by Jo Leigh
“Fuck,” he murmured, although she doubted he realized he’d said it aloud.
“I’m glad you like it.”
“I like everything, except the fact you’re too far away.”
She turned back and glanced at the prominent bulge in his boxer briefs. She carefully put her fingers underneath the high waist of her panties, cocked her head as she waited for him to do the same with his briefs, then, smiling broadly, said, “One, two, three, go.” And she stripped off her bottoms, kicked off her shoes and dived under the sheet.
He was still struggling with his socks, cursing again in colorful language, until he finally crawled in next to her.
When they were skin to skin, all the way from her chest to her knees, she sighed and moaned at the same time. But that was okay, because he sounded like a man who’d just found heaven.
“The great thing about our arrangement,” she said, her eyelids drifting closed as he nibbled on her neck, “is that we can do anything we want.”
“Uh-huh,” he said, moving his teasing to her jaw. “Wait, what do you mean?”
“Well, that we’re...you know. Not serious. It’s like permission. We know it’s only for fun. No dire consequences if something isn’t perfect.”
He moved his head back and looked at her. “Are you suggesting sex with you could be anything but perfect?”
“That’s sweet, but yes. I’m not saying it’s not going to be perfect, but if it isn’t, so what?”
Tony stole her breath away with another searing kiss, and when they finally took a much-needed breath, he whispered, “I love the way you think.”
12
ALTHOUGH HE’D KISSED that imperfect idea off her lips, Tony actually agreed with her. It was freeing to have no expectations. Though he had that with Rita, and this was definitely not that.
He wasn’t sure why it felt different, though.
But he refused to think about it now. Not while he had this beautiful woman in his arms. In fact...
He rolled her gently onto her back, kissed her lips, her delicate jaw, the curve of her neck, then the hollow. All the while, he explored her silken skin. Her nipples were hard like pebbles, and when he squeezed one between his index finger and thumb, her reaction told him a lot. He hadn’t squeezed hard, but he was glad to know she was open to exploration.
All the women he’d been with before and after Angie had welcomed a little bit of daring. He wasn’t sure why he’d thought Catherine might be the exception, but it was true. Probably because she was so different from anyone he’d ever been with. Certainly more elegant, more worldly.
Her hands, both of them, were in his hair. Not exactly pushing him lower, but there was definitely a suggestion that she wouldn’t mind. Far be it from him to question her wishes.
When he lapped at her left nipple, she tugged on his hair in a way that let him know she liked what he was doing. Her moan helped with that, too.
He circled the little bud, and sucked it between his lips. With nothing between him and her skin, she tasted amazing, and it finally dawned on him that she smelled like roses.
Her leg got into the game, pressing against his butt with her calf. It caused his cock to rub against her upper thigh, not quite on the mark, but close.
“Oh,” she said, letting her breath carry the word away. He used his free hand to move down her side, then over to the smooth flesh of her belly.
His reward was a jerk of her hips. There had been a plan, a good one, to take his time and move down her body until he’d memorized everything, but that jerk put a kink in the works.
Instead of the slow stroll, he more or less sped down to just above her delicately trimmed V. The scent of her was stronger here. Pulling at him like a Siren’s call.
He looked up at her, and her beautiful blue eyes were half-lidded and dark, her lips parted and the tips of her teeth running over the place he wanted to kiss almost as much as he wanted to explore where he was.
Without losing eye contact, he parted her thighs, lifted her legs and eased them over his shoulders. Then he tore his gaze from hers and used his thumbs to reveal her moist, pink heat.
The first swipe of his tongue made him moan and his cock jerk impatiently. Tough. He tasted the sea and the essence of woman, beguiling and addictive. A few more long strokes all the way up to her clit, and then he circled the bud peeking out from her hood. Her legs on his back trembled. Catherine groaned and tugged on his hair. It didn’t hurt. There was nothing but pleasure running through him.
As he learned what she liked best—slow pressed circles, quick flicks, teasing on the outer perimeter—he reacted. She’d urge him to focus, to flick and circle.
Her trembling increased, as did her cries, and with one final tug on his hair, she let go, jerking hard enough to unbalance him as her orgasm swept over her like a high tide.
He zeroed back in.
“Tony,” she said, her voice mostly breath.
He looked up.
“I’d really like it a lot if you put on a condom right now and shagged me into the mattress.”
“Yes,” he said, trying hard not to immediately come, with no direct stimulation at all. “Yes, I can do that.” He somehow got his knees beneath him and bent over far enough to grab a condom. “And for the record, you speaking Euro is very hot. Shagging is a great word.”
“You think so?” she said, an aftershock making the last word shaky.
He nodded as he quickly rolled the condom down his cock. “I do. And I’d like to say, also for the record, that I had planned to take my time with you, to give you every pleasure possible, but now that you’ve asked me so nicely, I’m probably not going to last much longer than I did before.”
“I don’t mind. In fact, I’ll make it easier for both of us.”
He didn’t understand what that meant until she leaned back against the pillows, pulled one leg off his shoulder until her foot was on the bed, and spread the other leg wider. With a wicked smile that looked incredibly hot on her angelic face, she reached down with her right hand and spread herself for him. “I’m thinking that if you stop ogling now, we’ll probably come at the exact same time.”
“You think I can touch your body and not come instantly?”
She inhaled raggedly for a few beats before meeting his gaze. “I believe in you. You’re a strong, capable man. I think you can take us both to the moon and back.”
He closed his eyes and sent up a quick prayer that he wouldn’t embarrass himself completely, then willed his cock to settle the hell down. The moon? No sweat. Since he was already on his knees, he stole a quick kiss before maneuvering into position, all while not daring to look at what her fingers were doing. Or even glance in that area.
As ready as he was going to get, he squared himself into firing range, and after a quick tug on his balls, went for it. All the way in one stroke.
He didn’t come, although a heart attack wasn’t out of the question. Hearing her gasp made him insane, and God, he could feel her hand moving under him. There was no need to look down; he could imagine everything with perfect clarity, all while looking into her half-closed eyes, just the rim of blue iris visible around her pupils.
Pulling out slowly, until the tip of his cock was between her warm, wet lips, he pushed hard again, moving the bed, her body, the whole damn building. Her mouth had opened as if in a scream, but there was no sound outside of a kind of squeak, which somehow turned him on even more. How was that even possible?
“You’re so...”
“What?” she asked. “I’m so what?”
“Amazing.”
“You’ve said that before.”
“Astonishing.”
“Yes,” she said. “Better.”
“You like that?” he said, pulling out inch by inch.
“I like it when you talk to me. When you say nice things. Or dirty things. Either is fine.”
His head dropped again, for longer this time. “You’re going to kill me.”
“No. Don’t die. Not until we come. Together. Synchronized orgasms.”
He laughed, groaned. “I don’t think I can wait.”
“It won’t be long. I’m already having to slow it down.”
“Slow it—?”
“My finger. The second time tends to come faster.”
He choked on a laugh, because there was no way he could form a word. But somehow he managed to thrust into her again. He had to freeze there, with his cock buried, on the brink, the knuckles of her right hand rubbing against his body in a circle that was gaining momentum.
“Again,” she said.
“So fucking hot,” he murmured, his voice a mere croak.
“For me, too,” she said. “Now you need to stop screwing around and just do it. Hard. Okay?”
He very nearly lost it right then, but the woman wanted it fast and hard, and he was not going to disappoint her. “Who are you?” he said, as he pulled back so fast he slipped out all the way. It didn’t take but a second to get back on track. “And where is that prim and proper beauty in that black skirt?”
“It’s still me. Free to ask for what I want,” she said, through several deep gasps. “All because of you.”
“Me?”
“You make me brave, Paladino. You make me wanton.”
Her words spurred him into a brutal pace, sweat beading on his hairline, his heart beating its way out of his chest. He’d never heard that word spoken before. “Wanton,” he repeated. It was like hearing he was a sex god.
After hoping with all his heart that he hadn’t said that last bit out loud, he couldn’t think anymore. Not while he was having his mind and body shredded into atoms. He couldn’t see. Could barely breathe. Wanted it to last forever, knowing full well he wouldn’t survive.
“Now,” she cried. “Nnn-n-n—”
He broke. He was in to the hilt and coming like he’d empty his whole being inside her. Feeling her squeeze the entire length of his shaft as she trembled underneath and around him.
It took a couple lifetimes for his own body to stop shaking. With all the strength of a newborn kitten, he somehow managed to fall beside her on the bed, their bodies still touching.
* * *
CATHERINE STARED UP at the ceiling. She could see it perfectly well because they still hadn’t turned off any lights. Another way being with Tony was unique.
So was asking him to talk dirty to her. And then telling him when to wrap things up.
She smiled a little at that. It was the opposite of what she did in bed. With a partner. She’d always liked the idea of asking for exactly what she wanted. Which should not have been a difficult thing to do.
Yet it had been, until Tony came along. “You know what’s interesting?”
A burst of laughter came from Tony. “What would that be?” he said, and she could hear the grin in his voice.
“I would have thought that you, being from such a traditional Italian family, would have had more difficulty with me taking over the...game plan.”
After a bit of groping, he found her hand and squeezed it. “I guess we surprised each other. Because I wouldn’t have thought that you’d be the type to be so bold.”
She turned her head and found him looking at her, the laugh lines by his eyes making him look younger somehow. Certainly more handsome. “I know. Why do you think that is?”
He held up a hand. “One sec.” He turned away from her for a moment, grabbed some tissues, then pulled up the comforter so they wouldn’t get cold now that the high was wearing off.
She took advantage of the mini break and sipped some much needed water from a bottle that had been left on the nightstand. By the time they were both back in position she was relieved that the cozy intimacy was still intact. It got even better when he found her hand again.
“I think,” he said, “that we click in a way that’s unusual.”
“Explain?”
“From an objective standpoint, you’re completely out of my league.”
“I am not.”
“Yeah, you are. I’m not putting myself down. But you have to admit we come from different worlds.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that. But you’re certainly not from the wrong side of the tracks, and I’m not going to be handed the keys to an empire.”
“My point is there’s so much I like about you. We have a lot in common. Your taste, your willingness to take on a challenge. The work you do. You could have gone a whole different way, but you’re very independent for a person who’s had the kind of life you’ve led. I’m the kind of guy who knew from the beginning what I was going to do, who I’d be.”
“Also admirable, but how does that make us unusual?”
“It’s not a negative thing at all. I’m really glad we’re getting to know each other, in all kinds of ways. But we both know your family would have a fit if we ever really got together, and, well...”
“I’m not Italian. Or Catholic.”
He nodded. “I’m not saying either of us allows our families to run our lives, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re...improbable, and I believe it makes us brave.”
“How is that different from what I said?”
He shook his head. “I’m with you because I like you, and I think it’s great that we feel comfortable enough to step outside our comfort zones. Not just in bed, either. You do realize I don’t usually pitch in on jobs like I’m doing with you.”
“I didn’t think so. And I’m not exactly the DIY type of person.”
“But the sex part is also sensational, so...”
She grinned. “Don’t tell me you’re ready...”
“I wish.” He slid deeper under the covers, running a hand down her pale skin. “But soon.”
She shimmied down until they were pressed against each other, her leg entwined with his. The feel of her made him wish he was a teenager again. Her hand was suddenly on his ass, giving him a little squeeze, and it wouldn’t surprise him at all if he rose to the occasion sooner than he thought he could.
13
THE FOLLOWING FRIDAY, Tony had just finished a walk-through with a new client. The building was in Chinatown, five stories, with a commercial property on the ground floor and apartments above. The new owners, a group of young real estate flippers based in Connecticut, wanted him to make the top four floors into high-end condos and redo the commercial space so they could charge four times the rent. But they were hagglers, new to Paladino & Sons, and Tony’s big decision was whether the money was worth the annoyance he and his crews would have to put up with.
They left the building and stood on the street, five young hotshots ready to become the next “real estate moguls,” and him with his touch-pad spreadsheet and enough impatience to walk away if they called themselves that one more time.
“Look, I’ll send you a bid. If you like it, fine. If not, that’s fine, too.”
“You do know this could be the first of many jobs for your family operation,” said the shortest one with the four-hundred-dollar haircut and enough attitude to fill Madison Square Garden.
“It’s possible,” he said slowly, watching their smug expressions dim. “We’re booked through next year, but maybe I could bring in a few more subcontractors.”
“We don’t want the shit end of the work pool.”
“No one who subcontracts for us is second best. It’s hard as hell to be on our wait list.”
“Mambo Italiano” rang out from his cell phone, and he had no compunctions about leaving the party with a quick, “Anything else?” He gave them a few seconds to respond. When no one did, he smiled.
“I’ll get the bid to you next week,” he said, before he crossed the street and answered the phone. “Catherine?”
“Am I interrupting?”
“Not at all. In fact, I was just going to call you.”
“Oh.” The smile in her voice made him smile along with her. “You go first.”
“What are you doing this weekend?”
“Uh, working on the house.”
“Can I get you to change your mind?”
“Depends.” She laughed. “Yes, of course. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
He started walking again, a definite lift in his step. “I’d like you to pack a bag for an overnight stay, and be ready to go early tomorrow morning. Around eight. Casual clothes. Plus something nice, just in case.”
“Wait a minute. You can’t— You have to tell me more than that.”
“Why? Don’t you trust me?”
Her silence lasted long enough to give him second thoughts. “I’m not actually that good with surprises.”
“Okay,” he said, disappointed, but anxious for her to just say yes. He was already looking forward to getting out of the city, away from his family, her work, his work. “I’m—”
“No, stop. You don’t have to tell me anything.”
“You sure?”
“Yes,” she said softly. “I do trust you, Tony.”
He’d been teasing. The trip would be their first real time to get away from the strictures of pretense, the hiding and the nonsense from the neighbors. It had little to do with trust. But something about the quietly spoken words got to him. “You won’t be sorry.”
“I already know that.” Her smile was back. “So, I’ll be ready by eight.”
“Perfect. Wish I could see you tonight, but, well, I’ve got my cousin’s thing and—”
“I know. But it’ll give me a chance to look at some wallpaper and get to sleep at a good hour.”
“We’re all set, then.” He saw his next appointment, Mr. Diamond, standing outside his store a few doors away. “How about we meet at the Canal Street subway at Broadway?”
