Yours for the Night

by Samantha Hunter

  “I want you like hell. But I’ll give you a chance to change your mind now. I’ll go, if you want.”

  She looked him square in the eye, ignoring any voice in her head that told her one-night stands were not her thing. That she would have to work in the same office with this man on Monday. That she didn’t even really know him.

  “No. I…I want this, too. I’ve wondered if…what it would be like to really…know you.”

  He smiled, quick and sharp, and handed her the keys so she could open the door.

  “Me, too.” He watched her slip the key into the lock, and felt his breath catch as she opened the door. His body was tight with anticipation, and he could sense her next to him as they stepped into the darkness.

  Before she could reach for the light on the table beside the entry, he moved quickly, pressing her back to the door and burying his face in her neck, inhaling her scent, biting the soft skin behind her ear. When she shivered, he couldn’t help but moan against her soft, feverish skin.

  He moved his lips gently from ear to cheek to lips again, sliding his mouth over hers while he unbuttoned her coat and slid it to the floor. His hands spanned her rib cage, molded her to him, and he bit her bottom lip, sliding his tongue across it before kissing her hungrily. He was so lost in the fog of lust they had created that he barely felt her pushing the coat off his shoulders, her voice husky and suggestive.

  “Let’s get more comfortable.”

  He nodded, and stepped away—sensed more than saw her move. Suddenly the light was on, and he briefly noted their surroundings. Comfortable. Homey. Warm. In his passion-fogged brain, something wasn’t clicking. Looking around, he tried to figure it out as he picked up his coat and threw it over a chair. But this was not the time for thinking. When he saw her beckoning him in stocking feet, her hair mussed from his hands, her cheeks hot with desire, he could only stare and wonder if this was really happening. She stood next to a doorway across the room—her bedroom, he assumed—and smiled at him.

  It was all the invitation he needed. Crossing the room, he framed her face in his hands and worked his mouth over hers until they were both so weak with need they stumbled into the dark room, barely paying attention to where they were going, stopping only when Raine felt the bed push against the back of her knees.

  God, Jack felt so good. He smelled so good. She blocked all logical thought and concentrated only on the want, the ravenous need, that was burning within her. More. She must have more of him. All of him. Running her hands up under his shirt, she gloried in his hot, firm, male skin, working her hands through the hair on his chest and pushing his shirt up and over his head.

  At some point, he worked his own hands up under her sweater, lifting it off, and she heard him moan in male appreciation as his hands moved back down and closed over her breasts, weighing the fullness of them in his hands, pinching the turgid nipples between his thumb and forefinger. She cried out in sheer pleasure as her knees buckled. He caught her, lowering her gently to the bed. He stood in front of her, taking a moment to unbuckle his belt and slide off his pants, never letting his eyes leave hers.

  Raine thought she would melt from the intensity of his gaze. He was beautiful…male, sculpted and just beautiful. His eyes were almost black with desire, and she felt the gush of passion between her legs as he stripped in front of her. Her eyes roved over him and lingered on his desperately erect penis. Beautiful. The word became a chant in her mind.

  She sat up and touched him tentatively, running her hand over his hard length, and then leaned forward to kiss him in that very spot, darting her tongue out for a taste. His breath contracted sharply, and his hands were on her shoulders then, pushing her away gently.

  She looked up, and he smiled down at her, his face ruddy with desire, his voice strained. “Do that and it will be over before we’ve begun. And one of us still has too many clothes on.”

  She stood, finding herself unbearably close to him, wrapped in the heat that was pulsing out from his body. As if they could not bear to be separate, not even slightly, they quickly disposed of the rest of her clothes, until she was naked in front of him, flesh to flesh. His eyes devoured her as hungrily as hers had him.

  “You’re like a goddess. You’re not even real—you can’t be.” He touched her hair almost reverently, and she was lost. Sliding back, she sat up on the pillows. Feeling wanton and wanted, she lifted an arm over her head and let one bent knee fall to the side. His eyes fixed on the patch of sandy-blond hair and the wet, pink folds she exposed, and he licked his lips.

  “I’m very real. Join me?”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  Then he was next to her, and they wound around each other. Raine ran her hands down his back, exploring the muscles, gripping on to his rock-hard buttocks. She shifted to maneuver his cock between her thighs, then pressed him between them. Jack growled in pleasure, rubbing himself along the silky pocket of skin, and, bracing on one elbow, dipped to draw one breast into his mouth, suckling and teasing her until she was writhing and he could feel her nails digging into his back.

  He felt her teeth on his shoulder, and sparks of pleasure sizzled in his brain. Sliding one hand down, he found the juncture of her sex and purred into her mouth as he touched her.

  “You’re so wet—like hot, wet silk…”

  “Jack…please…I want you. Now.”

  She shifted again, bringing him up closer to where she needed him to be, wanting him inside, but he drew back, his breathing labored, sweat gleaming on his forehead.

  “Protection…in my wallet…”

  She smiled, and drew him back to her, opening her thighs and cradling him.

  “All set.” She patted her hip, and showed him the transparent birth control patch. “Don’t worry.”

  He nodded and braced himself over her, rubbing the hot tip of his desire along her wetness, causing her to arch her back in response. She sought him, and he found her, enveloping himself in one deep thrust.

  Her eyes widened with a shock of pleasure, and then closed again as small sighs of need escaped her lips. He fisted his hands into the sheets, remembering when he had made her come on the phone, how she had made those same noises then. Her quick pants and needy moans had driven him over the brink then, and they were threatening to this time, as well.

  It had been a while, and he knew he wouldn’t last long, but he wanted her to share the pleasure with him. Withdrawing slowly, he balanced back on his knees. Then, placing his hands underneath her hips, he pulled her up toward him, moving his hand between her legs. He rubbed her hot, tight nub expertly with his fingers while still shallowly thrusting into her.

  Her face contorted in desire, and she pushed forward, trying to take him deeper. He moved up over her, wanting to be next to her when they both fell. Thrusting deeply, taking what they both needed, he increased the rhythm. Sliding his hands up behind her head and into her hair, he whispered to her as he felt his own peak close at hand.

  “Come, Nilla, I want you to come with me....”

  The dull ache of loss consumed her as she sensed her body’s hesitation, an all-too-familiar sensation, and suddenly hot tears spilled out before she could stop them. Unable to stop his body’s reaction though he detected the faint change in hers, he poured himself into her, searing pleasure wracking his body.

  Catching his breath, he felt her tense beneath him, and lifted himself, shocked to see her crying, her face turned from his.

  “Raine, did I hurt you? Jesus, oh, God…I’m so sorry....” He sat up, confused, and tried to gather her to him. She pushed farther to the other side of the bed, and he didn’t know what to do.

  Raine closed her eyes, humiliated. She was hurting, but not in the way he thought, so she struggled to speak. Her voice, when she spoke, was low and miserable, confirming his worst fears.

  “No, no, you didn’t hurt me.”

  He sat up and scooted to the other side of the bed so he could see her. Her face was turned into the pillow. At a loss, he stroked
her hair.

  “Then what? What happened? Talk to me....”

  She sighed and worked up the courage to meet his eyes. He was concerned, that was clear, so she sought to comfort him.

  “It’s no big deal, forget it. I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t ruin it for you, at the end—” She stopped as she saw awareness dawn on his face, and her humiliation doubled.

  “No, no, you didn’t ruin anything.” As he reached for her, she drew back.

  “But it is a big deal, Raine. It’s important that both of us find equal pleasure and we didn’t—something happened there that chilled you—what? Was it something I did? Said?”

  Raine sat up, and tugged the blanket up in front of her defensively. “It’s nothing, okay? It’s nothing you did. I just never come, not like that, so don’t worry about it.” She offered him a wan smile. “I’m just a little frustrated, that’s all.”

  Jack watched her, her face masking hurt, her eyes shadowed. He remembered how pliant and hot she had been in his arms. This woman couldn’t have orgasms? That was hard to believe.

  “But that night on the phone, you…?”

  Her cheeks went hot. “Yes, that was different.”

  He nodded slowly, understanding. “You just have problems experiencing orgasm with someone, with intercourse.”

  She felt like a fool, like a failure, but nodded. A big part of it, she knew, had been that he had not used her real name when he’d spoken to her, but she would burn in hell before she’d admit that to him. It took only that moment to break the spell, to cool the pleasure she was eagerly hoping to attain, just once, with someone who had excited her beyond knowing. But then again, she probably wouldn’t have made it anyway—she never did.

  She knew it was her long history of not knowing how to open up that was to blame, but she didn’t know what to do about it. The thought made her even more miserable. All this time she’d hoped it was the fault of lousy lovers, but she couldn’t say that was true of Jack. It was just her.

  She practically jumped out of her skin when he shifted over and sat beside her, placing her head on his shoulder. She stiffened and resisted, but then gave in to the comfort of it. Why not?

  His voice was gentle, but with some lightness.

  “I wish you had told me that. You know, there are things we can do. That was a bit…rushed. I thought you were with me. I’m sorry.”

  She shook her head. “It was good. Really. I told you, I don’t usually even get that excited. It’s just me. Really, I’d rather drop it.” Her voice took on an edge, but he didn’t want to drop the subject, not yet.

  “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Raine. A lot of women can’t have orgasms that way, but they can have them other ways—have you ever tried?”

  She shrugged noncommittally, and wondered why he just would not let the subject drop; the other men she had been with hadn’t cared overmuch, but Jack seemed determined to pursue the issue. She tried to sit up, to get some distance, but his arm tightened around her, so she gave up the struggle and buried her face in his shoulder instead, to avoid that penetrating gaze. She sighed against his skin, her tongue darting out unconsciously to catch the salty taste of his skin on her lips.

  “I haven’t had any adventurous love affairs, sex has been fairly routine, I suppose. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

  “What has the ordinary been? Maybe we should try something a little extraordinary?” Surprisingly, he felt a warm hum in his loins again, thinking of it. This woman seemed to inspire him.

  “Um, no…I’m fine. Really. I think maybe we should just call it a night.”

  “Well, it’s up to you, I suppose. You know what you want, right?”

  He turned a little, his face in her hair, and ran his tongue along the shell of her ear, and felt her quiver. Sliding a hand up to her breast, Jack kneaded gently, then ran his tongue from the curve of her ear down to her jaw, hungering for her again. He captured her mouth before she could say anything, and kissed her deeply, seductively.

  Raine felt herself float away on the kiss. While it still had the edge of passion—she could tell he wanted her again—he took his time, plundering deeper, not ending the kiss until they were both gasping for breath. He settled her back on the pillows, shifted over her, kissing her everywhere, his breath feathering her sensitive skin.

  “But Raine…maybe you want me to do this? Just a little?” He caught her nipple in his teeth and flicked his tongue over it lightly. She whimpered and managed to speak.

  “Maybe…a little.”

  She couldn’t take much more. He’d had her in such a state of arousal the crash had been almost too much to take. But even if final completion was not a possibility, the way he made her feel along the way was too good to stop. She couldn’t say no to how he was touching her. She gave herself over to him, he could do anything he wanted.

  He ran his tongue over her stomach in the most erotic patterns, her supersensitive skin responding achingly to his light touch. Then he burned paths up and down her thighs as he stroked them.

  “God, you’re gorgeous. You are so much more than I ever imagined.... Remember when I wrote about doing this to you online? How I wanted to taste you?”

  He moved up over her and looked. She was like an angel of desire, her skin flushed with passion, arms thrown to the side, hair tangled and splayed over the pillow. When he moved his hand up between her thighs to insert a finger, then two, into her heat, he was gratified to find she was still wet; she moaned and ground against him, and he sighed in awe. She was so responsive.

  He kissed her breasts again, and feathered his lips down her stomach. Nudging her knees apart, he lay between them. He didn’t rush, but lifted her leg, trailing his tongue along her instep, to her ankle, and then kissed her knees, tracing his tongue up the inside of her leg to the sensitive crease where hip met thigh, and kissed her there, biting lightly, feeling her strain and stretch underneath him.

  “Is this the usual, Raine? The ordinary?”

  She heard him, his voice hot and teasing, and she struggled for clarity against the onslaught of passion, and faintly shook her head from side to side. “Um, no…nothing usual about this.”

  “Good. Tell me if anything gets…boring. Tell me anything you want, just like you did online. I’m Rider, Raine—you can tell me anything.” He grinned and bit her neatly on the thigh, and she cried out the “okay” that started as a whisper and ended in a moan.

  Parting the flesh that concealed her clit, he rubbed his thumb over it and then took her in his mouth, sucking hard, then softly lapping his tongue over her, then stroking long, hot sweeps from that sensitive nub to her vagina with his tongue, gratified by her increased sounds of arousal, the tightening of her thighs on his shoulders. Backing off for a moment, he looked up at her, and felt desire rip through his own body, but he quelled it. This time was for her.

  “Raine, touch yourself, sweetheart.”

  Her forehead creased. “Hmm?”

  “Touch your breasts, Raine.... Do whatever feels right.... It’s okay…anything is okay.”

  Raine was unsure about this request, but as he closed his mouth over her again and his tongue was making those long, hot trips back and forth along her most sensitive areas, she lifted her own hands to her breasts, and ran her palms lightly over her nipples, so hard and stiff they were almost sore, and arched her back reflexively.

  The world hazed when he grabbed her cheeks in both hands, squeezed and opened her wider, penetrating her with his tongue, then running it up to suck on her clit again. The pressure built unbearably, and she couldn’t think. Pulling sharply at her nipples, she was panting, willing her body to go where it needed to—she was so close. He was sucking her now, continuously, in a rhythm, without stopping, probing his fingers into her, seeking out her sweet spot. He growled his encouragement as he felt her body suddenly wrench in pleasure.

  Raine was caught off guard by the sharp release of pressure, the pulsing heat that exploded and spread out through her limbs. A cr
y escaped her lips and she bucked against him, seeking more, experiencing every last second of it.

  Jack smiled when he felt her muscles gently clasping his fingers. He nuzzled her encouragingly, his groan vibrating against her skin, until he felt her relax.

  He maneuvered himself up next to her, watching her face. Her eyes were closed, and there was a faint sheen on her skin that seemed to make her glow. He touched her face, and she opened her eyes, looking at him in wonder and shyness. He smiled, and kissed her.

  “Heya.”

  “Jack. God…that…was…definitely not…the ordinary.” She touched his face. “Thank you.”

  He chuckled. “Be careful, you’ll inflate my ego.... But I’m glad. I enjoyed that every bit as much as you did.”

  She frowned, reaching over to him. “You did?”

  He laughed again, scooching down next to her, yanking up the blanket. “Oh, yeah. I, uh…when you came, it felt pretty good to me, too—but you’ll have to change these sheets later, I’m afraid.”

  Raine smiled, exhausted in the best possible way, his admission making her feel womanly and wonderful.

  “Stay.”

  “I don’t have much choice, I think. We took your car.”

  But she was already asleep, and soon so was he.

  * * *

  RAINE WOKE FIRST, entangled in more ways than one.

  Legs and arms were wound around each other, and the very handsome face of Jack Harris was facing her, close enough that she could feel his morning stubble on her cheek. He was beautiful—warm and lost in sleep. She stared at him, remembering. She found herself wanting to touch him, badly, but curled her hands into fists. As her mind cleared, she groaned, rubbing her face and wondering how she could have been so foolish.

  Looking at him now, it was hard to imagine that the rude jerk in her office, a man she didn’t even like, had just spent the night in her bed. Even worse, she had practically begged him for sex, and he had been the only man who had been able to…well… She remembered with a sigh, closed her eyes, and shook her head in a mix of regret and disbelief. She opened her eyes and looked at him again. He was Rider. Her Rider. But he was also Jack. Jack, who obviously couldn’t stand her.