Sins of the Flesh

by J. Margot Critch

  Jessica’s fingers were like heated knives moving up and down his leg, and he tried to swallow past the lump that desire had formed in his throat. He’d never felt so perplexed by a woman. Jessica would be a challenge for him.

  “But let’s be clear,” she said. “I just want sex. This doesn’t mean that I like you.”

  He laughed. He wasn’t entirely sure if he liked her, either. But he respected her, and he wanted her. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to take that, then.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  THE GROWL IN his throat was all Jessica knew before Rafael lifted her from her place on the couch and pulled her into his lap. His lips took hers in a kiss so powerful it stole her breath, and his tongue pushed into her mouth and was molten as it found hers and stroked it. He leaned back and moved from under her, flipping them before dropping to his knees on the floor in front of the couch. He reached up her skirt and pulled down her panties, roughly yanking them down her thighs and over her ankles before tossing them over his shoulder.

  “There’s been something on my mind since Saturday night,” he told her, looking up as he positioned himself between her knees.

  She stiffened. “And what’s that?”

  “That I touched you, but I still have no idea how your pussy tastes.”

  Without an ounce of pretense, Rafael grabbed her ass and pulled her to him, her legs spreading to him, and without warning, his mouth was on her, hot and wet, as his lips closed over her crease. His tongue snaked between her folds, and his groan of approval as he tasted her vibrated throughout her entire body.

  That devilish tongue spread her open to him, each of her nerve endings exposed to his mouth, and he knew right where to touch, and how to make her lift her hips from the couch to get closer to him. He used his lips, tongue, even teeth, making her body tighten in response to the delicious onslaught. When she didn’t think she could handle it, he inserted two fingers, curling them, so he hit her G-spot just right. Clearly the man knew what he was doing.

  “Oh, fuck,” she whimpered, throwing her head back and pushing her hips against him, desperate for more. His oral ministrations made her crazy as he worshipped her, before her on his knees, winding her tight, more and more, until she found it difficult to breathe, to move, to see. She was on the verge of what she could tell would be an incredible orgasm. “Oh, God, Rafael,” she whispered, almost a breath, unable to form actual words and project them audibly.

  With his mouth still on her, and not willing to relinquish his hold, Rafael looked up at her. His dark eyes were black with passion, but the sides crinkled with humor, and the knowledge that he was doing an excellent job. She barely noticed when his other hand shifted and one of his fingers moved around to the back, cupping her ass, holding her to him. He stayed the course, however, his eyes open, watching her, taking in her reaction as her breath stuttered in her throat. Each stroke of his fingers and lave of his tongue wound her further, pulled her tighter, but with his lips wrapped around her clit, two fingers inside of her and another pressing along the crevice of her ass, she couldn’t take it any longer, and like the tightest coil, she snapped. Throwing her head against the back of the couch, she came with a white flash behind her eyes and a loud scream. Her entire body tensed and strained, and she grasped the back of his head, holding him in place, moving her hips back and forth, using his mouth and chin and fingers to ride out her orgasm and further her own pleasure. He groaned against her flesh, and the sound reverberated throughout her body. And she was hit with another tremor, as additional waves of pleasure lapped over her.

  Rafael disengaged from her and in one quick movement, he had her lying, fully supine on the couch, and he was over her. Without realizing it, she had wrapped her legs around his hips, holding him in place, her thighs bracketing him. She caught her breath, but realized that his was just as quick and wavering as hers.

  “Christ, Jessica,” he moaned in her ear. She could still feel his erection pressing into her behind. “That was so fucking beautiful. You taste so goddamn sweet.”

  “You’re telling me.” She felt sated, exhausted, limbless, as he kissed her, and she tasted herself on his lips. He wiped his mouth and chin free of the glistening juices and he licked the edge of his hand with a satisfied groan, gathering the taste on his tongue.

  One side of his lips quirked upward. “You ready for more?”

  She nodded distractedly, still trying to come down from the rush of endorphins from her previous orgasm.

  His chuckle was deep and hearty. She closed her eyes and savored the sound of it.

  His palms found her breasts, and he squeezed. She gasped, and pushed her chest into his hands, urging him to play with her nipples. The stiff, needy peaks protruded through her lace bra and dress. Her collar was high and she could feel his impatience with her clothing. He ducked his head and trapped one of her turgid nipples between his lips, and Jessica cried out and watched him as his tongue flicked the bud through the material. If his mouth stoked her fire so hot through her dress, she had no idea how she would survive the contact with her skin. His touch, his taste, his smell, was more potent, more forceful than she could have imagined.

  He pulled away briefly, his breath jagged, and they were both transfixed on the wet spot his mouth had left on her chest. “God,” he breathed. “I wanted to take my time with you,” he told her, his lips on her throat. He smoothed his mouth over her neck, her face, her lips. The stubble of his five o’clock shadow scratched against her skin like sandpaper, and a shock of electricity shot through her and went straight to her core. He took her mouth in yet another bruising kiss, which she wholly reciprocated. Giving as much as she was taking. He breathed life into her, lighting her up inside and sending crackling energy to every nerve ending.

  He pulled her dress over her head and snapped the clasp of her bra, freeing her breasts, and she was naked below him and he took great advantage. She wanted to experience all that hot, hard muscle. Her fingers scrambled for the buttons of his shirt and she haphazardly undid them, almost ripping them, clawing at the material. She untucked the shirt from his waistband, and all her hard work was rewarded by his broad chest and shoulders. Rippling muscles underneath smooth, dark skin, with soft black hair that covered his chest and trailed down his rigid abdomen. He was marvelously built.

  “Like what you see?”

  “Do I ever,” she said, before he returned to her.

  He grabbed her ass again and pulled her to him, and she could feel the stiff column of his cock against her naked pussy. She wriggled closer, and even though she’d already had one orgasm, she was shameless and desperate to feel him again.

  “I know that we’re just a few feet from an actual bed,” he whispered against her skin. “But if you can feel how hard my cock is, then you know that I can’t wait one more second.”

  Feeling playful, Jessica reached down and grabbed the bulge over the taut material of his gray pants. She squeezed, and he shuddered, growling a low feral sound in her ear.

  “I feel it,” she said with a moan, still grasping him. He felt huge in her hand, and she wanted him, just as much as he seemed to want it. “And I want it inside of me.”

  “Jesus,” he muttered, looking down at her, while he still held her wrists in place. She was trapped by him and she couldn’t have gotten away if she wanted to. He unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants and then reached back to his pocket. He pulled out his wallet, withdrew a foil-wrapped condom and threw the leather billfold on the end table above her head. She was amazed by the number of things the man could do with just one hand, and she bit her lip when he raised the condom packet to his mouth and tore it open with his teeth.

  She watched riveted as he lowered his pants and boxers, and watched his cock spring free, released from the tensile material. Her breath caught. He was huge, and perfect, and he was ready for her. A drop of pre-cum hung from the tip, and she licked her lips desperate
for a taste. A fleeting moment of regret told her that she wouldn’t get that opportunity—this was strictly a one-shot deal. She watched as he rolled the latex over his length and grabbed her hips, aligning her with him.

  In one powerful thrust, he was inside her. Jessica cried out and closed her eyes. She threw her head back, taking him with her entire body as the sensation of having him fill her overtook her. His groan was loud in her ear as he pulled back and sank deeply into her again. And she gasped, surprised, when he stood and picked her up, gripping the backs of her thighs. Her eyes widened as he used his upper body strength to lift her, then lower her, then lift again, impaling her with his cock, using her body to get himself off. She’d never experienced anything like it. He was so strong, so powerful. He possessed so much control that she would have been amazed by it, if she wasn’t so consumed by how good it felt.

  He lowered her to the bed and followed, still inside of her. He didn’t miss a beat. He kept his steady pace, his rhythm never straying from the percussive way he brought his hips to hers, pushing into her and withdrawing. His eyes never left hers, their connection strong and unending.

  Jessica felt her entire body tighten, and her thighs gripped his torso as the pump of his hips became quicker and more frantic. Warmth spread throughout her body and she tossed her head to the side and cried out in release, just as he yelled out an expletive-laced chant. He stilled on top of her, supporting his weight on his elbows, his lips grazing the pulse point below her jaw, as his breath heated her already molten blood.

  “Jesus,” he whispered. “That was good.”

  “Oh, my God,” she whispered back, barely able to make a sound. Yet somehow she managed to push herself up on the bed, so that she was sitting next to him.

  He passed over her wineglass and she accepted gratefully, holding it with still-shaking fingers. She brought the glass to her lips and took a large gulp, which drained the glass. His chuckle was low, devastatingly lustful. “Want some more?”

  “Are you talking about the wine?” she asked, knowing that if he was talking about his body, there was no way she could say no.

  “I was, yeah,” he said, standing. She marveled at how he could use his legs when hers were jelly. “Unless you’re ready for another round.”

  “I’m not so certain I can move right now,” she admitted. She frowned when he reached for his pants, beginning to hide his magnificent body. “You know, I’ll bet if you just showed up to the debate naked, it would be a lock for you.”

  He laughed. “Oh, I don’t know. If I showed up naked, you would have to, as well, just to level the playing field, and then I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything. Thus, ensuring your victory.”

  “Ah, you saw through my plan, I guess.” She laughed, and then began gathering her clothes. Pulling up her dress, she saw that he was watching her. “What?”

  “Still feeling that tension?”

  Yes. “Nope.” She smiled. “All the tension’s gone. You?”

  “All spent.” He smiled as he buttoned his shirt and looked up at her again. “Do you like me yet?”

  She shook her head, but she smiled. “Nope. But you’re really good in bed.”

  He smiled, too. “Well, it’s a start, I guess. Maybe we’ll have to get together again.”

  “Yeah, we will,” she agreed. “Tomorrow night,” she said, heading for the door. “At the debate.”

  “Tomorrow night,” he said, as she opened it and left without saying goodbye.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  THE NEXT DAY, Rafael was still a ball of tension as he rode to city hall in the back of his town car. Normally he’d drive himself, but he wanted the extra time to study his notes for that night’s debate. Yet as he found himself staring at his notes, he couldn’t even think about the debate. He’d lied to Jessica, the night before. None of the tension he’d felt every time she crossed his mind had been spent. Instead, since the night before, it had increased tenfold. His night with Jessica had done nothing to ease him. He was a fidgety mess. Even as he’d pulled out of her, he’d wanted her again, and he’d had to get dressed quickly before he took her again.

  With almost every other sexual encounter he’d ever had, he’d been able to put it away, move on and get focused back on the work. But with Jessica, he still wanted her, more than he had before. The only difference being that now he had the privilege of knowing just how incredibly sexy she was, how soft but muscular and lean her body was. He knew the noises she made, the way her body tensed when she came, how smooth her skin was. He shook his head, trying his best to clear the image of her from his head, but he was unsuccessful.

  His driver slammed on the brake and Rafael heard the man mutter under his breath at the car that had just cut them off in morning traffic.

  Rafael stared down at his notes and was so wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn’t even noticed that they had stopped outside city hall. He gathered his things together, and when he exited the car, he pulled his jacket strategically over his lap, to cover the growing erection that just thoughts of Jessica managed to conjure.

  He made it two steps into the lobby of the building before his assistant, Jillian, appeared at his side, holding her usual tablet and gigantic purse. The bag always seemed to carry any items either of them could ever need—gum, water bottles, protein bars, pens, notepads, pain meds, spare socks and everything in between.

  “Rafael, how is your morning going?” she asked him, falling into step next to him, as they made their way to his office together.

  “Pretty well so far, given that it’s only 9:00 a.m. Yours?”

  “Same. How are you feeling about the debate tonight?”

  “Great.”

  “You’re well rested? Hydrated?” she asked, pulling a bottle of sparkling water from her purse and handing it to him.

  He swallowed a laugh and accepted it. “Thanks.”

  She dug into the oversize bag again. “I took the opportunity to make you a few more notes for tonight. And here are your messages, mail and your interdepartmental memos,” she told him, withdrawing the stack and passing it over. “Want me to go through it all, let you know what’s there and I can respond accordingly?”

  “No. I appreciate the offer, but I should handle it.” Rafael took the stack; he liked to deal directly with his constituents and colleagues on his own. How could he do the work for the people if he didn’t know them?

  “And you should also know, Jessica Morgan’s gained more points in the latest polls, since that interview she did Friday night. She’s really courting the women and the youth vote. You really should consider getting out there in front of the press more. Get your message out.”

  “My message is out. I don’t need to grovel for votes on late-night news,” he told her as he unlocked the door to his office, and when she made a step to enter, he turned, blocking her from entering with his body. She was a fantastic assistant, invaluable, even, but sometimes, he just needed his space. “Jillian, I just need a couple of minutes, to ease into my day.”

  She didn’t even falter, not at all put off by him. “Of course. Just buzz me if you need anything.”

  Rafael walked into his office and shut the door behind him. His city hall office wasn’t as comfortable or opulent as his office at the BH. But it was fine. It was more real to him, more modest, humble. It made him feel on the level of the people, not high above them in a tower that dotted the skyline.

  Throwing the stack of messages on his desk, he sat and flipped through them. The last was an envelope. It had been sent to his office, through intraoffice mail from within the building, and was devoid of a return address. He raised an eyebrow as he opened the envelope and removed the single sheet of paper. It was a handwritten message.

  Put up your dukes. I’m going to destroy you tonight.

  -J

  He laughed. Ignoring the rest of the messages that required hi
s attention, he pulled out a piece of stationery and wrote his own message to her. Satisfied with his response, he sealed it into an envelope and put it aside to send to her later, before going on with his day.

  * * *

  Just a few doors down from Rafael, Jessica sat in her modestly appointed office and did her best to not slam her forehead on the desk. While she’d made a good show of being composed as she’d written the memo to him, her stomach roiled as she realized how stupid it had been to even go to Rafael’s club, let alone to go to his room. He was too slick, too suave, too sexy, too masterful. He’d played her body like a musical instrument, and she’d hummed the right chords for him. But it was such a mistake. He could ruin her campaign, her life—not to mention her panties—in one fell swoop, and she had to stay away from him. She couldn’t afford the distraction. And she couldn’t afford for him to have all the power.

  She turned back to her computer, preparing for the upcoming debate, trying her best to focus her attention on the task at hand—winning. She reviewed current issues that were affecting the people of Las Vegas, even looked at social media to see what people were approving of and complaining about, and then she formulated her talking points. She also had to guess what Rafael’s counterpoints would be, which was difficult when the thought of him made her pulse quicken. She’d barely slept last night after their encounter.

  There was a knock on her door and Ben walked in, carrying several large paper bags. “I noticed you left your lunch behind, so I grabbed something to make sure you eat. I figured you wouldn’t have time for dinner tonight anyway.”

  She smiled her thanks. “What’s on the menu?”

  “Sandwiches from that place that just opened not far from here.” He looked at the bags in his hands. “But I might have ordered too much. I hope you’re hungry.”