She reached the landing and took her key out of her purse. Then she paused to look at him. She wanted him inside that door so badly she could taste it, but they had to get one thing straight. “I’m not going to stop my campaign, Jess. If you’re hoping to convince me otherwise, then—”
“I told you that my foreman knows you were parked outside my house last night.”
She remembered now. He’d been about to elaborate when they’d surrendered to a mutual case of lust. “Tell me about that. Why was he driving by?”
“I mentioned that I was meeting you for lunch and that I’d…see if I could get you to tone down your protest. When your show was as inflammatory as ever, he came by to find out what had happened to my plan.”
“What do you mean, your plan?” She clutched the keys tighter.
“I’d told him I’d try—”
“Wait a minute. I thought we agreed that we’d keep our relationship separate, that we wouldn’t use sex as leverage to get the other one to change positions.”
His jaw tightened. “We did. During lunch. And you may have noticed I didn’t bring up the subject while we were together.”
No, he hadn’t. Instead he’d given her an orgasm on top of “A” Mountain. And there had been more where that had come from. She wanted another one very soon.
She took a deep breath. “Okay, you’re right. You didn’t ask me to tone down anything.”
“But Gabe didn’t know that. He assumed the long lunch meant I was getting somewhere.”
Despite the tense discussion, that made her smile. “You were.” He still was. All she had to do was look at him and her body tingled in readiness.
He gripped the railing and studied her. “What a hell of a situation this is. You’re making life extremely difficult for me, and I still want you so much I can’t see straight. Right now, even while we’re arguing about this problem with my foreman and my crew, I want to get inside that door and strip you naked.”
Moisture gathered between her thighs. “I’m sorry for your situation with your work crew, but I’m not going to stop my campaign.”
He blew out a breath. “Yeah, I know.”
“So what do you say?” Her heart hammered in her chest. Either he’d go inside with her and they’d have more amazing sex or he’d decide she wasn’t worth risking his reputation for.
Despite his shopping for handcuffs and nipple clips, despite his eagerness when they’d had sex in her car, she had no idea which he’d choose. She still didn’t know for sure where she fit in his list of priorities. And that made her vulnerable, whether she wanted to be or not.
Fire burned in his dark eyes as he continued to hold on to the railing as if to keep himself from reaching for her. Then he let go and stepped toward her. “Open that damned door, Katie.”
A STRONGER MAN WOULD HAVE walked away. Jess wasn’t that man. Maybe in the back of his mind he thought that if they had enough sex, everything would work out. Maybe he thought that if he made love to her often enough, she wouldn’t reject him when he finally had to build that parking garage on the site of her grandmother’s house.
Or maybe he was in the clutches of a desire that blasted reason right out of his brain. That was the most likely explanation for why he walked through the door, why he dropped the shopping bags to the floor and pulled her fiercely into his arms the moment the lock snapped into place.
Her laugh was low and intimate as he bunched her skirt up around her waist and backed her against the nearest wall. She knew she had him enslaved. Knew he couldn’t keep his hands off of her.
And her mouth—he couldn’t get enough of it. Kissing her hungrily, he reached beneath her skirt with one hand and pulled her blouse free with the other. Finding her wet and ready inflamed him even more. He might be fixated on her body, but thank God she was fixated on his, too.
He couldn’t resist shoving his fingers deep and hearing her muffled groan of surrender. Massaging her slick heat, he lifted his mouth from hers. “Like that?”
She gripped his shoulders and shuddered. “Yeah, I like that.”
“Then let’s make something happen.” After snapping open the catch of her bra, he stroked her breasts with a firmness of purpose, wanting to push her fast and hard.
“No. This is silly. Let’s go…to the bedroom.” She gasped and arched her hips toward him, silently contradicting herself.
“Later.” Giving her a climax had turned into his favorite thing, and he would do it now, before they got two feet past the front door, because her body was begging for it. “Come for me.”
“I just did.” She tipped her head back and gulped in air. “In the car.”
“Do it again.” He pressed his fingers upward, caressing her G-spot rhythmically as he increased his speed.
“Oh…Jess…” She began to tremble. “It’s…so…good.”
“That’s the idea.” He felt the first ripple against his fingers. “Let go,” he murmured. “Let go, Katie.”
“I…I…oh, there! Right there.” She welcomed the convulsions with a lusty cry of release.
Jess closed his eyes and concentrated on the feel of her climax against his fingers. He didn’t really need kinky sex toys or X-rated videos or Kama Sutra positions. All he really wanted was a naked Katie, a big, soft bed and…the rest of his life to enjoy making love to her. That realization hit him hard.
Yet he wasn’t caught totally by surprise. On some level he’d known he was playing for all the marbles. He hadn’t allowed the thought to surface until now because it would likely have depressed the hell out of him. A few days ago he wouldn’t have believed that he had any chance of ending up with Katie, so why even wish for it?
But they’d been through a lot since Friday night. And tonight, as she trembled in the aftermath of her orgasm, he believed a lifetime of loving Katie was possible. Achieving it wouldn’t be easy, but then, the best things never were.
KATIE’S PLAN TO GRAB ALL the sex she could before the relationship fell apart was working beautifully. After that special moment in the foyer, she and Jess had picked up the shopping bags and headed back to her bedroom. Their clothes had come off quickly, considering all the kissing and fondling that had taken place during the process.
Eventually they ended up tangled together on her mattress, and it occurred to her that he’d never been there before. They’d had all kinds of sex recently, but none of it had taken place in her bedroom. His presence there in the midst of her white wicker and romantic flower prints made quite a statement.
As a general rule she didn’t invite men into an area she thought of as her private bower. She hadn’t consciously thought about whether she should invite Jess here either. If she had, she might have nixed the idea. She would have instinctively feared the possibility that once he’d invaded her most personal space, her defenses would be in shambles.
That realization prompted her next move. “About those handcuffs,” she murmured between kisses.
He leaned down and nuzzled her breast. “Want to see if they fit you?”
“I have a better idea.” She rolled on top of him, pinning him to the mattress. “Let’s see if they fit you.”
His eyes widened. “That wasn’t what I—”
“I know.” She loved catching him off balance.
“I mean, isn’t that why they’re fur-lined?” He looked nervous. “Because they’re for a woman?”
“Is the fur pink?”
“Black.”
“There you go. Unisex.” She reached down and stroked his erect penis. “Come on. Let’s try it.”
His voice was husky with desire. “When you touch me like that, you can get me to do just about anything.”
“Good to know.” She caressed him with great thoroughness, making sure that she paid special attention to the sensitive tip.
His breathing grew ragged. “Just don’t…ask the impossible.”
So he was afraid she’d bring up the construction project. She couldn’t blame him. “Then I’d
be violating my own ground rules, wouldn’t I?” The taut skin covering his penis was silky under her fingertips. Amazing that something so delicate enveloped such rigid power. “That wouldn’t be fair.”
“No.” He took a deep, shuddering breath.
“Too bad you’re not the kind of man who allows sex to change his mind, though.” She stroked upward, extracting a small bead of moisture that quivered there like a drop of rain.
He moaned softly. “Because you’d try it?”
“Darn tootin’ I would.” She wiped the drop away with her thumb.
He closed his eyes and sighed. “If I thought I could change your mind with sex, I’d try it, too.”
“So we’re both like…the Untouchables.”
His chuckle rasped in the stillness. “You’re very touchable.”
“You know what I meant.”
“Yeah…I know. God, Katie, that feels great.”
“Ready for those handcuffs?” She gave him a gentle squeeze.
He gasped as another shudder ran through his muscled body. “You don’t need them. I’m putty in your hands.”
“Humor me.”
He opened his eyes to reveal the intense passion glowing there. “When it comes to sex, you can have anything. Anything at all.”
Excitement surged through her. The kinds of sexual adventures she’d only talked about on the air could become reality with this man. The reason for that wasn’t lost on her either. Somewhere along the way he’d given her his trust.
She was the suspicious one, the person who’d kept herself on guard to make sure he didn’t break her heart. Yet he’d given her no reason to think that he would. Maybe it was time for her to get over those irrational fears and consider the possibility that Jess wanted her at least as much as she wanted him.
Easing away from him, she left the bed and located the shopping bag containing the handcuffs. She pulled them out and noticed two little gold keys on a tiny ring were hanging from the lock. As she imagined the power wielded by the person holding the keys, adrenaline shot through her. Adventure could be very scary. Trembling, she walked back to the bed.
He lay there watching her, his gaze intent.
Slowly she held them out. “You can put them on me if you want.”
JESS REALIZED THAT WITH Katie’s offer something significant had changed. When he’d bought the handcuffs, he’d imagined they would be part of some wild and crazy episode that might drive both of them to distraction, might even get them into this biting business she’d been talking about tonight.
He hadn’t thought about the handcuffs representing loss of control. But when Katie had proposed putting them on him, he’d understood exactly what those handcuffs meant. His first reaction had been good old-fashioned panic.
Then he’d figured out that she needed to have that kind of control over him for some reason. He’d decided it was in his best interests to give it to her. And why not? She had a firm hold on his heart, so she might as well be in charge of the rest of him.
Now she was giving up that chance. Even more important, she was turning that control over to him. Maybe the invisible wall between them, the one he’d sensed her hiding behind whenever they were together, was finally coming down.
He’d always imagined her as a free spirit who had tried plenty of sexual variations with the men in her life. Her radio show led him to believe it and then she’d asked for a blindfold the first time they’d had full-body sex. He’d assumed she was used to kinky toys.
But the way she was quivering as she held out the handcuffs made him think he’d been wrong about that. Maybe the blindfold had only served to help her hide from him. In any case, he’d be willing to bet that no man had ever put fur-lined handcuffs on her.
So he would be the first. If miracles came true, he would be the last.
Sitting up in bed, he took the handcuffs. He resisted the urge to ask her if she really wanted to do this. She might say no. And then the impulse that had caused her to bring him the handcuffs would be buried under another round of sex.
He didn’t know how other guys viewed a sex toy like this, but he knew exactly how he saw it. He would use it to prove to her that she could trust him not to abuse the power she’d given him. He would use it to get closer to her than he ever had before.
“Lie down,” he murmured.
She stretched out on the bed beside him, her gaze never leaving those handcuffs. Her throat moved in a swallow.
Once again he fought the urge to tell her they could forget the handcuffs. If he did that, he would be depriving her of a chance to take a risk. Love was all about risk. And love was at stake here, whether she understood that or not.
Before he put the first handcuff on, he made a quick survey of his resources. If they’d been in his bed, he’d have a bedpost to work with, but her wicker headboard didn’t have the same advantages. Then he noticed a tasseled gold cord tying back the drapes at each side of her bedroom window.
He glanced down at her and she was still watching him. Her cheeks were pink and so was the rest of her. He loved the way her whole body blushed when she was excited. Her excitement right now had an edge of fear. He could see it in her eyes.
That fear would dissolve as he won her trust. But first he had to push her a little farther out on that ledge of fear. Once he’d opened the handcuffs, he picked up one slender wrist and closed the fur-lined cuff around it.
She drew in a sharp breath.
He didn’t reassure her. The experience had to feel a little threatening or it wouldn’t be worth doing. Fitting the small key in the lock, he turned it. “Raise both hands over your head.”
Slowly she did as he asked. Her breasts quivered, and he longed to bend down and kiss those tempting nipples. But then he might get distracted and not finish what he needed to accomplish. He couldn’t give in to his passion until he had her completely in his power.
After clamping the other handcuff on, he locked it, too. Then he left her lying there with her arms over her head while he walked to the window and untied the cord from the drapes. He wouldn’t ask if he could use it. She’d put him in charge, and that’s the role he’d play.
As he returned to the bed, he could tell that she was getting very nervous, but she didn’t protest when he looped the cord through the golden chain linking the handcuffs together. The wicker was an open weave, and he managed to work one end of the cord through it and back out. In seconds he’d knotted the cord and Katie was tied to the headboard, helpless to stop him from doing whatever he wanted.
And he wanted…everything. This would be the defining moment for them, and he planned to wring every ounce of pleasure out of it. He wanted both of them to remember this experience, this coming together of two bodies and two souls, for the rest of their lives.
She was breathing fast—her breasts rose and fell in a tantalizing way. He memorized the shape of them, appreciated anew the dusky color of her nipples against the creamy skin of her breasts.
She had such a slender waist and a satisfying flair to her hips. He wondered how she felt about children. Someday soon he’d have to ask. His gaze lingered on the golden triangle of curls he’d soon explore…for as long as he liked.
Her thighs still had a tinge of gold from her summer tan. He loved her knees and the delicate bones in her ankles. Her toenails were painted the same color as his favorite mocha drink.
He longed to touch her but he held back. Each time they’d been together they’d been in constant motion. He’d been in a frenzy to kiss her, caress her, plunge deep inside her. He would do all those things soon, but for now he would wait.
“Jess?” Her voice was breathy with anticipation. “What are you doing?”
“I’m looking, Katie.” He let his gaze travel over her, inch by glorious inch. “Just looking.”
18
SEXUAL TENSION COILED inside Katie. She should be embarrassed by having Jess studying her so thoroughly, but embarrassment didn’t even come into it. The heat in his eyes m
elted any trace of shame. Warmed by his gaze, she felt like a priceless work of art.
No, that wasn’t quite right. She felt like a goddess, one who wanted to be worshiped with his hands and mouth as well as his eyes. She burned for his touch. Yet she was helpless to pull him to her.
At first that had frightened her. Once he’d cinched her to the headboard, her heart had started pumping so fast she’d grown dizzy. She hadn’t imagined her powerlessness would be this complete.
Yet she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. It wasn’t fear of harm that made her stomach churn. It was her loss of control. She’d never allowed that with anyone. What had possessed her to offer that control to Jess?
But then he’d looked at her, really looked at her, and she’d known why. Relinquishing control to him had been a gift that only she could give. It was more precious than anything she could have offered him. He seemed to know that.
“You are so beautiful.” Stretching out beside her, he began a slow caress beginning with her mouth. He traced the outline of her lips with his forefinger. “At eighteen you were pretty, but now…now you’re the kind of woman who brings a man to his knees.”
So she’d won. Even now, bound to the headboard, she had him in her power. And it no longer mattered. “I don’t want to bring you to your knees,” she said.
“What do you want?” Smoothing his palm over her collarbone, he cupped her breast.
Your love. But she wasn’t quite that brave. “An equal give-and-take.”
A smile tipped the corners of his mouth. “You want me to take a turn in the handcuffs?” He brushed his thumb over her nipple.
“Maybe.” She shivered as he continued to move his thumb back and forth over her nipple, making it stand smartly at attention. She’d always loved his hands on her, but her helplessness intensified the pleasure in a way she never would have guessed.
“I will, you know,” he said.
“I believe you.” She drew in a breath as his hand glided over her ribs. “But I wasn’t only talking about that. I meant—”
Talking About Sex... Page 18
