“Interesting. Carry on.” His fingers now traced along the top lace of her thong.
“Er, then your hands pinned my hips between the door and your body.” He heard her swallow.
He tightened his hands against her hips, which were still pressed against the door. “Like this or harder?”
“No,” she said, her breath catching. “Just like that.”
“And did I say anything whilst I had you pressed up against the door and my body?” he pushed, now kissing along the lace of her panties which outlined the top of her bottom.
“Ha, wow, erm, yes, you said something about needing me.”
“I do need you Pippa,” he confirmed. “I would have said that if I’d thought for even one second that you wanted me that night. Do you know what it does to me to know that you wanted me just as badly as I wanted you? You drove me crazy in that lift. I was always just a heartbeat from grabbing hold of you and acting out the whole sex-in-a-lift fantasy every male has from puberty.”
“Your voice against my ear made me so wet,” she admitted huskily and he nearly came right there in his jeans. “And you kissed my neck and, erm, then you focused on my shoulders.”
He rubbed his face over her bottom cheeks as he held her hips and she cried out at the feel of slight beard on her sensitive skin.
“Oh. Jeez, Jumal.” She held her hands up on the door, either side of her head.
“Then what did I do?”
“You, er—” she let out a sharp breath from her mouth, no doubt blowing her fringe from her eyes “—you moved your hands to the insides of my thighs and used your foot to push my legs apart.” She dropped her forehead against the wood as he moved his hands from her hips and around the front of her thighs and nudged them apart.
“Like that?” he asked, as he moved his chin against her other bottom cheek.
“Y-yes. Like that, and I could feel—you, against my lower back.”
“You could feel me?”
“Hmmm and you moaned back at me.”
He quickly rearranged his painful erection, barely contained behind his jeans. “Believe me, baby, I’m right there now and I think I know exactly what I’d do next.”
Before she could respond he ran his fingertips up the insides of her thighs and tantalisingly over the dampness of the lace.
“Yes, oh yes.” While she was making keening sounds he pulled the lace to one side and slipped in a finger. Pip was no longer lucid as he continued to tease her mercilessly.
“Did you come, Pippa? In your dream, did you come for me?”
He needed her to say it out loud, to admit that he had made her come while she slept in her bed.
She whimpered against his damp hand. “I wanted to, so much, b-but my alarm went off.”
He gripped her bottom with his weaker right hand as his left continued to work her, increasing the pressure on her sensitive nub with the heel of his hand.
“You’re going to come tonight, Pippa. On my hand. Come now.”
Chapter Twelve
Pippa collapsed forward against the door, as the little sparks continued to throb throughout her lower body. Her inner muscles contracted and released over and over.
She felt like melting to the floor in a puddle and for some reason the image in her head was melting chocolate against Jumal’s abdominals. It would melt into all the delicious dips and curves…and it would be a shame to waste it…
Her body shivered with delight as Jumal rose up and pressed those firm abdominals against her back, kissed at her neck and over the shell of her ear. His ministrations set off another wave of delight in her lower body before she felt his need press readily against her lower back.
She managed to co-ordinate her body to turn to face Jumal. She was surprised by the flush to his cheeks and the raw need evident in his wild, dark eyes and the set of his jaw. He swallowed hard as she brushed her hand over his pecs and across his sensitive nipples. A quick rush of air left his lungs and she watched his abdominals contract.
“Shall I show you what would’ve happened if I hadn’t woken up?”
Words seemed to fail him as he simply nodded.
***
“I need to confess something,” Jumal whispered into her ear as they lay, legs entwined, in bed, their bodies slowly recovering.
“Hmm,” she mumbled against his chest, her fingers teasing over his nipples.
“I keep thinking about you changing that tyre for us in the desert.” She lifted her head at his statement. “Major turn-on, Miss Darling,” he admitted, sheepishly. “I think we should get you some mechanic gear—maybe you could wear your new lingerie under a pair of those work overalls…and nothing else,” he said suggestively, wiggling his brows before continuing. “Sexiest thing ever, you changing that tyre.”
She returned to her exploration of his chest. “I think we can accommodate your weird fetish, Mr A,” she promised, kissing his chest. He waited with anticipation for her to make her way to his nipples. She knew just how sensitive they were.
“If we’re confessing things then I have one too.”
“Oh yeah.” He raised his head to meet her eyes. “You got a fantasy you want to share too?” he asked eagerly.
“No. But I have had a crush on you since I was a young girl.”
“What?!” he gasped, shocked, and shuffled his body up with his arms, wincing at the resonating pain in his chest.
She shrugged her shoulders and continued with her kisses. “That time you came home with Matt, when I was about twelve or so, you remember, the braces and wild hair? Well ever since then.”
His brows were drawn tightly. “I had no idea.”
“Why would you? You were my hero. If I could have gotten a picture of you I would have kept it under my bed and kissed it every night before I went to sleep. Broke my heart when you left.”
There was silence between them for a moment.
“I expect it was just a passing phase or something. You were just about to become a teenager and I’d have been, what, twenty-five or so?”
“Yeah, probably. So do crushes usually last nine years? You broke my heart when I found out that you’d gotten engaged,” she told him, before taking his nipple into her mouth.
***
Another week passed by in a blur of busy days and early evenings at work and late, erotic nights with Jumal. She was desperately trying to tidy up things at work for Jumal before she left; the man was also mysteriously absent from the office yet again, having regular meetings with Daniel Vincini that despite her best efforts to pry, he refused to discuss. The police had called her to confirm that Faridah Omar had admitted to the mugging and stealing her bag and would be sentenced by the courts. There wasn’t enough evidence to charge her with the drugging at her party or the damage to her car, but Pippa couldn’t bring herself to care about it, although the gate guard at her apartment complex could no longer look her in the eye and she concluded that Faridah had somehow used her charms to convince him to let her drive in. Jumal, on the other hand, was still raging about it and beating himself up with the guilt.
“So, things going well with you and Jumal?” Melina teased over a lunchtime coffee.
She blushed wildly at the memories of their passionate evenings. Jumal was slowly getting his strength back in his shoulder and the bruising was almost gone on his chest. Her stitches had dissolved and she was just left with a discernible bump.
“Ha, I’ll take that as a ‘hell yeah’.” Her friend laughed as she sipped her mocha. “So will you carry on your, erm, relationship after you go home?”
Pippa took in a deep breath. She’d been in denial over her return home during the last week. Yes, she’d booked her flight but that was it—no packing of any sort.
“No,” she said coolly. “It wouldn’t work and anyway, he hasn’t said he wants anything more.” She shrugged her shoulders. “We both knew it was just a bit of fun. Nothing more.” She sipped her latte and licked the foam from her top lip before taking a bite from h
er brownie.
“And what about you?” Pip lifted a brow at her over her cup. “Would you want more if he offered it, or would you still be running away?” Melina accused.
Pip jerked her head up. “You think I’m running away?” At her friend’s shrug Pip continued, “I don’t know. It’s just different out here, you know? We both knew it was a limited-time-only offer. There are just too many complications with our families. I don’t know if Matt would ever accept me having a relationship with Jumal—with him being so much older—and don’t even get me started on his parents, well actually just his father.” She let out a short humourless laugh and ran her fingers through her hair and gingerly felt the bump again. “Too much against it and Jumal would never leave Dubain. He has too many responsibilities and anyway—” she paused to take another sip of her drink “—he doesn’t want me to stay. Hasn’t asked. So it’s a non-issue.”
“I think you might be surprised,” Melina added.
But Pip very much doubted it.
***
“All packed?”
“Yep. If I’ve forgotten anything just bring it into the office,” she said, looking around the living room.
“So—” She let the word hand in the air.
“So—” he repeated, pocketing his hands in his jeans and rocking back on his heels.
For the first time in their brief relationship, there was an awkward pause.
“Oh gosh, I almost forgot to give you this.” She rushed to pick a small wrapped packet from her handbag and pushed it into his open hand. “Oh no, don’t open it yet. Wait till I’ve gone. It’s my offering to make sure you don’t turn into that ‘old fart’ you worry so much about,” she teased but with only a half-hearted smile. “Oh and remember, you have a lifetime offer for surfing lessons.”
He started down at his hand and swallowed deeply.
“Thank you, Pippa,” he said earnestly, hoping he conveyed his thanks for more than just the gift. She had given him so much, including a hope for his future—an alternative.
Her laugh brought his attention back to the loveliness of her face as she said, “Ha, I bet you never thought you’d be saying that to me last October.”
“It’s certainly never been dull has it, Miss Darling?” he joked half-heartedly. His smile failed to reach his eyes. “It’s been an adventure. Fun.”
He saw her face crumple for just a moment. Had he upset her with his words? He’d meant to tell her how much she’d changed his life. “Pippa, I know we said goodbye last night but—” He stepped forward, pulled her into his arms and hugged her body close. He inhaled the scent of her apple-fragranced hair and closed his eyes. Something in his chest, not too far from his heart, ached as it hit him like a blow from a heavyweight boxer that this would be the last time he’d be able to hold her like this. Every curve of her body was memorised to last him a lifetime. He wasn’t ready to let her go, he needed more time. “Stay.”
She tilted her head up and her eyes were wide.
“Stay with me tonight; just stay another night,” he all but begged.
The same hurt look he’d seen a moment earlier clouded her features for a second before she shook her head. “I can’t. I told you I need to go back to my apartment and pack and spend some time with Melina.” She dropped her head back down and he pulled her close again.
“Jumal—” She tried to pull away from him.
“Just wait,” he begged into the soft waves of her hair. He pulled her slight frame tighter into his body. His head whirled with conflicting thoughts: tell her how he felt or preserve his self-respect and heart?
He finally let some air in between their bodies and pulled back slightly, dropping a soft kiss to her partially opened lips. Where those tears in her eyes?
“Pippa—” He took a deep breath, not yet knowing what words were about to spill from his lips. Stay with me; stay here with me for ever. Don’t go. Her eyes widened and her pupils dilated. “I, er—” But she dropped her eyes to the floor and the sudden loss of eye contact interrupted his proposed admission, and what ended up coming from his lips was, “I’ll miss you.”
***
Pip was proud of the fact that she’d made it into her car before the hot tears spilled down to her cheeks and that she’d insisted on Jumal staying in the apartment, knowing what was about to come. She dropped her head against the steering wheel and sobbed. She was annoyed at him for letting her go. Fool. But she was just as annoyed at herself for letting him weave his way into her head and heart and for making her believe for just a moment when he’d crushed her to his chest that he wanted more than just the fling, that they had some permanence and he’d felt just a sliver of what she felt for him. Idiot.
All out of tissues, she resorted to sniffing and rubbing her eyes with the bottom of her T-shirt, ignoring the mascara stains.
***
Finally he saw her car drive away. He’d been about to go down to see if there was another problem with it before he saw the lights come on.
He shut the sliding balcony doors behind him and leant his body back against the cool glass. He closed his eyes and his senses were flooded by Pippa’s scent, which lingered in the living room. He finally opened his eyes and surveyed his apartment. It no longer felt like his home, if it ever had. It felt empty, lifeless, like it had before Pippa had flounced into his life. He dropped his head back against the door. Crap. He’d so nearly told her how he felt. I love you, Pippa, had been balanced tentatively on the tip of his tongue but he knew it wasn’t fair; he couldn’t just blurt it out as she was about to leave the country to return to her life in England.
She’d want and demand exhilaration, fun and spontaneity from a partner—not a fast-approaching middle age boring businessman. Christ, she’d have likely laughed at him or worse—pitied him before politely rejecting him. She didn’t need him. Other women had always needed something from him: his wealth, his body or, like Faridah, the social standing that came with his family name. Pippa—she needed nothing. She had her own money, her own self-confidence, and even if she did care about such things as family names and social standing, she had her own respected heritage back in England where suitors would no doubt come a calling as soon as she landed. His teeth ground together as his fists clenched but he quickly released his grip on her present.
He forced his eyes to open and pushed away from the door. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing there but it was now getting dark outside. He scanned the living room and lounge area. Silence was his only companion now. No music, no yodelling or whatever it was she sang along to. Everywhere reminded him of Pippa: playing snap on the floor in front of the fire because it was the only card game that she knew and he could play one handed, coming home and finding her balancing on her head in some weird yoga position and desperately trying not to pounce on her, her running through the apartment in her belly-dancing outfit yelling at him that she couldn’t find her car keys and that she was going to be late picking up Melina. He’d given her his car keys and eventually found hers in the fridge…
He wandered into the kitchen and absently ran one hand along the black marble counter tops, remembering that first intense, game-changing look that they’d shared all those weeks ago, her tendency to burn every meal she cooked, the takeaway menus she pinned with a camel magnet to the fridge for just such eventualities. He abandoned the kitchen for his office where she’d sat on his desk feeding him ice cream whilst he made business calls, then went into the bathroom where for the first time he’d seen her pale breasts bobbing around through the bubbles and the glass of wine next to them. He smiled and shook his head at that memory. Only Pippa.
He found himself at his bedroom door and took hold of the handle but just couldn’t face going through it. Not yet.
He was going to have to sell the place. Hell he might even give it away to a charity—too many memories. He dropped his head and remembered the small gift in his hand.
He returned to the kitchen and placed the gift on the cou
nter whilst he grabbed a beer from the fridge. After popping the top in the bin and talking a long swig, he gingerly picked up the small gift and rolled it in his fingers. He couldn’t remember ever having received a gift from someone who wasn’t related to him.
He finally opened up the gift—and chuckled out loud, shaking his head. Only Pippa.
***
After nursing several beers Jumal decided it was time to face his demons and go to bed, but a knock at the door provided a much-welcomed distraction… PIPPA?
As he threw the door open he tried to keep the look of disappointment from his face as his shoulders dropped. Malik.
He left the door wide open and stalked back to the living room, calling over his shoulder, “Beer or something stronger?”
He heard Malik close the door and join him. “Beer’s fine.”
“Here,” he said, handing his friend a bottle. “So what’s up?”
Malik choked on his first swig and coughed. “Sorry. ‘What’s up?’” he asked wide-eyed. “What happened to ‘What’s the matter?’ You trying to get hip or something?”
At his cool stare, Malik cleared his throat and wisely continued. “Melina called me and said that Pip’s back in her apartment. So—” He shrugged his shoulders. “I thought I’d see how you are. Her flight’s tomorrow evening, right?”
“Right,” Jumal replied gruffly, swigging on his own beer and sitting back in a lounge chair and planting his feet up on the low-rise table.
Jumal reached forward to check his mobile, along with the new ringtone—his father. No doubt ringing to make sure Pippa had left Dubain. He ignored it.
“What the hell is that?” Malik asked with a quizzical look towards the ringing mobile. “I never had you for a Miley Cyrus fan, Jumal. Bit of a depressing song, isn’t it?”
Jumal shook his head and shrugged. “Pippa. She liked to change the ringtones and I have no idea how to change them back,” he lied. Of course he knew how to change them—just didn’t want to.
“Well, at least you can get a new PA—one who can actually do the job without winding you up and pushing all your buttons,” Malik unhelpfully suggested, standing behind the sofa and leaning forward.
His Irresistible Darling Page 21