by Inez Kelley
The unmistakable thwaaaaap of a rolled-up newspaper struck somewhere near his heart. Damn. Time was the one thing he couldn’t risk giving her.
Contentment buzzed through her brain aided by just enough alcohol and party spirits to make the world slip away. The muffled sound of the shower created a rhythmic backdrop for her musings as she stretched back, naked on the bed.
Jinx and Steve had come back carrying two large pizzas and laughing like they hadn’t a care in the world. The earlier tension had gone from Jinx’s shoulders. He’d embraced her firmly and kissed her long, deep and hard, despite their guests. The memory of his mouth started a wet shiver at the junction of her thighs and made her breath catch.
Her nipples puckered. Lightly tracing the hardened buds, her fingers skimmed her flesh until it grew lush and ready. Tongue touching her lips, she closed her eyes and stroked her hand down her body until a moist ache formed. Her knees fell apart. Her skin heated as she outlined the damp folds between her thighs. Teasingly, she swirled her fingertips around and around, never parting the pink layers. Dampness increased to slickness before she allowed a finger to stray inside.
A soft rustling broke into her thoughts and her eyes popped open. Silhouetted in the pale light from the bathroom, his body was bathed in shadows while catching her in a soft blue glow. Towel knotted low at his waist, Jinx’s feral eyes were locked onto her hand. A predatory growl carried a low and seductive command.
“Don’t stop.”
Lust flooded her veins. Her play turned from private to performance as she slid and dipped her fingers along her body. She angled her hip and raised a knee, not for the sensation but for the view it afforded him. Her reward was the rapid rise and fall of his chest. Coming to her knees, she stroked both hands down her chest. Her breasts cradled in both hands were an offering to him and he licked his lips.
“You’re bad.” His gruff whisper danced across the air and settled on her heated skin.
“I’m good, and you know it.” Want filled her mouth like apricot jam—sweet, thick and tangy. But she wanted more.
He cupped her neck and tilted her face up to his. “You’ve driven me crazy all night. I’d look at you and think about you not wearing any underwear. I’d think of how soft and wet you’d be and spent the whole damn night with a raging hard-on.”
A wicked grin inched across her mouth and she reached for him. “Now that sounds uncomfortable. Since I did such a mean, terrible thing, the least I can do is help you out with that problem.”
The towel hit the floor with a muted thump and her lips circled around him. Either a groan or a gasp sounded above her, she wasn’t sure which and didn’t care. She had her hands and her mouth full at the minute and concentrated on him. Each glide of her tongue slicked the thickening flesh until it glistened in the faint light. Warm palms cupped her head as she took him deeper, his fingers feathering through her hair but not interfering with the slow, steady rhythm. Curling her fingers around the base, she twisted her hand upward to meet her descending lips, both grips as tight as she dared. She increased the tempo and her name hissed out, wrenched from some gravelly pit.
She’d accidentally discovered something about him several nights ago and now used it to her advantage and his pleasure. Swallowing half his length, she cupped his taut balls and lightly squeezed, gulping at the same time. The dual tensions of her fingers and her throat made his hips buck and his hands clench in her hair. So she did it again. And again. And again. And when he expected it once more, she alternated. Squeeze. Swallow. Squeeze. Swallow. There was no mistaking his groan this time. Delighting in his reaction, she sought the sensitive spot just beneath the broad head with a stiffened tongue. She didn’t slow her titillating assault until he panted her name.
“Frannie, you’re going kill me.”
“Now where’s the fun in that?” Tongue stroking the pulsing vein along the underside of his shaft, she didn’t see his hands moving to her shoulders until they forced her back.
“Fun? You want fun? Let’s see how much fun you can handle.”
With a wolfish grin, he laid her back on the cool cotton sheet. Trapped between the sheet and his heated body, Frannie let passion flow through her. Her body recognized his touch and tingled in eagerness. His mouth feasted on her skin. He nipped her, nuzzled her, made goose bumps appear. She reached for him and he caught her hands.
“No. You’ve been driving me insane, now it’s my turn. Lie back and relax. I plan on taking my time with this and having some fun of my own.”
Jinx started at her face, kissing each inch sweetly. Her lips were a fountain and he drank and drank until her breath came in uneven gasps. Slowness was his weapon and he its master. Down her throat to her collarbone, he tongued her pulse point where it raged beneath her skin. Lifting one limp arm, he trailed a line of kisses from shoulder to fingertip then retraced his path. The odd move shouldn’t have made her quiver, but it did. He was worshipping her. Possessing her. Entrancing her. The alluring scent of his skin filled her nose, an aphrodisiac. Each inch of her body was being tantalized and glorified by his touch.
Oh dear Gawd! I’m melting. His tongue darted over her aching nipples. She arched to him, begging him to please hurry. This torture was too much, too intense. But he would not be hurried. Over and over he mouthed the swollen mounds and his fingers lit on her knee. Slowly he stroked up, eking out whimpers and wiggles. He parted the cleft she had taunted him with, his mouth still on her breast, and she nearly exploded.
Delving into the velvet depths, he stoked the fires higher. Blood raced through her veins carrying fizzling bubbles. Shaking and coiled tight, she wanted him to stop and to hurry in the same thought. The scratch of his beard’s shadow on her swollen, hyper-sensitive flesh rocketed through her. He was driving her mad. One sharp scrape of his teeth combined with one exquisite stroke of his thumb and she was lost. The bite of desire sank sharp fangs into her soul, sending exquisite agony rushing through her blood. Muscles bunched then tremored as a sudden fierce orgasm shot through her. Clasping her hands to his head and her thighs around his hand, she shuddered a soft cry of release.
Her hot, hard breath fanned his damp hair as she sank into the hazy rebirth of recovery. His tongue slid across the underside of her breast and she stilled. He wasn’t finished. Down her stomach, he kissed and licked, venturing to her sides and the curve of her hips. His touch raced up her thighs, over her tummy to cup a heaving breast. Swirling the gold star in her navel with his tongue, he tweaked and tickled her senses. Desire, once sated, roared fully to life again and her pulse resumed its frantic staccato. Frannie tensed and her stomach tightened. Lower and lower his lips slid until he was just above the bare parted pinkness. Pulling back, he sank to her feet and nipped her ankle.
“Having fun yet?” His tease tickled her skin. A sob of entreaty poured from her lips until his mouth moved to her calf. Upward he worked his mouth’s magic, his fingers caressing and massaging her aching breasts. How had she never known the back of her knee was an erogenous zone? The inside of her thigh was soft against his traveling lips.
Yearning filled her. She needed release. She needed completion. She needed him. Nearer and nearer to her molten center he climbed. Her hair snaked around her head as she tossed wildly on the pillow. Her body tensed for climactic flight but he denied her once more. At the apex to her thighs, he stopped and moved to the other ankle. Deprived of the expected bliss, a blanket of want settled over her, leaving her with a torturous ache. Anguished, she cried out to him.
“I’m having fun. Are you, Frannie?”
A laugh vibrated against her tender skin as he nibbled his way north once more. His fingers returned and lightly pinched her hardened nipples. Loud and harsh, her breath rang out in short bursts. Each fiery lick sent her careening deeper into a pit of desire she had never known existed. Higher and higher he built the flame inside her until her flesh burned.
Half-mad with want, she bit her lip and silently begged him to end her delicious to
rment. Even so, she jumped when his mouth covered her slick core. It was heaven. It was hell. It was perfect. And it thrust her deeper into physical abandonment. He showed no mercy, no teases now. Every lick drove her closer and closer until she was there, just on the brink of total explosion. He held her there, dangling by a whisper-thin thread at the edge of oblivion.
His breath brushed her with soft words. “Had enough fun?”
“Please.”
Her fractured whimper was almost too soft to hear but he responded. One feather-soft stroke of his tongue against her clit and she peaked, hurled off the mountain into a swan dive of sensations. Her body tightened and flexed in release. Convulsions of ecstasy coursed through her and she sang his name in one long piercing note. Struggling for breath, she sank into the sheets, spent and tranquil.
Reduced to a boneless mass, she welcomed his warmth as he covered her. His kiss was hungry, hard, hot. With more unbridled want than finesse, he took her mouth in a fierce claim. She tasted mint and herself on his tongue and shivered. Exhausted, she lifted her trembling hand and cupped his jaw, thumb caressing his cheek. Like the Lady of the Lake rising out of the waters of Camelot, her desire burst through her satisfied body. She craved more. He had turned her into an orgasm-crazed monster.
Her stroking hands slid along the long line of his back. Pressed against her leg, he throbbed hard and hot. Her own sex echoed its rhythm and tempo, achingly empty. Her legs parted and cradled him. Head thrown back, eyes squeezed tight, he hissed and slowly sank into her depths. She caught his hiss and breathed it in, her body opening to him.
Thrusting deliberately, deeply and precisely, he sent shockwaves of pleasure along her core. She arched to him and he rocked into her. The room filled with the heavy fragrance of their lovemaking, and once again she began the climb to bliss.
Catching her lips in a firm kiss, he grasped her hips and rolled her above him. Breathless, she pulled her mouth from his and steadied her palms on his heaving chest. His eyes flashed with primal need and his hands sought her breasts. Rolling her hips, she delighted at the tic which appeared at the corner of his lip, at the way his breath rushed out. Using muscles only a woman has, she gripped him in an intimate caress and he leapt inside her.
Down her torso, his hands scorched a tantalizing trail. His fingers slipped between their joined bodies, seeking the solid nub of her passion. A jolt of intense electricity shot from her clit, spreading like wildfire throughout her body, enflamed by every thrust. Climax was so near she could taste it, smell it, nearly touch it. Jinx’s eyes were fixated on her face, his brows close together. Harshly drawn brows hinted that he struggled against his own release. A small tremor grew in her belly and she started to close her eyes to give the pinnacle free rein. His hand snapped to her chin.
“Open your eyes. Look at me. I want to watch you go over, see you come. Take me with you.” His gruff voice commanded and she obeyed without thought.
A tidal wave of music and light sprang from her center and she clamped down on him. Ripped from her throat, her hoarse cry resonated in the darkened room. Around him, she shivered and quaked. Heat flooded her and he arched hard and deep.
She never closed her eyes. She saw his cheek twitch, saw his jaw flinch, saw her name cross his lips. In his infinite eyes, she saw into his soul. The barriers to her heart cracked and she allowed him to glimpse in, to let her love shine out for one trembling orgasmic moment. His release ricocheted inside her, propelling her higher than ever before.
Gazes locked in a shared zenith, he uttered one word that should have terrified her but didn’t. One word that embodied his emotions. One word that was soft and still but hung in the air. One single powerful word that she longed to repeat.
“Mine.”
Chapter Ten
“I used to believe in forever, but forever is too good to be true.”
—A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh,
It was like the Waltons had gone shopping. Four different vehicles carrying a huge number of people bearing gifts arrived en masse. The volume went through the roof and everywhere Frannie turned, there was someone else wanting to give her a hug. She wanted to dislike Jinx’s family, wanted them to dislike her. It would have been easier if they were snobbish or crude or fought amongst themselves. Instead, it was like the Brady Bunch on acid. And she liked them all.
Damn it!
Frank Sullivan’s red hair had long ago faded to white but he was quick to laugh, tease and joke. His son had his demeanor, even if he had his mother’s looks. Beverly had grown plump but still radiated a timeless beauty that could not be bottled. Jinx had also inherited her bossy tendencies. She ruled the open kitchen like a ship’s captain and stood for no lollygagging in her presence. Frannie was half afraid she would have to walk the plank if she stepped out of line while helping set out dinner. Beverly noticed her fear and smiled. Despite the deep crow’s feet, her dark eyes twinkled as she looked Frannie up and down.
“Don’t let me or this brood scare you off, honey. Just jump in anywhere. We don’t bite.”
“I do so,” Jinx growled before nipping Frannie’s neck. She laughed and his mother swatted him with a dish towel, chasing him from the room. Frannie couldn’t help but giggle.
Dinner was a buffet of finger foods, delighting the Boys, who quickly filled plate after plate with hot wings, pigs-in-blankets, meatballs and chips. Laughter and stories rang out and no one stood on ceremony. She felt warm and accepted and not the least bit on display.
Damn it!
While putting the leftovers away and listening to his sister tell tales of her kids, she realized Jinx was missing. And the Boys were missing, too.
“Where are the guys at?”
Beverly and Jinx’s sister-in-law, Anne, exchanged knowing grins. Frannie parked her hand on her hip and stared at the bubbly women. Rachel nudged Anne and the two giggled like school girls until Beverly cleared her throat. Silence fell in the room.
“Don’t worry, Frannie.” Anne seemed way too interested in scrubbing a clean plate. “Jinx said he needed help with something. It’s never smart to ask too many questions at Christmas.”
Unease festered in her tummy with a bitter churning roil but she pushed it away. He couldn’t be so cliché as to propose on Christmas Eve, could he?
By the time the dishes were cleared away, Frannie needed an antacid. The chalky taste lingered on her tongue as she spied the men coming up the driveway. His nephews frolicked like young colts but Jinx and his brother, Mike, walked slowly, deep in discussion.
The stockier man with the distinguished gray temples clapped his younger brother on the back and smiled broadly. Frannie chewed four more Tums.
Wiggling his eyebrows in a silent tease, Jinx pulled her onto the arm of the couch. She slid her legs across his, fighting her rising alarm. Hand on her back, he smiled reassuringly at her as his father told yet another tale of distant relatives. The adults relaxed in the great room as the Boys carried in bag after bag of colorfully wrapped gifts from the cars. Soon the tall tree was circled by towering stacks of presents. Having wrapped a dozen of those gifts for a paper-challenged Jinx, Frannie was eager to see the reactions when they were opened. Surely they would be getting to the family present unveiling soon. She welcomed the distraction.
Sixteen-year-old Derek shook one gift after another until his father told him to behave. With an all-too-familiar grin, he shrugged but complied and stretched out on the floor beside the gifts.
“Can’t we open just one?” his brother asked.
“No.” Sternly, Frank shook his finger at the teenagers. “Tomorrow morning’s for family. Tonight is for lovers. You want to open gifts on Christmas Eve, you go get a girl.”
“I’ve got a girl, Grandpa. She just isn’t here.”
“Then you don’t get squat, boyo.”
The adults laughed at the young man’s crestfallen expression. Conversation flowed smoothly and Frannie discovered she could easily match names to faces. It was disconcerting. She di
dn’t want to get to know these people. This cozy holiday scene was too perfect. It only reminded her she wouldn’t be around for the next one.
She let loose a resigned little sigh. See what happens when you start trying to pretend you belong? Sadness clogged her throat and brightened her eyes. This was too much. It was like dangling a dream in front of her.
Look but don’t touch. Touch but don’t hold. Hold but don’t keep.
Firmly but quietly, she whispered in Jinx’s ear. “I have to go.”
“It’s early yet.” His protest was not so quiet and every set of eyes swung to her. Just great, way to draw attention to my escape there, fruit loop.
Plastering a wide smile on her face, she said goodnight to everyone and went to grab her coat from the kitchen. Jinx stood inside the front door, his coat zipped, keys in hand, mysterious sparkle in his eyes. Her stomach lurched with nerves.
“I’ll take you home. You heard what Dad said, Christmas Eve is for lovers. I have a surprise for you.”
Seated beside him, Frannie watched the frozen landscape slip past in a blur. White on black, the scenery was a pristine still life capturing the elegance of nature. The low strains of Handel’s “Messiah” coming through the car speakers gave voice to the most holy of nights. Peace and joy were the themes of Christmas but all Frannie could feel was rising panic.
Fear gnawed at her belly until she was sure she would be sick. Cold and clammy inside her gloves, her hands shook with terror. She couldn’t let this happen. He could not do this to her tonight. She wanted this one perfect holiday with him. One more day was all she needed. Just one. One would be enough. She was greedy and weak and terrified of watching him walk away. But living a lie scared her more.