by Bella Rose
The dance changed, the song sliding into a slower rhythm. The words became that of a Russian love song, a plaintive plea for completion that had Josef twirling Dani around until her back was pressed to his front. With her bottom snug against his pelvis, every movement she made was erotic torture.
Dani laid her head back against his shoulder. He rested his cheek just beside hers. He could feel her exhale, the hot air moving past him and putting decadent thoughts into his head. Then she turned her head until her lips brushed his neck. The touch was electric. He felt as though he had been shocked, his whole world rocked to the very core of his marrow.
The scent of her perspiration was enticing. He could imagine that smell in another situation, with her legs spread and her body beneath his. The thought was a jolt to his system. He drew back, pulling away from Dani and twirling her away from his body to put some distance between them.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, a frown creasing the delicate skin between her brows.
“Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” she argued. “You just pushed me away as though I burned you.”
“Let’s get a drink, shall we?” He tugged her off the dance floor, hoping she would let the subject drop.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” she demanded as soon as he chose a table near the stage.
He pulled her chair out, seating her before taking his own place. Josef sought an answer that wouldn’t make him look like an ass. There wasn’t one. “I was getting hot. I thought you might be as well.”
Her blue eyes danced with mirth. “Oh I think you were getting hot all right.”
“What are you talking about?” Then he realized he had handed her all the ammunition she might need to tease him mercilessly.
Which she did with aplomb. “I might not be as experienced as some of those women out there, but I know a hard-on when I feel one,” she informed him with obvious glee.
“So you might give a guy a break and appreciate the fact that I wanted to take a minute to get control of myself.” He signaled a waitress to bring them drinks.
“You’re assuming I didn’t want you to lose control.” The silky sound of her voice pushed every other rational thought out of his brain.
“What are you saying?” Josef frowned.
“Just that I can tell you’re interested.” She gestured to herself. “You’ve been staring at me since before I put on this fabulous little number.”
“You look nice,” he said uncomfortably. “That doesn’t mean I have any intention of giving in to my base urges.”
“Pfft!” She rolled her eyes. “Base urges? Really? Don’t you realize that I put the dress on because I wanted you to pay attention? I wanted you to want me. Is that so hard to believe?”
Thankfully the waitress chose that moment to bring their drinks to the table. Or rather, she brought a bottle of vodka and two shot glasses. Considering Dani had just turned twenty-one in the last year, Josef should have been a little more thoughtful with his drink choice. But before he could ask her if she’d like to order something else, Dani poured herself a shot and threw it back like an old pro.
“What else did you learn at that fancy college your papa sent you to?”
Her expression was positively devilish. “Oh, this and that, you know? I actually started bartending at a local dive when I had my birthday. The tips are amazing.”
Josef found he was very opposed to the idea of Dani standing behind a bar being hit on all night long by half-drunk college boys. He poured his own shot of vodka and threw it back to ease the irritation winding its way through his body.
“I didn’t date much, though,” she informed him. “Boys, men, they’re mostly the same.”
“Meaning?”
“They all want a free pass to get in your pants.” She poured another shot, setting this one in front of him. “Have another, Josef. And then a few more so I can drive you home.”
“Ah, so you’re trying to get me drunk in order to steal a chance behind the wheel of my car?” He was trying so hard not to be bewitched by this woman. Too bad he was failing miserably.
“Can you think of a better reason?” She moaned, the sound raising the hair on the back of his neck. Then she licked her lips. “That car is worth any amount of manipulation I can think up.”
“As opposed to just asking me if you can drive?” he wondered out loud.
She drew back, obviously shocked. “Wait. You would let me drive?”
Josef stood up. Digging in his pocket, he withdrew a few bills and tossed them onto the table. “Let’s find out, shall we?”
* * *
Dani didn’t know whether she was going to die of sexual anticipation or straight-up excitement. Josef was actually going to let her drive his car? Was he insane? And why did she care if he had lost his mind or not? She was going to get to drive his Maserati, right?
There was something incredibly liberating about leaving the bar, or club, or whatever this place was called, on Josef’s arm. People were watching her. The men looked on with lust. The women were envious. Dani had never been the center of attention like this before. It was a heady sensation.
“Your car, sir.” The young valet waved to the spot where they had parked the Maserati beneath an awning close to the entrance. “Have a wonderful evening, sir.”
“Thank you.” Josef handed the kid a fifty-dollar bill.
Tucking Dani’s hand into the crook of his elbow, Josef walked her to the driver’s side of the vehicle. The sleek electric-blue finish gleamed in the streetlights. Then he opened the door and ushered her behind the wheel. Dani sank into the black leather seat and groaned with delight.
“Well?” Josef cocked his head, looking almost amused by her reaction.
Dani didn’t care if someone would have said she had no pride. “It’s better than sex.”
His laugh could be heard even after he shut the door. She felt a blush heat her cheeks as she realized how transparent she had been. Better than sex? Perhaps in her experience that was true, but every bone in her body told her that would not be the case with a man like Josef.
He opened the passenger door and sat gracefully. “You know, I must tell you that if you say that about anything, it must be assumed that you’re just not doing it right.”
“Doing what right?” she asked, distractedly running her hands over the steering wheel.
“Sex.”
“What?” Dani glanced over in surprise.
He looked so sexy sitting there in the car with an elegant half smile on his face. His hair looked as if he’d just gotten out of bed. Would he look like that first thing in the morning? Would she ever have the chance to find out?
She was still caressing the leather-wrapped steering wheel. Her brain was bouncing from topic to topic without conscious thought. Then he drew a sharp breath and she looked over at him once again.
“You should stop touching my car like that,” he said. “You’re making me incredibly jealous.”
“Oh.” The word came out as a sigh. Her heart was beating so quickly that she thought she might stop breathing altogether.
“Push the button to start the engine,” he advised. “Before I do something I will regret right here in this parking lot.”
Feeling almost drunk on her feminine power, Dani pushed in the clutch and started the vehicle. The purr of the engine was exquisite. “You keep saying that,” she put the car in first gear and checked her mirrors before pulling away from the curb, “but you haven’t yet asked whether or not I want you hang on to your precious control.”
“Perhaps it isn’t your decision,” he suggested.
Dani gave the car a little gas and it leapt forward into traffic. She shifted to second, and then quickly to third gear. She could feel the rumble through the gearshift in her right hand. It was satisfying, but not nearly enough. She wanted more.
“Turn here, take the exit for the highway. We can let it run just a little,”
he coaxed.
“But only enough to give me a taste,” she whispered.
Doing as he asked, she headed for the Interstate. It was late and traffic was light. She steered expertly through the lanes, choosing an open stretch to really turn on the horsepower. It was intoxicating in its own way, but she still wanted more.
“You’re a good driver,” he observed casually.
“I imagine I would be good at a lot of things, given the chance.”
She could see him from the corner of her eye and wondered if he were truly thinking over what she said, or if he was so caught up in his sense of duty that he wouldn’t even give her a second thought.
“I understand,” she told him suddenly. “I’m Mikhail’s sister. You feel some bizarre sense of loyalty to your friend that prevents you from touching me—in that way.”
“Oh you understand?” There was a distinct tone of bitterness coating his words. “Yet you won’t stop suggesting or teasing, or whatever it is you’re doing.”
“I said I understood. I didn’t say I agreed.”
He pointed to the next exit. “Take this one. Now.”
She obeyed, doing as he asked because she had no choice. That didn’t mean she had to like it.
Chapter Five
Dani followed Josef’s terse directions through a maze of city streets and neighborhoods. It was dark, the way lit only by the streetlights that threw ribbons of yellow-tinted light across the roads and the other cars parked at the curb. Josef said nothing else, and Dani was getting angrier with him by the minute.
“Park here.” He gestured to a space that opened up to their right.
Dani swerved into the spot and slammed on the brakes. The car squealed to a complete stop, the engine still purring away. She turned to glare at him, but discovered that he was looking at her. His gaze was disconcerting.
“What is your deal?” she finally asked, folding her hands in her lap.
“My deal?”
“Yeah, your deal. You’re so hot and cold. I don’t get it. One second, it’s like you’re into me, and the next you don’t want to be anywhere near me. It’s confusing as hell!”
She opened her mouth to say something else, but the words never came out. Josef leaned across the car, wrapped his arms around her body, and covered her mouth with his. She couldn’t even think. The feel of his lips was intoxicating. She gave a tiny gasp of surprise, parting her lips, and he slipped his tongue inside her mouth. He tasted spicy and masculine. She never wanted it to stop.
Warmth built below Dani’s belly and she began to squirm in her seat. She was slippery between her legs. The heat of her core began to pulse with need and she moaned against Josef’s mouth.
He broke away suddenly, turning his head. She could see his shoulders heaving as he struggled for breath, and it made her angry. She refused to let him pull away like that. Practically climbing over the center console in her eagerness, Dani cupped his cheeks in her hands and wrenched his head around to face her.
“You’re not quitting on me,” she muttered.
It was her turn to take his mouth in a kiss. She licked his lips, teasing and sliding along the seam of them until he could not resist the urge to welcome her inside. She tasted him like a treat, using her teeth and tangling their tongues together until they were one.
His hands roved over her nearly bare back. The heat of his fingers was delicious. He traced her spine, his hands hovering at the base before going lower to touch her bottom. Her thighs burned and she wanted so badly to have sex with him, she could hardly hold herself back from climbing into his lap.
This time when Josef broke away, he didn’t reject her. He cupped her face and gently touched a stray lock of hair that had fallen across her forehead. “As much as I would like to make love to you right now, this car is not the best place for such a thing.”
“So let’s find a bed,” she suggested eagerly.
He glanced at the house they’d parked in front of. “Come inside with me?”
“Wait.” She looked around, taking note of the sketchy neighborhood. “This is your place?”
“Yes.”
Josef opened his door and got out. Dani followed suit. She gazed at the Maserati sitting beside the curb out in the open between two junk cars and wondered if he were crazy.
He seemed to guess her thoughts. “Nobody will bother it. I promise you.”
Without further explanation, he turned and walked up the front path to the porch. She realized that he had neatly put the ball in her court. She had to make a choice here, to follow him of her own free will, or to put the brakes on and stay by the car.
That was a no-brainer. Dani followed him eagerly. What did she have to lose? This was Josef. She knew she could trust him. She had known him her whole life.
Josef unlocked the front door and turned to wait for Dani. She gave him her best sexy bedroom smile and followed him inside the house.
“Okay, this is a surprise.” The words popped out before she could stop them.
He looked amused. “Is that so?”
“I’m sorry, but from the outside the place looks like a derelict building.”
“True, but when it looks like that, people rarely bother you,” he explained. He tossed his keys on the kitchen counter. “Now. You’re here. If you want to change your mind, now is the time.”
“Why are you so convinced I’m going to chicken out?” she wondered.
He reached out and pulled one shoulder strap of her dress down her arm. “Probably because that’s what you should do.”
The cool air in the room raised gooseflesh on her arms and her chest as the top of one breast was revealed. Then he did the same with the other strap, until her cleavage was on display. Her bra gave her breasts a lift, but it didn’t cover much.
“God, you’re lovely,” Josef said appreciatively. “I’ve always thought so, but looking at you now I’m just stunned.”
“You really know how to compliment a girl,” she teased. “I think I’m blushing.”
“Really?”
He lowered his head and used his tongue to trace a line across her chest. The thrill of contact made her weak in the knees. She grabbed his shoulders to steady herself.
“Josef,” she said breathlessly. “Please make love to me. Right now.”
He didn’t respond. Instead, he pushed her dress the rest of the way down her body. The way he drank her in with his eyes sent a shot of pure lust through her system. She wanted him badly. There she was in his living room, with nothing on but her pink satin bra and panties and her strappy gold heels. She felt naughty and she liked it.
“Can I touch you, Dani?” His voice was raspy. “Can I make you come for me right here?”
Her tongue was tied. She couldn’t answer. She could only nod her head emphatically and shift her stance to spread her legs just a little. Then he knelt before her and put his palms on her bare thighs. He very gently lifted one leg and hooked it over his shoulder. She put her hand on his opposite shoulder to steady herself. When he looked up at her, she saw the smoldering desire in his eyes.
“You smell incredible,” he told her. His fingers gently probed the satin fabric covering her pussy. “I’m going to touch you right here, and you’re going to come for me, Dani.”
* * *
Josef was going to die of lust. Pulling Dani’s panties back, he admired her mound. It was covered in a narrow strip of blond hair. He gently touched the soft flesh between her legs, watching as she shivered in response. She was drenched with cream. He slipped his finger inside her and felt her muscles clench tightly around him. She shuddered and moaned, her hips jerking reflexively as he began to stroke the smooth wall of her channel.
“Josef!” she gasped. “I think…I—oh my God!”
She came so quickly, so prettily, and he wondered at her responsiveness. Was she this way with all her lovers? He shoved the thought right out of his head. It didn’t matter. For the two of th
em, there was nothing else but this moment in time. He reveled in the feel of her inner muscles clenching around his finger. Slipping a second finger inside her, he scissored them to stretch her wide. She cried out. Her legs trembled and she dug her nails into his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” There was wonder in her voice. “It feels so good, Josef. Please don’t stop!”
Bolstered by her reaction, he did as she asked. He braced his knees more fully on the floor to steady himself. Changing the angle of entry, he fucked her with his fingers until he felt her poised on the edge of another orgasm. She was still so tight and he didn’t want to hurt her. Now was the perfect time.
“Bend over the back of the couch, sweet Dani,” he ordered.
Josef helped her lock her arms over the low back of his couch. He fumbled with the fastenings on his slacks with fingers that had gone suddenly numb. His cock was so hard it was nearly painful to the touch. Pulling her panties over her smooth backside, he pushed them to the floor. She tried to step free, the tiny scrap of fabric still hanging around one ankle. He moved in close behind her. The tip of his cock brushed her sweet ass and he nearly came.
“God you feel so damn good!” he grunted. He might have said more, but the garbled Russian words spilling from his mouth were nothing but nonsense.
Fitting the head of his cock to her opening, he surged forward and seated himself within her body in one long thrust. She screamed his name. The sound of it on her lips was priceless. Closing his eyes, Josef gave himself over to the rhythm of sex. He backed out, only to slide back in. Each stroke was heaven.
He bracketed her hips in his hands as the friction built between them. Her pussy grew tighter and hotter as she climbed closer to another climax. The quivering of her inner muscles pushed him dangerously close to the edge of control.
“Come for me again, Dani,” he ground out. “I need to feel you one more time.”
His words seemed to unlock something inside her. She gave a high-pitched wail and then he felt everything inside her body melt around him. She began thrusting her hips back against his body. Her gorgeous bottom slapped against his pelvis with each movement. The resulting jolt left him breathless. His release came fast and hard. He strained against her, holding her as close as he dared while he poured his seed into her body.
