If You Dare

by Lee, Liz

  Finally, finally she showed some sense of the same urgency he felt.

  Reaching into her purse she pressed a foil packet into his hand with one word. “Hurry.”

  And then, “Oh God, hurry.”

  He slipped the condom over his erection, praying that simple action didn’t make him come and then he slowly, slowly settled her over him.

  And as he sank deep in her depths he could barely think. Nothing had prepared him for this.

  She whimpered as he pressed into her again and again, and he could only pray no one walked up because there was no way he could stop. No way.

  He lifted his hips and let the intensity of her hot wetness spread over him. “You like this, hmmm?”

  He whispered the words against her hair and she gasped in response. “Oh yes.”

  Hearing her voice while he was deep inside her made him even harder. Made him feel every bit of intensity times ten thousand. “Are you going to come?”

  Apparently unable to speak, she simply nodded.

  Joe thrust against her and listened as she gasped again, felt her slick folds tightening. “Tell me what you feel, Cordelia. Tell me.”

  She shook her head as she took him deep inside again. She gasped her answer. “I can’t.”

  He pushed against her again, stunned at the sheer intensity of the feelings rushing through him. “You can.”

  He listened as she whimpered again. “I feel…I feel hot.”

  “And…”

  “And wet, and,” he pressed even higher and her head fell against his shoulders. “Oh God, Joe. Oh…”

  She felt tight and he could feel her pulse throbbing in time to his. He pushed one last time and felt her contracting orgasm, heard the breath whoosh from her body, felt his own release.

  For a few seconds they sat there, completely quiet, the whir and rings of the elevator the only noise.

  They’d made love in a public place. Right out in the open where anyone could’ve walked up and seen them. Good Lord, the woman was absolutely insatiable.

  With shaking hands, he helped her stand and then moved to rezip his pants. The sound of a zipper would never be the same.

  Cordelia rubbed her hands down her arms and Joe wondered what she was thinking. What she was feeling. If she was feeling anything even remotely similar to his own disbelief.

  Whatever her thoughts were, she was keeping them closely guarded. She had yet to look at him.

  They had an entire night ahead of them. No way was he going to let this vibrantly sexual woman be a little embarrassed over what had just happened.

  “So, I guess now’s a good time to tell you I’m glad you didn’t wear panties.”

  He thought he heard her laugh—good sign.

  “And I’m thinking that was the hottest thing I’ve ever done in my life. And if you want a repeat, give me a few minutes and I’m all in.”

  This time he knew he heard a laugh—better sign.

  “But if you don’t look at me, we’ll be forced to assume the same position, and darlin’ as nice as that was, I’m thinking it might get a little old over time.” As if that would ever get old. But his words did get the response he was looking for.

  She turned toward him, the corners of her mouth tilted in a perfect smile. He wanted to keep that smile there the rest of the night.

  “I’m a little stunned right now.”

  He laughed. “Oh good. I’m not alone in the rock my socks off world.”

  She shook her head. “Definitely not alone.”

  “So now…” He let the words trail off, ready to let her take the drivers seat. But he prayed she didn’t want to go back downstairs. Regardless of how they’d spent the last few minutes, or maybe because of it, he wanted her. Wanted to taste her. Wanted to spend the night with her in his arms. Wanted to…

  “So now, I think you’re talking too much again. What do you say?”

  Joe could only laugh as he took her hand and led her down the hall to their room. “Spoken like a woman after my heart.”

  Chapter Eight

  Cordelia heard his words and bit back a sigh. As if she could ever really be this woman. The woman who’d just had sex in a public hallway. Oh-my-God-incredible, mind blowing, up-all-night worthy bad girl sex.

  It was the most liberating moment of her life.

  And it scared the heck out of her. How could she morph from this passionate, fearless stranger into her old self in less than a week?

  Would she ever respond this way again?

  It drove her crazy to even think about five days from this perfect moment, but she had to.

  She had to remind herself this was all just one big fantasy.

  And then she followed Joe into their room and wanted to just go ahead and die. Good Lord Almighty! She didn’t even realize rooms like this existed.

  She allowed the door to close behind her. “We’re standing in a foyer, Joe. I’m in a hotel room with a foyer.”

  Joe just laughed at her and Cordelia wished she could zap the words back. For a second, she sounded like the small town girl she was instead of the sophisticated woman she was pretending to be.

  Intent on remembering that persona, she moved forward trying not to look like she’d never seen a palatial room before.

  She made it through living area with its fresh flowers and ornate furniture with no problem. A quick glance at the kitchen. And even though her mouth hit the floor when she saw the hot tub right there between the living and bedrooms, she figured she covered the shock pretty well.

  But she’d never in her entire life seen anything like the bedroom and there was no holding back the small town girl in her.

  The bed was king sized at least and right out of every fantasy she’d imagined. Sheer purple drapes hung from the four posters and canopy.

  She kicked her shoes off and let her bare feet sink into the plush carpet before turning to see if Joe felt any of the amazement she did. “I’m going to have to jump to get in that bed. This is just incredible.”

  Joe’s laugh sent shivers down her spine and then she caught the wicked glint in his eyes and felt her stomach plunge in instant awareness.

  Again.

  Oh man.

  Taking a step toward the bed Joe raised an eyebrow even as he kept his hands to himself. “I could help you up right now, and we could see how much fun it is inside.”

  She didn’t hesitate a second just grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the bed. God she was truly the most sexual, sensual woman he’d ever met in his life.

  And he was definitely a man who loved sex. But after their hallway tryst he wasn’t sure he could make good on his promise.

  Delay was the word of the day. “Or we could go on back to that foyer you were so impressed with. Maybe christen it.”

  That stopped her. She actually looked over his shoulder in the direction of the hall and Joe couldn’t stop himself from laughing. He was sleeping with a sex connoisseur. He wondered how outrageous he could get and still see a spark of interest in her eyes.

  But he didn’t want outrageous right now. He wanted fun. “You know I can’t help but think you’re looking a little tense.”

  She pulled her hand from his in question. “Tense?”

  He nodded, trying to keep a straight face. “Yeah. I’m thinking you need to relax a little.”

  She bit her bottom lip in that sexy way he already knew meant she was worried. God, sometimes she wasn’t only incredibly sexy, she was cute. He hadn’t been turned on by cute since he was a freaking toddler, but that lip thing just about undid him every time.

  He pulled her away from the bedroom and tried not to concentrate on the way her pink toenails sank into the soft white carpet. God. Who would’ve thought pink polish would drive a man insane?

  Reaching behind her he flipped a switch and watched her face light up as the jets started on the hot tub.

  With careful fingers he snapped the lone hook holding the neckline of her dress up and watched as it puddled around her fe
et. God she was incredible. So self-assured. So comfortable in her skin.

  And she looked pretty damn hot standing there naked, enveloped by the hot tub’s rising steam. Maybe he didn’t want to stretch this out after all.

  But he did. He wanted this to be different. Special.

  He felt like he was in some sort of competition and it drove him a little crazy. The way she drove him a little crazy.

  God he really needed to quit thinking.

  “Get in.” He pointed and she looked over her shoulder at the water.

  With her black hair falling in tendrils and the steam and her incredible body she looked almost like Wonder Woman. He’d had a real thing for Wonder Woman once upon a time. Maybe that’s why he seemed to suffer from terminal hard on when Cordelia was around.

  She turned back to face him and Joe cold only shake his head. Hell, Wonder Woman didn’t have anything on Cordelia Lewis.

  “Last time I was anywhere near water and you started giving orders, you never joined me.”

  Her reminder of last night sent a jolt straight through his system. “You complaining?”

  She shook her head. “No. I just don’t want to go it alone tonight.”

  “You didn’t stay alone for long.”

  She reached over and undid the buttons on his shirt. “I know. But I just want you to know that if anyone’s giving orders tonight, it’s going to be me.”

  Ah hell. And here he thought he was going to be in control.

  Right.

  He could definitely get used to this.

  “I’m real comfortable with that idea, darlin’.”

  He felt the cold air settle on his skin as she pushed his shirt off onto the floor.

  “So you might as well resign yourself to the fact that you’re in need of some relaxation too.”

  What more could a man want? Honestly?

  “I’m resigned. Trust me. I’m resigned.”

  He watched as she slid his dress pants down his legs, felt the cool air hit him as she tugged at his briefs and let them fall too.

  “I bet that water’s warm.”

  He didn’t figure he could get much warmer. “You cold?”

  He looked pointedly at her hardened nipples and watched her cheeks flush. Damn, there she went and did cute again. He loved it when she did that.

  She didn’t bother to answer. Instead, she stepped down and he watched as the water settled around her thighs. Now that wasn’t cute.

  That was just sexy as hell.

  And then he held out his hand. Oh yeah. If she wanted to call the shots the rest of the night, he’d be more than happy to let her.

  Taking a step he let his foot sink into the warm, bubbling water and watched as she smiled up at him.

  As he sank into the tub beside her, she leaned back against the edge and sighed.

  “So you were saying something about tense?”

  For a second Joe couldn’t remember what she was talking about. But then he remembered his plan.

  Oh yeah. Tense. As in delay. As in have some fun. Fun that didn’t necessarily include penetration. At least not for now. What he wanted was a couple hours of mind sex. Foreplay that lasted longer than a few minutes. If he could just get his body to cooperate.

  If he could just get her to cooperate.

  He scooted across the seat of the hot tub and grabbed her hand. “Yeah. I said you were looking a little tense. And then you went all dominatrix on me and made me get in the water too.”

  He lifted his hand and poured a stream of water down her arm. “You know, I’m going to have a hard time relieving your tension now.”

  She didn’t lift her head from the side of the tub, but she did turn to look at him when she spoke. “I bet you’ll think of something. And I didn’t go all dominatrix. It’s called assertive.”

  The teasing tone in her voice made him smile.

  Seemed like he pretty much smiled all the time she was around. It’d been a hell of a long time since he could say that about a woman.

  Of course, it had just been a day.

  “Assertive huh? Well, let me be a little assertive right back at you. Scoot on over here and let’s see about that tension.”

  She didn’t bother resisting, just slid over until she fit right between his legs.

  Her wet skin felt slick and soft and hot on his and Joe wondered if it was possible to just talk, just touch and feel and play, with a hard on that begged for personal attention.

  Hell, the hallway sex seemed to have him harder and hotter than before instead of worn out. Absolutely insane and totally incredible. All rolled into one.

  Well hell.

  He was going to try.

  He couldn’t do much more than that.

  Cordelia closed her eyes as she felt his warm hands caress her neck and shoulders.

  Nothing had prepared her for the sensual onslaught of this moment.

  Sitting naked between his legs in the water made her entire body feel like one big sexual toy. She could feel his erection pressed against her back, but he didn’t seem all that inspired to use it right then. But, oh God, it felt so good.

  And then his hands. Oh man, oh man, oh man.

  She felt a breath of cold air hit her wet neck and shivered as Joe bent to taste her with a tiny kiss.

  But then he sat back up and just let his hands drift up and down her back in lazy crazy eights that had her entire system humming.

  He just thought she’d been tense before.

  He bent again and she felt his breath on her ear as he whispered. “Tell me your fantasies.”

  She almost laughed out loud as chill bumps blossomed down her body. She could imagine his reaction if she told the truth. Oh let’s see, sitting naked in a whirlpool with you so far surpasses my fantasies, I don’t know what to say.

  She leaned forward and let her elbows rest on her knees, let her hardened nipples dip in the warm water, as he deepened the message on her back. Oh man that felt so incredible. She didn’t want to talk about what she wanted, what she thought. “World peace and food for everyone. Tell me yours.”

  Water from his hands sluiced down her back and he laughed. “World peace wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. I’ve got an idea. Why don’t I tell you yours and you tell me mine. See how close we get.”

  Right then she’d agree with anything he said.

  And the way his hands felt as they kneaded her back pretty much left her speechless anyway.

  Letting his deep voice wash over her would leave her completely in tune with him. Besides it’d be interesting to see what he thought her fantasies were. See how wrong he was. How much she’d fooled him. “Okay. Go ahead. Tell me my fantasies.”

  He pulled her back against him and she closed her eyes, felt the way his chest rumbled against her back when he talked. “Let’s see.” He lifted his hands from the water again and this time she felt his hands gently messaging her temples and up to the side pressure points of her scalp.

  “A world wise woman like yourself who gave up the chance for fortune would fantasize about letting go. Losing control. I bet you’ve been in control your entire life.”

  So much for laughing at how wrong he was. “How’d you figure that?”

  She felt him shrug. “Simple deduction. You live in a town where your mother and father live. You teach. You turned down Harvard. You have to have some serious control issues.”

  Well, when he put it like that. She laughed. “Okay. So I have some control issues. I don’t think I’ve had a problem where you’re concerned.”

  He let his hands fall to the top of her neck and she let her head fall forward as she moaned out loud. Lord his hands, this water, her entire body felt heavenly. She wanted to melt.

  And then he went and ruined it.

  “You just go ahead and tell yourself that, darlin.”

  Cordelia felt herself tense even as she told herself his words didn’t matter. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Hey, this is tension relief. R
emember? Relax.” He rubbed his hands down the top of her arms. “And don’t worry about it. I like the way you’ve known exactly what you wanted from the minute I picked you up at the airport. I’m sure as hell not complaining. I just figure one of your fantasies might be to completely let yourself go.”

  Cordelia let the warmth of his words wash over her. So he liked the way she’d pursued him. Pretty good for an amateur if she did say so herself.

  He lifted her arms out of the water and rested her hands on the back of her head as he bent to whisper again. “Let yourself go with me, Cordelia. Trust me enough to let go.”

  Cordelia whimpered as the cold air settled on her arms, her neck, her breasts. As the pungent scent of chlorinated water mixed with the spice of Joe’s cologne.

  She felt a warm trail of water droplets fall on her left breast as his hand reached out of the tub. She didn’t want to open her eyes, didn’t want to stop this particular fantasy.

  And then she felt his hands again as he wrapped a soft silk blindfold around her eyes. “Uhm, Joe?”

  She felt his fingers as they deftly tied a knot behind her head.

  “Trust me, Cordelia.” His hot breath brushed against the back of her head. “If you don’t like this, we can stop. And the blindfold’s barely tied on. You can slip it off if you want.”

  Okay. So this hadn’t been a part of the fantasy. She had to admit, something about being completely in the dark left her more than a little turned on. She nodded her assent and felt as he lifted her hands in his again and replaced them on the back of her head.

  This time the cold air on her nipples felt almost invigorating. She could hear the rhythmic whir of the tub’s motor. Felt the bubbles run over her toes and up past her knees.

  He let on of his bare legs rest on hers and she wondered if it was possible to die from sheer pleasure.

  He started back on her sensual massage, this time focusing on the top of her buttocks as his fingers traced over the edge of her tattoo and down lower and lower.

  Oh Lord she wanted him in front of her. Now, dammit. Or she at least wanted to feel him hard and ready in her hand.

  She tried to press against him, let her hand fall into the water, but he caught it in his. “Trust me, Cordelia.”