The Remingtons_Blush of Love Read online

  His finger tightened over her ass and he began moving her in a half-circular, half-thrusting motion.

  Oh, oh, oh, oh! She couldn’t focus, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but react to the strokes of pleasure stirring her body.

  He lifted his strong upper body, still moving her in that wonderful maelstrom of passion, and buried his face between her breasts. He brushed his five o’clock shadow against her delicate skin, raising goosebumps over her shoulders and upper arms. He licked and laved her breasts, then latched onto one erect nipple, wrapping his tongue around it and sucking.

  The hard pressure and friction between her legs burned, lifting Safire closer to the edge, closer to oblivion. Her insides started to quake and she couldn’t catch her breath.

  “Come for me, sweetheart. Come hard for me,” Gunner urged, adding hip thrusts.

  “Oooohhh.” The first thrust ignited a spot deep inside her, spreading a flash of fire from her core to the tips of her toes. The second thrust met with her clenching womb and threw her into an orbit of pleasure. And the third thrust slammed her with a wave so strong, it wreaked havoc with all her voluntary muscles.

  Safire came apart as the limo bounced over the expansion joints of a bridge. Her orgasm shattered her into a million pieces so that she was barely aware of Gunner’s powerful thrusts as he throbbed and found his release.

  “Oh, Gunner.” Safire collapsed over him. “I don’t have words.”

  “You were wonderful.” He kissed her lightly on the lips. “Happy New Year. I believe that was the Williamsburgh Bridge.”

  “Not the Brooklyn?” She teased her fingernail over his chest.

  “Oh, baby, get on your back, because you’re definitely buying the Brooklyn Bridge from me.”

  # # #

  The hot little rocket in his arms was insatiable.

  Gunner ran his fingers from her head to toe, stroking and petting her. Every bit of her skin was flushed pink and warm and so sensitive. He kissed her languidly, while his cock re-hardened. He hadn’t expected her to be so forward, not with the way her sister had described her as shy and socially inept.

  As for clingy? The jury was still out. If she was always such a sex kitten, then he’d be glad to have her cling onto him, preferably with her sharp nails clawing his back in the throes of passion.

  “You know you’re hot?” Gunner nibbled at Safire’s ear, kissing the lobe. “Brainy and hot. The best combo.”

  “You’re a flatterer.” Safire stretched her lean body on the long bench, clearly comfortable being naked under his greedy eyes.

  Could anyone, even Clarissa, blame him for taking what was freely given to him? Right. Clarissa would blame him, and she’d probably pull a snit. Maybe it would be best if Safire didn’t say anything about this to her.

  “I’m a client of your sister’s so I have no reason to flatter you.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Or her. But, knowing her, she’s not going to like us being this close.”

  “Oh, really? Do you two talk about who you date?”

  He smoothed her hair from her face. “You’d be surprised. She’s my publicist, and my image is her job. I used to be somewhat of a bad boy, which helped get deals with sportswear and men’s personal care products: razors, cologne, deodorant, but I’m trying to move upmarket.”

  “More prestigious deals?”

  “Yeah, hawking luxury cars, expensive watches, high end clothes, vacations and spas. I have to be more dignified. No more strip clubs and rowdy bars.”

  Her eyes narrowed and she twisted her lips. “Are you saying I’m part of this image makeover? Did you ask me out because I’m Thrive’s Designer of the Year?”

  “No, not at all. I’ve been following your career, and I admire what you’ve achieved.”

  She grabbed his hand and lifted it between them. “Don’t lie, Gunner. I hate liars. It’s okay if you asked me out because of my accomplishments. The other thing, following my career, seems stalkerish.”

  “But it’s the truth.” He intertwined his fingers with hers. “I’m a big fan of your video games, and I did look you up on the internet about a year ago.”

  “Now, that’s creepy.” She squirmed and winked at the same time. “Was that before or after you started working with Clarissa?”

  “Before.” He kissed her fingers. “So, you see? I’m a stalker and I approached Clarissa after I started following you on social media. It was a bonus that she’s such an aggressive publicist. I can’t talk about it, but she’s got some big deals pending.”

  “And being seen with me? How will that help?”

  “You’ve a Ph.D. from Cornell. It’ll show everyone I’m not an idiot.”

  “So, it’s true then. You’re only with me for image purposes.”

  “No, it’s more. I like you. A lot.”

  She rolled her eyes and huffed. “Don’t lie, Gunner.”

  “I’m not.” He lowered his head and kissed her on the neck. “I more than like what we’re doing here.”

  He massaged her body, paying particular attention to her breasts. They weren’t big, but fit perfectly in his hands. Did anyone ever tell her how sexy she was? How incredibly surprising and delightful it was? To find a hot firecracker wrapped in a cool, calm, and aloof package.

  It meant no other man could possibly guess the treasure he’d found.

  As the car rolled through Brooklyn toward the bridge, he lowered himself to his knees onto the floor of the limousine and spread her legs.

  Kissing his way down her belly, he allowed himself to relax and dream. He’d have her licking cream from him, purring in contentment. She’d stand at his side and adore him, beaming pure devotion as she watched him play on the field. She’d be his alone—loyal and faithful, and most of all, she’d believe in him—that he was worthy and deserving of all the wealth and success he’d garnered.

  His clever tongue and mouth had arrived at her private juncture. Softly, he kissed her sensitive nub, moving his lips to her moans. Her hips undulated under him as she found a rhythm that enhanced her pleasure. He kissed and licked, loving her sweet taste and the way she responded to him—so sexy, hot, yet cute.

  Yes, he was going to master her soul and make her his. He would never be second-class again, and when those Remingtons saw him with his prize, they’d have to respect him—trailer trash or not. He was going to be high society, live in the best neighborhood, enjoy the finest wines, and vacation with the moneyed crowd. With his Ph.D. smart wife, he’d have them beat, especially with the intelligent children he’d sire—scholar athletes who’d attend the most prestigious universities.

  And it all started here. With one mind-blowing orgasm after another.

  Applying himself to loving her, he teased her with his tongue and brought his long, strong fingers into play, circling her entrance.

  The limo’s tires rumbled as it moved onto the Brooklyn Bridge. He thrust his finger into her sex, arching it to stroke the sensitive bundle of nerves inside while he sucked on her clit.

  Her hips jerked off the leather bench and she tightened her grasp on his hair, smashing his nose and mouth into her sweet folds as she screamed and thrashed and convulsed around his finger.

  He couldn’t help the smile as he licked her juices from his lips. He’d just sold her the Brooklyn Bridge, and she would be his forever.

  Chapter Seven

  “You stayed out late. Where were you?” Safire’s sister was at her apartment the next morning, breathing fire through her nostrils.

  Safire took a sip of coffee and went back to her computer. “You know you’re not Mom, right?”

  “I’m not, but I’m your elder sister. Besides, you went out with Gunner Gibson. Do you know what kind of reputation he has?”

  “He was a perfect gentleman. You even vouched for him yourself.” Safire tapped the keys and accessed the secret level. Twenty-three accounts had made it through the gauntlet of challenges, and the highest one was updated two minutes before midnight.

&nbs
p; “So, what did you two do? I called Nightcaps and the bartender said you left early.”

  “What we did was private.” Safire couldn’t help the corners of her mouth turning up along with the fluttering squeeze in her heart. It was nice to tease her sister for a change.

  “You’re not falling for him, are you?” Clarissa slapped her coffee cup on the kitchen table. “I can see it in your face. You’re picking china patterns already and designing your wedding dress.”

  “I’m not that pathetic,” Safire said. “At least I’m back in the saddle again.”

  The image of her riding the big Gunner had her almost giggling, but her sister was there glaring at her, so she covered her mouth and drilled down to the Planet Wargames secret level winner’s profile.

  “You slept with him.” Clarissa pinched her arm. “How could you?”

  “I can assure you, I wasn’t asleep.” Safire rolled her tongue in her cheek.

  “Oh, no!” Clarissa’s eyes popped wide. “You had sex with him, didn’t you? I can tell. You’re sitting there practically purring, and you’re glowing.”

  “I’m not saying a thing.” Safire scrolled through the winner’s profile and stats. She and her two sisters never shared these kinds of details because their mother was always prying and setting one girl against the other. She was widowed relatively young and never remarried, so her entire life revolved around setting up her three daughters in competition with each other and generally stirring the pot to get information.

  “You don’t have to say anything.” Clarissa jutted out her lower lip and cross her arms. “I just hope you don’t have any expectations. He travels a lot and has a lot of business contacts, so he’s not the type of guy who’s going to be calling you every night or spending the weekend with you.”

  “I’m not expecting him to,” Safire said, keeping her face as emotionless as possible. Gunner had walked her back to her apartment after they’d completed their bridge tour and had kissed her passionately before saying goodbye. He hadn’t asked to come in, and she hadn’t invited him. More importantly, despite exchanging numbers, they hadn’t made any empty promises to call or text each other.

  He’d simply given her a wink and had walked away with a jaunt in his step. The sex had been fantastic, but that was that. An encounter and an awesome way to start the new year—nothing more.

  “Good. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt the way you did after Finn broke up with you.” Clarissa placed what she thought was a consoling hand on Safire’s arm. “All of us were really worried about you.”

  “I was under a lot of stress,” Safire said, shrugging.

  She’d had to take a stress-disability leave of absence last year, and everyone thought Finn breaking up with her was the only reason. There was something much worse, so she was okay with people believing she was brokenhearted over a guy who’d swept her off her feet during his two-week break only to go incognito once he returned to war.

  No one could ever know the real reason she’d gone bonkers, and so far, she’d kept herself under control and resisted all temptation.

  “None of us want to see a repeat of that scenario.” Clarissa rubbed her arm and smiled with a close-lipped show of sympathy.

  “Hey, I’m okay now. I learned not to pin my hopes on a guy.” Not that she ever had, once they learned that dear old dad had gambled the family wealth away. “Anyway, I have work to do.”

  “Oh, that’s right. Don’t you guys have a video game contest you’re announcing today?”

  “That’s what I have to look into,” Safire said. “Looks like our winner lives close by.”

  “Really? Who?” Clarissa hovered so close over her shoulder she could feel her warm breath on her neck.

  Safire blocked Clarissa’s view of her screen. “Sorry, sis, you’ll have to hear about it along with anyone else.”

  “Oh, come on. It’s not like I have anyone to tell.”

  “Doesn’t matter.” Safire hit the lock-screen icon and crossed her arms. “Why don’t you call Mom and wish her a Happy New Year, or turn on the Rose Parade.”

  Clarissa rolled her eyes and huffed. “Mom doesn’t believe this is the real new year anyway. Chinese New Year’s still a month away.”

  Safire tuned out her sister’s complaints and clicked on the winner’s email address.

  # # #

  Gunner lounged in the media room of his 12,000 square foot Neoclassic Colonial mansion in Scarsdale, New York, a posh Westchester community north of New York City. It was furnished with luxurious Italian leather in clean, contemporary lines—a far cry from his dingy mattress in the double-wide trailer he’d shared with his mother.

  As soon as he’d bought the mansion, he’d invited his mother to live with him. He had spare bedrooms and even an entire wing she could use, but Mom was a small town girl, so she settled for him buying her a bed and breakfast across from the diner in the same neck of the woods he’d grown up in.

  Gunner channel surfed through hundreds of TV stations and checked his tablet for the fiftieth time, refreshing Thrive’s webpage where the winner of the Planet Wargames World Tour would be announced. From another tab, he browsed to Safire’s Facebook page to check if she’d mentioned him.

  Nothing. Her last post had been a few days before where she’d shared a reminder to all gamers to look for the secret level on New Year’s Eve.

  Gunner’s knee jittered, and he refreshed the page again. Clarissa had assured him that she’d racked up enough points to pretty much max out the secret level without it looking obvious that someone had hacked—which meant she had to leave certain items untouched and deplete his health stats.

  But what was taking so long? She was supposed to text him and let him know as soon as she found out. He hated to bug her, but he also hated being left in the dark.

  He checked the time again. The winner should have been announced. Maybe Clarissa failed to understand just how important this thing was to Gunner.

  He picked up his phone and the video chat app rang before he could hit the dialpad. It was the young man he was sponsoring for the Wishing With A Star Foundation.

  “Hey, Jake, what’s up?” Gunner answered the video call.

  “I won! I’m the ambassador for the Planet Wargames worldwide tour.”

  “High five.” He raised his hand up and waved to Jake Rodriguez. The twelve-year-old boy had to have both his legs amputated after being hit by a bomb while he was a spectator at a sporting event.

  “They’re going to announce it on the Thrive website,” Jake said. “Mom says they’re sending cameramen.”

  “That’s awesome! You go, Thumper_Gunner Rodriguez.” That was Jake’s character name.

  “I thought I didn’t make it,” Jake said, hardly able to catch his breath. “When I went to sleep, I set off auto-aiming time bombs to rack up as many hits as I could, but I didn’t think I’d found the secret level. I made the walls transparent and I could see everyone coming and going. When I checked this morning, I realized I was already in the level. And guess what? I beat the Illuminati Boss with my rapid trigger cluster shots.”

  “That’s wonderful. How many health points did you have left?”

  “I was barely alive. I had to drink the recombinant DNA. Looks like when I beat the Illuminati Boss, I got all of his recombinant DNA potions and now I’m at full health. This morning I uncovered another level leading me up to the Potentate level. It’s awesome. I only have to look at someone and they turn to dust.”

  “Cool. I knew you could do it.” Gunner reached for his laptop and refreshed the screen. Sure enough Jake “Thumper_Gunner” Rodriguez was the winner!

  Yes! Clarissa had come through.

  “And guess what, Gunner?” Jake said. “When I visit Thrive, I want you to come with me. Mom says to thank you for the fake legs.”

  “You make sure you walk straight and tall,” Gunner said. “I’m so proud of you.”

  Gunner had taken Jake under his wing shortly after the boy had lost his l
egs. He’d been his buddy throughout the harrowing recovery as well as when Josh was learning how to use his prosthetic limbs. They’d whiled away many hours playing video games. Before the bombing, Jake had been the quarterback of his Peewee football team. The boy was not only physically maimed, but lost all of his football dreams. Planet Wargames was his therapy and comeback all in one, and the worldwide tour would be educational as well as expose him to more possibilities than existed in his South Bronx neighborhood.

  “Oh, Mom’s calling.” Jake looked away from the video chat. “She says they’re here.”

  “Great. Can you prop up the phone so I can watch you win?”

  “Sure thing.” Jake placed the phone on a table. He picked up his crutches and hobbled toward the door.

  Gunner held his breath, wondering if Safire would show up at Jake’s apartment. It had been hard to let her go back to her apartment since he’d wanted to keep her all night. But she’d insisted she had to go home and qualify the winner of the contest, and knowing how important it was for Jake, Gunner had relented.

  Of course he’d played it cool with her. After all, no matter how exciting she was, she was still a closed book and the sister of his publicist. He’d have to tread carefully and hope Clarissa hadn’t guessed what had happened.

  But then, didn’t she work for him?

  Gunner returned his attention to the phone screen.

  Dex Remington entered the tiny apartment after the cameramen were in place. He shook hands with Jake’s mother and gave Jake a bear hug. Dex wasn’t quite as hostile toward Gunner as the other brothers, maybe because he was Siena’s twin and trusted her judgment. Whatever had happened between them was consensual, or so he’d thought. It wasn’t as if Siena hadn’t gotten as much out of the act as he had. They’d both agreed to the charade, and the Remington brothers had made a mountain out of a molehill.

  Safire’s elegant head peeked into the apartment. Gunner sucked in a breath and swallowed his drool. She was as fresh-faced and sassy as if she hadn’t gone the rounds with him over every bridge connecting Manhattan.