by Jenna Harte
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Tonight was wonderful,” Lexie said when Drake walked her to her hotel room door. “New York is like a huge amusement park. All the lights and noise. Thank you for showing it to me.”
“It was my pleasure. I never realized just how wonderful it could be until I saw it through your eyes.” He took the keycard from her and opened her door.
“Really?” Lexie was pleased by the idea.
“Really. I’m sorry you won’t be able to have more time tomorrow before you leave to enjoy the city.” He handed her the key.
“Me too.” She wasn’t ready for the night to end, so she leaned against the frame of the open door.
“I’ll be here about ten tomorrow to take you to the airport. I’ve arranged a car to pick you up in Charlotte Tavern which will take you to Oliver’s.”
She smiled at him, struggling to maintain a brave face, when actually the thought of leaving, not New York, but Drake, broke her heart.
“Oh, and here.” He pulled a small medicine bottle from his pocket and handed it to her. “That should help on the flight.”
The turned the little bottle over in her hand. “Dramamine. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
They stood, eyes caught in a gaze. He reached out and touched a curl as he’d done earlier, only this time he let his fingers slide down to caress her cheek. It was torture. Why would he touch her and inflame the need only to leave?
“Will you remember me?”
“You’re not the kind of man a woman forgets, Drake.” She wanted to maintain the banter, even though her heart was breaking.
His lips twitched. “Will you try?”
“No.”
His thumb brushed her lower lip. “I can’t stop thinking of you, wanting you.”
“That would be difficult.”
His gaze drifted to hers, amused instead of annoyed for once. “I want to kiss you.” Fire and the promise of sensual delights burned in his eyes, but he wasn’t going to make the move. He was giving that decision to her. All she had to do was give him a sign.
“So what’s stopping you?” She nearly grabbed his tie and pulled him to her so he could make good on all his eyes promised.
“If I kiss you, then I’ll need to touch you, and once I touch you …”
“Why don’t you just show me what you got, slick?” This time, she grabbed his tie and pulled him into the room.
He grinned as he wrapped one arm around her. Lifting her off the floor, he pushed the door shut and pressed her body against it. “You don’t know what you do to me, Lexie.”
“Oh, I have an idea.” She ran her tongue over his lips.
He groaned. “I’m a dead man.”
“But a happy dead man.”
“Indeed.”
His mouth covered hers hungrily. Lexie threaded her fingers through his hair and held him to her, making sure he didn’t stop. She never wanted him to stop. She tried to wrap her legs around him. The dress prevented it, eliciting a frustrated moan from her.
“Not here.” Drake carried her to the bedroom and set her standing on the bed. From that standpoint, she could look down on him, and he had perfect access to her breasts, which he took advantage of by capturing one in his mouth, through the fabric. He sucked the tender nipple, gently nipping and tugging it with his teeth.
Lexie moaned. He moved to her other breast before fondling both with his hands.
“Tell me what you like, Lexie.”
“I like you,” she said on a breathless sigh. “I like everything you do.”
“Tell me.” His fingers undid the zipper of her dress as his lips trailed across her collarbone.
“That’s good. Maybe down a little bit.”
“Over here?” His lips ventured over newly exposed skin.
“Up a little.”
“Here?” His lips slid between her breasts as his hands pulled the dress down over her hips. She didn’t wear a bra, so her breasts were exposed for him, only him.
“Over a little.”
“Right or left?”
She started to lift her hands to guide his head, but Drake grabbed her arms, trapping them at her side.
She moaned.
“Ah, ah, ah…tell me.”
“My breast, take it. For God’s sake, take it.”
“That’s right.” He rewarded her by running his tongue over her left nipple. He blew gently, her pink flesh straining for more. “Like that?”
“Mmmm…more.”
“More what? Tell me, Lexie.” But he didn’t wait before laving her nipple again.
“You’re…ah, Gawd…evil…” Her skin felt feverish. Desire throbbed torturously through her body. Drake had always been quick to get to the good stuff in sex, but this time, he was taking his time. The change up was maddening and thrilling.
“Perhaps you could reward my effort with a kiss.”
She bent to him and poured herself into the kiss. Her tongue traced his lips and dipped into his mouth, re-exploring his taste and texture. When he moaned, it was her turn to feel pleased.
Her fingers worked eagerly on his shirt. Finally, his chest was bare, and she ran her hands over the hard lines. Her lips left his to taste his neck and nibble on his ear.
“Ah, Lexie…what you do to me.” His fingers threaded through her hair and held her to him.
She stopped and grinned at him. “Tell me.”
“Get naked and I’ll show you.”
She kicked away the dress that had pooled around her ankles and removed her panties. “Tell me, Drake.”
He clambered out of his pants. “You make me want like I’ve never wanted before.”
“Want what?”
“You. To touch you. To taste you.” He grasped her hips and looked at her. “Everywhere.”
He pressed a kiss to her abdomen. “Here. Mmmm, peaches and cream.” He moved lower, letting his tongue explore her belly button ring. “And here. Mmmm, even better.” His hands moved down her thighs and nudged them wider. “How about here? Can I taste you here, Lexie?”
He didn’t wait for an answer as his tongue snaked in to her heat.
“Oh, God.” She grabbed his shoulders to brace herself.
“Let me taste you, Lexie.”
“Yes.” She tried to give him better access, but her legs quivered.
In one smooth, quick move, he picked her up and sat her on the edge of the bed, pushing her legs apart, and settling between them. She started to lean back.
“No, don’t lie down. Watch me, Lexie. Watch me taste you.”
A long moan escaped her lips as his tongue ran the full length of the folds between her legs. To watch him was deliciously naughty.
“You like that, don’t you?” His thumb brushed against that one perfect sensitive spot.
“Yes…oh….”
“Open for me. Yes, that’s it.”
Lexie’s world spun hard and fast as his clever tongue laved and flicked and his lips sucked. Her eyes rolled back.
“Watch, Lexie.”
She tried to watch, but each caress and flick of his tongue sent her reeling.
His hands held her hips. His forearms opened her thighs. His tongue explored each fold, lingering on the swollen nub just long enough to make her body tighten before moving down to her entrance. He was slow, controlled, and extremely aware of what each stroke of his tongue did to her and falling for her more and more with each moan of encouragement.
He tried to pull away, but her hands fisted in his hair, demanding he finish what he’d started. With effort, he moved back.
“Oh, no, you don’t…” Lexie panted as she reached for him.
He smiled. “I promise, the end is near.” He was on his knees, looking at her flushed face covered in a sheen of perspiration. “So far so good, right?”
“Yes…please…”
He watched with a need for something more…something he didn’t understand. Acceptance? Approval? Commitment? He’d given himse
lf over to his family business and lived his life trying to make Oliver Carmichael proud. But with Lexie, sitting open and wanting in front of him, everything else meant nothing. He knew then he was in deep with her. Her spirit. Her energy. Her honesty. The intensity of his emotion would have brought him to his knees if he weren’t already on them.
“God, what do you need, Drake? A report card?” She reached for him. “You’re killing me.”
He smiled. “Sorry. Kiss me, Lexie. Kiss me, and I’ll make it all better.”
She groaned but kissed him. He could taste her desire, her need.
“Watch, Lexie. Watch me take you over.” He trailed kisses over her breasts, across her belly, and between her legs. He took one long, slow caress with a wide, soft tongue. She moaned her approval, her hands gripping his as they held her legs open.
He freed one of his hands. “Now, sweetheart, come for me.” He pushed his tongue into her and used his thumb to press against that one exquisite spot.
She cried out as her orgasm slammed into her. Her body tightened then shuddered as wave after wave of pleasure washed through her. Drake stayed with her, drawing out her release as long as possible before bringing her down.
When her body went limp, he wrapped an arm around her, lifted her, and laid her farther back on the bed, covering her with his body. Despite the desire to fill her now, what he wanted more was to hold her, to experience lovemaking beyond the physical. He waited for her to catch her breath, until finally, her eyelids opened. She looked so beautiful, and his heart flipped in his chest.
Lexie reached a hand up to touch his face. “It was perfect.” She kissed him, with a tenderness he’d never experienced. Was this love?
Her hand ran down over his hip and thigh and reached for his hardness. She cupped his weight in the palm of her hand, gently rolling him between her thumb and forefinger. He moaned, with raw desire. She wrapped her hand around his length, running her thumb over the damp tip. He growled and pulled her hand away.
“I can’t wait. I’m sorry.” He pushed her back.
“You can still let me…”
“I want to be in you, now.” The ferocious need to mate ate at him, as if his life depended on it.
“You can. Just lay back. Let me do this for you.” She pushed him back and swung her leg over him. His hands went to her hips, but she took them in her own, lacing their fingers together.
“Watch me, Drake. Watch as you fill me.”
Christ, he was dead, but she’d fulfilled her promise. He watched in near delirium as her body swallowed his hard length, painfully, slowly. It seemed as if his size should rip her apart, but she took him deep, deeper. She moaned, her head falling back as she let her weight do the work.
“God, you’re magnificent.” Her voice turned feral.
“It’s you.” He sat up, reclaiming her lips. His kiss was desperate, frantic. “You’re perfect.” His voice was distant as pleasure drove him toward madness.
She lifted her hips then let her weight drop over him again.
“Oh, Christ.” He fell back, and his hips bucked upward.
“Watch me. Watch me ride you, Drake.”
It was all he could do to open his eyes, but he did as she asked. She looked glorious. Her body rosy and damp, her eyes not quite focused as she took pleasure in moving over him, even as she enjoyed watching her effect on him. She rode him, moving up, down, forward, and back.
He’d hoped he could hold out for her, but he was fast approaching the end and couldn’t hold back. He didn’t want to hold back.
“Come with me.” He panted, extricating his hands from hers, and grabbing her hips.
“Yes.” She rode harder and faster until her body tightened around him as she sank hard and deep on him.
His release tore through him like a storm. He cried her name. His hands gripped her hips as his body bucked again and again underneath her. He pulsed and throbbed inside her, his release going on and on as her body milked him until she collapsed on his chest unable to support herself.
“Gawd.”
Drake would have agreed if he could speak. God, what she could do to him. He constantly felt poleaxed by her. How could a man need so much? And no matter how much he took, it was never enough. Was this how addicted people felt? Their need for a hit more important than anything else? The unsettled feeling of being out of control and a slave to the drug? Even now, when he should be completely sated and empty, every little move she made had him responding.
“You okay?” she asked.
In one move, he rolled, positioning her under him and slid in, slow and deep. Surprise followed by delight crossed her face. Her hands reached up and pulled him down to kiss her, her legs wound around his hips. This time, he went slow, wanting to make the moment last. Drug or no drug, he’d be going cold turkey after this night, so he intended to binge. When her body arched and tightened around him, he let himself go with her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lexie savored the feel of Drake as his heat surrounded her. She wanted to take everything in; his scent, his warmth, and his touch, because she knew this would be the last time she’d experience it. She expected him to jump up any moment to take care of…Uh oh.
“Drake?” she whispered in his ear.
“Give me one more minute. I have no feeling in my arms yet.”
She laughed. “You’re fine where you are.” She squeezed his backside to prove it. “But, I think now is a good time to tell you I’m on the pill.”
At first, she thought he might have fallen asleep. He remained completely still. Then, in a sudden move, he was up and off of her. “Oh, Christ, Lexie. I’m sor—”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to worry.” She reached for him, hating the panic on his face.
He swung his legs out and sat on the edge of the bed. He rested his elbows on his knees as he raked his hands through his hair. He turned his head to her. “Did I hurt you?”
“Hurt? No. It was wonderful. Perfect.” She wrapped her arms around as much of him as she could, which wasn’t much considering how short her arms were and how broad his shoulders were.
“I’m clean. I’ve always used a condom. Always. Well, until now, but that’s never happened before. Well, okay, there was that time with Sharon—”
“Drake.” Lexie smiled. “I’m not worried about that. And you don’t have to worry about being trapped with a baby.”
He cradled her cheek with the palm of his hand. “You wouldn’t do that, not on purpose. But if you’re pregnant, I’ll take care of you, Lexie. I promise.”
Lexie climbed on his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist. “I know you will. But you don’t have to worry. It would be an act of God if I got pregnant.”
Drake let out a nervous breath, then slid his arms around her. “You’re amazing.”
“Because I use birth control?” She laughed.
“No. Because you’re you.”
Her face warmed. It was the second time that day he’d praised her for being her.
“So you’ve been on the pill all this time and you’ve only now told me?”
She was glad to see his relief. “First of all, I didn’t know you so well the first time we had sex. Second, knowing you and your history, I don’t think it would have mattered.”
“You’re probably right.”
“It was so fantastic, Drake. I’m not sorry it happened.”
“We aren’t done yet, are we?”
She pressed her naked body against his. “Not even close. But next time, you can use a condom, if you want to be sure.”
He seemed to think about it a minute. Then he grinned. “I can’t go back now.” He stood up, taking her with him. “Have you tried out that tub in the bathroom?”
“Not yet. God, it turns me on to think of you in bubbles.”
Drake sent her a “men don’t do bubbles” look.
She smiled naughtily. “Just think how slick and—”
“Bubbles it is.”
L
exie lay quietly in bed. She’d been sleeping until Drake got up. She expected him to leave and was going to get up with him until she caught sight of him gazing out the window. What was he thinking? Probably about his big presentation. It didn’t seem right his whole future rested on one presentation, especially since Oliver could easily direct how the company would be handled upon his death. Lexie had grown to care for Oliver but couldn’t forgive him for the position he’d put his grandsons in. They were family, and you just didn’t treat family like that.
After meeting Derrick, Lexie believed Drake had an advantage. He understood people and money. He believed a company could be good to its people and still be profitable. He was willing to sacrifice for the good of the company. Yet, she knew it wasn’t just money Drake sacrificed. He’d given up a part of himself, as well as the idea of happiness. As far as she could tell, Drake only had a couple of people he trusted and could count on: Marla Hines, Mrs. Monceau, and her. It was interesting that they were all employees.
If Drake won, his life would be in New York. He’d probably make plans to visit Oliver a time or two before he died, but that would be it. Her heart ached at the thought that this would be the last time he was hers. She’d known her time with him would end; they didn’t have a future. But after the wonderful day she’d spent with him, she believed she knew him better. And she’d fallen deeper in love with him.
What would he do if she told him that? Probably freak. She knew he cared for her and he definitely lusted after her, but they were from different worlds. Even if she moved to New York, as Marla Hines not-so-subtly suggested, odds were a relationship wouldn’t work. Being around the sophisticated women of the big city again would certainly suppress his appetite for her. He wouldn’t be able to take her places without having the same reaction Sharon and Derrick had. Lexie wouldn’t fit in as a corporate wife. She’d butt heads and annoy or offend people with her outspoken manner. A man running a huge corporation didn’t need that in a wife.
Lexie sighed as she turned over to go back to sleep. She hoped he’d still be next to her in the morning, but she wasn’t going to hold her breath.
