by Lani Aames
“You bet,” she responded, but didn’t move toward the champagne yet.
She could leave now, but how far would she get? He could be after her within seconds. Again, running would raise his suspicions. Even if he didn’t come after her, he’d be wary enough to disappear out of the city, and Interpol would have to start the investigation over at square one. She’d be transferred to a desk job until her supervisor could be convinced to give her another chance.
Besides, deep down, she really wanted this night with Stone.
She looked around, but the king-sized bed took prominence in the room with its dark, flowered comforter neatly covering it. Not heart-shaped as in her fantasies throughout the day, but it would do. She noted the decorative touch of lengths of black silk hanging from the end and center posts of the double headboard to soften the harshness of the squared design of the piece of furniture.
While tempted to run across the room and jump into the middle of the bed, she resisted because she didn’t want to appear too eager to Stone. He seemed much too full of himself anyway. The tension of doubt would make his apparent conquest all the sweeter.
Jule poured the pink champagne into two flutes just as he emerged from the bathroom. She held hers to her lips without taking a sip. Stone wore nothing but a black silk robe and looked so desirable she thought she might drool into her bubbly.
His belt was tied, but it hung loose, threatening to come undone any second. A mat of dark chest hair peeked through the deep vee between the lapels.
As he crossed the room toward her, he dropped a towel on the bed. When he reached her, he picked up his glass and started to take a drink, but stopped. He shifted his gaze from the liquid to her. “How do I know you didn’t drug this?”
Jule stared at him. She thought she had him convinced she was a freewheeling chick looking for a good time. She decided to play it cool and snapped her fingers. “Darn. I left my vial of cyanide at home.”
One of his dark brows rose high over his eye. “Well, I was thinking more along the lines of a sleeping pill. Here, you take a sip first.”
She ignored the glass he held toward her. “Why would you think I’d want to drug you? I’m just looking for a little fun.”
His gaze pierced her, as if he searched her soul for the answer. “It’s not unreasonable to think you might want to knock me out and roll me. Just take a sip, and the evening we planned can go forward.”
A sudden thought struck her—what if he had drugged the wine? Wasn’t it too much of a coincidence that he had a bottle of pink champagne here in his hotel suite, waiting for her to come with him? Or maybe the champagne waited every night for any woman he brought back here.
“I could think the same about you, you know,” she countered. “You could have put something in the bottle or just on the glasses, like something I saw in an old movie. How do I know you don’t prefer your women to be—less animated, shall we say?”
They stared at one another for several long moments then set aside their glasses at the same time. Jule smiled, and Stone chuckled politely.
“I prefer,” he began and moved in closer to her, his voice lowering to a husky drawl, “an adventurous woman in bed, a woman who knows what she wants and who’s not afraid to go after it.”
“Seems like that’s me tonight,” she murmured and caught a whiff of freshly applied cologne, a fragrant woodsy, musky scent and her favorite. She associated pleasant memories with that particular brand, and it added another layer to her attraction to Stone.
He laid his hands on her shoulders. “What’s your name?”
“Everyone calls me Jule.”
His brows knitted in a frown. “Jewel, like a diamond?”
“No, it’s short for Juliet.” It certainly wasn’t the first time she’d heard the erroneous assumption of the spelling of her nickname.
“And your last name?”
“Why do you need to know?”
“I don’t. Just curious.”
“My name is Juliet Reigh.”
“Mmmm.” His hands slid off her shoulders, peeling off her jacket with them. When the collar was near her elbows, he jerked her forward while forcing the jacket back and effectively pinning her arms to her sides. “Jule Reigh. Do you really expect me to believe that?”
His sudden entrapment made her heart race. She apparently hadn’t convinced the thief she wasn’t out to capture him, after all. She looked up into his deep, fathomless eyes, irises so dark they nearly blended with his pupils, and in that moment, she almost didn’t care what he did to her as long as he fucked her first. “It’s my name. Blame my parents.”
“At first, I thought you were an agent of some kind. Interpol, most likely, but now…”
“Now?” she prompted, wondering if she could use his other notion to her advantage and make him forget all about agents and Interpol.
“Now, I think you must be Dia Manté, a well-known thief who steals only diamonds.”
Jule had heard of the notorious Dia Manté, another international jewel thief in Interpol’s files. With her sole interest in diamonds, she’d been a prime suspect along with Stone. Careful examination of the crime scene and analysis of the execution of the heist concluded the modus operandi was more in line with Stone than Manté.
“Interpol? Diamonds?” Jule widened her eyes in surprise. She decided to try to keep the cover of horny chick intact as long as she could. With luck, she just might pull it off. “I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
His ambiguous smile slanted to one side and clearly indicated he didn’t believe her. “No need to keep up the pretense. You’re one or the other—Interpol agent or jewel thief. But which one?”
“I—” she began another denial, but he pressed a finger across her mouth.
“Don’t insult me. I’ve been in this business long enough to know when I’m being set up.” He let his finger slide away. “I have to admit, my desire for you is clouding my instinct, and I don’t know which one you are. So we’re going to play a little game.”
In one swift movement, he yanked off her jacket and tossed it away. Startled, Jule made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a squeak. He had her nerves on edge because she never squeaked. “Wh-What kind of game?”
“Twenty questions…except every time you give an answer I don’t like, I remove a piece of your clothing.”
Jule almost frowned. And the downside of this was…? Even though she knew she should concentrate on finding a way to escape, she really didn’t want to leave without bedding Stone first.
“I’ll take your silence as agreement.” He walked around her in a tight little circle that made her feel even more trapped. “What do you know about the Pink Ecstasy?”
She licked her lips. “The what?”
“Wrong answer,” he warned from behind.
She felt him grope the hem of her light sweater, but instead of pulling it up, he grasped the elastic waistband of her skirt and pushed down. The maroon fabric fell around her feet, leaving her in slip and sweater.
It wouldn’t take the entire twenty questions to have her completely naked. Besides, all she had to do was give him wrong answers to prove she wasn’t an agent or a rival thief and didn’t want anything from him except a good lay.
He circled around again, stopping in front of her, and repeated, “What do you know about the Pink Ecstasy?”
“I still don’t know what you mean. What is this Pink Ecstasy? Sounds like fun, whatever it is.” She bit her lip. She was talking too much. The shorter her answers, the sooner she’d be naked and see the look in Stone’s eyes as he ran his gaze over her body.
He ignored her question. “Who are you?”
“Jule.” She answered the truth, but knew he wouldn’t accept the answer.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“But I still answered your question.”
He shook his head. “Not good enough.”
Jule shrugged. “It’s all I can tell you.”
Stone reached for her waist again, and she thought he’d probably take her sweater this time. She started to raise her arms, but he pushed her slip off her hips. Now, she stood in shoes, panties, bra, and sweater. Five more questions—counting her shoes as two—and she’d be naked.
She wondered what he’d do if she removed the rest herself.
“Have you ever stolen anything?”
Who hadn’t? Even as a kid, almost everyone took something—if only a pencil or a dime—that didn’t belong to them. “Yes.”
“Everyone steals,” he echoed her thoughts. “But not everyone is a jewel thief.”
He circled around her again, but didn’t remove any of her clothing this time. She wished she’d said no, just to be contrary and get closer to the prize.
“Do you like diamonds?” he asked.
“Not especially.” That was partially true because she preferred colorful jewels. Although she knew diamonds came in many different hues, clear diamonds always came first to her mind when they were mentioned.
He went round her once more, but again didn’t take any of her clothing.
This was getting ridiculous! She fidgeted, shifting from one foot to the other.
“Do you like pink diamonds?”
Time to get rid of the sweater even if it meant lying through her teeth. She’d become enamored of the Pink Ecstasy since she first saw a picture of it. Pink was her favorite color, but she replied, “No.”
“Now, now. What woman wouldn’t love pink diamonds?” The rhetorical question didn’t need a response. He caught hold of the hem of her sweater, and she eagerly lifted her arms as he peeled it from her body.
Now, in only panties and bra—both happened to be pink and edged in white lace—she waited for his next question. Which would he choose to unveil, top or bottom? She watched him walk around her again and yet again. His questions so far had been kind of lame, as if he didn’t know what to ask.
She decided to take care of the problem for them. She pushed one strap off her shoulder, then the other while kicking off her shoes. She noticed Stone had halted, watching her with his intense dark eyes. Slowly, she undid the front fastening of her bra and let it fall to the floor. She hooked her fingers in the elastic of her panties and pushed them down. When completely nude, she stepped from the puddle of her clothing.
Stone caught her by the waist and pulled her closer to him. After she bumped into him, she kept going, propelling him backward. When the backs of his knees hit the edge of the bed, he sat down hard. She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed until he lay on his back, only his legs off the bed.
With him laid out, it was her turn to touch, taste, explore. She ran her hands over the fine muscles of his chest, not bulging but lean and well-defined. Her fingertips raked across the tight points of his nipples until she decided she had to sample them.
Leaning forward, she placed her lips around one, swirling her tongue over it. He made a deep, harsh sound and ran his fingers into her hair, cupping her head to hold her in place, but she had more in store for him.
She left a wet trail from the first pebble-hard peak across his chest to the other and gave it the same sensory treat. She left more wet trails as she licked her way down his ribs and flat, hard stomach. His abdominal muscles flinched as she moved lower, and his hands had left her hair by the time she reached his cock.
She had gone to her knees between his widespread legs. She handled his sac and continued raking her nails lightly over it. Starting at the base of his cock, she ran the tip of her tongue up its entire rigid length, and when she came to its tip, she tilted her head and took it into her mouth. Stone gave a satisfied sigh. She sucked gently but firmly, tonguing the soft spot, and elicited more sounds of enjoyment from him.
Bending her head farther, she took as much of him as she could, his cockhead easing into the back of her throat where she flexed her muscles around him. Stone moaned and groaned in response. She held him there as long as she could, but her reflex pushed him out sooner than she wanted. She let him slide all the way out of her closed lips with a plop.
After taking a deep breath, she again licked up his erection. She felt Stone move and peeked through slitted eyelids to see what he was doing. He had pushed himself up, propped on his straightened arms to watch her. His tousled hair and half-closed eyes gave him that bad boy look she loved. She shut her eyes and concentrated on giving him pleasure.
His cock seemed to stiffen a little more with each stroke of her tongue. Then she planted little suctioning kisses up one side, across the tender spot, and down the other causing him to gasp. When his cock was damp all over from her saliva, she placed her hand around it at the base and took into her mouth as much as she could. She went up and down on him, her hand moving in tandem with her mouth.
Stone stirred again, shifting the bed when he fell back. He drove his cock into her, his hips pumping up and down, going faster and faster until he gave one final thrust and one loud groan. She backed away in time, and his white fluid erupted and flowed down his shaft while she kept massaging him. She enjoyed watching the way his body had gone rigid with the spasms then completely relaxed.
She couldn’t allow herself to become mesmerized with his hard body. Now was the time to make her escape, while Stone was languid and vulnerable after his orgasm. She still wanted to bed the man, but he’d taken the edge off her sexual craving at the restaurant. Maybe it would be enough for her to eventually forget all about this encounter—but she doubted it. She had given him the blowjob from heaven so he couldn’t accuse her of being a cock-tease and not following through. He might wonder why she’d cut the evening short, but he couldn’t say their time together hadn’t fulfilled their sexpectations, so to speak.
She eased from between his legs and used the towel he’d earlier thrown on the bed to wipe her hands. She started gathering her clothing. If she could slip into her skirt and sweater without rousing him, she could finish dressing properly in the lobby bathroom and call a cab from there.
“Going somewhere?” he asked in a lazy drawl.
Jule stopped in the middle of picking up her panties, the bit of lacy silk dangling from her fingertips. She quickly grabbed them up and stuffed them with the rest of her things she held in her arms.
She turned around to find him sitting up on the edge of the bed. “It’s getting late and I—”
“It’s not that late,” he interrupted and stood. His relaxed cock swayed side to side with each step he took toward the dresser. He opened a drawer and pulled out something, tucked into his fist so she couldn’t see what the item was. “The evening’s barely started.”
“I just think it’s time to go. We’ve had a little fun, and it’s been great.” She fumbled with her clothes, trying to find her sweater, which seemed to have somehow become wrapped up in her skirt.
“I was hoping you’d wear this the rest of the evening,” he said in a hushed tone.
She looked up to find he’d put his arm straight out in front of him, only inches from her. Then something dropped, swinging to and fro like a pendulum and mesmerizing her. When the chain finally settled, she saw a heart-shaped pink stone surrounded by smaller white stones shimmering and sparkling in the muted lamp light.
Chapter Three
The Hot Ice Gambit
Jule reached out for the gem, the fabled Pink Ecstasy, but Stone snatched it back before she could touch it and laughed, a throaty sound that sent a shiver through her. Not a shiver of fear, but one of desire. The excitement of being this close to the Pink Ecstasy and the anticipation of what the rest of the night would bring if only a tiny bit of its promise came true caused her clit to throb. Her thighs clenched together against the sensation.
She swallowed hard and dropped her hand. “Is-Is that the pink thing you’ve been asking about?”
“Pink thing?” he echoed, his voice rising on the impossibility of her disingenuous description. “This is the Pink Ecstasy, worth a fortune for the legend alone.”
“
Legend?” she questioned as if she didn’t know a thing about it.
One of his eyebrows quirked, but he explained anyway. “Possessing this pink diamond is supposed to bring lovers every sexual and sensual delight they could ever imagine.”
The legend spoken aloud in Stone’s somber, sensuous tones made Jule tremble. Barely aware of what she was doing, she reached for it again, but he drew it farther away from her. Disappointment washed over her. She now knew a portion of what drove jewel thieves to take possession of those bits of colored glass. She would do anything to hold it for a while. In the end, would she be able to give it up?
“If you want to touch it and wear it, you have to stay,” he whispered seductively.
She dropped her bundle of clothes, her shoes making dull thumps when they landed on the thick carpet. Of course, she’d stay. How could she not? To be in possession of such a treasure, even if for a short time and to be possessed as a treasure by a man like Stone was her ultimate fantasy. She stepped closer to him to cement her decision.
He circled her again, and she loved the way he moved, like a panther stalking its prey. He stopped behind her, as before, and the Pink Ecstasy dropped into her view from above like manna from heaven. He let it nestle between her breasts and fastened the clasp at the nape of her neck. The spot where it lay tingled as if the gem’s magic somehow transferred to her. He placed a kiss just below the chain at the back of her neck, and she broke out in goosebumps at the tickle of his warm breath across her skin.
She touched the Pink Ecstasy with one hand then the other and lifted it with both. She gazed longingly at how the facets of the big pink heart and the tiny clear rounds caught and refracted the light with such clarity and brilliance.
Stone moved around to stand in front of her. She dropped the necklace, looking up at him. His gaze swept over her from head to toe and back again.
“You’re beautiful and I—” He cleared his throat. He didn’t finish what he was saying. He moved in and kissed her, hard and thoroughly, while his body rubbed hers and his hands glided up her arms, over her shoulders, and down past the small of her back to squeeze her butt cheeks and bring her hard against his growing erection. She touched him, too, sliding her hands over his smoothly muscled skin.