“Hey, it’s a start,” he said with a rueful smile. “One more?” He pointed to her martini glass. When she nodded, he signaled the waiter.
Boy, she was really feeling the effects of that first drink, and it felt great. Setting an elbow on the table, she rested her chin on her upturned palm. “What about Eloise? Why did you end it with her?”
Even though the expression on his face said he really didn’t want to talk about this subject, she pushed. “Eloise was terrific.”
“That she was,” he agreed. “And…I didn’t love her.”
Carmen nodded sadly. “No, you didn’t.”
“Did you love Tio?”
“No.” She felt a frown forming between her eyebrows. “Actually, I didn’t love any of them.”
“Why do you think that is?”
The question gave her pause. “I have no idea.”
The waiter set down two more martinis and removed the empty glasses.
“Don’t you want to be in love?” JR’s question was said in an offhand, lightly teasing way, but Carmen picked up on its underlying seriousness.
“I guess…maybe…I’ve been waiting.”
It hung out there for a moment or two before he said quietly, “Yes. I’ve been waiting, too.”
Their gazes met over the table. Throughout the years of their friendship, Carmen had found JR looking at her with kindness, impatience, affection. But the look he gave her now was deeper and way more intense than any she could remember. It burned her with its laser-beam concentration. All of a sudden she felt squirmy, felt her blood speed up in her veins, was aware of little prickles of excitement darting up and down her skin.
Even felt her nipples harden.
Oh, boy. That attraction that she’d been aware of for a few days. It was back, big-time. She broke eye contact and glanced away.
Night had fallen, and waiters came around to all the tables, lighting the small candles at the centers. There was something lovely, mysterious, even, about the hush that evening brought, Carmen noted with the part of her brain that wasn’t trying to figure out what was up with her and JR. Shannon had said JR was in love with her. But was that true? Was it love? Or plain, old-fashioned lust?
She was so deeply introspective—not a familiar neighborhood for her until recently, and just possibly alcohol-fueled—that when JR reached for her hand, she flinched.
“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to make you jump.”
“I was just…thinking, that’s all.”
About me? JR wondered. About the two of us?
Just a moment ago, he’d seen her face flush prettily, even seen the tips of her breasts sharpen into small, rounded peaks. All of which had an effect on him, for sure. And all of which made him—despite the sore shoulder—want to thrust his fist in the air and howl, “Yes!”
He’d wondered the other day, when she’d kissed him. But now he knew. The sexual attraction he felt toward Carmen was not one-sided. She wanted him. How and when it had begun for her, he didn’t know and didn’t care, because it had always been one-way, and now it wasn’t anymore.
This, he knew, called for a move on his part. It would not be smart to blurt it out, not be prudent to say, “Carmen, I’m in love with you, I always have been, and let’s go to bed.” No, he needed to do this more smoothly.
Carmen took a healthy swig of her drink. “Wow, these are strong.” She was slurring her words. “Maybe we need to order some actual food. Whaddya think?”
He nodded to a waiter, who took their orders for four appetizer dishes and refilled their water glasses. JR couldn’t help noticing that Carmen seemed to be having trouble focusing. He found that adorable. And sexy. He shifted in his seat as his jeans became too tight.
He held his liquor much better than Carmen, but this second drink was having a decidedly pleasant effect on him now, too. He felt an overpowering rush of tenderness toward this woman who sat across the table from him. Not to mention good, old-fashioned desire. An idea began to form in his brain.
She smiled at him with loopy affection. “I’m so lucky to have you.” The slurring was more pronounced. “I’ve always had this knight in shining armor to look after me.”
He emitted a small, ironic laugh. “Right. I wish.”
And like that, the bubble burst; the reality of their situation hit him. Hard.
He rubbed his eyes with his right hand, then shook his head. “I am no knight, Carm, trust me. Especially now.” He indicated his bandaged shoulder, which, despite the numbing effects of alcohol, was throbbing again. “And I can’t help thinking about what we’ve been avoiding. You’re still in danger.”
Her face fell; she looked like a child whose favorite toy had been taken away. He was sorry he’d brought it up at all. But now that he had…
“You need more than a one-armed friend and two cops in a car to take care of you. Will you let me hire some professional bodyguards?”
“Are you crazy?”
“No. I am not crazy.” He burped. “I may, on the other hand, be just a little drunk.”
As though joining a chorus, she hiccuped. Hand over her mouth, eyes wide, she said, “More than mildly, here. What shall we do about that?”
It was a perfect opening, so he took it. “I have a suggestion, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I can’t drive because of my arm and I’m assuming that you’re in no shape to get behind the wheel. Yes?”
She nodded. “Good, mature thinking.”
“Which means neither of us should drive.”
“The responsible choice,” she agreed. “So do we call a taxi to take us to Santa Monica?”
“And leave the rental car here, downtown? Not to mention my actual car still sitting at the rental place in Culver City?” He frowned. “What a lot of cars.”
“Three, actually. If you include the taxi.”
“Didn’t Mac tell us to keep on the move?”
“He did. But how can we? We can’t drive.”
“So, as I said, I have a suggestion. Why don’t we stay here?”
“At the restaurant?”
“No. At a hotel. The New Kyoto is just up the street.”
Her eyes widened. “That huge, gorgeous Japanese hotel?”
“The very one. My firm does some work for them—if they’re not full, I’ll get us a suite. And I think you could use a massage. Me, too. Maybe.” He considered the wisdom of that. “Unless it makes my shoulder hurt.”
“I’m not sure.”
“Why not, Carmen? It’s Saturday night, we’re on the lam from a killer, you’ve been tense all week, your life is in danger, my shoulder hurts, my muscles are sore, we can’t drive. Let’s just do it, okay? My treat.” He put his hand up before she could get a word of protest out. “I can afford it and I’m insisting. Please, let me do this. I need to.”
“But—”
“Call it an early birthday present.”
One eyebrow shot up. “Three months early.”
“Okay, then, how’s this?” The trump card. “I saved your life yesterday. So you can’t say no to anything I suggest.”
She didn’t have a quick response to that one. Not at first. She gave him a long, hard look, then shook her head in wonder. “Wow, you sure know how to play dirty.”
“Hey, I’m a lawyer. I know all the tricks of the trade. So? All right?”
After a moment, she managed a low-wattage smile. “All right,” she said, then sighed loudly. “Actually, a massage sounds wonderful. But this late at night?”
“The thing about a first-class hotel is that they have twenty-four-hour service,” he said with an expansive wave of his right hand. “Anything you need.”
“It sounds decadent.”
“Sometimes decadence is just what the doctor ordered.”
“Ooh. Oooooooh. Oh!”
JR closed his eyes and groaned. For the past half hour, he’d been in the living room of a lavish suite, seated in an armchair, being forced to listen to the sou
nds emanating from the bedroom. Carmen, apparently, did not get a full-body massage quietly. Instead, she responded to the kneading of each new muscle group with vocal reactions that resembled the sound-track of an X-rated film. There were moans and groans, loud, guttural sighs, the occasional “Yes!” and the always reliable crescendo on the word “Oh!”
He’d had a massage himself, but a limited one—feet and legs only—as his shoulder injury was just too new for any work on his upper body. He’d gotten thoroughly relaxed under the ministrations of an expert reflexologist. But his massage had only lasted a half hour; since then he’d had to endure listening to Carmen, the result of which was that he was all tense again, beside himself with wanting her.
He was dressed in one of the hotel’s blue-and-white patterned kimonos. Unlike thick, cotton Western robes, the kimono was made of silk and was cut narrowly, not designed for a person to get lost in. So he sat in his chair, listened to the woman he lusted after with every fiber of his being and stared numbly at the jutting evidence of his lust, barely covered by the fabric.
He shook his head. This brilliant idea of his, to check into a hotel and get a massage, just might not have been the smartest idea he’d ever had.
Unless, of course, it led to one of his fantasies coming true.
“Oh! Yes! There! Yes!”
He closed his eyes and groaned aloud. Agony. Sheer agony.
Carmen felt absolutely delicious. Still tipsy and now glowing from an excellent massage. What a great idea JR had had! And how lucky she was that he was so generous to her. On her own, she could never have afforded one whole hour of deep-tissue work. The masseuse was a small, thin Japanese woman who spoke no English. It was like she’d known what Carmen had been through all week, and which muscles had been affected, and just what to do to ease the tension, the worries, the fears, all the tightness.
Well, of course, that was her job, to know how to do all that.
But still, she was truly gifted.
Carmen’s body felt all smooth and slick from the oils used during the past hour. She wrapped herself in the pretty, soft silk robe the hotel provided, then smiled as she watched the small woman fold up her massage table, give a quick bow—which Carmen returned—and exit the suite through the door that led out to the hall. Sighing happily, she raised her arms over her head and gave a leisurely stretch, wondering how JR was doing out there in the living room.
JR. She smiled, licked her lips. She’d had quite a few titillating thoughts about him during her massage. Quite a few.
“JR?” she called out, opening the door between the two rooms with another contented smile. “You all done in here?”
The room was dimly lit. One desk lamp was turned on, casting all kinds of shadows over the walls and the rest of the furniture—a couple of love seats and armchairs, a long table, a state-of-the-art plasma TV. She raked her fingers through her hair—she’d even had her head massaged!—making it all messy, but who cared? The alcohol had turned off her brain, the massage had turned off her tension. Life just didn’t get any better than this.
Sighing with contentment, her gaze roamed the room until it came to rest on the sight of JR, in shadows over in the far corner, sitting in an armchair, his bare feet resting on an ottoman. He, too, was wearing one of the hotel’s robes. From what she could tell, the fabric had slipped away from his legs, which were bare. His nice, muscular, long legs.
Smiling, stretching some more, she ambled slowly over to the other end of the living room—it was huge!— so she could see JR better. “Wow,” she said, feeling like purring. “I can’t tell you how wonderful that massage was. I had no idea how tight my shoulders w—”
She didn’t finish the sentence—couldn’t, actually. Because now she was close enough to JR to see, not only that his robe was open enough to reveal his bare legs, but that the part of JR’s anatomy that was still covered, from the waist to the top of his upper thighs, wasn’t exactly lying flat. Oh, no, not at all. There was a pretty major bulge there. Her eyes widened. Yes, quite major.
If her shoulders and neck and calf muscles were still humming from their massage, other parts of her body began to respond. She stared at JR’s lap, unconsciously running her tongue over her mouth. “Oh,” she said softly.
“Carm?”
With regret, she tore her eyes away from the silk-covered erection and met his gaze. He wasn’t wearing his glasses, so she got the full effect of startling blue eyes staring at her smilelessly from under half-lowered lids. The look he gave her was hot and filled with a wordless invitation.
“Yes?” she said. Her mouth was suddenly dry; she ran her tongue along her lips again, but this time she did it slowly, deliberately, watching him. She noted how his nostrils flared, saw how his hands gripped the sides of the chair.
“How was the massage?” JR said, his voice raspy.
“Wonderful,” she replied, getting all caught up in his gaze again and the challenges there. Her heartbeat quickened, her nipples were hard; interior muscles between her legs clenched and unclenched, preparing her, getting her ready. And they hadn’t even kissed yet!
“How was yours?” she asked.
“I don’t remember. All I thought about was you.” His gaze roamed up and down her body, slowly, tantalizingly. “I thought about how you’d look without your robe, without any covering at all.”
Quickly her gaze moved back down to the tantalizing evidence of JR’s strong craving for her. “Wonder no more,” she murmured, untying her robe slowly and letting it hang open.
She heard his quick intake of breath, which pleased her deeply, but kept her gaze on the lower part of his anatomy. “My, my, my,” she said. “What have we here, JR?”
The room had been quiet; now it was filled with the sound of JR’s labored breathing. Hers wasn’t any too steady, either.
“See for yourself,” he said.
Again, she locked gazes with him, and as she did, she slowly shrugged her shoulders and let the robe slip down over her body with a silken sigh until it was lying in a heap at her feet. She watched him watching her, followed the path of his gaze as he took her in, all of her, from head to toe, stopping at various points along the way to study her.
“Like what you see?” she whispered. Her nipples were so hard now, they ached; she felt moisture between her legs. She and JR hadn’t even touched yet, and she was as aroused as she’d ever been.
“Very much,” he said softly. “Carm?”
“What?”
He reached his right hand into the robe’s pocket and brought out a foil-wrapped package, which he set down on his thigh. “Just in case,” he said.
She nodded. “I think we can probably find some use for that.”
Holy cow, she thought. It was the strangest thing. She and JR were going to make love now and she didn’t even have a second of hesitation about it. It was right. It had been in the cards for a while. It was time.
In fact, she couldn’t wait. She wanted to give him pleasure, as much pleasure as he could bear. Maybe it was the alcohol—all through the ages, the best excuse for unplanned lovemaking. Or maybe it was the heightened sense of danger she’d been living under these past few days. Whatever. If she had had any second thoughts they were gone. She was ready, she was more than willing and nothing was going to stop her.
Slowly, seductively, she walked over to him and sat on the edge of the ottoman. She scraped her fingernails lightly over his bare legs, then worked them up his thighs, just to the edge of the robe. JR closed his eyes and groaned; the bulge grew even higher. Carmen laughed softly. “It’s like Christmas.”
“What is?”
“There’s this package waiting for me, and I don’t mean the condom. And it’s all mine to open up as I please.”
He expelled a harsh breath. “I hope you open it soon, Carm. I’m on the edge here.”
“Are you?” She worked her fingernails higher.
“I’ve been listening to you getting your massage. If I had the use of both
of my arms, you’d be on your back right now and I’d be in you up to the hilt.”
Her heartbeat was rocketing along now; she was wet and slick between her legs. “I guess we’ll just have to improvise, won’t we?” she murmured, then pulled away the fabric. Her own sharp intake of breath, as she stared, was purely involuntary. “Oh, JR. That’s beautiful.”
He wiped a hand across his mouth. “Beautiful?” he managed.
“Yes.” She cupped a hand around his penis and gently moved it up and down. “It’s beautiful the way it stands, so tall and proud.” She used her nails on the sensitive skin, but gently. “Really, JR. All these years and I never knew this about you. I’m impressed.”
His chuckle was strained. “I’m so glad you are. You’ll be less impressed if this goes on much longer. I want to be in you, Carm.”
“And I want you in me.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
He picked up the condom and handed it to her. She ripped it open, removed the condom and rolled it over him. Then she planted her knees on either side of his hips and sat down.
From the back of JR’s throat came a hoarse cry of exhilaration.
“Yes!” she, too, cried out as he, indeed, filled her to the hilt. Interior muscles had to make room for him, but it felt so right, so perfect, having him inside her. She moved up and down on him, slowly at first to give him—and her—as much agonizing pleasure as she could, growing slicker and hotter with each movement.
She leaned in and kissed his mouth, took his tongue inside hers. He played with her breasts, reached behind her, squeezed her buttocks. And all the while she rode him, up and down, up and down, until the room no longer existed, until she no longer existed, but hung, suspended in some other universe.
“Oh, JR!”
“Yes! Let go, Carm. Please let go!”
And she did, flew up to the top of this alternate universe and exploded there. Moments later, so did JR. She felt him madly pumping into her, clenched her muscles around him to make it even better for him.
It was over way too soon, for both of them. She collapsed onto him, mindful of his shoulder, but unable to stay upright anymore. Her bones and muscles were jelly. Even as the sounds of their loud panting filled the room, she fell deeply asleep.
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