Just for the Night

by Tawny Weber

  “Is she excited about Peter’s upcoming wedding?”

  Why were they talking about his family? Tension curled so tight in his body, his toes ached. He couldn’t deal with this. Why couldn’t Larissa just stick with pillow talk or compare him to her other sexual conquests? Why did it always have to come around to serious shit that made him want to run screaming from the room?

  “Mom’s not too focused these days, but it really doesn’t matter,” he dismissed, wishing he wasn’t lying.

  “How can it not matter?” she asked. From her puzzled look and the innocent tone, he knew she was seriously confused. Not trying to scrape her fingernails over the chalk-board of his soul.

  “It just doesn’t, okay.” Jason sat up, careful to make it look casual and not like he was trying to jump away.

  “Okay,” she said slowly. He’d used that same tone once when he’d woke up on safari to find a lion prowling his camp. He knew what that tone meant.

  He wanted to get in her face and make her acknowledge that he wasn’t bullshitting with her excuses. That he wasn’t an emotional commitment-phobic mess with parental issues.

  That if anyone would know what mattered—in his past, his present and his damned future—it’d be him, wouldn’t it? Yes, dammit, it would.

  But that might come off as a little defensive.

  “I need food,” he declared instead, glancing at his watch. “It’s almost midnight. Definitely time for a snack.”

  He didn’t even try to lie to himself that he wasn’t running away. From his thoughts. From the answers. And yes, maybe he wanted to get away from Larissa, too.

  Things had been a lot better when they’d been having sex.

  He got to his feet so fast, she almost tumbled off the blanket. With a sheepish apology, he reached out a hand to help her into a sitting position.

  “Did you want anything?” he offered, a gentleman to the last, even while running like a pansy girl.

  “Maybe some water from the fridge. It might still be cool in there, don’t you think?”

  Heading out of the store, he gave a noncommittal shrug, not wanting to have to make a decision right now, even on something as simple as his opinion.

  “Aren’t you going to put on your pants?” she asked. Her look said she knew exactly what he was doing, but she laughed it off. Obviously she didn’t want to fight naked any more than he did.

  His shoulders itched uncomfortably at the idea of someone—anyone—knowing him that well. It was definitely time to take a break.

  Jason glanced at his crumpled jeans in the corner. Just the thought of putting thick denim on in this heat made him cringe. Then he looked down at his body, still sporting splotches of chocolate and wrinkled his nose. “I think I’ll hit the bathroom to wash up instead.”

  She pointed questioningly to his boxers, hanging like a banner off one of the light fixtures.

  “Why bother?” he decided as he bent over to give her a kiss before heading out into the mall. “I’m just going to get naked and have my way with you again as soon as I get back.”

  “There’s a bathroom right here,” she said, gesturing with one hand toward the back of the store.

  Jason felt like there was a rope tightening around his neck. Swallowing past the constriction, he shook his head.

  “Nah, there’s a bigger one out here. More room to, um, de-chocolate myself and stuff.”

  “Then don’t you at least need a candle?” she called after him as he hurried out.

  “Nah, I know where all my stuff is.”

  Now to get it all put back where it belonged. Hidden away, behind firm emotional barriers. The same place any other well-adjusted man would put it.

  HER ARMS WRAPPED AROUND her bent legs, Larissa laid her cheek on her knees and watched Jason’s very fine, very naked butt leave.

  She didn’t know why she was wasting her time wishing he’d open up and actually talk to her. This night wasn’t about rekindling their romance. It was simply the consequences of being trapped together and really, really horny.

  That was all. She just had to keep those facts in mind and she’d be fine.

  Straightening and hooking her elbow to the outside of the opposite knee, Larissa stretched until her back cracked. Then she switched in the other direction. She arched her neck one way, then the other, then back to release tension she hadn’t realized she was holding.

  “You’d think hot sex and multiple orgasms would have loosened me up,” she muttered to herself. And maybe they would have, if it hadn’t been for that undertone of angst making her so edgy.

  Larissa straightened her legs, arched her toes and stretched her body flat until her fingers gripped her ankles.

  “Good thing we’re not a couple,” she told her knees.

  And it was. She was glad she didn’t have to do this emotional dance any longer. They weren’t a couple, so she didn’t need to fixate over what she said and if he was pissed because she’d said it.

  No longer would she freak out after attempting to get Jason to emotionally open up. To admit that there was more to him—to them—than surface jokes and great sex.

  So she was glad that she wasn’t dealing with all of that.

  “Nope, all I’m doing is enjoying some great sex to pass the time,” she said to the room at large, wondering if her words could really be considered lies if nobody was there to hear and she personally knew she was spouting bullshit. Kinda like the tree in the woods enigma.

  Trying to distract herself from the pending depression she felt looming around her like an extra layer of sticky-hot humidity, Larissa imagined Jason’s trek through the mall.

  Talk about out of his element. He was in a mall instead of some remote jungle.

  And, of course, there was the naked thing.

  Focusing on the idea of Jason, naked, was the best distraction ever.

  He was waltzing naked in front of the likes of Tiffany, MAC and the finest French undies known to women. She giggled at the image, then lay back on the marble floor and tried to soak up some of the coolness of the stone. Eyes closed, she imagined his naked journey and wondered, could she be that comfortable in her nudity?

  Not likely, she snorted. She doubted she could step into those stores in anything less than her best dress and most expensive shoes.

  She remembered the last time she’d tried to shop in La Perla. The salesman had been so snooty, she’d ended up leaving without buying a thing. Then, out of pure defiance, she’d headed straight to Victoria’s Secret and loaded up on panties.

  She sure hoped that sales guy didn’t end up working at this location. She could just imagine him staring down his nose at her store while he fondled a mannequin’s garter belt. He’d definitely consider her offerings too pedestrian to be within gawking distance of his lacy merchandise.

  Her grin faded. She glanced at her briefcase, with its carefully detailed business plan. Her eyes shifted to the box of merchandise. Cute stuff. Fun stuff. Pure romance, both sweet and sexy.

  It’d work in the bookstore. She could imagine the items scattered around the Victorian, how she’d display them in the rooms. Those kits Chloe made would be perfect in the kitchen with a little sign that suggested the customers cook up a little fun.

  She’d repurpose one of the small, cramped parlors with a plush chair and wide-screen television. Maybe a pair of fluffy bunny slippers and a luxurious blanket. She rubbed her fingers over the one currently providing a cushion between her butt and the hard marble. She’d fill the shelves with the romance DVDs she’d sell.

  Larissa shook her head, blinking fast to erase the image from her mind.

  That was yesterday’s dream. A dream that depended on her convincing people to stick around, on her ability to lure customers back to the store time and time again. The only way to keep an independent bookstore in business, let alone a specialty store like she’d want, was customer loyalty. And Larissa had learned the hard way that loyalty in the long term was a myth.

  That was
why this deal was so perfect. Here, in a hotel, she didn’t need to worry about returning customers, since the nature of the location meant the people always changed. Here, she could create an image, expand her role as the romance expert, and nobody would be around long enough to discover it was all a sham.

  And she was going to make it work, even if she had to march her department-store-dress-wearing-self into La Perla and face down the snobbiest of the snobs.

  She wished Jason would hurry back and distract her from these horrible, soul-baring thoughts. This was why sleep was so important. Not for health reasons, but because these intense, heart-wrenching thoughts always surfaced at two in the morning.

  Shoving her damp, humidity frizzed hair off her shoulder, she had to admit, it was so sticky and uncomfortable in here, she wouldn’t have been able to sleep anyway. Which meant Jason should be here to distract her, dammit.

  Leave it to Jason to go missing when she needed him. Larissa got to her feet and, feeling really naked, looked around for something to wear. She started to perspire at just the thought of wrapping that blanket around herself again. Just as she was wishing the rain would cut through the humidity, or that the windows were breakable, she spied Jason’s shirt.

  That’d work. She’d just hooked a couple of the buttons when she heard a noise.

  Her heart raced.

  Ax murderer?

  “You’ll never guess what I found,” Jason said as he came through the entryway.

  She sighed a little, her body going into a full-on melt-down at the way the candlelight flickered temptingly over his body. Her eyes slid down the wide expanse of golden shoulders, muscled and glistening. His arms, the same arms she’d gripped so tightly as he drove her over the edge of screaming passion, were curved around…something. She didn’t care what. She was just irritated that whatever he held obscured her view of the happy trail aimed down his washboard abs.

  Her eyes dropped to the main event.

  Even at rest, it made for an impressive show.

  Larissa ran her tongue over her lower lip, determined to get another taste. Which meant she had to keep those pesky little observances and personal comments to herself.

  Screw romantic connections. She wanted good sex.

  “Larissa?”

  “Huh?”

  “You okay?”

  She dragged her eyes back up his body to meet his questioning gaze. He looked so sweet. His hair fell across his forehead, giving him a sexy little bad boy look. She couldn’t see the expression in his eyes, but his half-smile was teasing. His stance just a little cocky.

  Why was he everything she wanted in a man? And why was most of it locked up so tight inside him that he had no trouble denying it. Even to himself.

  She swallowed, hard. Sex, she chanted silently. Remember the sex.

  “Yes. Of course. I’m fine.”

  He gave her a long look, like he was trying to see inside her head and figure out why she was lying. That he knew she was lying was a given.

  “Did you want to hear what I found?”

  “Sure.” Her fingers wrapped around the open plackets of his shirt, tugging them closed. She suddenly felt both overdressed and much too vulnerable.

  “What if I told you I found a way out?”

  Well, that yanked her right out of Fantasyland. Were they done with the sex? Had she wasted half their sex time trying to get him to admit he had a heart? Larissa’s lower lip protruded.

  “Really? You found a way out?”

  “No,” he said with a laugh. “But I did think that’d be your first response. You know, given how you kept going on earlier about getting out of here.”

  “Sure. Because now that we’ve gotten naked together, I was hoping you’d hurry up and find that secret way out.” Larissa’s return smile was a little stiff. So was her middle finger, but she kept that hidden in the fabric of his shirt.

  He stopped laughing, his smile dimming a little. “Me, too. But only because I’d rather finish our naked times in a bed than on that floor. But I’m willing to pull the gentleman card and offer to take the bottom for the next few rounds.”

  Larissa gave him the laugh he wanted. And she didn’t point out that their naked times were restricted to this night, this place and this once. He knew that already. But like so much else that Jason knew, he’d rather pretend it wasn’t there.

  “So what did you find if not a secret passage out of here?” she asked lightly.

  “The answer to all your fantasies.”

  “Johnny Depp is here?”

  Jason kept his eye roll small, instead raising his hand to shake the contents a little. Larissa squinted, trying to figure out what he had. It was hard to focus, though, since his shaking sent things swaying.

  “It’s a bowl?”

  “And…?”

  “It’s a bowl of something that’s making a lot of noise?”

  He walked slowly forward, his steps reminding her of a stalking animal. A tiny skittering of nerves danced up Larissa’s spine. With his eyes on her, she felt frozen in place. Her breasts rose and fell quickly beneath the soft denim shirt. He stopped inches away and, his gaze still locked on hers, lowered the bowl. It was still too high for her to see what was in it, though. Not that it mattered. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from his hypnotic blue eyes.

  His fingers traced just inside the unbuttoned edges of her—or really, his—shirt, his knuckle skimming her flesh and making her shiver as he left a heated trail. She pressed her thighs together, desire coiling tight between her legs at his touch.

  His other hand slipped around behind her. She barely noticed as he skimmed the back of his hand under the shirt.

  Then he pressed the icy cold bowl to her back.

  Larissa jumped, gasping out a tiny scream.

  “I found ice,” he said, laughing as he showed her the bowl. “It’s melting fast, but there were a few trays in the break room freezer.”

  “Oh,” she breathed, wrapping both hands around the metal container and closing her eyes at the wonderful chill that poured through her palms. “So nice.”

  “You wanted cool water, I figured this might work.”

  “Did you bring a glass?” she asked, looking around to see if she’d missed it. Not seeing one, she shrugged and lifted the bowl to her lips, sipping the ice cold water. “Mmm.”

  She took a deeper drink. Big mistake. The large bowl wasn’t made to drink from, so the water slopped over the sides. His eyes narrowed. Rivulets streamed down her chin and over her throat.

  Jason gave a low groan.

  Despite the ice, Larissa’s body started to burn.

  He took the bowl from her and, his eyes locked on hers, took a drink. He barely swallowed though. Brow furrowed, she watched him set the bowl on the counter, then he skimmed his hands under the shirt, up her torso and cupped her breasts. His fingers squeezed gently. Larissa’s head fell back and she took a deep breath so the fabric of the shirt separated. He released one breast to flick open the few buttons, then bent down and wrapped his lips around her hardening nipple.

  “Omigosh,” she breathed, shocked at the intensity of the feelings pouring through her. His mouth was hot. The ice was cold. The contrasts were incredible.

  Icy water dripped down her breast, over her stomach. He grabbed another ice cube and slid it along her hip. She listened, surprised it didn’t sizzle on her hot body.

  Then he pressed his palm against the wet heat of her mound. The ice made her thighs clench automatically. Her gasp ricocheted off the walls. After a quick nip of his teeth on her tight nipple, he kissed the underside of her breast, then skimmed down her torso, open mouthed, until he was kneeling in front of her. Her legs wobbled. He wrapped one arm around her hips to help support her as he nudged her thighs apart.

  He stared into her eyes, a dark promise of delight in the blue depths of his as he popped the ice cube into his mouth. Holding her gaze until the last second, he licked his freezing tongue over her already swollen and well-pleasure
d sex. The chill was incredible. Invigorating and seductive.

  Then his fingers slipped inside her. First one, swirling and plunging. Then two. He sucked harder. Her body shook. He sent her up so fast, so hard, she couldn’t think straight. All she could do was dig her fingers into his shoulders and hold on for the ride.

  Her climax was wild and intense. Her body rocked against his mouth. She shivered at the power he had over her, but couldn’t find it in her to care. If the man could play that kind of magic on her body, he was welcome to do it anytime.

  After a few seconds, she decided turnabout was only fair. When she knew her knees would support her, she stepped away.

  And reached for the bowl.

  “Whatchya doin’?” he asked in a raspy tone.

  “Paying you back,” she promised just before she slipped a couple pieces of melting ice into her mouth and knelt in front of him.

  As far as distractions went, an iced-down blow job was top of the list for keeping her focus off her breaking heart.

  12

  WAKING SLOWLY AND THROWING OFF the groggy fog of a couple hours sleep, Larissa stretched her arms overhead, trying to work a few of the kinks out of her sore body. Who knew an ice cube blow job could be that exhausting. She gave a luxuriant smile, feminine power pouring through her and bringing almost as much pleasure as her earlier orgasms.

  Okay, maybe not nearly as much. But a lot of pleasure. She grinned, loving this feeling. Missing how good it was to be not just a woman, but a sexual being.

  She glanced around, looking for the man to thank for the experience. Nada. Maybe he was in the bathroom?

  She stood, wincing as her thighs screamed. Wow, it’d been a long time since her body had been a sexual being. Having really, really good sex used muscles she’d forgotten she had. She took a couple mincing steps, groaning a little. She looked around, glad Jason wasn’t here to witness her lack of grace.

  And speaking of really, really good sex…and Jason—where was he?

  Her pleasure fading a little, she glanced at the open bathroom door and didn’t see any candlelight. She frowned, noting that his jeans and shirt were still crumpled on the ground. But his boxers weren’t flying from the sconce any longer.