With a gentle murmur of approval, he eased the rose free. Using it like a paintbrush, he drew circles around her breasts with the damp petals and at last brushed the rose over her mouth once again. She tasted the wildness of her own desire, which inflamed her even more.
The moisture from the rose was replaced by his tongue, his mouth, feasting, sucking, nipping. He moved from her lips to her throat, from her throat to her shoulder, from her shoulder to her breasts.
He covered her with kisses, moving ever downward, peeling the teddy away on his descent. Pausing briefly to swipe his tongue over her still-quivering flash point, he pulled the teddy over her thighs, past her knees and then her feet. It hit the floor with a soft plop.
Her blindfold made her conscious of every layered sound. In the far background was the music, make-out music from high school. Closer yet was his breathing and the lap of his tongue and mouth as he started his journey back, beginning with her toes.
The most immediate sound was her own breathing and the rapid thump of her heart. That thump grew louder as he made love to her toes, sliding his tongue into each crevice as if he could make her come that way. Maybe he could. With the blindfold on, her entire body was an erogenous zone.
When he sucked on her toes, she felt the tightening begin. She could almost will herself into a climax—she was that far into this fantasy. When he moved on to the backs of her knees, bending her leg so that he could thoroughly lick her there, she thought maybe that would be enough to trip her switch.
Before she could find out, he kissed his way back up the inside of her thighs and found the spot that would surely take her anywhere he wanted her to go. She’d thought that having oral sex in his truck on the top of “A” Mountain was the best it could get. She’d been wrong.
Lying on fine sheets, blindfolded, wrapped in the pretense of anonymity while he gave her the most incredible tongue bath ever known—that was the best. She was helpless in the face of his assault and she came once before he’d really gotten started. Moaning and thrashing about, she discovered she wasn’t going anywhere. He held her fast and continued to nibble and suck until she produced another writhing, whimpering orgasm.
As she gulped for air, he slid back up beside her and kissed her, flavoring her mouth yet again with the taste of her climax.
Then he lifted his head and sucked in air. “I could keep that up forever, except for one thing. If I don’t get inside you in the next few seconds, I’ll go crazy.”
“I want you there.” Amazingly she did. She didn’t need another orgasm, but she definitely needed the solid length of his penis buried deep in her vagina. There was a reason phallic symbols showed up everywhere and bolts fit smoothly in their assigned holes. That interlocking concept was what kept civilization going.
She waited impatiently as he opened a drawer and tore open a condom packet. The sound of latex snapping against skin had never seemed so erotic. It was a distinctive sound, but she’d never have paid attention without the blindfold. She felt like melted candle wax ready for the press of a golden seal.
At last the mattress dipped as he moved over her. Leaning down, he placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Now.” And with one smooth thrust he was there. He groaned softly.
She grasped his hips. “We fit so well.”
“Of course we do.” He began a slow, steady rhythm. “I’ve always known we would.”
She tried to block that comment. A stranger wouldn’t say it. She tried to convince herself that she didn’t know this man who was stroking so firmly, touching all the right places, creating a new and different tension within her.
His breath feathered across her cheeks. “God, but you feel good. So warm, so yielding. I hate having this damned latex between us.”
Her breath caught. She’d been thinking the same thing. She longed for the slide of his bare penis. “That would be crazy.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t want it.” He picked up the pace and his breathing grew ragged. “Just because something’s crazy doesn’t mean…it wouldn’t be wonderful.”
“No.” She gripped him tighter, rising to meet his thrusts.
His voice rumbled in her ear, heightening every sensation. “I want to feel your slick, wet vagina, feel you start to contract.”
She moaned. “I’m going to come again.”
“I know. I can tell.” He began to gasp for breath.
She edged nearer to her release. Any second she’d be lost in the whirlwind. Soon…soon…
“I want to feel the rush of moisture when you come.” He groaned. “I want to feel myself pouring into you.”
She was losing her grip on her fantasy. The closer she came to her climax, the less he seemed like a stranger.
“Katie, let me see your eyes.”
“Noooo.” She felt herself falling into that dangerous place where she cared too much.
“I want to see your eyes when you come. While I’m inside you, thrusting. I want to see that, Katie. I’ve dreamed of it forever.”
Her body began to shake.
“Please, Katie.” He pumped faster. “Let me take off the blindfold. Let me watch you come.”
“Jess, no.” The minute she said his name, she knew her fantasy had slipped away.
“Yes.” His voice, warm and rough, coaxed her as his body urged her higher. “Give me that.”
With a wail of surrender she lifted her hips and took that final stroke that sent her over the edge. The moment the spasms hit, he pulled off the blindfold.
She looked into his eyes, those hot, dark eyes, knowing he would see far too much, helpless to conceal the powerful emotions that rocketed through her body. He was no stranger. He never would be.
“Oh, Katie.” With a deep groan he surged forward, his body shuddering in release. “Katie,” he murmured again as he quaked in the aftermath of his climax. “We finally made it.”
She held on tight, not knowing what he meant, not knowing if this was an ending, the final phase of a conquest he’d longed for, or the beginning of something new. Words had never been his strong suit.
But his body talked beautifully. She’d never experienced anything remotely like this in another man’s arms. Yet life wasn’t all about sex. Although with someone like Jess, she was tempted to believe it could be.
JESS KNEW HE HAD A BAD habit of falling asleep after sex. He didn’t want to let that happen this time, but he’d been up early this morning and he’d put in a long day. Add to that all the sexual activity and two orgasms, and he couldn’t help feeling groggy. Half-asleep and fighting to stay awake, he was vaguely aware that Katie had wiggled out from under him, but he thought she was still there in the bed.
Any second now he’d rouse himself and get up. He could make them a pot of coffee. Now that he had her in his bed, he wanted to make up for lost time. They could talk, really talk. And then make love again. Hell, he could sleep anytime. Anytime at all…
At dawn he woke with a start and discovered Katie was no longer in the bed. He called her name, but when he got no answer, he knew for sure she’d left, probably hours ago. Damn it! This was not how a woman like Katie should be treated.
Then he noticed his red silk tie lying on her pillow. She’d found his pad of yellow sticky notes in the kitchen and attached one to the tie. In the gray light of early morning he squinted at the writing, which was bold and curvy, like Katie.
Jess, thank you for a great time. Katie
That was it. No mention of seeing him again. He studied the note some more. She did say she’d had a great time. That should count for something. A woman who’d had a great time would want to repeat the experience, wouldn’t she?
Climbing out of bed, he noticed that she’d left the teddy lying on his leather armchair. He’d meant for her to take it, but he hadn’t spelled that out, so maybe she thought it had been on loan. Yeah, right. Like he’d ever let another woman wear it.
He picked it up and felt an immediate rush of desire. She’d looked fantastic in the teddy
. She’d looked even better as he’d slowly peeled her out of it. Half in and half out of that scrap of lace had to be the sexiest pose he’d seen on any woman.
So now what? He couldn’t very well keep a white teddy hanging in his closet or folded in his underwear drawer. Just his luck he’d get in an accident, end up in the hospital, ask a buddy to bring him some clean clothes and be branded a cross-dresser.
Then he had an inspiration. The teddy was the perfect excuse to see Katie again. He wouldn’t even call, which would give her an excuse to turn him down. He’d just show up at the station after her show tonight and say he had something that belonged to her. Excellent.
As he showered he thought about the night before, how Katie had stormed out and then come back wanting more sex after all. That was encouraging. Sure, he’d fallen asleep on her, but the evening hadn’t been a total bust. Once he was face-to-face with her again, he’d be able to tell which way the wind blew. But he thought she’d want more sex. He sure as hell did.
The big question was whether she wanted more than sex from him. He couldn’t get a handle on that. He’d finally admitted to himself that he wanted more than sex from her. A steady relationship would be nice and then…well, he’d start with the steady relationship and see how that went.
As he arrived at the job site, he was reminded of the issue that might make a steady relationship with Katie problematic. The Value Our Roots gang was loving Katie’s on-air campaign. Somewhere they’d located a fifteen-foot plastic screw-and-nut combo, which they’d mounted on a wooden platform on wheels so they could roll the thing back and forth along the construction fence.
The inflating and deflating balloons were still there, too, but now more picketers carried signs that said simply Screwed. A few signs read Save Crazy Katie’s Station, as if she owned the whole damned thing.
The number of picketers told him the movement was gaining ground. He didn’t think the developers would scrap their plans for the building, but stranger things had happened. Because it was now at least a possibility, he had to ask himself how he’d feel about Katie if she robbed him of the chance to complete this project.
Not good. No matter how much he wanted to forget it, he doubted that he’d be able to. Even though Harkins Construction wouldn’t be responsible for the project going belly-up, his company’s name would be associated with the failure. The reputation he’d worked so hard to build would suffer to some extent.
His company was on the hot seat now, but once the building was completed and everyone could see how beautiful it was, the protests would go away. After the KRZE building was torn down, people would eventually forget that, too.
Katie wouldn’t, though. Unfortunately if he got what he wanted, she wouldn’t get what she wanted. She might blame him for losing her grandmother’s house forever.
Funny, but when he was in bed with Katie he forgot all of that. He liked to think that she did, too. But they couldn’t stay in bed all the time, and once they each got to work, the problems became huge.
Gabe was in the construction trailer drinking coffee when Jess walked in, and Jess had the feeling Gabe had been waiting there specifically until he showed up.
“I guess you’ve seen the latest,” Gabe said. He didn’t smile.
“Yeah.” Jess got his personal mug and retrieved some coffee from the battered two-gallon pot he’d bought at a garage sale the year he’d started the business.
“I decided to listen to Crazy Katie last night after all, to see if she’d changed her tune. But I guess you didn’t have any luck yesterday talking her out of this campaign of hers.”
Jess felt a stab of guilt. He hadn’t tried to talk her out of it. According to their ground rules, he wasn’t even supposed to try. She’d stuck by those rules, too. At no time had she implied that she’d have sex with him if he’d work to save her grandmother’s house.
Because he’d been so desperate to have sex with her, he’d given up his right to change her mind about her protest. At the time the decision had seemed logical, and that was scary. Now he had no idea what to tell Gabe.
He made a great production out of stirring powdered creamer into his coffee while he considered his options. “I’m afraid I overestimated my influence on her,” he said at last.
“Seems like it.”
Jess tapped the wooden stirrer on the edge of his cup and dropped it in a plastic trash can next to the coffeepot. “She’s a very stubborn woman.”
“I’m sure.” Gabe cleared his throat. “Okay, what’s going on, Jess?”
Jess glanced at him in surprise. His foreman had never used that tone with him. “What do you mean?”
“You took a long lunch hour with her yesterday, so I thought you must be getting somewhere. Then I listened to the show and found out she was on the same kick as before. Hardware sex. That’s quite a stretch.”
“I suppose.” But Jess didn’t think so, not anymore. Symbols were powerful. He’d proved it by shoving the legs into the bench he’d made and turning her on in the process.
“Anyway, I was out last night running errands, so I came by your house to ask you what was up with her. But you had company, so I didn’t stop.”
“Um, yeah, I did.” Feeling guiltier by the minute, Jess met Gabe’s gaze.
“It was her, wasn’t it?”
Jess tried one last dodge, although he figured it was no use. “Why would you think it was her?”
“I doubt there are two people in town whose license plate says KRZ KTY.”
Jess closed his eyes. He was no good at this secrecy business. He’d never noticed that she had a personalized plate, but he still should have told her to park in the garage in case someone recognized her car.
“Look, man, I don’t blame you for having a thing for her. She’s a babe. But the timing sucks.”
“Yeah, it does.” Jess stared glumly at Gabe. “Have you…mentioned this to anyone?”
“No. And I won’t.”
“Thanks.”
“But I have to tell you, if the guys found out, you’d have a real problem with morale. They hate what she’s doing to this project and they’re not all that fond of her either. If they thought you guys were shacking up, then—”
“I hate what she’s doing, too. But she…has her reasons.” Jess wasn’t going to defend his behavior by revealing Katie’s sentimental ties to the house. That was personal information.
“I sure hope she has reasons! Jess, I’m not going to try and tell you what to do, but…getting involved with her isn’t the best idea you’ve ever had, unless you can somehow make her shut up.”
Jess’s smile was bleak. “That’s not an option, buddy.”
“Then be careful. Be very, very careful.”
15
“I NEED AN EMERGENCY LUNCH meeting.” Katie had speed dialed Cheryl’s office and been lucky enough to find her in.
“I can’t do lunch,” Cheryl said, “but I can meet you right away over at La Placita for a quick cup of iced coffee. I can’t stay long because I’m due back in court, and this trial is turning into a circus. The defendant claims he’s channeling Clarence Darrow so he doesn’t need a lawyer, but personally I think he’s channeling Elvis. You should see the hair on this guy. Straight out of the fifties. And his clothes are—”
“It’s about Jess.”
“’Nuff said. See you.”
Katie made it to the cozy plaza right across from the court buildings in record time. Perpetually late Cheryl was nowhere in sight. Katie made use of the time she knew she’d have to get two iced coffees from her favorite little shop on the plaza.
By the time she’d carried the drinks to a wrought-iron table under a mesquite tree, Cheryl came striding briskly along, a large purple tote slung over her shoulder. Cheryl wasn’t a tiny-purse sort of woman. She liked to haul large chunks of her life with her, including her day planner, a water bottle, various snack foods, a generous makeup case, her morning paper and a paperback novel in case she finished the newspaper
and was stuck with nothing to do.
“I’m glad you called.” She sat down in the wrought-iron chair opposite Katie and took the iced coffee Katie pushed in her direction. “I’ve been dying to know what’s happened, but I’ve been working late—although I took time out to listen to your show and I love the nuts and bolts guy. He sounded just like Yoda. Didn’t he? I closed my eyes and pictured this little wrinkled guy with big pointy ears. I—”
“We don’t have much time, right?”
Cheryl glanced at her Mickey Mouse watch. “Right. You talk. I’ll drink my coffee.”
Now that she was sitting here with Cheryl, Katie didn’t know where to start. “He planted a yellow rosebush,” she said.
Cheryl looked at her as if she’d lost it. “Is that significant? I know rose colors are supposed to mean different things, but I never can remember what they are. Red is good for passion. Are you afraid he’s not passionate?”
“Yellow roses were our special thing in high school. I guess you wouldn’t remember.”
“He was your first love, not mine. I don’t remember a thing about yellow roses.” Cheryl’s gaze sharpened. “Do you know this because he told you or because you saw it for yourself?”
“I—”
“You went to his house, didn’t you, you little devil! Was it gorgeous? A guy with his own construction business would have a gorgeous house, that’s what I’m thinking. Did you go to bed with him?”
“Yes.” Maybe all she’d have to do was wait for Cheryl to ask the right questions. That would make this easier.
“Wow. Now what? Was he good? Was he better than Stewart What’s-his-name, the guy you dated a year ago? Personally I thought Stewart was too bland to be a good lover, but Jess—he has potential.”
“Cheryl, he was too good. That’s the problem.”
Cheryl reached over and patted her hand. “Trust me, too good is not a problem. Too good is a woman’s dream come true. Are we talking multiple orgasms?”
“Yes.” Katie could still feel the imprint of his hands, his mouth and his tongue on her skin.
Talking About Sex... Page 15
