Provocative Attraction

by Altonya Washington

  Viva arched in reflex, not expecting the path his wicked tongue took as he reacquainted itself with her derriere. Sheer delight had her smiling and softly moaning in high approval of him taking possession of her hips to hold her still for his exploration.

  Maintaining that hold, Rook shifted Viva beneath the erotic pressure his mouth delivered. His fingers were just as busy, tormenting her sex with the gentlest caresses before lunging high and deep to become immersed in the moisture there.

  Viva turned her face into the nearest pillow and moaned. Rook’s beautiful mouth was then at work nibbling the spot where cheek merged with thigh. All the while, his persuasive fingers continued their lusty invasion of her femininity.

  “Rook.” His name was wrapped up in a shuddering moan.

  “Save it.” His voice was still little more than a guttural whisper.

  Still, Viva pleaded as another climax loomed dangerously close. She didn’t want that—not yet anyway. She wanted more of him and tried to relay that need through the insistent nudges she made against the erection straining the button fly of his denims.

  She whimpered and he, at last, acquiesced. Viva sighed when his fingers withdrew. Disappointment surged as did delight when she felt his hand braced against the small of her back as he opened his jeans. Elation wrapped over that delight when she felt the proof of his need for her resting heavily at her spine.

  Viva moaned, hungrily accepting the crushing kiss Rook subjected her to once he cupped her jaw and angled her to receive it. She had no issue with him taking such thorough command, especially when he traded his hold on her face for one at her breast. She smiled, content and in awe of the unmatched pleasure he could create with the simplest touch. She did squirm though, when he left her breast bereft of further exploration.

  Mounting impatience gave way to extreme approval when Viva heard the distinct rip of condom packaging. Smiling, she snuggled her face into a pillow.

  “You came prepared,” she purred.

  “It’s why I came over here in the first place. Now shut up.” His voice was gruff, yet playful.

  Viva had only enough time for a single lilt of laughter before Rook’s hands were once again smothering her hips and positioning her to take him from behind. Her gasp hinged on a shriek of welcome when he filled her. Instantly, he was stretching her, hastening the climax within a few potent strokes.

  “V? Is it too much?”

  The query was quiet and given in a manner so sweet, she could’ve sobbed from the pleasure it added to the moment.

  “Yes,” she admitted, arching back to take all he had to give. “And if you stop, I’ll kill you.”

  Contentment was like warm syrup gliding through her veins when she felt his chuckles vibrate into her back. That feeling, combined with what he was doing to the rest of her body... Viva didn’t think she could hold out against giving herself completely over to it.

  “Not yet,” he murmured into her hair where he’d buried his face to inhale the fragrance clinging to her coiled tresses.

  “Not yet,” he repeated, lightly gnawing her shoulder. His perfect teeth grazed the silken flesh he found there.

  One big hand remained secure about her thigh, keeping her positioned to enjoy the full extent of his penetration. His other hand had expertly snaked beneath her to once again cradle a pouting breast.

  Unashamed and overwhelmed, Viva whimpered as the barrage of sensation claimed her sex. She’d missed him so—his size, the mastery of his hard, big body...

  “Not yet, V, please...” Rook could tell she was at her limit in the way her muscles clenched and held him. “Not yet,” he chanted as he exquisitely, expertly, incomparably claimed her.

  “Not yet,” he directed even as he lost control over his restraint and spilled his seed into the condom’s thin sheath. Around him, he could feel her sex squeezing his with an almost painful intensity.

  The room filled with the sounds of mingled breathing then. Viva felt Rook shift behind her and withdraw once he was spent. Her contentment had no chance to wane, however, as he secured her in a spooning embrace. He kept her there as they drifted into a lengthy and restful doze.

  * * *

  Hours later, Viva woke to find herself tucked cozily beneath the covers. For an instant, she feared it had all been a dream. That was before she shifted on the bed and felt a wondrous discomfort lurking in her muscles and well-used sex. She wanted Rook back, but knew he’d gone to at last get started on his day. It was his real reason for being there, after all.

  Yawning, she took a moment to get her bearings and did a bit of quick math in her head. Then, she was reaching for the phone to dial her sister. She estimated it was about 5:00 a.m. in Philadelphia and hoped to get Sophia’s voice mail. She wasn’t at all surprised when the driven detective answered after three rings.

  Sophia laughed. “Lucky for me it’s a busy week for both of us. We’re trying to wrap up some stuff before the wedding.”

  “In that case you’re forgiven.”

  “So...” It was Sophia’s turn to tease. “Don’t you have a soon-to-be-ex ex you need to be smoothing things over with?”

  Viva laughed, enjoying the remark. “We’re working on it.”

  “I see... So? Can you share or are the details too obscene?”

  “Mmm...” Viva languished between the covers and smiled wickedly. “They may be a bit too...explicit to share over international airspace.”

  Sophia screamed and Viva basked in her sister’s approval before reality set in. “We didn’t get around to discussing anything we needed to, Soap.”

  “Aw, girl, don’t be so hard on yourself. Maybe this way you guys can hear each other without all the other...tension getting in the way.”

  “Here’s hoping,” Viva sighed. “Sophia, he doesn’t seem to want to discuss any part of what went wrong.”

  “Why do you think that is?”

  “He says he can’t talk about it.”

  “Can’t?”

  “Mmm...”

  “Well, maybe—” Sophia piped up seconds before shutting herself down.

  “Exactly.” Viva wasn’t surprised by her sister’s inability to come up with something to explain Rook’s outlook.

  “Listen, V, just forget it for now and focus on the bright side. You’ve gotten closer physically at least. It shouldn’t be...too hard to enjoy that part.”

  “Hmm...” Viva adopted some of her sister’s light manner. “You could have a point. I guess I could force myself to enjoy it.” She joined in when Sophia dissolved into a fit of giggling.

  “So have you talked to Rook since we left?” Viva was asking a short while later.

  “No, why?”

  Bracing herself, Viva shared the news about her friend and cast mate Bevy Ward.

  “Glad I used my head and insisted on Rook taking you with him,” Sophia quietly complimented herself once Viva had completed her recap.

  “It could still be a coincidence, you know?”

  “V, come on. You don’t believe that any more than Rook does.”

  “Yeah, well...” Viva began to rub at the sudden pressure along the bridge of her nose. “He doesn’t even want to hear me say that this doesn’t sound like the kind of thing Murray would do.”

  “Maybe you’re a little too close to Murray to see that it could be.”

  “I can accept that, Sophia. It’s just...a larger part won’t let me believe it.”

  “A person can be capable of all kinds of things if their back is pushed hard enough against a wall.” Sophia expressed the observation quietly, as though she knew she was treading on delicate waters.

  “I can accept that too, Sophia. Just please don’t close yourself off to the possibility that there could be some other explanation for these strange coincidences.” Viva pushed up in
the bed, “Sophia, promise to keep an open mind on that. There’re tons of crimes that go unsolved because the police close themselves off to considering any other explanations aside from the ones they want to patronize.”

  “I got it, I got it and I won’t even give you a hard time about preaching since you’re a taxpayer.”

  “Hmph, thanks.” Viva realized how rattled she’d become and settled back to the bed. “I’m sorry, Soap. I know Murray’s got no one to blame but himself for what’s happening, but attacking people who make him money... Well, it just seems weird.”

  “Have more people than you seen him associating with folks he shouldn’t have been?” Sophia sighed when quiet greeted her question. “Look, I’ll keep an open mind about Murray, so long as you keep an open mind that the possibility exists that he just might try to silence those who could help seal his fate in a not-so-good way.”

  “I will.” Viva gave up trying to massage away the ache between her brows. It was there to stay. “Thanks, Soap. I love you.”

  “Love you too. Talk to you soon.”

  Once the connection ended, Viva took a moment to silently rehash the conversation. The endeavor was brief as she was soon shaking her head to ward off the jousting match between her opinion and her sister’s.

  Viva was inching out from beneath the covers, when she heard a door close near the front of the suite. “Rook?” she called, enjoying the shiver that streaked along her spine when he responded.

  When he arrived in her doorway, it was to give her a playfully scrutinizing look. “Still in bed? You’re taking this jet-lag thing a bit far.”

  Viva languished back once more. “I thought you’d be gone longer.”

  “Disappointed?”

  “Mmm...no...” She let her lashes flutter as if she were in the midst of savoring a treat or a memory. “Nope...it’s not disappointment I’m feeling. Can you come back to bed?”

  His resulting smile expressed distinct regret. “We should get a move on if we plan to make it to Cortina by dark.

  “I’m gonna get you settled out there and then come back to get things started. I’ll be back every night before dark though.”

  Viva didn’t want to give in to the twinges of agitation his words stirred, but she couldn’t help it. “You’ll be back before dark every night, but you’ll make sure I’m fast asleep before you head for bed, right?”

  “Has anything I’ve said to you mattered, V?” He sighed. “This talk you want to have so bad? We’ll have it when we’re back and that’s it.”

  “And does it matter to you that it’s hard to be around you with this between us like some elephant in the room? What if it was just me talking?” Her gaze was as pleading as the hitch in her voice. “You could save your rebuttal for when we’re back.”

  “Why’s this so important to you after all this time?” He shoved off the door frame with noticeable force. “Yes, it’s crazy with us all of a sudden being around each other like this, but—”

  “You were right,” she blurted with a defiant shake of her head that sent the light brown curls flying into her pretty face. “You were right about everything—just like my parents were right. Everything you tried to warn me I was letting myself in for with Murray and this life...” She lifted her hands, let them fall back to the covers in defeat.

  Rook had gone rigid. His bright eyes were fixed and more riveting given the intensity of his stare.

  Viva averted her gaze, deciding that not looking at Rook would keep her talking a lot longer. Judging from the look on his face, she thought he seemed quite interested in what she had to say. Finally.

  “Everything you guys warned me would happen...it wasn’t all bold and in my face, it—it was all very subtle and after a while I started to think that it really was just all of you trying to stifle me, not wanting me to go after my dreams, to stay where you wanted me, live the dreams you had for me.” She rolled her eyes wearily and shrugged.

  “I forgot all the warnings and let myself be wooed into the life. It wasn’t hard. I’d have found a way in even if I hadn’t been wooed. But I was and I accepted it all so greedily and then...it was time to prove how much I really wanted it.”

  Rook could feel the heat rising at his collar to begin a slow but steady streak across his nape. Not a good sign. “We can finish this later, V.”

  Her head snapped up, eyes flying to his face with pleading intensity. “Rook—”

  “Later.” He was backing out the door.

  “Vossler.” The name was soft on her lips, but she knew he heard her when he stopped moving toward the door. “I slept with him.”

  Rook hung his head, defeat claiming him then, as well. “I’m gonna take a wild stab and guess it wasn’t hard for you to be wooed into that either?”

  She bristled but accepted the blow and ached as though she’d expected it and needed it.

  “Did it make you feel better to tell me that, V?” He moved back into the room. “Did you think it’d give me some kind of sick kick to hear I’d been right about that? About that of all things?”

  She felt chilled then, not so much by the state of her undress as she was by the monotone of his voice. “I don’t know why I told you...only that for so long I felt like I needed to.”

  “To ease your guilt.”

  “Maybe.”

  He was quiet for a long while, smoothing his thumb across the lines in his palm. “I can’t speak to your family’s motives for saying the things they did to keep you from leaving, V, but I can speak to my own.” He waited for her eyes to meet his. “I was grabbing at anything to keep you where you were—that part’s true. But it wasn’t so you could live by my rules. It was because I knew that where you were going, there’d be no one to look out for you the way that I could.”

  Viva scooted to her knees and refreshed the pleading warmth of her gaze. “I know you have your problems with Murray, but I need you to know he did right by me. He looked out for me. None of what happened was his fault. I made my own decisions. They were horrible, but they were my own.”

  Rook grinned, but anger dwelled heavily in his eyes. “Murray Dean can do no wrong by you, can he?”

  “Rook—”

  “I already knew about Vossler. Maybe when you jump down off the Murray bandwagon you’ll ask yourself how it is that I found out.” He closed his hand over the doorknob. “Get dressed. We’re out in an hour.”

  The chill attacking Viva’s bare skin had her shivering blatantly before the door closed behind Rook.

  Chapter 10

  Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy

  “It’s furnished, but I’m not sure how much of a home it is.”

  Viva preceded Rook through a pair of double oak doors that pretty much dwarfed her. The remarks about his new acquisition had no effect on her.

  In her opinion, the two-story chalet gave off an unarguably homey feel. Viva moved slowly through the lower level, her gloved hands reverently tracing the polished wood surfaces of the bookshelves, message and end tables as well as the rounded cushions of the sofas and armchairs furnishing the sitting room.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said, her voice quiet, awed. “Looks like someone’s already made a home of it.”

  Rook was preoccupied with bringing in the luggage from the stone entryway leading to a wide maple-paneled corridor. He seemed too involved in his task to take time to soak in the allure of his new digs.

  “The previous owners threw in the furniture,” he spared a moment to tell her. “The wife’s uncle passed away and left her a fully furnished villa in Morocco or something.”

  “Nice.” Viva’s mouth turned down into an impressed smile as she resumed her inspection of the elegant surroundings.

  To herself, she noted that the place really only needed a few personal touches to give it a bit of extra warmth. She
turned to eye Rook when he entered the room and watched as he shook faint sprinkles of snowfall from the charcoal-brown bomber jacket he wore.

  “You made a great choice.” She complimented the house when he caught her staring.

  Rook took a moment to look around the room as well. “We’ll see.” His grim tone matched the cool look he directed her way. He motioned toward the ceiling. “Go pick out your room—there’re six of them. You’re welcome to the master. The others can comfortably sleep up to three grown men.”

  Viva tried to appreciate his words with a smile, but the effort took its toll. The easily delivered instructions answered one question—they wouldn’t be sharing a room. She decided not to waste time berating herself for insisting on sharing past information they both could’ve done without hearing—or hearing again. He already knew. He knew! Murray had told him...

  She shook her head, hoping it hadn’t become too obvious that she’d gotten lost in her thoughts. “You should at least have the master,” she urged in a breezy tone.

  “I’ll have my pick soon enough.” Rook headed across the room to stoop before a massive hearth that was framed with hand-carved stone. There, he inspected the screen and wrought-iron fireplace tools set to one side of the long brick foundation.

  Viva took pride in not bristling that time. She’d received the answer to yet another question. He was more than ready to be rid of her.

  Rook must’ve sensed how hastily his words came across, for he bowed his head and stood as if the effort weighed heavily upon him. “Chances are I won’t have much time to sleep between working and commuting between here and Belluno.”

  Viva went to the frost-crusted doors leading out to a wraparound balcony. “Why’d you pick this location? It’s so remote...” As she studied the range of snowy mountains, her voice turned dreamy.

  Rook’s tone sounded much the same when he responded. “I think that’s why. The agent just showed it to me on the fly.” He moved to join Viva at the doors and savored the breathtaking view, as well.