“Oh, honey, I want your hands on me but we can’t do this.”
Liquid honey rushed through her veins, making her soft and weak. Her whole body quivered. “I want more than this,” she pleaded. “I want your mouth on my skin, I want you deep inside me, taking me any way you want.”
Jack looked at his hands. “We have to get out of here.”
Understanding dawned on Elizabeth. “My apartment, it’s only a couple minutes away.”
Remembering the game she’d started, that they were supposed to be strangers, she whispered her address into his ear. Without waiting for a response, she kissed him once last time. Then she grabbed her purse and left.
—
Jack slammed his car door and slipped his keys into his pocket. The silent complex of Elizabeth’s building loomed in front of him, challenging and condemning.
What if he told her part of the truth, that he wasn’t an escort?
Is she was any other woman, he might’ve been able to get away with that. But once he started telling Elizabeth his real life story, he’d want to tell it all. And he had someone else to consider. Mandy Malone.
Legal ethics required he not speak with anyone who worked at Harrison. Especially anyone who might be called to testify.
Jack rounded the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time. He couldn’t tell Elizabeth anything but he couldn’t leave her hanging either.
A goodnight kiss? Or two?
I want to feel you deep inside me.
He wanted that too. With her panting, whispering his name.
But he’d botched things up good.
Thinking about the softness of her mouth and the willingness of her hands had his heart pounding and his nerves on edge. His muscles clenched and he grew hard all over again. Struggling to clear his mind, he reached the top step, paused to take a deep breath and then tapped on the door.
It swung slightly, then stopped.
Softly, he called out her name. But she didn’t answer.
The notes of bossa nova jazz drifted out into the air. The volume of the sultry beat increased as he moved into her apartment but Elizabeth didn’t appear. He moved further into the room, closed and locked the door.
Expectation sent his senses into overdrive, a predatory rush pounded through his veins. His hands and legs tensed, his back stiffened.
The image of her angled across pink satin sheets, naked and stretching languidly, made his throat go dry.
Without considering the consequences of walking into her bedroom, he stepped toward the only hall in her apartment. He took two more steps, then halted when he spotted a gentle flutter outside the open sliding door.
Elizabeth’s curves, softened by the loose fabric fluttering in the night breeze, had never looked more beautiful. The pure female beauty of her outline took his breath away.
He changed his direction, striding toward her and the softness she promised. Everything he’d been thinking—truth, integrity and conscience—slid from his mind. All he could focus on was the woman standing in the breeze, waiting for him, wanting him.
She leaned on the balcony railing with her back to him. The sexy vixen from the bar was gone and this vision had replaced her. Both women left him longing with need and heady with appreciation.
Bits of her hair caught in the wind and shifted around her shoulders, dancing across the smooth fabric of the short pale rose robe and matching chemise skimming across her body. He reached out, grasped one of the strands. The silky thread caressed his fingertips when he inhaled its scent, his heart filling with some unnamable emotion.
For a long moment, he stood behind her, amazed and almost afraid of the power her beauty held over him.
Elizabeth Sewell was a woman who it would take years to get to know.
He should’ve seen that coming. How stupid he’d been to think he could get her out of his system with a few dates. During their time together he’d only gotten a glimpse of the woman she was. Some man, whoever she decided on, would be looking forward to a lifetime of passion and surprises.
Some man who wasn’t him. He had no right to feel possessive over Elizabeth but at that moment his body was not connected to his mind.
Loosening his grip, he let the strand slide out of his fingers. The right thing to do would be to step away immediately but he had to kiss her one last time.
He lowered his head to place a kiss on the nape of her neck but she turned, his mouth connected with hers and he was lost.
He reached for her and she easily came into his embrace, her mouth softening, her arms slipping around his neck.
Elizabeth nuzzled his neck, then eased away far enough to whisper, “I love the way you smell, Jack Harley. It makes me hot.” She loosened her hold on his neck to caress his back. Her gentle exploration ended with her tugging at the waist of his pants. “I want to feel your skin against mine.”
She started loosening his belt, Jack heard himself curse softly. “Wait, Elizabeth…”
“Let me, Jack. Please,” she whispered, “I want you and I know you want me.”
He opened his mouth to offer another protest but the words died in his throat when he saw the longing in her eyes. If she ached half as much as he did, he understood her desperation. He understood the uncontrollable heat burning through her.
“I want you too, honey. If only you knew how much.”
“Show me, Jack. Touch me, take me. I need to feel how much you want me.”
He turned away from her earnest plea but his gaze fell to the low dip of her clinging chemise. The hard points of her nipples strained against the thin fabric. He skimmed the pad of his thumb across one.
She moaned and thrust forward, reaching for his belt again. With three sharp jerks, she had the buckle undone and was fumbling with the fly. He let go of her only long enough to undo his pants. As soon as he lowered the zipper, she pushed his hands away and shoved down his briefs.
Her fingers brushed against his, he pulled in a sharp breath. “You’re hard for me. So hard.”
She wrapped her fingers around his shaft and squeezed with just the right amount of pressure. He groaned and shuddered. “I’ve been hard for you ever since the first time I saw you.”
A feline smile curved her sexy mouth but uncertainty flickered through her gaze. “I turn you on? I mean more than just for your job?”
Despite the heat burning through him, he smiled. “Yes, no doubt about it, Elizabeth Sewell. You make me as hot as a teenager with his first Playboy.”
She turned her attention back to the work of her hands. “You’re no teenager, Jack.”
“Thank goodness,” he replied with a slanted grin. “That means my mom won’t come bustling in to break us up.”
“That’s a good thing,” she spoke gently but her greedy hands covered his cock possessively. “Because I have no intention of stopping until I get exactly what I want.”
Chapter Twelve
For a split second, Jack froze. “There’s something I need to tell you. And I have to do it right now, before—”
“Tell me later.” Her delicate brows pulled down, as her fingers curved over his painfully hard shaft.
Then she stunned him by dropping to her knees and pulling his penis into her hot, wet mouth.
His protests vanished.
She pulled back to drag her tongue down the length of him, while he soaked in the vision. Her sweet beauty mixed with the greedy way she welcomed him into her mouth was potent and so heady it made his head spin.
After several long strokes, she angled back onto her heels to smile up at him. “Is that what you like?” she asked, running her tongue over her lips.
His only response was a moan.
Still grinning, she parted her lips and slowly licked his throbbing rod. For several lingering, deliberate pulls she rocked back and forth teasing the sensitive tip before swallowing him again. To keep from coming too soon, he squeezed his eyes shut, closing out the erotic sight of her mouth sliding across his solid cock.
To keep his balance, Jack shifted his legs further apart. With each lick of her eager tongue, she pushed him closer to the edge. When his leg muscles twitched, he struggled against the urge to rock his hips into her mouth. With each tormented second, he worried that somehow he’d hurt her if he lost control.
“Elizabeth…”
She responded by squeezing her fingers, encouraging him to thrust deeper. He growled, low in his chest and clenched his jaw willing himself to hold back from ramming himself too hard into her delicate mouth.
He grabbed the balcony railing, gripping the cold metal firmly. She increased the steady rhythm and Jack gave up the last of his restraint.
Shock waves of pleasure tore through him, making his shoulders twitch and legs shake. Instead of easing back when his semen spilled into her mouth, she continued to suck and tease him until the last pulse of his climax.
As she licked him dry, she kept him in her mouth, caressing the back of his thighs with her hands.
Finally, she moved away to kiss the inside of his legs. His muscles twitched at the light touch and she laughed, low and husky.
She moaned, smiling up at him with satisfaction shinning in her gaze. “I’ve been wondering about that ever since you came to my office. If I’d known how you tasted, I wouldn’t have waited this long.”
She glanced away and flicked the end of her tongue across the tip of his shaft. Jack felt himself growing hard again.
—
Elizabeth marveled at the power and strength of Jack’s body. Each muscular curve fascinated her. She slid her hands across the supple skin that covered him, liking the way he enjoyed her touch as much as she loved touching him.
It was wonderful feeling to seduce a man. Not just any man, she corrected. A sexy potent man like Jack Harley. A smile born of female power slanted across her mouth. She’d done it. She’d made Jack lose control.
As she rose to her feet, she vaguely recalled he’d wanted to tell her something. She’d been too intent on her task to think much of it but now curiosity nudged her. What exactly had he said?
Before a coherent thought surfaced in her mind, he nibbled on her neck. “You’re something else.”
Still reeling with her sense of power, she angled her head and looked at him from the corner of her eye. She licked the taste of him from her lips. “Something good, you mean?”
“Good isn’t the word I’d use.”
“No?” She arched her back, inviting him to look at her. “What then?”
He didn’t glance down. Instead, he studied her face with serious eyes. A shiver skittered across her shoulders and she shook slightly. When his gaze moved to her mouth, a flicker of heat ignited deep inside her and chased away the sudden chill his thoughtful expression aroused.
Instead of answering her question, he grasped a fistful of hair and eased her head back, covering her mouth with a soul-searching kiss. He took his time, tasting her swollen lips and licking the taste of himself from her tongue.
The determined way he moved his mouth across hers, devouring it, felt as though he was branding her, leaving his mark on her for everyone to see. The idea thrilled and excited her, even though it would never be.
A tiny flame of sadness flickered in her heart. She would never belong to Jack, not in the forever way.
Someday she would find the man who wanted her for better or worse. That thought should’ve chased away the gnawing despair but it didn’t. Instead it left her feeling edgy, wanting more…
“I didn’t know, Elizabeth,” he said softly, slipping her robe from her shoulders where it pooled on the cement floor. “I didn’t realize it’d be like this.”
Evening air crossed her bare skin but she was too hot to feel chilled.
She roamed the hard plane of his chest with her palms and moved them across the thick curves of his back. He wrapped his other arm around her waist, crushing her to him.
When he pulled back, Elizabeth saw that same deep, searching gaze. It was as though he was memorizing each feature of her face.
That thought scattered when he spun her around so her back was to him. He stretched her arms forward and hooked her fingers over the railing.
With only the thin fabric of her chemise between them, she could feel the heave of each breath he pulled into his powerful lungs. The curves of her bottom fit neatly below his hip bones. His pants were still heaped at his ankles, so when she pressed back, his erection rubbed against her.
He nudged one leg further out and bumped her bottom with his hips. “I could make love to you this way, Elizabeth.” His words came out in a breathless rush, heating her neck.
Make love—not have sex.
His words brought home the fact that there is a huge difference. And she wanted love, didn’t she? That had been her goal…but now…
A heavy groan twisted from her throat and she found herself wriggling and rubbing against him as she desperately sought relief from the swollen pressure building hot and heavy inside her.
“Oh, honey,” he groaned in her ear. He let go of her hand but leaned heavily into her so she had to hold onto the rail for balance. The fabric of her chemise rode up as he reached under it to cup her heavy breasts.
Her nipples hardened as he gently rolled them between his fingers. The need for sexual release built and she instinctively bucked against him. Her insides throbbing and begging for attention.
“Jack…”
The demanding yet tender touches of his hands sent spirals of heat twisting through her body until she moaned and arched her back again.
Finally, one of his hands dropped to her waist, then slowly moved over the curve of her stomach. Once she understood what he intended, she murmured encouragement and panted with expectation.
He traced the outline of her ear with his tongue, his hot breath sent a tremor down her back. The featherlight touch of his fingers made her legs tremble.
He tucked his hand between her legs, cupping the soft folds of her pussy in the palm of his hand. “I know what you need, Elizabeth.”
When his fingertip rubbed across her most sensitive spot, she sucked a sharp breath between her teeth. The gentle hissing surprised her but she quickly cast embarrassment aside. She had no choice, because once he started, his caress was relentless.
As he worked his fingers across her clitoris, he rocked his hips against her. The double onslaught gave life to a sudden and unbelievably long climax.
Elizabeth struggled for a quick release but he kept her from getting more stimulation. Painful pleasure twisted through her, stealing her breath, her ability to hold herself up and a piece of her soul.
When the pounding pulsations stopped, she hung limp and weak. She tried to right herself by pulling on the railing but it was a waste of effort.
Jack sensed her weakness, he wrapped an arm around her middle. While she waited for her strength to return, Jack nuzzled the back of her neck.
If she and Jack were lovers, the affectionate gesture would be right, what she’d expect. But she and Jack were nothing to each other really, only two strangers who shared explosive chemistry.
Heat flooded her face, heat that had nothing to do with the sexual need she’d just let him fulfill.
They’d kissed before and done a lot more than that. This time was different. She’d given him a piece of herself. She wanted distance, she needed something to cut the invisible tie that the bound her to him.
She pulled in a steadying breath and summoned all her effort to step away from the warmth of his embrace. There had to be something she could say but each one of her thoughts pulled her back to the interlude they’d just shared. Then suddenly it came to her. Something to restore order to chaos.
“What was it you wanted to tell me?”
As soon as the words were out, he changed. He didn’t step away but he distanced himself from her a
nd it hurt. A lot more than it should have.
Her question hung between them, separating them.
Possibilities flashed through her mind. He regretted agreeing to spend time with her. He had a disease. He had a girlfriend. A wife.
“Do you have…” She swallowed hard. “Are you…”
He didn’t respond and she didn’t turn around. In the distance Elizabeth heard the sharp honk of a horn. Suddenly, all the usual nighttime sounds of the city buzzed in her ears. She grabbed her robe and slid it on.
Her feelings for Jack were dangerous. She’d blindly stumbled across some invisible fine line. Anxious to chase away the last of the magic spell that pulled them together, she pressed him again.
This time he replied. “I don’t have a girlfriend or a wife.”
She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Her doubts resurfaced quickly and she gave voice to them, hoping to gain control but also needing to know. “What is it then?”
He stepped from behind her and pulled up his pants. After he finished righting his clothes, he moved beside her with his gaze turned out across the blinking lights of Houston.
“I moved from Dallas. My job there wasn’t going the way I expected.”
Elizabeth cocked her head, trying to get a better look at his expression.
“There’ve been a lot of things in my life lately that haven’t been going the way I expected. I’ve never had this happen to me, to feel like I’ve lost control. Like I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
Guilt cleared away her own concerns. She’d been so caught up in her own emotions, she hadn’t even considered Jack’s and how this might be affecting him. “Oh, Jack,” she said, setting her hand on his shoulder.
“It’s not that bad.” He laid his hand over hers and chuckled. “I’m not falling apart or anything like that. Just sorting things out. Figuring out what’s next.”
Her gaze darted over him, her eyebrows pulled together. “I know what that’s like. I’ve been going through a lot lately too.”
Silence settled around them, holding them together—but they weren’t really together.
Satisfaction Guaranteed Page 12
