Forbidden: a Contemporary Romance Anthology

by J. L. Beck

  “I want to say sexist, but not sure the term applies to dogs.”

  Angie snaps her head up, murder written all over her gorgeous face, but breaks into a smile when she realizes I’m teasing her. Slowly unfolding herself, Angie locks her eyes with mine, lips curled up, a naughty expression on her face. I like Naughty Angie.

  “You’re calling me a misogynist?”

  Her low, husky voice entices me as she gets in my face. “Never, gorgeous,” I throw my hands up and wait for her next move. Angie raises a perfect eyebrow and steps closer. I cradle her face, thumbing her cheeks. Leaning in, I whisper, “I like to think I know how to treat a woman.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that.”

  I’m a sucker for a challenge. Her hands squeeze mine as I run my tongue over her full lips. I nibble the corner, then sink my teeth into her lower lip without breaking the soft skin. Her wild heartbeats under my fingertips on the side of her neck encourage me. I swallow her moans as my tongue invades her mouth. Sweet and erotic, our mouths fuse together. Tongues swirl around each other.

  Erratic breathing and groans fill the air as we get rid of each other’s clothes, leaving a trail behind us. We reach the guest room and I kick the door closed, swirling around to pin Angie against it. I hold her wrists over her head with one hand and let my gaze move over this gorgeous woman in blatant admiration. As I had guessed, she wasn’t wearing a bra under the dress. Now, all she’s got left on is a skimpy pair of black lacy panties and silk stockings held in place by matching garters. I run a finger from the top of her nose down her lips, chin and neck. My nail grazes the soft skin between her perfect breasts, down her flat belly and stops at the waistline of her panties, my eyes following the movement. I can’t see her face yet, but her breathing tells me she’s enjoying this as much as I am. I pinch an elastic strap between my fingers and snap it. Light enough for a reaction without causing pain. Her intake of air is followed by a low sigh, almost a moan.

  “Did I hurt you?”

  “No.”

  “Didn’t think so. Do you enjoy pain?”

  “No,” more convincing this time.

  “Good. Me neither.”

  I move a finger along the stocking’s elastic band to her inner thigh. One thumb caresses the soft skin between her stocking and panties, while the other thumb caresses her wrist. I drag my gaze up her body until it reaches her face. Her rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes make my temperature skyrocket. I bring my lips to hers, not quite kissing, just a feathery touch as my thumbnail pokes at the wet patch of silk between her legs. I palm her sex, then lightly scrape my nails against her core, over her panties. A new wave of juices warm my fingertips. Angie closes her eyes, leaning her head against the door, “Oh, God, that feels so good.”

  I nibble at her shoulder, up her neck, as I push the panties to the side, invading her hot core with two fingers. Muffling her whimper, I take her mouth, sucking at her lips. I memorize all the spots that make her squirm or sigh when my fingers touch her trembling flesh. When I let go of Angie’s wrists, her fingers pull at my hair as I cup her breasts, sucking the nipples until they harden under my tongue. I grip them between my teeth, flicking at them and making her moan. I bring her to the verge of release then withdraw. Angie’s eyelids creep up and she knits her eyebrows.

  “I want you, gorgeous, but I’m not an up-against-the-door kind of guy,” I nod towards the king-size bed. “We’ve got the whole night to ourselves.”

  “I like the way you think.”

  When Angie sits on the bed, I kneel between her thighs. A wicked glance up into her eyes and she gets my intention, so she props herself up on her forearms, smiling down at me. A sinful grin. Hooking my fingers on the fragile waistband of her panties, I drag them down her body and legs, inch by inch, while I caress her skin with my stare, goosebumps in the wake of my fingers. Panties on the floor, I lift her foot, rest it on my shoulder and drag my mouth up her leg and inner thigh. As I approach her sex, Angie’s breathing hitches and when I nibble at the soft skin beside her entrance, she’s downright panting. So am I.

  “Relax,” I speak into her core, making her folds vibrate. It’s a beautiful sight, but I don’t want to waste another second. I letch at her sex, sucking at it like the starving man I’ve become, my groans mixing with hers as her thighs tremble under my fingers. My cock demands release, but my focus is on Angie’s pleasure. Lapping at her juices and suckling at her clit, I take her over the edge and she shouts as her inner walls clench and unclench around my mouth. Changing from sucking to kissing, I wait for her tremors to subside, then resume flicking her hard nib with the tip of my tongue.

  “Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God!”

  I like the way she sounds as I insert two fingers inside her drenched sex, kissing my way up to her mouth. Reaching out, I open the drawer in the night stand to get a condom. She rips it from my fingers and has me suited in two seconds flat. “I like the way you think.”

  In the blink of an eye, Angie maneuvers herself to be on top, straddling me between her strong thighs. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

  She pins my hands above my head as she impales herself on my cock, the angle making me fill her tight channel to the brim. She uses her knees for support and moves her perfect body up and down, riding me until we’re both out of breath and on the brink of an explosive orgasm.

  Not enough for me, though. “Lean down. I need to kiss you.”

  When she does, she releases my hands. I grab her face and sit up on the bed, collecting her body in a tight embrace. Her legs cross behind my back and I thrust my hips up as she moves down and we explode at the same time. Our mouths fuse as her inner muscles milk my cock of all I’ve got. I cover her eyes and cheeks with light kisses as our ragged breathing slows down.

  “That was fun. How long until you’re good to go again?” My dick, still buried inside her warmth, twitches in reply before I have a chance to utter a word. “I like the way your cock thinks.”

  “That makes two of us. I’ll get rid of the condom, first.”

  I return from the bathroom to find Angie kneeling in the middle of the bed, wearing the most wicked smile, holding a red silk scarf. Twisting the ends around her wrists, she winks. “Wanna play?”

  And play we do. All night long.

  I wake up before 6 a.m. Angie’s not in bed. A nagging sensation tightens my chest as I look inside the bathroom before running naked around John’s humungous house, calling out her name and feeling stupid for it. Angie’s nowhere to be found.

  “What the fuck?”

  I should be glad, right? I’m going back to Philly in a couple of days, not looking for a relationship. I’ve just had the best night of sex ever, no strings attached. Why do I feel like shit? I’ve never had a one-night stand before, that’s why. I’m not the kind of guy who sleeps with a woman, then disappears on her. And that’s exactly what Angie just did - left without a word. It sucks.

  If I wanted to find her, I could contact my father’s assistant and ask for Angie’s information. She had to be in the guest list to attend the fundraiser. Problem with this is that Angie doesn’t want me to find her. Blow to the ego aside, I’ll suck it up and move on. Go back to Penn and concentrate on that tenure track position. Yeah, sex was good – hell, it was mind blowing. Still, I should focus on what I can accomplish. Work my ass off to secure my career’s future. In doing so, I’ll take my mind off the way Angie moaned when I tweaked her nipples or how her legs tightened around my waist as I unloaded my cock deep inside her.

  I will forget her.

  Eventually.

  The program chair turned a normally stressful first day of class into hell having me fill in for Dr. Richards. Coming face-to-face with Angie Bianchi as I walk into the room just made matters worse. What the fuck is she doing here?

  2

  Jessie Russo

  Is this really happening? I take a deep breath, hoping I’m in the middle of a vivid dream…or nightmare. I lean over the tabletop and flip through th
e syllabus in my folder. Dr. Richards Administrative Law stands out in bold letters across the top of the page. I raise my eyes and scan the dark-haired man with piercing blue eyes who drove my body to the brink of insanity just last week. Did he come up with an alias too? He sets down a black leather briefcase on his desk, adjusting his thin rimmed glasses. Those eyes, brand new, but oddly familiar. There’s no way Nick O’Halloran can hide behind a pair of lenses.

  The severity of the situation hits me like a freight train. Shit! Great way to make a name for yourself in the legal world, Jessie. Our hot night together plays through my mind like a broken record. Stunts like that won’t help break my father out of federal prison and clear his name. Well, the way the world works today, maybe I’m wrong, but I sure as hell don’t want to make a name for myself by sleeping to the top, especially with my professor.

  I raise my eyes for a split second and catch his gaze. We’re drawn to each other like magnets, polar opposites who slam together like glue when flipped. He crinkles his forehead, his lips upturning to a soft smile. Then reality hits. He jerks his head back and runs a hand along the back of his neck. God Dammit, why did I have to play miss eager beaver and sit in the front row?

  He walks up to me, his gait slow but intense, like the way a cop greets you at the driver’s side window when you’ve been pulled over for speeding. Of course, I’m caught…in more ways than one.

  “Angie Bianchi, so you are real.” He slides his hands in his pockets and stares at my face like he’s about to pry a confession from my lips. “I was beginning to think I imagined it all.”

  I squirm in my seat. Disappearing without a trace can make your mind play tricks on you and fucking the hot guy at the benefit has more consequences than a guilty conscience. How the hell did a one night stand clear across the country come back to haunt me?

  Well, I’ve made my bed so to speak. Time to put on my big girl panties and own up to it. I sit tall in my chair and flip open my laptop.

  “You’ve got a wicked imagination.” I raise my eyebrows and nibble on my pen. What am I doing? Every word coming out of my mouth drives me deeper into the pit of fire. “And it’s Jessie Russo.”

  His face turns ashen, like he’s just seen a ghost. “Wait…what?”

  I take a deep breath and slowly exhale. “Angie, my friend, had the ticket to the benefit and couldn’t make it so I was her for a few hours.” Complete lie, but it’s not like I could tell him I was scoping out the Santucci family. He’d probably have the feds here to question me.

  “Dr. Richards…,” a short blonde interrupts.

  He clears his throat and shakes his head. “No…I’m filling in for the semester. Dr. Richards is conducting research.” He holds out his hand. “I’m Dr. Halloran.” His hand trembles.

  She gives a quick shake. “Sherry Ford. Can I get your opinion on a trial going on in my town? I think it follows precedent, but our local lawyer doesn’t agree.” She flashes a million-dollar smile.

  “Sure. Stop by my office during regular hours and I’ll take a look.” A bead of sweat forming on his hairline glistens under the fluorescent lights.

  She nods and scurries away, sitting one seat away from me in the front row. Great, little miss kiss ass wants to be my friend. Hate to break it to her, but I’m not here to make friends or fuck buddies. I need to focus without any distractions. First order of business, straighten this out with Nick.

  I lean forward so only Nick can hear. “Wait for me after class. We should talk.” He nods.

  Nick’s voice commands the room, causing images of our night of passion to flow through my brain like molten lava. God, everything about this is wrong, but now that I know he’s off limits, I want him to shove his huge cock deep inside me more than ever.

  Jesus Christ, what am I thinking? All I want is someone to drive me wild in the bedroom and quote Shakespeare when we’re dressed. I sigh. I guess that’s too much to ask. A quick two-minute conversation after class, a clean break and everything’s back to normal. I lift my eyes to the projection screen in front of me and try to clear the image from my brain of Nick hovering above me. No such luck. He might as well be teaching the lecture in Swahili. I guess I better play nice with little miss kiss ass so I can see her notes. Of course, playing dirty is much more fun.

  Nick gazes around the jam-packed room. “Any questions?”

  I shift my focus to the clock. Seriously, an hour’s gone by already? Felt more like a few seconds. Okay, time to lay things on the line.

  I pack my laptop up in its vinyl case and sling my purse around my shoulder. Nick gathers up his papers, keeping tabs on me from the corner of his eye. Everyone files out of the room, except for me and the teacher’s pet. The thought of that term rips through me like a steel dagger.

  “Dr. Halloran…when are office hours again?” Sherry looks up at him with a goofy grin.

  “Uh, Tuesdays, one to three p.m.,” he answers without even raising his eyes.

  “See you then.” She turns toward me and then walks toward the steps, looking back over her shoulder as she moves away.

  What the hell? Are they both keeping tabs on me now? It’s going to be a hell of a long semester.

  He waits until the last footsteps exit and the doors click shut. Silence screams through the mammoth room. He takes off his glasses and sets them down on the desk.

  His concerned gaze twists my insides into oblivion. Okay, so we both fucked up…and down, in just about every room in the exquisite house. Dammit Jessie, don’t let the thrill of his touch send my mind into an inferno of wicked desire. Stay focused. If this continues we’re both fucked, literally.

  I let out the deep breath I’d been holding. “Listen. We both had no idea we’d be here right now.”

  “I never expected to see Angie again, not that I didn’t want to. This game you’re playing, though…it needs to stop before you get expelled and I get fired.” He places his hands on the desk palms down and leans forward, shooting his most intimidating look.

  Hate to break it to him, but after he fucked me into next week, fear isn’t even one of the top five emotions flowing through me when his heavy gaze scans my body.

  “Really, you seemed to like playing with me the other night.” I fold my arms across my chest.

  He blows air out of puffed cheeks and moves around to the front of his desk, inches away from me. “None of that matters right now.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Jessie, we need to stop, for both our sakes. Everything that went down in California needs to stay in our memories, nowhere else.”

  He’s right, even though it sounds as if he’s trying to keep me as his dirty little secret. I guess that was my plan all along, to keep Nick as a notch on my proverbial bedpost. “Agreed. What happens in California stays in California.” I wink.

  He holds out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Jessie Russo.” It rolls off his tongue like he’s said it a million times.

  I give his hand a quick shake. “Looking forward to the class.” At least I’m looking forward to seeing him every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He’s hot as hell and even though I can’t eat off the menu, there’s nothing wrong with looking at it.

  I walk the steps to the back of the room and pull open the door, catching Nick’s reflection in the glass. His stare glues to my ass like the world will end if he takes his eyes off. Thirty seconds and his stare burns through me. Does he seriously think he can resist me all semester? No fucking way.

  Rain pelts down against my soaked skin turning my peach halter blouse into saran wrap against my body. What a day to forget my umbrella and wear a shirt that requires me to go braless. I stand at the corner waiting for the bus to stop. Public transportation certainly has its downfalls, but keeping a car on campus is near impossible. With parking issues and traffic, it would probably take me less time to walk the six blocks to my apartment. I make a visor with my hand, trying to scope out the bus. A black BMW pulls up alongside me, idling the engine. What does this jerk want?

  T
he tinted window lowers at a snail’s pace. My eyes glue to the dark glass until a face comes into focus. I concentrate on the contours of Nick’s perfectly chiseled face. Is he unaware of the meaning of clean break?

  “Come on…I’ll take you home.” He leans over to the passenger side and clicks the door handle.

  Going home with Nick complicates everything, even if it is just to avoid the torrential downpour. We’re not to mesh in academia. Anyone who saw the multitude of teacher/student lifetime movies knows it never ends happily. The rumor mill could run rampant if someone sees me getting into Nick’s car and I certainly don’t need any extra attention. I’ve got to take my chances with the bus. What’s the difference? I’m already drenched.

  I lean over close to the window to tell Nick no thanks. I blink, clearing the stray raindrops from my eyes. Goosebumps erect from my skin, not weather related in the least bit. Nick’s warm stare cuts through me, rendering my mind blank.

  “Thanks,” I mutter through my auto-piloted lips. Dammit, I forgot the whole no portion of that sentence.

  He pushes the door, sending it swinging open. I plop inside and close the door, sliding on the soft leather as he pulls away.

  “Where are we headed?” He looks over at me for a split second then focuses on the road.

  There’s the milliondollar question. As far away from each other as possible is the most appropriate answer. If he wasn’t such a damn gentleman, he could’ve passed right by me and avoided this unnecessary contact.

  “Washington and Vine. I’m renting a condo in the Top Towers building.” My heart races as Nick stops at a red light and focuses his eyes on my might-as-well-be-my-skin blouse.

  “Whoa, you must’ve pulled some major strings to get a place there.” He turns the corner and pulls into the Top Towers parking garage. “Are you some secret sorceress when you’re not Jessie…or Angie.”

  Smart ass. “Yeah, Esmerelda. Watch your back or I’ll turn you into something that scares the hell out of you.” I smirk.