The policeman tapped a last note and returned his handheld to his pocket. “Call us if you think of anything else. We’ll be in touch,” he said, and strode out, leaving her alone with Thomas.
“Well, my dear. Seems like we have a ticklish situation here.” Thomas lifted her fingers and pressed a moist kiss on her wrist.
Sasha fought for control, resisting the urge to rip her hand free and wipe away his touch on the seat of her black warm-up trousers.
“We’ve turned the changing rooms upside down searching for the necklace.” Sasha stood stiffly beside Thomas, thankful that Bridget and Antonio were within calling distance. Their presence gave the illusion of safety.
“Yet you haven’t found the diamonds,” Thomas enunciated. What was also clear was his determination to get her to accept his protection, by fair means or treachery. His dark eyes pierced her bravado as he sought a weakness. “I don’t suppose you can afford the bad publicity.”
“No.” Sasha tried to regain possession of her hand.
“I think we’ll discuss it over a drink,” he mused. “Much more civilized.”
An undignified tussle ensued, but he released her. Sasha stepped away and put her desk between them. “I’m training two competitors for the Sex Idol contest. They’re waiting for me.”
Thomas smirked, aware of his advantage. “Tomorrow evening will be fine. Say seven.”
“I have training sessions every night this week.” Sasha fought to conquer the fear that he’d cause trouble for her school. For once, she was glad Antonio was back in her life, even if it was temporary.
“Ah yes. Antonio and Bridget.” His gaze drifted across the room before returning to her. “I understood Antonio and Bridget were no longer performing partners. Last I’d heard, they’d split.”
A small gasp escaped before she could prevent it. She didn’t believe him. They were here, training together for the competition.
“You mean you didn’t know? A lot of bad vibes between them according to yesterday’s stories on the links.”
“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t had time to keep up with the news.” The man was playing with her. Sasha fought to retain a passive expression while inside thoughts tumbled end over end. He stepped closer, his woodsy scent tickling her nostrils. She breathed through her mouth to block the offensive aroma. Thomas wouldn’t make the allegations if they weren’t true. He had no reason to fabricate stories about Antonio unless he suspected… Sasha’s head popped up to study his expression.
“Still care, do you?” he asked.
Sasha shrugged. You can do this. Lie. Do it. “Antonio and I are friends still, of course, but that’s as far as it goes. I’m helping them out with a routine.”
His eyes gleamed with sudden amusement. He didn’t believe her. “Are you sure I can’t interest you in a late dinner at the Apple Grove?” he asked, naming one of the top, most expensive restaurants in Arnie City.
He appeared so confident and sure of himself, as if he knew she’d succumb. That was where he was wrong. Antonio was the only man who interested her, but he didn’t feel the same way.
“No, thank you.”
The smirk faded leaving annoyance and determination. “Another time.” Thomas walked to the exit, halting in the doorway to have the last word. “I will have you, my dear. Make no mistake. One way or the other you will be mine.”
Chapter Six
Sasha pushed away her foreboding and stalked over to the far end of the room where Antonio and Bridget stood in deep discussion. Again.
“How’s it going?” She studied them in light of the new info. Thomas couldn’t be right about them breaking up. They worked so well together. Granted Bridget was temperamental, but she was known for that. Her mood swings didn’t seem to bother Antonio.
“What’s up? I saw a cop. The man. I presume a parent?” Antonio rubbed a hand through his damp hair and scratched his bare chest.
“Did you get on all right without me?” Sasha didn’t want to mention the theft. Not now. She brushed a piece of fluff off her scarlet jacket. “Do you want to run through the routine for me now?”
“I have to go,” Bridget snapped. “I expected you would help us train, not leave us to our own devices.”
“I’m sorry. I—”
Bridget picked up a bag off the floor. “Tonight was a waste of time.” She stomped off, leaving Sasha reeling with guilt-tinged irritation.
“I’m sorry, Antonio.” The pipes burst into song, clanking and groaning, indicating Bridget was in the cleansing unit. Sasha wished she could give in to her exhaustion and go home after her run in with Thomas. “I had to deal with my student and her father. Did you need me to run through parts of the routine again?”
“Bridget’s fine with kink or anything different, but when it comes to traditional, she balks. Can you run through the routine with me now?”
Sasha’s exhaustion sloughed away, her heart leaping at his suggestion. Her glance ran across his chest and strayed lower to a spectacular set of abs that made her long to take a bite. “Now? But Bridget needs to be present.” Panic made her squeak, and she cleared her throat, pressed her fingers to her chest to stem the crazy heart palpitations. She’d give herself away, open herself to pain.
“Please, it would help if you went through the routine and worked through any flaws. Bridget is still having problems with the concept of kissing during a performance.”
Kissing. Without warning, Sasha’s limbs quaked. She peeked at his torso and lower to his erection before she shifted her focus, her cheeks burning as she reacted like one of her new students. This was a bad idea.
“I rarely participate with my students.” A weak excuse, since she’d gone against her self-made rules and joined them. Prim and pompous, even. No doubt her smile matched. It certainly felt feeble.
“I’m not just any student.” His hands curled around her shoulders and he lowered his head before she gathered the wits to object. “The routine starts with a kiss,” he whispered against her mouth.
His lips covered hers and rational thought fled, replaced by pure sensation. Antonio explored the interior of her mouth, stroking and teasing. His hands slipped downward to cup her butt, drawing her closer so his erection cozied against her belly. Sasha sighed and leaned against his muscled chest.
Lord, she’d missed him. His touch, both internally and externally. She pictured herself impaled on his cock, swaying and riding him, and her sex clenched. Damp heat gathered between her legs, converging in her achy clit.
“We shouldn’t do this,” she whispered, making one last attempt at rational behavior. But despite her words, she arched her neck to allow him access to the tender place beneath her ear. She jumped at the scrape of his teeth. A needy moan built deep in her chest.
“I need you, Sasha.”
Please don’t tell me that!
“Bridget isn’t creative or innovative. I need you to help me.”
Oh. Pain lashed at her heart.
Foolish. Stupid. Sasha swallowed, and she pulled back, bursting the intimate spell she’d allowed to build between them.
“All right.” She aimed for brisk and professional. “Let’s do it.”
Inside she wept. Somehow, he’d slipped past her careful guards. The flimsy protection she’d erected had failed. Dismally. Sasha admitted the truth. She’d loved Antonio in the past and she loved him now.
She always would.
Curse his rotten hide.
“How about going through the whole routine we mapped out without stopping to analyze?” His dark gaze seemed to bore right through her, searching out her guilty secret. She was so far over the professional line, the teacher’s council would demand she return her teaching certificate if they ever heard of her behavior.
Sasha swallowed, forcing a painful lump of hurt back down her throat. “Fine.” Now that was a joke. There was nothing fine about loving Antonio, not when their priorities differed so much.
Antonio smiled, his white teeth flashing b
efore he lowered his head to kiss her again. His touch seared to her toes, curling them inside her soft synleather slippers. Expertise. Pure expertise, considering the man didn’t kiss often.
He tugged off her lightweight jacket, baring her fitted yellow and red top.
“What are you doing?” Bridget’s shriek of outrage reverberated in every corner of the classroom. She marched across the room to where they stood, the charms on her bracelet rattling in fury. Spots of color blotched her cheeks. Sasha stepped out of firing range. She’d heard rumors of Bridget’s temper spilling over to punching and kicking.
“We’re going through the routine.” Antonio’s hand curled into her shoulder, his touch warning her to let him handle Bridget. Fine by her. He was welcome to deal with the crisis. “You know we’re having problems,” Antonio continued. “I want to win the first heat. Don’t you?”
“Of course I do,” Bridget snapped then her shoulders slumped beneath the short and sassy waitress uniform she wore. “I’m sorry. I want to stay to train, but I can’t. I’ll lose my job if I don’t turn up to work. If I lose my job, I’ll lose my apartment. I have to work—I need the extra money to keep up my credit card payments.” Her lips curled in a rueful grin. “I splurged on designer sex toys last month. Couldn’t resist. It’s a bad habit I need to break.”
“I have a gap in my schedule tomorrow night,” Sasha said.
Bridget grimaced. “I have work.”
“I hear you about the credit card payments. Have you received the latest bill from the Sex Licensing Board? My credit card won’t look healthy for a month or two.” Antonio walked over to Bridget and pulled her into a casual hug. “Bridge, I’ll meet you for a quick cup of coffee after you finish work tonight. At the usual place. We can run through everything then.”
“Questions only. Better not do the physical stuff.” Sasha deadpanned. “You might cause a riot.”
Antonio chuckled. “You always had a smart mouth when it suited you.”
Sasha grinned in return, the intimacy of the moment bringing back fond memories.
“Okay. That will have to do. Thanks, Antonio.” Bridget checked her watch and yelped. “Gotta go.” Her high-heel shoes beat a noisy rat-a-tat-tat on the floor as she hurried from Sasha’s classroom. The door at the bottom of the stairs slammed and silence fell.
“All right. Now where were we? Ah, yes. You have clothes on and I don’t.”
Sasha went to step away so she could slip out of her clothes, but he stayed her with a hand at her shoulder.
“I’ll do it. We should integrate it into the act. What do you think? It should be fine if we make it quick. Wear clothes that come off with a quick tug.”
“It’s more seductive from an audience point of view,” Sasha agreed. “Watching a couple undress is a proven means to ratchet up the tension.” Nothing made her hotter than a man—Antonio—undressing her, removing her clothing piece by piece, ramping up the anticipation and her temperature. The only thing that came close was unwrapping him from his clothes.
“Might as well start now.” A wicked glint in his brown eyes made her wonder if she were transparent in her thoughts.
Sasha wanted to argue. Self-protection should have demanded it. Instead, she smiled weakly and let him take charge. He cupped her face and kissed her. Again. No undressing involved. Confused and off-balance, she didn’t know what to do with this unprecedented kissing. Antonio had kissed her more in the last week than he’d kissed her during their entire two-year partnership. She closed her eyes, hoping her uncertainty—heck—her distress didn’t show.
Antonio placed a fleeting kiss on each eyelid. Her heart stalled at the unexpected move. Go with the flow. Nerves tangoed while she pondered his next move. The acute anticipation became too much, and Sasha rubbed the back of her neck. She would not lick her lips. She would not.
“Let me,” he whispered. His tongue traced the outline of her mouth, hiking the tempo of her pulse even further when he upped their interaction. Their tongues danced together in a slow dance of seduction as if they had all the time in the world.
Antonio tugged at Sasha’s fitted top, continuing to kiss her until their breaths turned ragged. Finally, they pulled apart to take in air. Antonio lowered his head and inhaled.
“You always smell so good.” His words tickled on contact with her cleavage. He pressed a kiss on her breastbone. One of his fingers traced along the edge of her top. Her eyes flew open. Sasha suppressed her moan, but his touch sent her pleasure points haywire. Their gazes met, and Sasha held her next inhalation in expectation and longing.
It would feel even better if they were both naked.
Sasha squirmed to follow through on the thought. “Let me get undressed.”
“Carnations. You smell like carnations.” Antonio ignored her wriggling and cupped her breasts. He flexed his fingers so the cloth of her top abraded her nipples. He blew a stream of warm air over the puckered outline of her nipple. Sasha registered her body’s reaction clear to her toes—the tightening of her breasts, the arousal that surged between her legs, wetting the crotch of her panties. She needed to get naked.
Antonio took her fabric-covered nipple into his mouth. He bit down hard enough for her to flinch in surprise. Antonio pulled away and flicked his finger against her nipple. “You’re still sensitive there.”
“Yes.” Sasha wanted to scream at him to hurry, but that would give away her feelings. It wasn’t professional to hunger.
Control.
Sasha struggled to maintain the same restraint Antonio exhibited.
“Do you still like to be suckled?” he asked.
He sounded distant, but his focus never left her face.
Sasha’s flesh thrummed with acute anticipation.
“Do you?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
Antonio slipped his hands under the hem of her top. The warmth of his palms on her belly made her jump.
He laughed. “Still ticklish?”
“No!” But she flinched again when he inched his hand upward, his fingers dancing across her skin rather than pressing firmly. “Antonio. Stop teasing.”
Without warning, he yanked the top over her head and tossed it on the floor. He stared at her bare breasts, his gaze intent and assessing. Sasha quivered. It was the contrast between warm skin and the cooler air, and nothing to do with Antonio. But her breasts ached for his touch, his mouth. Her fingers crept up to soothe one sensitive peak.
“Ah-ah.” Antonio captured her hand in his, lowering it back to her side. “Mine,” he said. “Still gorgeous and tempting.”
“If I’m so tempting, why are you moving at the pace of a snail?” Sasha couldn’t keep her pique hidden.
Antonio flashed a grin. “I want to explore several scenarios for our routine. Fast isn’t always the best. You know the old song about a slow hand?”
Sasha’s mouth gaped open before irritation took over. She’d forgotten for a moment about this being training for Antonio’s routine. Slow hand. A snort escaped. “Remember there’s a clock ticking. Move faster. You won’t have time for slow hands or otherwise.” Okay. She’d sounded more like a tutor.
Antonio smiled and ignored her testy remarks. He released her hand to trace the blue veins in her right breast, then took a nipple into his mouth.
Yes! The soft suction weakened her knees and she clutched his shoulders to remain upright.
“I’d say it was time for horizontal.” A smirk played across his lips as he backed her toward the nearest couch. When the backs of her thighs hit the bench, he pulled away to kneel in front of her. Competent hands tugged her trousers and panties down her legs.
Sasha swallowed, aiming for nonchalance. Difficult when his mouth was level with her mons, and all he had to do was lean a little closer, apply his skillful mouth and tongue…
Saint’s alive! If she kept this up, she’d combust at his first intimate touch. To her mortification, she was close to panting. Focus, dammit. She stared at the top of his h
ead, her brow knit in a frown of concentration. “My shoes need to come off before—”
“I know that.” Antonio rose to whisk her off her feet and set her on the couch. He kissed to the top of her foot before sliding off the black slippers and setting them aside. Her trousers and panties followed, landing haphazardly on the floor. Antonio cupped her foot in his warm hand. Nimble fingers smoothed across the arch of one foot, massaging and rubbing until she wanted to purr at the exquisite sensation. She let her head loll back and her eyes drift shut. Magical fingers indeed. Now if only the man would hurry and apply them to parts of her anatomy that would be far more appreciative.
Antonio released her foot. Sasha’s breath caught only to whoosh out with disappointment when he transferred his attention to her other one.
“I thought you had to meet Bridget later. You’ll never make it back to San Fran at this rate.”
His dark brows rose while the corners of his lips quivered in the beginnings of a smile. “How do you know where Bridget works?”
“It came up in conversation,” Sasha said, concentrating on forming the words with difficulty.
“Conversation? That doesn’t sound like Bridget.” Antonio cupped her heel. He stroked down her arch, pressing firmly.
“Hmmm.” Sasha’s eyes fluttered closed.
One of Antonio’s hands moved up her calf, kneading her lower legs. Under the steady pressure of his touch, Sasha relaxed back on her elbows, the cotton sheet that covered the couch cool at her back. Antonio paused, his palm on her thigh, and Sasha stirred restlessly, the heat of arousal snaking through her. What was he going to do next?
When the silence lengthened between them, Sasha caught her bottom lip between her teeth and forced open her heavy lids. “What…um…what did you have in mind? For the routine, I mean.” Not that she cared. She plain wanted him. Hard. Fast. Now. A quiver of intense awareness worked down her body.
“Another kiss, I think.”
Okay. Yeah. She could work with that—for the moment. Sasha puckered her lips and waited.
Antonio stroked his fingers down her leg and she felt the kiss. Soft like the kiss of a timid child, it fell on the tender skin of her inner thigh.
Sex Idol Page 7
