by Jess Dee
“Easy,” he breathed and dropped to his knees. “Let’s make this last.”
He nudged her thighs apart so he sat cradled between her legs. Angling her face upwards, he took her mouth in a steamy kiss. His lips stole reason, stole her breath, and she melted into him. She belonged to him. He could do whatever he wished.
She marveled at the instinctive trust she’d placed in a complete stranger. Something about him seemed safe. Secure. He wouldn’t hurt her.
When he pulled his mouth away and leaned in to plant moist, warm kisses down her throat, she buried her nose in his soft hair. Triggers of awareness shot through her. If his mouth could seduce her without moving past her neck, what could he do to her when she lay naked beneath him?
Again, he kissed her lips. It started as a sweet, heady kiss, a slow exploration of a new pleasure. It quickly spiraled into a heated clash of lips, his mouth greedily sucking at hers. The action struck her deep within and her limbs tingled with pleasure. His hands flicked under her shirt, teasing the heated flesh beneath. A cool breeze against her hot skin told her he’d undone the clasp of her bra. He pushed her blouse over her shoulders but instead of removing it altogether, he caught the sleeves behind her back, snaring her hands, rendering her helpless.
He muttered something unintelligible and dropped his head to her chest. His warm breath on her nipples blew her mind. She shook uncontrollably and did something she’d never done before—begged him to touch her.
Fireworks exploded as his lips covered her nipple, as he sucked the engorged peak into his mouth. Oh, dear Lord, the man should give lessons in the art of kissing. His mouth tortured her with its practiced touch, his tongue took her to the edge of sanity and back. By the time he lifted his head to inhale deeply, he’d explored and discovered every inch of her chest.
Lexi trembled. His actions weren’t just those of an anonymous lover. In his arms, she felt cherished. Needed. Secure. He made her feel sexy, too. She could do anything with him and she knew she’d be safe. She moaned mindlessly, her entire body shook and her breath came in short, sharp gulps. How could someone she’d just met stir such bone-deep emotion?
She watched him, watched as the frozen flames in his eyes absorbed her reaction to his touch. Once again, his devastating looks struck her dumb. Never mind the hard lines around his mouth and eyes. He took her breath away. There was more to him than just the fact that he was the sexiest man on earth. She sensed a depth behind his silence, a wealth of emotion behind his icy eyes.
“Please,” she whispered. “I need to touch you.” Her voice stunned her with its hoarseness. Something more than her physiological reaction to him was coming into play.
Something more…intense.
He closed his eyes as a pained expression flashed across his face, and released her hands. Buttons flew across the room as she ripped his shirt open. She was a woman possessed. She had to touch him, had to see him.
As her eyes registered the sight before her, her hands froze mid-motion.
Muscle rippled down his chest to his waist. His stomach was hard and flat and she gawked at his sculpted torso. He had the kind of chest she could bury herself against. The kind of chest she wanted hanging around for, oh, about forever.
A dark smattering of hair dusted his chest, trailed down his belly and disappeared below his belt. Sweet Lord, she wanted to see what he kept hidden below that belt.
Leaning into him, she placed both hands on his chest and kissed him. She nudged him backward until he lay on the floor and she lay on top of him. Then she touched her tongue to the pulse throbbing at his throat. Salty. She licked lower. Hot. Her mouth settled above his nipple. It was tight and beaded and he groaned when she kissed it.
Ah, hell. Her panties were drenched. The more she nipped and licked, the wetter they got. She shimmied down him and ran her tongue over the grooves between each muscle, reveling in the reflexive contracting of his stomach. When she’d had her fill and his chest rose and fell unevenly, she slipped off him and undid his belt and pants. His cock jumped beneath her hands. She pulled back the waistband of his boxers, exposing the head of his dick.
“Christ, woman,” he muttered. He lay dead still. Their eyes caught and held. His were dark, etched with hunger. Not a single trace of the coldness she’d seen in them earlier remained, only a flame of desire burning through the blue depths.
Exhilaration overcame her, making her smile. His resistance in the lift earlier had melted away. She dipped her head and a throaty growl erupted from his chest.
She licked at the pearly bead on the tip of his cock, swirled her tongue around and filled her mouth with his salty, male tang. His hands found her hair and the roots strained against her scalp as he reflexively tugged at her curls. She pushed at his pants until he shifted his hips and kicked off his shoes and the rest of his clothes, exposing a thick, hard cock and long, muscular legs covered with dark curls.
An unexpected surge of emotion washed over her as she took in his nude form. She swallowed hard. This was supposed to be a night of gratuitous sex, nothing more. So why did something akin to affection well in her chest?
Giving herself a mental shake, she refocused her attention. She wrapped her hand around his shaft and lifted it slightly. From the tip of his cock, down his shaft and over his balls, she licked and sampled and nibbled, making her way over every delectable inch. He mumbled nonsensically, at which point she opened her lips wide and sucked him all in.
His control snapped. Before she knew it, he’d flipped her over. She lay on her back with him on top of her.
“I’m only human,” he rasped and kissed her, hard. “I can take just so much teasing.”
He tugged at her skirt, pulled it up around her hips, and his hand found her panties. “So wet,” he rumbled.
He nudged the lacy thong aside and found her hidden folds. They were moist with anticipation and she moaned as he skimmed over them.
“You like that?” He nudged her panties down and she shifted and kicked them off.
Ever so lightly, he touched her clit.
“Oh, yes,” she cried as he slid his finger down and rubbed it into her hot, wet slit.
She’d have cried out his name, only she didn’t know it.
“Good. Now let’s see how much you can take.” He slid his hand up again. Her breath came in short, sharp spurts as he repeated the movements in rhythmic sensuality.
Oh. My. God.
She opened her mouth to tell him how amazing it felt. At the same time, he pushed deep inside her and bit her nipple. The only sound she emitted was a loud “Aaaahhhh”.
His tongue soothed her breast, easing the erotic sting, and his hand conducted an orchestra of sensation deep within. He edged downwards until his mouth was directly above her groin. Hot breath whispered between her legs, and she shuddered.
When he darted out his tongue and licked her, he slid a second finger in.
Oh dear, dear, dear, sweet Lord.
Oh dear, dear, dear, sweet stranger.
His mouth devoured her. His deep strokes within compounded the tension. He was good—so damn good, and she could not contain the orgasm that swept over her. She came, her entire body swamped with convulsions of pleasure.
She was still reeling when he reached up and kissed her mouth. She tasted herself on his lips, and her groin clenched in reaction. She shook from the aftermath of her orgasm, but emptiness seized her. Something was missing.
That something nudged her upper thigh. She shifted so the head of his cock brushed her ultra-sensitive lips. Her legs bent instinctively as she prepared to take him in.
“Wait,” he rasped as she rubbed her clit against him, need flooding through her.
Christ, she couldn’t wait another second. She wanted him inside, now.
“I need a condom.”
As he rifled through his pants and wallet, she dipped her hand down. She needed his cock inside her. He was taking too damn long. Her eyes closed as she touched herself.
Her s
wollen bud responded instantly. She stroked herself, imaging her hand was his.
As good as it felt, it wasn’t enough. She delved between her lips, explored as deeply as she could and moaned. Because it was good. But still not good enough.
“Not enough,” she groaned out loud. “Not enough.”
“Jesus.”
She opened her eyes. He stared at her, frozen. His cock was half-sheathed in a condom. She pulled her finger out, only to slide it in again. Her wanton behavior shocked and excited her. She was fucking herself in front of him, and the more she did it the faster his breath came.
It was good, but…
“Not enough,” she panted.
He was on top of her. Her arms were pinned at her sides and he was driving into her.
His thick, beautiful cock pushing into her, stretching her, filling her. Completing her.
She screamed as he filled her to the hilt. “Yes. Oh, God yes.” She was beyond caring about her totally unrestrained and uninhibited behavior. All she cared about was him, pushing into her, driving her past reality and into a realm where sensation alone existed.
“Fuck me,” she cried, and he did.
Tingling burst into full-blown raptures, her muscles clamped down around him and she convulsed again. Waves of pleasure rolled through her for a second incredible time.
Sanity returned and the tremors passed slowly. His eyes were squeezed shut, his body frozen and his shoulders taut with the effort of remaining still.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and rolled her hips.
Sweat beaded on his forehead as he fought to keep her movements in check. She rolled her hips again. With a fierce groan, he let go of his restraint. He pulled out and thrust back in again, hard and fast, and then did it again and again. Coming so close on the heels of her orgasm, the friction against her inner walls sent her over the top. She cried out at the mad sensations swirling through her. It was too much. She’d never experienced anything like it before, she was too sensitive, she couldn’t…
Oh, sweet heaven, yes, she could. She was going to. Again. This time, he was coming with her. She clenched her muscles around him and he cried out in response.
“Lexi,” he rasped and gave up all pretence at control. He plunged into her repeatedly, his movements wild and uninhibited, and she met him thrust for thrust. He stretched her and filled her and enticed her and wowed her, and the tension built, higher and higher. As her body gave way to the third and most powerful set of spasms yet, he gave one last thrust, his body stiffened and he cried out her name and joined her as she tilted over the edge of reason and into a whirlpool of pleasure.
Passionate, potent pleasure.
—
AJ lay in her bed longer than he should have. Her head rested on his shoulder, and her breast was squashed against his chest. After the night they’d shared, wanting her again should have been a physical impossibility. His dick disagreed. The first stirrings of arousal prickled his belly.
He suppressed a groan and carefully, so as not to wake her, disentangled his body from hers. Slipping from the sheets tortured him. His heart objected immediately—unexpected pangs of regret tightened his ribs.
Christ, what had he done?
Broken his own cardinal rule, that’s what. He’d slept with the one woman he’d vowed to keep at a distance. The one woman he feared had the ability to break through his barriers and access his secret. His terrible, tragic secret.
He dressed quickly, knowing if he remained naked any longer, desire would beat down his need for control. He’d caress her exposed breast, kiss her into wakefulness and lose himself once more in her bewitching charms.
The sun peaked through the curtains. Time to leave. At least under cover of night he could pretend their encounter had been meaningless. Facing her in the clear light of day would be too stark a reminder of what he’d risked.
Once before he’d put his heart on the line and the experience had destroyed him.
He’d vowed never again to chance such utter devastation. If he never allowed himself the weakness of emotion, he’d be just fine.
Lexi Tanner had the power to evoke powerful emotions in him. Not love, mind you.
Such sentiment no longer interested him. As things stood, he barely got through a day without constant, painful reminders of the cost of love. It wasn’t the idea of falling for Lexi that scared him shitless—he knew it could never happen. It was the knowledge that given half a chance he’d let her in. He’d be unable to resist. She’d tunnel her way into his life and into his past, and she’d make him feel again.
That was something AJ did not want to do.
His shirt hung open—the only button still attached dangled uselessly on a thread. He shrugged on his jacket and mentally coerced his growing erection down. Shit, just thinking about their night got him hot.
It was a damn good thing he’d never see her again. Last night he’d relinquished control. He could never risk that kind of vulnerability again. In the future, he would avoid Lexi at all costs.
Chapter Three
When Lexi awoke, he was gone.
At some point during the night, they’d moved to the bed, and with him curled protectively around her, Lexi had fallen into an exhausted, satisfied sleep. When she’d opened her eyes a few hours later and stretched her deliciously aching limbs over the soft mattress, she found herself alone.
The crumpled sheets and her scattered clothes bore testimony to the fact that she had not dreamed up the previous night. The warm glow in her belly confirmed the reality.
What a reality—better than any fantasy she might have had.
Christ, the man had been insatiable. So had she. He’d made her come three times in the space of half an hour and then at least another six times during the night. Each time, she’d thought he’d wrenched the last orgasm from her. Then somehow he’d manage to inspire another one.
She’d wanted a little pleasure with him and she’d gotten it. Repeatedly. On the floor, on the chair, in the shower—and the bath—and finally, in the bed.
She stretched again and yawned, and a strong, pleasant smell reached her nose. His scent mingled with the smell of sex. Strong masculine smells that fired her imagination and her body. Her thighs ached and muscles she never knew she had were stiff from the night’s vigorous workout.
Heavens, she could do with a workout like that at least every day.
Now he was gone and real life continued. Sighing, she forced herself out of bed and into the shower. She waited for the water to heat, then adjusted the pressure so the jets pulsated over her tender body, washing away the sticky remains of their passion.
Last night had been unforgettable. He’d turned a night of casual, anonymous sex into something spectacular. Perhaps she had broken through her usual limitations and surrendered herself to whatever he’d suggested because the night had been shrouded in anonymity. She’d done things with him she’d never dreamed of doing with another man.
Far from embarrassing her, it had liberated her. Their sex had affected her on a primal and emotional level. It had filled her and fulfilled her and left her more complete today than she had been in a very long time.
It also left her emptier than she had been in a long time. Last night she hadn’t intended to get emotionally involved. It was all supposed to have been about sex. When she’d least expected it, she’d experienced…something. She wasn’t sure what.
Just…something. Which only served to exacerbate her loneliness this morning.
She washed her hair, taking a long time to work the shampoo into a rich lather, massaging her scalp languorously, her arms too relaxed to move any faster He’d been affected just as deeply. She’d seen it in his eyes, in the melting of the iceblue irises as passion suffused him. She’d seen it in his mouth, in the softening of the hard lines after he’d kissed her. In the lusty groans he’d emitted when she’d surrendered to him and to the pleasure that his touch provoked. She’d felt it in his arms, in the way he’d held
her afterwards like a fragile bird.
The strong scent of the chamomile-vanilla conditioner filled her nose, overshadowing the last traces of the male fragrance that had clung to her skin. Now all she had left of him was her memories. Memories of a beautiful, nameless man, a glorious, gratifying night and magnificent sex.
She rinsed the soap from her body, switched off the water and climbed out of the shower. As she toweled herself dry, patting down the places where just a few hours before his lips and hands had been, a dizzying mix of melancholy and relief settled over her. He was gone and she’d never see him again.
—
“He’s what?” She stared at the woman, aghast.
“He’s checked out,” the woman repeated.
“Oh…when?” Lexi asked, stupefied.
“This morning. At about seven-thirty.”
Seven-thirty. Around the same time she’d been washing away the last remnants of her stranger from her body.
Damn it. The newspaper article had said Riley would be at the hotel for four days, and she’d only read it yesterday. How could he have left already? She hadn’t had a chance to speak to him yet.
“Please, I need to see him. It’s urgent,” she tried again.
“I’m sorry, miss. He’s left. I simply cannot help you.”
“I…oh…um…I… Never mind. Thanks for your help.” Lexi’s shoulders slumped in defeat.
She’d blown it. She’d had a fighting chance to track down Riley and get him to listen, and she’d blown it. He’d gone and checked out while she’d daydreamed in the shower. Okay, so the daydreams were worth spending a little time over, but now she had no idea where Riley might be.
Not that it mattered. She was flying back to Sydney this evening anyway, after the close of the conference. She’d have to wait until her official appointment on Wednesday to see him.
