By the Book j-6

by N. J. Walters

  Ignoring the little voice in the back of her head, she continued her lecture. “Sure, you’d probably have the best sex of your life, but it wouldn’t last.”

  But you’d have the best sex of your life!

  That little voice was beginning to get on her nerves because it was starting to make sense. “Sex with Jonah would be incredible.” Her reflection nodded in agreement. She had no idea how she knew that, she just did. The man exuded sex appeal.

  “What am I thinking?” She turned away from the mirror, flicked off the light, and headed to bed. “I’m thinking that it might be nice to actually have an orgasm that wasn’t self-induced.”

  Amanda slapped her hand over her mouth even though there was no one there who could hear her. It was enough that she’d heard herself utter the words. Feeling silly, she pulled her hand away.

  “Okay, so not every woman has an orgasm during sex,” she grumbled to herself. She could feel her cheeks heating as she stumbled to bed and crawled in. Yanking the covers up around her, she settled her head against the pillows.

  Her body had not been silent during her conversation with herself. Her skin felt hot, her breasts heavy. Ignoring the pulsing between her thighs, she turned over on her side and reached for the knob on the bedside lamp.

  Before she could turn it off, the phone rang.

  Chapter Five

  Amanda reached for her glasses and slipped them on. She glanced at the clock radio as she picked up her cordless phone. It was only half-past ten. Not too late. Maybe it was Cyndi, checking to see if she made it home okay. “Hello.”

  “Hello, sugar.” The smooth male voice went through her like a hot knife through butter. Every cell in her body seemed to spark with anticipation.

  “Jonah.” Her voice shook slightly. It was if her very thoughts had conjured the man from thin air. Her fingers tightened around the phone.

  “Did you have a good evening with Shamus and Cyndi?”

  She frowned and then remembered he’d been here when Shamus had mentioned it earlier today. “Yes, I did. They’re good friends.” She could hear the defensiveness in her voice and sighed. Taking a deep breath, she tried to settle her nerves and slow her pounding heart. “I had a wonderful time.”

  “That’s good.”

  She closed her eyes and absorbed the sound of his voice. Damn, she had it bad.

  “Jonah, what do you want?” The quicker she found out, the quicker she could get him off the phone. As it was, she suspected it would be quite some time until she relaxed enough to sleep. Her body felt as if she’d been drinking coffee for about six hours straight.

  “You.”

  That one stark word made her heart start pounding again. Amanda opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, trying to distract herself from the growing ache low in her belly.

  The paint was chipped in several places. It was on her to-do list.

  “You still there, sugar?”

  She nodded and then sighed, giving up trying to get control of her unruly hormones.

  “Yes, I’m here.” She raked her free hand through her hair, making an even bigger mess of her curls. “But I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say yes.” His voice was little more than a sensual murmur. Amanda swallowed hard and tried to ignore the hard points of her nipples pressing against her T-shirt.

  “You know I can’t,” she whispered. But oh how she wanted to say yes.

  She definitely wasn’t the type of woman to make a rash decision about anything.

  Slow and methodical was more her speed, but these past months her life had been speeding out of control.

  “Sure you can,” he coaxed. “We’re both adults. We’re both free.” He paused and she could hear the brush of fabric on fabric as he shifted position. “I could make you feel so good.”

  “It’s not that easy for me.” She’d never had sex for the sake of it. She’d always been involved in a relationship with the men she’d slept with.

  “It can be.” Jonah sighed softly. “Don’t over-think it, Amanda. We could even start now if you want.”

  She leaned back against the headboard and tried to get comfortable. “What do you mean?”

  “What are you wearing?”

  She glanced down at her slightly ragged T-shirt that she wore as a nightshirt. If he expected her to act as if she was wearing something sexy, he was sadly mistaken. “I’m wearing a white T-shirt that says ‘Booksellers Do It By The Book’ and a pair of white cotton panties.”

  Silence. Then a low chuckle filled the line. “I like it. I can picture it on you. I’ll bet the shirt doesn’t quite cover your ass, does it?”

  “No. Almost, but not quite.”

  “Hmm.”

  She had no idea what he meant by that, but she wasn’t about to ask. It felt strange to talk about her nightclothes to Jonah.

  “Your bed is warm and your sheets are rumpled. I wanted to crawl in there today and pull you in with me.”

  Arousal pulsed low in Amanda’s belly. She pressed her legs together to try to ease the growing ache. It didn’t help. “I saw you looking at the bed.” Was that low and sultry voice hers?

  Jonah laughed. “Oh, yeah. I couldn’t resist. I couldn’t bury my face between your sweet thighs, but I did catch your scent drifting up from your pillow. It was warm and musky, with a hint of lavender.”

  Her breathing was coming faster now. The things he said. She fanned her face, but it didn’t help. Her body felt like a blast furnace on high. Bury his face between her thighs.

  She’d read about such things, but no man had ever done it for her before.

  As if he could read her thoughts, he continued. “I’m going to taste your sweetness some day, Amanda. And soon. I’ll bet you’d taste like honey with a touch of spice.”

  She squirmed and sank lower onto the mattress, kicking the covers off her overheated body.

  “I’ll bet your pussy is hot and wet for me now. Isn’t it, sugar?” His breathing was deep and even. “Put your hands between your legs and check.”

  “Jonah,” she wailed, partly embarrassed, but wholly aroused.

  “Do it,” he commanded. “You know you want to.”

  She licked her lips, which suddenly felt parched. Her hand slid down her stomach and dipped between her thighs.

  “Are you touching yourself yet? Talk to me, sugar. Tell me everything.”

  “Yes.” Her fingers drifted over her cotton-covered mound and she moaned when they rubbed her clit.

  “That’s it.” His voice was deeper now.

  It occurred to her that she didn’t know what he was doing. “What about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “Are you…” she swallowed the lump in her throat and tried again, “…are you hard for me?”

  “Oh, yeah. My dick is as hard as a spike.”

  His words aroused her further and she arched her hips upward, letting her fingers slip beneath the band of her panties. Her sex was hot and wet. “Are you touching yourself?”

  Her voice was little more than a gasp.

  “Yes. I’ve got my hand wrapped around my shaft, pumping up and down, all the while pretending it’s you who is touching me.”

  “Mmm.” She wanted to touch him. Wanted to feel him. “What does it feel like?”

  “Hard and hot. If you were here with me, I’d slide into your wet heat and take us both on the ride of our lives.”

  “Jonah.” She whispered his name, needing more from him. She couldn’t believe she was actively involved in phone sex with a man she’d just met. But she felt a connection to Jonah. One that was undeniable. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Take off your panties, sugar. And your nightshirt. I want you naked.”

  Putting the phone aside, she sat up and yanked the T-shirt over her head and skimmed her panties down her legs, tossing them aside. Lying back, she tucked the phone next to her ear. She could hear perfectly and keep both hands free. “What now?”

  “Touch your
breasts. Feel the weight in your palms. Circle your nipples with your thumbs.”

  She followed his instructions, touching herself. She’d found fulfillment while touching herself before, but it had felt nothing like this. Knowing Jonah was listening and imagining her naked pushed her arousal higher.

  “What color are your nipples?”

  Amanda licked her dry lips and looked down at herself. It was strange to watch her fingers as they teased the tips of her breasts. “Dark pink.”

  “Ahh,” he sighed. “I thought so. They’d be ripe as a red berry if I had time to suck them.”

  Her nipples tightened in response. She wanted him to touch her breasts. To rub his fingertips over her nipples before he suckled her with his wet, warm mouth.

  His voice was strained, but at least he could still talk. She was having a hard time even breathing.

  “Put your feet flat on the bed and spread your legs wide.” Jonah waited a second.

  “Are you open for me?”

  Doing as he asked, she pushed her legs as wide as they could go. “Yes.”

  “Good,” he purred. “Some day you’ll do that for me in person. I’ll look at you first, and enjoy seeing your slick, pink folds. Then I’ll crawl between those thighs and eat you until you scream.”

  “Jonah,” she cried. Her inner muscles clenched painfully as her hips arched off the bed. She continued to pluck at her nipples with her fingers. It wasn’t enough.

  “Touch yourself between your thighs. Put one finger inside yourself as far as it will go.”

  Panting, she let her hands slip between her legs. “Are you touching yourself?”

  “Oh, yeah. My balls are so tight to my body they feel like they might burst.”

  Satisfaction flowed through her at the thought. She wanted him to come. Wanted to hear him cry out his release. She slipped one finger past the opening of her core. Her vaginal muscles clamped down hard. It wasn’t enough, so she added another one.

  “Talk to me, sugar. Do you have one finger inside you?”

  “Two,” she panted.

  He groaned. “Make it three and stroke your clit. I can’t hold on much longer and I want to hear you scream.”

  Every nerve ending in her body was alive and screaming for release. Her breasts felt heavy, the nubs puckered tight. She spread the lips of her sex wide, feathering her thumb over her swollen clit as she worked a third finger into her core. Cream slid from her as a light sheen of perspiration covered her skin.

  “Harder.” She could hear the strain in Jonah’s voice. Knew he was close.

  She worked her fingers in and out of her body. Through the phone, she could hear his deep breathing, hear him straining toward his own release. Amanda pushed harder, teasing her clit as she pressed her fingers deep. Her back arched. She dug her feet into the mattress and lifted her pelvis off the bed.

  Heat slammed into her and she cried out. Her inner muscles convulsed, tightening around her fingers. She cried out again as she dropped back to the bed. Her body shook as the heat spread from her core to her entire body. She heard Jonah’s yell. It echoed in her ear and then there was silence.

  Amanda wasn’t sure how long she lay there with her legs sprawled wide, but she stirred when a cold shiver raced over her. Reaching out, she snagged the covers and pulled them over her. She sighed and snuggled beneath the warmth. It was only then she realized that the phone had slipped lower and that someone was calling her name.

  “Yes, I’m still here.” How could she have forgotten Jonah?

  “How are you feeling?”

  How did she feel? Replete, yet somewhat dissatisfied. “I feel good.”

  “It will feel even better when I’m there with you. When I can run my fingers over every inch of your skin, when I can lick and taste every sweet spot of your body.”

  Although she’d just had an amazing orgasm, her body stirred to life at his words.

  Then she stilled. There was no longer any question of if they’d sleep together. The question had become when it would happen. After what they’d just done, she couldn’t deny the fact that she wanted him more than any man she’d ever met. Why shouldn’t she have an affair with Jonah? As he said, they were both single and healthy. Why not?

  Because your heart could get broken.

  She ignored the voice of common sense and listened to the one she’d heard earlier. If she wanted an affair, she’d have one. She’d just be careful to keep her heart out of it. This was about sex, nothing more.

  A noise drifted up from downstairs. Amanda stilled. Jonah started to say something, but she shushed him.

  “What is it?” His voice changed in an instant. Gone was the sated lover and in his place was the hard man she’d first met.

  “I think I hear something downstairs. It’s probably just the old water pipes or the house settling. I’m going to check.”

  “Lock yourself in the bathroom and call the cops.”

  “I will not.” She tucked the phone beneath her ear and pushed the covers back.

  Sitting up, she looked around and found her panties. Grabbing them, she tugged them on.

  “Wouldn’t that look great? Woman alone panics and calls police for nothing. I’m not some helpless female, Jonah. It’s nothing.”

  She picked up her T-shirt and shook it out. “Hang on.” Ignoring Jonah’s tirade on the other end, she put down the phone and pulled her shirt on. Deciding she needed socks too, she went to the chest of drawers and pulled out a thick pair of athletic socks and pulled them on.

  “Do you hear anything else?” he was asking when she finally picked up the phone again.

  “No. Like I said, it’s probably just the house. It’s an old structure and I’m not familiar with all the noises yet.”

  “I still think you should call the cops.”

  She heard him rustling around. “What are you doing?”

  “If you won’t call the cops, I’m coming over to check things out. I’m heading out the front door now.”

  “That’s not really necessary.” She walked to the doorway and headed down the hall to the stairs. She wasn’t sure she wanted Jonah here, not after what they’d just done.

  Phone sex was one thing, but she wasn’t certain she was ready for the real thing yet.

  “Doesn’t matter.” She could hear more sounds through the phone and knew Jonah was getting dressed.

  “Why don’t you hang up and I’ll see you when you get here?” She had no idea why she was suddenly whispering. The stairs were dark as was the landing below. An icy finger of dread crept up her spine. Great, now she was letting his fears affect her.

  “Stay on the line. Don’t you dare hang up.” The fierceness of his reply startled her.

  “I’m leaving now.”

  “Okay.” In truth, she was glad that he was still on the line. She was starting to get spooked. Taking a deep breath, she reached out and flicked the light switch at the top of the stairs. Nothing. “Damn.”

  “What?” His voice was sharp.

  “The stupid light on the stairs doesn’t work.” She grabbed the railing and started down. “I’ll be glad when you get the wiring of this place fixed and everything working properly.”

  “First thing tomorrow morning, sugar,” he promised.

  That was all fine and dandy, but it didn’t help her tonight. When she reached the bottom of the steps, she paused and listened. Something in the air felt different. She sniffed and caught the scent of something that didn’t belong. Tentatively, she moved forward two steps and then stopped.

  Her heart was pounding so loud she could barely hear anything above the noise. She took a deep breath and held it. Her heartbeat slowed enough for her to hear Jonah yelling at her to talk to him.

  Instead, she tried to listen to her senses. Her nose picked up the unusual smell again and she paused. It was the smell of perspiration and men’s cologne.

  Someone was in the house with her.

  She slowly began to back away from the opening to th
e front room. The low sound of a shoe sliding on the flooring told her it was too late for stealth.

  Whirling, she leapt toward the stairs. She could lock herself in the bathroom and climb out the window if necessary.

  She felt a whoosh in the air behind her. An arm wrapped around her neck, cutting off her air. Panicked, she grabbed the arm, dropping the phone in the process. Her captor swore.

  Amanda began to struggle, kicking with her heels. She knew she couldn’t do much damage in her stockinged feet, but she tried. Her heels connected with his shins, but that didn’t shake him. Her assailant tightened his hold, lifting her off her feet in the process.

  Breathing became impossible. The edge of her vision began to turn black. She dug her fingers into his arm, tugging with everything she had in her.

  His arm loosened slightly and she sucked in a deep breath as he hissed, “Where is it?

  Where’s the book?”

  She had no idea what he was talking about. She shook her head and he tightened his arm again, cutting off her air. She wanted to fight, but found it impossible to lift her limbs. Her vision was dimming. He was strangling her to death. Reaching behind, she tried to jab at his face. Her fingers touched cloth instead of skin.

  Sirens sounded in the distance. The man swore again and shook her. “This isn’t over.” He released her and she fell to the floor, gasping for air. She heard the patter of his footsteps and the crack of the backdoor as it was thrown open. He was gone. Breathing seemed impossible. She clutched her throat.

  The sound of a loud banging jolted her. Then Jonah’s voice reached her. “Amanda,”

  he yelled. She wanted to answer, but couldn’t find the breath to do so.

  Rolling on to her hands and knees, she tried to crawl to the front door. She heard the sound of glass smashing, and then Jonah was beside her, a gun held steady in his right hand as he peered down the hallway. “Amanda.” She could see the concern in his eyes as he gently eased her back down to the floor. “Relax. Just take it easy. You’re fine, you’re safe.”

  The sirens got louder. “Give me a second.” He moved away from her and she wanted to scream at him to stay. She must have made some small noise because he responded. “I just need to open the door for the police.” She watched as he turned on the porch light, unlocked the door and opened it wide before quickly returning to her side. He kept his weapon out until a car pulled up outside. She could see the lights flashing through the open door. Jonah lowered his weapon, tucking it at the small of his back and pulling his shirt and jacket over it.