Hard Hitter (Wild Card, #3)

by Nikki Hall

I grunted, surprised he’d contacted everyone. “He wasn’t happy, but nothing happened. Nothing will happen.” Mac shrugged in my peripheral. “Not the end of the world if it did. Chloe is awesome and a smokeshow on top of it. D can’t get upset if one of us realizes the opportunity presented.” I glared at him. “You sure as hell better not be realizing any opportunities.” He held up his hands with a wide grin. “Not me, big guy. If that video is anything to go buy, our girl is already taken.” I didn’t correct him. A primitive part of me reveled in the idea of putting a claim on her even if I didn’t plan to follow through with it. D would have every right to be upset if I took advantage of his sister.

I zeroed in on Noah, who sat alone halfway between the booth and the door. He’d traded his usual workout clothes for jeans and a long-sleeved shirt he’d shoved up to his elbows. The material clung to his broad shoulders, and his dark russet hair stood up in disarray as if he’d been running his hands through it. He looked up from his phone, and his gaze met mine like a body blow. I stumbled over the industrial rug at the entrance and nearly face-planted onto the floor. Today was not a good day for my coordination. Noah’s lips curled into a slow smile, and for a second, I wondered if I’d hit my head after all. Flutters of sensation coalesced into full-blown tingles. His smile gave me tingles. Naughty tingles. I was in so much trouble.

I wanted to hear more about little Noah, and I wanted to do it after a sweaty night spent exploring every inch of his sculpted body. Old me would be horrified, but hadn’t I decided old me shouldn’t be in charge anymore? You make me feel better… A warm glow took root in my chest and refused to go away. Noah may have started off as D’s friend, but he’d texted me.

Damn Mac and damn mornings… and damn Noah for the naughty dreams that didn’t leave me feeling all that rested.

I smelled like duck shit, which I quickly learned was both pungent and unpleasant. Luckily, all I had to do was lower my nose to Noah’s shirt and his scent took over my brain. On the third or fourth sniff, Eva caught me and shook her head. “You don’t have to try to be sneaky about it. If you want to sniff the man, just do it.”

Eva wiped her hands on the back of her jeans and turned to me, completely ignoring the rest of the line. “You and Noah would be good together. He needs someone to pull him out of his head.”

He didn’t look my direction, but the heat building in my belly made me hyper aware of him. Sweat glistened on his bare chest, and I followed the arrow of dark hair down to where it disappeared into his gray shorts. Most of the O-line guys my brother had played with were big and hefty, built to use their weight to stop forward momentum. Noah broke the mold. Hell, he might break me if we ever gave in to my dirtier urges.

Noah stepped over to the sidewalk and plucked me off the ground as if I weighed nothing. I’d seen him throw full grown men around like drunken dolls, so maybe to him I did weigh nothing. He gripped my waist, and my hands landed on his shoulders as he set me gently on the ground. Neither of us moved for a long beat, and I thought the heat of his skin might sear me. My pulse roared in my ears, deafening with the need to explore. I wanted to drag my fingers down his chest to the ridges of his abs. Instead, I let him go and stepped back.

I peeked at him, and my eyes landed on the wing of his phoenix cupping his shoulder. The tattoo was beautiful—sinuous curves stretching across his back accented with vibrant slashes of red and yellow. “Are you going to eat or stare at me?” he asked. “I can do both.” I took a bite, and my eyes nearly rolled back in my head. “Oh my god,” I groaned.

“Thanks for bringing me here. This really is the best ice cream I’ve ever had.” An intensity I didn’t recognize glittered in his eyes at my strategic retreat. “You’re welcome.” He dipped his chin toward my cone. “I’ve never had that flavor.” I took a big bite of creamy fruit deliciousness and spoke with my mouth full. “Wanna taste?” “Yes.” His big hand wrapped around mine on the cone, but instead of lifting it, Noah lowered his head toward me. He claimed my mouth in a soul-shattering kiss.

I gasped, giving him access to sweep his tongue inside, while the rest of me freaked the fuck out. His heat countered the cold of the ice cream, and goosebumps raced across my skin. I made a needy little noise in the back of my throat—no regrets, I was a needy bitch—and his free hand slid into my hair. Noah used his hold to tilt my head back and devour me. Ice cream forgotten, I kissed him back with bare-knuckled desperation. He tasted like the bitter bite of espresso mixed with spiced vanilla, and I knew I’d never be able to drink coffee again without remembering this moment.

He growled his pleasure when I nipped at his bottom lip, and the vibration shot straight to my core, igniting an ache I wasn’t sure I could handle on my own. I needed to be full to the brim with him and begging for more. A cold blob on my leg pulled me back from the edge. My jeans soaked up the remains of my ice cream where I’d dropped it next to me. I pulled back, sucking in air, and he rested his forehead against mine. Holy fuck, Noah could kiss. If...

I inhaled, willing myself to think past the tingles rippling up my arm. “I know.” He lowered his head to kiss the inside of my wrist, and I gave up on trying to resist. Noah just hit different. His gentle side lulled me into feeling like nothing could possibly hurt me, and the feral side I’d just seen backed it up.

He stepped closer, amusement forgotten. “I would have stayed on the dance floor with you all night, but you never get to see D. Besides, I didn’t want him to find out about my interest in you by watching me make you come in a crowd of alumni donors.” His thumb dragged across my lower lip, making me swallow hard. “D has his blind spots—you’re one of them. I can like someone while still acknowledging their faults. I like you, and I’m well aware of your penchant for finding trouble.” I pursed my lips at him, trying to ease some of the tension before I dove headfirst into his pants. “I’m baring my soul to you, and you think this is a good time to talk about my unfortunate habit of destroying things, which is entirely not my fault?”

I could have simply agreed, but I had one more thing I wanted to be clear about, even though I knew from experience it could be a deal breaker. “Okay, but you can’t tell me what to wear or how to act or otherwise try to change me. Accept me for who I am or fuck off.” The words came out more confrontational than I intended, but I had some complicated emotions mixed in with those experiences. Even limiting myself to hookups hadn’t spared me from the misogyny. Noah frowned. “I’m going to repeat myself for emphasis: you were dating the wrong guys before.”

The intensity cloaking him faded a little, but not entirely. “If we’re doing this, I’m not hiding it from D. “ I raised my brows. “You’re going to ask him permission to rail his sister?” He sent me a quelling look. “I was going to tell him I was interested in you, but if you want me to go into detail, I can.” I curled my arms around his neck. “How about this? We test the waters so to speak before we tell anyone. Not a secret so much as a chance to get used to the new dynamic before Mac breaks into song and dance.” “Do I still get to rail you?” A giggle tried to break free, but I managed to keep my face solemn as I nodded at him. “Part of the deal.”

My nipples pebbled through the silky material of my dress, sending shudders down my spine when they brushed against Noah. He pressed a kiss to my forehead, trailing his lips across my temple and down my cheek to the sensitive spot under my ear. The curl of his tongue, warm and wet, set off a series of tiny explosions like fireworks erupting in my chest, my belly, my pussy. I dug my nails into his shoulder and dropped my head to the side, giving him greater access.

One big hand smoothed over my hip to my ass, pausing long enough for a groan to rumble out of Noah. With slow, careful movements he gathered the material of my dress in his hand, inching the hem up my thighs. When he hit bare skin, he whispered my name against my neck. His fingers slid between my thighs, brushing the tiny scrap of soaking wet lace I wore. I spread my legs, as much as my bunched-up dress would allow, and tried to shift so his fingers hit the place where I ached. Noah moved with me, staying just out of reach, teasing me with light touches until I whimpered.

Behind Noah, completely hidden by his body, the double glass doors burst open. A high-pitched giggle and low murmur pulled me out of my smutty fog. Noah stiffened but held his position—dress up around my ass, fingers a strong breeze away from my pussy—until the other couple wandered off. To my eternal regret, he eased back, returning my dress to the pre-sexy times position. Noah didn’t let me go com...

His hand splayed over my hip, as if he couldn’t seem to stop himself from touching me, not that I was complaining. If that couple hadn’t interrupted us, I would have happily ridden him—any part of him—until I couldn’t stand. Suddenly, saying goodbye to my brother seemed significantly less important. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d disappeared on him. He’d understand. Someday.

I kissed Chloe like a starving man, desperate for her after the taste I’d gotten at the ice cream shack. Two years of pent-up hunger made my mouth rough, but I kept my hands gentle. It would be so easy to leave my mark on her skin—a claim made though pleasure instead of pain. She opened for me, and I swept my tongue inside as her hands fisted on my dress shirt. I wanted the shirt gone. The dress gone. I wanted to plunge into her heat—take the easy release she was offering—but I caught the jagged edge of restraint, pulling myself back from the brink.

Fuck security. I didn’t need reassurance—I needed her. I shook out my hands and headed for her door. Chloe answered mid-knock, like she’d been waiting. I stared at her, letting the space between us fill with the good intentions I’d abandoned. The weight of what I should do threatened to crush me, so I let it all go and stepped toward her. “Changed my mind.” “Thank god,” she breathed as she launched herself at me.

All at once, the bow behind my neck came untied, leaving my breasts as the only thing holding the top up. With one nudge from Noah’s chin, the silky material slid away to pool around my waist with the rest of the dress. A pleased rumble came from Noah as he captured one nipple in his mouth. He flicked the tip with his tongue and an electric jolt shot through me. I abandoned his pants to bury my hands in his hair. As I writhed against him, Noah shed his jacket and shirt in a pile on my living room floor.

Distantly, I wondered if I should warn Eva in case she came home tonight, but the concern quickly floated away on a wave of pleasure caused by Noah’s wicked mouth. He moved to the other breast, dropping his pants and whatever else he was wearing. I didn’t check. I slid down Noah’s gloriously naked body until I came in contact with the hard length of his cock. He shifted forward, pinning me to the wall, and my mouth dropped open with a nearly silent moan.

My body was an inferno, and Noah’s touch drove the flames higher and higher. He knew just how to kiss and suck and move. I couldn’t hold a thought in my head, rapidly cycling through prayers to various deities and nonsense phrases like a short-circuiting toy. The only thing between us was a scrap of lace from my thong, and at this point, it was so wet I might as well have worn nothing. I tilted and rolled ...

He chuckled and released my nipple to blow on the wet heat he’d left behind, all the while maintaining the tortuous rhythm against my clit. My body spiraled tighter and tighter, and right when I hit the peak, Noah plunged two fingers inside me. “I’m not going to stop, ...

His rough voice in my ear sent me over the edge. My nails dug into his scalp, and white starbursts exploded behind my closed lids. I rode out the orgasm squeezing Noah’s fingers as he fucked me with an unrelenting pace, sighing his name on repeat. When the last shudders stopped, he didn’t let me down, despite my legs turning to jelly. Simply slipped his fingers free and palmed my ass a...

I opened my eyes to his cocky grin, not a sight I got to see often, though he’d definitely earned it in this case. “You’re beautiful when you come, but nothing beats hearing my name on your lips when you tighten around me.” “I can think of something.” To illustrate my point, I reached between us to grip his rock-hard shaft, spreading a drop of liquid across the tip with my thumb. “Bed,” he grunted, hauling me away from the wall and carrying me into my room. Another slammed door, and seconds later, my back hit the mattress. Pillows and my stuffed llama bounced onto my face from the...

“You’re right.” “About what?” he growled, covering my hand with his, showing me the right pressure and speed. I stroked him as he moved his hips slightly in tempo. “So far, not a single disappointment.” Noah flashed me a grin, nearly hidden in the deep shadows of the room, and dropped his head to my shoulder for a brief second. “Should I say I told you so n...

He levered himself farther away to yank my dress and thong down my legs. They landed somewhere behind us with a dull thud. Past experience said with both of us naked his focus would shift to his own pleasure, but he surprised me. Instead of settling between my legs where he was one hundred percent welcome, he lay on his side next to me and trailed his fingertips along the curve of my shoulder, over one breast, dipping ...

My breath hitched when he glided along the crease of my hip to my inner thigh, tracing the tiny trio of hearts I’d inked there last year on a dare. The streetlights outside weren’t bright enough to do more than lighten the shadows a little, but Noah unerringly found the matching shield on the other thigh. I watched him follow the outline twice, transfixed at the sight of his large hands on my skin. The tattoos were my secret. Even the friends who’d dared me to get them d...

“How many times are you going to come for me, Chloe?” He punctuated his question by swiping his tongue over me and fastening his mouth on my clit. My hips jerked off the bed, but I held the headboard in a death grip. God, I regretted all the time I wasted thinking Noah wasn’t interested. For the first time in my life, I exploded a second time under his relentless attention. My heels dug into his back, riding out the shockwaves racing through my system.

Even after our brief hiatus, she was still soaking wet for me. I gripped the base of my cock and teased her entrance. “You ready for me, Trouble?” I didn’t wait for her to respond. With a tight grip on her, I plunged in to the hilt—a long, slick slide marked by her gasp. Chloe squeezed me tightly as I held myself still, giving her time to get used to my size. When she tilted her hips looking for more, I pulled back slowly and snapped my hips forward again. I kept up the deliberate pace until she was straining to meet each thrust. “Fuck, Noah…,” she groaned into the mattress, grasping handfuls of the sheets in her fists.

We fell into a rhythm that had us both panting, racing for the end. I palmed her ass, stroking a line down between her cheeks. Chloe sucked in a breath, and her gaze darted to mine. With a raised brow, I pressed my thumb against her puckered hole, asking permission. Her lips curled up, and she pushed back into me, squeezing me impossibly hard. “Yes. Harder. Fuck me like you mean it.”

My other hand disappeared between her legs to rub her clit. If I had my way, she’d think about me, about this, every time she moved tomorrow—every time she moved and felt the pull of what I’d done to her, what we’d done together. I wanted to put a claim on her so deep it would never leave her… just like she did to me. As promised, she came twice more before I finished with my mouth against her neck, whispering words of praise. Chloe let out a satisfied hum, and inside me, something vital shifted and slid into a new configuration.

A burst of rightness, of belonging, tightened into what was probably an unhealthy attachment to the woman underneath me. I dragged my lips across her shoulder blade, reveling in her salty taste. “Is this the part where I tell you good girl?” I murmured, loosening my hold. Chloe collapsed onto her belly and shook with laughter for a long second. “Damn, Noah. As soon as I can move, I’m going to give you a high five. Ten out of ten. Would recommend.”

I chuckled and headed for the bathroom. Her apartment was a slightly smaller copy of ours, with each room having an en suite. I tossed the condom, washed my hands, and flipped on the hot water in the shower. Chloe may have been singing my praises, but she would probably be sore. The heat would help. When I returned to the bedroom, she hadn’t moved from her face down position sprawled diagonally across the mattress. I sat next to her, trailing my fingertips down her spine. “Come get clean with me before...

She maneuvered us so my shoulders blocked the spray of the water and sank down to her knees. My heart tried to beat out of my chest when her eyes flicked up at me, her mouth full of my cock. “Yeah,” I gasped, spearing my fingers into her wet hair. “You’re definitely up to it. Deep breath now.” After the best blow job of my life, I washed her, thoroughly, and she dragged me back to her bed. I couldn’t stop smiling. Chloe wriggled around until she was comfortable, using my arm as a pillow with her back pressed to my chest. Once she was settled, I held my hand out in front of her face. “I believe I’m owed a high five.”

“You make me happy, and nothing short of a blazing inferno would convince me to leave your bed.” I kissed her temple, then added, “Please don’t light anything on fire.” Her body shook with laughter. “I make no promises.” She yawned loudly and rolled over to curl into a ball tucked into my side. “Thanks for being you, Noah. Also for the very not disappointing orgasms.”

Noah cupped my hip, tugging me nearly into his lap. “I’m ready to leave whenever you are,” he whispered into my hair. “I have plans for your mouth that don’t involve singing.” Wet heat took over, pooling between my thighs so fast I had to clench them together. Why had I thought one-time hookups were the way to go? This restrained foreplay was sexy as hell, and knowing I was guaranteed to spend the night with Noah, I was in a hurry to get out of there before one of us changed our minds or got too drunk to walk. I reached behind me and squeezed the hard length straining behind his zipper, intending to respond with a sexy comeback, but my brain abdicated control to my nether regions. “Now is good.”

His spring football practices stepped up, my classes got harder, and it was just easier to stay at his place. Was this what happened to normal girls when they started dating someone? They abandoned their friends for consistent—spectacular—dick?

I shook off the lingering concern I might be a bad friend and spread my arms. “There. Ready. I’m all yours for the rest of the day.” Eva grinned. “Until your date, you mean?” “Why do you even talk to me when you already know everything?” I’d put off the date I’d promised Noah until he’d asked me again during a weak moment, one with his face between my legs.

I dragged my hands through my hair, then collapsed facedown onto her bed. “Can’t you go back to harassing me for the size of Noah’s dick?” “I could, but I’d be derelict in my duties as your bestie. Plus, I already have that information.” I frowned at her. “How do you know Noah’s dick size?” “Mac likes to talk when we work on stunts.” She sat on her desk chair and swiveled to face me. “Why are you hiding from your brother?”

When Noah came home from practice, I was waiting for him. Naked. Sprawled across his bed in the soft twilight. He stopped short, then shoved the door closed. “My favorite way to find trouble.” I drew a finger between my breasts and down my stomach. “Welcome home.” He grinned at the sight and stripped down, stalking toward the bed. I licked my lips at the sight of his dick bobbing against his stomach, already hard.

He gripped the base of his cock and gave it a long, slow stroke as I watched. “You’re my girl in every way, not just the bedroom.” “Then come over here and prove it.” The words were barely out of my mouth when Noah knelt on the bed and pulled me to my knees, roughly turning me to face the headboard. He loosely circled my wrists, placing my hands on the padded headboard. “Don’t let go,” he murmured, trailing his lips over my shoulder. I heard the crinkle of a condom wrapper, and then his hands were on me. Everywhere. Noah knelt behind me, pressing his big body against my back, and teased my nipples, my clit, my pussy. My head fell back onto his shoulder, but I didn’t let go of the fabric covered wood.

He nudged my legs farther apart, and slowly pushed two fingers inside me. My legs trembled, and amid the tight waves of pleasure, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep holding myself up. It didn’t matter though, Noah would catch me if I fell. His other hand spanned the base of my throat as he held me in place. “Okay?” he whispered silkily into my ear. I gave a sharp nod, willing to let him do just about anything to my body. The delicious loss of control ignited me like nothing else ever had. I whimpered when his fingers retreated, and moaned low when he replaced them with his cock. Yessss.

Wetness smeared across my skin as he splayed his hand on my stomach. Noah knew exactly how to make me burn. Hard, deep thrusts that seemed to hit every nerve ending in my body. My nails dug into the headboard, and I couldn’t stop the delicate shivers running through me, fr...

I arched up, too far along to stop and too turned on by the chance we might get caught. My legs curled around his hips, and he reached between us for my clit. My inner muscles clenched as the added stimulation threw me over the edge. “Yes, Chloe,” he whispered in my ear. Noah pressed his mouth to my shoulder, muffling the groan as he came. Both of us silently gasped for air, and my heart beat like a thousand butterflies in my throat. His head raised enough to meet my gaze, and I saw the same illicit pleasure in his eyes. He’d liked the danger of getting caught as much as I had. Hell, we might still get caught.

“I don’t need your approval. Your opinion, your friendship, matter to me, and I stayed away for years out of respect for you. That time is over. I don’t want to have to choose between the two of you, but if you make me, I’m choosing her. I’ll always choose her.”

I laid my head on her shoulder. “Okay, we’re having a girls’ night. No penises allowed. Only superhero movies and ice cream until we pass out.” Eva wrapped her arm around me. “Fine, but you have to promise me to talk to Noah in the morning and take a test either way.” My stomach pinched, but there might have been some excitement mixed in with the nervousness. “Okay. Distraction tonight in the form of Chris Evans’ ass, then real life tomorrow.” One way or another, things were about to change.

America’s Ass is always good for a distraction.