The Only Thing

by Marie Harte

  “Um, Hope?” He sounded hoarse.

  She smiled, feeling empowered. “Look, we laid out the ground rules. We both feel the same way. I’m just trying to even the score. You did something to me the other day, and I’ve been curious ever since.”

  His body was like a rock under her hand. So pretty, and right now all hers. She had a feeling J.T. wouldn’t mind a little experimentation.

  He cleared his throat. “You, ah, you go right ahead.”

  She glanced at his splayed arms, his hands gripping the back couch cushions for dear life. A perfect way to end her Monday. She rested both hands on his belly and slowly dragged them higher, learning the feel of him as she moved.

  Breathless, she traced the contours of his chest, grazing his nipples, which tugged a groan out of him. She feathered her palms over the hard buds, and he shifted on the couch, clearly aroused.

  Then she leaned closer and breathed in the scent of him, a hint of cologne and man that made her ravenous. She tugged his shirt up to his neck and kissed him there, right over his heart.

  “Christ, Hope…”

  She let the shirt fall back down and leaned over him, kissing up his neck to his cheek, pleased when he tilted his head to the side to give her better access. She kissed her way to his ear and whispered, “You seem so tense. Can I help you unwind?” Then she nipped his earlobe, saw him jolt, and heard a few swear words she didn’t think usually went together.

  “Yeah, yeah. Help me. Any way you want.” He continued to hold tight to the couch, his eyes closed, supplicant to whatever she had planned.

  Hope wanted to play, to touch and taste him everywhere. But then she’d end up losing herself in J.T., and despite all of this teasing, she didn’t want to get in any deeper with the man.

  So quit seducing him and leave him alone. Go get dinner, get back to being friends, and—

  “Shut up,” she muttered.

  He opened his eyes and looked down at her. “What?”

  “Nothing.” She did what she’d been wanting to do all day and kissed him on the lips.

  He parted for her immediately, and she gripped his shoulders and gave him a kiss that told him what she wanted. She thrust her tongue between his lips and ravaged his mouth, amazed a man could taste like sex and need and throw her desire into the stratosphere with little effort.

  She had to kneel to reach all of him. Draped over his body at an awkward angle, she had to work to continue the kiss without sliding off him. But she wanted access to his pants, so…

  He yanked his head back when she unfastened his jeans. “What are you doing?” He was panting, his eyes wide.

  “Just checking to see how much control you have,” she teased, recalling when he’d done the same to her.

  “Fuck me.” He slid his zipper down, then returned his hand to the back of the couch, out of the way.

  She smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back. All intensity and frustrated desire.

  God, you are such a beautiful man. Hope kissed him again, this time with the feeling she hadn’t wanted to have for a man, not for a while.

  He kissed her back, passion and hunger there for the taking.

  As she kissed him, she eased her hand beneath his underwear, grazing a long, thick shaft down to his balls.

  Constricted by his underwear, she had to hold him tight, and he spread his legs wider, arching into her grip. Then he lifted again, and she left the kiss to look down, pulling his boxer briefs away from a huge, aroused cock.

  She stared in awe at the sight of him, wondering if she was ready to take him inside her mouth.

  J.T. was moaning her name and took the choice from her. He wrapped his hand in her hair and tugged her back for another kiss.

  So she did what she’d been wanting to since getting her own happy ending on the couch. Hope started jerking him off. Her hand barely fit around him, he was so thick, and as she pumped him, she swore she could feel his heartbeat in the pulse of his arousal.

  He kissed her like a starving man, thrusting with his tongue in ways that dampened her panties, readying her body for the treat in her hand.

  Holding him tighter, she increased the strokes. Up and down, with firmer pressure, since he seemed to be seriously getting close, his kisses devastating to her senses.

  Then he pulled from her lips and kissed the corner of her mouth, saying, “I’m gonna come so hard, Hope. So fuckin’ hard.”

  She nudged under his chin and sucked a spot on his neck that made him shudder. And as she did, she jerked him off even faster. His groans turned to grunts, then a long moan as he came, jetting all over her hand and his belly. The orgasm lasted longer than she’d have imagined, as streams of seed landed on his shirt.

  Yet he remained firm and erect in her hand, not softening even after he’d stopped releasing.

  J.T. was breathing hard, his hand clenched in her hair while she kissed her way back up his neck to his chin. She started to pull her hand away when he wrapped his own around it, keeping her glued to his cock.

  “In a minute,” he rasped, breathing as if he’d run a marathon. “Oh, Hope. Shit. Damn.” His vocabulary devolved from there, but she had to smile. She’d well and truly rung J.T.’s bell. And she couldn’t have been happier, even if she was a little sexually frustrated. She really could have used that massive erection between her legs, though feeling him come had been amazing.

  He wiped her hand on his belly, released her, and finally looked down at her. He said nothing, but his kiss had never been sweeter. And he continued to kiss her, stirring her up all over again.

  She was aware of his naked parts hanging out, of the come on his shirt, of his seed still on her hand. The musky scent of him went straight to her head, and she marveled that nothing about J.T. had yet grossed her out. Previous lovers had been less than fresh, too grabby, unpleasant after an orgasm with demands or a need to clean up right away.

  J.T. acted as if he had all the time in the world as he made love to her mouth. And here she’d thought he’d be too tired to continue. She sure the heck had been after he’d rocked her world.

  He pulled back and stroked her cheek, and the affection in her breast grew deeper. “That was amazing. Thanks, baby.” He kissed her. “But I think I can do better than that. I mean, we’re good friends, and we don’t want there to be issues between us, right?”

  She nodded. “Right, so why—”

  He wrapped her hand around him, and she felt him finally softening. But not all the way. “I need some more. I don’t think you drained me yet.”

  “Huh?”

  “But this isn’t enough.”

  “I, um, we weren’t going to have sex, remember?” She felt stupid saying that, considering what they’d been doing.

  “Oh, I remember.” He grinned, and her brain took a snapshot of J.T.’s joy. Something she’d never forget, how beautiful he looked at that moment. Then he surprised her by lifting her in his arms and holding her over one shoulder with one arm while he adjusted himself with the other. “Now, time to really even the playing field.”

  She didn’t know what he had planned, but at this point, she refused to argue. Especially because the man was carrying her over his shoulder, one arm over her waist to hold her in place as she dangled down his back, staring at his fine ass. He was so incredibly sexy. So strong.

  She wanted to clap her hands and shout with glee that she’d broken him down, had him moaning and panting for her.

  And then he had her on her back in her bed. He turned on the light on her nightstand and stared down at her.

  She leaned up on her elbows. “What?”

  “I want you naked. I want to see what I’m tasting.”

  She shivered. “I, um, okay. But only if you’re naked too. But no sex,” she blurted, as if abstaining from the final act would keep her heart safe. And really, what did she imagine migh
t happen? They’d have a naked tickle fight? Man, she couldn’t think straight.

  He chuckled. “Oh, we’re not gonna have sex…tonight.” That tonight seemed tacked on at the end there. “But there’s so much else we can do instead. Too bad it’s not the weekend. I don’t think we have enough time to get to what I have planned.”

  “Planned?” Just how much did he think they could do sans penetration?

  He smiled and took off his shirt.

  She stared, mesmerized. “You have a tattoo.” He had tribal patterns in black over his upper left pectoral and part of his shoulder. Not what she’d expected. As a tattoo artist, she’d imagined he’d be covered in ink. That brief trip to his workplace had shown her even Suke had more.

  “I’m picky. My buddy Eddie did this one. I’ve been waiting for inspiration to hit me for my next one.” His voice lowered. “Gotta say I’m feeling pretty inspired now.” He stepped out of his clothes, keeping on only his boxer briefs. “Now you.”

  She sat up, feeling almost shy, which she had never been. Though she didn’t normally leap into bed with a man, she liked her body. But like most women, she felt she could do with losing a few pounds.

  Hope stood and removed the sweater she wore to combat the AC in the office. Then she took off her blouse and skirt.

  “Hot damn. Matching white lace? Nice, Hope. Very nice.”

  She smiled at him, and his eyes darkened. He stared at her body, and her nipples grew rock hard against her bra. She reached behind herself to unfasten it, then dropped it to the floor. J.T. stood as still as a statue.

  “Now the panties,” he said, his voice thick.

  She hadn’t worn a thong today, but the bikini panties were pretty and soft and made her feel feminine. She liked matching undergarments, especially her silky ones.

  Hope stepped out of her panties, glad she’d done some landscaping that morning. She’d shaved all but a thin strip of hair over her mound. With the summer upon them and thoughts of dipping into a friend’s hot tub, she had to be groomed for her bathing suit.

  J.T. apparently approved, because he licked his lips and grinned. “Oh, I am gonna eat you right up.”

  “You are?”

  “Yeah. I’m pretty hungry. Haven’t had my dinner yet.”

  “Oh boy.”

  “Now lay back on the bed and spread those pretty thighs. We have a lot of no-sex to get to.”

  Chapter 11

  Hope stared at her computer screen Wednesday afternoon, unable to concentrate. She should have been typing up one of the client’s forms, because he’d changed an account and she needed to verify some numbers with him and his bank.

  But she couldn’t stop dwelling on J.T.

  Monday night had been a dream.

  He’d been an animal in bed. Then gentle, so tender he made her want to cry. And then she’d had another orgasm, and he’d coached her into trying something else. Where the heck did he get his creativity?

  Despite not having had actual sex, she’d climaxed more in one night than she had in months. And he’d been right there with her. The man had stamina. And an ability to make her want.

  Then, making everything worse, he had spent the night—clothed, next to her pajama-clad form—and slept with her in her bed. Her admirer hadn’t bothered her at home, not that she’d thought anyone might. But having J.T.’s reassuring presence next to her, in addition to having had so many orgasms, had knocked her out. Instead of being anxious about sleeping with a man again, worrying she might drool, talk in her sleep, or scare him away the next morning with dragon breath, she’d slept soundly in his arms.

  Of course he couldn’t just slip out and leave the next morning. After another round of heavy petting that turned into oral sex, which left her screaming his name, he’d departed with a smile and a promise to call her later.

  And he’d actually called.

  What to do about the man?

  Her computer screen gave her no answers.

  Fortunately, the door opened, giving her something else to think about.

  Though Cam wasn’t meeting anyone for another hour, he did get the occasional walk-in, referred through another client. He didn’t advertise his services. No, her cousin was so good at his job that people came to him.

  The edginess she’d felt on Monday after finding the flowers had faded. Cam was in the back room, and daylight made her fears fade. Plus, fear couldn’t exist in the same space as Cam’s wife.

  Vanessa McCauley strode into the office wearing designer slacks and a chic blouse, her hair curled into a French twist. A fellow blond, Vanessa had never given off the dumb-blond vibe. One look way up into her frosty-blue eyes—she was nearly as tall as Cam—and you worried she’d stomp her heels all over your ego, your brain, and then your body.

  Fortunately, she liked Hope.

  “Well, well, her royal majesty has deigned to make her presence known.” Hope grinned, appreciating that Vanessa’s icy demeanor covered a warm woman inside, one who loved Cameron like crazy.

  “Hello, peasant.” Vanessa winked. “Is the royal jester in his office?”

  “He is. Ah, and I see you brought him lunch.”

  “And you.” Vanessa placed a bag of good smells on Hope’s desk. “It’s teriyaki chicken. Don’t get it on your clothes, or it’ll never come out.”

  “Thanks, I think.”

  Vanessa nodded and strode toward the back.

  “How’s Princess Jane doing?” Hope called after her. It was a well-known fact in the families that Vanessa and Cam’s baby would no doubt be brilliant. Between his genius and hers, there could be no question.

  Vanessa turned to smile. “She has two teeth and just called me Dada last night. I’m still working on that, but she’s tracking and reading. Or at least, she seems to follow my finger when I read to her. And she gestures to what she wants. It’s so exciting to see her learning what she likes and doesn’t like.” Vanessa’s excitement turned from coldly beautiful to just lovely.

  “That’s so cool. I bet Cam’s not letting you forget she called you Dada.”

  Vanessa sighed. “Why do you think I’m here bringing you two lunch? I lost a bet.”

  “Yeah, she did,” Cam called out from his office. “Dada is the man!”

  Vanessa muttered under her breath about impossible egos and left to join her husband.

  Pleased to see her cousin in capable hands, and even more excited about lunch, Hope readied to go into the back kitchenette to eat when Brad Wheeler walked through the door looking frazzled.

  “Hi, Brad. Are you okay?”

  He sighed with relief. “I’m so glad I caught you. My wife decided to move around some money, and I wanted to make sure to drop this off before Cam changed things for us. Be nice to have money in the account before we move what doesn’t exist.”

  She laughed. “No problem. He’s having lunch, but he’ll be done in half an hour. I know he was planning on working on your account later in the day.”

  “Oh, good.” Brad deflated, noticed the bag on her desk, and straightened. “Let me get out of here. I’m sorry to interrupt your lunch.”

  “No, no. It’s fine. I was finishing a few things before you came in anyway.”

  “Good.” He smiled. “You know, I tell everyone I know about you guys. Cam and Alex are wonders when it comes to investments, and you’re so organized. I always feel good when I leave, even if I’m nervous about some of Jenny’s ideas about investing. Cam makes sure to look over everything. And don’t tell my wife, but she’s usually right about what she wants to do with our portfolio.”

  “You should bring her by sometime.”

  “I will.” Brad smiled. In his forties, he had a competent air about him, and Hope knew he worked for an engineering firm downtown. She wished her mother could overhear the conversation and see her daughter interacting like a professio
nal with a client.

  Ah well. Linda would learn to eat her words soon enough. In just two more days.

  “Um, Hope? Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”

  She shrugged. “Go for it.”

  “Are you seeing someone? I hate to ask.” He blushed. “But Jenny’s brother is moving back to town, and she wanted to know if I knew of any smart, pretty, not crazy single women. I hope that doesn’t sound too forward. Jenny’s family has a lot of money, so we’ve been trying to guide her brother toward a nice girl. His ex was…not so good.”

  “Sounds like my ex.” She chuckled, but she felt for the guy. “Actually I’m seeing someone.” A lie, but she didn’t want to get involved with the clients in any kind of personal way. Yet another reason to steer clear of Dr. Steven Cooper. “He’s a nice man, this time. I wish you luck with your brother-in-law, though.”

  He crossed his eyes, and she laughed. “Thanks. And I hope I wasn’t out of line asking.”

  She smiled. “Not at all. Have a great week.”

  “You too.”

  Once he’d gone, she left her desk and hustled into the kitchenette to eat. She kept the door open so she’d hear if someone entered.

  After wolfing down her lunch, careful not to spill on her clothes, she left the kitchenette and heard a thump from Cam’s office. His door was closed, and she didn’t dare ask what he or Vanessa were doing. Hope hurried back to her desk, smirking at thoughts of proper Cameron McCauley making out with his wife on his desk.

  Vanessa left some time later, looking as put together as she’d been upon arrival.

  “Thanks for lunch.”

  “Anytime.” Vanessa smiled and closed the door after her.

  Cam appeared, looking smugly satisfied.

  Hope shook her head. “You’re hopeless.”

  He straightened the cuffs under his sports coat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Then he sighed. “When is Alex coming back? I had to cancel my racquetball time at the gym tomorrow to deal with more clients.”