by Cait London
Was he that certain of her? That she would come to him?
Or were the small foil squares on the vanity meant for another woman? Did they belong to another woman?
He came through the door, raindrops glittering on his bare shoulders, and placed her luggage on a big wide chair. He turned off the bald electric light overhead and lit a match, taking it to the candles on the table. The flames flickered, throwing his tall shadow against the wall.
Jessica held her breath as Alexi walked to her. “Take off your coat,” he ordered in a whisper so raw and powerful that it rocked the room.
Her hand shot out to grip his jeans’ waistband, anchoring her fears, and Alexi nodded slowly. He leaned down to kiss her, gently seeking and rekindling the heat they’d just ignited in her car.
“I brought my own,” she whispered against his lips.
“Mmm. What?”
“Protection. Yours? Hers? In the bathroom?”
“They are mine, and if you came prepared…then you came for me.” The statement was rich with pleasure as Alexi began to remove her coat. “That means you want me bad.”
“Or you want me.”
“True. If I’m going to get you out of this coat and into my bed, you’ll have to let go of my jeans…. Or you can take them off.”
When she slowly unsnapped his jeans, her fingers trembled as she pulled down the zipper, only to find his arousal, hot and full, cradled within her hand. Satiny and hard, it burned her skin, and Alexi’s shudder caused her to look down, to stare in wonder at what she held in her hand…what would enter her body—
She drew back suddenly and stared at Alexi. She wasn’t afraid with him; she only felt the waves of desire pound at her, pressing into her, gliding, penetrating her defenses, tearing away everything but the primitive need to take him.
Jessica let her raincoat fall away and held her breath, reveling in the way Alexi looked at her body. “Come here,” he ordered, without moving. “To me.”
“I’m already here.”
“I meant closer.” He bent slowly to lift her and carry her as he had before. But this time he settled her into his bed.
Alexi removed his jeans and eased into the big bed, turning on his side to study her. Jessica smoothed his damp hair and tried to relax as his hand moved over her, caressing gently, seeking entrance to her body. “You’re going to know that you’re mine before morning comes,” he whispered against her lips.
“Or you’re going to know that you’re never going to forget me,” she answered unevenly as his open mouth dragged softly across her skin to find her breast, locking to it gently. At the first tug of his lips, the tender play of his teeth and tongue, Jessica closed her eyes and fought the building pleasure within her.
With a rough sound, Alexi turned from her, reaching into the nightstand drawer. With her hand on his taut back, Jessica murmured, “I want to fit it—”
“Not this time,” he stated rawly, and she understood his impatience because her own body was burning, aching.
When Alexi came back into her arms, they lay facing each other. She stroked that hard, taut body—his cheek, his throat, the width of his shoulder and to his hip, then across that rippling belly and up to the rough texture of that wedge of hair.
Her fingertip prowled slowly downward and Alexi sucked in air, but didn’t look away from her as she circled his navel lightly. In the shadows he smiled softly at her. “Take me. This time, you lead.”
She’d been taken roughly by another man, and Alexi’s soft order had surprised her, giving her the power she’d never had….
Jessica caught him tight with her arms and circled his leg with hers, lightly pulling Alexi until he followed her guidance, resting over her. His kisses continued, a magical seduction that made it so easy for her to take him inside to complete the lock of their bodies.
This was lovemaking, she thought, surprised at the gentle flow, the seeking kisses, the heat within her.
But not enough, her body told her fiercely, and she began to move desperately beneath him.
Before she could catch her passion, restrain it, enjoy the pleasure slowly, the heat and hunger rose and demanded more. Jessica feverishly pitted herself against Alexi’s strength, unable to pause, to rest, only to take—At her breasts Alexi’s lips burned, his body locking, tormenting hers by drawing away, but Jessica knew deep within her that he was claiming her and that she’d never forget the cup of his hands beneath her hips, lifting her—
Breathing hard, fighting Alexi and herself, Jessica fought and welcomed the oncoming tide of pleasure that burst over her.
Against her, Alexi’s heart raced, his body pulsing within hers, hers constricting faster and faster. Above her, he looked starkly primitive, fierce, foreign and yet familiar, a male counterpart to her passion.
Jessica forced her fingers to relax on his body, aware that she had demanded everything so real it was starkly primitive, as if nothing else mattered.
The fire crackled lightly as Alexi seemed to struggle to breathe, those fierce, glittering eyes studying her, his fingers stroking her hair across the pillow. He smiled gently, easing back a strand from her damp cheek. “You look stunned.”
“Don’t leave me,” she whispered, closing her lids against everything but the feel of his weight upon her, in her, the stroking of his hands. With care, Alexi lowered his head to rest beside hers, his kisses flowing along her cheek.
Holding him anchored gave her comfort, because Jessica’s mind churned, shocked by the passion she’d never experienced, by her own needs…by the freedom Alexi had given her to explore—
“You’re thinking too hard,” Alexi whispered against her cheek, nuzzling it to find her ear.
She turned to meet his kiss and stayed awhile to enjoy it before she moved against him once more, taking what she wanted, seeing if the first time was only in her mind—it wasn’t.
Then, exhausted and stunned and oddly complete, Jessica lay snuggled against him, her head on his shoulder. She hadn’t expected Alexi’s tenderness, the way he held her against him later, wrapping them both in the blankets.
She awoke to him kissing her, stroking her. Dreamlike, she opened to him, found slow, melting pleasure with him and slept again.
When she awoke again, aching slightly and stretching within the warm cocoon of the blankets, she listened to the shower. Morning prowled around the heavy drapes over the windows and Jessica struggled with how to meet Alexi on this new plane. She knew exactly what had happened; it had been her choice, her need. What could she say? Should she leave now to avoid embarrassment?
She drew the sheet close against her as he opened the bathroom door. Alexi walked naked into the room while rubbing his hair with a towel.
His dark, sensual look at her told Jessica that nothing would erase the night and what had passed, and that now they were lovers, a man and a woman, starting a new day and a new relationship. “You rested well?” he asked formally.
“Very well. Thank you.”
“Take your bath. I’ll make breakfast,” Alexi said as if they had been lovers forever, comfortable with awakening to each other.
He drew on his jeans and Jessica thought how sleek and beautiful he was, muscles sliding beneath that tanned skin—and then she found Alexi staring at her, his hands on his hips, daring her—
“A bath would be lovely.” Bracing herself, Jessica threw back the covers; she could equal his sophistication. Head high, she walked naked into the bathroom and closed the door. She leaned against it and shook her head, wondering how she could be so bold.
But when she turned to the mirror, she saw another woman, one tousled and warm and uncertain.
The door opened and Alexi moved behind her. He dropped her overnight bag on the floor and his hands came up to cup her breasts, his head lowering to hers. In the mirror, his stare was bold and possessive, and darkened when her hands came to rest over his and her emerald wedding rings caught the light from the window.
His thumbs teased her
nipples. “Tell me why the way we made love surprised you.”
“It was so…primitive. I came after you like—”
“Like a woman who knows what she wants,” Alexi finished, and moved to draw her bath.
When he turned, she was holding a towel in front of her, trying to adjust to this man, this new, baldly real situation. And Alexi wasn’t making it easy or allowing her to retreat. While the water ran, he sat on the edge of the tub, silhouetted by the ocean view behind him. “Willow tells me you like this bubble bath,” he said, pouring a liquid into the water.
Layers of steam and the sound of running water filled the room as Alexi looked at her, stirring the bathwater with his hand.
Her body seemed to simmer, hungry for his. Jessica wanted him even now, even after three times during the night!
A woman who had planned and controlled every day in her life, Jessica shivered and fought for a grasp on the morning. She couldn’t look away from the dark sensuality, the recognition in Alexi’s eyes. She felt herself heating, opening, waiting—and shivered again with the intensity of sensations, both physical and emotional, that she’d never known.
His gaze slowly, possessively, took in her body, then he rose and walked past her. “Enjoy your bath.”
“You said this was for me. What did you mean?”
“I saw the tub and I thought of you in it. I asked Willow what she thought you’d like for soaps and women’s things—”
Alarmed that her friend might be hurt, Jessica reached out to grasp his arm. “Willow? Alexi, she’s half in love with you. She’ll be terribly hurt.”
Alexi smoothly took her hand and raised it to his lips. “I told her that you were coming to stay with me. She seemed pleased.”
“You shouldn’t have told her that.”
His thumb cruised slowly across her sensitized lower lip. “Are you ashamed of what has happened between us?”
“I don’t want Willow to be hurt. She’s my only and best friend.”
Alexi traced her hair, his fingertip following a strand on her bare shoulder. “She loves you. She’s worried about you, about Howard pushing you. She almost gave her blessing.”
Jessica placed her hand over the large one prowling down over the towel to cup her breast. “I’ve been handling Howard for a long time. Willow knows that.”
His eyes locked with hers and narrowed dangerously. “Yes, but now I’m in the picture, aren’t I?”
She’d been possessed—owned and used—before. But Alexi’s statement didn’t offend her, because their lovemaking held layers of tenderness and comfort, and she had possessed him equally. “Definitely. Did you find out anything about who might be bothering Willow?”
Alexi frowned slightly. “No. She isn’t talking. But with you around, she might. I just called her to tell her that you’d probably be by later today. I told her you spent the night here.”
“Alexi! You shouldn’t have done that.”
“She didn’t seem surprised. I’m hoping you’ll spend more.” With that, he closed the door softly behind him.
Jessica had just adjusted to her privacy and her thoughts when Alexi strolled in carrying two cups of coffee. He smiled briefly as she sank lower into the mounds of bubbles and then handed a cup to her. “You’ll have to sit up to drink that.”
The dark, rich brew smelled like heaven. He smelled delicious, and he was grinning like a boy tormenting a girl. “You’re not going to ask me to leave, are you?”
“Of course not.”
“Of course. You’re only hiding your body beneath the sudsy water because you’re not shy, right? Tell me how it is that no man has seen your body,” he ordered suddenly, surprising her. “Tell me why you have been married twice and are still so tight inside. Tell me why you are surprised at how your body reacts, at your own needs. Tell me why you blush when you think of how we made love.”
Intimate talk, lovers’ talk in the early morning, frightening talk, which could reveal too much…. “I want to understand,” Alexi added softly, watching her.
“I—I’d rather not,” she said quietly, avoiding his stare as she sipped her coffee and stared out the window. “This view is magnificent.”
“Yes, it is.” Alexi’s voice was deep and uneven, and when she forced herself to turn back to him, their sexual hunger leaped into life, quivering on the steamy layers in the room.
Alexi stood and walked over to the tub. His gaze lowered to her breasts, surrounded by bubbles. “Very beautiful. But if I don’t leave now, I’ll be in that tub with you.”
“There’s not room.”
“You should see your face. You’re shocked, Mrs. Sterling—come out when you’re ready.” Alexi chuckled softly as he closed the door, leaving her alone.
He was hungry for Jessica even now, Alexi thought as he placed a platter of bacon, eggs and toast onto the table.
Jessica’s slow, careless stroll into the bathroom must have cost her, because she must be aching and because she was definitely shaken by her own desire. She’d fought her passion, shaking within his arms, and yet it had risen out of her fiercely, demanding and hungry and perfectly matching his own needs.
The woman was new to lovemaking, to enjoying it, to the pleasure they’d shared, and he had taken her three times!
Alexi silently promised himself to be very careful of her today, fearful of frightening her away. Jessica was shy of him yet. When she looked at his body earlier, the hunger was there, but also uncertainty. Her lashes had lowered and the blush rising up her cheeks was too revealing. She’d pulled the sheet to her breasts, covering herself; he had been tempted to come back to her, to draw away that sheet and kiss that long, soft body beneath, to make her sigh and shake and—her soft cries echoed within him, his body hard now, though he would resist.
He would give Jessica time to adjust to—She still loved her husband, and it would not do to have him in bed with them.
Alexi didn’t like his jealousy of the man who had married Jessica, who had given her everything.
His pride seemed to rise up, choking him when he’d thought his old wounds had healed. When he sensed Jessica had come into the living room, he turned to her. “When you are in my bed, there will be no other man between us.”
Those green eyes widened with shock. Clearly unprepared for his harsh demand, Jessica stepped back. Her hair was down, softly framing her face, gleaming in rich shades of chestnut. She wore designer jeans and her feet were bare—the pedicure probably more expensive than he could imagine. But she’d chosen to wear his flannel shirt and that eased his uncertainty about her love for her husband.
That haughty look was there, the independent woman with an obvious chip on her shoulder. “Terms, Alexi?”
He lifted an eyebrow and reminded her, “You came to me last night. A man can assume certain things.”
“Tell me that wasn’t an invitation you served me in Seattle.”
Tit for tat, a fighter moving in to protect herself. Alexi admired that, the woman who had chosen him above other men—because it was obvious that Jessica hadn’t been sexually active. He enjoyed the way she shifted her head away from his prowling finger, how she stood as he flicked open the shirt to reveal her breasts, to smooth the slightly reddened patches his stubble had caused. “Do they hurt?”
“Do you?”
“But I am not soft and sweet and tender.” He cupped her breast and watched that sensual heat leap to those green eyes, darkening them.
“Stop testing me.”
“But I have to. Just as you are testing me. It is what we are about—challenges—is it not? I like you wearing my shirt.”
“You just have to have it all, don’t you? Okay, I’ll give it to you. I’m sensitized a little, here and there. This was loose enough to wear without a bra. The lace only—”
“Can breakfast wait?” he murmured against her cheek.
“Can you?” Jessica returned as her arms lifted to circle him and her lips parted for the intimate fit of his….
<
br /> “Hand that board up to me,” Alexi ordered from the rafters over Jessica’s head.
At eleven o’clock that morning, she was uneasy with their new relationship. He could feel her circling him, weighing the heat of the storm against the softer moments they’d shared. Her eyes avoided his, and she’d eased away from his body when he passed too close. Jessica was definitely as aware of him as he was of her.
She’d put on her makeup as though she was placing her shields between them, withdrawing back into her control where she could understand and safely schedule and predict.
Alexi had started to work on the roof, bracing it from inside, his work giving him an escape from his emotions. Would she stay the day? Would she stay the night? The week?
He looked down at Jessica and found that mysterious quiet look in those dark green eyes. Was she frightened of what had happened between them? Was she leaving? “Is the lady corporate executive above a little manual labor?” he attempted to tease with a smile.
“I’ve done my share.”
She lifted the short, premeasured board he had pointed to and took a few rungs up the ladder, pausing to hand it up to Alexi. He placed his hand over hers and asked the question troubling him: “Are you staying?”
Her expression was guarded. “I’m going to talk with Willow now. I have to know that she is safe.”
“She is.”
He lifted the board away and Jessica frowned. “How do you know that Willow is safe, Alexi?”
He shoved the board into place, a support for the old boards, and pounded nails into it. Jessica had moved up the ladder and stood on it, staring at him. “You are a very frustrating man, Alexi Stepanov. Are you going to tell me or not?”
She’d placed her hair into that prim knot, straight back from her face. Dressed now in expensive navy sports slacks and matching jacket, she had settled down earlier to work at her laptop on the kitchen table. He’d heard the ring of her cell phone, her voice muffled. “Who just called you?” Alexi asked.
