He kissed her hard, his tongue delving into her mouth, and shuddered with arousal as her tongue curled around his. She lifted up on tiptoe to gain better access. The tension in her was mounting unbearably, and she whimpered with delight as he speared a muscular thigh between her legs and lifted it until she was partially riding its hard length. The pressure on her clit made her groan. His hands went to her hips and began to rock her steadily against him.
His mouth left hers and he bent her back so he could find her breast. The prickling heat that spread from the taut nipple he teased with his tongue, turned to a lightning bolt of raw desire as he took the nipple into his mouth and began to suck in rhythm with the roll and flex of her hips. She was close to orgasm, so close, when he set her down to peel her shorts off.
He lifted her, and then set her on top of a nearby storage box. She registered the feel of the cardboard giving, then holding as he freed himself from his shorts and set himself against her wet, feminine opening. He felt so good sliding inside that she cried out, her body clenching frantically around his.
He pulled back, and then drove into her again, seating himself fully. Repeating the motion as her legs rose to wrap around him. His hard length filling her, the friction of his thrusts, driving her relentlessly upward. She felt the orgasm building quickly and clung to him as she strained for it. His hands were under her buttocks as he shifted her slightly so that he could give her pressure where she needed it. She cried out with pleasure so intense it was almost painful as the orgasm broke over her. Her body arched into his and he shouted her name hoarsely as his own body pulsed in release.
Callie switched of the toy and went limp on the bed. That should do it, she thought hazily. She could drink five cups of coffee and still sleep after the orgasm she had just had. That had been a good one. She forced herself to get up, wanting to go to the bathroom and clean the toy before finally getting some sleep. As she turned to face the door she realized Ryan was leaning against the doorway of the wide open door. She started and squeaked.
“What are you doing?” she asked accusingly, her voice high and guilty sounding even to her own ears.
He cleared his throat. “Well, that’s one question I don’t have to ask you,” he said huskily. She blushed in the darkness glad the night was a dim one and decided to brazen it out.
“So what?” she said nonchalantly. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“If you have ever been my friend or cared even a smidgeon for me,” he said, sounding like he was in pain, “you’ll tell me what you were thinking about just now.”
She felt the unexpected urge to snicker and decided to have some fun with him, although she was definitely not telling him what the fantasy really had been about.
“Pirates,” she said succinctly, choosing a fantasy she frequently did indulge in, and could just make out his grin.
“Fantastic,” he said approvingly. “Tell me more.”
She felt herself tighten around the toy, which was still in place, at the erotic thoughts engendered by telling Ryan about her fantasies in the middle of the night in her darkened bedroom. She was still turned on from her fantasy and wondered if Ryan could feel the sexual tension in the room, wondered what he might do if she told him the fantasy was about him. Still, this couldn’t go anywhere she reminded herself. Misty, remember Misty. She reined herself in and rapidly improvised.
“I was a spinster maiden kidnapped off my uncle’s ship. I was headed for Spain for some adventure and excitement after a dull life of staid propriety and let’s just say the pirate captain gave me more than I ever bargained for.”
“God,” he said, sounding strained. “I’m going to have to go back to my own room now.”
She did laugh then. “Good night Ryan, and for the record, you shouldn’t be listening at my doorway.”
He shrugged without guilt as he straightened to head back down the hall. “I’m a man, not a saint. I hear breathy moans coming from anywhere in this house, and I’m going to investigate. The door was open by the way, you’ve got to really push it hard until it latches or it swings open all by itself.”
“Good to know,” Callie said under her breath and watched him disappear back down the hall to his own room.
****
Ryan hadn’t been kidding about needing to return to his room. It was either that or grab her and see if she couldn’t be convinced into letting him play the pirate to her maiden in distress. His shook his head and found himself grinning in the darkness as he settled into his bed. Callie certainly never ceased to surprise him. He didn’t feel right about having dinner with Misty and seducing Callie just a few hours later. That wasn’t the type person he wanted to be, but it had been a near run thing when she had so readily jumped into their little game earlier. He was going to have to resolve the issue with Misty soon.
He and Misty had been dating for several months, but not long enough that he felt guilty just to be thinking about whether he wanted to be with another woman. In fact, they had never agreed they were dating exclusively, although they had reached a time frame where it was certainly implied. Even if it wasn’t, he wouldn’t actually attempt to date two women at once, especially not when one of the women was Callie.
There was a hesitation about Callie despite her obvious attraction to him. She’d actually been flustered earlier when they had bumped into each other, endearingly so. It wasn’t a side of her he was used to seeing and it made him feel protective. He didn’t want to rush her, wanted it to be a clear green light before he went ahead. He could wait, needed to wait until the time was right, to give a relationship between him and Callie every chance of success.
Until then he thought Callie had the right idea about how to deal with the sexual tension they were obviously both feeling. His hand found his still erect penis. He grinned again at the idea of Callie’s story of pirates, but it wasn’t a fantasy about maidens on the high seas he was thinking about as he began stroking himself. It was her and they way she looked as she laid spread on the bed pleasuring herself. His name on her lips as she came.
Chapter Three
Callie slept in the next morning after her late night, getting up around ten o’clock. Ryan wasn’t home when she got up and she enjoyed having the house to herself for a while as she puttered around and decided what to do with her day. She was more than a little embarrassed over what had happened last night, but her friendship with Ryan was longstanding enough that she refused to let it get away with her. Although she would definitely make sure that the door was pushed firmly shut from here on out.
She called Josie to bring her up to speed on what had gone down with the apartment and they made plans to have lunch together at eleven-thirty at Lida’s, a little café they both liked downtown. As she drove down there she was glad she had come out. It was a gorgeous day, warm and sunny, and little things like having no place to live and being madly infatuated with her best friend seemed trivial and of no consequence compared to the simple pleasures of an outdoor table, a fantastic chicken salad sandwich and a sympathetic friend.
Josie was waiting for her outside as she walked up from the parking lot, and gave her a little wave and bounce in greeting. Callie waved back, observing with envy Josie’s brown peasant blouse and short red skirt. Josie was one of those somewhat sickening people who could go into a thrift store and come out with an outfit that not only looked like chic, vintage wear, but also looked stunning on her. Every time Callie tried to do the same, she looked like she did in middle school when her grandmother would pull something out of the back of her closet so Callie could go to church with her on a Wednesday night.
Josie was clearly anticipating getting the full scoop of the weekend from Callie and not just about the apartment falling through. As Callie’s best female friend, she was the only person that Callie had confided in about her dilemma with Ryan, although Josie didn’t think it was much of a dilemma.
“Grab him, kiss him until he’s confused and woozy, then get inside his pants and don’t com
e out for three days.” She repeated this advice to Callie whenever the subject came up.
“You look fantastic,” Callie said, giving Josie a quick hug.
“Yeah, every time I bite the bullet and shower, I’m amazed at the improvement,” Josie joked. She held open the door and they moved inside to get in line.
“Actually, I thought the hair might be too much, but it’s growing on me as the weekend wears on.” Josie’s waist-length, light brown hair, normally a wavy mass that could be used in a Pantene commercial, had been partially braided in cornrows away from her face.
“I like it,” Callie pronounced after due deliberation. “But don’t leave it up until it ruins your hair and you have to get your head shaved.”
“I have thought about shaving my head,” Josie said, and laughed at the look of disbelief on Callie’s face. “I have! But the harsh reality that it would take me ten years to grow it out this long again has kept me from doing it so far.”
“Not to mention that you might miss not being able to swing your head and catch the attention of every guy in a hundred foot radius,” Callie said dryly.
“Hey, I didn’t make the male species the way they are. And you could grow your hair out if you wanted to,” Josie protested.
“I’m not faulting you,” Callie said. “And believe me I would grow my hair out if it would look like yours and not like a mop head. I’m just pointing out that there are some benefits to Rapunzel hair when it comes to catching a man’s eye.”
“Well, that is true.” Josie conceded. “But it doesn’t guarantee you’ll catch the eyes of the man you want. I’ve got living proof of that.”
Callie grimaced. “Still nothing from the devilish Derek, huh?”
Josie had her own unrequited crush going in the form of one Derek Sutton, fledgling securities broker extraordinaire. Josie had met him at a bar four weeks ago and had been pursuing him aggressively to no avail. Privately Callie thought the ambitious Derek sounded like someone who might be happy to party with a good looking woman but was probably focused on finding a girlfriend with financial and social connections to help his career. She didn’t feel the need to share her hypothesis though. If the guy was passing up on an opportunity to go out with gorgeous, funny Josie because she didn’t have much money or a debutante background, he was too stupid to date anyway.
“No word,” Josie said mournfully. “I’ve pursued him to the point where I think aggression is starting to look like desperation. It’s definitely starting to feel like it.”
“Oh, please!” Callie objected. Their sandwiches were up and they grabbed their trays and headed to the patio seating.
“I don’t think someone who’s gorgeous and went out with three different people in the last two weeks can be referred to as desperate.”
Josie grinned. “I have had a particularly fruitful spell with my online dating lately.” She sat down and waited for Callie to get situated before leaning over to half whisper, “I even took Justin on a little tour of my bedroom Friday night, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I think I do,” Callie replied dryly. “How was it?” she asked with genuine interest.
As much as she admired Josie’s free spirited sexuality, there was always a tiny portion of her mind that could not wrap itself around sleeping with someone you barely knew. Josie could and would expostulate at great length on the need for modern women to toss off the historical, religious and cultural restraints on their sexual identities. Sometimes Callie would get caught up in her enthusiasm and fervently pledge that she was going to be wilder but it never lasted long enough to actually translate into wild sex with a stranger. She was all for wild sex but preferred it with someone she knew.
“It was pretty good,” Josie said with satisfaction. “I’d give it a 6.5. But let’s get back to the more interesting topics. Anything lusty and steamy brewing in Ryan’s sultry palace of love?” She wriggled her eyebrows up and down, and Callie had to laugh.
“Stop doing that,” she ordered. “You look like an chimpanzee. Nothing is going on with Ryan and me. It’s as sad as it is true.”
At Josie’s sympathetic look, she added, “Although I have definitely determined that Misty is a demanding, self-centered bitch.”
“Oooooh, that sounds promising,” Josie said. “Maybe they’ll break up and you can move on to KGD.”
“I’m afraid to ask,” Callie said around a mouthful of chicken salad. “But what is KGD?”
“Kiss, grab, dive,” Josie explained and thumped Callie on the back when she nearly choked.
“Don’t put images like that in my head when my mouth is full,” Callie gasped when she could.
“I’m just giving you good advice. Any images popping into your mind are a product of your own wonderfully dirty imagination,” Josie returned spiritedly.
“I’ll keep the advice in mind,” Callie said. “But I honestly don’t think I’m going to have the opportunity to KGD any time soon. In fact, I was going to ask you to help me get set up to try online dating.”
“Fantastic!” Josie crowed. “Now we’re talking.” She started digging in her purse.
“What are you doing?” Callie asked.
Josie smiled at her with a shark’s smile and pulled out her phone. “We’ll get you set up online, but I can do even better and get you a blind date set up for tonight.”
“Tonight!” said Callie weakly, feeling suddenly queasy at having what had been comfortably in the future suddenly on the schedule for later that day. “How can you possibly? Who is he?” she asked suspiciously.
“He’s a good guy,” Josie said enthusiastically. “I met him at the homeless shelter.”
Josie was almost as fervent about contributing to the communal good as she was about women needing to have more wild sex.
“Well, that probably is a good sign,” Callie agreed. “What else?”
“I actually don’t know a lot about him,” Josie confessed. “His name is John and he’s not bad looking, kind of boy next door, but not bad.”
Callie felt the ambivalence lurking in her strengthen a notch. Some guy that Josie didn’t even know, except that his name was John and he worked at the homeless shelter? Still, blind dates and online dating were all about meeting a lot of people she told herself. She ruthlessly suppressed the tiny voice in her mind chanting that this was a mistake. What else was she going to do but sit at home this evening and watch Misty and Ryan make calf’s eyes at each other. She breathed in deeply and took the plunge.
“Okay, you can set us up,” she said.
“Fantastic!” Josie crowed. She flipped open her phone and placed the call.
Callie felt a little sick but there was no backing out now. Maybe Josie would get his voice mail she thought, but in the next second Josie was speaking into her phone.
“John? Hi, it’s Josie.” She paused, and then continued as Callie’s stomach knotted.
“Look, I’m really sorry I wasn’t able to do dinner tonight. I wondered if you’d be interested in letting me set you up with my best friend instead? She’s beautiful and a successful graphic design artist, just loads of fun.”
Callie had been uncomfortable with this whole idea, but listening to Josie try and sell the idea of her to this guy was taking her discomfort to a whole new level.
“Great!” Josie said with satisfaction then proceeded to give the guy directions to Ryan’s place. “She’ll be expecting you at seven tonight. Talk to you later!”
She got off the phone and put it back in her purse. “You’re all set,” she said smugly.
“What was that about dinner with you tonight?” Callie asked accusingly. “Are you fixing me up with some reject of yours?”
Josie shook her head. “No, he’s not a reject of mine. I’ve just got other plans for tonight, and I’ve actually got enough dates through my online ad that I don’t really have time to take on someone else right now.”
Callie thought she detected just a hint of guilt flash across Josie’s face b
ut she couldn’t be sure and decided to just let it go. What was done was done after all. It was just one date, one meal.
“Alright, I’ll try him out,” she said with resignation.
“That’s the spirit,” Josie said encouragingly. “You know, the more you look the more you’ll find.”
“Right,” Callie said staunchly, although she wasn’t sure she was convinced.
Last night she had been much more certain that jumping into the dating scene with both feet was the right next step. In the cold light of day, she had her doubts. She wrapped up the half of her sandwich she had left and tucked it in her purse before standing up and picking up her tray to return it inside, waiting for Josie as she got her things together.
“Are you sure…” she began to say, but Josie cut her off.
“YES,” Josie said emphatically. “You’re going. It’s good. You’ll be happy you did.”
“Right,” Callie said again but with more conviction.
They dropped off their trays and went out the front. Josie gave her a hug as they parted to head to their cars.
“Call me and tell me how the fantastic date goes!” Josie yelled out as she got into her red Volkswagen bug.
Callie waved in assent, as she got into her own car, unable to help smiling at Josie’s infectious enthusiasm. Maybe this would be good. She felt the first stir of excitement at the idea that a man was coming to pick her up and take her out. It had been so long since she was single and dating that she’d forgotten what a good feeling that was. A little Bon Jovi was called for, she thought smugly, and reached for the CD.
Chapter Four
When Callie got back to the house, Ryan was on the sofa watching TV.
“You want the other half of my chicken salad sandwich from Lida’s?” she asked as she headed to the kitchen.
Sudden Attraction Page 4
