by Kage, Linda
Lenna covered her mouth with her hand to hide one of the giggles she thought she’d drained from her system at the club, but it blurted out between her fingers.
Braxton turned toward her. He pointed after the departing cab. “That was my ride.”
She nodded. “I know.” She kept in a smile as she said it, but a moment later, she laughed outright.
Finally, Braxton shook his head and joined her with his own chuckle.
“Come on up,” she offered, holding her hand toward him. “You can call another cab from my room.”
He paused, looking uncertain. Then he sighed and took her fingers. “I did leave my cell phone charging in my car.”
Lenna nearly whimpered with want as the warmth of his touch spread up her arm.
Mr. Perfect was proving to be a lot more damn wonderful than she’d originally figured. He wasn’t so debonair and pretentious that he intimidated her with his wealth and status, but he had these slight little flaws bringing him down to earth and making him practical. He could tell the corniest jokes and was clumsier than one would think. He’d tripped at least twice on the dance floor tonight, only to laugh at himself and say he’d meant to do that.
Then, when Lenna discovered a chip in the corner of one of his top teeth, confirming he wasn’t faultless, he’d touched the dental flaw with the tip of his tongue, making her stomach quiver in response. Chuckling, he had explained its origin.
His sister had punched him in the face when he was thirteen because he’d murdered one of her dolls, hanging it by the neck from the stairwell of their house. His parents had decided not to repair the chip so he’d always remember not to underestimate the roundhouse of a ticked off sibling. And he’d never gotten around to fixing it since he’d moved out onto his own.
Smiling over that story, Lenna tried to block out how warm his body was behind hers as he followed her to her room. When she stumbled on a step, he caught her waist to steady her. “You okay?”
If he wanted her, he could have her, right then and right there on the stairs of her apartment building.
She managed a quick nod. “Yeah. Thanks.”
A distant voice in the back of her brain told her to stop this insanity. She should send him back down to the entrance and tell him she’d call the cab for him. But she didn’t want to.
She wanted one last moment alone with him. So, she paused at her door and tugged her room key from her front pocket without shooing him off.
The back of her neck tingled with awareness.
Knowing he was right behind her, watching her, she fumbled with the lock. She couldn’t get past the fact he was about to enter her apartment.
“Did I tell you how incredible you look tonight?”
His voice spiked through her, making bumps lift along the back of her neck. Her nipples perked to attention. The insides of her thighs tingled and her skin turned so sensitive, even the shift of her panties against her genitals made her shiver. She lifted her face.
His glazed eyes looked soulful as he curled his hand and pressed the fist against his chest. “I think I die a little every time I look at you.”
Lenna’s key slid from her hand and dropped to the floor at their feet.
Braxton looked down at it for a second and then lifted his eyes. “The first time,” he went on, “at the Christmas party, when I looked up and saw you in the doorway…” He paused and sucked in a breath as if he were reliving that very moment all over again. “I couldn’t breathe. I haven’t been able to breathe right since then.”
Lips parting, Lenna shook her head to deny his words. “You shouldn’t be telling me this.”
Braxton let out a lopsided smile. “I know. God, how I know.” Cupping his head in his hands, he stared at her, fighting some kind of inner battle. “Your dad would freak if he could hear me right now. He’d probably kill me.” He gave her a pleading look. “I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t want you to know. But, I guess I’m kind of hoping we’re both so drunk, we won’t remember this tomorrow. So, I’m just going to keep making a fool of myself.”
He took a cautious step closer. “Lenna…” he whispered. “Since the first moment I laid eyes on you, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”
Wrapping her arms around her waist, she swallowed and stared at the ground. “I keep thinking about you too,” she confessed, blowing her resist-and-evade program all to hell.
There was no resisting Braxton Farris.
She heard him move toward her, cautiously creeping closer, until she could see his pant legs from the corner of her lowered eyes.
Lenna raised her gaze. Her heart beat madly against the base of her throat.
“I want to know you,” he said, lifting his hand and grasping a stray piece of her hair fluttering away from the rest of her blond locks. Rubbing the lock between his fingers, he whispered, “I want to know everything about you.”
From that point on, she was a goner.
“What…” She paused to lick her lips. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything,” he repeated. “I want to know your favorite color. Your favorite food. Favorite musical group. Your first word? When you started walking? What you wore on your first day of school. Who was your first boyfriend? When did you get your first kiss? But right now, I want to know how you taste.”
Lenna swayed closer.
He lifted his face, his eyes searching, pleading. She focused on his mouth and found herself licking her lips again. He dipped his head but stopped at the last moment. His eyes rose to hers, his gaze seeking approval. “Lenna?”
God, would he just kiss her already? She was dying here. She wanted his mouth on hers. Now.
But she didn’t want to be the one to initiate it. She wanted him to. She wanted to be able to blame him in the morning when she realized what a mistake this moment had been.
He wouldn’t, though. Not without her full consent, her total cooperation, and her equal amount of participation. And, oh Lord, she was going to give it. She closed her eyes, her body straining forward.
His fingers dropped the piece of hair he’d been toying with and moved gently to the side of her throat, where they slid softly and oh-so slowly into her hair. Lenna’s head fell back. She let out a soul-relieving sigh.
“Kiss me,” she commanded.
He shook his head and swallowed. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop.”
“Do it anyway.”
He hissed out a breath and caved. Dipping his head, he brushed his lips across hers only to leave a tingling sensation and the flavor of Jägermeister and Red Bull. Lenna closed her eyes and pressed forward, opening her mouth. His tongue plundered, making her body crave immediate fulfillment. But he mastered her, turning up the intensity bit by frustrating bit, holding her powerless to resist.
Backing her against the door, he covered her body with his. She drew his tongue in deeper and arched onto her tiptoes.
He slid his hands around her and, Lord, she slid hers around him. He cupped her ass and lifted her while she whimpered and wrapped him up with her legs.
She’d never experienced so much eroticism or wanton need before. He made her come alive…so unbelievingly, stunningly alive.
She wasn’t even aware someone had opened a door down the hall until Braxton broke off and lifted his head. He set her down and moved to block her from the guy stepping out of his apartment and glancing their way. Panting heavily, Lenna leaned into Braxton and sucked in air as she rested her hot face against his shoulder.
“Where’s your key?” he asked between his own quaking breaths.
“I…” Lenna blinked. Key? What was a key?
Braxton glanced around, then bent down to retrieve it from the floor. Lenna gratefully stepped aside.
With no more grace than he’d had on his car in the club’s parking lot, he fumbled, cursed, and unlocked her door before shoving it open and dragging her inside with him.
Smashing his mouth back to hers, he asked, “Bed?�
� without taking his lips from her throat.
“Right here,” she answered, reversing him two steps until the backs of his legs hit the mattress.
For once in her life, she was glad she lived in a miniscule studio apartment.
Braxton didn’t seem to mind either.
“Thank God.” He plunked down, yanking her with him.
CHAPTER 6
Braxton’s hands were warm, his lips velvet wet, and his erection unyielding. Lenna gasped at the contact and arched into the hard bulge. Loving the zing their tangled bodies created, she threw her head back and ground against him, rubbing her chest along his until her hardened nipples sobbed for his touch.
Neither of them had thought to turn on a light and neither of them seemed to care. Only a dim waver of illumination came in through the window from a flickering streetlamp.
In the near dark, the sense of touch became heightened. Holding her in his lap, Braxton groaned as he cupped the back of her shoulder blades in his hands. He bent his head, buried his nose inside her turtleneck, and kissed her neck, letting his tongue lick over her pulse.
A jolt rocked her to the bottoms of her toes. She bucked, creating more friction against their heated and swelling organs. He let out another strangled groan and fisted his fingers against the back of her shirt, pulling the skin of her throat between his teeth.
“Lenna,” he rasped in a hoarse voice, causing the sound to echo through her chest, where her breasts tightened even more.
“Oh, God.” She moaned. “That feels good.”
Wanting his mouth on hers, she straightened her head, which dislodged his teeth-grip on her throat.
The ends of her hair brushed over his knuckles and he raised his fingers to bury them in her locks as he found her lips. Clutching her head with both hands, he spiked his wet and warm tongue into her mouth.
Lenna vibrated against his erection. The seam in her pants helped alleviate some of the yearning between her legs, so she found herself rubbing harder.
Hissing out a curse, he deserted her mouth so he could grasp the hem of her shirt and yank it over her head. Lenna lifted her arms to assist. As soon as the shirt was off, he wrapped his fingers around her wrists. He kept their hands suspended over their heads as he met her eyes briefly in the dim light and then kissed her again.
His tongue plundered, and Lenna pressed her bra against his chest as his fingers finally started a slow slide down her arms. Thumbs glided over the inside of her elbows and she gasped, surprised such an ordinary spot could be so sensitive.
Her chest heaved with a stuttering sob as all ten of his fingers coasted over her ribcage.
She wanted him inside her…five seconds ago.
But Braxton seemed more fixated on his leisurely strokes than shedding any more clothing.
“You are so soft,” he murmured and pulled his chest away from hers in order to watch his fingers coast over her. When he reached her waist, he tightened his grip to urge her down until he controlled the pace and pressure of her grinding. All the while, his thumbs rubbed a slow circle over her stomach.
“Braxton,” she sobbed.
His hands cruised back along her ribcage until he cupped her breasts. Then he replaced his hands with his mouth so his fingers could fumble with the back clasp. Once the barrier was gone, his lips sought each prominent tip. His teeth held one beaded nub steady as his tongue flicked the puckered surface.
Lenna cried out and grasped his head, her fingernails digging into his scalp as she pulled him closer. As good as his mouth felt on her breasts, though, he wasn’t easing her primary ache.
Her fingers tightened around his hair. “More.”
He chuckled, a low and pleased husky sound that echoed through her entire body and quivered between her legs.
Willing to accommodate her, he scooted back along the mattress, slipping completely horizontal as he did and stretching out his legs under her.
His fingers found the top button of her pants.
Glad they were finally getting down to business, Lenna unzipped his as well. In the dark, they tugged each other’s jeans down. She reached for the front of his underwear.
He rolled them until he was on top. She stroked him through the cloth, making him groan and bite her shoulder.
“Do you have protection?” she asked as she let go of him in order to slide inside the waistband.
He was hot and hard and smooth under her palm. She wound her fingers around him and pumped the entire length.
Above her, his muscles went taut, and he sucked in a breath. “Uh…” he tried to say. “Yeah, I have…I have…” He paused to groan as she moved her hand again. Pressing his forehead against hers, he shifted his hips so that he thrust in and out of her grip. “Condom,” he finally uttered with another groan. “In my…wallet.”
“Good boy scout,” she cooed, stroking him harder in reward.
“No,” he said hoarsely. “Just…oh God…just really hopeful my blind date would work out better than it did.”
She lifted her face, her hand falling still as jealously consumed her. “Disappointed it didn’t?”
His eyes flared open wide. “God, no!”
She smiled, feminine power swallowing up the jealousy, and brushed her mouth across his in thanks.
He moaned a mad sound of need. “I can’t stop touching you. I want to touch and taste every inch.”
Lenna shivered at the very thought of his tongue anywhere near her pulsing, swollen center. “You just made me wet.”
His mouth curved against hers. “Like you weren’t already.” Fingers skated quickly along her body until they were wrapping around the stringed waistband of her panties. “I should warn you.” He tugged her underwear down her thighs. “I go a lot longer when I’ve had this much to drink.”
Lenna whimpered. She let go of his erection so he could crawl between her legs. Her fingers dug into the sheets until they tangled under her.
And then his warm breath heated her pubic hair.
“Ohmigod! Braxton.” Her high-pitched voice was suddenly unsure. “What’re you…I…I…I mean, no one’s ever…no one’s ever gone down on me before.”
Her body drew tense. She wanted him to stop, yet she wanted his mouth against her throbbing core more.
“Shh,” he whispered and soothingly patted her hip with warm fingers. “Trust me. You’ll like it.”
A hot, moist tongue stroked her aching flesh, proving him right.
Lenna screamed. Her back arched off the mattress as a hot electrical current zapped through her, making it spasm with greedy desire. Strong hands locked around her hips and held her still so she couldn’t unseat him as he continued to lick her.
Sobbing, chest shuddering, Lenna shook her head from side to side.
“Braxton,” she gasped and clutched his hair. “Oh, God. Oh, God. Don’t stop.”
Sliding a finger into her, then two, he stroked her, diving deeper with each plunge. He picked up the pace and flicked his tongue, swirling it until he used his teeth to latch onto a bundle of nerves. The combination of his fingers, teeth, and tongue was more than she could take. She screamed again, coming hard against his mouth.
Every molecule inside her rushed to get out. No grip on her could hold her down as she arched and cried unintelligible, garbled words. She bucked against his mouth and continued to explode. It was a rush unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.
His tongue lavished her until the last ripple of shock abated. Breathing hard, Lenna blew out a breath and stared into the darkness of her small studio apartment.
She was a screamer. She’d never made such a racket during any sexual act before. But Braxton Farris had turned her into a screamer. And they hadn’t even gotten to the actual sex yet.
Suddenly shy and embarrassed, she turned her face to the side and buried it in her pillow. What if he make fun of her? Prepared to curl into a ball and weep if he made one comment about busted eardrums, she braced herself.
But all he said was,
“I want to see you. God, Lenna. I have to see you. Now.”
Swamped with relief, she nodded and scooted over an inch so she could reach for her bedside lamp. Once the light clicked on, she twisted back, wanting to see him too.
He was the most heart-stoppingly beautiful sight she’d ever witnessed. He wore only a pair of snug black underwear. His chest was gleaming and toned with muscles filling a compact, powerful body.
Hovered above her on all fours, he reminded her of a prowling lion—his shoulders gathering and rotating with each step—as he crawled up her. There was a predatory gleam in his eyes as if he really were a lion spotting its tasty prey.
Then he smiled, and his face transformed from stalking hunter to huggable teddy bear.
“Hi,” he whispered.
Lenna swallowed, her body coming alive again. Even after the mind-blowing orgasm he’d just given her, she wanted more. The sweet grin caught her right in the loins just as intensely as the prowling, voracious awareness had.
“Hi,” she managed to return, breathless and dizzy.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, finally taking his gaze off hers. His attention traced her naked figure. “So very, very beautiful.”
Lenna touched his face and brushed a lock of stray black hair off his forehead. “So are you.”
He scanned her up and down, grinning every time their eyes met. “I could look at you all night.” He lifted a hand to her breast and trailed a circle around her nipple with his finger. “And touch you all day.”
Lenna closed her eyes at his easy caress. It was light, almost impersonal, and very explorative. The pads of his fingers soothed and stroked, making her hum. After investigating both breasts, he moved down over her belly. Her stomach muscles tensed and quivered.
Oxygen shuddered from her lungs. “You’re making me want you again.”
“Good. I want you to come at least once more. Maybe twice. Then, I want you to go off when I’m deep inside you and you’re wrapped so snug around me I can feel each contraction of your orgasm milking my dick. Then, and only then, I’ll let you feel my release as it pulses inside you.”
