He tucked the leg under one arm. “If you’ll hold on here—” he paused to demonstrate “—then I’ll screw it in.”
She grasped the wood where he’d indicated. “Don’t think I’m not onto you, Jess. Your whole approach is transparent as hell.”
“What approach? I’m putting together a bench for the entryway.”
“Sure you are.”
“You’re the one who said all this had sexual significance.” A smile twitched the corners of his mouth as he positioned the tapered end of the leg in the hole nearest her.
“No, that was the Yoda guy.” Their bodies nearly touched. She imagined she could hear his heart beating. Or maybe it was hers, going faster with every second he stood beside her.
Then he began twisting the leg into the hole. He’d created a tight fit, and working the leg in soon had him breathing hard. Katie had nothing more to do than hold on, yet soon she was breathing hard, too. Even though she knew his intentions, knew he was using the subject of her program to taunt her, she was turned on anyway.
“One down, three to go.” Jess pulled up the hem of his T-shirt and wiped his sweaty forehead. “No air-conditioning out here,” he said with a smile.
She barely heard him. Instead her brain was still processing that sneak peek at his six-pack. She’d never seen Jess naked. Suddenly that seemed like total deprivation.
“You can stay right there for the other corner,” he said. “But you don’t have to grip quite that hard.”
Glancing down, she noticed she was clenching the slab of wood as if it would save her from drowning. “Right.” She loosened her death hold.
Jess picked up another leg to the bench and positioned it over the hole. “I think I’m making this too difficult. Let me see if I can ease it in gently. Coax it a little.”
Katie swallowed. Her best bet would be to close her eyes. Apparently she was into risk-taking, because she kept both eyes wide open.
He tested the leg one way, then turned it slightly and worked it down about an inch. Then he pulled it back out and tried a different position. “Maybe I should get some K-Y jelly,” he said.
“Hey, cut it out.”
He gazed at her as he bore down on the leg. “What?”
“You know what.”
“I can’t imagine what you’re talking about.” He held her gaze as he thrust downward in one swift movement.
Heat washed over her. “Your cute little game isn’t going to work, you know. I’m tougher than that.”
“I’m sure you are. Considering your radio show and all.” He walked to the workbench and got the other two legs. “Okay, let’s move to the other end.”
She wasn’t tough. As he worked the third leg into position, she ached with longing. She wanted those strong hands peeling off her clothes, stroking her body, urging her thighs apart. Then she wanted exactly what he was pantomiming as he shoved the leg into its socket.
“I’ve drilled the holes so the legs come in at an angle,” he said. “When the bench is right side up, the legs will be spread to provide stability.” He started working the fourth leg in.
“Mmm.” Where were those snappy comebacks when she needed them? Thinking up snappy comebacks wasn’t easy when she was picturing herself with her legs spread as she took his personal phallic symbol right up to the hilt.
“Angles are important. If you can get the right angle, all sorts of good things happen.” His biceps stood out against the sleeves of his white shirt as he shoved the leg into place.
Her panties were drenched.
“Now let’s turn it over.” He glanced at her. “You can let go now, Katie.”
“Oh. Right.” A red haze of desire blotted out all her fine plans. She wanted him right here, right now, and to hell with playing hard to get. But she vaguely remembered he had some fantasy about a bed. Too bad. In this shop surrounded by tools and sawdust, she’d give him anything he wanted.
After flipping the bench over, he set it down on its new legs. “Should be pretty sturdy. Let’s see.” He straddled it and sat down.
She barely managed to swallow the whimper that rose in her throat. If he stayed like that and unzipped his jeans, she could—
“Try it out. Let’s see if it’ll hold both of us.” His eyes were dark and unreadable as he patted the wood in front of him.
“That’s okay.” If she got that close to him, she might lose what little bit of restraint she had left. “I’m…wearing a skirt.”
A hint of a smile touched his mouth. “I didn’t say you had to sit the way I’m sitting.”
No, he hadn’t. She’d been the one assuming she’d spread her legs and sit astride, opening herself to all kinds of possibilities.
His voice was low and sensual. “Come sit with me, Katie. Help me test the bench.”
Like a moth to flame, she edged closer. “How do you mean that?”
“How do you want me to mean it?”
Desperation drove her. “What if I…asked you to unzip your jeans?”
“Depends on the reason. I’m not in the mood for oral sex.” His dark eyes held her captive.
She gulped. “Neither am I.”
“I see.” Without breaking eye contact, he reached in his back pocket and pulled out a foil packet. “How about something involving this?”
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. “I thought…I thought you were determined we’d end up…on a bed.”
“We will.” Still holding her gaze, he laid the condom in front of him and reached for the top button of his jeans. “But I’m willing to start with a bench.”
She wanted him so much she was quivering. He held her captive with his gaze as he slowly unzipped his jeans and pushed down his briefs. He was fully erect, and the sight of his thick penis brought a moan of anticipation to her lips.
Putting on the condom with the ease of a man who’d done it countless times before, he silently held out his hand.
Her breath came in short, quick gasps as she put her hand in his. The heat in his eyes flared as his fingers closed around her wrist and he drew her toward him.
“Step over the bench,” he murmured. “I’ve got you.”
Yes, he had her. She was his to command so long as he was willing to let her slide down onto that glorious piece of equipment. As she straddled the bench, only one barrier remained—a pair of very wet panties.
Still holding her wrist with one hand, still looking into her eyes, he slipped his free hand under her skirt.
“I should take those o—”
A sharp tug followed by a ripping sound told her that finishing the sentence was unnecessary.
As he caressed her, his voice was husky. “You’re so ready for this.”
“I guess…I’m not so tough.”
“Thank God.”
She closed her eyes as his clever fingers worked their magic. “Don’t make me come. I want—”
“I know. Me, too.” He scooted closer and slid both hands under her bottom. “Brace yourself on my shoulders. When I lift you, wrap your legs around my waist.”
“Are you sure?”
“You used to be a cheerleader. You can do this.”
“I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about you.”
He smiled. “Katie, with all the adrenaline flowing through me right now, I could lift a car. Ready?”
“More than you know.” Clutching his shoulders and looking into his eyes, she moved in concert with him until—oh, joyous heaven—all that lovely length and circumference was deep inside her, filling her to the brim with its bounty.
Closing his eyes, he exhaled slowly. “At last.”
She was stunned by the perfection of it. In the past sex had been fun, even satisfying sometimes. But she’d never felt this ultimate connection, as if she’d found some vital part of her that had gone missing. Being locked with Jess this way seemed essential to a complete life.
His eyes were still closed and his expression reflected pure bliss, but maybe he looked that way wheneve
r he found himself buried in a warm vagina. What she considered incredible and unique might not register that way for him. And that could be dangerous.
He opened his eyes. “Katie, this feels so good.”
“Uh-huh.” Do you say that to all the girls?
“I’ve been a damned fool.”
That didn’t sound like something he’d say to everyone. “You have?”
He kneaded her bottom. “I could have had this on prom night.”
She allowed herself to savor the moment. After all these years of hurt and anger, she wanted to remember he’d said that. Yet it wasn’t in her nature to flaunt a victory. “You didn’t have a wood shop then.”
“I had a backseat.”
“It’s okay, Jess. Water over the dam.”
“I know, but I wish—”
“Shh.” She leaned forward and kissed him gently. “Let’s not spend time on regrets. Let’s enjoy what we have right now.”
“All right.” He brushed his lips over hers. “But I have a confession. It’s about the bench.”
She cradled his head in both hands and nibbled on his bottom lip. “I know the whole bench thing was designed to seduce me, if that’s what you mean.”
“No, not that.” He paused to kiss her again. “I mean, yes, it was, but I’ve never had sex on a bench before. I didn’t stop to think how…restrictive it would be.”
“Oh.” And here she’d thought he’d remembered her Kama Sutra tip of the night and wanted to run a test. “Well, I like it here. Wood shops turn me on.” She rubbed her breasts against his T-shirt.
His breathing quickened. “We’re not leaving. But you could lie back on the bench.”
“We can make it work this way.”
“But I can’t thrust. And I—”
She hit him with a Kegel.
“Whoa.”
“Did you like that?” She squeezed her muscles again.
He groaned in obvious delight. “The Kama Sutra tip.”
“Yeah, baby.” Holding his head, she gave him an openmouthed kiss and thrust her tongue deep as she began a series of rhythmic Kegels.
This was turning out much cooler than it had sounded in the book. She could totally direct the action. Each time she squeezed those muscles around his stiff penis, they both got a charge.
Jess kept a firm grip on her bottom, his fingers kneading in time with her Kegels. Her climax hovered, ready to sweep down and wash over her trembling body. She moaned, reaching for it.
Jess wrenched his mouth away and leaned his forehead against hers as he gasped for breath. “Are you close?”
She gulped for air and kept squeezing. “Very…close.”
“I’ve never…this is so wild.”
“But good.”
“God, yes. So very good. Kiss me again. Hard.”
She plunged her tongue into his mouth as the first spasms danced through her body. Then her orgasm descended like an avalanche, tumbling through her writhing body with such force that Jess exploded with her.
They clung to each other, each swallowing the other’s cries as they shuddered and quaked in the grip of a shared climax. Their first shared climax. The thought whirled past at first. Katie was too dazed for it to register, but then the thought circled back around and settled over her, warm and soft as cashmere.
She needed to be careful, though. Jess likely didn’t place as much importance on such things as she did, which left her vulnerable. But not long ago he’d called himself a damned fool. Maybe he wouldn’t be a damned fool a second time.
13
IF JESS HAD ANY DOUBTS that Katie was more experienced than he was, she’d just eliminated those doubts. Sure, he’d maneuvered her into having sex with him on the bench. He’d thought that was so clever of him.
But she was the one who’d made it work. Man, had she ever. He hadn’t been able to keep from coming. Even worse, he hadn’t had much to do with her climax. She’d given herself one. And only one, because he hadn’t been able to last once he’d felt her contractions. He was disappointed in himself.
As they propped each other up, heads resting on each other’s shoulders, he took a long, quivering breath and tried to make amends. “Katie, I’m sorry. I wanted to hold back, but I…couldn’t.”
She stirred against him. “Why would you want to hold back?”
“So you could keep going. Have another one, at least.”
She met his comment with silence.
He didn’t think silence was a good thing. “Katie?”
“I didn’t know we were keeping score.”
“We’re not, but I was hoping the first time that I could last longer.” Because a woman like you would probably expect that. You’ve been studying these things and I…haven’t.
“Jess, trust me, the orgasm I had was fine. I wasn’t worried about having a second one.”
Damn. Now she was trying to protect his feelings. How humiliating. He needed to beef up his reputation.
Lifting his head from her shoulder, he leaned down to nuzzle her soft throat. “Tell you what. Let’s take a shower, have a glass of wine and try this on an actual bed.”
She raised her head to look at him. There was no welcome in her eyes. “I don’t think so, Jess.”
The pain of rejection twisted in his gut. “Was I that bad?”
“You weren’t bad at all! Stop saying that!”
“Look, you don’t have to pump me up. I’m sure you would have appreciated more control on my part.”
“Is that all you care about? Your precious control? I thought we were having a great time together, and all you can talk about is the fact that I only had one orgasm.”
Now he was confused. Apparently she wasn’t upset about the number of orgasms. She was upset because he’d brought up the subject. “Look, I was only trying to—”
“Never mind. Just never mind, Jess!” She disentangled herself from his lap and stood. Her torn panties fell to the floor.
Which was another thing. He’d torn her underwear without giving it a thought. He’d been so filled with lust that he would have ripped aside any piece of clothing that kept him from her. He didn’t usually do things like that either. “I’ll buy you a new pair,” he said.
“I couldn’t care less about new underwear.”
Before he’d figured out what she had in mind, she grabbed her purse and jacket and stomped out of the wood shop. He was in no shape to run after her.
As he listened to the sound of her car starting up outside, he tried to figure out what had just happened. Here she was, the host of a show called Talking About Sex, and that’s what he’d been trying to do! Anyone who’d read the Kama Sutra from cover to cover and knew how to work those Kegel exercises would have certain expectations, right?
Right! She’d put on quite a demonstration for him, and he’d responded like an eighteen-year-old. Then he’d tried to apologize for coming too soon, and she’d acted as if that was the worst thing he could have said to her. Women! How were you supposed to figure them out?
KATIE GOT A MILE DOWN the road and turned around. This was stupid. She had the prospect of having some of the best sex of her life with Jess. So what if he wasn’t moved by the significance of it all? He hadn’t understood her emotional needs thirteen years ago and he didn’t understand them now either, but that didn’t change the fact that nobody gave her sexual thrills like Jess.
So what if he would never be her happily ever after because he had the sensitivity of a tortilla? Life wasn’t perfect. Jess wasn’t perfect. Just because she wouldn’t ever marry him didn’t mean she should deprive herself of the physical joy he could bring her.
Instead of storming off in a huff because he’d been more interested in counting orgasms than rhapsodizing about a mutual climax, she should have taken him up on his offer of a shower, some wine and a romp in his king-size bed. If she didn’t expect him to get sentimental, if she went into it looking for great sex and nothing more, then she’d be fine.
Her hazy
dreams of a future together were probably doomed anyway, even without this problem. This conflict over the construction would be a bone of contention forever. Even if he considered sex with her to be the spiritual experience of a lifetime, he’d still be hell-bent on tearing down a piece of her history.
So she had a choice between being a martyr to the cause or getting some outstanding satisfaction from Jess. Cheryl had advised Katie to have some fun with this. She hadn’t ever insinuated that Jess and Katie were soul mates. Katie should just use this guy for some mutual mindless sex. It was a fair exchange, wasn’t it?
After parking in his driveway, she tucked her keys in the pocket of her skirt and left her jacket and purse in the car. Then she locked the car and walked through the courtyard again. As she rang his doorbell, she thought of what she wanted to say.
He opened the door wearing running shorts and the same T-shirt he’d had on earlier. He was also barefoot and looked understandably surprised to see her. “Is something wrong? Did your car break down?”
“No. Everything’s fine. Can I come in?”
“Sure.” He stepped aside. “Listen, I know I said something wrong a few minutes ago. I’ve never been good with words. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I shouldn’t have flown off the handle.” She turned to him. Live for the moment, she reminded herself. Soon she and Jess would be naked and writhing on a king-size bed. That was her only goal right now.
“Why did you?” He looked genuinely puzzled.
So he was clueless, but he was also yummy. She’d be a fool not to take what he so obviously wanted to give her. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “Let’s not make this complicated. I like having sex with you.”
Heat flared in his eyes. “I’m glad, but—”
“Do you like having sex with me?”
“You’d better believe I do.”
Desire tightened within her. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad having a man intent on giving her multiple orgasms. “Then let’s do it.”
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