An Excerpt From: PAY UP
Copyright © KAILY HART, 2010
Chapter One
“Yes, yes, Rio, yes…oh…God, yes…”
Not again.
Carly felt heat flare in her cheeks, not to mention the other parts of her body. It washed over and through her all at once, leaving her weak, her breathing unsteady, and just plain…hot.
What the hell did Rio do to get them to moan and scream and gasp that way? She’d never called out like that in the throes of passion or anywhere else for that matter. She was also pretty sure it wouldn’t have been with that sense of utter abandon or lack of regard for who might hear her. And let’s face it, she just wasn’t that great an actress.
One of the reasons she’d bought her condo in this building was for its construction, specifically the interior concrete walls. It should have been impossible, but some freak design with the ventilation system meant…they had to be going at it up against the entry wall that backed directly to hers. Why hadn’t that occurred to her? They’d barely made it past his front door before…
Whew.
Carly inhaled quickly at the sharp pull low in her abdomen. She swore she could hear a faint rhythmic thumping and muffled groans too, but it could just as easily be her imagination taking over. It didn’t take much to have her picturing Rio’s big body and what he was doing with it to get that kind of response. God, he’d be hot and sweaty, his body gleaming with exertion, his dark hair damp and sticking up where urgent hands had been buried in it, maybe holding on to him, urging him on. He’d have his shirt off, but maybe he’d been impatient, unfastening his pants just enough, having thrust them down roughly so he could—
She took a deep, shaky breath. She really, really needed to get a life. Unfortunately, she’d heard the whispers and giggles for a long time about how awesome Rio was in bed. About how built he was…down there, and about how he knew his way around a woman’s body like few guys did. Hearing the evidence of it for the second time in a week didn’t help.
Carly could feel how damp her panties were against the hot, aching flesh between her legs. She couldn’t help the clench of her inner muscles when she heard a definite thud and more with the moaning.
They were still going at it?
She’d figured after that crescendo they’d be done. She sighed. Yeah, she’d heard about Rio’s stamina as well.
How could she be hot and bothered and jealous as hell all at once? The hot and bothered she wasn’t so surprised about. She only had to picture Rio shirtless and she was there. Hell, she only had to imagine his big hands, the sharp line of his jaw, the flash of his smile or his startling blue eyes and that was enough. The shockingly intense jealousy had sneaked up on her over time. And now? It was like acid burning through her veins at the thought of him and what he was doing with another woman, to another woman.
So, who did he have over there?
He hadn’t dated anyone regularly since the woman he’d been seeing when they’d first met. He never lacked feminine attention though. Being a tall, dark-haired, ripped firefighter didn’t hurt him in that department either, but he didn’t play the field like he could. Sometimes he went weeks without seeing anyone. Not that she was keeping track or anything. Aw, jeez, who was she kidding? She knew every woman he’d ever gone out with. It was the second time this week with the sound effects and it was getting on her nerves, not to mention her libido. So, all right…she didn’t have to stand in the kitchen, close to her front door where the sound seemed to be the loudest. She could have moved and spared herself, because she wasn’t sure her heart could stand much more either, but something kept her rooted to the spot.
She closed her eyes and leaned back against the counter. Her body was on fire, her clothing rough against her overheated skin. Even the softness of her washed-to-death t-shirt seemed abrasive against her pebble-hard nipples. She gasped as the muscles between her legs and deep inside where she burned flexed involuntarily. Her panties were soaked.
Dammit.
It was inevitable. She knew, she just knew, before she went to sleep tonight she was going to be making good use of her vibrator, imagining it was Rio pleasuring her, his unforgiving tongue flickering over the swollen bud of her clitoris before his big body thrust in and out of her as he braced her up against the wall. She had to give in to it, there was no choice, because if she held out, the need and want and lust became unbearable. Been there, done that. Greg hadn’t been able to satisfy that in her either. Despite how pleasant their sex, he couldn’t satisfy the craving she had for Rio. He never had. She snorted. Yeah, thinking sex with him was “pleasant” should have given her more than a clue, a long time ago.
God. Rio Reyes. He’d been her sexy neighbor for just over a year, a good friend for almost the same amount of time and her secret crush since the day he’d helped her “de-wedge” her console table from the apartment elevator. An elevator she wasn’t supposed to be using for moving in her furniture. He’d laughed at her with his infectious smile and gorgeous dimples and she’d been gone.
