by Tara Thomas
“I thought about you, too,” she admitted. If the man who attacked Charlie was whom they were looking for, she hoped that meant it couldn’t be Brent.
“I’ll be home early in morning. Want to meet for lunch?”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes, if you’re able to. I thought I’d take you on a picnic.”
“A picnic?”
“Are you going to keep answering me with questions?” he asked, a smile in his voice.
“And what if I do?” she asked, matching her tone to his.
He laughed heartily then and she couldn’t help but join in. She couldn’t remember the last time she had such a good time talking about absolutely nothing in particular with a man.
They finally agreed that he would pick her up at noon and said their good-byes. Not long after, she crawled in bed, looking forward to what the next day would bring.
CHAPTER FIVE
After a delicious picnic the next day, Brent suggested they go back to his place to talk. He said he lived nearby in the historic district and she could follow him in her car.
“I’ve always wanted to tour one of these.” Janie looked up at the historic building he called home. It was white, with a huge wraparound porch and massive windows. It blew her mind he lived there. “I have to be honest, though. If I did own one of them, there’s no way I’d sell it and move to DC.”
“Who said I was going to sell it?” he asked, his hand brushing against her lower back as they walked up the steps of his porch.
She rolled her eyes at him. “Right, I keep forgetting you’re wealthier than some countries.”
“Only a few of the small ones, though,” he said, flashing her a grin.
She wasn’t able to say anything smart back to him, because at that moment, the door opened and she felt like she’d been transported back in time. Thick, rich rugs covered the hardwood floors and the majority of the furniture were antiques. Her eyes jumped from piece to piece, trying to take everything in.
“I would never leave my house if I lived here.” She turned to look at him. “Brent, this is gorgeous.”
“Thanks, I wish I could take credit for it, but I hired someone to do it for me.”
“It’s an interior decorator’s dream home.”
He smiled and rocked back on his heels. “My sister said almost the same thing.”
Heaven help her, what his smile did to her. It made her belly fluttery and turned her knees to jelly. It really wasn’t fair if you thought about it. She just had to make sure her head was on straight because she feared she was losing her objectivity when it came to Brent.
Take for example, she really didn’t need to be in his house. Not like this. Not when he was so disarming. It left her vulnerable and that could be a dangerous thing.
He gave her a quick tour and she oohed and aahed over most of the house. Historical homes were one of her weaknesses and she yearned to study every antique piece he had. He actually laughed at one point when she was examining a sideboard and teased that if only he had dovetails maybe he’d get some attention.
She gave him a playful punch on the arm. “You probably don’t even know what half of your furniture is.”
His eyes danced with mischief. “You know, you’re right, but it brings me pleasure to see you so taken with them.”
They strolled into a sitting room and he waved toward the couch. “Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Do you have iced tea?”
“Coming right up.”
While he was gone, she picked up a picture from the arm table. It was Brent, standing with a woman that had to be Bea. They looked so similar, although while Brent had the olive skin of his Greek ancestors, Bea was much paler.
In the picture, Brent had his arm around her and she beamed at the camera, holding up a diploma. She tried to read which university the degree came from, but the writing was too blurry.
“That’s Bea and me the day she graduated from Duke with her law degree.” He handed her a glass of iced tea, pride for his sister obvious in his tone, and sat down beside her. He didn’t sit down at the other end of the couch. Oh, no. He sat down in the middle so his upper thigh was pressed against hers. She felt the heat from his body and his spicy masculine scent filled her senses. “I’ll have you both over so you can meet.”
It was obvious the two half siblings were close, even if he hadn’t told his sister about the DC position first. She could tell by the way he spoke of her and the affection in his eyes when he did so. “I’d like that.”
“I know she’d love to meet you. Probably so she can tell you horribly embarrassing stories about me.”
“It’s what all the best sisters do.” She laughed. “Or so I’ve heard. I can see the family resemblance.” She took a sip of tea, trying to get her mind off Brent, his scent, and his body. Her grandmother always told her you could tell a lot about a person by how they made iced tea. Brent’s was superb. “Also,” she said with a wry smile, “it’s obvious you’re a family of underachievers.” She held up her glass. “This is good.”
“Thank you.” He draped his arm across the back of the couch. Her body naturally moved closer to his and he cupped her shoulder as she drew near. She thought they would talk, and she wanted to question him more about the night he was gone, but suddenly every word she ever knew flew straight out of her head. Which made lifting her face the natural thing to do when he softly spoke her name.
He ran his thumb along her cheekbone and her skin felt electric where he touched it. Her eyes fluttered closed as his thumb continued along her face and brushed across her lips. Unable to stop herself, she parted her lips slightly and bit the tip of his thumb. She smiled at his sucked-in breath.
“Tease,” he whispered.
“Not yet,” she replied.
He hadn’t moved his thumb away from her lips yet, so she drew it into her mouth, sucked it. And smiled at his softly whispered curse.
But if she thought she had won, she was sorely mistaken. He removed his thumb from her mouth, shifted on the couch so that he pressed her into it, and framed her head with both his hands.
“You want to play that way?” he whispered.
He was hard and warm against her, and it had been far too long since she had a man touch her that way. She couldn’t help but lift her hips and grind them against his.
“Oh no,” he teased. “It’s not going to be that easy for you.”
She groaned.
“Good things come to girls who wait.” He then proceeded to methodically unbutton her shirt. He took his time and went so slowly, she swore to herself that the next time they went out, she would wear a pullover.
She was desperate to feel his hands on her, and she imagined he felt the same. She began working on his shirt in the same manner he was working on hers. Little by little, she exposed his skin, and when she had it halfway undone, she took both hands and placed her palms on his chest.
“You feel so good,” she said.
“I know it’s a cliché,” he said, “but you haven’t seen anything yet.”
She untucked his shirt from his pants. “Promise?”
But instead of answering her, he dropped his head and nibbled the sensitive skin at the curve of her neck. His ministrations sent waves of electricity through her body, which only served to remind her how empty she was. And how desperate she wanted to be filled.
She ran her hand down his chest and lightly cupped his erection. “When do I get to see this?” she asked, playfully.
“You can see it whenever you want, but if you want me to last longer than ten seconds, it would probably be a good idea for you not to do anything other than look. At least until I get something resembling control back.”
Had they been together longer, she might have teased him by continuing to palm his erection. But on the off chance he was being honest about the ten-second thing, she moved her hand.
He flashed her a deliciously evil grin and took both her hands and pulled th
em above her head. “Now, let’s see if you can keep them here.”
“Why would I want to do that?” She couldn’t touch him if she did that.
“You’ll have your turn. Right now I want to explore every inch of you.”
He shifted them on couch a bit more, so he had better access to her body. He gave her a brief kiss on the lips, and then started kissing his way across her shoulders and down to her breasts. The man had a deliciously wicked tongue, and his lips weren’t that bad, either.
As his mouth closed around her left nipple, there was a knocking on the windows. She stiffened immediately, but Brent didn’t seem fazed at all. Probably it was nothing. She closed her eyes, determined not to be bothered by it.
Brent moved on to her right nipple and when the knocking came again, she couldn’t ignore it.
She sat up. “What is that?”
“Probably some neighbor kids. Don’t worry, they can’t see in.”
She still felt like she should probably pull her shirt together, but she didn’t want to move. Not when Brent was looking at her with that look of his like he wanted to eat her alive.
He moved away from her and she moaned with the loss of his body against her, even as her mind was saying it was a good thing they were interrupted and she should take it as a sign and leave before she went any farther with a potential suspect. But, no, he wasn’t going anywhere. He simply held out his hand to her and when she took hold of it, he pulled her up and brought her close to his chest.
“Let’s go upstairs,” he whispered in her ear, and ended the sentence by nibbling on her earlobe.
His fingers brushed up and down her arm, barely touching her, but electrifying her body and sweeping away any lingering resistance.
“Lead the way,” she murmured.
“I can do better than that,” he said, and lifted her in his arms.
She’d never been carried to bed before and if she’d thought about it beforehand, she probably would have been self-conscious. She tried to protest, but he silenced her with another kiss.
He put her down once he crossed the threshold of the bedroom. She took a few seconds to simply admire the way he moved. He walked over to the bedside table, opened a drawer, and took out a condom.
As he walked back to her, she slipped both shirt and bra off her shoulders, and let them fall to the floor. She was thankful that she had the foresight to put her service revolver in her purse, and not carry it on her body.
He wrapped his arms around her and she could have sighed with how perfect they felt wrapped around her. “Now, where were we?”
Obviously, it was a rhetorical question. He cut off any chance of her talking by covering her lips with his. His lips were strong and demanding, showing her exactly how it would be with him. She had no doubt he was just as strong and demanding in bed as he was out. She’d spent so much of her life doing what was right and what was expected, she wanted to lose herself in him. Even if it was just once.
He walked backward to the bed, stopping only when the back of his legs hit the footboard. “Ah yes, I think we were about here.”
He put his hands around her waist and lifted her onto the bed, pushing her down so her legs were hanging off the edge. She watched appreciatively as he situated himself between them.
“Yes,” she said. “This is much better than the couch.”
He laughed. “I thought you might think so.”
“There’s only one thing that could make it better.” She ran her hands down his back, making sure her nails scratched the fabric of his shirt that he was still wearing. His moan of pleasure made her do it again.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“Me waiting for you take this shirt off.”
He had it off and on the floor within seconds.
She could only stare. Dear heaven above. Every inch of him was perfect. She scooted up the bed and pulled her legs up so she was sitting.
“Now the pants,” she said.
He pointed toward her. “Panties first.”
“I asked first,” she said.
He crossed his arms over his chest, a teasing look in his eyes. He knew he had her right where he wanted her.
“Fine.” She shimmied her panties down and took them off. “You win.”
His eyes were dark with lust and need. “Oh, but you have that wrong, my Janie. I can assure you, you’re the one who’s going to win this round.”
She didn’t have a chance to question him because the next thing she knew, he’d grabbed her ankles and pulled her right back to the edge of the bed. She barely had time to take a breath and let out a whimper before he’d buried himself between her legs.
Her eyes nearly rolled to the back of her head because she had vastly underestimated his mouth and tongue skills earlier. Within seconds, he had her dancing on the edge of release. She stretched her arms, desperate for something to grab onto and almost as desperate to figure out how the hell he managed to get her there so quickly.
She was neither a virgin nor a prude, but orgasms had never been easy for her to obtain. In fact, most of the time, she faked. It’d always worked in the past. Her lover would be satisfied, he would think she was satisfied, and when he left or went to sleep, she would then get herself off.
Never in her entire life had one crept up on top of her so suddenly. Her hands found purchase in his hair and as he licked, nibbled, and sucked her, she fisted his blond locks.
He moved just enough to bring a finger up to rub her clit while he continued to nibble and lick her sensitive flesh, and that was all it took. Her release crashed over her so hard, her breath left her for several seconds.
“Oh my god,” she said, when she could speak again. “That was.… oh my god.”
He looked altogether pleased with himself, and rightfully so. Anyone who could do what he just did deserved to be a bit prideful. She was coherent enough to notice he still had his pants on.
“Why don’t I take those off you?” She crooked a finger at him. “Come here.”
He got up on the bed and came across on his knees to where she waited. She unbuttoned his top button and slowly dragged the zipper down, making sure she palmed him as she did so. Her efforts were rewarded with a low hiss.
“Careful,” he said.
“Why? Is it going to bite me?” She’d finished unzipping and was tugging his jeans down.
He chuckled. “No, but I might.”
“Is that a promise?”
But he couldn’t answer because she had lowered his boxers, allowing his cock to spring free. She debated putting her mouth on him. He must have sensed what she was thinking, because he fisted his hand in her hair.
“No. I want to come with you this time.” He handed her the wrapped condom. “You can put this on me.”
She ripped the packet open. “Next time, I’m taking you in my mouth and I’m not letting you go until I swallow you down completely.”
She made sure to tease him with her touch a little bit as she rolled the condom on him. He filled her hands and she couldn’t stop touching him. “Oh yes, I can’t wait to get my mouth on you.”
He seemed to grow larger and longer at her words. She sat back once the condom was in place.
“I had no idea you were such a dirty talker.” He fisted his erection. “That’s so fucking hot. Get on your hands and knees.”
She never thought of herself as a woman who enjoyed taking direction in bed, but his demands turned her on. She moved fast enough so he could see that she was following his request, but slow enough so that he would know she only did it because she wanted to.
She wiggled her butt when she got to position. “Like this?”
“Oh, yes.” He ran a hand across her backside. “This way, I can stare at your ass while I fuck you.” His fingers trailed down to between her legs. “Or maybe I’ll just tease you. Judging by the evidence, you enjoy it.”
She couldn’t very well argue with him, not with his fingers as wet as they were from her arousal. “
Yes, but I’d enjoy having you inside me so much more.”
“An impatient dirty talker,” he said. “Even better. Maybe I’ll just stay here and tease you all night.”
It certainly appeared as though he was going to do just that. He took his cock and swept it across her slit, teasing, never pushing inside and within minutes, she was rocking against him, desperately trying to get him inside.
“Brent…” She couldn’t keep the whine out of her voice. “Please…”
“Please, what?”
“I need you inside me.”
He slowly entered her. She leaned forward and pressed her elbows into the mattress, bracing herself as he continued pushing into her.
“Yesss, so good.” He gave a sharp thrust, setting himself inside her fully and holding still. “I could stay inside you forever. Just like this. Enjoy the feel of you so hot around my cock.”
He started a lazy thrust. Retreating out an inch or two, and sliding back inside her. Yet never hard enough and not quite deep enough.
Almost.
Almost.
Almost.
He held still inside her again and, with one hand, reached between their bodies to find her clit. She bucked against him at the sensation.
“Not quite yet, my greedy girl.” He removed his hand. “I’m not finished fucking you yet.”
She moaned in reply to his statement, certain she’d be nothing but a puddle of girl goo by the time he finished.
“Do it then,” she urged. “Hard.”
He muttered a curse under his breath, but complied, moving faster and stroking into her harder. Unbelievably, she felt her release build once more inside her. She’d been almost certain after her previous orgasm that if she had another one—a big if—it would pale in comparison to the first one. But under Brent’s knowledgable body, that didn’t seem to be the case. It was as if each stroke into her body increased the intensity of her approaching climax.
She fisted the sheets at her hands and pushed back, urging him deeper, while at the same time not knowing how she could withstand the pleasure if he did. Behind her, his breathing grew choppy and she knew he was close.
