Chasing Temptation
by Joya Ryan
Copyright © 2014 by Joya Ryan. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Chapter One
Penny glanced down at herself. The white top she wore was tight, clung to her curves, and, with the few buttons in front undone, gave sight to some major cleavage. She’d taken her friend Lily’s advice and paired the top with a short skirt and sexy heels, but now she had to wonder…
“You sure this isn’t too much?”
She wiggled her toes, insecurity slowly pumping through her veins.
Lily tugged on the fabric of Penny’s shirt, trying to close the buttons. “Maybe suck it in a little?”
“I can’t suck in my boobs.”
Lily shrugged and stepped back to look at her. “Screw it, I say leave it undone. It looks hot. Besides, it’s Jenna’s bachelorette party,” she said, fastening her earing. “You’re supposed to dress a little slutty for the club.”
The club was half an hour away and the closest thing to a “night life scene” available to the people from the small
town of Diamond, Kansas. Well, aside from Penny’s BBQ bar and restaurant. She’d taken over the BBQ when her mother passed away last year. The long hours hadn’t left much time for her to have fun. She didn’t go to clubs, or the city for that matter, but that didn’t mean she didn’t like fun…wasn’t open to new things.
The last time she’d attempted to try “new things” was in the bedroom with her ex-boyfriend. Eli was courteous, handsome, all things a gentleman should be. He’d even been patient with Penny when she made him wait six months before finally having sex.
The sex had been a wild disappointment, so a week later she’d put on her best lingerie and gone to surprise him with round two. What she discovered was that he’d already found his own round two, and it wasn’t with her. Soon after taking her virginity, he’d taken her dignity by cheating on her with someone more “sexy” than “adorably boring.”
His words still rang in her ears:
“You’re just too vanilla, Penny.”
That had stung, coming from a guy that color-coded his sock drawer, and she’d never quite come out of the shadow he’d cast over her self-esteem. She’d discovered there was a wild side to her waiting to be unleashed, but the first time she’d tried to let out her inner sex kitten, he’d dumped her.
Which was why her sexual experience was lacking. That one time with Eli was her only experience. She’d thought about dating again, even gotten a few admiring glances, but her older brother Ryder did a great job keeping the male population of Diamond far away from her. And she was tired of it. Especially since she’d just found out that Eli was coming back into town with his new fianceÌ. AKA the other
woman.
Diamond was too small a town for her not to run into him. If—when—she saw him, she wanted to know for herself that he wouldn’t wreck her.
“Besides,” Lily said, “this is the kind of outfit you need to catch the kind of man you’re fishing for.”
Penny swallowed hard. Funny Lily had phrased it that way, because she was going fishing, and Penny had her eyes on a big Bass. As in Sebastian “Bass” Strafford. The one man she’d had a secret crush on for years. He was dark, brooding, and a bad ass attorney, who also happened to be her older brother’s best friend.
“Ryder’s going to wet himself if he sees me dressed like this,” Penny said.
Jenna and Colt McCade had been engaged since last summer, and their spring wedding was right around the corner. Thanks to her friends being disgustingly in love, they’d decided to thrown a joint bachelor-bachelorette party at the club. Which meant Penny’s brother Ryder would be there.
But so would Bass. And that made tonight the perfect chance for Penny to make her move. She not only trusted him—they’d been friends for years, after all—she knew he was the kind of man that could deliver in the bedroom. Just looking at him was enough to know that.
Not to mention the few whispers she’d heard over the years about Bass being some kind of “sex god.” And that made him perfect for her. Who better to teach her how to be a sex goddess than a god himself?
“You might have to help me distract Ryder,” she said.
“He’ll have to get over himself. You’re a grown ass
woman. This is your chance,” Lily said, cupping Penny’s shoulders. Lily’s blond hair was fastened into a tight up-do, and the trademark McCade flare was prominent. “Time to implement Operation: Orgasm.”
Penny needed some of Lily’s confidence. “What if I get shot down?”
“If a guy shoots you down, he’s a moron,” Lily said. “There’s going to be a lot of hot guys, ones more than willing to show you a good time. And sex is a good thing. As long as you’re comfortable and feel good about it, there’s no reason not to go after what you want.”
Problem was, who she wanted was her brother’s best friend, a fact Bass wouldn’t overlook lightly. She would have to be persuasive if she was going to get the rigid attorney to bend to her idea.
Whatever the end result would be, going for Sebastian tonight was putting the group dynamic in jeopardy. But she had to try.
She knew he was attracted to her. At least, she thought she knew. Last year they’d played a harmless game of Sardines that turned into a few minutes of Sebastian lying against her in the dark, and her breathing in his scent.
She’d thought for sure he was going to kiss her. He’d been close. She could still feel his breath against her lips when he’d whispered the phrase she’d been repeating in her mind for nearly nine months:
Don’t challenge me. I always get what I want in the end.
Usually what he wanted was short term flings. If gossip was to be believed, those flings were full of the wildest sex a person could imagine. The thought made her tingle all over. She’d caught his attention, got a glimpse at the man he was hiding underneath, and was now determined to experience what lay behind that domineering persona.
“I’m going for it,” Penny said. She gave her long red hair a flick and faced her friend. “Time for Operation: Orgasm to commence.”
…
Bass glanced at the brunette across the room. She’d been checking him out for the past ten minutes. She was attractive, and that smile she gave was one he recognized. A look that led to the bedroom.
“If that woman keeps staring at you like that, her panties are going to catch fire,” Huck Galvin said loudly into Sebastian’s ear over the booming music of the club.
Yeah, that brunette could end his dry spell. She was prime, ready, and most importantly, not Penny Diamond.
Get her out of your head.
Good fucking luck with that. He’d been trying to get her out of his mind ever since last summer when they’d played Sardines. He’d always thought she was too soft for him, but after she’d challenged him to a game where he ended up alone with her, he’d barely been able to resist tasting those lush lips of hers. He could still feel her body humming against his, begging for it.
She was everything bright and good. He’d known her a long time, and he’d never met her equal. And he’d looked. Hard. But no one could compare to the soul-deep genuineness of Penny Diamond.
He shook his head and focused on the brunette. That was the kind of surface woman he needed. She looked
experienced and able to handle his needs in the bedroom. Needs so strong they’d evolved into a dark secret.
He loved sex, loved women, but his tastes were…not for the timid. They also weren’t long term.
He’d learned at a young age that love and companionship didn’t equal commitment. Sooner or later, someone got restless and moved on. Just like his mother had done when he was a kid. Just like Bass did with every “relationship” he had. Being the leaver was better than being left. Which was why he had a firm system: nothing lasted beyond two weeks. Besides, most women only wanted—or could handle—a single night with him. After they saw what he was like in bed, they were usually done. Satisfied, but overwhelmed. Which just about said it all, didn’t it? Even if love and commitment were for other people, they weren’t for him. Too bad all I can think about is Penny.
No one goaded him like she did. She knew how to push his buttons and played on the very need that drove him both in and out of bed.
Control.
He swallowed down the last of his whiskey.
Stop thinking about her.
She was the last person he could ever be with. Between her overbearing older brother, who happened to be his best friend, and her innocent eyes and bright smile, she wasn’t the kind of woman who would want what Sebastian dished out.
He looked around the large club, bright lights flickering amongst the darkness, people dancing, the temperature rising to hot and humid. Usually in a suit, he was happy for the weekends when he got to wear a T-shirt and jeans.
“I thought this was your scene, Bassy?” Colt said,
walking up, drinks in hand. “But I could see your frownie face all the way from across the bar.”
“Poor Bass is girl shy tonight,” Huck said, chuckling. “I think he’s PMSing.”
Great, now both of his friends were giving him shit.
Though they were being dicks, they were like his brothers. Between them, having a great job that he loved and living in a town that felt like home, he was fairly happy. This past year, however, with all the love bullshit in the air wafting from Colt and Jenna, his mood had been on the pissy side. He wished the best for his friends, but their wedding planning and happily ever after gushing only reminded him that kind of thing would never be for him. No serious woman. No long term commitment. That was too much power to give someone else. Hell, his competitive nature was what made him a great attorney. He didn’t lose because he had no fear. Nothing loved, nothing lost.
Ever.
His life was best spent a couple weeks at a time with clear expectations.
“You’re giving me shit, and you’re the one having a joint bachelor party with your fianceÌe,” Bass said, taking the whiskey in Colt’s hand, which left Bass double-fisted, whiskey in one hand, a beer in the other.
“Hey, my fianceÌe is the hottest thing in here.” He glanced around. “Well, she will be when she gets here.”
“Look at him,” Huck said, laughing. “He’s like a damn puppy.”
“It’s sad really,” Bass agreed.
Colt just smiled, his stare locked on the entrance. “Ah fellas, you have no idea what you’re in for once the right
woman ropes you.”
Colt didn’t give them another word, just hustled toward the entrance, and Bass saw why. Jenna was walking through, and right behind her was Lily and—
“Holy fucking Christ,” he said, his eyes falling out of his head.
Penny Diamond strutted in behind her friends, looking all kinds of deliciously fuckable.
“Oh shit,” Huck said with a wide smile, obviously looking at the same thing Bass was. “Ryder is going to piss his pants when he sees his baby sister trussed up like a—”
“Careful,” Bass warned.
Huck’s smile only grew. “I was going to say ‘hottie.’ I love Penny. I’d never say a bad word about her.”
Bass knew that. They’d all been friends for a long time.
“But I had no idea little Penny was so…curvy.” Huck’s statement made heat rise in Sebastian’s gut. A feeling like jealousy.
Yeah, little Penny was more than curvy. Her five-two frame was hoisted to a staggering five-six in those sinful stilettos. The scrap of fabric she called a skirt showcased tone legs, and the top she wore hugged her flat stomach and full breasts. She was built for a wet dream, had the face of an angel, ivory skin, pouty lips, red hair, and the greenest eyes ever created. And tonight, those gems glanced around until they finally landed on him.
He checked the urge to groan. She didn’t look like Little Miss Diamond tonight, and she sure as hell didn’t look like anyone’s little sister. She looked like she was ready for every fantasy he had—fantasies she’d been the star of lately.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He dug it out and
looked. A text from Ryder.
Ryder: Hey bro, can’t make the party tonight. Got held up in Wichita. Big meeting tomorrow morning. Tell Colt sorry and keep an eye on Penny for me.
Great, just fucking great. Ryder was his saving grace to keep his cool around Penny. But now he was charged to keep an eye on her? He wanted to do a lot more than just look at the sultry redhead.
“Ryder is still in Wichita,” Bass said to Huck. “He’s not coming at all.”
“That sucks. I’ll let Colt know. You coming?” Huck asked, heading toward their group of friends several tables away.
Bass shook his head. “I’m going to hang back for a few.”
“Ah, gonna make a move on the brunette, huh?” Huck asked.
No, he was staying put, because if he left the table, he might get closer to Penny. Might touch her. Forget why that was a bad idea.
“Something like that.”
Huck headed toward the group and sat with them at the other end of the club. Bass stayed at his table. The packed dance floor between him and Penny might be enough distance.
Except he saw with one part fear, one part hunger, that she was walking in his direction. Her breasts damn near bouncing out of her top with every stride.
He thought—hoped—she was headed his way. Her eyes were locked on him, after all. But that would be bad.
Because the closer she came, the further his mind traveled to all the images of her writhing beneath him. Her skin was the color of fresh cream, and he had no doubt her ass would look amazing warmed and pink from his hand.
He’d bend her over, slap her ass while he fucked her hard. Fucked her until she begged for release. But he wouldn’t give it. It would be punishment for wearing that outfit. Flaunting her body that was his to command—
No. Not mine. She’s. Not. Mine.
He’d tell himself this a thousand times if he had to. And he’d hate it every single time.
Just when he thought she would saunter her sweet ass over to him, she stopped to chat up some cowboy. The prick leaned down and said something in her ear, and she smiled and tucked a lock of ruby hair behind her ear. All while she kept her eyes on Bass.
What the hell? Was she trying to make him jealous?
The heat that had started in his gut flamed to a full on fire and burned his blood.
He didn’t know what the cowboy was saying, but judging by Penny’s swaying movements and laugh, the asshole was obviously hitting on her. And the way she raised her brows in Bass’s direction, as if saying, What are you going to do about it? He was certain now what she was trying to do to him. Shit of it was, it was working.
Bass took one step in her direction, something she seemed to notice, and those green eyes lit up.
She was playing a dangerous game. One that required him to keep his focus and control. Good thing that was his specialty. He might not be able to have her, but the cowboy asshole wasn’t going to either. He’d never felt a deeper need
to take her, claim her, than in that moment.
But I can’t…
So he’d bury the notion and the feeling. And he’d stand there, unmoving, simply watching with a vengeance. Except she kept talking to the asshole. No, not talking, openly flirting. But those emerald eyes stayed on Sebastian. Brushing her hair back, she ran two fingers along her collarbone.
He clenched his teeth.
She smiled and nodded at the cowboy. He left, heading to the bar, likely getting her a drink. Penny continued her trek toward Bass.
“Penelope,” he said when she reached him.
“Why are you sulking over here?”
“Not sulking.” He took a drink and looked her over. Whatever she saw in his gaze made her lick her lips, spurring new fantasies about what he wanted to do with that mouth of hers. “You’re making new friends I see.” He gestured toward the bar where asshole cowboy was.
“Oh, that’s Rob. He seems nice enough. Getting me a drink.”
“I’m sure he is.”
She frowned. “Is there a problem? You seem grouchy. Huck warned me you were in a mood.”
Oh, he was in a mood all right. She brushed her hand along her collarbone again, and Bass had no choice but to watch and wish to hell it was him touching that sweet skin.
“I’m trying to figure out why the hell you’re dressed like that.”
“You don’t like it?” she said, her sarcasm evident in her tone. She glanced down at herself, knowing damn well he
liked her outfit. Every man in there did. “What would you dress me in then?”
“That’s not my decision to make.”
“What if it were?”
Whatever she knew about him, she was using it right then. She knew his love of control and how to tempt him with it. He’d dress her all right. In nothing but those heels and restraints on her wrists. He stayed silent, too afraid he might reveal his true thoughts.
“Nothing to say?” she asked. Again, he stayed quiet. “Other than you not liking my outfit, right?”
“Correct.”
“I would expect better lying from an attorney.”
He kept his eyes on her. If that’s how she wanted to do this, he was game. He could play. And he could win. Like he had every other time she’d come at him with attitude.
“Are you trying to get a rise out of me?”
“No,” she said, taking his drink from his hand and swallowing it in one gulp. “I’m trying to get you to admit the truth.”
“And what truth is that?”
She ran her fingertip along the empty glass he held. “That you want me.”
“You think so?”
She nodded. “I saw the way you looked at me.” She leaned in. “The way you’ve been looking at me.”
He took a deep breath. So she was challenging him. This was a game. Like it had been when they played Sardines. She’d call him out, and he’d shut her down.
“You think I want you, darlin’?”
The smile she unleashed was so devilishly sexy he was certain he’d imagined it.
She placed her hands on her hips and looked him dead in the eye. “I know you do.”
Damn, confidence was a good look on her. Made him think for a moment she might be able to handle the hedonist he was deep down.
“Even if you were right, what would your brother say about that?”
“Ryder has nothing to do with this.”
“There is no this.”
She bit her bottom lip. It was more of an insecure gesture than the licking, but it still made his dick hard just watching her teeth nibble the plump flesh.
“S-so, you don’t want me?”
Bass stood there, knowing he should say something. It was one thing to scare her off, but he couldn’t outright lie to her. Did he want her? Hell yes. But he couldn’t say that, either, so he stayed silent.
Something flickered over her face faster than the strobe lights. Her auburn brows furrowed with a look of pissed-off intent.
“Well, that’s fine,” she said. “But I’m going to tell you what I want.”
And the brazen was back in Miss Diamond. He couldn’t help but indulge. “Please enlighten me.”
She lifted her chin. “I want to fuck.”
If he’d been drinking, he would have choked. Before he could say anything, she went on.
“And not just anyone. I wanted to fuck you. But since you’re obviously too busy hiding in a corner, I’ll be on my way to find someone else who will give me what I want.”
“You mean like cowboy Rob who’s waiting to get you a martini and feed you lines about how pretty your smile is?”
On cue, she smiled, and it was more than pretty. It was fucking mesmerizing.
“Yes.” She turned. To leave him. To go to another man. Only this time, he knew what she was looking for. And that set his internal fire to nuclear.
“Penelope!” he yelled over the music, loud enough that her shoulders tensed in shock, but she spun back to face him. There was so much he wanted to do, to say, but he stuck with the truth, no matter how much it sucked. “It would never work.”
She leaned so close that her lips skimmed his earlobe, and tremors raced down his spine.
“No one would have to know.” There was a nervous tremble in her voice.
“That’s the least of my worries, darlin’. You have no idea what I’m capable of. What I’d do to an innocent thing like you.” He sneered the words, because a sick part of him wanted to do every damn thing to her. Everything her lush little body would allow him to do. And when she realized the kind of man he was, she’d run.
“You could show me?” she said. Again, there was a breathy note in her tone. He didn’t go for vanilla girls, but that was the problem. Nothing about Penny struck him as vanilla. Inexperienced, sure. But there was a fire in her that brought out his dark, dominant side. And he wanted to give in to her request so damn bad.
“I’m tired of being innocent.” She raised her chin and finished with, “It’s you who has no idea what I’m capable of.” Her green glare hit him hard, and she strutted that perfect
ass away from him and toward the cowboy who, yep, held a martini and waited near the bar for her.
God damn it!
He went to take a drink of his whiskey, only to be hit with an empty glass and the lingering scent of strawberry lip gloss.
She was playing with fire. Fire that he’d had under control until he watched the cowboy cup her hip.
Nope. Not just nope, but hell-fucking-nope was another man touching her.
Whatever prized control he had was flying out the window. He set his glass down on a nearby table and stormed over to her. He didn’t say anything, didn’t acknowledge her shocked expression when he took the drink from her hand and gave it to Asshole Cowboy.
The guy was about to protest, but Bass didn’t give a shit. He grabbed Penny’s hand and tugged her toward the dance floor.
“I’ll be right back,” she called to the cowboy, and Bass just tugged harder, weaving through the mass of gyrating people.
“No you won’t,” he yelled over the thumping music, glancing back at her.
“Where are you taking me?” she said, but he ignored her.
He continued to maneuver through people until he got to the other end of the club. There was a small nook in the corner where shadows encased them, and he pulled her around, then pressed her back against the wall, wedging her into the corner.
He placed his hands on either side of her head, caging her in with his body. He looked down at her, so close their noses brushed.
“You think I sulk in corners?” he said. “You want to tease me on purpose? Flaunt yourself like a treat I can’t have, then tell me you’re capable of handling me?” He shook his head, and her bright green eyes sparkled with anticipation. “I’m set to show you what it is I do to a woman like you in dark corners.”
Her lips parted, and she rose to kiss him, but he jerked back. “Oh no, darlin’. You don’t run this show. I do.”
He pressed his hips against hers and cupped her throat in his palm. There was only one way to end this. He’d give her a glimpse of the man he was, and it’d be enough to make her run away. He’d never hurt her. He’d never hurt any woman, but he was a rough man. And she was the epitome of softness.
With one hand still on her neck, he reached between their bodies and slid his fingers up her inner thigh until they disappeared beneath her skirt.
“What are you doing?” she breathed. Her gaze darted around the club, checking to see if anyone noticed them. But Bass didn’t need to look to know the shadows concealed them.
“You don’t know?” he said. This would be the moment she’d break. She’d see his darkness, and she’d shove him off and run away.
He reached the lace of her panties and stifled a groan. They were wet. His plan of getting her to leave him was shot to hell, because only one thing mattered in that moment.
“Who made you wet?” he growled.
She frowned. “What?”
He moved her panties aside and ran two fingers along her damp slit. “You’re wet,” he said again. “I want to know who caused this.”
And the answer better be him. Because if she said that other asshole’s name, he was likely to go beat the hell out of the prick.
“You did.” She kept her eyes on his but subtly shifted her hips, as if begging him to deepen the contact. “Every time I see you I get…”
She glanced away, and he would have none of it. With his palm still cupping her throat, he used his thumb to flick her jaw, making her face him once more.
“You get what?”
“Turned on.” Her eyes were so penetrating, like she could see right to his damn soul. “The way you look at me, the way you talk to me…all of it makes me hot.”
“What about the way you talk?” he said, sliding his fingers along her sweet spot until she gasped. “You said you wanted to fuck?”
He teased her entrance, pushing only the tip of his finger inside.
“I said I wanted to fuck you.” Her eyes were squeezed shut, her hands flat against the wall behind her. He’d trapped her, and she was submitting. It was so perfect. Like her instinct was to give in to him. And his was to dominate… and cherish.
“Pretty mouth like that shouldn’t say such nasty words.” He bit her bottom lip. “Especially when you may get more than you bargained for.”
“I want it, Bass. I want you.” When he didn’t move, her eyes snapped opened and seared him with another
challenging glare. “Stop thinking of me like some fragile doll and—”
He thrust his finger deep and she gasped.
“Is this what you wanted?” He retreated but then returned with two fingers, plunging home again. Feeling her wet heat grip him after he’d spent so many nights imagining this moment was like a dream come to life. “You’re so tight. You can barely handle two fingers.” He kept them there, buried inside, and stirred deep until she was scratching at the wall behind her. “And yet you say you’re not fragile.”
“I’m not!” she moaned between clenched teeth.
“Well, I’m not gentle.” He thrust again, and her sheath clenched around him with the release he was denying her.
Jesus she was responsive. She was already on the brink of coming, and he’d not even done half the things he wanted.
“I like control.” He thrust again. “A challenge.”
She nodded.
“Look at you, trembling against the wall with my hand up your skirt in public.”
Her breasts were ready to spill over the top from her heavy panting, but her brassy attitude remained. “Looks like I’m not so innocent after all.”
“Oh? Is this something you do? Maybe with that fucking cowboy? Would it be him right now instead of me?” He surged his fingers as far as he could and flicked them, rubbing the sensitive spot inside.
Her eyes widened with surprise. She wanted to come. He could see it. Felt it in how she tensed around him. But he denied her. For her game. For her tricks. For his own fucking hate of wanting her so much.
“No…only you. I only want you.”
“Why?” he snapped.
“B-because I trust you.” Her words were so raw and honest, they hit him like a boot to the gut.
She trusted him.
The exact thing he needed when it came to his sexual lifestyle, and yet the last thing he wanted to hear from her. Because she was the one woman who should be running from him, the one woman he shouldn’t want as badly as he did.
He withdrew his hand and stepped back. Her eyes were glossy as they searched his face. He had to get a grip. He had to get out of there. Had to get her out of there.
“I’m taking you back to Diamond,” he said. “Now.”
She was the one woman who should be running from him, the one woman he shouldn't want as badly as he did.
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