She decided to pretend she hadn’t said it and cleared her throat. “Apparently open figs simulate female reproductive organs. Watching a man eat one is supposed to be incredibly erotic.” She looked up finally.
“Huh,” he said.
She held one up and turned the red flesh around to face him. “Well?”
“Are you going to take your clothes off so I can compare?”
“I don’t think so.”
Grinning, he took the fig from her. Keeping his eyes fixed on her, he ran his tongue lightly up the middle and then took a gentle bite, his tongue brushing his lips, and again she felt a shudder of desire, giving her goose bumps.
“Two can play at that game.” She took out a banana, peeled it, and closed her mouth over the end. Widening her eyes at him, she moved it in and out between her lips.
They both laughed and he pulled her close to him for the first time, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her properly. “Are you nearly done?” he asked eventually. “I’m too horny to wait much longer.”
“Sweetheart, I think you were horny before I even unzipped the cooler.” Packing up the plates, she moved everything off the blanket to one side. “There’s one thing left.”
“What’s that?”
She took out a jar of chocolate body paint and showed him the label.
Both his eyebrows shot up. “Now you’re talking.”
She got to her knees, took a final look around to make sure they couldn’t be seen, and then removed her top. Standing, she slipped off her skirt and threw both items into the house before sitting before him naked, cross-legged. Following her lead, he did the same with his shirt, pants and boxers, and sat facing her. “I’m glad there’s chocolate,” he said.
“You can’t have food sex and not have chocolate. It’s another food containing a stimulant similar to endorphins. Apparently some monasteries in Vienna banned it in the seventeenth century because it inflamed passion.”
“The Aztecs discovered it. The Aztec emperor Montezuma drank fifty golden goblets of chocolate a day to enhance his sexual prowess.”
“I didn’t know that,” she said. “Jeez, he must have been fat.” She unscrewed the lid of the jar. Inside was a small brush, fitted into the lid.
“Where did you get this?”
“One of my readers gave me a website address.” She took out the brush and straightened the handle, clipping it in place. “The idea is that we paint this onto areas we’d like to be licked. Starting with the not so obvious.”
“Otherwise it would be a very short exercise.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“Go on then, you first.”
She dipped the brush in the soft chocolate and touched it to the tips of each finger on her left hand. She held it up to show him and winked.
Rusty closed his hand around her wrist, his thumb resting in the centre of her palm, and brought it up to his mouth. Keeping his eyes on hers, he closed his mouth over each finger in turn, sucking the chocolate off. She couldn’t decide whether to watch him, finding his hot gaze and the sight of his lips sucking her so arousing, or close her eyes, which heightened the sensation of his tongue brushing her skin. In the end she did both in turn, sighing happily as he turned her hand over and placed a kiss in the centre of her palm.
“My turn now.” She did the same to him, painting his fingers before licking the chocolate off. He gave a low groan as her mouth covered his thumb. She looked up to see his eyes closed, and she kept her mouth there for a while, smoothing her tongue over his skin, closing her own eyes. When she finally looked up again, he was watching her, his eyes hot.
“Do you know what you do to me?” She glanced down at his lap and then back up at him. “Yuh-huh.” Smiling, she dipped the brush back in the chocolate, drawing it across her wrist.
“Oh.” He brought it up to his mouth and licked it off gently. “This is a very useful lesson in erogenous zones.”
“I was just thinking the same.” She copied the movement on him. “I can’t believe how erotic it is, and it’s such a simple thing.”
“I know.” He watched her run her tongue down his arm, and he shivered. His eyes were growing more intense with desire by the minute. “Show me more.”
“I think the whole of my body’s one big erogenous zone at the moment.” She brushed the chocolate in the crook of her arm, shuddering as he removed it slowly with his mouth.
“I know what you mean.” He took the brush from her and painted a stripe from her shoulder up her neck, and then ran his tongue all the way up, making her tip her head to the side with a sigh.
“Show me what you like,” she said huskily as she got to her knees.
He dipped the brush in the chocolate and daubed his earlobe, and touched the brush to the spot behind his ear. She leaned forward, her breasts brushing his arm, and licked slowly up to his hairline, taking the lobe in her mouth and sucking the chocolate off. She repeated it the other side, enjoying his sighs of pleasure.
“You now,” he said, handing her the brush.
She took it and stroked it firmly across her lips.
He took her in his arms and kissed her, which smeared the chocolate across their faces and made her squeal as he lowered her to the ground. He planted chocolate kisses across her cheeks and chin, and placed dots with the brush on her nose and temples, kissing them off with his chocolatey lips.
After that, things started to heat up. They drew patterns with the body paint across their bodies and down their legs, getting stickier by the minute, trying the backs of their knees and the insides of their ankles, their toes, nipples, and even dobs in each other’s navels, which made him sigh but her squeal and giggle.
“Wait a minute,” he said eventually, holding up a hand. He looked very mischievous and she felt instantly wary. “I’ve got something I want to try.” He pulled the cooler over and rummaged inside. “I’m sure I saw…ah yes.” He brought out a Mars Bar.
“That was supposed to be for afterward.”
He shook his head. He put a hand on her shoulder and pressed her onto her back. Slowly, he unwrapped the long, slender chocolate bar, his eyes gleaming.
“Rusty…”
“Open your legs.”
She shook her head, eyes wide. “No.”
He leaned over her and kissed her. “Come on, sexy, think about what you’ll be able to tell your readers.”
“I couldn’t.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “There’s nobody here.”
“That’s hardly the point.”
He nudged at her legs. “Come on. Isn’t this what your articles are about? Pushing boundaries?”
“Even so.” She felt deliciously shocked. “You are so wicked, Rusty Thorne.”
“And you love me for it.” His eyes were hot, almost feverish. He kissed her, nudged her legs again. “Go on.”
She closed her eyes and screwed up her nose, reluctantly opening her legs. “I’m going to regret this…”
“No you won’t. I promise.” He kissed her again.
She jumped as he brushed the cold bar up her thigh. “Eeek!”
“Just relax.” He stroked it up the central core of her, continuing to kiss her. She let him, struggling not to giggle, not believing what she was letting him do. She felt him push it inside her gently, and gasped. He took the opportunity to plunge his tongue into her mouth, kissing her deeply as he slid the chocolate bar up into her. The coldness was tantalisingly shocking, a stark contrast to the heat of her body. As he withdrew it slowly, it made her catch her breath.
He lifted his head. She opened her eyes, her cheeks hot. Then she stared at him as his green eyes gleamed.
“You wouldn’t.”
He grinned. Before she could stop him, he took a bite of the bar.
“Rusty!” She squealed, trying to snatch it out of his hand, and he laughed, rolling away from her. They fought for a moment, but he caught her hands and drew her to him, turning it into an embrace, and eventually she gave
in and put her arms around him, melting against him like the bits of chocolate still sticking to their bodies.
Within minutes he retrieved a condom, put it on and slid inside her, still laughing at the embarrassed expression on her face.
“You’re so sexy.” He licked up stray bits of chocolate around her neck and shoulder. “I’ve never done that before.”
“I should think not, you wicked man.”
He chuckled, making hot, sweet, sticky love to her until they both came, filling the warm evening air with soft sighs and gasps, as the kingfishers dived into the darkening lake, and the kiwi birds began to cry in the bush.
Chapter Twelve
Later, after a shower had washed away the stickiness, they walked around part of the lake and watched the reflection of the setting sun across the water.
Rusty took Faith’s hand, and she didn’t protest. After all, they’d walked hand-in-hand before, just as she’d walked with Toby, Dan and even Eve, so it was hardly out of the ordinary. And yet it felt strange. Intimate. She looked down as he linked her fingers with his, watching as he stroked her knuckles with his thumb. Then she glanced back up at him. He wasn’t looking at her—he was waxing lyrical about the first European colonists to New Zealand and what it must have been like to land in such a beautiful country after a long journey across the wild seas. His gaze had wandered across the lake, and he was lost in a world of his own, his voice deep and melodious as he related some tale he’d once read about the first missionaries to Kerikeri. He often zoned out like this when in teacher mode, and she knew his students commented on it. Mr. Thorne’s gone A.W.O.L. again.
The sun was setting behind him, and the sky burned a deep orange in between the blue. It lit his hair, turning the ruffled, russet-brown strands to scarlet at the ends, silhouetting his attractive, boy-next-door features and wide, sexy smile. She couldn’t help it. She brought him to a stop, turned him around and kissed him, their fingers still linked down by their sides.
“Hmm,” he said when she finally drew back. “Were you trying to shut me up?”
“That’s absolutely the reason.”
His lips curved, and, releasing her hand, he brushed a strand of hair back from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. The light touch made her shiver, and she saw he’d noticed, a slight frown appearing on his forehead, an intense look in his eyes. For a moment she thought he was going to startle like a deer, run a mile at the thought that he could make her shiver with a mere brush.
But he didn’t. His eyes gleamed, almost triumphantly, and she could see he liked that he’d hooked her, made her see what his other girls saw—the Rusty that made their hearts miss a beat, the Rusty that captivated them. His pleasure irritated her, but still, as he stepped slightly closer to her, bringing both of his hands up to cup her face, she couldn’t move, fixed there by his green-eyed gaze.
He kissed her, long and languidly, and brushed her tongue with his, eventually enveloping her in his arms, a heartfelt, deep, passionate embrace that made her heart thump and a sigh escape her lips when he finally raised his head.
“What was that for?” She cleared her throat as she realised he’d stolen her voice somewhere along the way.
He looked deep into her eyes, and for a brief moment, she thought he was going to say something profound. She should have known better. He blinked, grinned and said, “I need a favour.”
“Oh?”
He released her, taking her hand again, and continued walking along the lake as if nothing had happened. “What are you doing Thursday?”
“Um…I’m in Whangarei in the morning. Nothing in the afternoon.”
“Evening?”
“Nothing. How can I help?”
He looked back across the lake. “There’s an event at The Copthorne in Waitangi. I’m up for an award for running the Medieval Fair last year.”
Faith nodded. The Fair had been a huge success, and she wasn’t surprised he’d been nominated. She and Eve had dressed up as nuns for the day and run a medieval hospital, explaining to the kids how medieval doctors used to diagnose patients by drinking their urine. They’d offered them free samples, which were actually watered-down fruit juice, but looked sufficiently urine coloured to encourage squeals of disgust from the students. “How can I help?”
“I kind of need a date.”
She raised an eyebrow. “And you can’t get anyone else?”
He smiled. “I haven’t asked anyone else.”
“Oh.”
“I thought we decided to be exclusive, until the contract ended.”
She glanced at him. “I don’t mind if there’s someone you’d rather take.”
“There isn’t. You’re my flavour of the month.”
She smiled, because he’d meant it to be funny, but the phrase stung a little. She had his attention, for the moment. Soon his eye would be wandering, however, and he’d be off chasing another skirt. She wasn’t anything special to him—she had to remember that before she got all starry eyed every time he kissed her.
And anyway, what was her problem? He’d never promised her anything other than sex, and that was all she’d wanted from him. Seven encounters and they’d be done. She’d even made him sign a contract stating she didn’t want anything else from him. And she’d done that because even though she was curious about what he was like as a lover, she also knew what Rusty did—kissed girls and made them cry. He was a classic nursery rhyme. She had to keep her wits about her and make sure that didn’t happen to her.
“Yeah, I’ll go with you,” Faith said. She slipped her hand out of Rusty’s and put both hers in her pockets, hunching her shoulders forward.
Relief swept over him. He hadn’t been looking forward to going to the event alone, but he also hadn’t felt right asking someone else to go with him while they were having sex, in spite of her insistence that he could date other girls. And he also wanted her there. He wasn’t sure why. “Great. It’s quite a classy do. Black tie. You got anything to wear?”
“I’m sure I’ve got an old sack I can stitch some sequins onto.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“I know.”
He stopped walking. She wasn’t looking at him, and he could feel the way she’d withdrawn. “What’s up?”
“Nothing.” She shivered. “I’m cold.”
He glanced up at the sky. It had grown cooler, and he could smell autumn in the air. Her nipples stood out like buttons on her shirt. “Come on. Let’s go back to the house.”
As they walked, Faith talked a little about her week ahead, impersonal stuff, keeping her eyes on the ground. He listened but searched his brain furiously to try and work out what he’d said wrong. However, apart from the query about whether she had anything to wear—which should have made her laugh—he couldn’t think why she’d gone quiet. He’d kissed her, and she’d obviously enjoyed it—he’d seen that in her eyes, and had been pleased because of it. How had he upset her?
She ran lightly up the steps of the decking into the house. He followed her in, trailing her into the kitchen. He leaned against the worktop as she poured herself a drink from the fridge. She was saying something about Dan and Eve, talking too quickly, as if she was nervous. As she closed the fridge door, he caught her hand and turned her. “What’s up, sweetheart?”
“Nothing.”
He caught her chin in his hand and lifted it, forcing her to meet his eyes. Large and dark brown, they were suspiciously shiny, like highly polished mahogany. “Faith,” he said gently. “I know you well enough.”
She gave him a smile, but it was forced. “It’s nothing. I’m feeling a bit emotional. My period’s due tomorrow. Hormones, you know.”
“You should have said.”
She flushed. “You don’t need to know everything about me.” She turned and walked over to the decking, looking out across the lake as she sipped her drink.
He hesitated, frowning. Faith was never sharp with him. She was hardly ever in a bad mood, and he’d never kno
wn her to be hormonal, in the way that men always joked that women were at “that time of the month”. The excuse was convenient, and she would be aware he couldn’t argue with it. She didn’t want to talk about the real reason she was upset.
He studied her slim form, her narrow waist and curvy hips. Her long brown hair hung down her back in gentle waves. She looked elegant and graceful, even just standing there, motionless. Should he leave her alone for a while? Suggest they go home? Trouble was, he didn’t want to. He was enjoying himself, and had looked forward to spending the night with her. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her tears away. But she wasn’t his girlfriend. She’d made that quite clear.
She was his friend, however. As he saw her sigh, he felt a surge of affection for her and regretted he’d done something to upset her. He wasn’t going to leave his friend unhappy like this.
He went over to his bag, retrieved his iPod and speakers and plugged them in. He selected a song and pressed Play. Then he stood by the workbench, arms folded, waiting.
The Beatles’ song “Here, There and Everywhere” began playing. He knew the song was one of her favourites.
At first, she didn’t move. Then, as the music swelled, she moved her head and looked at the floor behind her. Her gaze moved up to his. He met her eyes and smiled. And to his relief, she gave a small, resigned shake of her head and smiled back.
He walked over to her, took her glass and placed it on the table, and pulled her into his arms. They began to dance, and he sang to her as they moved, kissing her temple gently. And when she finally slipped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder, he knew she’d forgiven whatever he’d done that had made her frown, for now.
Two days later, Rusty sat on Dan’s sofa, Coke in hand, and stared as Dan offered him an evening snack. “Er…”
Toby looked over and burst out laughing. Dan looked across at him and then back at Rusty. “What’s the joke?”
Seven Sexy Sins Page 10