She was ripping at him now, clutching at him to fill her. He shoved her skirt the rest of the way to her waist and tore off her panties, then, without waiting, thrust hard into her. She screamed, and he felt her clench around him as she climaxed again. He came instantly. It was a hard, fast rush, and he gave himself over to it totally. As if he had a choice.
They lay side by side, their bodies sweaty and limp. He had no words to tell her what the gift of her trust meant to him. He was almost afraid to look at her, afraid he’d see embarrassment now at where he’d taken her, what he’d made her understand about herself.
As it turned out, he didn’t have to worry about that.
She turned her head to where he’d buried his against her neck and whispered in his ear, “Next time, I sit on top. And I tell the tale.”
He turned his face so it pressed against the fine line of her jaw, already grinning. “Gee,” he said hoarsely, “twist my arm.”
She chuckled, and it was a supremely self-satisfied sound. He decided he rather liked it.
“If you think I’m going to torture you with visions of women watching you, you’re wrong. You’re a guy. Of course you’d like that.”
He lifted his head now, surprised. “A tad sexist, don’t you think?”
“You’re saying the idea of knowing you’re turning a woman, or women, on in a public place is something you’d have to force yourself to imagine you’d enjoy?” She just looked at him. “I was there this morning. I don’t think you’re going to sell that one.”
“You know, I’ve never once done anything like that. In fact, I wasn’t even thinking about it being a public place, until you blushed.”
She promptly blushed again. Which he enjoyed the hell out of, considering what they’d just done and discovered together.
“So you want that scenario?” She paused, pondering. “Nope. Too easy a sell. Not far enough outside your comfort zone. You took to the game far too easily today.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her this wasn’t a game, not to him. But the fact he’d even thought it, and so quickly, so naturally, stopped him. This was just for fun, he reminded himself. He could handle this and not get attached. It was the thrill of discovery he was attracted to here, not her. Not in that way, anyhow. Because he couldn’t. That would ruin everything. So he just wouldn’t allow himself to go there.
Even as he shoved the whole thing out of his mind, the first teensy thread of worry began to form.
“So what will it be?” he asked, getting his head firmly back into the game. Such as it was.
Now her smile was downright wicked. “Oh, I don’t know. It will take some time to figure out.”
His heart leapt inside his chest. Because of the sex, he told himself. What else would it be? “So you’ll see me again?”
“If we can work it out.”
He wanted to leap up and do a dance on the bed. Instead he lifted his head enough to run his tongue along the shell of her ear. “When do you have to leave today?”
She craned her neck, looking for a clock. “Four. I’ve got to turn my rental in before I board.”
Jake felt around behind him until he found the linen napkin he’d filched the fruit in. He plucked a blueberry from the folds, amazed they hadn’t smashed all the fruit. He rolled it between his fingers in front of her face. “What say we give breakfast in bed a try?”
Her eyes widened a bit as she watched him roll the berry back and forth. “I thought you had a meeting.”
“I’ll reschedule. Now, breakfast in bed?” He put the berry between her breasts and began slowly rolling it down the center of her body. “I’m still hungry. And I’m thinking this would taste really good dipped in you.”
Her head dropped back and her hips actually undulated. “I give up,” she groaned in pleasure. “You’re way better at this than me. Who knew cowboys were so imaginative?”
He continued rolling the berry over her belly, nudging it into, then back out of her navel. “Who knew lawyers could be so…responsive.” She gasped when he let the berry tickle through the first few curly wisps. “Why don’t you let me lead today. That will give you until next time to think up a few things. Research a few…briefs.”
He nudged it over the edge, and she arched hard as it hit her clitoris. “Yes,” she gasped. “God, yes.”
“To hell with the bed,” he growled, already growing hard again. How did she do that? He nudged the berry along her wet lips, then rolled his tongue in right behind it.
She groaned, long and low, as her climax took her slowly but body-shakingly hard. She was still twitching as she all but yanked him inside her.
He gladly complied. This time, however, he didn’t come for a long, long time.
8
“DATING SUCKS.” Liza swirled the cherry in her drink, then bit it off the stem in one vicious snap.
Natalie almost choked on her drink. “What? You’re the one always telling me how fabulous the men in L.A. are and how I should race out here and enjoy the endless ‘beef buffet,’ as I believe you termed it.”
“Yeah, well, I’m switching to chicken and fish.”
Natalie laughed, glad her flight had been delayed, after all. Liza had been happy to meet her at a restaurant near the airport for dinner. Now she knew why. Girl talk. She didn’t mind. It would help take her mind off what she’d been doing only hours earlier. She still couldn’t quite believe it herself.
“Please. Just because Conrad decided to have an affair with his soap co-star fling-of-the-week doesn’t mean the whole dating world has gone to hell.”
Liza set her drink down. “I’m not saying the whole world has gone to hell. Just the men in it. What is up with them, anyway?”
“Aren’t you usually the one who gets irritated when a man starts to get all clingy with you?” Natalie had lost count how many times she’d sat just like this, either in person or on the phone, and talked Liza through yet another breakup. Only it was usually Liza doing the breaking up. Since the shoe was on the other foot this time, it wasn’t surprising that her friend wasn’t taking it well. “I know it’s a blow to the ego, but come on, you only have…what? Ten, twelve, twenty others dying to take Conrad’s place?”
Natalie had expected an annoyed look followed by a rueful laugh, and then it would be over and they could finally go eat dinner. Instead Liza’s expression sobered, then she looked away and started twirling her cherry stem.
When several moments passed and she still hadn’t responded, Natalie leaned down to catch her eye. “Liza?”
“Okay. So maybe he wasn’t the fling I’d hoped he’d be.”
“Then, why are you so upset?”
Liza looked up, and Natalie was stunned to find her eyes swimming. “I didn’t mean he wasn’t a good fling. He was. Too good. So good, in fact, I’d sort of forgotten about the fling part and started to get serious.” Then she shocked Natalie further by starting to cry.
Liza had never cried once since Natalie had known her.
“And then the jerk goes and sleeps with another woman. How could he do it to me, Nat? He was actually shocked when I told him I wouldn’t see him again. Like I shouldn’t mind sharing!” She sniffed. “Well, I minded.”
Natalie quickly abandoned her stool and hugged her friend. “Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. I wouldn’t have teased you like that if I’d known. It’s just that you never get—”
“Serious?” she said, hiccuping through another sob. Her mascara was a mess and her cheeks were splotchy. “Well, I guess we all fall sometime.”
Natalie instantly thought of Jake, and then shut the picture out. It had just been a reflex reaction, to think of the last man she’d been intimate with. The fact that he was also the next man she planned to be intimate with made no difference. Jake was not a forever man.
Liza hiccuped again. “I don’t want…to date anymore.” She sniffed, then blew her nose on a cocktail napkin. “It’s not…worth it. I don’t want…to ever…feel like this again.” She wiped her face, still sniffling, and gently pushed Natalie back to her stool.
“I know what you mean, but honestly, Liza, it was bound to happen at some point. It’s surprising it hadn’t happened sooner. Last time I looked, it was a fairly normal reaction between a woman and a man she finds attractive and fun.”
“Don’t forget good in bed,” she added with a watery chuckle.
Natalie rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks as she recalled just how good in bed Liza had thought Conrad was. After all, she’d heard firsthand.
“But just because you got stung once doesn’t mean you should give up altogether.”
“I know.” Liza sighed and used another napkin to blot her face. “You’re right.” She downed the rest of her drink, choking a bit as it stung her throat. “Still sucks.”
Natalie sighed along with her. “I know.”
Liza turned a considering look to her. “Since when?”
“Oh, no, we’re not going there. You know very well that I’ve led the opposite kind of social life from you, so it’s not at all surprising that it hasn’t happened to me.”