by Leslie Kelly
He glanced at the control panel, noting the floors ticking by. They could stop at any moment. But frankly, he couldn’t wait. The smell of her, the softness of her, the sound of her little gasps of pleasure all urged him to do what he’d been dying to do since she’d locked him up and stormed out earlier.
He dropped to his knees. Flipping her skirt up, he held it out of the way, gripping her hips, and pulled her toward his hungry mouth. That hot, musky, feminine fragrance of her desire inflamed him and he buried his face in that sweet spot. He breathed her in, inhaling her, driving himself a little more crazy with need.
“Rand, you shouldn’t...oh, God, that’s amazing,” she said, twining her hands in his hair.
He ignored her, aware she wasn’t sure herself whether she wanted to order him to stop or beg him to lick her until time—and the elevator—stopped.
He had only a few seconds. Just enough to lap at her, scraping his flat tongue against those pretty blue panties.
She whimpered, dropping a hand to his shoulder and digging her fingers into his muscles. He lapped again, feeling her legs quiver and almost buckle, until only his hands on her hips and the wall were holding her up.
He had to let go of one hip so he could pull the fabric of her panties away and reveal the pretty, plump lips of her sex. She draped her leg over his shoulder, exposing herself fully, confident and sensual and utterly alluring.
“That’s beautiful,” he said with a groan as he flicked his tongue over her pearly clit. She cried out, her pleasure urging him on. It wouldn’t take much to bring her over the top, and he was dying to taste her climax on his tongue.
The bell dinged.
The door swished open.
If they had stopped on any other floor, they would have been caught with his head buried in her pussy and her leg wrapped around his neck.
But they were, instead, standing directly in front of the door to the penthouse—the only room on this floor. Rising to his feet, Rand swept Emily into his arms, aware that her legs were weak. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as he carried her to the door. He let her down long enough to swipe his key card, and then picked her back up and crossed the tiled living room to the master bedroom.
“I want to do everything with you, Em, but first I want to finish what I started.”
“You are very welcome to do that.”
He chuckled at her almost prissy tone, seeing the mischief in her eyes. Pressing a quick kiss on her mouth, he dropped her onto the bed, but didn’t let her lie down. Instead, he pulled her to the edge of the mattress, shoving the skirt out of the way, and tugging those panties down and off. Pushing her thighs apart, he knelt between them, pausing to admire the perfect vision of her femininity.
“Please,” she whimpered, arching toward him.
He smiled at her, licking his lips, aware of how desperately she wanted him to take her over the edge.
He bent to the delicious task, loving the scrape of her silky-smooth stockings on his cheek and the brush of her soft curls on his lips. Like a starving man, he opened his mouth on her. He slipped his tongue deep within the folds of her sex until he was able to dip into the utter core of her body, savoring the flavor that was so uniquely Emily.
He lost himself to everything but giving her pleasure. Rand positively drank from her, making love to her with his tongue, going back and forth between her hot channel and the sensitive clit that he flicked and gently sucked.
“Good lord,” she cried, her body arching toward him as she became helpless to anything except sensation. “I can’t...I have to...”
The intense pressure that verged between unbearable and unforgettable had her in its grip and only he could give her what she craved. Another long, firm stroke of his tongue around the base of her clit, and she finally cried out her ultimate pleasure.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she groaned, her whole form rocking as her orgasm gripped her.
He continued to kiss and taste her, not moving up her body until she’d collapsed back onto the bed in a boneless heap.
And then, when he was over her and gazing down into her eyes, he said, “Well, we’ve finally gotten all the way around third base and it’s about damn time I slid into home.”
* * *
EMILY WAS WEAK after the powerful orgasm that had shaken her to the core. She’d never had a lover perform such incredible intimacies before, never been the focus of so much intense attention. The climax had been stunning and unforgettable, but the idea of finally taking that last step, of having Rand buried inside her, revived her with the sheer anticipation of what was to come.
“Yes, please,” she ordered.
He laughed, obviously noticing her renewed energy level. He stood beside the bed, shrugging out of his tuxedo jacket. His tie followed, then he slowly unfastened the buttons of his shirt. Every bit of skin he revealed was toned and smooth, the chest was broad, with the delineated muscles of a true athlete. A faint furrow of hair twined around his flat nipples and trailed down to a tiny patch on his taut, rippled stomach.
“You take my breath away,” she admitted, watching him shrug the shirt off to expose strong shoulders and powerful arms.
“Hmm...you have too many clothes on.”
“You’re not exactly naked, buddy.”
“I’m down to one item of clothing and you’re still wearing all kinds of stuff.”
“One? Aren’t you wearing underpants?”
He barked a laugh at the fussy word. “What do you think?”
She sucked in a breath, her attention dropping to the tented front of his trousers.
“Considering what I’ve been carrying around all night, I couldn’t even get them on. It was hard enough to get my zipper up.”
Remembering that Rand was incredibly well endowed, she didn’t doubt his words. She quivered, both at the sensual pain in his voice, and at the knowledge that his desire for her had caused it. “Poor baby. I’ll have to take care of that for you.”
“You’ll rub it and make it better?”
She smiled wickedly. “I’ll rub it and stroke it and kiss it until...”
“Until all the blood in my body is in my cock and I pass out from sheer want.”
“Okay.”
“Naughty girl. I always liked that about you—that you’re so sweet and nice on the surface, but really bad just beneath.”
Had he? How funny...she’d always believed he must have hated her for the wicked things she’d done that final night, when she’d invaded his room and his bed and sabotaged his relationship with her brother.
“Don’t,” he ordered.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t dwell on the past. It’s done, it’s over and I just want to enjoy the present.”
She caught her lip between her teeth.
“Please, Emily.”
“Have you really forgiven me?”
He smiled broadly. “Forgiven a beautiful eighteen-year-old girl I was absolutely crazy about for climbing into my bed, naked, begging me to take her virginity? Uh, yeah. I think I’ve forgiven that one, sweetheart.”
Crazy about?
“But if you really want to make it up to me, why don’t you get the rest of those clothes off.”
She was still focused on the crazy about. But Rand had unbuttoned his pants and begun to drop them, and soon she couldn’t think anything but mine.
He hadn’t been kidding. He’d been commando at that fund-raiser...commando and as hard as a baseball bat. All huge and smooth, a picture of utter male power and desire.
Her whole body quivered and every spare ounce of fluid inside her rushed to her sex as she imagined taking all of that into herself. Half of her wondered if it was just as well that Rand hadn’t taken her virginity; she might not have been able to handle him. Of course, th
e other half was convinced that it would have been the best night of her life, even if she hadn’t been able to sit down for a week and it had spoiled her for sex with anyone less, er, blessed.
His pants fell to the floor and he was naked and beautiful and desirable, and she was definitely overdressed.
She reached for the buttons of her blouse. Rand gently pushed her fingers away, taking over the task, flicking each button. “Your hands are shaking,” he explained.
“So are yours,” she said, realizing it was true. Rand, one of the sexiest men alive, was nervous. Or maybe he was just overwhelmed with excitement as he unbuttoned her simple white blouse and pulled it open to reveal her equally simple white bra.
He licked his lips and stared down at her.
“It’s been a long time,” he finally explained.
A long time since her? Or a long time since anyone?
“I’m not a saint,” he said, reading her mind, “but I haven’t been seeing anyone for several months, and I haven’t done the groupie/casual sex thing in years.”
His words warmed her. She had no doubt that Rand was far more experienced than she, but it was nice to be reassured that he wasn’t the typical playboy most athletes were made out to be. She didn’t really want the details. It was enough that sex meant something to him, the way it did to her.
But, wait. It’s not supposed to mean anything. You have to at least try to keep your heart safe in all of this.
That was Nora’s voice she was hearing in her head. She quickly shushed it, determined not to allow anything to spoil what was fast becoming the most magnificent night of her life.
“I haven’t, either,” she said.
“Had groupie/casual sex?”
She giggled. “Nope. Not for a very long time. Seven years, in fact.”
He stopped undressing her and studied her face, the humor fading from his eyes. It was replaced by intensity and utter seriousness as he said, “You were never a groupie and there was nothing casual between us.”
She nodded once, telling him she believed him. Their stares met and locked, and in the strongest nonverbal communication she’d ever experienced, they explained, understood and forgave.
“I’ve thought about you a hundred thousand times since that night,” he admitted.
“Really?”
“Really.” He pulled the straps of her bra down to reveal her breasts. The tips were tight and hard, aching with need. Rand didn’t toy with her. Instead, he bent and sucked a nipple into his mouth, hard and deep, and she felt the powerful pull of it all the way through her body, especially between her legs.
He squeezed her other breast, plumping it in his hand. Playing with the nipple, he stroked and plucked her into a frenzy as he suckled. She was writhing beneath him, arching toward him, silently urging him to claim and possess her as he’d promised to.
“Please, Rand,” she insisted, twisting her way out of her navy skirt and kicking it off. She now wore only the thigh-high stockings, which she wasn’t about to take off. Not when she was aware of how crazy they made him. “Take me now. I can’t wait any longer to have you inside me.”
He got off the bed long enough to grab his pants and pull a condom from the pocket. She hated that there would be even that much of a separation between them, but since they hadn’t progressed into the safe-sex talk, she knew this time they had to be careful.
This time? Isn’t this supposed to be the only time?
She shoved that thought away, focusing only on the delight of watching Rand tear open the packet and carefully roll the condom onto his rigid flesh. She reached out to help him, letting her fingertips glide along that smooth skin, such softness encasing such steel.
Her legs wide, she reached for him, drawing him onto her, arching up to meet him. There was no fear, no trepidation, nothing except desire and trust.
As the tip of his erection slid into her wet channel, she licked her lips and closed her eyes, focusing all her attention on the sensations that battered her. Inch by inch, he slid into her, filling her, possessing her. Her body accepted him as if she’d been made for him, taking all that delicious power and making it a part of herself.
“Oh, Rand,” she whispered, opening her eyes and looking up at him as he slid all the way home, burying himself entirely within her.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I’m perfect.” She squeezed him inside, loving the heavy fullness of him—the weight on his body, the scent of his sweat, the scrape of his skin, the thickness of his cock deep inside her. Everything about the moment was perfect, and the utter delight of it lifted her to a level she’d never experienced before in her life.
Then he began to slowly pull out and thrust again, and she flew a little bit higher.
“Yes, oh, God, yes,” she groaned, thrusting up to meet him, her hips undulating as she wrapped her thighs around him.
He caught one of her legs in his hand and lifted it higher, then higher still, until he could drape it over his shoulder. The angle was incredible, the intensity soul-shattering and the pleasure beyond anything she’d ever known. He filled her to the depth of her being...and then he filled her a little bit more.
The pace increased, his thrusts growing more powerful and her answering ones even more demanding. They rocked together, swayed together, gave and took together. They twisted, pounded, clung, and, when at last they reached the pinnacle of human pleasure, shouted it in unison and collapsed into an utter heap of satisfaction.
6
EMILY WOKE UP a little while later to the sound of a ringing phone. A quick glance at the clock told her it was after midnight—she and Rand had made wild, passionate love right through the big ball-dropping moment, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. If everyone in America rang in the New Year the way they had, there would be a complete lack of interest in parties because everybody would want to stay home for more private celebrations.
“Hello?” Rand said, answering his cell phone, which had awakened them both.
She curled up next to him, wrapping her arm around his waist. He immediately turned to her and pulled her closer as he continued his conversation.
“Are they staying in the hotel tonight? Couldn’t I come down and do it in the morning?”
The person on the other end of the call continued talking, his voice loud and pushy. Emily could hear him from a few feet away, and she glared at the phone, cursing the interruption.
“Okay, yeah, I understand,” Rand said. “It’s no problem. I’ll, uh... Tell them I’ll be in the ballroom in fifteen minutes.”
After he disconnected the call, she gaped at him. “What?”
He wrapped his arms around her and brushed his lips across hers. “I have to go downstairs.” He released her and got out of bed, reaching for his shirt and pulling it on. “One of the silent auction items was a photo with me and my autograph. The winners are leaving soon and they want to collect their prize. They paid a lot of money for it.”
“And it’s for a good cause,” she mumbled, knowing it was true, but already missing him.
“I’ll be back soon. Half hour tops. Keep the bed warm for me.” He headed toward the door, but stopped before going through it. His tall figure was silhouetted by a light they’d left on out in the living room, and she smiled as she looked at him, so unbelievably handsome, especially now that he wore the expression of a well-satisfied man. “Don’t start without me. Or, hell, go ahead and start without me...I’d love to find you touching all the places on your body that you want me to taste.”
She quivered, immediately thinking of several such places, then blew him a kiss as he walked away.
Once she was alone, she yawned widely, not surprised that she’d drifted off to sleep so quickly after their amazing lovemaking. She’d been working long hours and had enjoyed quite a
physical workout tonight. Rand was an exciting, demanding lover, and she couldn’t imagine why she’d ever believed quiet sex was any fun. Wild, erotic, untamed sex was now her number one favorite thing in the world. Well, she had to amend that statement a little bit—any kind of sex with Rand would be her favorite thing in the world, for as long as she had it. And him.
That might not be long, she understood. Yes, he’d admitted he had once been crazy about her. Yes, the attraction was still intense, more powerful than anything she’d ever experienced. But they hadn’t talked about tomorrow or any kind of future. There’d been no promises made, no hearts bared.
He could walk away tomorrow and she would have gotten exactly what she’d decided she wanted: a wild, erotic night with the man of her dreams, a night she would never regret.
Suddenly, though, she began to second-guess herself. In fact, she began to wonder if she’d made a terrible mistake. Because one night with Rand couldn’t possibly be enough for any woman. Especially not one who’d once been so madly in love with him. And, she greatly feared, still was.
“In love?” She whispered the words, trying to chase them away but they wouldn’t be beaten back. She’d loved him as a passionate, angst-filled teenager. She was a grown woman now...but the truth was, she’d never felt anything for any man that could come close to what she still felt for Rand. Was that love? Had she given him her heart at seventeen, not realizing she was giving it to him for life?
Oh, God, you fool. What have you done?
Set herself up for potential heartache, that was for sure. Because if he only wanted one night, if he had indeed just sought her out to “finish what they’d started” and he intended to cruise out of her life again in the morning, she wasn’t sure she could stand it.
She only wondered if there was any way she could save herself from the fate she feared more than anything—acknowledging that she still loved Rand McConnell...and that, once again, she would have to say goodbye to him.
As the minutes ticked by, Emily tried to stay awake, but, when a half hour had passed and Rand still hadn’t reappeared, she began to feel the lull of sleep tugging her down. Soon, she was losing herself in a wonderful dream about the wonderful reality she’d just enjoyed in this bed.