Libby held her breath, uncertain, anxious—and suddenly, his fingers dug into her flesh and he pressed her knees apart.
She should have been embarrassed, but the rough, hungry sound he made obliterated rational thought. His fingers moved over her, petting, delving, opening her, and then his mouth was on her there, and all she could do was melt.
He slipped off the side of the bed to his knees, moved between her thighs, and pressed them farther apart still, pushing her knees up and back. Oh wow.
His whiskered jaw rasped her inner thigh as he whispered, “You’re wet, Libby, and so damn hot.” His thumbs opened her, stroked, going deeper and deeper, and then he tasted her, licked, shifted so he could lift her up, giving himself better access, and through it all she panted and twisted and felt another orgasm surging through her tired body.
It was the most unbearable pleasure imaginable. Her hands gripped the sheets hard, as if to anchor herself. So many sensations bombarded her senses—the stroke of his tongue, over her and in her, his hot breath, the sexy sounds of desire he made, the scratch of his beard on places no other person had seen, much less touched.
“Come for me again, baby,” he ordered, his tone harsh with demand, and she did, her thighs tightening, her muscles rippling, everything inside her clasping and undulating.
This time he didn’t wait. Her mind still spun with disbelief when she heard the tear of foil, felt Axel fumbling near her, then he moved over her, lifted her knees, and pressed inside her.
With little aftershocks still sparking, Libby felt the broad head of his penis pushing past her virginal opening. He stretched her, but in a good way, and given that she’d had two mind-blowing orgasms, she knew it’d be easier for her to accommodate him.
His mouth was wet from her, rubbing against her jawline as he murmured encouragement and hot phrases of need and pleasure. “So tight,” she heard him say, and then, darker and with more feeling, “Fuck, yeah.”
He sank deeper, his hands holding her face, turning her toward him for a ravenous, eating kiss, and then he was buried inside her, filling her up. Libby held herself perfectly still, panting, trying to get accustomed to the wonderful, taut feeling, the incredible closeness, the emotional intensity that she hadn’t expected but relished all the same.
Tears stung her eyes, because she realized he was right. This was more than mere sex. He was the only man who had ever caught and held her attention, the only man to ever distract her from her goals. She didn’t know him well, but something about him called to her, brought out emotions she hadn’t known she possessed.
By small degrees she got her limbs to move, twining her arms tight around his broad back, lifting her legs to keep him close, and closer still. The new position tilted her pelvis and sent him deeper. She responded with a catch in her breath, freeing her mouth and inadvertently tightening around his thick erection.
Axel held her face and watched her, keeping her gaze captive as he eased out, then thrust, slow, deep, taking it easy, heat pouring off him and off her, their bodies melded together. It was almost too much, that visual connection combined with the pleasure of having him buried inside her. Libby kissed him, biting at his mouth, sucking at his tongue, and with a growl, Axel lost it. He pumped into her, picking up the pace, going faster and harder until suddenly he stiffened, his head back, his teeth locked. He growled, a feral, dark sound of primal satisfaction, his big body shuddering over hers, muscles tight and delineated.
It was the most wonderful, intimate thing Libby had ever experienced. He looked almost dangerous, and then, for a single moment, vulnerable. As his groans faded, his body relaxed and his muscles unclenched. Libby stroked his sweaty shoulders, speechless, awed. His head dropped forward, his dark hair over his brow, his eyes closed. He still labored for breath, but kept his chest off her with stiffened arms.
Feeling a little silly after all that intensity, Libby whispered, “Wow.”
His broken laugh turned into a groan, and he went to his back beside her. The moment he left her, she missed him. Her skin now felt cool, her body empty.
One arm covered his eyes but the other held her thigh with blatant possession. Seconds ticked by, measured by the slow beat of her heart, then he lifted his arm and looked at her, his eyes dark and full of triumph.
“You’re too far away,” he rasped. “Come here.” And she did, turning into his side, his arm going around her, keeping her near to him.
Libby had no idea what to do, but she had no complaints with cuddling. After several minutes had passed, he heaved a great sigh and tucked in his chin to look down at her. She met his dark gaze with uncertainty.
Would he leave now? Was he finished with her?
He looked ultimately relaxed and lazy. “You hungry?”
“Ummm…” She hadn’t expected that. “No, but I can fix you something.”
“Stay put. I’ll help myself.” He patted her hip, stood, stretched in front of her. “You got a waste can in the bathroom?”
Speechless at his casual attitude, Libby nodded. She watched Axel remove the condom as he headed to her john. His muscled behind was a thing of beauty, especially in motion.
He left the door open, which amazed her, considering a minute later, she heard him flush, then heard him splashing water.
He came out with his face and hair slightly wet, still gloriously naked, and went into her miniscule kitchen. “What movie did you say you rented?” he asked, while rummaging in her fridge.
Well, she didn’t have his indifferent attitude toward nudity. She pulled the rumpled sheet up to cover her body and scooted up in the bed, sitting with her legs bent, her arms on her knees. As if the entire day hadn’t happened, as if he weren’t totally nude, they chatted about food, about the movie, and even about the size of her apartment.
Ten minutes later, Libby found herself snuggled in the dark next to a naked Axel while he fed himself a cheese sandwich with one hand and absently fondled her with the other. The movie she’d missed earlier again played on the VCR.
She paid no more attention to it this time than she had the first.
She hadn’t expected this careless camaraderie, but it was…nice. More than nice.
Halfway through the flick, Axel hugged her a little and said, “It’s getting late,” as if the time were no more than an afterthought.
She’d been in a haze of comfort, enjoying his closeness, half asleep, more than a little lethargic. “Is that a hint that you need to go?” Pride forced the words from her constricting throat. “Because I already told you, I’m not going to cause a scene.”
“No.” He squeezed her closer still so he could kiss her nose. “It’s a hint that I’d like to stay the night, maybe make love to you a few dozen times more before the sun comes up. What do you think?” He took the last bite of his sandwich, chewed and swallowed. “Does a sleepover fit in with your independent plans, or should I get my tired, still horny butt out of here and head home to my lonesome bed?”
Stay, her heart screamed, but she pretended to think about it. She really was wiped out, and still achy, and her stomach wasn’t all that settled.
Sex, she found, took a lot out of a person. “Can I nap for a while before we indulge in more extracurricular activity?”
“If you don’t mind me wrapped around you.”
She wouldn’t mind that at all. “All right.” His natural body warmth felt good, but it wasn’t enough. She dragged the blankets a little higher and got comfortable beside him. “You can finish the movie. I’ll just doze off.”
“Do you need to be somewhere early tomorrow?”
“No, my uncle is expecting me in the afternoon.” She made a face. “I’m to serve at another meeting, this one for high tea.”
“Pompous ass.” Axel shifted in the bed and let her use his chest for a pillow. Aiming the remote, he turned the television volume low. “I’m free for the weekend, so we’ll work around your plans.”
Did that mean he intended to spend the whole weekend w
ith her? Having sex and doing…this? Cuddling and chatting and just being together?
“You sleep,” he told her. “I’m going to finish the movie, but I’ll wake you up if anything exciting happens.”
“Exciting, like…?”
“Like this.” He cupped her breast, put several damp, skin-tingling kisses on her neck, and then pulled back with a smile. He smoothed her hair, pressed one last kiss to her forehead, and gave his attention back to the television.
He was the oddest, boldest—and the most wonderful—man she’d ever met. Libby chuckled and, giving into her fatigue, dozed off.
She slept like the dead, like having a man in bed with her was no big deal. On the one hand, Axel supposed he might have worn her out with her first full-fledged sexually satisfying experience. That wasn’t an entirely repugnant thought.
On the other hand, he wanted her awake and as turned on as him.
Since it was well past midnight, he’d let her nap for a few hours. She was curled against him, hot as a Bunsen burner, making him sweat. Time to have more fun.
He slid his arm out from under her so that she lay flat in the bed. Utterly limp, she didn’t so much as flicker an eyelash. For a few moments he just looked at her, at her thick dark lashes, her small nose and stubborn chin, and that super sexy, glossy black hair all tumbled.
Normally her skin was very fair, but at the moment, a deep rose chafed her cheeks. Using only his fingertips, Axel smoothed the hair off her forehead and spread it out around her.
She wasn’t beautiful, but something about her drew him in and turned him on and made him want to touch her in a hundred different ways—not all of them sexual.
Pushing the sheet down to her knees, then kicking it the rest of the way off her legs, he looked at her nude body. In total relaxation, she appeared very young indeed. Innocent and fresh. Sweet. And undeniably sexy.
Her belly was so pale and soft, her dark, glossy pubic curls a striking and sensual contrast.
Her nipples were now smooth, a deep pink, and very appealing. Unwilling to wait, Axel leaned forward and drew her right nipple into his mouth, sucking gently.
She moaned, her legs shifting a bit, and Axel rested a hand on her flat belly. Another moan, but it didn’t sound carnal at all. More like…discomfort.
He frowned, lifting his head in alarm. “Libby?” She didn’t stir. “Come on, baby, wake up.”
She mumbled something in her sleep and turned her head away from him.
A niggling fear skittered through him and Axel put his palm to her forehead.
Scorching heat.
“Shit.” Sitting up, he caught her shoulders and gently shook her. “Libby?”
Her eyebrows twitched, her lashes fluttered then opened. Her eyes were bloodshot, unfocused. Her lips looked dry. In a froggy voice, she rasped, “I don’t feel good. You should go.” And she tried to turn away from him.
Well, hell. “You have a fever, honey. Where’s your thermometer?”
She gazed at him in confusion, her eyes vague, her chest laboring painfully. “My what?” She started to shiver and groped blindly for the blankets.
Unbelievable. Axel helped her, pulling the sheet and single blanket back up for her. “I need to take your temperature, sweetheart. You’re sick.”
Damn it, he should have realized it earlier. She’d felt warm, too warm, each time he’d touched her. Idiot.
He’d thought she was hot for him.
Axel silently cursed himself and pushed out of the bed.
Rather than reply to him, Libby curled onto her side and snuggled tight into the blankets. “Oh God, Axel, I’m freezing.”
“I know, baby.” A hundred and one problems crowded into his brain. “Do you have anything for fever?”
In strained accusation, her teeth chattering, she groaned, “I never get sick.”
“Well, you’re sick now.” He stalked into her bathroom and looked in the medicine cabinet. It overflowed with female junk, but nothing that would help her. “Where the hell do you keep your medicine?”
When she didn’t answer, he went back to her. She looked to be asleep again, but shivers racked her slender body, the blankets up around her ears, her knees curled up to her chest in the fetal position. Sitting beside her, Axel again touched her forehead, then flinched. “Does anything else hurt?”
She frowned, still without opening her eyes. “My chest, a little. I had a stupid cold, but…”
Afraid that her cold had developed into pneumonia, Axel pulled her upright and into his arms, cradling her close to his heart. “Listen to me, Libby. I think I should take you to the hospital.”
“Oh no.” She sounded raw. And very upset at the idea.
Axel cupped her burning cheek. Jesus, she was hot. And she’d said she’d had trouble eating, sleeping. “Listen to me, young lady—”
She pressed against him, trying to lie back down, trying to pull the blankets closer around herself. “Just go away, doc. I’m not your problem, not your patient.”
“Don’t get stubborn on me now.” He held her shoulders, refusing to let her pull away. “You’re sick, and from what I can tell, you have nothing here in the way of medicine. You’re burning up, but it’s too late to call your family physician.”
Looking very small and vulnerable, she whispered, “You can’t take me to the hospital, Axel.”
“Of course I can. They know me there. They’ll give you first-rate treatment, I promise.”
Eyes closing, she swallowed painfully. “If you do, Uncle Elwood will find out about you.”
Elwood.
A rush of blood pounded into Axel’s ears. Alarms went off in his head. His throat damn near closed up on him. “Elwood…?”
“Peterson.” She peeked up at him, small, frail, the epitome of misery. “He’s…my uncle.”
Oh. Dear. God. Barely squeezing the words out between his clenched teeth, Axel barked, “Your uncle is the chief of staff?”
She flinched. “Yes.”
Young, a virgin, and now this. Three strikes, and he was out.
Numb, Axel pushed to his feet and stood looking down at her. He couldn’t be that unlucky. But to be sure…“You’re a twenty-one-year-old virgin—whose uncle just happens to be the chief of staff?”
She looked away. “Yes.”
“Un-fucking-believable.”
Libby jumped at the fury in his tone, took in his appalled expression, and moaned. “Here we go again.”
Six
Never in her life had she felt more miserable. She hurt everywhere, in every bone and joint, and it felt like an elephant sat on her chest. It took enormous effort just to move, just to breathe. But she forced herself into a mostly sitting position and even managed a half-baked smile. Shivering, her teeth clattering together and tears stinging her eyes, Libby rasped, “It’s been swell, doc, but I can see the party’s over.”
Instead of being relieved that she’d let him off the hook, fury darkened his face. “Don’t push me, Libby.”
Why was he mad? And at the moment, did she even care? She was so damn cold, deep down inside herself, that she couldn’t stop shaking. “I know how to treat illness. Remember, I’m a nursing student, soon to graduate. Go with a clear conscience. I’ll be fine.”
Axel closed his eyes, looked to be counting to ten, then opened them again. Composed, he said, “I’m not leaving you, so forget that.”
“You already told me what a self-centered ass you are, remember? It’s all right to leave.”
“I said no.”
She couldn’t stay upright a second more. Collapsing back on the bed, freezing, she said, “Bastard.”
“Hush.” He moved with sudden purpose. “I know what I’ll do. I call Cary. He’ll come over and take care of you.”
The very idea of imposing on someone else left her speechless. Why couldn’t he just leave her in peace?
Knowing she had to move whether she wanted to or not, she hugged the blankets and started to slide her legs off the
side of the bed.
Her feet never touched the floor. In one swoop, Axel pulled her into his arms and held her like a child. That stung. As if her weight were negligible, he strode to the other side of the bed and snagged his jeans.
“Why are you doing this?” He was so wonderfully warm and comfortable that she wanted to crawl inside him. Exhaustion pulled at her, and she laid her head on his hard shoulder.
“You just be quiet.” He sat on the side of the bed, holding her, rocking her a little, and used his thumb to press one number on his cell phone.
A second later, some unfortunate soul actually answered.
Axel wasted no time. “Damn Cary, I’m sorry to bug you—what? No, I’m okay. It’s Libby. She’s…If you’ll shut up, I’ll tell you who she is. She’s…a woman I’m seeing.”
Libby hid her face in his neck. God, this only got worse and worse.
“Damn it, I know you don’t know her. But I’m with her now and her uncle is the damn chief of staff…Yeah, Elwood.” Axel paused, rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not crazy, but for the record I didn’t know her uncle was chief of staff. Cary, do not laugh, damn you.”
Libby realized by the way Axel said Elwood’s name that he didn’t exactly like him. At least she wasn’t alone in that.
“She’s sick, maybe pneumonia given her temperature and how fast it came on her. No, she doesn’t want to go to the hospital but she’s burning up and…Yeah, could you? Thanks.” He gave her address to his friend, said, “I owe ya,” and hung up.
Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he said, “Cary’ll be right over. He’s a fine doctor, a family practitioner, and he’ll know what to do.”
“You’re a doctor, too,” Libby reminded him.
“Wrong kind.” He stood again, carrying her as if she weighed no more than a pillow. He entered her tiny bathroom, got a towel off the rack, and using only one hand, doused it in tepid water. “I’m going to wipe you down to try to get your fever under control before Cary gets here.”
When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys Page 6
