by Linda Cajio
Sophistication certainly had its pitfalls, she decided. She’d been positive she had figured out the jigsaw puzzle that was Adam Roberts. But now she was getting pieces that just didn’t fit.
“It’s a beautiful night. Let’s sit out on the deck,” Adam suggested after dinner.
A vague alarm bell rang inside Diana, but she dismissed it. What could be wrong with sitting outside on a beautiful night? And in the relaxed atmosphere she might be able to get Adam to talk even more. Maybe he’d slip up, or maybe he’d finally make the damned offer.
Or maybe she had simply gone bonkers. She had to stop using an internal scoreboard on Adam, Diana thought. Either he was guilty of acting for Starlight Software or he wasn’t. The sooner she found out the answer to the puzzle, though, the better she’d feel. A little conversation out on the deck really was an excellent idea—for more than one reason.
It wasn’t until after they were seated together on the old wicker settee that Diana realized her mistake. Adam was much too close. She swallowed hard, feeling her control slipping as he casually draped his arm behind her. He hadn’t even touched her, yet all of her senses were spinning crazily. His jeans outlined his hard thighs, and his short-sleeved pullover was almost molded to his chest and shoulders. She could easily distinguish the scents of cologne and male in the cool night air. Her body was unnaturally tense, and her blood was beginning to throb.
She wondered what sophisticated women did in this situation, then decided they probably acted as normally as possible.
“Adam.” She forced a cough to cover the croaking frog that had invaded her voice.
He turned his head. “Yes?”
Not able to think of a thing to say, she groaned silently. She was back to square one in the sophistication department. She had been better off inside the house.
That last thought gave her an idea, and she said, “It’s a little chilly out here. Let’s go back—”
“No need,” he said, and brought his arm off the back of the settee to encircle her shoulders.
Before she could open her mouth to protest, he drew her against his side. She nearly moaned aloud as the heat of his body penetrated her hip and thigh. Bewilderment and anticipation swirled through her.
“Warmer?” he asked in a low voice.
Too hot, she thought as her blood seemed to turn to molten lava. Desperately she replied, “I’m still chilly, and—”
Her words were abruptly cut off as his mouth covered hers. She tried to still her automatic response to his coaxing lips, but they teased and tantalized with soft sips at her own. His arms curved around her, pulling her closer. Then his mouth slanted across hers, melding them together.
As he deepened the kiss, sensations shot through Diana, leaving her helpless to do anything but respond. All her doubts and suspicions were forgotten. Her resolve crumbled at the tender demands of his lips and tongue. Her arms crept around his neck, and as they did, her hands touched bare flesh. Without hesitation she slipped her fingers beneath the collar of his shirt. His skin was warm and smooth, and she delighted in the feel of the corded muscles of his shoulders.
“So soft. So sweet,” he murmured, spreading kisses down the slender column of her neck.
His hands swept under her sweater to roam across the heated skin of her back. Then his hands were between their bodies, lifting away the last barrier of her bra and caressing the hardening peaks of her breasts.
Diana couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, as he teased and tormented her with the lightest of touches. Digging her nails into his shoulders, she moaned and instinctively arched her back, thrusting the full weight of her breasts into his hands.
At her electrifying reaction, Adam lost all thoughts of gentleness and finesse. He pulled her across his lap and ground his mouth into hers, seeking and finding a like response. He wanted to touch her everywhere at once, demand and take, yet give and receive. He wanted to bathe himself in her silken radiance.
He pushed her sweater and bra up until her breasts were completely unencumbered. They seemed to be made especially for his hands, and her nipples strained into his palms. Cradling her in his arms, he lowered his head and took a nipple into his mouth, tasting its velvety hardness. His mind reeled at the sensation, and her hands clutched his shoulders with sweet urgency. Her hips shifted restlessly. He smoothed a hand over them in answer. Tiny moans came from the back of her throat, entreating him to explore further.
But the moment he did, her body tensed and a hand clamped around his wrist, thrusting it away. Bewildered, he snapped his head up. Even in the darkness he could discern the confusion and panic on Diana’s face, and he instantly called himself every name he could think of for his callousness.
“That was real sophisticated,” she mumbled as she turned her face away and awkwardly pulled her sweater and bra back into place. She glanced at him, then looked away again. “I’m sorry.”
He drew in a deep breath. Smoothing back her hair, he said gently, “You didn’t do anything wrong, Diana. I did.”
She whipped her head around. “Oh, no, Adam. I … Well, I panicked.”
He covered the tensed hands in her lap with one of his. “Only because I was impatient.”
She shook her head and started to speak, but he stopped her words with a tender kiss.
When he lifted his head, she sighed. “I guess you’ve realized I’ve missed out on a few things in the sex department.”
He resisted smiling at her solemn tone. “You do just fine. Damn fine. And you haven’t missed out on a thing. You just haven’t gotten there yet.”
Her shoulders shook in silent amusement. “Well, I wish I had. Then my reaction wouldn’t have been so juvenile.”
He squeezed her fingers. “What we need here is some experimenting in the proper manner. If you don’t mind, though, since my Trans Am is a bit cramped we’ll skip the heavy petting in the back seat of the car.”
She burst into laughter. “Adam, you can’t be serious!”
“Very. It would be like trying to do A Chorus Line in a taxi.” He smiled at her giggles, then lifted one of her hands to his lips to kiss it. “Now, lesson number one. You always have the right to say no—at any point. I will always stop whenever you want me to. It is important to me that you’re ready, in mind and body, rather than thinking you have to give in. Making love is give and take on both our parts.”
“I’m glad one of us knows what he’s doing, because I don’t.”
He laughed. “Oh, yes, you do. Now lesson number two …”
He placed her hands on his shoulders and, holding her in a loose embrace, very carefully kissed her. After a moment’s hesitation she relaxed, her lips pliant and open for him to deepen the kiss. For long minutes he just kissed her. Soft, sweet kisses, their mouths moving as one with every turn and change. All the while his senses were aware of her growing desire. Her arms tightened around his neck, and she pressed her body more fully against him. He tenderly stroked her back underneath the sweater, each touch feather-light and reassuring. He was gratified when, without breaking the kiss, she shifted her body to allow him access to her breasts.
It was easier this time for him to keep his own desire under control when she moaned as he caressed her diamond-hard nipples. He kissed her cheek, her chin, the soft skin just beneath her jaw, and he could feel the racing pulse underneath. Again he pushed her sweater and bra aside and caressed the satiny globes with reverent lips and tongue until she was clawing helplessly at his shoulders. He nipped lightly at the tender flesh, then took each nipple in his mouth, suckling until she was writhing in his arms. He stroked her shoulders and back and kissed the hollow between her ribs. Ruthlessly, he suppressed his own raging desire. Then, very slowly, he let one hand drift downward, making patterns on her belly, then lower on her thighs.…
“Adam, please,” she whispered, and moved his hand to the junction of her legs.
He raised his head and kissed her well-loved lips. “I will.”
With infinite
patience he deftly stroked her through her jeans. Pressing herself into his hand, she buried her face in his neck and clung. As her breath began to come in little gasps, he knew he’d completely lose control if the lesson continued. She wasn’t ready to make love, he sternly told himself. Not yet. He had only wanted her to accept his touch. He forced his hand to move to her thigh, and pain knifed through him when he heard her cry of disappointment.
He held her tightly and nuzzled her throat, as his body and hers slowly relaxed. All of her was so incredibly sweet and responsive. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d given so little and received so much in return.
“So that’s lesson number two,” she finally said, breaking into his thoughts.
He chuckled and hugged her more tightly. “Actually, I think it was lesson number twenty-seven, but we won’t quibble.”
She tilted her head back and looked at him. “It seems to me that you didn’t have a lesson.…”
“Mine come later,” he said, trailing kisses down her neck. He hoped the rumor about long, cold showers was true. He was definitely in need of one tonight. He ran his tongue along her delicate collarbone and added, “You were magnificent.”
Her arms tightened around his shoulders. “I had a magnificent teacher.”
He smothered a sigh. He wasn’t sure if he liked her thinking of him as a “teacher.” Teaching implied that one learned and eventually graduated. More and more he was realizing how precious Diana was, how refreshingly different from other women. He’d be crazy if he let her slip away.
He decided that, before too much more time passed, he’d better insure that Diana stayed in class for a long time.
A very long time.
Waking to thoughts of Adam and the night before, Diana stretched lazily and rolled over onto her side, away from the bright sunshine, which bathed her bedroom in a golden glow. She wasn’t ready to begin her working day just yet. Besides, she didn’t want to look at pictures of Sir Morbid, when she could daydream about the real man under the armor.
She smiled, deciding her sophisticated attitude the night before really had paid off. Last night had proved that Adam couldn’t be involved in some business plot regarding her. If he were, he surely would have made a physical conquest as an added victory. She knew she never would have stopped him a second time. But he’d been so caring and understanding, when she’d been … fragile. Not many men would have been that patient with her, she guessed, or even would have cared about her inexperience. She chuckled, thinking that she’d always known Adam had all the qualities of a chivalrous knight. She certainly felt like a princess who’d just been rescued from some terrible fate.
He had taken her to heights she’d never imagined. Even now she could feel the melting in her veins. She knew, though, that she’d only tasted what making love with Adam would be like. Although he hadn’t truly known it, he had been right about her missing out on that teenage rite, parking. She’d been in very few back seats of cars during her high-school years. At the time, she’d only been curious to see if all the hoopla about boys had merit. It hadn’t. Her few dates hadn’t been exactly overeager either. In college she’d come to the conclusion that some people had relationships and some people didn’t, and that she was in the second category. She’d never been disappointed, or thought it was something inside her that needed fixing. She’d always been too involved with her work to do more than briefly wonder about her lack of libido. Of course she’d never realized she could be a late bloomer. A very late bloomer.
She’d missed out on quite a bit, she thought, and had quite a bit to learn. But better late than never.
The telephone rang, interrupting her thoughts. Smiling, she languidly stretched out her arm to answer it.
“Hello,” she said in a soft voice.
The telephone clicked, and all she heard was the dial tone.
Diana frowned, remembering the call that had awakened her and Adam yesterday. That had been a hang-up too. She wondered if she were about to be subjected to a series of annoying prank calls from kids who had discovered her number.
The telephone rang again.
Picking up the receiver, she said hesitantly, “Hello?”
“Hi. It’s me.”
She instantly recognized the whiskey-low voice of her cousin Angelica, and figured there had been a bad connection the first time. She suppressed a stab of disappointment that the caller wasn’t Adam.
“You sound like you’re still in bed, kid,” Angelica said. “Been on another all-night binge?”
Diana laughed as she fluffed the pillow behind her. Angelica was seven months younger than she, and yet always called her “kid.” “A different kind of binge, Angelica, only not all night.”
“Now, that sounds interesting.”
“You’re beginning to pry,” Diana said.
“I beg to differ with you. I am only concerned for a close and treasured relative. Now that I’ve managed a properly righteous tone of indignation—tell me all the juicy details. He must be spectacular to pull you away from your computers!”
“What makes you think it’s a man?” Diana asked suspiciously.
“You are out of your league, kid, if you think you can smooth that kind of thing past me. Unless, of course, you want to.”
“I want to. Are you angry?”
Angelica laughed. “Of course not. I’m your friend. Besides, I know how it is when a woman wants to keep a terrific man to herself. You’ll tell me when you want to, and then you’ll have a lot more to tell.”
Diana had a fit of giggles at her cousin’s logic. Angelica always had been sneaky.
“I’m glad to see you’re in a good mood this morning,” Angelica continued. “Because I’m in a puzzled one. I got a phone call just now from Starlight Software.”
Diana shot up in the bed, her fingers forming a death grip on the phone. No, she thought wildly. No! Swallowing back the knot in her throat, she said, “And?”
“And it wasn’t from that high-and-mighty jerk of an acquisitions manager whom I dealt with the last time. It was from Dan Roberts, the owner. He made another offer for your games, Diana. And it was exactly the same as their last offer.”
“And what did you say?” Diana was afraid to ask anything else, afraid even to think of the implications of Starlight’s offer.
“Naturally, I said that it was unacceptable to my client. You know that we have several standing offers from other software houses that are much more generous than Starlight’s.”
Her stomach sinking to the floor, Diana asked, “And what did Roberts say?”
“He kept insisting that you be told about the offer. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he sounded like a man who had already sewed up a deal and was just going through the motions for etiquette’s sake. Very confident, and almost smug. That’s what’s so puzzling. Do you have any idea why he’d think that?”
“Not a clue,” Diana answered without hesitation, all the while feeling as if she’d just taken first prize in an idiot contest. But she’d be damned before she’d tell her cousin that.
“Then I’ll call him back and tell him, ‘No, thanks.’ ”
Diana opened her mouth to say, “Damn straight!” then shut it. Something inside her balked at an outright refusal.
“Let’s wait a bit on a final no, Angelica,” she said slowly, following her instincts.
“But why?”
“Well … I’m a bit puzzled, too, that he’s so confident. Even though the computer industry is close-knit and we’re both ‘third-generation hackers,’ I’ve never met Dan Roberts but I have heard of him.” She smiled bitterly. “Fortunately, I do happen to have a line of communication into Starlight, so I think I’ll do some digging and see what they’re up to. In the meantime, just tell him I’m thinking it over.”
“Are you sure?”
“Quite sure. I’ll talk to you later, Angelica.”
Diana hung up the receiver and stared blindly at the flowered wallpaper opposite her bed. Pain wa
shed through her.
So the offer had finally come, she thought. She couldn’t believe it, just couldn’t believe it after last night. Especially after last night. That rat … that creep … that … that …
She searched her mind for a word that best suited Adam Roberts, but gave up in frustration at her limited vocabulary of curses. While she might have made the first move with Adam, he and his brother had certainly taken advantage of it. Thinking it over, she realized that their maneuvering had been diabolically simple. Adam was to work the personal angle with her. Once he’d firmly established himself in her life—very innocently, of course—Dan would again bid for her games. Naturally, how could she refuse when she was involved with Adam?
Pounding her fists on the mattress, she forced herself to ignore the stinging tears behind her eyes. She’d never in her life shed tears over a man, and she wouldn’t start now. Bitter as it was to swallow, she knew she had nobody to blame but herself. Even though she had seen the warning signs in the beginning, even though she’d had her suspicions all along, Adam had still managed to play her for a fool. She’d allowed her body to do the thinking instead of her brain.
He’d made one little mistake, though, she thought. He hadn’t insured that she was totally wrapped around his finger before they’d made the offer. Thank goodness she’d only gotten to lesson twenty-seven! Otherwise her humiliation would have been unbearable.
Straightening, she muttered with satisfaction, “Now let them stew.”
The brothers would probably go crazy, wondering if they’d succeeded with her or not. She liked that. She suspected, too, that Adam wouldn’t just disappear now. After all, the game wasn’t quite played out. Most likely he would be even more visible, and more persuasive, until her signature was on the contract. But he’d controlled the game too long.
Now it was her turn. And she was a games master.
“Welcome to the real world, Rapunzel,” she told herself as she scrambled out of bed.
She decided the first step was a bit of pride-rescuing. It was about time she started rescuing herself anyway. Meanwhile, she’d better start hanging around the docks. Her vocabulary really did need a brush-up.