by Lynsay Sands
“Terri’s different. She won’t react like Josephine,” Vincent insisted.
“How do you know?” Bastien knew he sounded angry, but really his tone was to cover the hope that was trying to grow inside him. He wanted to believe his cousin was right, but he was afraid.
“This is a different era. Josephine thought you were a monster, an abomination. Terri is a modern woman, with enough intelligence to understand the science of it,” Vincent argued. “And consider the benefits to her should she join us. Forever young and beautiful, and forever strong and healthy? Few would pass that up.”
“She could still turn away,” Bastien argued. “Not everyone wants to live forever.”
“You’re right, of course,” the actor agreed. “She might not. So why risk it? Give her up and forget about her.”
Bastien gave him a speaking glance.
“No, huh?” Vincent arched an eyebrow. “Then I guess you’ll have to risk it, won’t you? Every day is a risk, everything we do. Would you really give this up willingly, or bypass it altogether, to avoid possible pain later—pain that might never come?”
The answer to that was simple enough: No. Bastien couldn’t willingly give her up had he wanted. She was like a drug and he a drug addict; he was constantly jonesing for a Terri fix. No, he couldn’t give her up. He had known that for a while. What he was experiencing now was worth any price later. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to fret about what would come.
“Well, hell,” Vincent snapped, reading Bastien’s thoughts. “You mean to say you didn’t need me to try to talk you into this? Why did you let me ramble on about it, if you already knew you were going to go for it?”
“I like talking about her,” Bastien said. He shrugged. “I like being with her better, but the next best thing is talking about her. And it’s always nice to have your hopes bolstered.”
Vincent made a sound of disgust and turned toward the door. “I’m out of here.”
“When will you be back?” Bastien asked, following him out into the entry to await the elevator.
“Late Sunday night or early Monday morning,” he answered, then quirked an eyebrow as the elevator arrived and the doors slid open. “You know what that means, don’t you?”
“No. What does it mean?” Bastien asked curiously.
“You have the entire penthouse—and Terri—to yourself for the whole weekend.” Vincent stepped onto the elevator. “You can make love to her in any room you want, any time of the day or night, and not worry how loud she gets. She does get loud, cousin,” he added as he turned and hit the button for the ground floor. “You must be doing something right.”
Bastien grinned.
“Heck, you can even make love to her in the elevator.” Vincent waggled his eyebrows as the doors started to close. “Catch it on tape, maybe, and keep it for posterity.”
Bastien couldn’t tell Vincent what he thought of that idea; the doors were already closed. But he’d never do that to Terri…unless she knew and wanted to. They could catch it on film and watch it later and…He shook his head at the idea. Too risky. He didn’t want personal tapes of Terri floating around. What if something happened and it got away from him? But he could make love to her in any room in the penthouse now. They’d already made love in the living room, on the couch, but they hadn’t tried the bar. Or the pool table. Or the floor. Then there was the kitchen, the—A nice soak in the Jacuzzi with her would be nice, too. Of course they could have done that anyway, since the Jacuzzi was in the master suite, but…
Realizing that he was standing in the entryway thinking about making love to Terri, when he could be actually doing it, Bastien gave himself a shake. He started down the hall to the bedroom, realized he still carried the now empty glass, and did an about-face. He rushed back to the kitchen to give it a quick rinse before setting it in the sink. Then he headed for the bedroom to wake up Terri.
Terri tossed another acceptable flower into the appropriate box, then stretched and stood. It was late afternoon, and Bastien had yet to wake up. He had been awake already today. Twice. First, when he’d followed her into the shower, then when he’d crawled into bed at midday and woken her up in the most delicious manner she could imagine.
Bastien had kissed and caressed her awake, telling her as he slid his hands over her body that Vincent had left for the weekend, which meant they had the whole apartment to themselves. Terri had chuckled at the glee with which he’d said that, and then again as he’d told her each and every room and spot in the penthouse where he planned to make love to her. Then she’d stopped chuckling as things got serious. Seriously heated. The man was a dynamo in bed, arousing her passions like no one else could.
Despite his big plans, they hadn’t made it out of bed. It hadn’t mattered; they hadn’t needed the extra impetus of new places to excite them—they’d done quite nicely right there in the master suite. Had they ever! Terri’s body urged her to stretch again as tingles of awareness slid through her at the memory.
Afterward, she’d fallen asleep in his arms. But Terri hadn’t slept long. She’d awoken an hour ago and tiptoed out of the room to take another shower before going in search of food. Getting a bowl of cereal, she’d come into the office to make a couple more flowers and eat while she waited for Bastien. The man was taking his time, however. Perhaps she should go wake him up as he had her, Terri thought with a small smile.
Deciding that was a fine idea, she stored the bag of Kleenex boxes and string back in the office closet where Vincent had put it the night before, then picked up her empty cereal bowl and carried it to the kitchen. Terri gave it a quick rinse, then dried and put it away. Then she headed to the bedroom.
Bastien was dead to the world when she entered. Terri approached the bed silently, her gaze on his face as she walked. He was a dear man—and just as adorable in sleep as he was awake, she decided, taking in the way that his hair was standing on end as if he had been running a hand through it. She wanted to smooth that hair for him. Terri also wanted to kiss his lips, which looked so soft and relaxed in sleep.
Pausing beside the bed, she hesitated, then quickly shed her clothes and climbed onto the mattress to crawl to Bastien’s side. Arriving next to him, she hesitated again, unsure where to start. Terri had awoken earlier to find him kissing and caressing her. But he hadn’t been kissing her lips. His mouth, as well as his hands, had been playing over her body.
Deciding to take a leaf out of his book, she carefully eased the blankets and sheets off of him until only his feet were covered. Then Terri just had to pause and stare. Dear God, the man was gorgeous, a delight to the eye. She took a moment to enjoy the view, then shook herself into action. Kissing and caressing, she reminded herself. But where to start? There was so much of Bastien that she would like to kiss.
After a pause, she decided his chest would be a good place to start, and Terri eased closer and began to press light little kisses across his pectoral muscles. She steadied herself with one hand, while she ran the other lightly across the flat muscles of his stomach. Bastien moaned and shifted under her touch, but didn’t wake up. Terri managed to make her way down past his belly button, and was pressing light little butterfly kisses along his hipbone, before he stiffened, telling her he was awake.
Well, one part of him had grown stiff before her kisses and caresses had reached his belly button, but Terri knew he still hadn’t been awake yet then. Now he was.
“Terri.” Her name was a soft growl that she ignored. She also ignored the hand that landed on her shoulder and tried to urge her upward and away from where she was headed. She wanted to do this for him, and was determined not to be distracted.
Of course, that was before she reached the main target and realized she wasn’t sure she would be any good. It had been a long while. That fact made her pause for only a moment, though; then Terri decided that there was only one way to find out: to just go for it. And since that seemed to be the motto for this relationship…
Besides, Terri
thought, if she made a complete flub of it, she could always apologize sweetly and go read a how-to article off the Internet. They had instructions on everything else on the Web, there must be something on this as well. It was just a shame she hadn’t thought to do so beforehand. But then, Terri thought, hindsight was always 20/20.
Chapter Fourteen
The woman was as skilled as a professional, Bastien thought faintly, and wasn’t sure whether to be grateful, or alarmed at what it might mean. He decided to worry about it later, however, and merely twisted the sheets under his hands as he struggled not to humiliate himself by climaxing two minutes after Terri took him into her mouth.
What was she doing with her tongue? he wondered feverishly. Dear God! Where had she learned to do that? How—
“Oh,” he groaned aloud, then clamped his teeth down on his lower lip to keep from issuing a second groan—one of disappointment—as Terri stopped what she was doing and raised her head to look at him.
“Am I hurting you?” she asked uncertainly.
“Hurting?” Bastien echoed, his voice unnaturally high. He was panting and finding it difficult to catch his breath. “No.” He shook his head.
Looking relieved, Terri bowed her head and wrapped her lips around him once more, only to pause before she went any further. She raised her head again. “Am I doing this right?”
Bastien blinked. Didn’t she know? She was driving him right around the bend! “Yes,” he answered quickly, realizing that sitting thinking was only going to delay the pleasure he had interrupted with his groan.
No more groaning, he told himself, nearly sobbing with relief as she bent to take him into her mouth again. Her mouth was sweet, warm and moist. She had the sexiest damn lips—full and plump. And her tongue…
“Ahhhh,” he cried, as she did something with her tongue that made his whole body shudder. Damn, she was—stopping again?
“You’re sure I’m not hurting you?” Terri asked with concern, then explained, “You sounded like you were in pain.”
Had he groaned? Bastien wondered. No. No, he was sure he hadn’t groaned. But he had cried out. Apparently, that had distracted her too. No more crying out then either, he ordered himself firmly. He’d bite his own tongue off if that’s what it took, but no more groaning or crying out. Better yet, he’d stick a pillow in his mouth—then he couldn’t make any sound at all.
Realizing Terri was waiting for an answer, but unable to remember the question, Bastien briefly debated whether to ask her to repeat it, or to simply guess and answer yes or no. Deciding it would be faster just to guess, and that the chances were fifty-fifty either way, he blurted, “No.”
“No?” She tipped her head to the side quizzically. “No, you’re not sure I’m not hurting you? Or no, you aren’t in pain?”
“Yes.” He nodded firmly. Thinking was really quite beyond him at that point. All Bastien could think about was that he wanted Terri to wrap those sweet, luscious red lips around his—
“I’m really not doing this right, am I?” she said on a sigh. “And you’re just too sweet and polite to tell me I suck at this.”
“No, I’m not,” he said in a panic. “I’d tell you if you sucked. Well, you are—I mean, you’re doing a wonderful job. Just wonderful. Just…wonderful,” he repeated helplessly.
“Really?” Terri perked up perceptibly, a smile tipping her lips as she stared at him, apparently eager for praise. “What am I doing right? Tell me, and I’ll do more of it.”
Bastien stared at her helplessly. Why was she doing this to him? Was it some sort of torture? Punishment, perhaps? Had he not pleasured her enough when he’d woken her earlier? Had he snored and kept her awake?
Realizing he was losing it, Bastien gave his head a shake. This was Terri—sweet, fun, adorable Terri. He didn’t think she had a mean bone in her body, and she certainly wouldn’t set out to torment him deliberately. Which meant that, despite the fact that she had his legs shaking, and his heart racing, and his body ready to explode with pleasure, she didn’t have a clue what she was doing. She was just following her instincts.
The woman had damned fine instincts.
“All of it,” Bastien said at last. “All of it is perfect.” Except for the stopping part, he thought, but didn’t say it. She was only stopping out of concern for his well-being and pleasure. And her consideration and caring were sweet. Really. And he was sure he’d appreciate it. Later. Right now, he just wanted her to—
“Ahhhh.” He sighed as she took him into her mouth again. Then he held his breath, terrified the sound would make her stop once more. Fortunately, it didn’t. She continued to slide her lips the length of his erection, her tongue swishing across him like a cat’s tail. Bastien decided not to take chances, however. He snatched up a pillow from the bed and slammed it over his mouth.
He would not make a sound now, Bastien assured himself as he sank his teeth into the pillow. He might smother to death, but he would do so silently and with a smile on his face.
Maybe. Bastien tore the pillow aside and lifted his head to peer at her with exasperation. She had stopped again and was sitting up, her head turned toward the door.
“Did you hear that?” she asked with a frown.
“No.” He didn’t mention he’d had the pillow over his head, making hearing as difficult as speaking.
“I thought I heard someone call out,” she explained, turning back to him.
“There’s no one here but us,” Bastien reminded her, with what he considered the patience of a saint. His gaze dropped to his erection. It was standing straight and tall and proud, hoping for her attention. It was also red and maybe a little angry that he wasn’t getting it, at least not without constant starts and stops. Perhaps this was Terri’s technique, he thought: Bring him to the brink, then stop; do it again, then stop. If so, it was brilliant. She was driving him crazy.
“Terri?” he said almost pleadingly.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She smiled at him and lowered her head again. Bastien saw her red lips part as her mouth opened, then…Terri froze again, her jaws snapped closed inches above his erection and she sat up. “Surely you heard that?”
He had, of course. Someone was calling his name. A woman. And as there were very few people with keys to this penthouse, Bastien knew who it must be. He would kill her.
“It’s probably my mother,” he said, dropping his head back on the bed with disgust.
“Your mother?” There was no mistaking the horror in Terri’s voice.
Bastien raised his head to see her scrambling off the bed. He watched with regret as she climbed into her jeans, noting with interest that, in her hurry, she wasn’t bothering with panties. Hmmm, he thought, then his pants slammed into his face. Terri had tossed them at him.
“Get dressed, Bastien,” she hissed. “We can’t let her find us like this.”
Sighing, he gave up any hope of Terri finishing what she’d started and sat up on the bed. But he didn’t start getting dressed right away. Instead, he watched as she fumbled with her bra. Her breasts were jiggling as she worked with the lacy material. He liked watching her jiggle.
“Terri?”
They both stilled. The voice was drawing nearer. It was also plain it wasn’t his mother. Perhaps that was a good thing, Bastien thought idly; it would be a shame to kill a woman who had survived some seven-hundred-plus years.
“It’s Kate!” Terri cried, but didn’t seem much relieved. But then, Bastien supposed it wouldn’t matter who was coming toward the bedroom, Terri would panic anyway. Being caught in such a compromising position might not be the scandalous thing it was in his youth, but it could still be terribly embarrassing.
“I thought you said we had the place to ourselves!” she hissed accusingly. “Why didn’t you tell me they were returning?”
“It completely slipped my mind in all the chaos of the last couple of days,” Bastien admitted, shifting wearily to get out of the bed. His erection had done a quick disappearing act.
> “Bastien?” Kate’s voice was clear as a bell now; she was nearly to the room. They were nearly to the room, he corrected as Lucern could be heard saying, “They’ve probably gone out for the day.”
Bastien stilled, his mind working. Maybe if they hid in the closet or something, Kate and Lucern would think they weren’t here and go away. Then he and Terri could get back to…His gaze found Terri as she finished with her bra. She pulled her shirt on and hurried across the room to the door leading into the guest bathroom. No. Not a chance. He couldn’t see her agreeing to hiding. She’d flown all this way to help Kate with the wedding, and she wouldn’t hide just to make love with him. It was one of the things he liked about her, he admitted as she slipped out of the room. Her loyalty and sense of what was right were some of the things that made her so special.
Damn shame though, Bastien thought sadly as he glanced down at himself. His erection had started to perk back up at the possibility of continuing after all. It died a quick death, however, as the door to the bedroom opened and Kate walked into the room.
“I can’t believe you forgot we were coming home today,” Kate said again. It was later that night.
Bastien sighed and shrugged. He couldn’t believe it, either. But he had been rather busy of late, dealing with the various crises that had popped up around the other couple’s wedding. Not to mention the added crises surrounding Kate’s friend Chris. Poor bastard. The guy hadn’t looked any better today when they’d gone to see him. That had been at Kate’s insistence. The minute she’d heard the calamities that plagued the man, she’d insisted they all head to the hospital. Bastien had tried to get himself and Terri out of the visit, hoping to get the chance to finish what she had started, but hadn’t managed. In the end, they’d all traipsed up to the hospital. C.K. was still not feeling well.
“I’m so sorry that you’ve had to handle so many problems while we were gone,” Kate said. They’d ended up telling her everything, even about the catering. It had been hard not to, what with the apartment littered with catering trolleys. She’d taken the news pretty well, only panicking a little, and had relaxed once she heard how they had handled it. It was nice to know she trusted their taste.
