She wanted to know what else they could try with food.
She wanted to know what it would feel like if he kept teasing her with his toes.
She wanted to know if she could do the same to him and if he’d like it.
She wanted him.
So this was what desire felt like, Anna acknowledged silently. Maybe she was getting a late start but better late than never. She’d always been a good student and a quick study. She’d pick it up. Starting right now.
Anna drank some ice water to wash down the last of her salad, took a deep breath and asked, “Have you had a blood test and do you have a copy of your sexual history?”
She regretted the directness of her question when he nearly choked to death on a french fry. She jumped up to pound him on his back in a helpful gesture. Then she pushed his glass of water into his hand.
“Here, drink this. It’ll help,” she suggested.
He continued to cough weakly but he waved her back to her seat. After he took several deep breaths, he picked up the glass, drank the water and then managed to gasp out, “Honey, you do know how to get right to the point.”
Had she acted prematurely? Anna didn’t think so. He’d had his foot between her legs. He’d French kissed her on her desk. He’d propositioned her the night before and she didn’t think he’d invited her to his place to impress her with his interior decorating skills.
But, she decided, it couldn’t hurt to be clear.
“Was that too soon to ask? I thought you wanted to have sex with me.”
Jay started to cough and choke again.
Anna waited for him to regain his composure. She didn’t jump up to pound between his shoulder blades this time, since she didn’t think he was in any danger of inhaling a bite of food.
Still, it made her nervous until he recovered.
“Honey. Oh, honey. Do I want to have sex with you?” He looked dazed. “I want to put you into orbit. I want to make you scream.”
Screaming? In enjoyment, she hoped. Or maybe there was a whole lot more to this than she’d thought. Anna remembered a little shop in Hollywood that carried a full line of bondage accessories and clothing. Maybe he was into spanking. Although, what did she know? Maybe spanking was fun. If it wasn’t, she didn’t know why it had ever managed to become popular with any segment of the population.
She decided not to worry about his preferences for now. She had other details to think about.
“Good. So what about the blood test?” Anna asked in what she hoped was a firm but polite tone.
It was a sticky point. She didn’t want to harp on it but she did have a responsibility to think this through, after all. Even she knew safe sex was a priority.
Jay cleared his throat with some difficulty. “Ah, I, um. I had one, fairly recently. Ah, since I was pretty active. I wasn’t in a high risk group or anything,” he hastened to assure her. “I practiced safe sex anyway but I wanted to be sure. I don’t have anything.”
To Anna’s amazement, he actually seemed embarrassed.
Incredible.
The man with all the demonstrable sensitivity of a rhinoceros, embarrassed? It hadn’t bothered him at all to offer to buy the use of her body. It hadn’t bothered him to make blatantly sexual overtures on the dance floor and in her office. He hadn’t been the slightest bothered by either her kicking him under the table or his little sexy games.
So why did one little question that was an unfortunate fact of life bother him?
She hoped he wasn’t hiding something. “And since then you’ve continued to practice safe sex?” she prompted. She had to be sure. It was her body. She wanted to fully enjoy life, not subject herself to any life-threatening diseases.
To her further disbelief, Anna saw that he was now actually blushing.
“I’ve been, uh, ah,” he mumbled. He seemed unable to focus.
A horrifying thought struck her.
Maybe he was into worse things than spanking.
“You’ve been what?” she demanded sharply.
Expert or not, some things weren’t worth risking. It would be too bad if she couldn’t have the first man she’d ever truly desired but she’d find another one.
Jay cleared his throat again. “I changed my, ah, habits a while ago, okay? Things are different now. Even if you’re careful the only way to be sure is to get tested. The whole testing thing made me rethink some of my priorities. You might say I’ve had one partner—” he stopped again and swore under his breath.
He was so completely discomfited, he could only mean one thing.
He really was a lover of self.
Anna couldn’t help it. She started to laugh.
She figured that was a mistake when he practically threw money on their table, grabbed her arm and rushed her outside to start up his car but it was so funny.
All this time, she’d been so worried about her lack of experience. And the great playboy himself had been practicing celibacy with a vengeance.
Anna wondered ridiculously just what he’d had in mind for them when he’d propositioned her. Side-by-side twin beds, while they exchanged ever-hotter naughty words?
At that thought, she laughed even harder. Soon tears rolled down her cheeks. She was so lost in the irony of it all that she didn’t pay any attention to where they were going until the car stopped and he shut the engine off.
It took a few minutes to register that they weren’t back in the office parking lot. Instead, they were parked outside of a shuttered cape house.
This must be where he lived, she realized slowly. Then he was ushering her inside and pushing her down to sit on a comfortable plush sofa.
While she watched, he paced around in silence for a few minutes before he started to talk.
“Listen, this is pretty awkward to talk about but you’re right, you’re entitled to ask. Up until I decided to have the test, I didn’t take it very seriously. It was all just fun and games.” He paused and turned to face her.
“I was always careful because I feel very strongly about being responsible. I mean, I believe children shouldn’t be unwanted accidents.”
Anna nodded, matching his seriousness. It seemed expected of her. In fact, this was eerily like sitting through one of Lyle’s lectures. She supposed she could be thankful that Jay didn’t wave cigars and bang his fists for emphasis.
She supposed the least she could do in thankfulness for being spared those extremes was to listen politely.
He continued earnestly, “Then I realized even that wasn’t enough. I didn’t just want to play games. I wanted it to mean something.”
He paused again to gather his thoughts.
“I knew that so far I didn’t have any permanent consequences. I didn’t want to risk changing that in pursuit of fun. I knew I wanted to get married and have children one day.”
Anna tried to look like she understood where he was going with that and threw in another sober nod since it seemed appropriate.
He walked over to join her on the sofa and took her hands in his as he finished, “So there hasn’t been anybody since. Okay? That’s pretty safe.”
Safe? Anna couldn’t help feeling a bit skeptical. “If that’s true, then why have you been heading straight for the nearest bedroom since the minute we met?”
Jay looked uncomfortable again and sighed. “I was afraid you’d ask something like that. Tell me, do rocket scientists believe in love at first sight?”
“I don’t have enough information to believe or not believe,” Anna answered.
He persisted, “Well, will you accept it as a working theory, anyway?”
She didn’t see any harm in that. “Okay,” she agreed cautiously.
“Okay.” Jay was silent for a minute. Then he said something that she guessed, in retrospect, she probably should have seen coming. “I love you.”
“Oh,” was all she could think of to say to that.
It was too bad. No, it was worse than that. She was crushingly disappointed. She’d wanted
to play with him and now he was as far off-limits as he would have been if he’d had a fatal disease.
It wouldn’t be fair to use him when she didn’t return his feelings, Anna concluded glumly.
“‘Oh’? Is that all you have to say, ‘oh’? Listen, I didn’t want to bring this up but you asked.” Jay sounded distinctly huffy.
“Oh,” Anna repeated stupidly. “Well, thank you for being so up-front with me about your history. I’m sorry we can’t have sex now. Shall we get back to work?” she finished brightly.
“No, we aren’t going back to work now. If you’re worried about it, we have orders to bury the hatchet. But I think you should forget about work for once. You work practically every night and weekend as it is. You could take a month off and Lyle would probably cheer. And I’ve been putting in a lot of overtime myself setting up the new marketing plan. You wanted to talk. You started this and now we’re not going anywhere until we finish it.” Jay concluded his speech on a rather forceful note.
He pushed on, “We are going to be lovers, so now why don’t you reciprocate and tell me about your history?”
Anna looked at him. Having become forbidden fruit, he suddenly looked even better. Unfair that he had to go and make himself unattainable when he was within grasp. Then she pushed down the regrets. She didn’t have time for them.
“I’m afraid we aren’t going to become lovers, so—”
“The hell we aren’t.” He went from forceful to loud indignation.
“No. We aren’t.” Anna repeated herself clearly and firmly in case there was any possible misunderstanding.
“Yes, we are,” he snapped and pushed her down on the couch before he sprawled full-length on top of her.
“We are not.” Anna glowered at him, unwilling to let the situation deteriorate further and turn into a wrestling match. She clung to reason instead and held still.
Unfortunately, Jay didn’t seem terribly interested in reason at the moment.
“Are too.” His volume increased significantly.
“We are not.” She matched him for loudness.
“Are too,” he practically yelled.
“Get off of me,” she shouted back.
“No. You wanted to have sex, didn’t you? Me, too. I think we should just move right ahead, just as soon as you answer me.”
He was back to being arrogant, obnoxious, pigheaded, insufferable… Anna ran out of descriptions.
“Get off of me. You’re too heavy,” she gritted out between clenched teeth.
“No, I’m not,” Jay assured her, suddenly back to seductive sexual confidence. He moved against her to demonstrate. “That feels good, doesn’t it? You’re as tall as I am. My weight isn’t too much for you.”
His legs slid hers apart and he pushed her deeper into the sofa cushions.
He was right. His weight did feel good. Comfortably heavy and solid. Excitingly strong. His slow rocking movements were building pleasurable tingles everywhere.
Jay’s mouth closed over hers again, probably because he’d realized the conversation was going nowhere fast.
Anna wished faintly that she could see a clock to keep track of whether or not she lost all sense of time again.
Then she forgot about it as he coaxed her lips apart and slid his tongue inside to curl with hers, building a hungry heat in the cradle of her pelvis that radiated to a sharp, throbbing point between her legs.
She might as well enjoy his kissing, she decided. Anna opened her mouth further and kissed him back, thrusting her own tongue into his mouth.
Jay made a hoarse sound of encouragement and deepened the kiss, matching the swirling, teasing motions of his tongue with the movement of his body on hers.
Hot, wet, wild and deep, his kisses had her moving underneath him in an effort to get closer.
“You like that, don’t you, passion flower?” he murmured against her ear before he licked it.
Anna shivered at the unfamiliar sensation and nodded silently.
He nibbled his way down the curve of her neck. “And that. You like that, too, don’t you, sweetheart?”
“Yes,” she whispered faintly and arched against his solid weight.
“And this?” He nipped lightly at the curve of one full breast and she gasped. “I guess that means yes.” His voice held pure male satisfaction.
Jay rolled her out of her lab coat and hauled her long-sleeved knit shirt over her head. Then Anna found out what those little lines and circles drawn with his fingers felt like all over her bared torso.
Torture.
It wasn’t enough. She wanted more of him. More direct pressure in some places. More of his kisses. More of his tongue. More of his heavy body rocking on hers. Frustrated, she moved under his hands, trying to direct them to the twin peaks that ached for his touch.
He complied, closing his hands over her breasts and cupping their full weight easily. She sighed in pleasure at the new sensation of his hands holding her breasts, stroking and rubbing lazy circles around the sensitized nipples.
“Good, isn’t it?” Jay asked as he licked the valley in between.
“Yes.”
He pulled her bra straps down and reached behind her to unfasten it. Then he freed her from the restricting garment. Cold air hit her naked breasts before his warm hands closed back over them, skin to heated skin.
“And that’s even better, isn’t it, honey?” He didn’t wait for a reply but moved his hot mouth down over her full curves while his thumbs rubbed her nipples until she cried out softly.
It was a whole lot better.
“You like it all, my hands, my kisses, my body on yours, don’t you?” His voice was thick with passion.
“Yes,” Anna gasped.
Jay knelt over her, one knee planted firmly between her spread legs, and lifted her rib cage as he closed his lips over one nipple. He sucked gently, drawing more of her into his mouth with devastating results. Her head dropped back, the resulting arch offering her curves more fully up to his attention. He deliberately rode his knee between her thighs until she moved her hips in answer. The pressure that created against her feminine mound, combined with the way his mouth tugged at her breast, would have made her eyes roll back in her head if they’d been open. She was clearly in the hands of a genius.
“Oh, precious, you love that, I know you do,” he rasped against her skin before closing over her other breast and tasting more of her. He swirled his tongue around the hardened nub and nipped at it.
Anna sobbed faintly, lost to everything but the incredible pleasure his knowing hands and mouth gave her. She moved restlessly against his thigh and arched closer to him. There was that throbbing point between her legs that wasn’t getting enough pressure, enough consistent stimulation.
“You want my weight on you now, sweet?” As he asked, he lifted her higher to lick at her navel. He unsnapped her jeans and peeled her out of them, laying her back down and covering her with himself. “Like that?”
Beyond speech, Anna nodded and wrapped her arms and legs around him in a full-body hug. Without the barrier of her jeans, she could feel the length of his penis right where it felt best, providing increased pressure right where she wanted it. The weight of his body made his penis press deeper into the folds that were growing wet and slick to welcome him. But not deep enough. It occurred to her that it would feel a lot better if he got rid of his pants, too. And her underwear had to go. There were still far too many clothes in the way.
“Hang on tight, honey.” Jay stood, using his knee as a lever to raise up from the couch and then straightening his legs to bring them both upright, the differences in their bone structure and musculature apparent in his unexpected strength. He carried her to his bedroom and laid her down. Then he stripped off his jacket and tie, kicked off his shoes, discarded his shirt and wrapped the silk tie around Anna’s wrists.
“What—” she began but then he took off the rest of his clothes and her attention was diverted.
He was long and muscula
r. He had the lean body of a runner or bicyclist as opposed to the bulk of a weight lifter. He was as athletic as she’d guessed.
And he was huge. Was a penis like that normal? Shouldn’t it be sort of smaller? She’d read that the average size was six inches, which sounded large but not unmanageable. Clearly some men were running around skewing the curve.
It was never going to work, she realized in sudden panic. She knew physics. She knew her own body. He was too big.
Jay knotted the tie, raised her arms over her head and tied them to the headboard.
“Wait a minute,” she protested. “I don’t know about this. And I said we weren’t going to be lovers. I know I said that. I think you should stop right now.”
In answer, he lowered himself over her again and kissed her deeply.
“Are you sure? You might like it. You might try to keep an open mind,” he suggested warmly.
“But I don’t think—”
“Good,” he cut in. “You probably think way too much, way too often. Take a break.”
His mouth closed over her curves again, tasting everything from her neck to her waist, nibbling, biting and sucking. He moved lower and pulled off her panties before he continued downward, demonstrating that legs and feet were also erogenous zones.
He nibbled his leisurely way from her ankle to hip and pushed her legs apart. Anna stiffened and he hushed her.
“I want to see you. I want to look at all of you. Let me.”
She let him part her legs and he looked down at her red-gold curls.
“You’re beautiful,” he told her. His hand closed over her mound and cupped her moist heat. His fingers wound through the soft pubic hair and stroked over a sensitive point that nearly levitated her in reaction. “You like that too, don’t you?”
Anna nodded slowly.
A tender smile curved his lips at her response.
“You’re all soft and warm everywhere. You taste like you sound, like warm honey.”
He stroked her as he talked, his hand sliding over and over her mound, the tips of his fingers dipping inside her slick folds to open her slightly, pressing lightly against the sensitized bud of her clitoris. “I love how you look, naked and ready for me.”
When Sparks Fly: Love and Rockets Page 7
