And play she did.
Anna was determined to make his body sing. She took him to the hilt as Max thrust forward, driving hard against her mouth. The taste changed, and Anna was only vaguely aware that Max was trying to tell her something.
“Anna,” he breathed. “I can’t. . .”
Digging her fingers into his thighs, Anna sucked harder, and with a guttural cry, he exploded in her mouth. Instinct told her to pull back, but the feel of him soaring beneath her, knowing she was the one driving him over the edge, made Anna hold on and take him in. Reflexively, she swallowed and found a sweeter taste than expected.
Max’s body shuddered seconds before he collapsed beside her, and Anna concluded that she wasn’t so bad at oral sex after all.
Take that, douche canoes.
Max eventually raised himself on one elbow. “You succeeded,” he said, his breath not quite even.
Anna smiled like a contented cat. “I did, didn’t I?”
Max kissed her forehead then the tip of her nose before taking her mouth in a long, wet kiss, not seeming to mind the taste of himself on her lips. When the kiss ended, Anna was sprawled atop him.
“You did. But now we have a problem to resolve.”
Chapter Six
Anna sobered immediately. “What problem?”
Max raised one brow and trailed a finger along the neckline of her dress. “You're still wearing clothes. That isn’t fair when I'm lying here in my birthday suit.”
Anna grinned. “I like your birthday suit. It's very sexy.” Then she looked down to her dress. “But you do have a point. Any ideas how we can fix this?”
“Allow me,” he said, switching their positions and making short work of her buttons.
In no time, the dress was once again open to her waist, the feat accomplished with only one hand. As the dress fell apart, Max's lips found more and more exposed skin. He kissed the top of her right breast where it swelled over the cup of her bra, then his tongue dipped down to lick her nipple, igniting her body with fierce longing.
Anna needed something to do with her hands, so she slid the right one into Max's hair while the other went to help with the buttons.
“No, you don't,” he said, locking her wrists together above her head. “It's my turn.”
With the final button undone, he pushed the dress completely open, raising goosebumps along her flesh.
“Now,” he said, lathing one nipple while holding her gaze, “tell me about page two hundred twenty-seven.”
Anna didn’t need a mirror to know her entire body blushed. Reading erotic sex scenes was one thing. Describing them aloud to a man she barely knew, regardless of the fact they’d just exchanged mind-blowing orgasms, was something altogether different.
As a means of deflection, she said, “Don’t be silly. You clearly don’t need instruction from a romance novel.”
Switching from a lick to a bite, he said, “Tell me.”
Verna would pay for this. Their next selection would be something much tamer. No hero taking anyone against a wall.
“The scene is about trust,” Anna said. “About giving up control and focusing on nothing but pleasure.”
“I like it so far.” Shifting his weight, Max rose above her, pinning her hips to the bed with his own, while keeping her wrists locked above her head. “Especially the pleasure part. Now for specifics.”
“I’m not sure I’m ready for the specifics,” she said, wishing he’d let the topic go. “I don’t even know you that well.”
Stilling, Max stared into her eyes as if he could see into her soul. She’d never been good at hiding her thoughts, which meant he could likely see every doubt and insecurity running through her mind.
A moment before she looked away, one side of his mouth lifted into a half grin as he freed her hands. “My name is Maxwell Alexander Cambridge. Marshall is my pen name and my mother’s maiden name. I was born in San Francisco, and raised in Berkley. My birthday is July twenty-first, I prefer bourbon to scotch, and am a staunch supporter of the Oxford comma.” Pausing to drop a kiss between her breasts, he added, “Does that help?”
Now she had no excuse not to tell him. With a sigh, Anna said, “I need you to let me up.”
Concern crossed his features as Max shifted to the side. Without explanation, she crawled off the bed, clutching the dress tightly closed, and crossed the distance to her dresser, where she withdrew three thin slips of fabric from the top drawer before padding back to the bed.
Climbing to the center of the mattress, she curled her legs to the side as she dropped the material in front of Max. “We’ll need these.”
He toyed with the strips of silk but remained silent.
“In the scene on page two hundred twenty-seven,” Anna explained, “the heroine can’t tell the hero what she likes because she doesn’t know. Only her pride won’t let her admit that part. Thankfully, the hero figures it out and comes up with a plan. In order to heighten her senses, he blindfolds her. Then, to urge her to tell him what feels good, and what feels even better, he binds her hands to the bed. Being as the hero is a police officer, they use handcuffs, but I don’t have any of those lying around.”
Through the entire explanation, Anna kept her eyes on the pastel shades of the scarves. If the scene hadn’t hit so close to home, she might have been able to brave a look at Max’s face, but as it was, her voice alone revealed enough.
When the silence grew deafening, Max lifted her chin with one finger. “Are you sure about this?”
Anna nodded.
“Then scoot up to the pillows,” he said, his voice firm but gentle.
With a shiver of anticipation and no small amount of fear, Anna crawled up to the headboard and settled between the pillows. Max draped one scarf around her neck before securing first her right wrist to wrought iron headboard, then her left. Nudging her knees apart, he settled between her thighs and said, “Close your eyes.”
She did as ordered, receiving a kiss on each eyelid as reward. “Trust me, Anna.”
His words helped her relax as he secured the cool silk over her eyes. Instantly, she noticed the crickets chirping outside, smelled the lavender on her sheets, and felt the moisture in the air settle on her skin.
Long seconds passed with no movement from Max. No touch or words. And then he slid a finger into Anna’s mouth to touch the tip of her tongue. She tasted the salt on his skin before he withdrew to trail the damp digit down her neck and over her left breast. Anna’s arms strained against the scarves, reminding her that she was bound.
Defenseless.
Before she could panic, Max dropped a kiss on the inside of her knee. The gesture took her by surprise. The next kiss was on the inside of her thigh, increasing her anticipation of what would follow. When his lips grazed her naval, Anna’s hips lifted off the bed.
“Does this feel good so far?” he asked.
“Yes,” she answered.
“What would feel even better?”
“Max, please.”
“Tell me.”
Her breath thinning, Anna focused on her body.
“My breasts,” she finally said. “Touch my breasts.”
Strong hands made contact, kneading and molding her. His thumbs brushed her nipples, sending currents to her core.
“Does that feel good?” he asked again.
“Yes,” she replied, her voice heavy.
“What would feel even better?”
Max’s breath caressed her neck as he spoke, and Anna knew her next answer.
“Your mouth,” she said. “Your mouth on my skin would be even better.”
Again, he obeyed, and Anna became a live wire, her world limited to the sensations stemming from her breasts. The raw power raging through her.
After licking and sucking each peak, Max said, “Where else do you want me to touch you, Anna?”
“Between my legs,” she said, spreading for him. “Taste me, Max.”
Firm hands cupped her ass, lifting her to hi
m, and when Max’s mouth sucked hard against her, Anna cried out. Pain or pleasure, there was no difference now. His tongue slid between her folds, and he opened her wider with his thumbs. Without further instruction, his tongue plunged inside, and Anna’s hands wrapped around the cold bars.
She rose to meet every lick and thrust, begging for more while begging for mercy. His name tumbled off her lips when the first wave took her under, stealing her breath and tightening every muscle in her body. Max never slowed the pace, sending her crashing again and again.
When she was certain she’d reached her limit, Max lifted the scarf away from her eyes. He braced her heels on his shoulders, then clamped hard on her hips before driving into her. Sweat glistened on his skin as damp hair clung to his forehead.
With eyes the color of coal, he held her gaze as he thrust over and over, teeth bared and body rigid. Anna clung to the headboard, taking him deep and riding the rising tide again.
“Come with me, Max,” she whispered breathlessly. “Come with me.”
As if the words were what he’d needed, Max gave a barbaric growl, driving home one final time. His body shuddered against hers as spasms shot through her extremities. Rocked by the power of the release, Anna could do little more than hold on, waiting for the tremors to subside.
After dropping a series of kisses down her abdomen, Max lowered Anna’s legs and leaned up to release her hands. He then stretched out beside her, pulling her hard against him.
As the euphoria faded, Anna absorbed everything about the moment, certain that she would never experience anything this amazing ever again.
Chapter Seven
After a short nap, Anna awoke to a hand traveling across her rib cage. Even now, satiated and barely awake, every nerve ending in her body craved his attention. A touch and she was wet. When he suckled her breast, she moaned.
“What was that?” he asked. “Is there something you wanted to say?”
It would have taken an act of God for Anna to speak. Max continued to suckle like a dying man presented with clear spring water. With little more than a pluck of her other nipple, she came undone.
The abrupt shock to her system sent her reeling as if she'd been hit by lightning. Max never hesitated. He simply moved over her and took the other breast in his mouth. Anna seriously thought she might die, but just as she contemplated putting on the breaks, Max slid a hand between her legs to rub her clit.
All thoughts of saving herself vanished.
So wet she could smell her own sex, Anna gripped the sheets while Max lingered just below her naval. One finger still driving her mad, he said, “You're more beautiful than I imagined.”
She opened her eyes to see Max’s hot gaze taking her in. “Tell me. How did you imagine me?”
Max met her gaze with raw desire in his own. “Tell you how I've spent long, sleepless nights, picturing you down here in this bed? Under these covers? Under me?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “Tell me.”
Max entered her with one finger, and her voice fled. When he added a second, stretching her, she bit the side of her hand to keep from screaming out.
“I imagined you taking off that little white blouse you often wear. Letting it slide off your shoulders and down to the floor. Then you'd unbutton your long skirt and let it fall away.” Max lifted one of her legs to kiss the inside of her knee. “You’d step into the moonlight, and take my breath away.”
As his words surrounded her, heightening her arousal, he caressed her bottom. When he molded her to fit his hand, Anna nearly drew blood from her own.
“The image of you naked made me painfully hard, but I couldn’t look away.”
Anna envisioned herself as he described. Standing before him in nothing but moonlight and need. And she could see him standing in her bedroom, waiting for her to move. Waiting for her to come to him.
“Just when I thought I'd die if I didn’t touch you, you’d let your hair fall around your shoulders. Then you’d come closer, and I’d tell you to touch yourself for me.” In a masterful but gentle tone, he said, “Touch yourself, Anna.”
Hypnotized by his voice, she touched her breast, tentative at first. When she rolled her nipple between her fingers, her body jerked.
“That's it, baby.” Max curled his fingers inside her. “Bring yourself higher.”
Ever obedient, she massaged both breasts, tugging on her pebble-like nipples and sending tremor after tremor down to her sex. Down to his fingers.
“You're so wet. Let me watch you take it all the way.”
Riding his fingers, Anna kept one hand on her breast while the other slid between her legs. Finding the sensitive spot, she toyed and tortured until her hips were writhing off the bed.
“So close,” she muttered. “I’m so close.”
“I want to be inside you, Anna. I want to feel you come around me.”
She nodded her agreement, and seconds after she heard the sound of ripping paper, she found herself lifted onto her hands and knees. With a powerful thrust, he drove in hard, and Anna shoved back in reaction. Her thighs were spread wide, giving him the access he needed to fill her completely.
Other than in the kitchen, Anna had never experienced this position before and was surprised to find how much she liked it. Max kneaded her ass, keeping the rhythm steady, but she wanted more. Lowering her upper body to better the angle, she drove back with every thrust, spiking the pressure higher. When Max reached around to slip a hand between her thighs, her control snapped, and the orgasm rocketed through her.
Max continued for several more demanding thrusts before finding his own release and falling against her. They lowered to the bed and settled with her back against him, bottom cradled against his hips, muscled arms tight around her middle.
Soaked with sweat, they lay still in each other's arms.
“Are you all right?” Max asked, his voice muffled against her neck.
Was she all right? Talk about an understatement.
“Am I still in one piece? Because I'm pretty sure there could be bits of me all over this room.”
Max chuckled, sounding quite satisfied with himself. “I'm happy to report that all of your bits are still right here.” He caressed her breast. “And what incredible bits they are.”
A wave of lust washed over her. How could she possibly want him so soon? She’d lost count of how many times they’d had sex, never mind her number of orgasms, and yet she wanted him as if they’d been apart for weeks.
The truth was, after tonight, Anna couldn't imagine not wanting Max. And recognizing the warmth flowing a little too close to her heart, she reminded herself that this wasn't a permanent situation.
Max rolled her back until he could see her face. “You're an amazing woman,” he said, punctuating the compliment with a panty-melting kiss that left Anna’s mind numb. Like a lovesick schoolgirl, all she could do was grin.
“What are you smiling about, Miss Robinson?” He quirked one brow nearly to his hairline, looking like a roguish Earl from one of her books.
“Can’t a satisfied woman smile when she feels like it?”
“Satisfied?” Max drawled. “Good to know you’re enjoying yourself so far.”
The words so far implied there was more to come. Pun intended, of course.
“I guess I liked it,” she said, dragging a hand over his hip. “Did you like what I did to you?”
Max's eyelids lowered as one corner of his mouth lifted. “I think I liked it. But I might need you to do it again to be sure.”
The rake. Anna tweaked his nipple, and Max's jaw clenched. “I suppose I could offer another demonstration,” she said. “But you'll have to be good and stay very still.”
When Max moved his hips against hers, pulse beats of excitement shot through her. She ground against him and started to purr.
To Anna’s surprise, Max rolled backward and lifted her onto his erection. She gasped as he filled her completely, throwing her into another new position. Max fondled her breasts, pul
ling gently on her nipples, then harder.
Anna let her body take over and began to move. Her hips rocked forward and back, awkwardly at first before finding her rhythm. When she planted her hands on the bed above Max's shoulders, he took her breast in his mouth, making her buck against him when he brushed his teeth over a swollen peak.
“I can’t get enough of you,” he said, driving up hard as he gripped her waist. “I’ll never get enough of you.”
Anna was too far gone to catch the full meaning of Max’s words. Sitting upright, she lifted her hips until only his tip remained inside, then slowly slid back down until neither of them could say anything at all.
Chapter Eight
The next morning, Anna woke to find the light on her nightstand glowing, which meant the electricity was back on. The next thing she noticed was the rise and fall of her pillow, which wasn’t a pillow at all, but Max’s muscled chest. She shifted her legs to roll off him and had to swallow a moan of pain. She’d clearly exercised some muscles that didn’t get used very often.
But the pain—and the man in her bed—was proof that the night before had really happened. This time, sex with Max hadn’t been just a dream.
She’d need to get in better shape if they were going to keep this up. Then again, the orgasms alone were worth every ache and pain.
Tiptoeing around the room, Anna gathered her clothes and reached the bathroom without waking Max. Though she did pause to watch him for a minute or two. With his hair a mess and an arm thrown above his head, he looked like a model from a cologne ad. The sheet hit several inches below his naval, revealing the chiseled Vs formed by his hip bones, and one bare leg hung off the side of the mattress.
There were several delicious ways she could wake him—at least three ran through her mind—but then a muscle twitched in her thigh, and Anna headed for the shower.
In the middle of washing her hair, Max surprised her by stepping into the tub. He took over the task—an experience nearly as erotic as the decadent things they’d done during the night—and then he thoroughly washed the rest of her. As the soap rinsed away, Anna looked down at the beautiful man on his knees before her and found herself smiling breathlessly. And then she stopped breathing, because Max….well, Max was on his knees.
Awakening Anna Page 3
