The caress nearly broke her. She wanted to lean in, to soak up every drop of his musky smell. But she forced her body to stay still. If he knew how many nights she’d dreamed about his hands brushing over her, about his hot breath whispering against her neck, he’d have the power.
Of course, all of those fantasies fizzled when she heard Gavin’s voice in her head, cheering Justin on. But this time would be different. She would be in charge. She just had to make sure Justin understood the parameters of their nights together first.
“No kissing—”
“Anywhere?”
She was tempted to agree just to keep an even keel, but didn’t want to give up the feel of his lips against her bare skin. “No, just kissing on the lips is out.”
“Because?”
“It’s intimate and there’s nothing intimate about what we’re about to do.”
“Well, I plan to get you naked and lick you all over.” His mouth closed in a soft kiss against the inside of her wrist. “Sounds pretty damn intimate to me. In fact, it’s hard to imagine how we could get closer than me being inside you.”
A picture flashed in her head and she blinked it right back out again. “Your dick, not you.”
“Interesting theory you have on sex.”
She pulled her hand away before his tongue could tickle her nerve endings again. “Look, if you can’t take this seriously—”
“You’ll go to the nearest bar and pick up a stranger?”
“Maybe.”
His smile disappeared. “No fucking way.”
“I see we understand each other.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
How had they gone from taking off their clothes to chatting? She wanted action not table conversation. “Enough talking.”
His eyebrow inched up. “What do you want me to do instead?”
“Strip.”
Justin hesitated.
“Now,” she ordered, relishing how good the word felt on her tongue.
“Yes, ma’am.” Without another word, he peeled off his tie and threw it on the bed behind her.
She tried to back up, put some distance between them, but her calves hit the mattress and she was stuck. She could duck and run for cover on the other side of the room. The gleam in Justin’s eyes dared her to do just that. Instead, she stood there, just a few inches away, and watched, mesmerized, as his fingers went to work on his buttons. A few twitches later and his shirt stood open, revealing the hard planes of his upper body where his collarbone dipped in a hollow at the base of his neck.
She longed to taste him there. Her fingers itched to help him, to rush in and make him move faster. To rip those pants off and push him down onto the bed. But she waited.
His shirt hit the floor and his hands dropped to his belt. His eyes grew even darker as he slipped the leather out of the loops and let it fall to the carpet. Next came his zipper. Slow and sure, he pulled the tab down a few clicks. It took forever to descend, as if he was drawing out the striptease to torture her. Then he stopped. With his hands tucked inside his pants and his fly open, bulge on display, he stood there.
“What are you doing?” she asked, fighting the urge to scream the question.
“Are you sure?” His husky voice echoed through the still room.
Justin was giving her the choice this time. Last year, Gavin had called the shots. She had waited at home for Gavin that first night, naked on the bed as ordered, until Justin had walked in the room. His heated gaze had burned through her and she’d panicked. With her mind in a daze and embarrassment building, Gavin had soothed her with lukewarm kisses and assured her that she would enjoy the feel of another man as much as he would enjoy watching. The memory of her pathetic acquiescence chased away the heat building inside her now.
“Lauren?”
She shook her head in an attempt to wipe the scene from her mind. “Yes?”
Justin smoothed his hands down her arms. “We go as fast or slow as you want.”
“I say we try very fast.”
“We could—”
“Get on the bed.” The words rushed out of her. Inside, her stomach churned and her head buzzed. If she could make this happen, she could erase the bad memories and crack the hard shell that had crusted over her sexual appetite.
Justin stared at her, his gaze searching her face before traveling down to her closed fists. He pried open one of her hands and threaded her fingers through his. “It’s not a race.”
“I want sex.”
“With me.” His eyes asked the question even though he phrased it as a statement.
“Yes.”
Still holding her, he brought their joined palms to his lips for a kiss. The other hand reached down and pushed his pants to the floor, leaving him standing there in a tight pair of gray boxer briefs and nothing more. With one last touch of his mouth against her wrist, he dropped her hand and shoved his underwear off.
Her gaze moved before she could stop it. Every inch of his skin glowed with a soft tan. It was as if he stood on his boat and sunned without any clothes on. “Don’t believe in bathing suits?”
“My place on the water is secluded. Sometimes I work on the boat and then jump in the water. No clothing necessary.”
She trailed her hand down his stomach, enjoying the way the muscles clenched as her fingers moved lower. “I’ll bet your female admirers enjoy visiting.”
“I’ve never taken a woman there.”
For some reason, that admission surprised her. She had a vague recollection of Justin offering her his vacation place when Gavin’s lies started showing up in the newspapers. Gavin was a powerful man with big political connections and a reputation as a serious campaign donor. His enemies had pounced on his mess of a private life and no one cared how much she got beaten up in the process.
In the middle of the public display of ass-covering by Gavin, Justin had called and suggested she get out of town. At that point, the idea of seeing Justin stood as a terrible reminder of a marriage she needed to forget. She hung up on him without even responding. Until today, that was the last time they had spoken to each other.
Longing to move past all of that and stay centered in the moment, she closed her hand over him. His cock was smooth and warm. As long and thick as she remembered. “Nice.”
“Fucking great, if you ask me.”
She increased the pressure of her palm against him, let her thumb wander over his tip until he jerked in response. Her hand swept up and down. Every time she reached the base of his cock, she squeezed a little harder and felt a rush of his warm breath against her cheek in return.
She loved being this close to him, touching him. Loved the way he swelled under her palm. Loved the power that came with knowing she could take him from semi-hard to panting with nothing more than one hand.
His shoulders curled in, as if every part of his body needed to reach for her. But it was her hand that worked the magic. Stroke after stroke, he grew as his breathing pushed harder against his chest.
“Damn, Lauren.” He leaned his forehead against hers as his hands roamed up to her shoulders and along her neck.
Before he could work his hands under her sweater, she pulled back. “Sit.”
He glanced at the bed behind her and opened his mouth to say something. No words came out.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing.” He slid around her, touching every inch of her back and stomach as he maneuvered his way to the mattress. With his thighs open, he pulled her to stand in front of him, his mouth right below her breasts. “And now?”
She grabbed the hem of her sweater and yanked it over her head. When she looked down at Justin all she saw was a wide smile and flash of something fiery hot behind his eyes. Not that he was looking at her. No, his attention centered on the tiny front clasp holding her pink bra together and the way her breasts spilled out of the top of the thing.
His hands shot up. In two seconds, he pushed the material out of the way and started rubbing
her nipples with his open hands. “You are so beautiful.”
She wasn’t. Good genes graced her with a small waist and a C-cup, a combination men seemed to appreciate, but that was about it. “You mean stacked.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, that too.”
So long as his hands kept up those circular patterns and his thighs continued to press her in closer to his firm body, she didn’t care what he called her. She’d said no foreplay, but she’d make an exception for this. The way his fingers explored and molded, bringing her nipples to hard peaks, amounted to pure pleasure. When he traded his mouth for his palms, she lost the ability to say no, or anything else.
He stripped her bra off her shoulders and dropped her skirt to the floor, but all she felt was the rasp of his tongue over her sensitive flesh. Round and round he licked, until she knelt on the bed, straddling his thighs. Despite the haze clouding her brain, she knew she had to get closer. She needed to let his heat seep into her as his lips pressed hard and hot against her breasts.
Her breath caught in her throat when his hands dipped deep into the back of her panties. Palms eased down until the globes of her ass filled each hand. As with all his touches, he was gentle but firm. He whispered her name in sweet desperation as his mouth trailed up to her neck and planted small, biting kisses across her skin.
When she felt his lips touch the edge of hers, she opened her eyes and pushed against his shoulders. “No.”
His mouth dropped open for a second, but then closed again. “Right. Sorry.”
She somehow found the strength to push up on her knees and scramble off his lap. Her feet barely hit the floor before he wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her still. “Jesus, don’t stop.”
“Justin—”
He dropped his head onto her chest, licking the shadowed seam between her breasts. “Didn’t mean to break the rules.”
She had the poor man begging. “Protection,” she said in a voice harsh with need.
He lifted his head. “What?”
Tugging out of his hold, she grabbed for the condom on the nightstand and waved it in front of his face. “This.”
The clouds never cleared from his eyes, but the smile returned. “We’re going to need more than one. Good thing I stopped at the drugstore on the way over here.”
Every word he said tempted her, but she held firm. Spending the night together would mean something. She needed to stay focused on the sex. The goal was to cure the pain of the last four years and wipe the slate clean again, not to find a new man. “One time.”
Those sinfully sexy eyes narrowed. “You’re kidding.”
“So, I guess you’d better make it a good one.”
“You can’t possibly think once will be—”
She reached down and folded her hand over his cock again. The move cut off whatever he was going to say. It also put them back on track. Talking would kill the mood. She wanted action and heat. She wanted to ride him.
She shoved against his shoulders. “Lean back.”
With a lifted eyebrow, he sprawled against the comforter with his arms spread out to his sides. He looked like the perfect sexual sacrifice—body ready and eyes wary.
Her gaze locked on his as she rolled the condom down. That done, she lifted her body until her knees snuggled against the outside of his hips. Before she could lower herself, his hand slid upward. Those knowing fingertips brushed along the inside of her bare thighs, igniting a firestorm as he went.
When his palm pressed against her and his thumb found her clit, she nearly shot off the bed. No more caressing and soothing. His touch was insistent now, drawing circles against her wet flesh and sending her hips clenching for release.
“You feel so damn good,” he said.
The whispered encouragement vibrated through her. With every pass of his hand, every touch of his lips against the tips of her breasts, she lost a grip on her control. She wanted her mind clear, but her body rebelled. Every nerve ending begged for him to touch her with his hands and mouth, to dive deep inside her until she could feel him everywhere.
“Now, Justin.” She leaned down with her lips pressed against his ear. “Do it.”
Both thumbs moved inside her, sweeping against her clit over and over again. A moan moved up her throat, but got trapped there when he increased the pressure by pushing two fingers deep inside her. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders as a hard breath rushed out of her lungs.
She didn’t wait for him to take the lead. With her knees pressed into the mattress, she reached down and entwined her fingers through his, dragging his arms high above his head and trapping them there in a silent show of control. When he gave her a small nod, she knew it was safe to let her palms wander. The power belonged to her. He was hers to do with as she pleased.
She slid her fingers over his bulging biceps and down his chest to land on his stomach. Watched his body dip inward as she traced her nails over his exposed skin. A sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead as she reached under her and found his cock again. Slowly, enjoying every tremble and quake of his body, she pressed the very tip of him up and inside her.
His groan bounced around the room. “Jesus, woman.”
“When I say.” She lowered her body down a few inches until he stretched just inside her. “How I say.”
“Yes.” His head thrashed around on the bed.
Then she sat back and let him push up inside her. The initial press of his cock sent her stomach turning. Everything inside her raced and tumbled. Before she could think, her body bucked, pulling him in even deeper.
Then she had to move. In and out, their bodies repeated until her temperature spiked. There was no rhythm or cadence. Her body just grabbed his, clenching with a force that made her thighs shake.
And she was not alone in the pleasure. He crushed the comforter in his fists as he lifted his body to meet each one of her plunges. She saw his shoulders rise off the bed. Watched his biceps twitch.
She held on to his forearms for balance while the winding sensation in her gut exploded. After so much touching and teasing, the end did not take long. One more press and the tightness in her body shattered. Tension exploded as her head flew back with a muffled shout.
After a few seconds, the energy pulsing through her crested. The uncontrollable trembling in her legs eased as every ounce of strength left her muscles. She fell against his chest and wrestled to get her breathing back under control.
Just as her body let go, his revved up. His hands moved to her waist and his fingers tightened against her skin. Then his hips lifted off the mattress one last time. Being on top of him, she rode out the pumping of his lower body with her nose buried in his neck. When his body stopped bucking, she opened her eyes long enough to see him fall back into the pillows with the gruff shout of her name still fresh on his lips.
She closed her eyes for a few seconds and inhaled the musky scent of his heated skin, listened as the pounding under her ear calmed to a steady beat and his breathing evened out. Getting up would be the smart thing. Instead, she cuddled into his still-shaking body.
Their skin was damp and the room filled with the sweet smell of sex. She allowed herself another minute to enjoy the feeling of a hard male beneath her. Not any male, Justin. His arm grew heavy where it wrapped around her. She sensed the man was about to give in to a bit of satisfied exhaustion. That was fine, but she planned to be gone when he woke up again.
Chapter Three
“Lead me not into temptation—I can find the way myself.”
~Rita Mae Brown
It was a sad damn day when a man couldn’t close his eyes for two seconds without the woman next to him climbing out of bed and shimmying back into her clothes.
Justin wanted to shake some sense into Lauren. She couldn’t see that she was running as fast as she did during her marriage and not getting one inch farther ahead. Justin thought she had the situation all fucked up in her head. Gavin was an ass and he’d treated her like shit. No one questioned that. But
she’d missed the part where she let it all happen. Everyone had played a role in the mess, and Justin did not absolve himself from that group.
He pushed up on one elbow and watched Lauren’s shapely ass disappear behind the skirt’s zipper. “Going somewhere, sunshine?”
She spun around fast enough to lose her balance. A quick grab for the end of the bed kept her from falling on the floor. “You’re up.”
“In more ways than one.”
Her gaze shot to the comforter tucked around him.
Justin decided not to hide his interest. After one session between the sheets, his need for her still burned bright. No way could he pretend that wasn’t the case. He dragged his exhausted body up to rest against the headboard, letting the covers fall low on his hips, just above his obvious bulge.
“I have to go.” She bent over and grabbed her shoes.
“You have somewhere to be at—” He turned the alarm clock next to the bed around to face him. The green light confirmed what he already knew. It was too damn early for conversation. “One-ten in the morning?”
“Yeah.”
“Care to share where that might be?”
She sat on the edge of the mattress and slipped on one of her sexy black high heels and caught the other when it started to slide off the comforter and back to the floor. “I’m going home.”
And people said men sucked. This woman could spoil a moment faster than anyone he knew. “We are in a hotel with a box of condoms. Most folks would take that as a sign to have some fun.”
She stood up with one shoe dangling from her fingertips. The move put her on the side of the bed and a bit closer, but in many ways she was just as far away as ever.
“I’m not here for fun, Justin.”
Talk about clueless. “Were we in the same room for the last few hours?”
Red circles spread across her cheeks as she shifted her weight. “You know what I mean. What we were doing wasn’t really about fun.”
“Are you listening to yourself? You sound ridiculous.”
“Don’t talk to me like that,” she snapped as she leaned down and shoved the second shoe on hard enough to break an ankle.
A Proper Seduction Page 2
