by Jami Alden
He pressed against her, chest to chest, pausing for a moment to savor the exquisite feel of her skin against his. “God, you feel good,” he groaned as her hands skimmed down his back, up his sides, and back down his arms. Her fingers twined with his, and she pulled his hands up to cover her breasts.
“Touch me,” she said, and he nearly came in his pants. He kissed her again, the sound of smacking lips and soft sighs bouncing off the walls of his condo as he cupped and caressed the soft weight of her breasts. Her nipples were pebbly hard against his palms. His mouth practically watered to taste them. But he couldn’t get enough of her lips, her tongue, the soft panting of her breath against his mouth as he teased her.
He leaned in to her, swallowing her small sound of protest as he crushed her against the wall. Somewhere in his lust-fogged brain he realized it was time for a change of venue. Without releasing her mouth, he held her by the waist and guided her down the hall to his bedroom. With a flick of his fingers he unfastened the button at her waist and shoved her pants down her legs as she kicked off her shoes. His own pants and boxers joined her clothes in a pile on the floor.
He fell back across his king-size bed and pulled her down on top of him. He kissed her again and felt the hard edge of her glasses against his nose. He slipped them off and placed them on the bedside table. The silky skin of her back was hot and slightly damp under his hands. The firm curves of her ass filled his hands perfectly. She still wore her panties, her wetness seeping through. He ground his cock against the mound of her sex, groaning as the wet satin teased achingly sensitive flesh.
She moaned and rocked, sliding and grinding against him until they were both on the verge. He caught her hips, stilling her motions before he lost control. He pulled her up his body until she knelt over his face. He sensed her discomfort in the tightening of her thigh muscles, in the way her abs contracted above the waistband of her wispy panties.
She shifted as though to slide back down. His fingers closed around her thighs in an iron-hard grip. The heat of her, the scent of her, so wet and turned on, was driving him insane. He wasn’t about to let her stop him. “Hold on to the headboard,” he instructed, licking his lips as he anticipated the first sweet taste.
“I don’t think this is going to work,” she said, even as she braced her hands on the top of his heavy wooden headboard. “I don’t—”
The rest of whatever she was going to say was lost in a gasp as he tugged the crotch of her panties aside and delved his tongue into the drenched folds of her pussy. Salty-sweet honeyed heaven. “You taste so fucking good,” he groaned, thrusting inside, taking her with his tongue the way he wanted to take her with his cock. Holding her steady with his hands at her hips, he pulled her forward, sucking her clit into his mouth, licking at her with firm strokes of his tongue.
He could hear the moans pushing past her lips, the occasional “Oh, God,” “Oh, please,” and his favorite, “Oh, Ethan.” Her arousal flowed hot and wet onto his tongue as tension built in her muscles. He knew she was close.
As much as he wanted to taste her orgasm, he wanted to feel it more. He wanted to feel her clenching around his cock when she came this first time. He’d spend the rest of the night making her come in a thousand different ways, but right now he wanted her to feel him planted deep inside her when he pushed her over the edge.
He took one last greedy taste and gripped her hips to move her down his body.
“What are you doing?” she said, her voice high and frantic. Every sinew was taut, trembling as she hovered on the edge of release. He caught the back of her head with one hand and fumbled in his bedside table with the other. Her kiss was wild, all open mouth and thrusting tongue as she spread her knees wide and settled over his hips. She shifted so his cock was cradled against the slick, plump lips of her pussy.
He groaned into her mouth, his fumbling fingers finally closing around the elusive foil packet.
“You feel so good,” she murmured, her tongue flicking over his lips as she slid her hot, wet core up and down his shaft.
Reaching between them, he managed to slide the condom on one-handed. He gripped his cock, circling her clit with the thick head until he couldn’t stand the wait. Urging her forward with one hand, he worked himself inside. His breath hissed out of his chest as her slick heat closed around him. “God, you’re so tight,” he murmured, groaning out a curse as she sank her hips to take him deeper.
She gave a funny little laugh. “And you’re so big.” She rocked forward until only the head of his cock was inside of her, teasing them both as she took him with short, shallow thrusts. Bracing her hands on his chest, she sat up and sank all the way down, until he could feel the sweet press of her ass against his balls.
Her back arched, her beautiful tits with their petal-pink nipples pointing up at the sky, pale skin flushed in pleasure. Her lips parted on a broken sob as she came, her body convulsing around him, squeezing him so tight it was all he could do to hold back his own release. She was so gorgeous, eyes closed, her mouth swollen from his kisses, her inky-dark hair framing her face. He thrust up against her, grinding his cock deep inside, wanting her pleasure to go on and on.
His balls tightened, his cock throbbed, but he held back his orgasm so he could watch hers. Watching her let go, seeing her pleasure and knowing he was responsible made something tight and hot bloom in his chest. Something that was more than mere sex. Protectiveness, possessiveness. Jealousy. Rage. Need.
She brought out every male, territorial, testosterone-fueled instinct he possessed.
Ethan didn’t know how to process any of it, so he channeled the intensity the only way he knew how—through sex. He gripped her hips and held her hard against him, rocking against her as she rode her orgasm out. She collapsed against him, her chest heaving against his as she fought to catch her breath.
He tangled his fist in her hair and pulled her mouth to his, letting her know in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t even close to finished with her. His hands slid up and down the silky skin of her back and hips as he fought to control himself. She shifted and he froze, struggling not to come when even the slightest movement threatened to send him over the edge. He kissed her again, focusing on how good she tasted, how smooth her hair felt against his fingers until he had regained control.
He flipped her over, keeping his mouth on hers as his hips resumed their rhythm. He sank into her, relentlessly slow and deep. He hooked her knees in his elbows and spread her legs wide, but it wasn’t enough. It was as if he couldn’t get close enough, couldn’t get deep enough inside her.
He gave her one last deep kiss and eased out of her. Her eyes fluttered open, blurry with sexual heat, and she gave a soft sound of protest as his cock slid free. Gently he turned her over onto her stomach, urging her onto her knees. Bracing herself on her elbows, she eagerly arched her back and tilted her hips up in invitation. He gripped his cock in one hand and positioned himself against her slick entrance. She was watching him over her shoulder as he slid inside, her hair falling in her face in an inky tangle. He could make out the dark flush of her skin and the sharp gleam of her gold-green eyes through the dark strands. He held her gaze as he sank into her, pushing until he was once again buried to the hilt.
He began to thrust, his gaze drawn to where they were joined. A primitive sound ripped from his chest as he watched the thick column of his cock sink inside her. The sight of himself, slick with her juices, made him so hard he thought he was going to burst out of his skin. She moaned into the pillows, rocking her hips back against him to take him deeper.
He could feel her tightening, rippling around him, and he knew she was going to come again. This time there was no holding back—he was going with her. He fucked her without restraint, pumping his hips in hard, deep, strokes, pushing as deep inside her as he could possibly go.
She took it all and begged for more, matching him stroke for stroke, her hips meeting his with greedy thrusts until finally she froze, her pussy gripping and kneading hi
s cock, her body shaking as she came on a long, throaty moan.
He didn’t even try to hold back this time. His fingers sank into the giving flesh of her hips as his orgasm ripped through him with such intensity that he nearly blacked out. His release radiated out from the base of his spine, working its way through every nerve as his cock twitched and jerked inside her. When it was over, he collapsed on top of her, barely managing to turn them both to their sides to avoid crushing her.
He looped his arm around her waist, hugging her to him as he buried his face in her neck. He held her like that for several minutes savoring the feel of her. She snuggled against him, so relaxed he wondered if she’d fallen asleep. The air was thick and heavy with the scent of sex. Perfect. That was the only word he could think of to describe this moment. Holding her in his arms, still buried deep inside her, he never wanted to move from this place, from this moment.
But he could feel himself softening and knew he had to pull out and get cleaned up before the condom slipped off. Nothing like the realities of birth control to ruin a tender moment. He reluctantly withdrew, his brain already working on how he was going to get back inside her.
He kissed her on the shoulder and went to the bathroom to clean up. When he came back to the bedroom Toni had pulled the sheet over herself and was reclining against the pillows. She’d put her glasses back on and was watched him warily in the late-evening light that spilled through his half-open blinds. His chest tightened at the way she looked at him, like she was steeling herself, waiting for a blow.
He slid under the sheet with her and pulled her against him. Ethan had never been a big fan of sleepovers, especially at his place. On the rare occasion when he brought a woman home, he usually tried to politely herd her out the door as quickly as possible after the deed was done.
But tonight, Toni couldn’t go anywhere, and for the first time in his life he didn’t mind. He wanted to stay right here, in his bed with her, kissing and touching her until he was ready to have sex again.
Cradling her jaw in his hand, he brushed his lips across her mouth until finally she parted her lips. He kissed her, deep and slow and wet, and to his amazement, his cock rose insistently against her hip.
Her eyes flew open and she broke the kiss. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
He grinned, sliding his hand down to cover her breast. “I can’t believe it either. I just had the best sex I’ve ever had in my life, and I already want to go again.” The words slipped out before he could stop them, but he realized as he said them they were true. Toni Crawford, with her know-it-all attitude in life and her unbridled enthusiasm in the bedroom, was, bar none, the best lay he’d ever had. And something more, but he wasn’t ready to put that into words just yet.
Toni stiffened in his embrace, bracing her hands against his chest as though to push him away.
He held her tighter. “What?”
“Don’t,” she said impatiently, trying to wriggle from his hold.
“Don’t what?” he said, sliding his leg over hers to keep her still.
“Don’t feed me a line of bullshit just because you think it’s something I need to hear.”
“Why do you automatically think everything I say is a line of bullshit?” His voice rose in irritation. “Why is it so hard for you to believe I could be telling the truth?”
“Because look at you. And look at me.” She gestured down at her body. “I’d be an idiot if I let myself believe the things that spew out of your mouth.”
Fuckin’ great. Here he was having a case of the warm fuzzies, and she thought he was full of shit. He cut her off and rolled her onto her back, pinning her there with his legs between hers. When she tried to push him off, he caught her wrists and pinned them to the pillow. “You want the truth? Here it is. I just came so hard I thought the top of my head was going to blow off. And the second I was finished coming, all I could think about was how soon I could fuck you again. Five minutes later I’ve got a hard-on that could pound nails.” He rubbed his cock against her stomach for emphasis. “This hasn’t happened to me since I was in high school,” he muttered, as much to himself as to her.
He could tell she still didn’t quite believe him, but he didn’t have words yet to explain what she did to him. Instead, he kissed her, trying to translate the emotions roiling in his chest into his touch. “All I know is that I see you and I want you,” he murmured against her mouth. He slid his hips lower until the tip of his cock slipped and slid against her slick folds. “I feel like I could fuck you for the next hundred years and never get enough.” He didn’t know where the words were coming from, only that he needed to stop them before he said too much.
He slid her glasses off her nose and placed them on the bedside table, lingering there for a moment to retrieve another condom. Quickly sheathing himself, he slid into her without hesitating. Tasting her surprised gasp as he thrust deep, he took her mouth in an open-mouthed kiss, his tongue thrusting in the same rhythm as his cock. He held himself inside her, barely moving as he kissed and caressed her. He came in long heavy spurts as she pulsed around him, and for the first time in his life he thought he knew what it meant to make love.
Toni awoke a couple of hours later to the unfamiliar sensation of smooth cotton sheets against her naked skin. More unnerving was the heavy weight of a hairy, muscular leg thrown over hers. She turned slowly and saw Ethan asleep on the pillow next to her. He was gorgeous even in sleep, his full lips parted, dark stubble dusting his jaw, his long lashes lending a soft touch to his sharp cheekbones.
The events of the afternoon and evening muddled around in her head, creating so much noise that it was impossible for her to roll over and go back to sleep. As if having someone try to kill her weren’t enough, Ethan suddenly had to change his game and throw her for a complete loop.
Far from his previous hot–cold routine of winding her up and then shutting her out, tonight he was all hot. Irresistible, with his hungry mouth on hers and big hands that seemed to know exactly how and where to touch her to make her go off like a roman candle.
She hadn’t known sex like that existed. Theoretically, maybe, but seriously, headboard-slamming, screaming up-to-the-rafters sex didn’t exist anywhere except in fiction.
At least that’s what Toni had thought, even after Sunday night. She’d been able to write that off as the result of having gone so long without.
But now she had to face the truth. Sex with Ethan was nothing short of earth-shattering.
She wasn’t sure she liked it. While the sex itself was amazing, the aftermath left her shaky and unsure, like her whole world was slowly peeling off its axis.
And then there was the other stuff. The way he’d sped to her rescue, made sure she was safe, and whisked her off to his lair. They made love—no, she reminded herself sternly, guys like Ethan didn’t make love. They fucked.
Then he’d fucked her with such heart-stopping intensity—twice—that Toni’s nerve endings were still dancing hours later.
And then he’d told she was the best sex he’d ever had. She didn’t believe him for a second, but the fact that she wanted to believe him was a sure sign she was on her way to big trouble. All kinds of fantasies were spinning through her head, of what it would be like to have Ethan at her side, at her back, her own macho, protective superhero.
Yeah, Toni knew better than to go dancing down that road again.
Her brain wasn’t where it was supposed to be. Someone had tried to kill her earlier, for Christ’s sake. Probably someone hired by Jerry, which meant he knew something about Kara that he wasn’t telling them, something that was still frustratingly out of reach.
Instead of lying in bed next to Ethan, fantasizing about hot sex turning into happily ever after, she should be doing everything she could to find Kara.
And if she wasn’t doing that, she should be figuring out how the hell to get her life together enough so she could move back to Seattle before the end of the summer.
Ethan stirred as she sli
pped out of the king-size bed. His hand reached out, curling into the empty space next to him as though searching for her. Toni’s stomach tightened, and she told herself not to read too much into his unconscious movement. A T-shirt lay discarded on an armchair across from the bed and she slipped it on as she padded down the hall to his kitchen.
His condo was beautiful, though she preferred her old flat in Seattle with its charm and history to the sleek, modern lines of Ethan’s place. But Toni couldn’t find fault with its polished hardwood floors and high ceilings. Large windows faced the foothills. In the daytime, light streamed in, making the unit seem larger than it was. The living room was furnished simply, with heavy, comfortable leather furniture and of course a massive TV. Colorful throw rugs saved it from complete sterility, and she wondered if Ethan had picked them out himself. Judging from his clothes, the man had good taste, but throw rugs seemed like something a woman would choose.
She pushed the idea of Ethan’s buying home accessories with a girlfriend out of her head. If she let her mind go there, she’d start wondering how many women had graced his bed before her, and how many would come after. The thought made her a little sick. She forbade herself to dwell on it as she unpacked her laptop and switched it on. She looked at her watch. It was just after one in the morning. They’d heard from Derek earlier. They’d tailed Jerry home from work, and so far he hadn’t moved. Toni didn’t really expect him to be up working in his home office at this late hour, but hell, it was worth checking.
Nothing. He hadn’t accessed his computer or gone online since he got home. She clicked open Kara’s FacePlace pages, first checking her regular profile, then checking her Kstar90 page. There were no new postings from her on either page. The last message taunted her: I’m chilling out at the beach.
