“Lucy.” Her name was a sharp warning she chose to ignore.
She nudged Eva’s hip with her own. “Maybe you and I could take turns, sweetie? There is certainly enough of Jack to go around.“
“Lucy.” Jack spat her name out hard, no longer a warning, but a threat. That got her attention.
She looked at him and batted her eyelashes innocently.
“Enough,” he said through a clenched jaw. “You need to leave. Now.”
The smile dissolved from her face. “Why are you mad at me?” She tightened the tie on her coat and hissed, “The Sky Bar was our place, and you fucked this fat little thing there. If anything, I should hate you.”
She drew her arm back and hurled the wine bottle at him. He caught it seconds before it hit the granite floor and glanced up to see Lucy storming down the hallway and into the stairwell, leaving Jack to explain what the hell she was doing here in the first place.
“I’m sorry,” he said with a heavy sigh. “I called things off with Lucy months ago. She just refuses to get the message. She’s harmless, really, but—”
“Harmless?” Eva’s eyebrows lifted. “Um, okay, it’s probably obvious I’m more a fan of pasta fagioli and braciole than I am of exercise. But how did she know about the Sky Bar, Jack? You didn’t tell her, did you?”
“God, of course not,” he said, with a scowl. “I would never tell anyone about what happens between us privately.”
Her gaze softened. “Good. I didn’t think you would. But that leaves the question, how did she know?”
Jack closed his eyes and massaged his temples with his free hand. He didn’t want to think about it, but it was pretty obvious that Lucy must have followed him. And that she must have seen him and Eva through the window at the Sky Bar, a thought that sickened him. Semi-public quickie or not, he hadn’t thought anyone would see them, especially not his ex.
Was Lucy the reason Eva had been having that strange “watched” feeling lately?
No, there had to be more to it. The security cameras had shown a man breaking into Eva’s apartment. And Lucy might be crazy, but she wasn’t a felon. At least, he hoped she wasn’t.
Jesus, what if she was one of those Fatal Attraction kind of women? She certainly had the money to hire someone to break in to Eva’s place, if that’s what she wanted to do.
What a fucking mess. Eva didn’t need any more drama in her life. Not after everything else that had happened to her.
Jack sighed. “I’m sorry, Eva. Lucy is a part of my past that doesn’t seem to want to stay there. I hate that she’s sticking her nose into what should be between us and no one else.”
Eva shrugged. “You don’t have to explain, Jack. I mean, I believe that you and that woman are no longer a thing, but I never said you couldn’t date other people while you were educating me.”
“Date other women?” He stared at her, surprised. “You mean that?”
She shrugged again. “Well, yes. Sure. This is a business arrangement, right? It’s not emotional. You’re free to have feelings elsewhere. I don’t want to hold you back.”
He swallowed the bile that had risen in the back of his throat and repeated her words slowly. “My feelings…” What the fuck was she getting at? “And what feelings are those, Eva?”
“You know. Affection or whatever.” She smiled playfully, a smile that started to disappear the second she saw his hardened expression. “Or maybe you don’t know.”
He found the key in his pocket and started to work the lock, an unexplainable ire frothing in his veins. He pushed open the door harder than he’d intended, and it hit the doorstop with a loud bang.
She stood in the hallway, eyes wide. “Did I say something wrong?”
He shook his head tightly. “So you wouldn’t mind me fucking other women while I fuck you? As long as I only have ‘feelings’ for one of you?” he asked as she went inside the apartment. He followed, pausing in the darkened foyer and setting down the wine. He had no plans to drink it.
He slammed the door behind her and crossed his arms. “I could line you all up and fuck you one after the other. Does that sound about right?”
Horror dawned on her face. “Well, no, of course not. I just—”
“I know the word on the street is I’ll stick my dick in any beautiful woman who will hold still long enough. Isn’t that right?”
She looked at the ground, fidgeting, clearly too embarrassed to admit the obvious truth. “Well, I don’t think it’s quite—”
“Stop.” He held up a hand, not wanting to hear her skate around what everyone in the world knew.
It was his own doing, anyway. Not too long ago he’d prided himself on being able to bed any woman he wanted, any time he wanted. Now he wanted to punch a wall. It was his player reputation that made people like Lucy think that they could drop by unannounced, naked and ready to go, and he’d be all in.
Fuck.
He glanced back at Eva, the rage boiling inside him calming a little when he saw how worried she looked, how eager to say the right thing to talk him back from the edge.
“ Is that what you think I am?” he asked in a softer voice. “Some kind of machine? An animal with no self-control, who lets his dick call the shots?”
She blinked. “No, Jack. Not at all. But this isn’t a normal situation. A teacher teaches. He doesn’t get emotionally involved with his student.” She glanced at the floor, her thick lashes sweeping down to hide her eyes. “I want to learn how to drive a man wild, and you agreed to teach me. Simple as that. It doesn’t seem fair for me to hold your dating life captive while you’re fulfilling your obligations to me.”
Simple as that. She’d said it entirely too casually.
“Simple as that,” he echoed.
But none of this was simple. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so out of control, and now Eva was staring at him like he had three heads.
“I don’t understand, Jack,” she said softly. “What’s wrong? What’s gotten into you?”
Hell if he knew. She was calling a spade a spade—everyone knew he refused to be tied down. But he didn’t like Eva being okay with that. He wanted her to be hurt. Or maybe jealous. To at least show some goddamn emotion instead of being so cold and businesslike.
A thought skittered through his mind—the idea of her taking everything he’d taught her and unleashing her new seduction skills on another man.
Yes, she was free to do that. He should welcome that. That was the entire fucking point of their thirty days together, something he would do well to keep in mind before he started craving an emotional response from his student.
Still, there was one thing Eva needed to learn—
“I’ll tell you what’s wrong,” he murmured. “If you learn one thing from what we’re doing, learn this: sex is at least eighty percent mental. I might have the reputation for not getting emotionally involved, but I promise you, my head is always in the game. If I wanted to keep things strictly business, cause and effect, I could take care of my needs myself. You could too.” He moved closer. “So from now on, I need more than your body, Eva. I need your mind. Fully engaged.”
“My mind is engaged,” she said, lifting her chin defiantly.
“Is it?” He took her arm, pressing her against the wall so that he could feel her heart beating madly. They stood there, eyes fixed on one another, breathing each other in for what seemed like an eternity. He could tell there was something on her mind by the way her lips trembled and her eyes searched his.
“So tell me,” he demanded. “What are you thinking?”
Eva’s mouth parted, closed, parted again.
“She was naked. Under her coat,” she finally whispered. “Is that what men like?”
“Sometimes,” he answered. He pressed his lips against her hairline, savoring the sweet innocence in her question. He found it impossible to believe she didn’t know what she was doing to him. Dressed in her seductively simple blouse and skirt that showed off her curves,
her eyes aglow with the newness of it all, Eva was a million times more alluring than Lucy had ever been.
Which led him to a thought that made his stomach drop. She’d come to him wanting lessons on how to drive a man wild, but Eva Fiorini didn’t need lessons.
Not one fucking bit. And it was only a matter of time before she realized that.
“Have you ever done that? What she was talking about,” she asked. “Slept with two women at once?”
He shook his head almost imperceptibly. Maybe he had wanted that at some point. It certainly wasn’t the first time a threesome had been presented as an option, but more than one lover in his bed had never been his style.
But even if it had been, there was no way he would share Eva, not with Lucy or anyone else.
Her lips parted, silently begging to be kissed, but he didn’t give her what she was asking for. He wanted to deny her, make her wait, make her as crazy as she was making him.
His hands dropped to her sides. He began to tug her skirt up to her thighs as he pressed himself, hard, against her, still denying her that kiss. She tilted her mouth closer to his, but he pressed his lips together and urged her back against the wall, dominating her. “I assure you, I have only one pussy on my mind right now.”
He roughly prodded between her legs, finding her wet, bare flesh. Ripping the skirt up to her waist, he thrust a finger into her, making her cry out as his breath fanned her neck.
“I see you’ve learned something,” he murmured into her ear. “Now, we’ll address the next part of your education.”
Chapter Seven
Eva
Over the years, Eva had had a thousand fantasies about losing her virginity, and though the details would change nearly every time, one aspect always stayed the same.
It had always been Jack.
She’d often pictured his home, but she’d never imagined his penthouse flat would look this way. She’d expected something modern and minimalist, all bright clean lines and angles. But this place had more of a homey look.
The floor-to-ceiling windows were there, but they were half obscured by overflowing bookcases of darkly lacquered wood—vintage English, Eva guessed, though she’d never been into furniture. Jack hadn’t struck her as an antique collector, and she’d never seen him in tweed, but there were enough wing-back and distressed leather chairs in the place to make her think she’d stumbled onto the set of Downton Abbey.
She didn’t have time to full-out gawk, however. Jack guided her, with no pretense, over lush oriental rugs to his bedroom.
There would be no tour tonight. That much was obvious from the way he’d unzipped and dropped her skirt to her ankles in the foyer and unbuttoned the top buttons on her blouse in the living room. Jack clearly had only one thing on his mind—getting her naked as quickly as possible.
Fine by her.
By the time he pushed open the door to his bedroom, he’d already succeeded in undoing most of the buttons on her blouse. She spotted an enormous, intricately-carved poster bed, but before she could fully investigate, he whirled her around to face him.
She lifted her chin up to him, desperate for his kiss.
Instead, he blinked down, past her mouth. A ragged breath fell from her lips as his hand cupped her breast, molding and massaging it with the pad of his thumb. Her nipple peaked instantly. She straightened her spine, offering more of herself to him. She didn’t care where he put his mouth. She just wanted it on her. Now.
She moaned aloud when he finally leaned down and flicked his tongue on the tops of her breasts, whisper-light. His warm breath alone was enough to make her skin prickle with a million goose bumps.
Then he encircled her nipple with his mouth, sucking it hard. She hadn’t worn her bra or panties, and all day she’d felt a little strange, but mostly free and sexy. She had to admit, it had felt good to be bad. She could get used to sharing secrets with Jack Bennett, she thought, as he devoured her breast, making wild, hungry noises.
As he sucked, his hands gripped her waist, and her mind went wild with possibilities. She looked down at his head as he laved her nipple, painting circles with his tongue. The sight itself was so erotic, so hot, she could scarcely believe it was happening to her. It pulled a groan from deep within her.
Both of her nipples were painfully hard, now. She could do nothing but tilt her other breast toward him, urging him to lavish equal attention on it. Every part of her body screamed for his touch. He dragged his hand from her hip to play with her other nipple, sending sparks of pleasure up and down her body.
A pulse beat between her legs. She was so wet now. So wet and ready.
He tore at the rest of the blouse, leaving it open, then suddenly stepped away, appraising her.
The lack of his touch made her ache even more for him. She watched his eyes travel the length of her nearly naked body, craving his touch.
She started to close her blouse over her breasts when he stopped her. “Take it off.”
She did so, hesitantly. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he was angry at her, that she’d done something wrong and now he was hell-bent on humiliating her. That old Boston accent of his, the one he tried so hard to hide, had made a reappearance, and that meant something wasn’t right with him.
Was it because she’d tried to act aloof about him seeing other women? No attachments—wasn’t that the rule?
Now she was fully naked, completely exposed, wearing nothing but her heels. “What should I—“
He put a finger on her lips, silencing her. His eyes were cold as he started to pace in front of her. “Don’t talk. Don’t say a word. You’ve followed my directions well so far. This is your lesson in submitting your will to mine. You will do what I say, without question, without making a single noise. Do you understand? Nod if you do.”
She nodded.
Frowning tightly, he strode over to the bed and motioned her to follow. “Lie on the bed.”
Thrilled to be given an order, she climbed onto the clean white sheets. Stretching out on her back, she propped herself up by the elbows as sparks spread through her from the anticipation.
She searched his face, seeking his approval.
He gave her none. He motioned to her legs. “Spread them. As wide as you can.”
She did, dragging her legs apart so that her pussy lips stretched open, leaving her more exposed than ever. He slowly began to loosen his tie, his eyes never leaving her. Her heart hammered in her chest, desperately awaiting his next command as he removed his tie and began to work on the buttons of his shirt. “That looks good enough to eat. Do you want me to eat you out, Eva?”
It was the closest thing to his approval she’d received, and her entire body shivered at the suggestion. She wanted nothing more than to feel him sucking on her clit, his tongue delving deep into her like it had last night.
Biting her bottom lip, she nodded.
“Not yet,” he said, removing his belt and shirt. “I want you do exactly as I tell you. If you do anything else, you will be punished, understand? And you’re not to come. Not until I say so.”
She couldn’t acquiesce to that. She was already so hot, so close. She knew it wouldn’t take much to drive her past the brink. Now he stood at the foot of the bed, dressed only in his boxer briefs, his cock bulging hard against the fabric.
He was as turned on as she was. That seemed a sure sign of approval.
He moved around to the night table and slid the drawer open. From it, he pulled out a condom.
Oh, my God, she thought. This is really happening.
A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, and her heart jammed in her throat, but he continued speaking, as if this was something he’d done many times before. “Play with your pussy. Like you did this morning.”
With a trembling hand, she reached down to rub her clit. Right away it pulsed under her fingers. She leaned back and closed her eyes, imagining it was him, like she’d done before. She pictured his muscled, powerful body between her legs, ready t
o claim her. She imagined the roughness of his hands on her skin, leaving no inch unexplored.
Even with her eyes closed, his presence was obvious. Ignoring the sound of the condom package ripping open, she tried to think only of how much her body craved release.
This was no time for virgin nerves. It was time to go for this, to embrace everything Jack had to give her.
She stroked furiously, working in wider and wider circles until he said, “Put your fingers in your cunt. Feel yourself. Find that place that feels good.”
She slid her finger in, then another, biting back the urge to cry out. All of it felt good—mind-blowingly good.
“Pump your fingers in and out. Hit that spot and don’t stop unless you get too close.”
She was already close. She started to pump her fingers, this time imagining it was him thrusting in and out of her. It was so much feeling, but still not enough to make her forget her audience. Above all she wanted to please him, so that he would end the anticipation and take her for real. She cupped her breast with her other hand and massaged it, letting the moan rising inside of her escape her lips, hoping the sound would turn him on.
God, she was so wet that she didn’t even fear his monster cock. She was ready, so completely ready. She spread her legs wider, silently inviting him in, letting the maelstrom of sensation build.
“Are you going to come, Eva?” he asked.
She knew she couldn’t stop now. She nodded.
His voice was hard. “Don’t, or there will be consequences.”
This was already punishment of the worst kind. With a whimper, she willed her hand to slow and tried to force unsexy images into her head. But it was so hard.
Maybe she’d already gone past the brink. Maybe this was inevitable. All she knew was that she was beyond words, nearly beyond thought.
Silently she entreated him with her eyes to put her out of this sweet, maddening misery. She found herself mouthing the word please…
“I told you not to speak,” he growled.
She hadn’t realized she’d said it out loud. Before she could apologize, Jack was between her legs.
Take Me (Lessons in Seduction #2) Page 5
