One Week with her Rival:Eden Manor, Book One(10)

"I'm not being ridiculous. You know exactly what you're doing, and you  have to know the consequences. If I don't have Silas, then one of my  only advantages is gone. You've gobbled up everything else in this area.  You're going to leave me with nothing. You've always known it, and yet  you went ahead and poached Silas anyway. If it was only business, then I  could deal with it. But I'm not going to take you acting like  we're...we're...friends or something, and all the time you're working  behind my back to bring me down."         

     



 

Joe moved toward her again, something urgent on his face that hadn't been there before. "That's not what happened, Vanessa."

"Yes, it is. Yes, it is. You did it to me before, and now you're doing  it to me now. I might be stupid, but surely you can't think I'm so  stupid I won't notice it when it becomes obvious."

"Vanessa, please." He reached out to hold her by the upper arm, and he  didn't release her when she tried to jerk away from him again. "You've  completely misinterpreted what's happening here."

She was almost in tears, so outraged and angered she was by the reality  of what she'd let happen, even though she should have known better. But  she wasn't going to cry. That would give Joe a victory he didn't  deserve. "I haven't misinterpreted anything. You can't act like you've  been acting-like you want to be close to me-and then stab me in the back  and pretend like it's no big deal."

"I didn't stab you in the back." He'd reached out to hold onto her with  his other hand, and his grip was strong and strangely passionate.

"Then what do you call it? What do you call it?"

"It's our thing!" he replied, his voice breaking in his urgency. "It's  what we do. We have this game, this competition. It's what we do."

"I know it's what we do, but it's not a game. It's real life. It's my life."

He let out a frustrated noise. "It's not your life, Vanessa. It's just the way you're protecting yourself."

His grip had loosened slightly, so she pulled herself away from him.  Something new was simmering inside her-something stronger and more  terrifying than her anger. And his touch was only stoking the fire.  "Don't you start that again. If you knew me as well as you pretend, then  you would know how serious this is to me and you wouldn't go behind my  back to destroy me."

He reached out for her again. "I'm not trying to destroy you, Vanessa.  Why can't you see that? We were in this holding pattern that wouldn't  ever end. I had to do something to break the stalemate. I had to do  something. I just want this game between us to finally end."

He sounded earnest, utterly sincere, almost broken, and his face twisted with what looked like strong emotion.

It surprised her so much she stared at him numbly, not even trying to pull away from him again.

Finally, she whispered, "You want to win."

"I don't want to win. I want to stop playing. I want to stop fighting. I want to..."

A shuddering began in her chest and rippled out through her entire body. "You want to what?"

They stared at each other for a moment, wordless, both of them panting  loudly. Then without warning Joe moved his hands from her arms to the  sides of her head. Taking her face in his grip, he leaned down into a  hungry kiss.

In an instant, all of her anger and confusion transformed into bone-deep  need. She'd never felt anything like it before-not once in her life.  There was nothing in the world she needed as much as Joe, this kiss, the  way he was making her feel.

She clung to him desperately, wrapping her arms around his neck and  pressing her body into his as the kiss deepened. His tongue plunged into  her mouth, and she met it with her own, the meeting of their tongues  just as passionate and intense as the emotion burning between them.

"Damn, Vanessa," Joe groaned against her mouth, his hands sliding down  to cup her bottom. "This is what I want. You are what I want. This  is..."

She wanted it too. There was absolutely no denying it. And the little  voice of logic at the back of her mind was completely drowned out by the  roar of pleasure, need, and excitement.

When his kisses trailed down from her mouth to her throat, she dropped her head back and groaned shamelessly. "Joe, please."

With a throaty sound, he lifted her up by her butt until she could wrap  her legs around his waist. Then he carried her through the living room  and into the bedroom. She was barely conscious of their location-only  the feel of Joe's body against hers, his lips, and his tongue and teeth  on her skin.

He lowered her onto the bed, and she pulled him down on top of her. She  wanted to feel his weight, his heat, as much of his touch as she could  get.

His stubble was rough against her skin as he mouthed the hollow of her  throat. Her back arched in pleasure as she released another uninhibited  moan.

"That's right," he muttered, still nuzzling her neck. "Let go. Give in to what you want. Don't keep holding back."         

     



 

She was incapable of holding back-no matter how much she might want to.  Her body was a lit fuse, and it was only a matter of time before it  reached its limit and exploded. She clawed at his bare back, fumbling  for purchase. Her body was already rocking in a motion she couldn't  control.

He raised his head for just long enough to push her sweater off her  shoulders and pull her tank top off over her head. She wasn't wearing a  bra, and he stared hotly at her naked breasts for a moment before he  leaned down to take one in his mouth.

It felt so good she cried out. And then she cried out again when he  nipped her nipple with his teeth. She held his head down against her  chest so he wouldn't stop teasing and suckling. She didn't care if it  made her look overly eager. Nothing had ever felt so good in her life.

He worked on her breasts until she was almost sobbing with need and  pleasure. Then she moaned in relief when he pulled down her sweats and  panties with one firm yank. She was completely naked beneath him now,  and she couldn't get enough of the hot, possessive look in his eyes.

"I knew you'd be gorgeous like this," he said hoarsely, sliding his  hands from her breasts down to her thighs. He pulled them apart. "I knew  we'd be good like this together."

Maybe she'd known it too and just tried to deny it all this time.  Nothing could be denied now. She made a whimpering sound as he lifted  her lower body and hooked her legs around his shoulders so his mouth was  in position at her entrance.

Their eyes met for a long moment before he started to pleasure her with his mouth.

She was so far gone she could only take a few seconds of his tongue  teasing her clit, sliding inside her, before her body started to shake  with a helpless orgasm.

"Damn, Vanessa," he murmured, still nuzzling her intimately as the  spasms worked themselves through her. "You needed this bad, didn't you?"

She was gasping loudly, her arms above her head, gripping desperately at  his headboard. "Yeah. I need...this...so bad." She didn't care how  shameless she sounded. Her legs were still hooked over his shoulder, and  his mouth was still in position.

She squirmed when he just stared at her, his eyes moving from her groin to her face. "I need more, Joe. Please."

"I'll give you anything you want, baby. You know I will."

He leaned forward enough to circle her clit with his tongue, and she  cried out loudly in response to the sensations that erupted from his  touch.

He worked her over until she was climaxing again, sobbing out how good  it felt, how much she needed him to make her come like this. Then he  changed their positions so he could slide two fingers inside her. She  was wet and pliant, and he pumped his fingers and sucked at her clit  until her body shuddered through yet another orgasm.

She was limp and panting helplessly when he finally lifted his head and  lowered her legs and hips back onto the bed. Her cheeks were blazing,  and a deep throbbing hadn't yet been satisfied inside her.

Joe kissed his way back up to her lips. She was so overwhelmed she  couldn't move, and Joe had to reach up to unclasp her hands from the  headboard and wrap them around him instead.

She rocked beneath him as the kiss deepened. When he finally pulled away, she gasped, "I can't seem to get enough."

"We're not done yet." He was hard beneath his jeans, and he pressed himself against her belly.

"Do you have a condom?"

"Of course." He raised up so he could find a packet in the drawer to his  nightstand. He handed it to her, and she unwrapped the condom as he  hurriedly pulled off his jeans and underwear.

She stared down at him hungrily, forgetting what she was doing. He had  to take the condom from her fingers and roll it on over his erection  himself.

"You still good with this?" Joe asked, after a moment, when she didn't do anything but stare at him.

She choked on a laugh. "Good with it? That's an understatement, if I've ever heard one. Hurry up, please."