by Jamie Pope
He saw emotion fill her eyes but she quickly blinked it away. She turned away from him, giving him a phenomenal view of her behind, and stepped into the hot tub. “Take off your clothes, Asa, and come here.”
He shut his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. There was nothing more in the world he wanted to do than go to her. But he gripped the chair and braced himself. “I need to tell you something.”
“Well, it can’t be that you’re a woman because I know for a fact you’re not. I’ve felt just how manly you are before the food came.”
“It’s not that.” He opened his eyes and looked at her.
“You’re a virgin.” She grinned at him and it made her even sexier. “I can work with that. It will be nice for me to show you something for the first time.”
He groaned. “I don’t have a condom.”
“I don’t believe you. You brought me up here. You rented this suite. You have been seducing me all day. All week. You have to have one.”
“I didn’t plan this. I promise you I didn’t.”
“Of course not. You really are just that thoughtful without wanting anything in return. And that makes me want you even more. Go get a condom. Go get a box of condoms.”
“The gift shop closed at eight. I didn’t realize that there wasn’t one in my wallet until I went to tip room service.”
She let out a slow breath. “Get naked and come here anyway. It will be like high school. I think we can have fun just touching.”
He rose slowly from his chair. He wasn’t that strong a man. He had a lot of willpower, but not when it came to her. He stripped off his sweater and T-shirt, watching her as she watched him with hungry eyes.
“Dreams do come true,” she said.
“Excuse me?” he asked as his hands went to his belt buckle.
“I dreamed about you taking off your clothes in front of me like this. Every night since we’ve met. You’re better than my dreams.”
He finished undressing and stepped into the hot, bubbling water. He had been in a lot of hot tubs, especially after his football practices, trying to soothe his aching muscles. It had been so many that they had lost their appeal. There had been nothing sexy about them until right now, and that was because he was going to get to spend time in one with Hallie.
She reached him and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her breasts to his chest. He moaned. It was her soft naked body, the heat or the water, combined with the way her wet skin felt beneath his fingers that made this one of the most erotic moments of his life. He was so hard he couldn’t see straight.
His kissed the side of her neck and then her shoulder. “I have wanted to get in the tub with you ever since that day you took a bath at my place.”
“I was half hoping you would try to get in the tub with me.”
“You were suspicious of me, if I recall correctly. What would you have done if I’d tried to?”
“I don’t know. I really wanted to know what you looked like naked. I’ve never seen so many abs.” She ran her hand down his stomach. “I think I would have seen these and forgotten to be cautious.”
“Are you telling me that any guy flashes his abs and you’re putty in his hands?”
“No. That’s the crazy thing. I made Brent wait forever to see me naked, and I do mean forever. We dated in high school and he got nowhere with me. We broke up before we went to college and then got back together when I moved back home, and I made him chase me for months.”
“You made him earn your love. Nothing wrong with that.”
“He was always so used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it. I wasn’t going to be that for him, too.”
“I can wait for you,” he told her as he ran his hand down her back. “We can take as long as you want.”
“I don’t want to wait and that’s why this scares me. I’m feeling too much, too fast.”
She was right. If he stopped to think about it, this was insane. He had known her a week. It felt like a lifetime, but it was less than a week, and he was thinking about the future, about not wanting to let her go. “Let’s think about it another way. When you’re dating someone new, how often do you see them?”
“About once a week.”
“How long do your dates last?”
“A few hours.”
“How much do you talk to them during the week?”
“I don’t know, maybe once or twice for a few minutes.”
“Now think about us. I’ve seen you almost every day this week. If you just count up yesterday and today we’ve spent at least twenty-four hours together and at least four hours every other day this week. You’ve been to my place. You’ve met my mother. I’d say we’re where most people might be three or four months down the line. And if anyone asks you can say we’ve been neighbors for months.”
She gave him a soft smile before she kissed him. It was one of those hot kisses that made him nearly lose control. It made him forget where he was—upstate in a beautifully done hotel suite and in a hot tub with her. Everything else faded away, all thoughts faded away. It was just her mouth on his. Her body pressed against his. He wanted to be inside of her so badly.
Maybe it was meant to be that he didn’t have protection. Maybe it was a sign to slow down, to get to know her body, to give her pleasure without needing anything in return.
She made him feel like a teenager, hyper-aroused all the time. But even the sex-crazed sixteen-year-old boy he used to be had never wanted a woman this much.
He broke the kiss and looked at her. She gave him an almost shy smile and it hit him hard in the chest. She didn’t hold back. He knew she was going to give him her all.
“Turn around.”
She blinked at him, but then did as he asked. Her gorgeous round bottom brushed against his manhood and it jumped. She noticed and rubbed herself against him and he hissed out a breath.
“Behave yourself.” His voice came out thick, choked. He was using every ounce of his willpower to control himself.
“I want to make you feel good, Asa.”
“Then sit still and let me touch you.”
She relaxed into him, her head coming back to rest on his shoulder. The water made her buoyant, her legs floated up, but he kept her body close to his by wrapping his arm around her and running his hand down her side. She was curvy and for days he had longed to run his hand down her waist and stroke the round hips that made her so womanly.
Her eyes drifted shut and she let out a long sigh, encouraging him to continue his exploration of her body. He touched her stomach, loving how her softness contrasted with his hardness. His fingers wandered up her torso, slid in between her breasts and he heard her breath quicken. He paused there, placing his palm flat over her heart.
“Asa...” she moaned.
“What?” He moved his hand down to her breast, cupping it in his hand and squeezing slightly.
“Let me touch you.”
“No.” He ran his thumb over her nipple, then rolled it between his fingers, tugging on it.
Hallie bit her lip. It aroused him even further, which at this point he thought was impossible.
She turned in his arms before he could stop her and straddled him, taking his member in her hand and stroking it.
“It’s not your turn.” He stood, causing her to grab on to him, and stepped out of the hot tub. There was a window seat filled with cushions and pillows. He deposited her there. Their bodies were wet, but the room was nice and warm from the roaring fire. He knelt on the seat between her legs, his hands on her shoulders not allowing her to turn the tables. “I’m not done yet.”
Her eyes were full of need. He took pleasure in that as he bent his head to kiss her chest. Warm, wet skin. His lips glided over it. He kissed the side curve of her breasts then the undersides of them before he lic
ked across her nipples. She writhed beneath him. Her fingers dug into his arms, but he wouldn’t let up. He opened his mouth, taking her entire areola inside. He sucked on her, changing his pressure, taking note of her every breath, moan and reaction. He wanted to make this good. He wanted to make this something she wanted more of.
“Asa...”
He kissed his way down her body, spreading her legs wider as he moved lower. He nipped the inside of her thigh, and then soothed it with a flick of his tongue.
“Stop playing with me,” she begged. This time he obeyed. He slid his fingers over her lower lips, finding her wet, ready for him and so he opened her and tasted, taking one long lick.
She cried out, saying some words he didn’t understand and he took that as encouragement. He licked deeper, slipping his fingers inside of her. She started to tremble then; the buildup was coming. She wasn’t passive. She moved with him. She cried out his name, she gave him as much pleasure as she was getting even though she wasn’t touching him at all.
The explosion that came from her was amazing and he couldn’t take his eyes away from her face. She was so damn beautiful.
He rested his head on her belly while she recovered. After a while he felt her fingers on his face, stroking his cheek with her thumb. “Asa?”
“Hmm?” He was hard as a rock, but he felt sleepy and satisfied at the same time. It wasn’t something he had experienced before.
“You’re very good at that.”
He kissed her belly. “I aim to please.”
“I do, too. Get up. It’s my turn now.”
Chapter 9
They didn’t get back to the city until the next evening. Neither one of them seemed to be in a hurry to return to normal life. They lingered over breakfast. They walked through the little village near the resort. They both bought Christmas presents for their families. It was a good day, an amazing weekend, probably the best one she had ever had with a man and she didn’t want it to end. He had tried to rationalize how quickly things were moving for them, but she was still afraid of feeling so much for him. Afraid that this couldn’t be so good, that it wouldn’t last, because for her it seemed that every good thing in her life came to an end.
She opened the door of her apartment and he followed her inside, carrying some of her bags.
He placed them on the floor and then turned to face her. Asa Andersen was a swoon-worthy man and her heart never failed to beat a little faster whenever she looked at him. She had been with him for the past thirty-six hours and she still felt that rush of excitement. Her lips wanted to curl into a smile. She didn’t want to be that woman who fell too fast and too hard. She knew she had to protect her heart, but it was hard, because he kept doing things that made her want to give it away.
“Thank you for this weekend,” she said to him. “I almost like the snow. Almost.”
“Thank you for coming with me.” He grabbed her hips and pulled her into his hard body. Vivid images of the night before flashed in her mind. How amazing his hard, naked body looked. She had never been a fan of muscled men before, but Asa’s body was a work of art, like a statue, covered in warm deep brown skin.
And the way he touched her... No part of her had gone unstroked or unkissed last night. He had been all about her pleasure and she had lost count of how many times she’d climaxed last night. And they hadn’t even had sex.
What they did last night felt more intimate. She felt closer, more connected to him.
“I’ll make you fall in love with this state yet. Greatest place in the entire world.”
“Says the man who was born and raised in New Jersey.”
He grinned down at her, then cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. She knew he meant for it to be a soft, sweet kiss, but she grew aroused. He kissed her so thoroughly that it never failed to make her want more of him.
“Stay with me tonight, Asa.”
He looked pained.
“It’s okay if you don’t. I can be a lot.”
“No!” He slid his hands underneath her coat and sweater. “I want you so bad I could burst. It’s just that I have to be at work at midnight.”
“Midnight! Why didn’t you tell me? We could have been home this morning.”
“There was no reason to come home early. I wanted to spend the day with you. I’ve got time for a nap and shower.” He kissed her again, but much shorter this time. “I would stay, but for our first time I’m going to need all night.”
She sighed heavily. “You should probably stop kissing me then.”
“I don’t want to but I will. I’m working twelve to eight for the next couple of days, but I want to see you. Will you have dinner with me before I go in?”
“Yes.”
“And Wednesday will you go see The Nutcracker with me?”
“You want to see that?”
“You said you wanted to go to the ballet—I want to be the man who takes you.”
“Are you sure you can’t stay?” she ask as her lips sought his throat. “I’ll be quick. I promise.”
He took her mouth in a quick, hot kiss before he stepped completely away from her. “I need to take my time with you. I can’t explain why, but it’s important that I do.”
“Go home. Right now.” She was feeling emotional and a little raw. Her heart was too open at the moment. “I can’t be held responsible for my actions if you don’t.”
He gave her a little smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He paused and looked at her for a long moment and she wondered if it was anywhere near as hard for him to walk away as if was for her to see him go.
“Good night, Asa.”
“Good night, Hallie.”
He left her alone and she felt ridiculously close to tears. Parting really was such sweet sorrow.
* * *
Hallie was up early the next morning catching up on work emails and grading the papers her students had submitted to her by email. She was heading back to work tomorrow after a week off and while she genuinely missed her students, she was a little sad to go back. She had been in pain for a lot of the week, but it had been one of the best weeks of her life. And that was because of Asa. She knew that when she went back that things would change and she wouldn’t be able to see him as much, which made her sad, but she knew that it was for the best. She was going home for the holidays soon, and not having her heart caught up while she was away was probably for the best. Her flight was all set. She had spoken to her cousin, Derek, last night after Asa had left. He had a ton of plans for her visit. Cookie decorating, and Christmas shopping, because they had gone together every year since they were twelve. Her grandmother and mother were planning a big dinner in her honor. They were all so excited to see her.
She knew it would be hard to leave home, but she knew it wouldn’t be as easy to leave New York as she expected. She had thought about Asa more times than she would’ve liked to admit since he’d left her last night. She hated liking a man that much, because she always felt that he couldn’t possibly like her as much as she did him. She never wanted to be in that position again—thinking that everything was fine and being blindsided by rejection. So as much as she wanted to see Asa, she was going to play it cool. Go out with him when he asked and try her hardest not to fall head over heels in love with him.
There was a knock at her door and she looked to the clock on her laptop to see it was half past eight. It couldn’t be Asa. He’d told her that he would see her tonight for dinner, but when she got up and looked in the peephole she saw that it was him.
Her heart beat a little faster. She was still in her pajamas, her short curls were probably sticking up all over her head, but she knew it was silly to be self-conscious around him. He had seen her at her worst. And he had seen her naked last night, her face twisted in pleasure. In the full light. No blankets covering them.
There was no hiding from him now.
She opened the door and he was standing there with two coffees in his hand and a brown paper bag. “You want to have breakfast with me?”
She grinned at him. He was one of those men that made you fall in love with him. “I would like that very much. Come in.”
He looked tired, but so damn sexy in a sleepy way, if that was possible. “I got oatmeal with fruit, but I wasn’t sure you would like that so I got you a sesame bagel with cream cheese, too. Because another great thing about this city is the bagels—they are the best in the world.”
“I get it, Asa. New York is the best place that ever existed. I won’t doubt it ever again.”
She smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back. He just took a step forward and kissed her. “I want you to be happy. That’s all.”
He didn’t say happy here. Or happy with him. Just happy. She found it incredibly sweet. She grabbed his hand and led him to her couch where they settled in and started to eat. Being from a small island off the coast of Florida, she didn’t eat much oatmeal, but it was good on this icy morning. The heat was barely coming up this morning and she was glad to be snuggled in to a warm man on this cold day.
“How was work today?” she asked him.
“Nonstop. And it wasn’t even a Saturday.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Somebody was tweaked out on some illegal substance and had to be subdued and then sedated before we could take him to the hospital. There was a domestic dispute where a wife stabbed her husband with a large fork in his chest, and last but not least we responded to a bar fight. Broken glass in everyone.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“Don’t be.” He put his oatmeal down and wrapped his arm around her as he rested his chin on her hair. “It’s a part of my job.”
