“You tell me,” she retorted, feeling sulky.
“Darling.” Alec sighed and turned over, water sloshing in the tub, and pinned her against the sloping side. “I don’t expect a bloody thing. Understood? Deep throat if you enjoy it—or if you enjoy having me make you do it—but not because you feel the need to keep some kind of accounting between us.” He slid a hand under the water up between her thighs, stroking the inner curves so she parted them invitingly. But he didn’t go for the gold, just smoothed his fingers over her skin. “You’ll likely tease me about giving you more orders, but I have to know that you’ll tell me if you don’t enjoy something. If you don’t really want to do it.”
She tried wriggling closer to those tantalizing caresses, but he wouldn’t let her. “Some things I might not know if I like them if I don’t try.”
“Fair enough. But that’s why I employ the slowdown word, so we can discuss how something is working for you. Something you didn’t use once tonight.”
“It all worked for me.”
“Is that the only reason?” He scooted her a little higher in the water so her breasts emerged, and he placed a gentle kiss on the upper curve of one, inching his hand higher.
“Yes,” she sighed. Then protested when he moved his hand back down again.
He gave her a mocking smile. “Tell me the truth if you want your reward.”
“That’s unfair.”
“Is it?” He bent his head and took her nipple into his mouth, with unbearable softness, circled it with his tongue, and let go again and met her gaze with a stern look. “I use the methods at hand. Tell me what else.”
“I didn’t want to break the mood.”
He rewarded her by moving his hand higher, still not quite brushing her labia, but tantalizingly close, and gave her other nipple the same treatment. “We can always get the mood back. Having you be honest with me is more important. What else?”
“There is nothing else.” And, dammit, he took his hand away, moving to stroke the back of her knee—and nipped her nipple sharply, making her jump. “There isn’t,” she insisted.
“You’re not telling me something.” He lifted her higher. “Reach your arms over the side of the tub—there’s rings on the underside. Grab hold of them.”
She had to adjust, but she found them. “Handy.”
“I’ve thought so. If you don’t keep your grip on them, I’ll tie you and I’ll punish you a way you won’t enjoy so much.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
“Cheeky.” He moved between her spread thighs and pushed back her knees, opening her to the hot water, but not touching her pussy. Instead he began licking and nibbling on her over-sensitive nipples, making her eyes roll back in her head. Then he stopped.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Rewards and punishments, my sweet. You withhold, I withhold.” He brushed his thumbs along the crease of her groin, the hollows formed by having her thighs spread so wide, and the sensation was unbelievably erotic—and not nearly enough. His gaze remained intent on her face as he did it again, and she couldn’t help moaning a little. “What are you worrying about?”
“I’m not worrying! Ouch!”
He’d nipped the underside of her breast and it smarted.
He raised an eyebrow. “I’m not hearing a safeword.”
She braced when he bent over her breasts again, but this time he licked the spot he’d bitten, then drew her nipple into his mouth, sucking until she groaned and couldn’t hold still. Then stopped and gave her a pointed look.
“You’re the devil.”
“Thank you, darling. Something else to tell me?” He inched his thumbs closer to her aching vulva. She felt as desperate as she had before the first orgasm—and quite certain he’d keep this up until she caved.
“I just—” No, she couldn’t say that. “It sounds stupid.”
“Tell me anyway.”
She took a deep breath. So much for sophistication. “I didn’t—don’t—want you to be disappointed in me is all.”
“Ah.” He slid a long finger inside her, stroking in and out. Better. Not enough, but getting there. She let out a long breath of relief. “I couldn’t be disappointed in you. Unless.” He stilled the movement, frowning at her when she made a sound of protest. “Unless you aren’t perfectly honest about what you want, what you feel.”
“I feel very turned on and I really want you to touch me.”
“Now there’s a start.” He resumed the movement, adding a brush of his thumb over the hood of her clit. Electrifying. “Tell me something else.”
“That’s really all—”
“Shh. Not that. Tell me one of the things you’ve imagined.”
“There’s lots of things.” Dark fantasies. Not for the light of day. Or the bright light of his bathing chamber.
“Pick one.”
She tried to squirm away and he pushed a second finger inside her, sapping her will. “Oh please,” she panted, holding onto the tub grips so hard her fingers were going numb.
“Just a little one. Tell me a story.”
“I used to fantasize about giving you a BJ at work.”
“How would it happen?” He coaxed her with his voice as much as his hands, making her tremble.
“I’d bring something into your office and you’d give me that frown and say I needed correction. You’d tell me to kneel and open my blouse. I wouldn’t be wearing a bra and you’d say I was naughty.”
“Very naughty.”
Oh yes. Hearing him say it made the vision that much more real. “And you’d examine my breasts, pinch my nipples.”
“Like this?” He rolled one hard nipple between his thumb and forefinger, maintaining that provocative glide and tantalizing strokes of his other hand.
“Sometimes harder.”
He obliged and she moaned.
“Like that. And I’d beg you to stop, that someone might see.”
“Because there are windows to the hallway.”
“Yes. You tell me you’ll only stop if I suck you off and I’d better be quick about it, or—”
“Or what?”
“Or you’d tie me to your desk with my skirt pushed up. You’d spank me and leave me there for everyone to see. And oh God!” The orgasm roared through her, making her arch her back and press into his hand. He responded in kind, working his hand in and out of her, squeezing one nipple and sucking hard on the other.
The climax wrung her dry, leaving as fast as it blew through. Alec told her to let go of the rings and eased her down into the water, running the tap to add more hot, rubbing her shoulders.
“A lovely fantasy,” he finally said, kissing her softly. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For sharing.”
“I thought you might mind, because of the work stuff.”
“Far from it. I had one or two of my own. Inappropriate, but there it is. Part of the charge for us, no doubt. The taboo.”
“Do you think that’s all this is?”
“Wanting what we can’t or shouldn’t have? That’s part of it. Not all, I think. Isn’t that what we’re finding out? Besides, if we find out that is all this is, what’s wrong with that?”
“I seem to recall you making references to some sort of Faustian hell.”
“Ah yes. That’s another thing entirely and mine to deal with. But the fantasies, the darker desires, no. I truly believe there’s nothing wrong with exploring them with someone else who also enjoys them.”
“Are you saying nothing would shock you?”
“I don’t think it’s possible, no. Not that there aren’t things I’m not into.” He fell silent and some broody thought seemed to take him. He shook it off, cupping her breast and pressing a kiss to her ch
eek. “You can tell me anything. If I’m not into it, I’ll be honest and if it’s something you very much want to try, we’ll either work it out or find another way to get you there. Fair enough?”
“Fair enough.” Though she wondered what he meant by finding another way. “Tell me one of your fantasies then.”
“Mine?” He sounded taken aback. Oddly so, considering the conversation. As if it had never occurred to him that she’d ask.
“I showed you mine. Show me yours.”
“I’ll do one better. Friday next, if you wish, wear that little suit and jacket. You know the one? Black—and the pink blouse with it.”
“Yes. The one I was wearing the day I first noticed you had a thing for me.”
“Yes. Regrettable.” He sighed, then kissed her. “I’m a weak man.”
“Oh brother. What else? Wear that to work and what? You said no hanky-panky at the office.”
“And I plan to stick to it. The day you wear that, I’ll expect you here that evening. And I’ll show you one of mine, in spades.”
Chapter Eighteen
Fortunately the hot bath and that last, very hot orgasm ran Amber down enough that she snuggled into bed with him without testing him further. She’d hate the analogy, but she reminded him of having a new puppy—full of energy and revved to try any—and everything, all at once. He wouldn’t have thought he had four orgasms in him. It still rattled him that Amber had managed to extract that last one. And that he hadn’t dredged up the strength to stop her. Another, however, might have given him a permanent disability.
He didn’t know how all those men twice his age dealt with their beautiful young mistresses. Certainly not a venture for the faint of heart. Perhaps they counted on their trophy companions to be satisfied with the money and lifestyle. And pool boys and tennis coaches, if the jokes were to be believed. Sod him if he’d become that kind of fool.
Besides, all of that was thinking much too far down the road. This first encounter for them had been a tremendous release of pent-up energy. Preceding even the catalyst of meeting each other. Amber with her stockpile of fantasies, practicing deep throating on those bone-headed boys who had apparently no clue what a sexual siren they’d been too afraid of to properly savor. And him, with his lonely penance, depriving himself of all but the most basic and boring of sexual interludes.
It had been an extraordinary evening. In the glimmer of lights from the city around them, he could just make out their reflection in the mirror above. Amber’s white skin nearly glowing as she lay sleeping on his bare chest, dark in contrast, and her tumble of hair spread in a banner over the pillow she wasn’t using. The sheet draped over her sweetly flared hips, her back long and narrow. Sensual and comfortable in her skin, exuberantly sexual, she made him feel at once paradoxically younger and old by comparison.
Even in this moment, when she’d fallen asleep with childlike speed and he lay awake, despite his body’s depletion and the late hour, mind buzzing. Brooding again, Tessa would have said, with that impatience of long association. Her remanent in his head had a point. Here he had what many men would envy—a beautiful young woman, eager to let him have her any way he wished. And he couldn’t quite let himself enjoy it. The inevitable end of the affair worried at him. Knowing he’d suffer for it. Knowing he deserved to.
Why this is hell, nor am I out of it.
He woke when she stirred, slipping out from under the sheets, morning light pouring in the windows and heating the room. With a stab of pain, his first waking thought was that she was leaving him already. “Where are you going?”
She squeaked—very close to one of the sounds she made during sex—and spun around, her hair a tangled cloud around her naked body, eyes blurry and face still flushed from sleep. He wanted to drag her into bed and ravish her.
She bounced a little on her toes, pressing her thighs together. “I seriously have to pee.”
“Carry on then.” He flopped back, his reflection staring at him accusingly. What a bloody mess he was. Should he wait to see if she came back to bed or get up and start the tea? Coffee for her, no doubt. Though he wouldn’t be able to make the mochas she favored. Unable to decide and impatient with himself for dithering about it, he was still lying there when she—thank all the gods—danced back into the room with a happy smile and dove under the covers to sleek up against him.
“So much better.” She leaned up on her elbow to scrutinize his face. “Sorry I woke you.”
“You didn’t,” he lied, faintly embarrassed that she had.
She scraped one of her candy-pink nails over his chin stubble. “You’re all scruffy this morning.”
“Comes with the territory. I’ll go shave.”
“Don’t. I like it.” An impish glow in her much more alert eyes, she kissed him, soft and delectable, tasting of mint.
“You brushed your teeth.”
“I found a toothbrush still in the wrapper. I didn’t want to be all morning-breathy.”
“It’s unfair to leave me alone in my morning breath.”
She kissed him again and made a sound as if she’d tasted something delicious. “Men don’t get morning breath. Just like you wake up with perfect hair and never have pillow creases on your faces. I think it goes back to Adam and Eve.”
“If you truly believe that, I have some hedge funds to tell you about.”
“Mmm. If you’re selling, I’m buying.” She walked her fingers down his chest and slipped them under the sheet, grasping his morning erection. “Is this for me?”
Charmed by her, he tugged at one of her tangled curls and brought her down for another kiss, cranking up the heat of it as she stroked him smoothly. “Apparently so.”
“Goody.” She started to slide down, but he stopped her and flipped her onto her back.
“Not so fast.” He yanked the sheet down to reveal her lovely body. “My turn for that.”
“I thought we weren’t keeping score.” She gasped when he pulled her thighs apart, revealing her shining pink sex, already slick and eager for him.
“We’re not. I intend to demonstrate that I’m not one of those boys who wouldn’t go down on you.”
She tasted as sweet as the rest of her, with the tang of salt and heat. Her breath sighed out as he licked her, shivering under the caress of his mouth.
“Believe me, Alec. You have nothing to prove...” She trailed off into a moan and ran her fingers through his hair, breath hitching when he sucked her clit into his mouth and flicked it with his tongue. She came right then, a long slow wave. So very responsive. She plucked at his shoulders, urging him up, but he wasn’t done.
Holding her firmly in place, he drove her up again, a steeper slope of arousal this time, as her body awakened and geared up for more extreme heights. She climaxed with a startled cry and segued into another peak, body trembling as he stoked the fires hotter. This time when she pulled at him, he obliged, pausing only to put on a condom, and slid into her startlingly hot sheath.
She undulated under him, rolling her hips to welcome him in and accommodate his girth. Her face blurred with pleasure, eyes smoky blue with it, she wrapped long, pale arms around him and pulled him in for a kiss. She’d taste herself on his mouth but didn’t hesitate, opening there for him as sweetly as she opened her thighs.
He rocked with her, their movements dreamier in the morning light, the shimmering need building more slowly, more of a ripening than the explosions of the night before. When her hips moved more urgently, he levered himself up, breaking her grip to penetrate deeper into her. She dug her nails into his chest, head thrown back and eyes closed as her mind fogged, soft mouth moving with her moans, hair a spill of gold and honey. And cried out as she came.
Capturing the moment with his mind, he tucked the image away, to take out and cherish later. Then let her body drag him over the edge in
to his own orgasm, into his own version of oblivion.
* * *
“You know,” she said some time later, after they’d disentangled themselves from each other, “I would not have pegged you for a mirror-over-the-bed kind of guy.”
“It is rather tacky.”
She frowned up at her reflection and ran a hand through her hair, hitting a snarl immediately. “It’s great for sex, don’t get me wrong. Totally hot watching you give me head. But now I can’t stop seeing that I have bed head bad enough to make me want to go all Miley Cyrus.”
“Your hair is lovely.”
“Thank you.” She wrinkled her nose at him and sat up, bare breasts pale and perfect. “But you have to say that, especially as you don’t seem to have a hairbrush. I didn’t think you’d want me using yours anyway.”
He ran a hand over the curve of her hip, unable to stop touching her. “We’ve commingled in plenty of ways. I wouldn’t mind, had I one. I’ve a comb you could borrow.”
“God no. Unless you figure out a way to make that sexy, it’s pain I’m not willing to endure. I can tie it up and deal when I get home.”
Ah. There it was. Time for that, of course. Inevitable. “Need you go immediately, or would you want some breakfast?” He glanced at the sun. “Brunch?”
She broke into a radiant smile. “I would love that. But...” She hesitated, studying his face. She had a bit of whisker burn and she looked delightfully well used.
“But?”
“I don’t want to be that girl you can’t get rid of. You’re a busy man, I get that. You probably have things to do. Feel free to kick me out.”
“In point of fact, I was contemplating tying you to the bed so you couldn’t leave. I hoped to lull you with food and then go for a surprise attack when you were full of jam.”
“You have jam?”
“I can have, yes. We’ll order up brunch from the restaurant below and sit on the terrace.”
“Um, I have nothing to wear unless you give me back my cocktail dress. Your neighbors might not appreciate that.”
Under His Touch Page 16
