On the way, they passed one of those tourist-traps where sightseers could open an oyster and find their own pearl.
Samantha pausing briefly, a wide grin on her face. She proudly dipped a finger into the collar of her blouse and fished out her new string of pearls, flashing them at the salesgirl standing outside.
“Got it already,” she told the girl, as Alex seized her hand and moved her past the shop.
“You one lucky girl,” the young lady called out.
“I know it.”
Samantha grabbed Alex’s hand, forcing him to run along beside her as they practically skipped back to his place. He grinned, looking pleased beyond words that she appreciated his gift so much.
He stopped her in front of his building, kissing her once more, and for a fleeting moment, Samantha feared he might put her off again, but forced that thought from her mind.
Anxious to be alone with him, to see this thing to its fruition, she pulled him into the elevator and pressed the button for his floor.
Once upstairs, he shut the front door and bolted it, leaving Samantha standing there feeling vulnerable and overwhelmed. The sexual tension was thick, palpable, and her body felt almost paralyzed.
He drew her toward him, and as if in a dream, she reached out and slipped an arm around him. He tipped her chin up and stroked her upper lip with his thumb.
“Nervous?”
“A little. It’s been a long time for me.”
“Yeah, me too,” he admitted. “Let me get you some wine.”
He went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, bringing forth a bottle of sparkling wine. She watched as he bent to uncork the bottle, the light playing over his profile, making him look as young as she was.
He reached out and handed her a heavy crystal glass. Her hand trembled, but try as she might, she couldn’t stop it. Nearly unnerved, she tossed back the glass of champagne in one smooth movement and set the empty glass aside.
Alex grinned, the passion in his eyes charging her with courage. He seized her little hand and led her toward the bedroom as her heart hammered in her ribcage.
“Why are you trembling, Samantha? You’re not afraid of me, are you?”
“No, I...I’m just afraid...I don’t have any condoms, Alex. It didn’t even cross my mind to get some, but I’m clean, I know I am. Randy was my first and he used one every single time.”
“Don’t worry. I got that covered, but I’m clean, too, okay? I haven’t been with a woman in over a year and I got tested after her.”
She nodded and he opened his bedroom door and pulled her close, his lips on her forehead.
“Not still mad at me?”
He met her gaze, trying to read her expression. Something in her eyes must’ve told him what the matter was, and he smiled gently.
“Oh, I get it. You’ve never had a man seduce you before, have you?”
“No. Randy and I...we just sort of...did it.”
“Sounds charming, this Randy.”
Samantha smiled. “We should fix him up with Jennie. And he was such a dork, Alex. I realize that now. I mean, he’d say such stupid stuff, like ‘I’m Randalicious, baby’ or ‘I’m Randastic.’”
“Really? What a jerk he sounds like.”
She gazed into his eyes and bit her lower lip with a nod. Alex chuckled, crushing her to his chest, his lips roughly parting hers.
Samantha shut her eyes, nearly swooning, clinging to his broad shoulders as he lowered her onto the bed. His kisses were more exhilarating than any champagne on earth, and she surrendered to his love as he bore her down onto the bed, devouring her with his lips.
Giving herself up to his love, Samantha raked her fingers through her hair, her head swimming with each new sensation. She felt his finely-boned hands on her flesh and they were everywhere at once, it seemed. She flung her arms around his neck, savoring every moment, every new feeling.
This was no inexperienced schoolboy fumbling his way about. Oh, hell no. She’d never felt anything even approaching this before, and Alex’s skilled fingers stoked the very flames of her desire, fanned the passion she’d long allowed to smolder within her.
And though she knew she might live to regret it, she had every intention of throwing herself into this fire, of letting it consume her from head to toe.
He eased off her and stood up, his hands moving down the length of her shapely legs. When at last they came to rest on her ankles, he set to work unbuckling the dainty straps, and then he cast them aside.
He let his hands glide effortlessly back up to her thighs, caressing them lovingly as he did so, enjoying the feeling of the soft silkiness of her stockings. Samantha felt him slip his hands under her skirt, then felt his fingers on the lace of her garter belt.
One by one, he popped the fasteners loose, exposing just a bit more flesh with each one. He slowly rolled the first stocking down, being sure to kiss every inch of her exposed thigh as he did so.
She moaned aloud, loving the way his lips felt against her skin, and when he moved onto the second stocking, showing the same attention to this leg, Samantha found her body straining toward him of its own volition.
She made a conscious choice to reach out and return the favor, and undress him, too, but he simply gathered her little hands into his, bringing them to his lips.
He kissed them feverishly before he pinned them over her head.
“No, Samantha,” he told her, and leaned forward to continue. “This night belongs to you.”
He unbuttoned her blouse, exposing the delicate lace of her bra and the string of pearls around her neck. He gingerly touched one of them with a wistful little sigh, and then let his finger trail down to her breast.
His fingertips stirred the embers there, too. Another moan broke free from Samantha’s lips as he toyed with her breasts, hardening her nipples. He bent to shower them with kisses and still more caresses, and then he deftly sat her up and slid the blouse down over her shoulders, carelessly tossing it aside.
Next, he reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, gliding it off of her, leaning in to scorch Samantha with those hot lips of his again. She felt him working at her waistband and soon discovered he’d unfastened not only her skirt, but also her garter belt.
He eased her back down and pulled both of these off her. Now she was completely naked, except for her panties. Alex knelt between her legs, towering over her. He smiled down at her, his eyes heavy, dreamlike, as he shed his own clothes.
She watched as he moved to hook his fingers under the waistband of her panties, and then she gasped as she felt the fabric dig into her skin, then give way as he broke the narrow elastic bands.
He consigned this bit of lace and satin to the floor and smiled down at her.
“I’m going to make you come, Samantha,” he assured her, instantly driving her almost to the point of orgasm with his words alone. He kissed her again roughly, then began to blaze a hot trail down her belly with his tongue.
“Oh, Alex,” she whimpered, as he spread her knees wider and bent his mouth to please her.
He thrust one of his long, elegant fingers into her as his tongue worked its magic, and Samantha gasped as a wave of pleasure swept over her. Within seconds, she felt the beginnings of the most powerful climax she’d ever experienced in her life. She moaned aloud, convulsing, nearly sobbing as it tore through her.
Just when he sensed her emotions were about to overwhelm her, Alex pulled back, just long enough to let her recover.
He waited patiently until she came back down to earth, and once she did, she opened her eyes and glanced over at him, a satisfied smile spreading itself across her lips.
Oh, God, what a beautiful cock he had. She summoned him to her then, wanting to feel that cock inside her, and he paused just long enough rip open the condom package a
nd sheath himself.
As soon as he sank down beside her on the bed, Samantha slung a leg over his hip and pulled him over on top of her, cradling his body between her thighs. At her urging, he finally entered her with a long, dramatic thrust.
With swift, even strokes, he once again stoked the flames within her, driving them higher and higher until, with another harsh cry, the heat within her exploded and burned until the flames extinguished themselves. Before she knew it, Samantha was choking back a sob of raw emotion, her body warm and exhausted.
He took her in his arms, and when their glances met again, she glimpsed such a look of tenderness in his eyes that her heart melted. She was overcome with love for Alex. He pressed his lips to hers once more and kissed away her tears, holding her until she fell asleep.
Alex let her sleep late the next morning, and when she finally opened her eyes, he was standing there in the doorway, quietly watching her. He smiled when he knew she was awake.
“I’ve been waiting for you to wake up,” he admitted, raw need in his eyes.
He slipped over to the bed and dropped down beside her. She responded at once, pulling his head down for a passionate, hungry kiss. He, in turn, pulled her against his body, slipping his tongue between her lips. Alex hadn’t shaved yet and his razor stubble rasped against her jaw and then her cheek, as he tenderly nipped at her earlobe.
Samantha felt the most intense need growing within her again, coiling tightly somewhere down in her tummy.
“You should be with me, Samantha,” he whispered, and already she felt him urging off her nightgown. She watched in growing anticipation as his glance slid down the length of her body in the soft, early morning sunlight.
He shook his head with an impish grin.
“No good,” he told her as he quite deliberately tore through yet another pair of her delicate lace and satin panties.
As he flung them to the floor, she recalled how good he felt sliding into her the night before. She then realized she couldn’t care less about her torn panties. He might shred every pair she owned, if only he’d keep on loving her.
To his surprise, Samantha took the lead and pressed him down onto his back to straddle him, her palms against his chest for support, her fingers splayed over his nipples. Once she was sure of her balance, he felt her reach for his stiff manhood to guide it into her and take it all the way in to the hilt.
Alex damn near lost it right then, but managed somehow to turn his mind toward other, much less stimulating thoughts. Within a few seconds, he had himself under control again, was able to lie there and enjoy having her ride him, her long dark hair dangling down in front of her face like a veil.
She made soft, cooing sounds as she rode him, her passion gradually mounting. Before long, her movements became swifter and her moans a bit louder until at last, Alex felt a shudder go through her entire body as she clamped down around the base of his cock. She cried out his name, tossing her hair back wildly as she caught her breath on a long sigh of satisfaction.
He gave her time to catch her breath, and then he wrapped his long fingers around her hips, pressing them lightly into her flesh and urging her on, loving the way she felt against his body and around his rock-hard shaft.
He shut his eyes, rocking against her, driving himself into her relentlessly. And, all at once and way before he expected it, he felt himself climax, too, actually heard himself groan aloud, felt himself pull her head down so he could reach her hungry, willing mouth.
She lay still on top of him, concentrating on the kiss.
“How wonderful to be in your arms at last,” she told him. “So much better than I’ve ever dared dream it could be.”
Alex, in no hurry to relinquish his grasp on this amazingly beautiful young woman, pulled her into his arms and leaned in to continue basking in the heat of their sizzling kiss.
It was also he who broke it off.
Prodded by his conscience, he knew there was something he had to confess, something he needed to tell her before this thing progressed any farther. He pulled away and propped himself onto one elbow, gazing down at her sadly.
“This is the only thing I was ever really good at, Samantha. Making love and writing books. And I think you’d better know something else. I’m really just a piece of crap.”
Chapter 11
“No, Alex, no you’re not,” Samantha said, crying out against such injustice. “Don’t you dare say that. I love you with all my heart.”
“Do you? Do you really?”
“Stop it, Alex. You know I do. What’s wrong, why are you saying all this?”
He smiled at her in the soft, filtered sunlight and gently stroked her cheek, swallowing hard.
“I don’t know, Samantha. I guess I’m just scared. I mean, I don’t want you to find out the hard way and leave me, I’d rather be upfront about it. But I do believe you when you say you love me.”
“Of course I do. You know I do. Now you quit talking nonsense and go get us some coffee like a good boy, okay?”
He smiled down at her. He secretly liked when she bossed him around, and satisfied, he rolled onto the other side of the bed and got up to call for room service.
Samantha, deciding it was time to get up anyway, slipped into the bathroom for a nice, hot shower.
After she toweled off, she threw on a simple cotton nightgown to go join him in the living room. When she came into the room, though, she saw he was still on the phone, but it was apparent this call wasn’t to room service.
“All right,” he said with a pleased grin, “that’ll be perfect. You want us to pick you guys up?”
Samantha went to the couch and sank down beside Alex while he finished his conversation. A moment later, he rang off.
“I hope you don’t mind, but we’re going to have visitors,” he told her. “Paris and Marianne will be here in the morning.”
“They’re getting married,” she said at once, turning towards him. “I’ll bet you ten bucks they’re getting married.”
“I doubt that,” he told her. “Paris often comes over to visit me.”
“No, I’m sure this means something,” she insisted. And then, struck by a sudden doubt, she threw an apprehensive glance in his direction.
“What about Paris? Do you think he’ll be good for her?”
“I don’t know,” Alex replied cautiously; “do you think she’ll be good for him?”
Samantha considered this for a few minutes and then she nodded.
“Yes, I do. I really do. Marianne’s a really sweet girl when you get to know her, and she’s the type who’ll lay down her life for someone she loves. But what’s he like? I could never really get a grasp on his personality when we were in L.A.”
“Paris? When he gets on a roll, he can convince Satan himself to buy a furnace, but he’s a good guy at heart. Plus, he’s no fool, so if Marianne’s really how you say, then I’ve got to believe they’ll make it.”
She smiled, knowing Marianne wouldn’t be a conventional wife, but she did think her friend would be a good one. Besides, as Alex had pointed out, Paris was not a foolish or frivolous person. He was well able to take care of himself.
Samantha smiled, but then, a moment later, her expression grew serious again.
“What should we tell those guys about us?” she asked him.
“Why should we have to tell them anything? I’m pretty sure they’ll figure it out, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess so. But I don’t know how Paris will feel about it.”
“Don’t you worry about that. If I’m happy, he’s happy. Besides, who pays the bills?”
Of course there was no answer to that, though she could never imagine him invoking his rights as bill-payer. He was far too generous for that, far too sensitive to other peoples’ feelings to lord anything over anybody else.
“What would you like to do today, sweetheart?” he asked.
She grinned up at him. “I want to go to Sea Life Park. I heard it’s pretty cool.”
When they got home from the park, they ate out on the lanai, enjoying the freshening breeze and the late afternoon sun.
“You’re getting really good at using chopsticks,” Alex observed as she expertly twirled the noodles on her sticks.
“Oh, thanks, Alex. Grandma’s been making me learn. She says I’ll never feel like a local until I can eat like one.”
“She’s right, you know. Want a glass of wine? I bought something nice and sweet from a place over on Maui.”
“All right.”
He poured her a glass of the wine and she raised the glass up to her lips.
It was good. She glanced across the table and nodded at him in approval.
“I like this, Alex. I think it’d go well with something spicy.”
“Do you?” he asked, smiling over at her. “You’re coming along nicely, you know that?”
Once they finished up their dinner and drinks, Alex suggested they retire to bed, as their guests were supposed to arrive quite early in the morning. Samantha agreed and let him take her by the hand, and by tacit agreement, she went to sleep in his bed, preserving for their visitors the pristine and unslept-in bed in the guest room.
When she got him into the bedroom, she decided to try out her own oral skills. She reached up and kissed him, her mouth hungry for a taste. Instead of heading over to the bed, though, she backed him against the wall and began to undo his pants.
“What...?” he started to ask, but she shushed him and sank down to her knees, pulling his pants and boxers down as she went.
Once she was in position, she reached out and grabbed his cock, wrapping her fingers around the base of it. She felt his body stiffen, and he placed a gentle, encouraging hand on her shoulder. Her tongue darted out to caress him, and then she leaned forward eagerly and took him into her mouth.
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