Impulse

by E. B. Walters

  “I can’t believe you’d say that. I’m an amazing driver. I got here in one piece.” She followed him. “I didn’t even speed.”

  He ignored her and started up the airstairs.

  “Okay, so I did speed a little,” she added. “But the cop who stopped me was nice.”

  Lex stopped and turned. “You were speeding in my car?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I couldn’t help it. It’s such a smooth ride. And you have a constellation on the roof of your car.” She stopped a step below him and cocked her eyebrows. “What?”

  He studied her and reached a decision. “Okay. You can drive.”

  She laughed. “Yes! I mean, thanks.”

  “No speeding.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Although with you in the car, the cops would just wave us by.”

  “I’m not above the law.”

  “I know, but isn’t your uncle with LAPD? He can fix the ticket for us.”

  Lex imagined how his uncle would react to such a request. “No. Come on.”

  “I told you I don’t carry or fetch.”

  “Then I guess your present stays in the plane.”

  “Oh.” She seemed lost for words. “You bought me something?”

  “Of course, I did.” He reached out and touched her cheek. “Let’s not keep the others waiting.”

  The crew was about to disembark when they entered the plane. Sienna Whitfield, the flight attended, had her case and his. The co-pilot, Darren Ray, held the gift basket he’d bought Jillian. Mathews was doing his rounds. Within moments of introducing him to Jillian, she had Mathews showing her the cockpit. Lex caught snippets of their conversation. They were discussing engines and mileage of the Boeing. Typical. When he turned around to take his suitcase, the flight attendant and the co-pilot were already on the ground and walking toward the Rolls Royce. He went to join them.

  “Thanks.” He stashed his suitcase in the back and placed the fruit basket in the back seat. He’d make sure they were well compensated for going above and beyond their duties, and maybe even use them again on his next flight. They were both from the same agency. They were taking off when he went back to the plane.

  Jillian and Mathews were laughing at something when he rejoined them. A feeling he couldn’t explain washed over him. Not liking or understanding it, he went straight to the stateroom to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything instead of joining them.

  ~*~

  What the hell was that? Jillian watched Lex as he disappeared inside a room. Did he have a problem with her talking to his pilot? She hoped not. The last thing she needed was a jealous fake husband.

  “Thanks for showing me around, Mathews.” She shook the pilot’s hand.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Jillian headed outside to the car, started the engine, and ramped up the heat. Her phone went off. She saw the caller ID and groaned. She brought the phone to her ear. “You should be fast asleep, Douglas.”

  “Did you pick him up?”

  Lex left the plane first. She watched him saunter toward her, his walk graceful. Even after hours on a plane, everything about him was perfectly in place—from the tailored pants to his thick head of hair. It made him both sexy and intimidating. Earlier, she’d been caught up in the moment and walked into his arms like she belonged. The kiss had been surprising and so typical of him. He tended to dominate. The problem was it made her want more. His lips on her body. Between her legs.

  “Ms. Jillian?” Douglas asked, yanking Jillian to the present.

  “Yes, Douglas. I got him. He wants you to rest and stop worrying. He’ll check on you when he gets home.”

  “Drive carefully.”

  What a worrywart. “Will do.”

  Lex slid in the front passenger seat and brought with him his masculine scents. The effect on her didn’t surprise her anymore. Heat pulled low in her belly. The spacious car suddenly seemed too small.

  He glanced at her. “Why did you leave? I was going to show you the rest of the plane.”

  Jillian had to clear her voice before saying, “I didn’t want to intrude. You ready to go?” she asked, shrugging off her jacket.

  “Somehow I know I’m going to regret letting you drive,” he said, buckling up.

  “You have trust issues, Lex.” She put the car in gear and eased out of the tarmac.

  “I’m letting you drive, aren’t I?”

  Jillian rolled her eyes. She turned right toward Victory Boulevard instead of taking Vanowen. “You know what your problem is? You control everything and everyone around you, so you don’t know how or when to let go.”

  “Does that mean I control you, too?” he asked in a voice gone husky, his arm coming to rest on the edge of the back of her seat.

  She laughed. If he moved any closer, she might just forget she was driving, turn her head, and kiss him again. “In your dreams.”

  “You have no idea what things I do to you in my dreams.”

  Not as naughty as what she did to him in hers. “No man will ever control me, Alexander.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, never issue a challenge to a man with a single objective.” He lifted her hair from her neck and ran feather-light strokes along her nape.

  The car swayed as Jillian lost control. Dang it! She trembled and hoped he didn’t notice. “We’re going to end up in a ditch if you continue with that,” she warned.

  “Am I bothering you?”

  “No.” Yes. She leaned back and pretended his touch wasn’t distracting her.

  His fingers slipped under her collar. Her breath quickened. This time she couldn’t control the shudder that rocked her body. Worse, her nipples pebbled under her silk shirt.

  “What are you doing, Lex?”

  “Trying to prove a point,” he said in an amused voice. “Real trust is putting your life in the hands of someone with the power to take it. You have a sensitive neck,” he whispered, moving closer. “How about this?” He lifted her hair out of the way, stroked her ear, and then trailed his finger down to her collarbone.

  Jillian shuddered. She really should tell him to stop, except she didn’t want to. It had been too long, and this was the most fun she’d had with a man in almost a year.

  “And these.” He grazed her nipple closest to him.

  Jillian sucked in a breath. If this was his way of proving he trusted her, he should do it every day. The wanton in her wanted to see how far he’d go. The daredevil liked that he was doing it while she was behind the wheel.

  She turned left onto Victory Boulevard and headed toward Burbank. It was almost eleven and there was still some traffic, but it was dark enough to hide his sensual exploration.

  “Your belly button?” He reached down and slipped a hand under her shirt to caress her stomach.

  Jillian jerked, her foot pressing on the gas pedal. The car accelerated. Lex chuckled, but his hand kept stroking her belly. The feel of his large hand on her skin was heavenly.

  “Remember, I don’t have control over you.”

  Oh so that was what his sensual exploration was about? His movements were unhurried, his voice silky with decadence. He was driving her crazy. She glanced at him and caught the wicked gleam in his eyes. He was watching her every reaction, probably noting that she was beginning to breathe erratically and her nipples were pushing against her shirt.

  “Eyes on the road, sweetheart,” he warned and Jillian’s eyes flew forward. The next second, she whispered “Fuck!” as his fingers swept under the waistband of her stretchy pants.

  “I’d love to, but you’ll have to settle for this.” He slipped under her silk panties.

  Jillian tensed with anticipation. Her leg, the one not pressing the pedals, fell back against the door as she tucked her hips forward to give him access.

  “Hmm,” he murmured as he moved over her nether hair, parted her labia, and found the sensitive nub. “You are so wet and hot.”

  That was an understatement. She was burning and dripping. Her thighs trembled,
hips lifting as he moved one finger over her moist clitoris. Jillian closed her eyes as sensation rocked her body.

  “You can’t close your eyes, babe. Remember, I trust you to get us home safely.”

  Jillian glanced at him again. If this was a lesson, she’d failed it the moment he’d flicked his finger across her nipple. She nodded and tried to focus on driving. But how could she when each stroke across her sensitized flesh was driving her insane? More fingers joined the first one, two parting her, while the middle one teased her and pushed her higher and higher.

  She tried to move her hips and push against his hand, but everything worked against her—her jeggings, the seat belt, Lex’s hand holding her firmly in place. He was in control.

  “Please,” Jillian begged. “I have to pull over.”

  “No, keep driving,” he ordered.

  Her ass was almost off the seat, her heavy breathing filling the car and mixing with the wet sounds he made as he pushed his fingers in and out of her pussy. Sex on the highway was a first for her. Possibly, the most insane thing she’d ever done, and it was exhilarating. Cars zipped past them. She was going at half the speed limit as the pressure built inside her and pleasure fanned out from her core.

  “Lex,” she moaned.

  “Focus on the road. You are in control.”

  Damn right she was. She took one hand off the steering wheel and grabbed his wrist. At the same time, she widened her one leg and anchored it firmly against the door. She was setting the pace now, racing toward a mind-numbing orgasm.

  Lex reached with his other hand and firmly guided her hand back to the steering wheel while he continued to stroke her, his movements fast, firm, and smooth. Jillian knew she was going to blackout when she came.

  That she could still be rational amazed her, but she flipped on the turn signal, pulled up on the shoulder of the road, and shifted gears to park. Her hands gripped the steering wheel as she arched her back and yelled words she’d never dared utter with a lover as the first wave hit her.

  Her body convulsed around his fingers, but he didn’t stop. Her body shook as she curled and hugged the steering wheel, her breathing shallow, her thighs wrapped tight around his wrist. The convulsion didn’t stop.

  Fuck yeah!

  Through the blood pounding through her veins, she heard him say, “Beautiful.”

  Beautiful couldn’t begin to describe what had just happened. Insane. Possibly the best hand job she’d ever had. She rested her sweaty forehead on the steering wheel and exhaled, willing her head to stop spinning, her heart to cease its offbeat rhythm, and the ringing in her ears to ebb. It took forever.

  Funny she wasn’t even embarrassed by what had just happened. How could she be when he’d opened up a possibility she’d never considered before? Sex could actually be better than all the daredevil activities she loved.

  Suckling sounds filled the car, and she turned her head to find the source. Lex was licking and sucking on his fingers.

  “Hmm, love how you taste,” he said. She could hear the laughter in his voice.

  “You are insane,” she said.

  “But we’re not in a ditch.”

  This couldn’t be a lesson in trust. This was about control. That he could make her curse like a sailor and scream his name with a touch of his fingers. And what beautiful, long, and talented fingers they were. Jillian squeezed her thighs, the remnants of the orgasm making her throb.

  “Nice way to prove a point,” she said, sitting and trying to find a comfortable position that didn’t involve her sensitized organ rubbing against her panties.

  “Nice? I thought that was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I wished we weren’t in such a public place. I would have turned on the lights and appreciated it better.”

  Now he worried about being in public? Jillian’s eyes went to his crotch, and a fierce longing washed through her. She wanted him. Wanted to see him naked. To hold and stroke him, and drive him crazy the way he’d done to her.

  “Do you want to drive the rest of the way?” she asked, her eyes lifting to his. The light from the headlights wasn’t enough to show his expression, but she heard the amusement in his voice again when he responded.

  “No, sweetheart. I’m perfectly fine letting you be in charge.”

  Yeah. Right. Jillian’s eyes dipped again to his erection. Her palm itched with a need to touch him. “I can take care of that for you.”

  He chuckled. “I know.” He palmed her wrist and placed it on the steering wheel. Jillian hadn’t realized she’d reached for him. “Not here.”

  “I don’t believe in double standards, Lex. It skews things. You mess with my head, I mess with yours.”

  “I’m counting on it,” he said, and anticipation shot through Jillian.

  CHAPTER 10

  I’m counting on it.

  The words echoed in Jillian’s head as she fired up the engine and eased back onto the freeway. She’d had her normal fantasies about Lex since the moment they met, but after this highway stunt, her imagination went into hyper-drive.

  She saw herself naked, straddling him, telling him what to do with his fingers and tongue. His hands stroking her body, his mouth buried between her legs, making her squirm and buck as she came again. His pulsing erection in her hand… in her mouth.

  Doubts crept in. What if sex between them complicated their relationship? She hadn’t even taken the money her family owed, but she was already getting in too deep with him.

  Oh, who cared! She wanted him. The things she planned to do to him. He rested his arm on the back of her seat and rolled locks of her hair between his thumb and fingers. The same fingers that had…

  No, she wasn’t reliving that. Not yet. Jillian swallowed past a tongue gone dry as she overtook slow-moving cars, swerving and banking. What was happening to her? She’d never felt like this about a guy. It was both scary and exciting. She entered her street, her heart pounding with each second that passed.

  “How are things at the studio,” Lex asked, and her jaw nearly dropped.

  He wanted to talk now? All she could think about was what they were going to do for the rest of the evening.

  “Okay,” she said in a voice she didn’t recognize and chuckled, because there was nothing okay about working with Margo or having this conversation with him. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

  “You still won’t tell me why she attacked you?”

  What good would that do? He didn’t need to know that his list was somehow responsible for Margo’s insecurities. Jillian eased into her designated parking spot, switched off the engine, and shifted to face him. Her eyes went to his mouth as the sensual thoughts returned. She would never look at him the same again.

  “She started a rumor about Chris, and I wasn’t letting her get away with it,” she said in an overly bright voice. “Did you meet her at Perris Valley Skydiving?”

  Lex frowned. “I might have. Barbs introduced me to a few actresses, but there was nothing memorable about any of them. What’s your schedule like tomorrow?”

  She didn’t want to talk about tomorrow. Her door was only a few feet away, damn it. Images of Lex kissing her, bending her over, tying her to the bed in new and exciting sexual positions flashed in her head. Damn. Her mind was turning into a pay-per-view X-rated channel when he was probably waiting for her to get the hell out of his car so he could drive home. She shook her head to dislodge the vivid sexual fantasies.

  “I have two scenes in the morning, and that’s it. That is, if Margo doesn’t have another meltdown.”

  “So you’ll be done by lunch?”

  “I hope so.”

  “Have lunch with me tomorrow.”

  She’d agree to anything to make the conversation end. “Okay.”

  He reached out and cupped her face. Finally. “I came home early to spend more time with you,” he said in a voice like melted chocolate. “I want tomorrow and the weekend.”

  She grinned. “Yes.” Then what he’d said registered.
“I can’t Friday. I’m helping my brothers with something until nine.” They usually rehearsed for hours before their performance. She could not miss the gig with her brothers, not even for him. “I’m not filming in the morning. The Vancouver filming is still up in the air, but if we’re going, we’ll probably leave on Sunday. We only have one more month of filming, then I’ll be all yours.”

  “I like that.” He leaned in, a wicked gleam entering his eyes. Her entire body flushed, and she tried to backpedal.

  “I mean I’ll be available for, uh, whatever you have planned for us.”

  “Just like you said, all mine,” he whispered against her lips.

  His warm breath against her lips sent a shiver up Jillian’s spine. “I haven’t signed another contract, though Chris mentioned a few. I plan on seeing what I can do while—”

  His mouth cut her off, tongue thrusting inside to take possession of her senses. His hands gripped the back of her head as he anchored her to him and plundered her mouth. She couldn’t breathe, think, or move. Oxygen was overrated, and the mind was wasted at a time like this. Everything was primal. Basic. And he was an amazing kisser. She tore her lips from his.

  “Inside,” she ordered.

  She didn’t wait to see if he followed. He’d better. She was at the door, unlocking it when he pressed his hard body against hers, his erection heavy on her lower back. She wasn’t exactly short and wore heels, but he still dwarfed her. He pushed her hair out of the way, buried his face on her neck, his mouth and teeth on her skin as his hands cupped her breasts.

  Those clever fingers teased her nipples. Jillian moaned, but she wasn’t turning into a puddle outside her door. The light in the parking lot was lit, which meant her neighbors were getting to view without paying. She pushed the door open and pulled him inside, where she’d left the foyer light on. His hungry eyes were locked on her.

  “Jillian—”

  “I don’t want to talk, Lex. Not unless you plan to tell me how much you want me. And how many times you plan to make me come tonight.”