Big Deck Read online

  “Hey now,” I growl. I gather her in my arms, holding her tight to my chest as she shakes and sucks in breaths of air. “Hey, I’m here,” I grunt as she clings to me tightly. Her fingers twist in my t-shirt, holding on for dear life while I hold her tightly.

  What the hell have I walked into?

  4

  Heather

  I’m shaking. The heat of his body, and the power in those muscles arms helps, a lot actually. But I’m still trembling as I close my eyes and lean into him. In my head, the replay is endless: me watching some mindless Netflix when the front door swung open. The memory of Pete and his super creepy smile just waltzing into my house holding fucking gardening shears makes me clench in fear and cling to Hollis tightly.

  He keeps one arm around me as he reaches around to grab something. I feel him draw the soft blanket from the back of the couch around my shoulders, and I close my eyes again. This time, I replay the part where I grabbed the gun and pointed it at my stalker. I almost can’t believe I actually pulled the trigger, even if I wasn’t anywhere near to hitting him.

  Hollis pulls the blanket tight around me, and then he starts to get up. My hand shoots out instantly, gripping him tightly with my eyes still closed. It’s like an instinct, to grab on to safety and warmth right now.

  “Hey,” he grunts quietly. I open my eyes and look up into his. He’s such a huge guy, and that beautiful face is also so shadowed and hardened. But right now, he just looks at me so tenderly that it melts my heart a little.

  “Hey,” Hollis says quietly again. He squeezes my hand. “I’m just gonna go make you some coffee. You’re in shock. The caffeine will help.” My hand tightens in his, and our eyes meet. “I’m not going anywhere,” he says in the same gruff and yet soothing tone

  Our eyes hold each other’s gaze. I slowly nod and let go of his hand. “Okay,” I whisper. I watch as he walks across my somewhat open-concept house into the large kitchen area. He grinds some beans, fills the drip machine with water, and sets it to brew. While it’s dripping, I watch as he walks towards the back of the house.

  I hear the click of a lock, and then he reappears. He goes to the front door and locks it too. I watch as his eyes linger on the bullet hole, but he doesn’t say anything about it.

  “Any other doors?”

  “They’re locked.”

  He frowns. “You sure?”

  “Yes.”

  Hollis nods and walks back to the kitchen, where he pours me a mug of coffee. He comes back to the couch and passes it to me. There’s nothing in it, but I actually drink it black anyways. He watches in silence as I blow on surface, and then bring it to my lips to take a small sip.

  “Who the fuck was that?”

  I close my eyes, trying not to shake.

  “Heather.”

  I take another small gulp of scalding hot coffee with my eyes closed. Then I open them. “His name is Pete. He’s…” I frown and look at the floor. “He’s a little obsessed with me. And look, before you go off on my being a stuck-up—”

  “I’m not,” he growls quietly. “I know who you are.” He flashes a small smile and shrugs. “I don’t watch a lot of movies.”

  “Want an autograph” I mutter dryly.

  “I’ll pass this time.”

  I smile into my coffee.

  “Heather, we need to call the police.”

  Instantly, my smile vanishes. “No,” I blurt out. “No, definitely not.”

  Hollis glowers. “What?”

  “No. No police.”

  “Heather, that’s insane.”

  “No police,” I say again with a firmness in my voice. “This is going to sound super stuck up, but you don’t know my world, Hollis. Calling the police means the press, and I can’t have that.”

  “A man just broke into your home with fucking gardening shears, Heather,” he grumbles.

  “Yeah, well press like this will just fuck me, trust me.”

  “He’s done this before?”

  I look away. “He’s tried. He’s after my…” I shiver and look away.

  “Heather,” Hollis says gently.

  “He’s after my hair,” I whisper.

  Hollis snarls. “The police, Heather. You need to call them.”

  “No!” I blurt. “Seriously, you don’t know how this will go, Hollis. He’ll get a little jail time, maybe, or probably a slap on the wrist and another restraining order that he’ll just ignore someday soon. But me?” I laugh a cold, joyless laugh. “I’ll be in the tabloids for years about it. And believe me, that thing they say about there being no such thing as bad press? That’s bullshit, and this bad press will permanently derail my career.”

  Hollis scowls deeply, but he nods. “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  “No cops.”

  I smile thinly over my coffee at him. “Thank you,” I whisper.

  He nods, and our eyes lock again. Then he turns and goes for the rifle still lying on the ground. He picks it up, and I blink in surprise as he safeties it, drops the magazine out, and pops out the chambered round into his waiting palm, all in about four seconds. He frowns as he brings the gun up to his face and glances through a piece of it before he swings it around with military precision and lays it out with the magazine and single bullet on the side table behind my couch.

  “So you clearly know how to use that better than I do,” I say quietly. I turn to look at the bullet hole in my wall.

  “Marines,” Hollis growls in answer. His eyes swivel to mine, and I hold his gaze. A warmth spreads through me, and I know it’s not just the coffee.

  “Thanks for coming,” I say softly.

  “I’m supposed to apologize to you.”

  I giggle. “Yeah? Because I was a total bitch and called your boss?”

  “Basically,” he grins.

  I smile back. “Well?”

  “Well what?”

  “Where’s this apology?”

  He chuckles a dark, rumbling laugh. “Oh, it’s not coming.”

  I throw my head back as a big, loud, genuine laugh comes tumbling out. I keep laughing, feeling tears rolling down my cheeks. Eventually, I calm back down and wipe them away. I look up at Hollis and smile widely.

  “Thank you,” I giggle. “I really needed that.”

  He grins back. “At your service.” He brings his hand up to run through his blond hair, and I know my cheeks are flushing as I watch the ink on his muscled arm ripple. “So we’re not calling the police.”

  I shake head.

  “Fine, I’m staying, then.”

  My eyes blink rapidly, and a giddy feeling ripples through me. “Excuse me?”

  “I’m staying, here at your house tonight.”

  My face burns hotly. “Um… that’s not necessary.”

  “Yes, it is,” Hollis growls lowly. “It is with that fucker out there.”

  “You really don’t have to.”

  He looks right into my eyes, and I tremble a little as I hold his gaze.

  “Yes, I do.” He shrugs. “And I’m starting that deck of yours tomorrow morning anyways. This saves me a trip back and forth.”

  “My big deck,” I murmur, blushing.

  Hollis chuckles. “That big deck you need,” he growls with an amused look on his face.

  I blush deeply.

  “You should try and rest,” he says. “I’ll take this couch.”

  I shake my head. “No, that’s silly. I have like four extra bedrooms in this place.”

  “The couch is fine.”

  “Hollis.” I sigh and smile at him. “Honestly. Take one of the guest rooms, I insist.”

  He flashes me a sizzling grin. “Well, since you’re rich and famous.”

  I roll my eyes, and he winks at me. The funny thing is, it’s like we’re flirting in this odd way. But it’s also like we’re dancing around the fact that we kissed before—twice. Or that he saw me naked. Or that I wanted to jump him so freaking badly.

  My burns hotly, and I sip my coffee. �
��Thank you,” I finally say, breaking the silence. “For showing up.”

  Hollis nods. “I’m going to grab some stuff out of the truck. I’ll be right back.”

  I watch him walk out, and then I turn and pull the curtain aside from the window. I watch, blushing and feeling a giddy feeling blossom inside as our kisses from earlier replay in my head. I watch Hollis’s huge, built body open the back of the pickup truck and pull out a bag. God, he’s so huge…

  My brain, which today is apparently acting like that of a teenage boy, instantly begins to wonder what if Hollis is this big all over. I blush and quickly shake the thought away. Good lord, I seriously need to get ahold of myself.

  Hollis walks back inside and lifts the bag. “To be clear, I always keep an overnight bag in my truck.”

  “In case you get lucky, or because you’re a doomsday prepper?”

  He smiles. “Shitty childhood. Force of habit.”

  I nod and stand from the couch and beckon. “This way,” I say quietly and head for the stairs. He follows right behind me, and I tremble, feeling his eyes on me as we climb the staircase. Or at least, I’m imagining his eyes on me. Maybe I’m hoping for it.

  “You’re here,” I say softly as I open the door to one of the several spare bedrooms in this big house. “Bathroom is en suite. I’m down at the end of the hall.”

  “I’ll know where to find you if I need anything,” he growls.

  I suck my bottom lip in-between my teeth. Hollis’s jaw clenches. God, the tension between us is so thick you could scoop it with a spoon. Our eyes hold each other’s gaze, and I want to kiss him again so badly. God help me, I want to do a lot more than kiss him, too. But I keep those thoughts at bay.

  Instead, I breathe deeply and smile as best I can.

  “Thanks again for tonight. For all of it.”

  Hollis just nods. “Anytime. And I’m here.” He shrugs. “If you need anything.

  I smile. “Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight.”

  I head down the hall to my master suite and close the door quietly behind me. I strip down and change into a light slip. I wash my face, brush and floss my teeth, put on my face cream, and tie my hair back. I look into the mirror, but I don’t see me. I just imagine Hollis, and I wonder if he’s doing some of the same things in his guest bathroom. I try to imagine him shirtless with a dripping wet face, and my body trembles at the thought.

  I shake the thoughts away and go climb into bed and turn the lights off. But sleep doesn’t come. There’s a man in my house—a hot, gorgeous, rough man, who I kissed. Twice.

  Without warning, my hands start to slide over my body. But I squeeze my eyes and thighs shut. Stop it, I tell myself. Go to bed.

  But even when I close my eyes, all I can see is Hollis.

  5

  Heather

  I wake up sweating, with my whole body on fire. It was a dream that did it; a wild, crazy, hot as hell dream that left me wanting more of him. Hollis, that is. It was a dream where he woke me up with another kiss, and then more, all over me.

  In my dream, his big hands pinned me to my bed, and he took his pleasure from me wantonly. In the snippets of it I can remember now that I’m awake, he had me face-down on the bed. He had my hair in his fist and his other big hand gripping my ass as he mounted me from behind and fucked me hard and deep.

  I tremble in my bed, and I moan a little, feeling how wet I am. But then I shake my head and take a deep breath. This is insane, and this sudden physical desire for the man sleeping down the hall from me is totally crazy.

  I slide my legs out of the covers and sit on the edge of my king-sized bed. It’s two in the morning. I think about laying back down, but I’m also parched from panting in my dream. So I stand instead and pull on a light robe over my light slip, before I walk out of my room and down the hall to the staircase.

  But I don’t make it that far, though. When I go to walk past it, I end up pausing at the door to the guest room that Hollis is sleeping in. The door is ajar, and I can hear the soft sound of rhythmic breathing. I close my eyes and tell myself to just keep going, but I don’t.

  Slowly, I open the door more and peer inside. The room is flooded in moonlight. I can feel my pulse beat faster as my gaze moves from the window to the bed to see him sleeping there. He’s got the covers down to his waist, and I suck my lip between my teeth as my eyes take in the sight of his bare, shirtless torso. The moonlight sends grooved shadows across his abs that have me breathing a little quicker.

  Good lord, he’s built like a tank, and he’s all muscle. I bite my lip hard as I stare. The pain sears through me, but it only adds to the fire inside. My eyes slide over his bare chest, down over washboard abs to where the sheet is around his waist. Then I suddenly see it, and I gasp as my hand flies to my mouth.

  I don’t know how I missed it before, but there it is. Just south of his waist, there’s a massive, bulging tent in the sheet. My heart races, and there’s no denying the forbidden heat that ignites inside. I stare, not even really believing it. Slowly, I start to walk into the room.

  My body trembles and shivers excitedly. A nervous giddiness comes over me as I walk quietly across the room towards the bed. And the whole time, my eyes are glued to that enormous tower bulging from between his legs.

  I mean Jesus Christ did he bring a freaking zucchini to bed with him? One of his hammers from his tool belt? Whatever it is, my mind almost refuses to believe it’s actually that. There’s just no way him or any man is actually that big.

  I reach the side of the bed, and I swear my heart is beating so loudly it’s going to wake him. But he sleeps on, looking so freaking hot like this. I swallow and wet my lips. I know I should walk away, but it’s like I’m under a spell; a combination of the kisses from earlier and the dream from just now keeping me right there.

  My hand moves slowly, reaching out until I grip the edge of the sheet covering him. I try and talk myself out of this one more time, but my brain is just not having it. Instead, I tug on the sheet, and slowly it begins to pull away and down his body.

  Hollis grunts, turning onto his side in his sleep. I gasp and drop the sheet, freezing. But he keeps breathing like he’s sleeping. I start to turn to get the heck out of here, but then he rolls onto his back again, and the sheet slips off of him, and I gasp.

  There it is, throbbing, hard, and right in front of me. My eyes widen and my jaw almost hits the freaking ground as I stare at the biggest dick I can even imagine, standing tall and thick from his body. His boxers have opened, and Hollis’s freaking enormous cock is poking straight up through them, throbbing in the air.

  I’m twenty-six. I’ve dated. I’ve been married. But I have never in my life seen a dick that made me as excited, turned on, and desperate for it like this. The moonlight bathes his gorgeous body and enormous cock in white, accentuating his grooved muscles and the veins on his dick. I hold back the moan I want to let out, and my thighs squeeze shut. I want to stop myself, but I’m helpless as my hand moves with a mind of its own. It slides between my legs, and I gasp quietly as I run a finger gently over my lips while I stare at Hollis’s huge cock.

  And then, suddenly, the room is quiet. My eyes flick up to his face, and my heart almost jumps out of my throat. His eyes are open and bright blue in the moonlight as they stare into mine. I gasp, and I almost turn and bolt from the room. But he sits up.

  Hollis eyes me with a wild and hungry look on his face, and he swings his legs to the side of the bed. He doesn’t do a thing to hide his big dick. He reaches for me, and I gasp when he takes my hand in his with those blue eyes still holding mine. He tugs, and I go willingly, letting him pull me into bed

  “Hollis…” I gasp quietly before his mouth crashes into mine. I moan desperately as he kisses me deeply. His hands move all over me, pulling my robe off and peeling my silk slip down from my shoulders. He kisses me deeply and growls into my mouth. His big hands pull the top of my slip down off my shoulders, and he peels it lower until he tugs it
down and over my tits.

  Hollis growls into my lips and brings a hand up to cup one of them. His forefinger and thumb swirls over my hard pink nipple, sending pleasure through my core. His lips hungrily attack my neck, making me moan eagerly as he pulls me into his lap.

  I can feel his cock hard and hot and throbbing against my thigh. I gasp and slide my hands into his hair, tugging him up from my neck to press my lips to his. He growls as he kisses me with more heat than any kiss I’ve ever felt before. His hands slide over me and bunch my slip up around my waist. He grips it, grunting into my lips as he slides it up. My arms raise, and he tugs the silk free of my hair and tosses it aside. I’m not wearing panties, and I gasp as I feel his throbbing erection hot against my slit.

  My hair tumbles free of the ponytail and cascades across both of us as he kisses me hungrily again. My hands move back to his hair, and his tease down my spine until they’re cupping my ass in a firm, powerful grip. I moan into his mouth as he eases back on the bed with me on top of him, his cock hard and hot between my thighs.

  Hollis starts to pull me higher. He uses his hands on my ass to drag me up over his torso, bringing me higher up his body. I moan as I realize what he’s after, and I blush hotly. His eyes pierce into mine as he pulls me up and centers me over his face. I hold my breath as he hovers my pussy inches above his waiting mouth, like I’m about to take a plunge.

  “I’ve wanted this pretty pussy since the second I laid eyes on you,” Hollis groans. His eyes look up over my bare body, finding my lust-hooded eyes. “You’re not a trophy, Heather,” he growls. “But you are my prize.”

  He pulls me down, and his tongue teases wetly across my pussy. I cry out and moan in pure pleasure. My mouth falls open, and my head lolls back as he pushes his tongue between my lips. His hands hold me tight, and his arms flex as he glides me back and forth across his tongue. His fingers dig into my skin, and it sends sizzles of desire through my core.

  I fall forward, my hands gripping the headboard. Shamelessly, my face flushed, I begin to roll my hips along with him moving them. Pleasure ripples through me as I grind wantonly against his tongue. He groans into me, teasing his tongue higher until he’s circling my clit with it. This time, I scream in pleasure. My nails dig into the headboard, and I moan eagerly while Hollis tongues my hard clit until my wet arousal coats his lips.