by Lori Foster
Ashley pushed him to his back. “Now that you’ve locked all that iron control into place, I want to look at you and touch you a little. Okay?”
He closed his eyes, groaned, and said, “I’ll try.”
He sounded pained, but that didn’t deter her. She sat up next to him and tried to decide where to start. “I’ve never before seen a naked guy up close and personal.”
Quinton eyed her, took her wrist, and flattened her hand on his chest. His heartbeat thumped madly against her palm. “I told you, men are easy. From the time you agreed to come home with me, I’ve been ready. But that doesn’t mean I want to rush things. At seventeen I rushed. Hell, at twenty I rushed. But I’m thirty-three and wiser and I want to savor this. I want to savor you.”
Her heart felt too big for her chest. “You are such a sweet talker, without sounding corny.” She trailed her hand down his chest to his stomach—which went rock hard—and then down to his sex. “Now, hush.”
Before she even really touched him, he groaned again. She watched him flex, then put her hand around him and felt it. Fascinated, she stroked along his length, then down, to cup his testicles. So much heat. Expecting his eyes to be closed, she glanced at Quinton.
His eyelids were heavy, but still open. He wasn’t looking at her face; he watched her breasts and belly and he looked savage with lust.
As he’d promised, she felt revived. More than revived, she craved him. She wanted it all this time, him inside her, his own pleasure, everything.
Stretching out over him, cupping his face, she said, “This is so damned exciting, isn’t it?” And then she kissed him and his hands were all over her, squeezing her behind, parting her thighs so that she straddled him, his clever fingers seeking her out again, and this time there wasn’t any underwear to blunt the sensation.
She hummed with the pleasure of it—until he pushed one finger inside her. With a gasp, she reared up.
Quinton’s hand curved around her neck, drawing her close again so that he could continue kissing her. He held her secure, not hurting her, but she couldn’t shy away from his touches.
Not that she really wanted to. She’d lurched with the unfamiliar invasion, but only out of surprise. Truthfully, the feeling of helplessness amplified her arousal. She pressed down, trying to increase the pressure. Quinton obliged her by insinuating a second finger into her. He had large hands, and she felt stretched, deliriously so.
Her moan reverberated against his mouth, and he gave her a growl in return.
“So wet,” he murmured against her lips, while working his fingers in and out. “God, I can’t wait to get inside you.”
Ashley wanted to be flippant and say, Then don’t wait, but he didn’t give her the chance. In one quick movement he twisted, and she was on her back with him between her opened thighs.
He reared up, his expression intent and dark. He reached between their bodies and she gasped to feel him touching her, opening her.
“Put your legs around me.”
It was hard to move with him stroking her, spreading her moisture, rasping over her clitoris again and again. But as he looked patient enough to wait all day, she lifted her legs and twined them around his waist. She shivered in anticipation and a touch of nervousness.
As if he sensed her uncertainty, he whispered, “Okay?”
She nodded and braced herself. But he only smiled at her and gently nudged his erection in close to her while sinking down onto her. He laced his fingers with hers and raised her arms above her head.
Hands locked together, gazing into her eyes, he began pushing into her.
She hadn’t expected any discomfort. After all, she wasn’t a kid. But as he entered her, it did hurt a little, and try as she might, she couldn’t keep the gasp quiet, or stop herself from turning her head away, her eyes squeezed shut.
Quinton didn’t seem to mind. He licked the pulse in her throat, nuzzled her ear, and whispered hotly, “You’re so snug and so wet. You feel like heaven.” He slipped in another inch. “Damn. Just try to relax with me, honey. Open up and let me in.”
Her hands gripped his, and she tried to concentrate on loosening up, but the damp heat of his mouth distracted her.
“That’s it, Ash. A little more.” His tongue touched her ear, sending a quiver down her spine. While his hips flexed and his shoulders bunched, he drew on her earlobe, teasing her with new sensations, until suddenly he was all the way in her and she was so full, so surrounded by him, she couldn’t draw breath.
He released her hands to hold her face and kiss her with naked hunger. He didn’t thrust, didn’t even move. He just stayed buried inside her while kissing her and within moments, her body adjusted and even clamped around him.
“I’m sorry,” he rasped, and he stiffened his arms to rise above her, driving into her in a fast, deep rhythm.
Pulled into the pleasure, Ashley cried out and automatically tightened her thighs, holding him as an anchor.
“Move with me,” he urged darkly. “Move, honey. Like this.” His hand slid beneath her bottom and he brought her into his rhythm so that she countered his every thrust. “Yeah, just like that. Perfect.”
His fingers sank into her buttocks, but she barely noticed. That incredible mix of pressure and pleasure began to build again, rising quicker this time, hotter, more consuming.
“ Oh, God .” She struggled against him, reaching for her own release. “Quinton…”
He stiffened, brows down, jaw clenched. “ Damn .” He groaned harsh and low, flooding her in heat, then thrusting hard, deep, his movements static.
Ashley watched him through a haze of acute pleasure. She was so excited to see him come that, combined with his continued thrusts, she found her own release. It took her by surprise, and it wasn’t until Quinton sank against her, spent, that she realized her nails were digging into his shoulders and her heels were pressed into the small of his back.
Sweat dampened her skin and she couldn’t yet speak, but she dropped her arms away from him, let her legs slide down to sprawl beneath him. “Sorry,” she gasped around her panting breaths.
He said nothing, just continued to relax atop her, his own breathing jagged.
She stared at his ceiling and concentrated on regaining her wits. A minute later, Quinton kissed her shoulder, lifted himself away, and then drew her in close to his side.
“Sorry for what?” Sounding lethargic but pleased, he stroked her hair away from her face and pressed another kiss to her forehead.
Still on her back, she dropped an arm over her eyes. Even after everything they’d just done, his intimate scrutiny shook her composure. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t.”
She forced herself up enough to see his shoulder. Deep half moons marred his skin and contradicted his assurances. In apology, she touched him gently. “That was a little more intense than I’d figured on.” She plopped to her back and sighed. “Pretty powerful stuff.”
“I’m sorry I hurt you, too.”
She shrugged that off. “It was necessary, me being a stupid virgin and all.”
“There’s nothing stupid about you.” She could hear the smile in his tone and felt his tenderness in the way he continued to touch her. “Being your first gave me more pleasure than you’ll ever know.”
She slanted him a look. “More of that alpha male stuff?”
“Please refrain from comparing me to Denny.”
She laughed. “I wasn’t, not really.”
He tipped her face up to his. “You’re beautiful, Ashley.”
Sex talk, she figured. She was passably pretty on good days, and right now, she had to be sweaty on top of having tangled hair and ruined makeup. “Whatever you say.”
Instead of debating with her, he gave an indulgent shake of his head. “I need to go clean up. Stay put and I’ll be right back.”
After indulging in a massive yawn and stretching, she said, “Yeah, you do that.” She rolled to her side, snuggled her head into a
downy pillow, and closed her eyes. She had so many unanswered questions, but at least now, she understood how two people got from point A to point B.
And spontaneous or not, it was well worth the effort.
By the time Quinton returned from the bathroom, Ashley was half asleep. He stood beside the bed a moment, just looking at her, then he lay down behind her and drew her into the curve of his body.
She was curious about him, about the ease with which he treated the circumstances, the things he’d done to her and what he might have done with other women. Obviously he had some skills in the sack. Thinking of the things he’d said and how he’d anticipated her reactions, she sighed. Now she knew what she’d been missing, but she was glad she’d waited for Quinton.
That thought led to another, and since it wasn’t in her nature to hold back her thoughts, she said, “Hey, Quinton?”
“Hmm?”
She twisted to face him. His eyes were closed, his face utterly relaxed.
She propped herself up on an elbow and asked, “Have you ever been in love?”
Chapter 9
Keeping his eyes shut, Quinton hoped to hide his shock. Love? Dear God, what woman brought up such a subject only seconds after sex? And not just sex, but extremely satisfying, mind-blowing sex?
When he said nothing, she huffed. “Bad question?”
Like the village idiot, he said, “Uhhh…”
She poked him in the chest “You’re suddenly as tense as a live wire. I didn’t propose, Murphy. No reason to freak out.”
“Ashley.” Aggrieved, he opened his eyes and met her puzzled frown. “Do you realize you call me Murphy whenever you’re irate with me?”
“I bet I call you that a lot, then. Especially when you’re trying to avoid one subject by starting another.”
He shook his head. “I’m not avoiding it.” But he knew he was. “You took me by surprise, that’s all.”
“Asking you that was bad form, huh? Well, how am I to know? If you don’t want to talk about it, just say so.”
An actual reprieve? Great. “I don’t want to—”
“Because I’m only curious.” She pushed out of his arms and sat up in a sulk, slapping the pillow into her lap to shield her body. “I mean, you’re pretty good at this whole sex thing.”
A compliment or an accusation? With Ashley he couldn’t be sure. “Ah… thank you. I think.” She looked adorable sitting there in the buff, cross-legged, a mulish scowl on her face. Her dark hair was tangled and hanging over her shoulders, her dark eyes circled by ruined makeup.
And damn, he wanted her again.
“So you had to have learned by practice, right?”
Seeing no hope for it, Quinton gathered his thoughts while propping himself against the headboard. He crossed his ankles, laced his hands over his abdomen, and got comfortable.
Ashley watched him with blatant suspicion.
Starting with the obvious, he said, “You already knew I wasn’t a monk, honey.”
She jumped on that. “But there’s a difference in being proficient at something, and excelling.”
Masculine pride lifted his eyebrows. “I excelled?”
She snorted. “Don’t go fishing for compliments.”
Unrepentant, he grinned. “I’m sorry.”
“So have you ever been in love?”
He pondered the odds of snatching that pillow away from her, getting her on her back and turning her thoughts onto better things, but knowing Ashley, she’d probably brain him if he tried it.
Watching for her reaction, he shrugged and admitted, “Once.”
“Really?” Her back went straight. “Did you marry her?”
“No.”
“Well, why not?”
He put a fist to his forehead. “Ashley… you do realize that most women, especially a woman naked in bed with a man with whom she’s just been intimate, don’t want to hear about other women from the man’s past?”
She swatted him in the arm. “I don’t want graphic details on your bedroom antics. I’m not a perv. I just want to know more about you.”
God, how did he tell the long and short of it without going into extended details? He looked at her expectant expression and settled on the truth. “She didn’t love me back. She loved having sex with me, and she loved my wealth and my business. She loved some of what I represent, but not the whole of who I am.”
“Just what the heck is that supposed to mean?”
He searched for the right words. “Not everyone is exactly who they appear to be on the surface. People have passions and disappointments, goals and failures. Not many women understand the things for which I feel most… committed.”
She nodded and asked the obvious. “What things?”
Although he had a gut feeling that Ashley would understand and support him in his efforts, he wasn’t ready to open himself up yet. “Not on a first date, after our first sexual experience.”
“Secrets.” She bobbed her eyebrows. “Now you’ve got me really curious.”
“Then we’re even because I’m very curious about you, too.”
She deflected that easily, saying, “That lady you loved?”
“Yes, what about her?”
“I’m sorry, but she must’ve been a complete dope.” Wearing a wolfish smile, Ashley ran her fingers up his biceps and over to his chest. “No matter what secret passions you have, you’re still a catch. Gorgeous, funny, and kind.”
“Not to mention rich?”
She went very serious on him. “Think what you want, but coming from my background, rich isn’t as important as hardworking and honorable.”
He believed her, but she appeared so somber, he had to tease a little. “So if I lived in a shack, you’d still be interested?”
“If you were working to change your circumstances, maybe. But I wouldn’t live in that shack with you.”
Deep-rooted wounds shone through her expression, making his chest constrict. He flattened his hand over hers, keeping her palm against his heart. “You’ve already done your time in a shack?”
“That’s right. But I’ve spent my entire adult life working hard to change things. I don’t need wealth, but I do need money in the bank, respectability, and security.”
Thinking of her goals, he nodded. “Those things are really important to you, aren’t they?”
“I’ll do whatever I have to do to get them.”
Whatever I have to do . Those words echoed in his head like a bass drum. “That sounds rather ominous.”
“It’s the truth.” She didn’t shy away from his gaze. “No matter how hard I have to work, or what I have to sacrifice.”
Meaning she’d sacrifice her time with him? He never doubted it. On that much, she’d always been up-front and honest. But knowing it only made him want her that much more. “What if you fall in love?”
A devilish grin appeared. “C’mon, Murphy. You’re the only guy I’m seeing. You’re good, but not that good.”
He laughed to cover his unease. “You wound me, woman.”
She grew serious again, toying with his chest hair and effectively driving him nuts. “So what about other women? You’ve only been serious that one time?”
“I’ve had relationships that could have gone further and didn’t for a number of reasons. I’ve had casual women friends—”
“Who you slept with?”
“Yes.” She wanted to know, so he’d be straight with her. “Sex for the sake of sex is different, though.”
“How?”
He struggled for the words to explain it. “It’s… colder. Emotionally, I mean. It quells an urge. Feeds a hunger. Everyone comes and all that. But that’s all there is.”
She considered that before saying, “This felt like more.”
He couldn’t deny it. “Yes.”
Tilting her head, she chewed her bottom lip in deep thought. Her expression gave her away, and he knew what she’d say before she said it. Snatching the pillow away from her, he cau
ght her hand and tugged her into his arms. “Don’t look so worried, Ashley. It was more, but you don’t have to go skittish on me. I’m not in love with you.” Not yet, anyway .
“Good. Don’t fall in love with me.” She cupped a hand to his face, smiling cheekily. “I know it’ll be tough, but try to resist. I’m not ready to be in love with anyone, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”
Quinton laughed, but he needed her to know. “Fair enough, as long as you understand that this is more than sex for me, and you’re more than a casual fling.”
She put her thigh over his, her arm around his waist, and settled her cheek on his shoulder. “That’s nice to know. Thank you.” She went silent and stayed that way so long that Quinton thought she might be dozing off.
Incredulous, he peered down at her peaceful smile and closed eyes. She did look ready to nod off. Of all the… He swatted her behind with his open palm.
“Hey!” Bolting upright, she stared at her cheek, then glared at him. “I didn’t sign up for any kinky spanking stuff, so get that out of your head right now.”
Quinton rolled his eyes. “I realize you’re hardly versed in situations involving men and lovemaking and after-sex conversations, but a little reciprocal assurance would be nice.”
Expression arrested, she blinked at him, then grinned. “Ah, poor baby, You wanna know that I care, is that it?”
He made a grab for her and with a squeal, she darted away and scrambled off the bed, giving him a titillating shot of her naked behind before ducking around the footboard.
Grinning, she shook her finger at him. “How soon they forget.” She braced her hands on the footboard and leaned in toward him. “Does the word virgin ring a bell? No experience on my end, remember, so I can’t really do any comparisons—or assurances. For me, this was sex.”
When he started to rise, she held up her hands, laughing. “Breathtaking sex. With a really remarkable guy. A guy I like and admire.”
Satisfied, Quinton rested back against the pillows. “That’s better. You’re learning.”
She waited until he was settled to say, “But no, I’m not in love with you—and don’t you dare frown at me like that. You just said that you don’t love me, either!”