by Mari Carr
Kate, obviously confused by his failure to respond, merely nodded and he watched her courage begin to waver in the face of his continuing silence.
“Seduce me,” he whispered.
Surprised by his acquiesce, Kate didn’t move at first. Then, as if awakening from a long sleep, she gave him the most seductive smile he’d ever seen.
Rising up to kneel beside him, she leaned forward and initiated a kiss so hot, Rick wondered if they would set off the smoke detector in this room as well. His shy angel turned into a vixen and Rick struggled to keep up. Her hands were touching him everywhere—in his hair, along his day-old beard, over his shoulders. Just when he thought she couldn’t surprise him anymore, she threw a leg over his to straddle his lap, gripped the lapels of his flannel shirt and pulled roughly. The buttons popped as they tore from the material, but his wild Kate simply continued her assault, her fingers and lips toying with his now-hard nipples.
“Jesus.” His hands clung to her soft hair. It smelled like orchids. When he’d first come in tonight, she’d had it pulled away from her face in a fancy braid, but now it hung loose and long over her shoulders. He would have to make sure she always wore it down for him.
Small fingers at the button of his jeans caused his grip in her hair to tighten. For a moment, he thought he was hurting her as her fingers stilled, but her accelerated breathing clued him in—Kate liked his rough touch. Testing the waters, he pulled her hair again. This time Kate groaned, her hips thrusting against his upper thighs.
Beautiful, he thought. By God, she was the most beautiful, sensuous woman on earth and she was going to be his. He was going to teach her how to use all that latent sexuality with him. Before he could consider it further, Kate was moving off the couch, kneeling between his legs.
Dear Lord, maybe Kate had a few lessons of her own to share.
She was killing him. A dominant in bed, Rick couldn’t recall ever letting a woman take the lead, but something about Kate told him she needed to do this. Whether it was residual fear from Zack’s assault or a way of testing her newfound self-confidence, he couldn’t say. Maybe it was both or neither, but tonight, he knew she needed to direct the course they took.
Taking a deep breath, she robbed it from him again as her small hand tugged at the waist of his jeans. Lifting his hips, he helped her pull them down until they hit the floor around his ankles. Damn boots kept him from kicking them straight off. Kate hadn’t removed his boxers so his cock was still hidden from her view. Rick was grateful for that small mercy. Slow and steady wins the race, he thought as he offered up a silent prayer that Kate wouldn’t suddenly revert back to her innate shyness when faced with his extremely obvious desire for her.
Bending over, Kate unlaced one boot and then the other, dragging them off so slowly, his teeth hurt he was clenching them so hard. It was all he could do not to throw the damned seductress on the floor and pound into her, his need for her was so great.
When she finally removed his boots and pants, she leisurely moved her hands up his legs, teasing the light dusting of hair on his upper thighs before moving inward. Clenching his fists into the couch cushions, Rick tried to concentrate on calming down or this was going to be the shortest seduction in history.
“God, Kate.” He hissed in a pained breath as her fingers trailed lightly over his boxer-clad erection. “Touch me, sweetheart. Wrap your hand around me.”
Kate smiled at his words as she reached for the waistband of his boxers. Slowly, she dragged the cotton down until his rock-hard cock was freed. Rick could hear her intake of breath as she saw him for the first time. He was well aware that some women found his rather large size intimidating.
“Holy shit,” she muttered and Rick couldn’t contain the groan that escaped his lips.
“Don’t worry, Kate.” He felt the need to reassure her when he felt her hands tremble slightly on his legs. “We’ll take this nice and slow.”
Watching her closely, ready to stop her if she tried to escape, Rick watched her stiffen her spine, much like she did back in May as she’d prepared to meet Rex. Experienced she was not, but her strength and determination more than made up for it. Rick was finding himself falling even more for this sexy innocent.
Kate gave him a lopsided grin. “Have you ever heard that saying, ‘Anything more than a mouthful’, Rick?”
“Ah, my sweet Kate, I can assure you none of this will go to waste.” With that, he took her hands in his and wrapped them around his erection, showing her exactly how to touch him, caress him.
She mastered the art in less than a minute and again Rick felt himself struggling to maintain control. Never before had a woman driven him to this height so quickly. Wes liked to joke they were jaded old men who’d peaked too early. A few minutes in Kate’s capable hands blew that theory out of the water.
His lack of control was shattered even further when he felt Kate’s soft lips kiss the tip of his cock. Her tongue darted out to taste the drops of pre-cum gathered there.
“Mmm.” She hummed as she opened her mouth to envelop the entire head.
Rick started muttering himself and Kate stopped for a moment.
“Did you say something?”
“I’m reciting the states in alphabetical order—California, Colorado, Connecticut. Don’t stop, Kate. Whatever you do, don’t stop.” Her soft giggles at his joke tormented his turgid flesh even more.
The next time she opened her mouth, she took him to the back of her throat in one quick movement. Rick’s head flew back against the cushions of the couch. In and out, Kate played his cock like a flute.
“Florida, Georgia,” he spat out through gritted teeth and Kate giggled again, this time with her mouth full of him.
Her hands wrapped around the base of his erection as she began to move her mouth upon him in earnest. Rick’s hands returned to grip her hair tightly. He was rewarded by a small nip on the head of his cock that felt like heaven. He wasn’t averse to a little bit of pleasure-pain himself. Kate deep-throated him like a pro and Rick realized after only a few minutes he would never last long. His eight months of celibacy had left him with very little control.
“Kate, sweetheart, I’m going to come. If you don’t want—” His warning was cut off when she tightened her grip on the base of his cock, her other hand reaching low to grasp and play with his balls.
“God. Damn. It!” It felt as if the tip of his cock had exploded as Kate swallowed every drop of his cum, not releasing him until she had licked him clean.
For several minutes, Rick lay still, trying to calm the beating of his heart. Kate simply sat at his feet with her head resting lightly on his thigh. He knew he should say something, but the intensity of the moment robbed his ability for speech. The only words that came to mind were “I love you” and Rick was afraid it was much too soon to utter that particular phrase. Kate had just come out of a terrible marriage and, regardless of their pen-pal status, they really didn’t know each other well enough for those words.
Or did they? He was certain he’d never felt this way for any other woman. But were those feelings wrapped around the fact he was suddenly feeling his age and overcome by a desire to settle down? Was he trying to make Kate into the woman he wanted at this stage in his life or was she truly the one? One thing he knew for sure was Kate was too special to toy with. Until he was certain his feelings were genuine, he wouldn’t risk saying the words now, only to hurt her later.
Lost in his own thoughts, Rick was surprised when he felt Kate rise quickly. Realizing he’d been a selfish bastard in his own pleasure, Rick reached out for her, more than ready to make amends.
“Kate.” She moved too quickly for him and managed to elude his grasp.
“I-I,” she stammered. “I’m kind of tired. I think I’ll go to bed.”
Confused, Rick tried to rise but his ankles were confined in his boxers. “Bed?”
“Yeah.” She spoke so casually he was left reeling. “Sorry about dinner. Good night.” Before Rick could
pull up his boxers and set himself to rights, she was gone.
“What the hell?”
She merely smiled and left the room as if they’d done no more than watch a movie together. He knew—deep inside he was certain—Kate had never given a man a blowjob before. There was no way in hell he was going to let her crawl into bed with no more explanation than “I’m tired.”
It was time Kate realized exactly who and what she was dealing with in regards to Rick McAllister. While he may have a few uncertainties at the moment, he had no intentions of letting Kate escape him until they fully explored their potential as a couple. The best way for that to happen was for Kate to see exactly what she was getting with him.
And what she was not getting was a man who ever let a woman walk away unsatisfied.
Chapter 10
Kate leaned heavily against the inside of her closed bedroom door. If it weren’t for bad luck, she wouldn’t have any luck at all tonight.
“Shit, shit and double shit,” she muttered, not for the first time since escaping the living room. As if the night hadn’t gone to hell in a hand basket from the very beginning, she had to blow it all by turning into a coward and running away like a fool.
“I mean bloody hell, Kate,” she continued to chastise herself under her breath.
First, Zack shows up and tries to rape her—
No, she refused to linger on the thought of that. Every time she remembered Zack’s hands on her, she felt like vomiting.
“I am not going to think about that,” she whispered to herself, pushing Zack’s face from her mind. She knew sooner or later she would have to deal with the horror of his attack, but for now it was easier to push the whole thing from her mind.
On top of that nightmare, her new, way-too-expensive outfit was ruined, dinner burned to a crisp and then she lost her temper and destroyed that stupid smoke detector. Worst of all, she’d admitted to Rick McAllister, man of her dreams, that she’d planned to seduce him before falling to her knees and sucking his cock. Good God. I’ve lost my mind.
She’d never given a man a blowjob. Why had she thought for even a moment she could pull it off? Although, come to think of it, Rick certainly hadn’t complained. In fact, he’d looked downright pleased with her efforts, so maybe she hadn’t screwed it up entirely.
Thinking back on the amazing experience, Kate felt the same incredible pressure in her body she’d experienced all night. She was so horny she thought she would explode.
Problem was, all her damn insecurities came crashing down on her at once. Suddenly the idea of Rick taking her clothes off, seeing her naked and making love to her seemed too far out of her realm of ability. Who the hell did she think she was? She was plain, old, boring Kate Harper. No doubt Rick was used to sophisticated, experienced, sexy women. She’d never done much more than missionary style. I mean, sure, she’d read plenty of erotic romance books in her life, but there was a hell of a big difference between reading and doing.
She’d been so terrified by the look of desire in his eyes, she had fled the room like a babbling idiot. God only knew what she’d said to him, but she would be surprised if it wasn’t something as stupid as, “Gee, thanks for letting me suck your cock, Rick. See you later.”
Sighing heavily, she walked over to her bed wondering how on earth she’d ever face him again—when she heard a knock on the door.
“Great,” she mumbled. Of course, he wouldn’t let her suffer her humiliation in silence.
Unwilling to open the door, she simply called out, “Yes?”
“Open the door, Kate,” Rick replied in a no-nonsense voice.
“Uh, Rick, I…” She attempted to think of some reason to deny him entrance.
“Kate, open this goddamned door or I’ll break it down.”
“That’s an old door, Rick. It’s solid wood.”
“All the more reason you should open it. Save it from demolition and my shoulder from pain.” His voice lost some of its gruffness as he continued his plea. “Please Kate, open the door. I only want to talk.”
The sincerity and kindness of his request worked. She crossed the room and unlatched the lock. He stood in the doorway for several seconds before giving her a guilty grin.
“I think I owe you an apology.”
“You owe me an apology?” Kate was surprised by his words. “Actually, I was thinking it was the other way around. I’m sorry I ran out, Rick.”
“Why did you leave?”
“I, um, well,” she stammered.
“Dammit Kate. You don’t have to be afraid of me.”
Kate could see the concern in Rick’s gaze and it made her feel even worse. He thought he’d frightened her. She didn’t want him to suffer remorse just because of her lack of confidence.
“Oh Rick, I’m not afraid of you. Honestly, I’m not.”
“Did we go too far too fast? Did I scare you? Because we can slow down, sweetheart. After what you’ve been through tonight, I was a bastard to push for anything at all. I’m sorry about that.”
It upset her to hear him berate himself. “I swear to you, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just…me.”
Rick raised an eyebrow and waited for her to elaborate and she felt all the blood in her body rush to her cheeks.
“You can tell me anything, Kate. You haven’t held back a thing from me in the last eight months of emails and phone calls. It shouldn’t be any different face-to-face.”
“I’m not really sure I’m ready for you to see me naked.” She turned around quickly, hoping he couldn’t see her mortification.
Strong arms wrapped around her waist as Rick’s chuckles tickled her ear. “Is that all?” She struggled to get free, too embarrassed to be so close to him. “No, don’t.” He gripped her tighter, her back pressed flush to his front. “God, Kate. You scared the hell out of me. I thought you were disappointed or something.”
“Disappointed?” she asked incredulously. “Are you kidding me?”
“Well, you have to admit, sweetheart, the pleasure was all mine.”
“Oh no.” Kate escaped his hold and turned to face him. “It was wonderful for me too. Really. I’ve always wondered, I mean, I wanted to know what…” Her words fell away and Rick smiled as he pressed a playful kiss to her nose.
“I know it was your first time, Kate.”
“Was it that bad?”
Rick frowned at her question. “Good God, Kate, if it had been much better, I would have had a stroke. You were amazing. Sexy as hell.”
Kate smiled at his compliments, pleased and silently praying his words were sincere. She rather suspected they were, given his response at the time.
“When’s the last time you were with a man, Kate?”
Kate felt her face flush even darker. “Zack and I…I mean, our sex life sort of died out about three years ago.”
“Three years?”
“Guess I should have realized right then that he was getting his milk from another cow.” She grimaced as she tried weakly to make a joke of her own foolishness, but Rick merely shook his head.
“That man was an idiot to let you go, but I can assure you Kate, I won’t make the same mistake.”
Kate was amazed by Rick’s unexpected attraction to her. She’d had a crush on him since she’d met him, but she never imagined, didn’t dare hope that her desire would be returned. To hear him compliment her, to feel his hands hold hers, to taste his lips as they kissed hers was so completely unreal, she wasn’t sure how to react.
Rather than feeling better, however, she felt a cold chill snake its way down her spine. She could see herself wanting a heck of a lot more than just a night or a week in this man’s bed. Hell, her overactive imagination was already cooking up a lifetime of sexual fantasies for them. Her heart was screaming the word “NO” over and over to her weak mind and she fought against the overwhelming, contradictory thoughts of Rick that were destined to drive her insane. She would not give her heart to another man only to have him and his new girlfr
iend drive over it in their Ford pickup as they escaped to Vegas together.
“You won’t?” she asked, surprised by the conviction in his voice.
“No, I won’t.” His hands cupped her cheeks, leaving her no choice but to look into his face. “Kate, are you on the Pill?”
“W-what?”
Rather than respond to her question, Rick merely arched his eyebrow, awaiting a response.
“No,” she admitted. “There didn’t seem to be much point.”
“Call tomorrow and make a doctor’s appointment. Get the shot,” he added, “it’s quicker. We’ll use a condom until we can be sure it’s safe. I’ll get the doctor to give you a copy of my medical records, so you’ll know I’m clean.”
Just when she didn’t think she could blush any more, her face betrayed her again. “Rick, I-I’m not quite sure how to respond to all of this.”
He smiled before bending down to kiss her gently on her lips. “You don’t have to respond. Just feel.”
His hands wrapped themselves into the long strands of her hair, pulling her face back to his. “I want to be with you, Kate.” His lips traveled along her cheeks until they reached her ear and he teased the lobe with his teeth. “I want to make love to you.”
Kate’s heart began to race at his words.
“But not tonight,” he said. “Tonight we’ll play. Get acquainted.”
“Play?” Zack was more the wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am type and she wasn’t quite sure what Rick meant by “play”.
Chuckling, Rick’s lips traveled down to her neck, nipping and sucking at the sensitive flesh there. “My sweet little innocent.” His hands reached down to the hem of the shirt she’d hastily donned after Zack’s attack.
Kate’s hands flew to his in an attempt to stop him, but he merely brushed them away. “Trust me, Kate.”
Those three words were her undoing because Kate knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she did trust Rick, implicitly.
