by Mina Carter
“Bloody Italian boots, do they all have anorexic feet or something?” she muttered as she kicked them out of sight under the sofa. They could stay there and rot for all she cared. Nothing would persuade her to put them on again… Well, until the next morning when she decided they were just too cute not to wear, forgetting all about the torture they’d put her through today. But tonight, tonight she hated the sight of them.
She flopped back into the big cushions that littered the back of the sofa and closed her eyes with a sigh. The boots pinching hadn’t been the worst of her problems today, would that they had been. No stranger to tight costumes thanks to the fads wardrobe went through, she could have coped with that. No, it had all started to go belly up this morning after an argument with JJ and just gone downhill from there.
The argument had been such a juvenile one. JJ wanted her to accompany him to some business shindig tonight and she hadn’t wanted to. After a tough week writing and trying to organise everything for the concert all she’d wanted to do was curl up and be a hermit this weekend. Stay in bed and call out for pizza instead of cooking. He’d got stroppy and demanding, which had only meant she’d dug her heels in more. Which in turn had led to heated words and Zette storming out, loudly stating he might have bought her body but she’d be damned if he owned her. To which he’d just yelled that until the concert was done he did, and she’d best be there.
Of course, that was the worst thing to say to Zette. In retaliation she hadn’t left the studio until half seven. Half an hour after the function had started.
“Gah!” She grabbed the nearest cushion and buried her head under it. JJ was going to be pissed as hell. She knew that without asking, knew she was playing with fire by refusing to go tonight. But she was just too tired to even contemplate it. Hour after hour of being nice, smiling until her cheeks ached. It was her idea of hell. She shuddered and threw the pillow aside, watching it bounce off the sofa and onto the wooden floor.
No, what she needed now was a nice long bath and an early night. The past three weeks had been a whirlwind. She felt as though her feet had barely touched the floor. Far from wanting a one night stand as she’d thought, JJ had treated her like a real…girlfriend, if you could call her that. Wasn’t she a bit old for that term now? She shrugged to herself. Whatever the correct terminology was, JJ had infiltrated every part of her life: picking her up from the studio, dropping into her offices for impromptu lunches, taking her home each evening for nights of passion that left her wanting more. He was a forceful whirlwind of a man who always seemed to be on the move. It wore her out just looking at him at times.
So it was nice just to get away from that for a night, take stock and catch her breath. The concert was less than a week away and as well as being on the organisation team, Zette also had to perform. So she needed her sleep, she told herself firmly. No matter what Mister High and Mighty thought.
The phone rang behind her, the shrill sound making her jump a little. She wasn’t expecting it. Out of necessity she was ex-directory. A freaky wanna-be stalker had seen to that a couple of years ago. So there weren’t many people that had the number and most of the ones that did also had her cell so they usually rang that first.
She left it to ring, waiting for the answer-phone to cut in. As soon as it did JJ’s voice demanded, “Zette, where the hell are you? I told you I wanted you with me tonight… Oh fuck it, I hate these things. Call me.” Then he cut the call. No goodbye, no nothing.
Head rested back against the plush cushions Zette wrinkled her nose at the ceiling. Let him wait, she was having tonight off from being a paid mistress. Three weeks without a break, surely she could ask for one night off? Even if the work wasn’t that hard. Not hard at all. JJ was a skilled lover, the best she’d had. Not that she’d had that many but even she could tell he was good. Better than good. A master of seduction. She hadn’t really stood a chance that first night she realised now, nor any night since. He’d played her from that first kiss, and he was still doing it.
She levered herself off the sofa with a groan and headed toward the bathroom to run a bath. Time for some heavy duty pampering.
* * *
Water tumbled into the deep corner bath, splashing against the white porcelain as steam rose to fill the room. She dropped a generous amount of her favourite bath oil in, breathing deeply as the smell of rose and jasmine filled the room. She rolled her shoulders, feeling her tension start to melt away at just the scent.
Reaching up, she wound the heavy fall of her hair up and secured it in a clip so it wouldn’t trail in the water as she bathed. Then, slowly, she stripped off her clothes. The fitted shirt gave way to reveal a slender torso, her breasts encased in a lace and silk bra. She turned slightly, studying herself in the mirror. Her hands skimmed up her sides to cup the full breasts, pushing them together to make her cleavage deeper. What was it about these that fascinated men? JJ was nuts over them, and half the photographers she worked with were all ‘More cleavage darling! Let’s have more of those tits on display.’
She shook her head and dropped her hands, unfastening her jeans to push them down over her hips. The fabric, weighted by the heavy belt, slid down the regrettably short length of her legs. That was one thing Zette had always wished she could change about herself. She was short and on the pretty side of plump for the music industry. Which meant she was a normal size. She knew that, didn’t have a problem with it. But once, just once it would be nice to sweep into a place gracefully. One couldn’t do ‘sweeping gracefully’ at a little over five foot, it just wasn’t possible.
She bent down to retrieve the belt, coiling it in one hand as she dropped the jeans into the laundry basket. She’d already managed to wash three and didn’t want to repeat the mistake. Coiling the soft leather she left it on the vanity and shucked off her underwear.
Her toe had barely dipped in the water when a hammering at the door, accompanied by the shrill sound of the bell being rung repeatedly, jerked her head up. Irritation surged through her. Who the hell could that be?
She hovered for a second, one foot over the tempting water. She could ignore it, just sink into the scented water and close her eyes… The hammering got louder, as though the unseen caller could tell what direction her thoughts were taking. She sighed and stepped back. Grabbing a robe from behind the door, she pulled it on, stalking through the open-plan apartment to the front door.
“Okay, okay, I’m coming. Keep your bloody hair on!” she hissed and forgot everything she knew about personal safety to throw the door open. Sure this was a secure block, but someone determined could always scale the fence or shimmy down a drainpipe or whatever the terminally obsessed did these days.
“Are you bloody mad? Do you always open the door without checking who it is first?”
Zette’s eyes widened at the tall male figure filling the doorway, snapping a demand at her in lieu of a greeting. JJ. She’d have preferred the deranged stalker.
“Oh yes, all the time!” she threw back and shot him a withering look, one he completely ignored as his gaze raked over her, noting the fluffy, overlarge bathrobe and her bare feet.
“Do you have anything on under there? You haven’t, have you? So you answered the door without knowing who it was or even bothering to check and practically naked as well!” His voice was low, tight with anger as he glared down at her, stepping through the door and forcing her to back up. It was that or be trampled.
She cast a glance down at the towelling robe. It covered her from neck to mid-calf. Sexy and revealing it was not. “Not exactly naked,” she argued, “not that it’s any of your damn business what I answer the bloody door in!”
His reply was a look so hot it could have stripped paint, making it bubble and melt off any surface his hazel eyes rested upon. Zette sucked in a breath as he advanced on her, slamming the door behind him with a savage twist of his torso. She shivered as her nipples pebbled under the robe, the sensitive peaks rubbing against the towelling. Towelling which had felt so
soft when she’d pulled the robe on but now seemed designed to abrade her sensitive flesh, sending shooting sparks of arousal through her body directly to her clit. Colour blazed in her cheeks. She was sick, twisted in the head if she could get turned on by this sort of behaviour. By his anger, he looked as though he either wanted to throttle her or devour her.
She backed up, JJ stalking her, until the back of her hips bumped the console table to one side of the large hall. In an instant he was on her, hard hand sliding around the back of her neck as his other wrapped around her waist, boosting her up onto the table. She heard the ornaments hit the carpet but it was as though the sound was a long way off, all her attention on the man pushing against her, crowding her with his large, hard body.
“Well, I’m making it my business.” His voice was a low growl of anger and warning as he ripped open the front of her robe. She gasped as cool air washed across her exposed skin; skin that burned as he swept a hot look over her body, lingering on the nipples that were already peaking toward him in invitation before heading down to the neat strip of hair above her mound. Roughly he shoved her legs apart, jamming his hips between them as he leaned closer. “You know what happens when you open the door to me dressed like this?”
Zette shook her head as he leaned closer, pausing just before his lips touched hers. Arousal hummed through her body, all her senses teetering on the knife edge of anticipation.
“You get fucked. Fucked long and hard,” he promised, taking her lips in a hard kiss. At the same time his fingers parted the lips of her sex, brushed her clit once in preparation before he thrust two fingers inside her.
She moaned, almost coming apart there and then. Liquid heat filled every cell of her body, her pussy clenching around his fingers. The kiss was hot and hard, a brand of ownership and warning, allowing her no chance to regain her composure as he fucked her with his fingers. His thumb circled her aching clit at the same time, driving her need higher.
“Oh God.” Her breathing was ragged when he lifted his head, moving on to kiss along her neck. Cruel, almost bite-like kisses that left her in no doubt this was going to go exactly when and where he wanted it to. A shudder went through her body. She wanted it and badly. Even like this, rough and angry. Especially like this. She reached out to stroke him through his pants, needing to feel that familiar hardness. He moved subtly, blocking her move.
“Not yet.” He sucked her nipple into the warm cavern of his mouth and suckled hard. Zette’s head fell back, his hand supporting her, urging her to arch her back for him as he feasted on her generous breasts. Her eyes rolled back in her head as he curled his fingers inside her, searching for the sensitive spot buried behind her pelvis. “I want to taste you, want you to come for me first.”
She moaned for an answer, no longer able to frame a coherent answer. Especially when he slid to his knees, his fingers sliding from her to push her thighs open wider. Baring more of her to his view. A flush covered her cheeks and she shifted as if to cover herself. He growled warningly, hard hands holding her open for him.
“I’m not done with you yet, not by a long shot.” The words were breathed right against her sex, the puff of his breath whispering over her hyper-sensitive clit. Her hips jerked a little in response, a movement lost as he looped her legs over his broad shoulders, his thumbs parting her folds.
The first warm brush of his tongue was fantastic, sparks erupting behind Zette’s eyelids. The second was delicious torture. By the third she was writhing in need, her hands buried in the short spikes of his hair as she urged him on.
His tongue flicked over her clit, dancing over her, each flick coiling the tension low in her belly higher. Soft, breathy moans escaped her as he added nibbles and sucks to the onslaught, a sensual salvo so intense the hard knot of tension building in her shattered abruptly. Pleasure exploded from her core through her body, her hips jerking in response as she groaned.
He didn’t give her time to clear her head, her body still humming with pleasure as he swept her up into his arms. He strode through her apartment as though he owned the place, glancing into doors until he found the bathroom.
She blinked in surprise as he placed her gently on her feet, his hands smoothing the thick robe from her shoulders. She’d been expecting the bedroom. Expecting him to stride in there, drop her on the bed and finish what he’d started. Expected him to fuck her there and then. She flicked a glance up at him through her lashes as, silently, he took her hand and helped her into the water. His features were set, almost feral.
Zette shivered, sinking down into the water as he stripped off his jacket to roll his shirt sleeves up over muscled forearms. He was dressed for the evening. The event she’d not turned up at.
“Don’t look at me that way. Or so help me God, I’ll pull you out of that water and screw you on the damn floor!” His voice was tight with need and something else. Frustration? Anger? She didn’t know what but he was angry with her, seemed angry at wanting her. Was that it? He was annoyed because he found her attractive?
Thoughts and questions swirled silently in Zette’s mind, brushed aside as he kneeled next to the bath. His hand fisted in her hair as he brought his lips down on hers again. His kiss was just as hot as before, but the warm brush of his mouth was somehow gentler as he explored her. Tasting, teasing, sipping from her lips as his free hand dipped into the water to stroke along her skin.
He lifted his head, lips clinging for an instant, as though reluctant to release her. In silence he washed her, the sensual glide of his hands over her skin turning Zette on all over again. Someone, somewhere had taught this man how to turn a simple bath into a weapon of seduction. Senses already shattered by the explosive climax in the hall, Zette didn’t stand a chance, shivering in need by the time he stood and slowly began to strip.
The silk shirt parted to reveal a muscled torso, lightly peppered with hair down the centre and around the nipples. Satin smooth skin Zette’s fingers ached to slide over again. He pulled the shirt free from his pants, dropping it to the floor as his hands moved to his belt buckle.
Hazel eyes caught hers, desire flaring darkly in them. Zette caught her breath as he unfastened the belt, dropping his pants and underwear in one smooth move. His erection sprang free of its confinement, standing proud as he moved toward the bath. Already fully erect, he closed his fist around it, pumping slowly.
“See what you do to me Zette?” His demand was softly spoken, but no less intense when backed up by the hot look in his eyes. “I’ve been bloody hard all day, thinking of you, waiting to get you to myself.”
He stepped into the bath behind her, sinking in the water to pull her back into his arms. Locked in the sensual spell he’d cast she couldn’t say anything, just leaned back against his hard body. His arms slid around her, spanning her waist easily and sliding up slowly. His fingers traced each rib as he got higher and higher. Zette almost moaned in relief when his hands cupped her breasts, anticipation killing her.
“You like that, hmmm?” he murmured in her ear as she arched her back, needing more of his touch. “What else do you like Zette? What do you want me to do to you?” His fingers closed over her nipples, rolling the wet flesh between them and almost sending her into a sensual daze.
“You know what I want,” she managed, wriggling back against him in the water. This was fantastic, she’d never done this in a bath before but with the heat of the water, the slide of skin on skin… It promised to be an experience she wouldn’t forget soon. Somehow he managed that. Managed to take the ordinary and turn it into the fantastic.
“Tell me.”
“I wa—I want…” Her voice trailed off, mouth going dry as his hand slid down her again, dipping below the water and between her legs. She parted her thighs, a willing accomplice in her own seduction.
“Yes Zette?” he prompted, his fingers parting her and finding her aching clit again. She moaned, her head dropping back against his shoulder as his clever touch worked her body again.
“Shall I
tell you what I’m going to do to you?” he tempted, kissing along her neck as he drove her to insanity.
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m going to lift you up, into my lap…the hot water lapping around you. Lapping against that delicious cunt.”
She gasped at the crude words, at the visual he was creating even as his hands shifted to her hips.
“Then I’m going to drive my cock into your tight little body, impale you on it and fuck you senseless.”
She didn’t answer, didn’t get the time. He was already lifting her. Her pussy clenched hard as he lifted her clear of the water for a second, the surface slapping against her aroused flesh for a moment. Then the swollen head of his cock brushed her slit, pressing against the entrance to her body.
She hissed softly as he eased his grip on her hips, letting her weight and gravity impale her slowly on his rigid length. The sensation was sublime, her body stretching and accepting his hardness as it filled her completely. She loved that about him. He seemed made for her, they fit together that well.
“You feel fantastic. I can’t think when I’m inside you,” he admitted, his hips setting up a slow, hard rhythm that took her breath away. Reaching out, she grasped the sides of the bath and ground her hips against him, needing more. Already she was close to the edge again.
His hands snaked around her body again, one under the water at the juncture of her thighs and the other cupping her breast and tweaking the nipple. Her delighted gasp was enough encouragement as he thrust deeply.
“I can’t-t… I’m nearly—” She couldn’t finish the sentence, her body already tightening hard around him. A precursor to another hard and fast orgasm. He sped up, thrusts so hard and powerful now if she hadn’t been as turned on as she was, her pussy slick with her own juices, he’d have run the risk of hurting her.