I glanced up through my lashes. “Look at you.”
“What about me?”
I scoffed, and then realized he was serious.
“You’re decent to look at,” I said. “If you can get past the flabby gut and elephant ears.”
He grinned, a look that made my heart stutter.
“You’re not so bad either,” he told me. “Once you get past the chicken legs and flat chest.”
“And ridiculous hair.” The humidity and sexcapade in his car had made my hair double the normal volume. I reached up to tie it back in a knot at the base of my neck.
“I don’t mind the hair,” he said. “But that mouth is going to get you in trouble.”
I pursed my lips. “And why is that?”
He leaned across the table, pulling my knees between his. Slowly, his fingers skimmed behind my calves, teasing circles that moved up the backs of my thighs.
“It’s very distracting.” He came closer, until he was just a breath away.
“Then how come I had to kiss you first?” I asked, pulse flying.
His nose brushed against mine.
“You said you don’t kiss on the first date. I was trying to be respectful.”
I would have laughed if my heart wasn’t caught in my throat.
“I guess some rules are made to be broken,” I said.
He murmured his agreement.
It started slow, a feather-soft press of his lips on mine, but as they slanted and opened, the fire was rekindled. My eyelids drifted closed. Tendrils of heat curled in my belly as he sucked my lower lip into his mouth and traced it with his tongue. The kiss deepened as his fingers threaded through my hair, massaging my scalp. My hair tumbled free from the knot and cascaded down my back. I could feel myself drawing closer to him, melting into him as his tongue caressed mine.
“Get some, Alec!” someone called through the window.
Alec slowly pulled away, a look of annoyance on his face.
“Excuse me a second.” He started to rise, but I grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him back down.
“He’s trying to,” I shouted back. “Quit interrupting!”
Laughter came from inside, and Alec chuckled.
I planted one more searing kiss on him before leaning back.
“Finish eating,” he told me. “I can’t keep my hands off you much longer.”
I toyed with a fry while he went to work on his burger. I wasn’t sure I was hungry—at least not in that way—anymore. My legs were still between his knees, and I crossed them, slowly running my ankle up his calf. Even through his jeans I could feel the muscles beneath tense.
“What time do you work tomorrow?” he asked roughly.
“Tomorrow I have the day off,” I told him. “You?”
One of his perfect brows arched. “I think my schedule just cleared up.”
I took a sip from the bottle, running the top of the glass back and forth across my lower lip. His jaw twitched watching me, his desire completely obvious in the tight expression on his face. I loved knowing I could turn him on so easily.
“You sure Mr. Stein won’t need you?” Or Charlotte won’t need you?
“The boss is in New York,” he reminded me.
“So you don’t have to work when he’s not in town?”
“You ask a lot of questions,” he said.
I shrugged. “I like to know who I’m getting into bed with.”
“Are you sure about that?” He tapped the table with his thumb. I was making him nervous.
I wondered if his implied warning had any truth behind it. He’d told me so little about who he was—he could have been the leader of the North American cocaine industry for all I knew. Maybe I should have been taking a step back to think about things before rushing into a relationship, however shallow, with him.
“Now I’ve scared you,” he noticed. His hands returned to my knees. “I didn’t mean to. How about this? For every one of your questions, I get one of mine.”
“Sounds fair.” I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure him out. “What do you do for Maxim Stein?”
He took another bite of his burger. Chewed, swallowed, chased it with beer while I waited. Now he was making me nervous.
“Whatever he needs,” Alec finally answered. “Security mostly. If he needs a proxy for business deals I do that, too. The managers of various divisions in Force Enterprises report to me, and if there’s a problem, I take care of it.”
“You take care of it,” I repeated. “Like a body man.” I’d heard the term in a mafia movie I’d seen with my dad once. Apparently it was a legit occupation; my dad had said that even the president had one. I’d gathered that Alec was highly trusted by Maxim Stein, but it seemed he was more important than I thought.
“Exactly like a body man,” he said.
“Kind of young to have all that responsibility, aren’t you?”
“Is that your next question?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “No. It falls under the same topic: the occupation of Alec Flynn.”
He considered this a moment. “I’m twenty-nine. I’ve known the boss for fourteen years.”
It made sense now why Alec was so close to the business operations, he’d probably been groomed since he was a teenager. “Was he your parents’ friend or something?”
“Or something,” said Alec, raising the wall between us again. “My turn. Have you been tested?”
The change of direction was jarring, but I should have known by the bulge in his pants that his mind was still on sex.
“I have, and I’m clean.”
“I am as well. Are you on birth control?”
His straightforwardness was making me blush. “It’s not your turn.”
“My question falls under the same topic.”
“Which is?”
“If I can come inside you.”
My lips parted. No, I was definitely not hungry for French fries anymore. My legs parted slightly as his thumbs rose just beneath the hem of my skirt, like he could control me with just a touch.
“Because I want to,” he added. The bar behind him faded; for a moment it felt as if we were the only two people in the world.
“I’m on the pill.” I swallowed. “And we’ll see how it goes.”
He nodded, holding my gaze. The promise of what was to come crackled between us.
“Your turn,” he said.
“Have you been with many women?” I shouldn’t have asked; I knew the answer already. But part of me wanted to know I was different, not just a number to him. I wanted to be important. I wanted to be remembered when we went our separate ways. I already knew I wasn’t going to be able to forget him.
He mulled over my words, long enough for me to wish I could have shoved them back in my mouth. My gaze dropped to my lap.
“I haven’t been with anyone like you.” Slowly, his hand rose to my face, and one fingertip traced my lips. “I have never wanted anything as much as I want you, Anna.”
My heart hammered in my chest. Maybe it was a line, but it felt real. For tonight, I would believe him.
“Your turn,” I whispered, mouth dry. I reached for my glass of water.
“What were you doing in Max’s office the night we met?”
I felt my spine straighten at his direct tone. If not for the gentle way he’d begun to caress my legs again, I would have thought I was in trouble.
“Hiding,” I answered stiffly. “When Mr. Stein was late to our appointment I wandered around a little. You know that. I told you.”
He dismissed it with the wave of his hand. “You’re up.”
“What did you think I was doing in Mr. Stein’s office?” I pulled my legs back, disguising my shift in positions as a way to grab the ketchup for my fries. His question rubbed me the wrong way. How long had he wanted to ask me that? Why had he waited until this moment? It seemed suddenly like this wasn’t a date at all for him, but just an extension of work.
“I don’t know.
” He took a deep breath. “We weren’t sure how you’d gotten there at first.”
“We?”
“Bobby and I. You may have seen him at the front gate.”
The creepy guy with buzzed hair came to mind. “Right. I had the pleasure of meeting him earlier when he was digging through my bags without permission.”
“Bobby’s a little more direct than I am.”
His words sunk in slowly, but carried the weight of a ten-pound brick. This was all some smooth ploy to assure I would keep my mouth shut about Maxim Stein’s affair—something I didn’t see anyone besides his wife being interested in knowing anyway. The sting annoyed me. I didn’t let other people hurt me—there were only a handful I let close enough who could. I pushed my plate back, feeling the night’s chill for the first time.
“I’m beginning to think I like Bobby’s way better. At least he didn’t try to cover up what he wanted with dinner and sex.” My voice had gone cold, just like the blood in my veins. I felt my nails dig into my palms. “I didn’t snoop around or steal anything, and I certainly didn’t intend on watching him and Charlotte play porno outside in broad daylight. He can go and fuck whoever he wants for all I care.” I stood. “And you can go and fuck yourself. Thanks for the burger, Alec. I think I’ll call a cab to take me home.”
The humiliation burned my cheeks. I hated feeling stupid. As I looked at Alec, I saw the surprise on his face turn to anger. I was going to call Ms. Rowe tomorrow and tell her to find a new masseuse. The entire venture had been a giant mess from the beginning. I’d find another way to earn the money to see my dad; it just might take a little longer than I’d planned.
“Sit down,” he said.
“Kiss my ass.”
“Sit. Down.” His tone was sharp, and before I could stop myself, I’d done just what he’d demanded. My body betrayed my convictions; my nipples had pebbled, and a new surge of moisture had dampened my inner thighs. I didn’t know what had come over me, how he could make me so hot when I should have been walking away, but the power coming off of him was staggering, and the urge to please him nearly brought me to my knees.
“Don’t doubt me,” he said quietly, and I could feel the heat spread throughout my body. He looked like a wildcat ready to pounce—muscular, sleek, and beautiful. “I told you I want you, and if you think I’m here for any other reason, you’re seriously mistaken.”
I believed him. I could feel the truth in his serious gaze. He circled one of my wrists with his strong hand, careful not to squeeze too tightly as he lifted it to his chest and dragged it down his solid, muscular abs to his belt.
My breath caught.
His hand lowered, pressing my palm against his hard cock. A moan slipped from my mouth, and then my breath came faster. My clothes, light as they were, chafed my sensitive skin. The desire I felt for him overrode my anger, shoved aside my insecurities. Maybe he wanted me, but I needed him. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. Every cell existed to give him pleasure, and take it in return.
“It’s time to go,” he said.
I nodded.
He took my hand, holding it firmly as we walked through the loud bar in silence.
Mac waved to us from the front door. “I’ll stop by the house later this week.”
Alec only nodded and led me out the door to his car. He opened my door, and shut it once I was inside. I’d begun to feel feverish; I could hardly hold still.
“My apartment is in Ybor City,” I said when he’d entered the driver’s side.
I wasn’t sure if I could keep off of him that long.
“Touch yourself,” he commanded. “But don’t come.”
A dark thrill trembled through me. Slowly, I pulled back my skirt. I lifted my leg and placed one bare foot on the dash, the other on his thigh, giving him a clear view even as the overhead lights dimmed. Slowly, I lowered one hand to my aching center.
Gravel sprayed from under his tires as he hit the gas.
He drove fast.
Thirteen
I could barely concentrate enough to direct Alec to my parking spot. He was out of the Jeep before I could unlatch my seat belt. I wasn’t sure how he knew to climb the stairs past the Chinese restaurant to my apartment, but I was in no shape to argue. My legs were trembling, my hands clumsy. The ache in my sex had become so demanding my head was beginning to throb.
I dropped my keys on the welcome mat in the hallway. With a hard, impatient expression on his face, he stooped down to pick them up and held them out in the palm of his hand.
“That one,” I said.
He opened the door.
The curtains were still open, and the streetlamps outside bathed my apartment in long shadows. I didn’t care that dirty clothes were strewn over the back of the love seat in the center of the room or that my bed was unmade. My nerves were raw from the energy sizzling between us. He stepped close behind me, and his warm breath on the back of my neck sent hot shivers down my spine.
“Alec, I . . .” I didn’t know what to say, or how to begin. It was like I’d never brought a man home before. Was I supposed to offer him something to drink? Make small talk?
I didn’t even get a chance to flip on the lights.
He spun me around to face him, and the door closed forcefully as he pressed my body against it. His mouth found mine, and his kiss stole my breath. There was a fierce passion in the way his tongue thrust past my teeth, in the almost bruising pressure of his lips. He held my face in his hands, burying his fingers in my hair. It was as if he were starved for the taste of me. Like he couldn’t get enough. Like I was the most wanted woman in the world.
His hands cuffed my wrists, a gentle, but solid prison that he moved above my head. The weight of him against me, and the intensity of his mouth made me moan. I could feel his hard length pressing against my pelvis, begging to be freed from his pants. I rose to my tiptoes as he rocked down, then pressed his hips to mine—a promise.
“Christ,” he said. “You’re killing me.”
I was so tightly coiled, I nearly came from the friction of his movement. He swallowed my stunted cry, dragging his hands heavily down my sides to my hips. Automatically, I lifted one knee, and he grabbed the underside of my leg and ground hard against me.
“Oh God,” I managed, careening down the tunnel toward release.
He froze.
“Tell me I can have you,” he said hurriedly. “Say it.”
“Yes,” I said, and gasped as his mouth made a trail of urgent, wet kisses to my neck. “Yes. Now.”
The storm took us, a frenzy of scraping teeth and fast, desperate touches. He fumbled with the zipper on the back of my dress as I ripped the T-shirt over his head and revealed his broad, sculpted chest, already glistening with sweat. Before my dress was loose enough to pull completely off, he’d tugged it down between our bodies, pinning my arms to my sides with the straps that had sagged down to my biceps. I fought the restraints, desperate to touch him, but his hips pinned me in place. He weighed my breasts with the palms of his hands, a hiss escaping through his teeth, then in a flash, unhooked my sheer black bra and cast it to the side.
The coarse, groomed hair on his chest tantalized my nipples as he adjusted positions and lowered, just enough to hoist me up with his muscled arms. My legs wrapped around his waist, pressing my needy, swollen sex against the rough denim of his jeans. I yanked the dress over my head, hearing the zipper rip just as my sandals clunked to the floor.
“Your cunt’s so hot I can feel it through my pants,” he growled. “You’re going to burn me alive.”
Using the door as leverage, he held me in place with one arm while the other hand returned to my breast. He squeezed it, then teased the nipple to a hard point with the rough stroke of his thumb.
I squirmed, throwing my head back, vaguely aware of the pain as it smacked against the door. His mouth skimmed down my chest to my left breast, and he lashed my nipple with his tongue, a series of relentless strikes that made my pussy spasm
as the orgasm surged through me.
“Fuck,” he said, rotating his hips to help me ride it out. “I can’t wait anymore. I’m sorry.”
Still pelted by waves of satin heat, I clung to his body, struggling to find my equilibrium as he backed away from the door. He took a few steps and crashed into something, staggered, but caught himself before we plummeted to the ground. When he swore, I kissed him, urging him to hurry as my emptiness became unbearable.
“Alec, please. I need . . .”
“I know,” he said. “I know.”
He lowered to his knees, keeping one arm locked firmly around my lower back, the other beneath my rear. And then the wooden floor became my support as he pulled away to remove his pants.
He was mouthwatering. A god. In the fractions of light that sliced across his chest I could see the swell of his muscles, the ripples of his abs, the cut V that lowered beneath his waistband.
His pants were shed, along with his boxer briefs, and his erection, a shaft of smooth steel, bobbed free. He stretched it down with one hand and my breath caught. He was a portrait of masculinity and, watching him, a part of me woke that I hadn’t known existed. A part that needed to be claimed. A part of me that needed to claim him as my own.
Then he was tearing the foil off a condom and leaning over me. The look in his eyes made my heart stutter: urgency, need, and a whisper of something else, too, that I didn’t understand. I pulled his perfect face down to mine, feasting on his mouth while he pulled on the condom.
Our legs tangled, my nails dug into his shoulders. He placed himself at my entrance and held my gaze. One last breath before the dive.
My body craved him; I couldn’t help myself. My heels dug into the floor and my hips thrust up. The head of his penis nudged through my slick lips and a hoarse cry tore from my open mouth.
“You’re going to take all of me, Anna,” he said tightly. “Every inch. But you have to be still right now. I don’t want to hurt you.”
He pressed my hips down with one hand, making it clear we would be doing this his way. I wriggled beneath his firm hold. In that moment I would have welcomed the pain if it cured this fever raging through me.
The Masseuse Page 11
