"Stockings. How old fashioned Dinah. Mmmm, I do love to feel your skin. It's so hot," he said as he looked down at her.
She felt on display for him, and found she didn't mind, not a bit. She smiled back at him and parted her knees slightly. He stared at her soft skin, slowly brushing his hand over the top of her thigh, higher and higher.
She gasped as his fingers brushed her panties. Almost involuntarily she moaned, moving her hips slightly forward, wanting and needing his touch so much. His hand was now placed firmly on her panties and he could feel her heat beneath his fingers.
"Dinah you're so wet! I can smell you and I want to taste you," he said, slowly moving his fingers in small circles over the fabric of her panties.
Dinah wanted them gone. They were wearing too many clothes she realised foggily.
The car came to a stop outside an elegantly discrete building. Dinah looked up with surprise, suddenly remembering where they were. She had been about to give herself to him in the back of a car! Okay, a limousine, and a nice one at that, but still a car. She felt out of control and it was not a feeling she was used to. Dinah was used to being firmly in control of all aspects of her life, down to the minutest detail. This experience of sexual excitement was completely new to her.
Gently Jared smoothed the fabric of her skirt down over her thighs, just in time before the doorman opened the car door. Dinah was able to draw a deep steadying breath before she stepped from the limo, leaning on Jared's outstretched hand for much needed support.
Deftly Jared escorted her inside the foyer. She found herself being transported to the penthouse, with little memory of how she got there. All she could think about was Jared's kiss, Jared's thigh pressed against hers, and what might come next. It was obvious he found her attractive, that he wanted to kiss and touch her, and she knew she wanted more and that he too wanted more.
Moving into the suite she barely noticed the flower arrangements that perfumed the air.
"I've wanted to do this all evening. You are so beautiful!" he murmured into her ear as his hands skimmed over her hips. She felt herself curving against him, molding to his tall strong frame.
Chapter 8
"Tell me you want this as much as I do Dinah!" he said.
She could not deny it, not when her whole body seemed to be on fire for him. She could take this one night surely?
"Oh Jared! Yes!" she exclaimed as she breathed into his neck and he turned her to fully face him.
His smile was pure seduction and at that moment she knew she wanted this. It felt right. It felt as if she was coming home. Her body was on fire pressed up against his. She had a vague idea that they were wearing too many clothes, and then Jared swept her up in his arms and was carrying her to the bedroom.
Dinah knew in the furthest recesses of her mind that she must be crazy, but a stronger more insistent thought was that she needed him. She needed to feel his strong frame pressed against her and she wanted to feel his hard muscle beneath her hands.
Gently setting her on her feet he kissed her so thoroughly she felt her insides melt with pleasure. Her heart was beating so fast it was a wonder he could not hear it. He kissed her again and a taught knot of desire built deep within her.
Slowly he untied the side fastening of her dress until it fell at her feet in a soft rustle of silk. He stepped back slightly to look at her standing before him in only small scraps of lace that fully revealed her desire, her hips tilted provocatively back with her feet in stilettos. Her nipples pushed at the fabric cupping her breasts. He lowered his mouth to one taught nipple encased within lace and felt her response beneath his tongue. His hand held her firm to his thigh, and she could feel him grow harder as her body melted into his embrace.
Dinah felt herself flushing beneath his gaze, but when his tongue bought her aroused nipple into his warm mouth she fell apart. This was all she wanted, here and now, and her mind simply stopped thinking. Her body took over and it was only a bundle of want and need. This man before her, this tall impossibly sexy man was all she could feel. The feel of him beneath her fingers as she stroked his chest, cautiously at first and then with increasing confidence, was all she wanted.
Jared lay her before him on the bed and held her eyes as he quickly shed his clothes. As his boxers came off she gasped as the length of him.
"This is what you do to me Dinah," he said. Confidently, fully aroused, he stroked himself before her.
Tentatively she reached for him and found satisfaction in his barely suppressed groan. He wanted her as much as she wanted him. She found confidence in this and reached up to bring his mouth down upon hers. She loved the taste and feel of his tongue on hers.
"Oh Dinah! You drive me crazy!" he murmured against her neck as his hands ranged over her body.
Again, as he had in the car, his fingers brushed against her wet softness. Her panties were by now completely soaked through with her arousal. She moaned and moved her hips in small jerky thrusts. Slowly, too slowly for Dinah's overheated desire, he pulled her panties aside and slipped his fingers beneath. When his middle finger found her sweet hard nub of desire she cried out and arched her back.
"Oh yes! Please, please!" she shouted, moaning and writhing. He had turned her into a complete wanton. She did not recognise herself. All she knew was she desperately needed release and he could provide it to her.
He slowly peeled her panties down her legs and then reached behind her to unclasp her bra. Her breasts sprung free, tight and heavy with desire, her nipples engorged and darkened with arousal.
She was laid out before him. Under his gaze she felt no shyness, only power in her own beauty. His eyes upon her blazed desire, and in return she felt like the most beautiful and desirable woman in the entire world. There was only the two of them, only now, only here in this moment and she never wanted it to end.
Jared positioned himself above her. "I can't wait any longer my beautiful Dinah! Say you're ready for me!" he begged.
She was more than ready for him and with desire flaming in her eyes she moaned and said "yes!" But first she reached down to hold him. She wanted to feel his heat, the velvety-sheathed hardness of him. She wanted to feel his size and girth, momentarily unsure if she could take him all. With pleasure she saw him moan and close his eyes as her hand moved along his hard length. Then his hand pulled hers away.
"No Dinah, it has to be now!" he said with urgency. She realised then how aroused he was, how close to climax, and that knowledge brought an electric wave of lust shuddering through her body.
When his first thrust deep inside her found home, she let out a cry of pure abandon. Slowly Dinah began to move with him, rocking up to meet his powerful thrusts. A slow burning deep inside her began to grow a sweet warm need that demanded to be assuaged. Jared felt the muscles of her sheath tense around him and realised she was not far from climax. He slowed down, wanting to draw out the exquisite moment when they would explode together. Dinah felt his hesitation and locked her ankles about his back, drawing him down deeper into her. That was Jared's undoing. He could not hold out any longer and he quickly bought her to the peak of pleasure.
With expert movement, never stopping his caress of her, he took her over the edge. The night exploded beneath Dinah's closed eye. She opened them to see Jared's face above her looking deep into her soul.
Dinah felt herself fall into a million pieces, but Jared was there with her to hold her together. As the world collapsed around them they found bliss together, falling back to earth in a sweet embrace.
Slowly, Dinah came back to reality.
Suddenly she felt shy in his arms as the enormity of what she had done came crashing in around her. She had slept with a man on the first, no second, date!
Jared felt her slight tensing in his arms and reached out to gather her closer. He kissed her neck and trailed a line of kisses down her collarbone. "Beautiful Dinah! That was exquisite," he murmured as he buried his face in her tresses swept over the pillow.
"Don't ha
ve second thoughts Dinah," he said, and she wondered how he seemed to be reading her mind!
"I wanted you so much, it was all I could do to not take you in the car on the way here! I'm glad if I was too insistent, I'm glad if I pushed you too fast my beautiful Dinah, but I just could not wait to feel you beneath me!" Jared said as he breathed into her neck and trailed a line of kisses across her breast.
She felt herself relax a little. Surely they were both consenting adults, and it was okay to occasionally take pleasure when it was offered. Okay, she had to admit that she had never done this before, but then a man like Jared Knight had never wanted her in his bed before. It seemed she had no defense against his potent form of virile masculinity, at least not when he murmured his desire in her ear and caressed her like he was doing again!
It seemed he had not quite had enough of her yet, and even as her breathing came under control she felt her heart spinning out of control, and a now familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach coiled as his hands caressed her sensitive skin.
Unbelievably, she felt herself building towards that moment of wanton abandon again, and as Jared looked down into her eyes she could see her desire mirrored there.
Jared was whispering erotic suggestions to her. She found herself obeying with increasingly shallow gasps of breath. He was ready for her again and Dinah felt herself swept up in an erotic dance, which threatened to melt all that she was and all she had believed her world to be.
He took her hand and guided her, showing her just how he liked to be touched. As she felt the hard strong shaft of his desire her own desire matched his. Sweet warmth pooled between her legs and she wanted him deep inside her again. This time he rolled her over, bringing her up onto her knees. She gasped with shock and realisation of what he meant to do. She had never been taken in this position before, so much they did that night was new to Dinah, but it felt so unbearably hot. She wanted him thrusting deep inside her from behind, and knew the feel of him inside her would drive her again to an explosive climax.
Jared wanted to watch her reach that plateau again, where he knew she would become wild in his arms. He wanted to see the flush spread over her body as his deep thrusts and firm touch of his hands made sure she climaxed, just before he exploded inside her. Watching her push back against him, to drive his hard shaft deeper inside her, turned him on so much he found it difficult to hold on. He grabbed her hips to slow down her frantic thrusting, guiding her into a steady rhythm. He felt her muscles again tighten around him and saw her throw back her head. Then Dinah let out a series of small gasps and groans and incoherent moans escaped her throat. Jared knew she was close and reaching around with his hand he touched her and made sure she climaxed at the same time as he exploded deep inside her. With one last powerful thrust he pulled her into him and together they collapsed on the damp sheets, panting and flushed.
Hours later, when they lay sated in each other's arms, Dinah carefully disengaged her limbs from Jared's sleeping form.
Quietly she padded through to the en-suite bathroom. She noticed in her confused and exhausted state that the bathroom was larger than her entire flat, and more extravagantly appointed than any bathroom she had ever been in. As she gazed into her face reflected in the large mirror she looked for signs of change. Her eyes seemed wider and more confused than before, and there was a noticeable flush to her cheeks. As quietly as she had removed herself from the bed, she crept back in again and fell into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 9
As dawn broke through the sheer curtains covering the floor to ceiling windows of the expansive bedroom, Dinah awoke. Before Jared could reach for her, she carefully eased her body from beneath satin sheets and gathered her clothes from where they had been so exquisitely discarded the night before. She blushed as she remembered her feverish response to his touch, retreating quickly to the bathroom to dress and splash her face with cold refreshing water. But the water did little to dispel a growing sense of unease. She was numb with shock. What had she done? She was barely able to face the fact that she had fallen into Jared Knight's bed so easily, on only the second date. She simply had to get out of there, quickly, before he awoke and saw her shame. Dinah moved carefully, on autopilot. She was used to taking risks in business, but she never took risks in her personal life. What had happened last night was completely out of character for her and she was shocked to remember how she had fallen apart in Jared's arms, shocked to recall all the things they had done together and to each other last night.
Quietly she eased from his penthouse apartment, picking up her handbag from the entranceway table where she had left it. Checking she had her cash and cards, she felt a semblance of control return. She had to find her way back to her sister's home before she was missed enough to encourage unwanted questions.
Letting herself out of the building she made her way to a taxi stand and jumped in the first cab on the rank. As the taxi made its way through Auckland's morning rush hour traffic back to the North Shore Dinah found time to think. What had come over her last night must be pure lust she concluded. Jared Knight embodied a kind of virile masculinity that she found hard to resist. But that was all it was, just lust. They had shared a night of unbridled passion, but that did not mean she had to fall under his spell! The last thing she wanted was to become just another notch in his bedpost, and she was sure that he had many! No, the best thing was to take last night as a beautiful interlude to her life. She had a business to build and a life to live. She did not need a man like Jared Knight to wreck it with his desires and demands, and she was sure that he would have many demands upon any woman fortunate enough to share his bed.
As the taxi drove up the driveway of her sister's house she heard her nieces laughter and her heart warmed with the knowledge that here was home and family. But still, a small piece of longing remained unexamined, that one day she would have a family of her own with children to welcome her home.
With an overly bright smile Dinah entered her sister's home. She took her time over a shower and change of clothes while her sister fussed over the girls, exiting to downstairs in time to see the oldest off to kindergarten.
Before her sister could question her thoroughly Dinah made her excuses and prepared for her departure. She hated that she did not feel up to fulfilling her sister's curiosity, but her emotions were too raw. She needed time to examine her motivations and why she had allowed herself to fall into Jared's bed last night, and she was not ready to talk about this with her sister. Although they talked regularly and had nothing to hide from each other, Dinah felt that this was just too new to talk about.
"I'm sorry, I know you want to know where I was last night and why I didn't come home, but do you mind if we talk about this later, please?" she asked Angela.
"Sure thing sweetie. You know I'll be here for you. Whatever's happening with you at the moment, know you have your family here to love you," Angela replied.
Dinah breathed a deep sigh. "I do know that, but thanks for reminding me," she said and smiled. It felt good to know she was loved and cherished, and that Angela would allow her space and time to come to terms with what had happened before they talked about it.
"Don't forget to call me when you get home," Angela reminded her. It was a little ritual they had, ever since a cousin had died suddenly in a car accident years ago. Dinah had learned the hard way that life was so precious and could be taken away without warning. After the accident Angela and Dinah always called each other after arriving from a longer than usual journey. Anything involving open roads and high speeds needed a check in upon arrival. It made both of them feel better.
After kissing her sister quickly on the cheek Dinah turned to leave. She needed solitude and time to come to terms with last night and the two-hour drive home would give her just that.
But the drive did nothing to settle her mind. All she could think about was Jared and the night of passion they had shared. As she neared her home her resolve to think of him no more firmed in her mind. It was
a once in a lifetime experience, one she intended to savor, but she was home now and business had to be attended to.
Dinah was used to compartmentalising her life. In order to get the many things done she needed to have done to be successful she had to focus on one task at a time. For a long time her life had not included any men or thoughts of men. She would have to get back to that place, where her heart was safe.
Chapter 10
Dinah returned to her life in Devon Bay, with a new summer menu to design for the Ultimate cafe keeping her busy, but her thoughts were repeatedly interrupted by memories of Jared Knight and the passionate evening they had shared. Her body could not forget her fevered response to his virile masculinity even as her mind strived to. She found herself staring thoughtlessly out the window at the changing season as spring tuned into summer when she should have been marshaling her staff and organising her business.
The issue of her lease had not been resolved to her satisfaction. Nothing had been decided upon firmly nor anything signed.
As spring came to an end the occupants of the block of shops where the Ultimate cafe was located received a brief notice from Knight Developments. It said: "In consideration of the busy summer season soon to begin, development of the block will be delayed until autumn." Dinah was hugely relieved, as were the other tenants of the neighbouring shops. It seemed her visit to Jared Knight had been positive after all.
Life continued in Devon Bay at its slow pace and Dinah could not stay in step with it as she used to. She longed for more excitement, and as she craved it she realised that as much as she wanted to ignore her desire she had felt more in that one evening with Jared than she had previously experienced in a lifetime.
Ultimate Love Page 4