She thought he’d go for her breasts again. Ella wanted him to touch her breasts. Her nipples ached to feel him touch her with his mouth, his fingers…anything at all! But his mouth moved against her neck, discovering spots she hadn’t realized existed. With each discovery, she writhed against him, feeling his erection against her stomach or thigh and wanting him inside her. Ella was so ready for him, she wanted to cry but she didn’t know how to say so!
“Please!” she whimpered, almost sobbing with her need for him to ease the ache between her legs. Rubbing her thighs against his hips, she arched into him. Malcolm only moved lower, his mouth latching onto one aching nipple while his hand moved to tease the other breast, tweaking her nipple. His mouth was hot and shockingly good! Her fingers dove into his hair, holding his head in place while she cried out. He moved to the other nipple and teased it for long moments while Ella trembled and shifted against him, trying to find some relief.
“No more! I can’t take any more!” she screamed, pulling his head away from her breast. She turned her head to the side, spotting the condom amid the rumpled comforter and tore it open.
“Give it to me, Ella,” he ordered, reaching for it.
“No! I want to do it!” and she pressed against his shoulders until he pulled back, kneeling in front of her.
Ella stared at him, shocked at how large he was. This whole time, she’d only touched his shoulders and stomach. Then he’d picked her up and…!
“Ella!” he snapped. Impatiently, he took the condom and rolled the protection down over his erection. “You’re too slow and I’m already too turned on.”
She laughed, delighted that she could do to him what he’d been doing to her this whole time.
With another growl, he pressed her back against the mattress, covering her body with his own. “Oh, you think it’s funny that I’m on the edge here?” he asked. His hand moved from her waist to her leg, sliding it up higher so that he was more perfectly cradled against her hips. “I think I’m going to have to punish you for your amusement at my expense.”
Ella felt his erection press into her and gasped, gripping his shoulders as she lifted her hips. “Does my punishment include…?” She closed her eyes as he pressed into her, easing into her tight, wet folds. “Yes!” she sighed. Her frantic need was momentarily appeased as he pushed deeper and deeper into her body. Then he pulled out and she grabbed his arms, her eyes flashing open as the friction from his body teased her. “No!”
“Yes,” he countered and thrust into her again. Dancing, their bodies came together and retreated, pressing into her and sliding away. With every thrust, their bodies arched towards each other, the tempest rising, their need growing out of control.
“Faster!” she whispered, her body tingling as she shifted against him. “Please, faster!”
Thankfully, Malcolm thrust faster, his hips pressing into her again and again. She arched, whimpering as she strived to reach that point. When he moved his hand lower, touching that throbbing nub, her body splintered into the most beautiful, mind-blowing climax! Ella hadn’t even thought that sensations like that were possible. She clung to him, her body throbbing in a seemingly continuous wave of pleasure!
Malcolm watched, aching to give in to his own release, but also wanting to give Ella more pleasure. But she was too tight and too beautiful as she spiraled out of control and he couldn’t hold back. Thrusting once, twice…and his body exploded, her tight muscles clamping around him and intensifying the pleasure as he thrust into her until it was all over.
A moment later, he collapsed against her, burying his face into the sweet scent of her neck and hair. He couldn’t move. Malcolm suspected that he could die right here a happy man. No, dying would be bad because then he couldn’t do that again with Ella.
Even thinking about doing this again, his body started to harden. He pulled away and reluctantly moved to the bathroom. Cleaning up, he looked at himself in the mirror, shocked to find that there weren’t body parts missing after that explosion. Shaking his head at his fanciful thoughts, he walked back to Ella, smiling to find her still lying on the bed. She’d curled to the side slightly but he could still see all of the lovely parts of her. And there were many lovely parts, he thought. She only had one shoe on by this point and he wanted to roar with pleasure. His woman, he thought. Such a caveman attitude. Ella was his.
Moving towards the bed, he watched as her eyes fluttered open. There was a bit of smudged mascara under her eyes and her lipstick was completely gone. But he didn’t think she could look any more beautiful than she did at this moment.
“You okay?” he asked as he moved behind her, pulling her bottom against his already increasing erection. He hoped she wasn’t too sore because he’d very much like to do all of that again. Soon!
Then again, feeling her like this, cuddling against him with a soft smile on her full, swollen lips was pretty nice too.
He moved his hands around her waist, his fingers and palm flat against her stomach. He could feel her body arch against him. She was almost purring like a kitten.
“I’m fine,” she replied, yawning.
“You’re not sore?” he asked, his hand wandering lower, wanting to test out that area. He definitely hadn’t explored that area thoroughly enough.
Ella laughed and grabbed his hand. “I’m not sore.”
“Then why are you stopping me from making sure that you’re not too sore?”
She smiled and pressed more firmly against him. He could feel all of her against him now. Even her legs were tangled with his.
“Because I don’t think your purpose in ensuring my lack of soreness is completely altruistic.”
He smiled, but moved his hand along her hip and thigh. “You might be right.” He nibbled the side of her neck. “I’ll let you sleep then.”
She laughed, shaking her head and he loved feeling the soft tresses tickle his cheek. “I’m not sleepy.”
“Your eyes are closed.”
Ella grinned, but kept her eyes shut. “I’m waiting to see what you’re going to do with that hand,” she admitted. “If you’re too tired though, then I’m going to imagine something else and maybe…”
Malcolm didn’t allow her to finish that statement. Instead of the teasing touches of moments before, her words shot a bolt of lust straight through his body. Immediately, he shifted so that he was once more looming on top of her. “I don’t think that I want your imagination to work that hard,” he murmured, kissing his way down her stomach, his hands leading the way. “At least, not this time.” He kissed his way down her neck. “Next time,” he whispered into her ear.
He pulled her leg back, exposing her body to him. She felt open and vulnerable and…sexy. Wanted! She didn’t have time to revel in that revelation because his fingers didn’t stop moving. His fingers were…amazing! Talented, ingenious and…naughty! They teased, and flicked against that sensitive nub before moving away. One finger slid into her heat and she groaned, her hands clenching…something. She wasn’t sure what anymore. She was focused on that finger, on the way it moved inside of her. When his thumb came into play, she couldn’t do anything but react, pressing against his fingers and hand.
Before she knew it was happening, Ella’s body shattered with another climax and Malcolm’s very talented, very wicked fingers extended her pleasure in ways she never would have expected. Before she had time to recover, Malcolm had already donned another condom and slid inside of her from behind. When one climax finished, she immediately felt the next begin. It was almost overwhelming and she couldn’t do anything to help him because of their positions. She was completely at his mercy. So, when the next came upon her, she dug her fingers into the bed covers again and just…rode it out until it was over. Vaguely, she was aware of Malcolm coming to his own climax as well, but she couldn’t do anything to help him. Ella just collapsed after it was all over. Panting, her body melting into the bed. She felt the mattress shift as he went to the bathroom again.
Ella open
ed her eyes, admiring his tight butt and muscular thighs. When he came back to the bed, she might have smiled at his rock hard abs, but she wasn’t quite sure that her smiling muscles were working. None of her other muscles were, why would her facial muscles be an exception?
But she did sigh when he pulled her into his arms, covering them both with the comforter as he reached out and turned off the light.
Her last thought before she drifted to sleep was that she was really glad that he hadn’t left tonight. She enjoyed the warmth of his body as he pulled her into his arms, settling her against his side. Ella used his shoulder as her pillow and knew that this was what heaven must be like.
Chapter 7
Ella’s eyes didn’t want to open. There was sunlight streaming into her bedroom and she vaguely remembered not closing the blinds last night. But for long moments, she couldn’t remember why. Once her synapses kicked into gear, forming thoughts and recognizing the world, she opened her eyes enough to look around. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong, but she couldn’t think hard enough to figure it out.
Blanket…check. Her own bed…check. No headache. But her body…ached. There was a tightness in her inner thigh muscles, a tightness she’d never experienced before. What…?
That’s when memories of the previous night came back to her. Sex. No, what she’d done with Malcolm couldn’t ever be defined as mere sex. It had been…shocking! Amazing! Ella had been with two other men before, and the sex had been…fine. Nothing exciting. That’s why she didn’t want to define last night with Malcolm as just a sexual encounter.
Nothing that mind-blowing, world-jarring, and body-altering could be defined with such a mediocre word.
Lifting her head, Ella looked around, listening. Nothing. That’s what was wrong! Wrapping the sheet around her, she looked around her bedroom. Malcolm wasn’t here. And by the silence, she knew that he wasn’t in the other room either. Nor was he in the bathroom.
He’d left! After the most amazing night of her life, he’d left her alone this morning? For some reason, his absence cheapened the whole night, made her feel…wrong.
She thought about lying back down and wallowing in self-pity, but that wasn’t really Ella’s way of handling things. Instead, she threw back the covers and stomped into the bathroom. She’d meant to take a quick shower, but the short walk to the bathroom showed her that her muscles were much more tense than she’d anticipated. So instead, she lingered under the warm water, trying to soothe the ache in her body as well as in her mind.
The water helped her legs, but didn’t do much to slow her thoughts. Finally, she shut off the water and dried off, pulling on clean underwear…but not one of the pretty pieces that Malcolm had bought for her. Nope, those might just get shredded. The actions she took against the pretty pieces would be determined later, once she confronted him and found out why he’d snuck out last night. Or this morning. It had been after midnight when they’d come back from that horrible party. So everything that had occurred last night had happened today.
“You’re going to have a lot of explaining to do, you jerk!” she grumbled to the empty apartment as she pulled a sweater over her head. A pair of jeans and sneakers were the rest of her ensemble…could it really be considered an ensemble? Didn’t one need to accessorize before it could be considered an ensemble? Probably. So she pulled her hair up into a messy bun and plopped a hat on her head. “There!” she growled as she pulled her wallet from the evening bag she’d carried the previous evening and dumped it into her bag. As she walked out of her apartment, she grabbed her keys. “I have an ensemble.” She stomped out of her apartment.
She climbed into her car and started the engine but as she waited for the car to warm up, Ella realized she wasn’t exactly sure where she was going. It was Saturday morning at…she looked at her clock. Wow, it was almost noon. Ella never slept that late! She was usually up before the sun rose but also, she preferred to be in bed early. Ella was definitely a morning dove, not a night owl.
Okay, so…where did one go when one needed to vent about a night of hot, passionate sex? Cassy wasn’t even in the country and Naya…well, Ella had no idea where Naya was. “I miss them,” she whispered and laid her head on the steering wheel.
Ella allowed herself to wallow in self-pity for perhaps three minutes. “Enough!” she snapped and lifted her head. “This isn’t doing any good. So he left me this morning. I can deal with that. I’m not some pathetic gold digger who needs a man in her life to be happy!”
Her stomach growled and she nodded. “Food!” With a goal in mind, she backed out of the parking spot and headed towards…? “I want a muffin,” she decided out loud. “Okay, actually, I want a cupcake, but since I haven’t had any breakfast, a muffin will work.” She nodded and turned right to head towards the bakery. She lived outside of London, very close to Malcolm’s, or rather, his father’s estate. Which brought Malcolm’s father to mind. Where was the old codger? Several people had asked about Edward Reynolds last night.
Ella pulled into an empty spot along the village green and got out, slinging her messenger bag over her body and crossed the street to the bakery. Happily, she spotted her father sitting at a table, reading a newspaper. Stepping into the shop, she paused a moment to breathe in the delicious smells. Then she walked over to her dad’s table and sat down. Immediately, he dropped his newspaper and smiled at her. “Honey! What a nice surprise!” he stood up to give her a hug before sitting down again. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you out discovering the next horrific injustice in the world?” he teased.
Ella smiled and leaned her elbows onto the table. “Taking a break from horrific injustices this morning. I stopped in to grab a muffin and spotted you through the window.” She tilted her head towards his newspaper. “You know, you can get that online now. You don’t have to get the ink all over your fingers anymore.”
He laughed and folded his newspaper. “Of all the people to tell me not to get a newspaper, I’d think you’d be the last.”
She smiled and shrugged one shoulder. “I’m a reporter, so I’m definitely an advocate for an informed citizenry. But news outlets get most of their revenue from online advertising now. Almost no one reads an actual paper these days. Online is better for the environment,” she pointed out.
“True, but I do a lot for the environment already,” he huffed with a wink. “This will be my one vice.”
“You have only one vice?” she teased.
He chuckled. “Perhaps more than one.”
“I’m going to grab a muffin and some coffee. Do you want anything else?” she asked.
Tom shook his head. “I just finished lunch,” he told her and glanced at his watch, then looked at her with an expression that said she was running behind.
Ella laughed. “I worked late last night,” she told him, which was the truth, but not the reason she was so exhausted today. “I’ll be right back.”
Five minutes later, she came back to his table with a warm muffin and a steaming cup of black coffee. In college, she’d loved those specialty coffees with the foam and the flavored syrups. But after being in Africa and the various countries for so many years, she’d come to love a good cup of strong, black coffee, savoring the flavor and richness of the beans.
While she ate her muffin, Ella and her father talked about various topics, but several times, she caught her father glancing over at Ingrid, the bakery owner. Ingrid was about the same age as her father, and had owned this bakery for at least ten years, but Ella hadn’t ever noticed any romantic interest between them. Even as she watched, Ella’s father snuck another peek at the kind-hearted baker, then quickly away.
“So…” she said, smiling at her father and leaning forward on her elbows. “How’s your love life, Dad?” she asked, wanting to open the subject that had never occurred to her before.
Tom sputtered slightly, then shook his head. “I don’t…I’m not…” he glanced over at the baker, who was watching. It seemed Ingrid wante
d to hear Tom’s response and Ella’s heart ached for both of them.
Ella wrapped her fingers around the coffee cup. “You know Dad, Mom died a long time ago.”
He looked down at his own hands. “I know that, honey.”
Ella put her hands on her dad’s. “Dad, I think it’s time that you moved on with your life.” She waited and, slowly, he lifted his eyes to look at her. “Mom was an incredible woman,” Ella told him. “But she wouldn’t have wanted you to live only with memories of her for the rest of your life. She died a long time ago. Perhaps it is time that you found someone new to share your life with.” She paused and his eyes teared up. “Maybe someone who knows how to bake wonderful muffins,” she added in a whisper.
Tom chuckled and took a deep breath, shifting in his chair. “You wouldn’t mind? Your mother was a good woman.”
“Of course I wouldn’t mind,” Ella replied. “She was great. And nobody can take her place in my heart. I don’t think that you could ever replace her in yours either, but I suspect that there is some room for another woman in there. Not better, just…different. Someone who is here and can be with you. Memories are cold and can’t snuggle with you at night, Dad.”
He coughed, trying to appear gruff when Ella knew that he was deeply appreciative of her comments. “Maybe I’ll think about it,” he told her, and Ella watched him give the sweet bakery owner another glance.
Ella looked up at Ingrid and noticed that the woman was fiddling with…something. A string? Ella couldn’t see, but it appeared she was trying to look busy, while listening to their conversation.
“Well, it was great having breakfast with you,” she told her dad and stood up, kissing his weathered cheek. “I’m off to do more investigating.” She turned and walked to the counter. “Ingrid, that muffin was absolutely delicious. Thank you!”
The Secrets of Seduction (The Ladies of The Burling School Book 7) Page 8
