.”
She punctuated the last word with more quotes, which made Lacey roll her eyes. “You have no idea how to use air quotes, babe.”
“And was he really that far off the mark?” May chimed in. “Face it, Sky. You are a good girl. And that’s not a bad thing. I mean, you’re nice, funny as hell, crazy-protective of the people you care about. You’re frickin’ awesome. But you’re not the one-night-stand type. He probably saved you a whole bunch of postcoital regrets by not doing you.”
“Just because I haven’t had a one-night stand before doesn’t mean I’m not the type for it. What if I try it and end up loving it? What if I discover I really like the whole wham-bam-thank-you-dude aspect of it?” Skyler suddenly stuck out her chin. “You know what? You guys have convinced me. I’m going back there tonight.”
May groaned. “That wasn’t what I was advising at all. I think it’s a good thing you didn’t sleep with the guy.”
“Actually…” Lacey grinned. “I’m with Sky on this. She never does anything fun. It’s always work and school, school and work. Be a little wild, babe. I fully support your decision to go out and bang your stranger.”
A laugh popped out. “Th
“Deal.” May scraped her chair back. “Okay, gals, it’s been fun, but I’ve gotta get ready for work.”
“Me too.” Lacey hopped off the stool, chugging the rest of her coffee on her way to the sink. “I’m doing a forty-eight-hour shift at the hospital, so you won’t see me for a couple days.”
Skyler glanced over in concern. “Try to squeeze in some sleep, will you? Last time you worked a shift that long, you were a zombie for weeks afterward.”
“Yes, Mom.”
A moment later, Skyler found herself alone in the kitchen. She didn’t mind it, though. Her arrangement with May and Lacey suited her just fine. They each did their own thing—Lacey had her residency at Boston General, May was finishing her art history master’s and did restorations at the museum, and Skyler was halfway through with her master’s in psychology. But despite their chaotic schedules, the friendship they’d formed during freshman year of college had remained strong.
As she went to grab another cup of coffee, her mind drifted back to Gage. The entire encounter had been exhilarating and terrifying, and she wanted to see him again, damn it. To hear his gruff voice tickling her ear, feel those big hands on her body.
Was she crazy to chase after a man she didn’t know? A man who hadn’t even told her his name?
Yeah, probably. But she didn’t care. She’d thought she’d known what arousal felt like. She’d thought she’d known what it was like to be attracted to someone.
And last night revealed that she’d had no frickin’ clue.
Every spark of desire she’d ever experienced in her life—they were nothing compared to the wicked sensations Gage Holt had evoked in her.
If you come back, I won’t be able to control myself next time.
His deep voice rasped in her head, making a shiver dance up her spine. She really hoped he’d meant every word.
Because she was definitely holding him to that.
…