by Jan Graham
“Oh!” Rhia jerked away from him. “He’s umm…not cuddling her, is he? Well I’m sure if they’re that friendly then he would…he’d umm…you know…he’d…”
“Definitely use protection, a dragon always practices safe sex.” He finished her stumbling sentence the way he wanted to, knowing fully what she was trying to imply. For Rhia, it appeared that if a man was intimate with a woman then he would also be protective. It didn’t surprise him that they appeared to have different views on what intimate was. Rhia clearly believed the act of sex only involved two people with an emotional attachment. Steve knew sex and intimacy were, very often, poles apart. Sex equaled meeting a natural desire. Intimacy meant opening your heart to emotion.
Steve enjoyed being able to make her blush so easily. As they talked, he wondered if her nipples were still hard little points pressing against her shirt. Likewise, did the fact she was squirming once again mean she was sitting there, wet, and aching, between those luscious thighs? As he sipped his coffee and listened to Rhia change the subject once again, Steve decided he was definitely going to have to be careful around her. She might be the sexiest women he’d met since Kathy had past, but she was also totally innocent. Even though he wanted to, he couldn’t give in to the desperate need to fuck her.
He could resist the carnal urges in which he liked to indulge. She may have a very spankable ass and nipples that cried out to be clamped, but Steve knew he wouldn’t be doing any of that, not with the fresh-faced woman sitting before him. She didn’t need to be corrupted by lust. As Steve talked with Rhia, watched her blush innocently when their eyes met, noticed the rapid rise and fall of her chest and the nervous way she adjusted her robe to ensure her body was covered from his vision, he knew Rhia was aroused. Steve clearly observed it. He wanted to lean in close to her body, force her clamped legs apart and smell her, but he didn’t.
If Rhia had noticed one truth tonight, it was that Steve was protective by nature. He sheltered those he loved from danger, defended them with a vengeance. Not that he loved Rhia. He couldn’t love. He was just incredibly attracted to her. He’d been aroused from the moment she spun around and flashed him the startled bunny look. She’d possibly been aroused just as long. Under any other circumstances Steve would be leaning in, taking her lips in a forceful kiss and then seductively maneuvering to take her body. Normal circumstances didn’t apply here.
Chapter Five
Rhia lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. If her level of tiredness was any indication, she should still be asleep. Her first night in her new bed had been anything but restful. She tried to make all sorts of excuses for her poor night’s rest and waking at the creak of dawn. She had a job interview this morning, and being nervous played a part. Her new bed would take some getting used to. The rooster crowing in the distance disturbed her. None of the excuses happened to be true. She knew what caused her disturbed rest but didn’t want to admit to it…that stupid book.
Once Steve Jax had gone home the previous evening, Rhia had been unable to sleep. When Steve surprised her in the dark, tension had invaded her body. Hearing his unconventional greeting had scared her, and the whole bottom half of her body tightened. She’d flushed with heat when she saw the way he looked at her. By the time he finally put her mind at ease by mentioning he was Angel’s brother, her breathing had quickened to the point she thought she might faint. Rhia understood what happened. Her natural fight and flight reflex had kicked in. She basically had a mini panic attack. During the entire visit, her body had raged in reaction to the initial fright she’d experienced. By the time Steve said good-night, her body was coiled tight, like a spring needing release. Once she locked up the house, washed the coffee cups, visited the bathroom and went to bed, the symptoms were gone. Before going to sleep Rhia decided to catch up on what Harley and Rose were doing in chapter five…big mistake.
Harley finally convinced Rose to have sex with him. That’s when Rhia really understood the meaning of panic. The words jumped out at her. Blushed…heaving chest…short, shallow breaths…flushed skin…erect nipples…body tightened…aching need…moist heat between her thighs.
Rhia’s initial response was to throw the book across the room, jump out of bed and pace. Her heart had raced out of control, she couldn’t get breath into her lungs, her mouth dried and her head was light, making her dizzy. Mercifully, she didn’t faint. After what seemed to be an eternity of telling herself it was a coincidence and rational analysis, she calmed.
Picking up the book and placing it on her bedside table, she reassured herself that her reaction to Steve was totally different to the bodily symptoms Rose experienced with Harley. For a start, Rose and Harley weren’t real. She and Steve were. Rose hadn’t experienced a fright, but she had. Harley and Rose had been kissing, touching, and exploring each other’s bodies…particularly the genital area. She and Steve simply shared civilized conversation while drinking coffee…no bodily contact involved. Admittedly, there were a few physical reactions in common, all totally explainable given the very different circumstances experienced by Rose and her. Rhia’s was a reaction to shock…Steve Jax did not make her sexually aroused.
Having dealt with her overreaction to the obvious coincidence, she went back to bed. Rhia slept…but not soundly.
She woke just after four a.m. in a lather of perspiration, an unfamiliar ache between her legs. The dream had been too real.
Damn, Harley and Rose.
Those books were being given back to Angel the first chance she got. The dream mirrored exactly what she’d read, with one minor change. The characters were no longer fictional. Steve lay on top of her, buried deep, pounding hard, as she screamed in orgasmic bliss underneath him. At least she assumed it was orgasmic bliss, having never experienced the real thing. On waking, she’d been horrified to discover one spare pillow from the bed pushed between her legs and another hugged tightly to her chest. Horror turned to mortification once her brain registered she had awoken grinding against the pillow wedged against her groin. To add further insult, there was a damp patch on the pillow case, clear evidence she’d enjoyed herself.
Damn book.
As she stripped the bed and put on fresh sheets, her rational brain kicked in. She walked to the laundry, threw the offending bedding and her pajama bottoms inside the washing machine and set it to economy wash.
People often dreamt about their last thought before dozing off. It was logical to have a dream about sex, since she’d been reading and thinking about it before going to sleep. As for the change in cast, that could be easily explained. Steve was the only single, male, non-relative she’d met since returning from London. He’d also been the last person she saw before getting into bed, so his image remained active in her mind.
Nicely explained, Rhia. It’s just a silly coincidence.
She went back to bed but Rhia did not sleep soundly. In fact she didn’t sleep. She tossed and turned, dozing periodically, but always awoke to images of Steve whirling through her mind.
Clearly her mind hadn’t been quite as convinced by the logical explanation she’d devised. However, one thought remained conclusive.
Steve Jax did not make her sexually aroused.
Rhia closed her eyes and thought about Steve. She pictured him sitting on her sofa, just as he was last night. Incredibly good looking, his long dark hair messy from riding his bike, waves of curls resting on his shoulders. A few short side lengths of hair framed his face perfectly, directing her gaze to his angular features. Defined cheekbones gave him a hard, serious appearance, until he laughed. Then his face softened. His eyes were an iridescent blue reminding her of gemstones that seemed to smolder when his gaze met hers. She didn’t recognize the emotion lurking beneath them, but she got the impression the feeling was waiting to ignite.
Whatever it was caused her to look away and made her face flush with heat. She’d never met a man she couldn’t maintain eye contact with. And she certainly never blushed in reaction to one before.
&nb
sp; This is ridiculous! Why now?
She knew why. She’d seen why. Rhia just didn’t understand the timing. As Rhia had exited the kitchen the previous night and seen him relaxing on her sofa, she’d stopped to catch her breath. Her gaze fell on his outstretched legs, the tight denim hugging his firm thighs, his jacket resting in his lap, his T-shirt fit tight, encasing what Rhia assumed would be a rippled stomach and hard chest. Rhia remembered the firm defined muscles the material hinted at and sighed. His broad shoulders and the muscle definition in his biceps confirmed what Rhia envisioned under that tight shirt.
She moved restlessly in the bed. Thinking about Steve made her feel…ridiculous.
Rhia flung the sheet off her legs and got out of bed. Stomping to the laundry, she tossed the washing into the dryer and walked to the bathroom. Thinking about Steve was getting her nowhere. Rhia turned on the shower and threw her pajama top on the floor, pausing as she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the vanity mirror. Her nipples did not look like tight buds. Well maybe they did, but she had just taken her top off and they were clearly reacting to the fresh morning air.
She washed her misbehaving body, trying to ignore how the spraying water prickled her oversensitive skin. She did not let out a soft moan when she washed between her legs. And the thought of Steve’s hands massaging her breasts did not cross her mind as she washed them. Exiting the shower she dried herself then put on her lacy black bra and panties, a nice cotton sun dress from the collection of clothes she now had to choose from and brushed her hair. She’d made a decision. It was time to take action.
Rhia walked into the living room, collected Steve’s leather jacket from her sofa where he’d left it the night before and walked outside. To her relief the lights were on across the road. Steve was obviously awake. She was going to put an end to this confusion once and for all.
Steve Jax did not make her sexually aroused, and she was going to prove it.
* * * *
Steve headed for the coffee pot for the third time this morning. The walk home from Rhia’s last night had been painful. His dick had been so hard by the time he left he was convinced one wrong move and the damn thing would snap off. The relief when he undid his jeans after walking through the door was palpable. He’d immediately stripped and entered the shower. Not that he was dirty, he just needed some relief and time to think. What better place to do both than under the harsh spray of some ice-cold water.
Relief came in the form of his usual fantasy. As he began to slowly massage his engorged cock, he envisioned his wife Kathy, on her knees, taking his hard length into her sweet mouth. The memory always settled him, brought him pleasure, and calmed any rampant lust in his body. He nearly exploded on the first firm stroke of his hand. If he hadn’t squeezed down hard on the base of the shaft, it might have been over before it even began. Maintaining an even, steady stroke, he imagined soft lips sucking him. The heat of her warm mouth and quiet moans of delight as he thrust against her, his head tilted back as she pleasured him. He increased the firmness of each stroke, and quickened the pace as his erection throbbed. He wanted to stare into her eyes as he began to fuck her mouth. He allowed his gaze to return to his lover and moaned loudly as he looked into her eyes. Rhia stared up at him, innocence and arousal fighting for dominance in her beautiful stare.
He tried to change the image back to Kathy, but Rhia stayed. She whimpered around his shaft as he fisted a handful of sleek dark hair and thrust forcefully into her mouth. Her eyes widened in surprise as he pressed deep and held her momentarily, wanting to feel the tightening of her throat around him. She swallowed against the head of his fully engorged cock when he lodged against her throat.
Good girl, Rhia. You’re such a good girl.
He replayed the image again as he worked his flesh arduously. He allowed his hand to slide rhythmically along his shaft, as he maintained a vision of Rhia permitting him to frantically fuck her mouth. He withdrew from her and took himself in hand. He let out a guttural cry as his hips jerked forward. He angled Rhia’s head back slightly as his cock pulsed, shooting multiple jets of heated cum onto her throat and sumptuous breasts. Steve remembered resting his head against the tiled wall, fighting for breath, his hand still loosely encompassing his now-depleted shaft. He couldn’t believe he had come like that. He thought it would never end as the torrents of cum escaped his body. He’d been left shaking and dazed. Not because of the force of his orgasm, but because Rhia had been the face he’d seen in his mind.
Steve leaned against the kitchen bench and sipped his coffee. He hadn’t slept well. He’d run the meeting with Rhia over in his mind a hundred times, and he still couldn’t figure out what was going on. No one had ever pushed Kathy aside in his fantasy. So how had an innocent little ex-nun managed to do it? It didn’t make sense. The other thing he found amazing was the number of times he’d woken, hard and ready for action, throughout the night. Each time, he’d thought of Rhia. He’d fantasized about taking her every way imaginable. He was driving himself insane with questions. What would she taste like if he could bury his face between her legs? What would her lips feel like against his, his tongue pressing into her mouth? How nice would her ass look when its flesh was glowing red from a spanking? What would those hard little buds that pressed against her top last night feel like between his finger, his lips, and his teeth?
Don’t do this. It’s madness. You can’t have her.
Maybe that was the attraction, the reason she had slipped under his radar, invading his thoughts, dreams, and especially his fantasies. He couldn’t have her. There were too many reasons to list. He’d gone over every angle, analyzed his motives, and every time he came up with the same response.
He couldn’t justify taking her innocence, if he wasn’t going to offer her anything but sexual pleasure in return.
He looked at the tattoo on his forearm. He played her words over in his head “Well I’m sure if they’re that friendly then he would be protective.” Sex was intimacy for Rhia. She would give her emotions to whoever took her virginity, and she’d expect some emotions in return. Taking her innocence and not giving her anything to replace it would be cruel. He didn’t want Rhia to think of him as a cruel man. So…he couldn’t have her.
Unfortunately, that meant leaving his jacket on her sofa, as a ploy to get back through her door, was now a redundant act.
The knock on the door caused Steve to frown. Who dared knock on a door this early in the morning? He sipped his coffee. Deciding he wasn’t in the mood for conversation, Steve ignored the knock, continuing to savor the sweet, rich, black brew. Another two, maybe three, of these and he’d have enough energy to face the drug lab meeting he’d organized. Another knock, this time louder, more determined. Okay, so someone might really need to see him. He put down his coffee and grumbled his way across the living room.
This unannounced visit better be good.
He picked up a pair of lightweight sweatpants from the sofa and pulled them on. His visitor was lucky the sweats hadn’t made it back into the bedroom. Otherwise, he’d be answering the door naked.
“What kind of mindless idiot visits at this time of the morning?” The greeting was growled in annoyance rather than spoken as he flung the door wide.
Steve lowered his head and muttered a curse under his breath. Great, two inappropriate greetings in less than twenty-four hours. Talk about foot-in-mouth disease.
“Rhia, I’m sorry, I thought you must have been one of my officers.” He tried to smile in an attempt to make her feel welcome. “If you’d like, I could close the door and let you knock again. I’m sure I could do better.”
Her expression changed from surprised to a frown.
“You thought I might be someone you work with, and that’s how you’d decided to greet them…with an insult?”
He wanted to reach out and massage away the little crease on her forehead. “Of course, you’re right. It’s a poor reception for anyone. Please, come in.”
Steve stepped asid
e and allowed Rhia to pass, the smell of her freshly washed hair tantalizing him as she walked by. He fought the urge to lean in and inhale more deeply.
Rhia was hugging his leather jacket to her chest. She looked a little nervous. Steve understood he could be abrasive at times, particularly when he was sleep deprived. He closed the door and walked over to the breakfast bar.
The living and kitchen areas were connected, the L-shaped design encouraging socialization with guests, while you were taking care of culinary issues. Not that Steve entertained. Still, the setup meant he could make Rhia a coffee and hide behind the small breakfast bar that jutted into the room. The breakfast bar would act as erection cover, should his sweats start to tent in a more obvious fashion. Luckily they were baggy, providing room to grow before the situation became impossible to conceal.
“I didn’t know if you’d need your jacket today, and I saw the lights on, anyway…” Rhia placed his jacket on the arm of his sofa.
Once Rhia put his jacket down and answered his how do you have your coffee question, the conversation seemed to stall. Steve placed her coffee on the breakfast bar, indicating for her to sit at the little outcrop of granite. She didn’t move.
As she stood in the centre of his living room, he admired her. She began to fill the silence between them with general chit chat. She hadn’t slept well, probably the humidity or nerves about today. She told him about a job interview she was going to at the local high school. He assumed she’d chosen to dress for her appointment early…really early. She looked stunning.
The black sun dress had wide straps, a heart shape to the neckline, small red buttons down the firmly fitted bodice stopping at the waist, a full skirt that came to her knee. Red flowers in full bloom encircled the bottom of the skirt, becoming less densely placed as the pattern crept toward the waistband. Steve tried to hide his amusement as she avoided eye contact, presumably because of the reaction it elicited in her.