Deanna Lee

by Barenaked Jane (lit)

  His lips brushed against mine briefly before he drifted downward and latched onto one rigid nipple. I arched my back, and a shiver ran down the length of my body. Teeth grazed and lips pulled at my nipple until I was twisting and shaking beneath him.

  When I thought I could take no more of the gentle war he was waging against me, he lifted his head and sought out my other breast. My hands, still fisted in the blanket, clenched further, and I shuddered against the heady and vivid pleasure of his mouth.

  Mathias released my nipple and raised his head to meet my gaze. “Tell me what you want.”

  “You know.”

  “Yes, but I want to hear it.” He shifted and pushed the head of his cock against my clit.

  Gasping, I stilled and waited for him to move again. “Do that again.”

  “Is this all you want?”

  “No.”

  “Then tell me.”

  I cried out when he moved again, the large head of his cock rubbing my clit in just the right way. “Put your cock in me.”

  “More. Don’t hold back on me, Jane.”

  “Fuck me, please.”

  I arched against his body as he lifted and without pause thrust his cock into me. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I pulled him tight to me and rocked against his invasion.

  “Relax, baby.”

  I laughed softly at his whispered demand and lifted my hands from the bed to stroke his back. “I need it hard.”

  “I know.” He kissed me, and then slid one arm underneath us to support me. “You know I’ll give you everything you need.”

  I did know and it wasn’t scaring the hell out of me. He pushed deep into my body and withdrew so fast that I gasped, and then he sank in hard. I arched against the heavy thrust of his body and clung to him as our pace became frenzied.

  He pulled free of my body abruptly, and for a few seconds I clung to him. “Please.”

  “Relax.” Mathias kissed me briefly and then slid downward and pushed his tongue into me.

  “Oh my God.”

  I spread my legs for him and rocked against the invasion of his tongue until he moved upward and claimed my throbbing clit. Lifting my hips, I silently begged for his attention, and each swipe of his tongue sent me a little further away from reality. Finally, when I thought I might burst from my skin, I came in a rush of physical and emotional pleasure.

  Hot, unbearable seconds passed as he lifted away from me, grasped my hips, and pushed his cock back into my pussy. My inner muscles clenched and clung to him as he started to rotate his hips. I hooked my legs around his body and lifted to meet the demanding pace he’d set.

  He pulled me up off the bed and guided my arms around his neck as his hands cupped my ass firmly. I wanted to make him come, needed to. I followed the pace his hands demanded, sliding up and down on his cock until he shook against me and clutched at me with shaking hands.

  “Come for me,” I whispered against his mouth.

  “I’m close.” He groaned against my lips and held me still suddenly. “Yes.”

  Carefully, he lowered us both to the bed and rested his weight on me for a few seconds before he pulled free and rolled onto his back.

  I hated leaving him, but I found I couldn’t stay. I sat down on the edge of the bed and slid my shoes on. Just as I was about to stand, he reached out and took my hand. “Hey.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “You aren’t all that good at sneaking around.” He sat up and ran his hand down my back. “You weren’t going to try to catch a cab, were you?”

  “Yeah.”

  Mathias sighed, and I bit down on my lip. “I’ll take you home.”

  “I’m an adult, you know.”

  “That’s beside the point.” He left the bed and walked into the master bathroom. “I don’t put women in cabs.”

  I stood up and hurried downstairs, wishing that I’d managed to make my escape without waking him.

  10

  I leaned against the door and listened for the steps as he walked away. Relaxing a little, I turned and flipped the rest of the locks. There was no rhyme or reason to my need to sleep in my own bed.

  I pulled off my cloak and dropped my purse on the table close to the door. The answering machine was there…blinking madly as if I’d been gone for days rather than hours. I pushed the button and stilled as the first message began.

  “Hey, it’s me, Charlie. I think we need to talk. I totally understand your anger and frustration concerning my mother. She had no business invading your personal life, and I’ve made it clear to her that she’s not to tell a single person what she found out.” He sighed. “Jane, we have a good thing together, and it would be a shame to let it all go because of one mistake on my mother’s part.”

  I hit the delete button and glared at the machine as another message started.

  “Look, it isn’t like you to ignore me so I’m not sure what’s going on.”

  His tone was tense and almost angry. I’d never known Charlie to be either. Disgruntled, I shoved off my shoes and sat down on the bench that was beside the small table.

  “I’m not going to be dismissed like this. I’ve invested entirely too much time in you to be pushed aside like I don’t matter.” The call ended abruptly as if he’d slapped his cell phone shut in a tiff.

  He invested time in me? Another message began, and it was him again. Frowning and a little unnerved, I turned to stare at the machine.

  “You’re out with someone. I never should have agreed to that nonexclusive bullshit of yours. I didn’t spend the last year taking you to the best restaurants in town and showing you the proper way to be for nothing.”

  Showing me? Maybe he was drunk.

  “Where the fuck are you?”

  I jerked and stood up abruptly. After stopping the answering machine, I went in search of my phone. I found it on the couch. It was nearly two o’clock in the morning, but if he was going to call and berate my answering machine, I didn’t feel guilty about calling so late.

  “It’s about damn time you got home,” he snapped the moment he answered the phone.

  “What’s wrong with you?” I demanded, furious at his messages and, moreover, his tone.

  “I’ve been calling you all night.”

  “No, you’ve been calling and leaving stupid messages on the machine all night.” I sat down on the couch. “I dumped you, Charlie. I’m not sure what deluded world you live in, Charlie, but in Jane-land that means that whatever relationship we had is over.”

  “That’s not how I see it,” he ground out. “I’m not going to be dismissed like this.”

  “It’s the only way it’s going to be. I don’t care how you see it.” My fingers tightened on the phone as I listened to his breathing.

  “Look, I’ve spent the last year grooming you into a woman I could take into my social set.”

  “Grooming me?” I demanded. “I’m not a horse!”

  “Do you know how long I had to search for a woman I could fuck regularly that would be presentable to the people I work with?”

  Stunned, I sat there in silence. It was a difficult moment for me because there was a part of me that had been searching for the same thing. It made me sick, emotionally and physically. Stomach churning, I walked into the kitchen and pulled out a glass.

  “I’m finished with you, Charlie. Don’t call here ever again.”

  “You wait a damn minute—”

  “No.” I ended the call and tossed my phone on the counter.

  Grooming me? The son of a bitch. I filled the glass with some water and downed it in one gulp. Had he really been trying to sculpt me into a society wife? I probably had the right look and the right job, but the background issue must’ve been something of a stumbling block for him. Suddenly all of his good-natured teasing over my using the wrong utensil at dinner no longer seemed like teasing.

  I was an idiot, twice an idiot in fact. Once for thinking that a man like Charlie Wallace was worth my time an
d twice for thinking that I wanted a man like him. I put the glass away and went to my bedroom. Finding the list was easy; it had been in my bedside table for as long as I could remember. Perhaps since my first night in the apartment.

  Jane’s Perfect Man

  …is educated and cultured

  …is ambitious about his career

  …understands that my career is important

  …loves art

  …is even tempered and thoughtful

  …is NOT interested in marriage

  …has no ex-wife

  …has no children

  Not one mention of love or even passion. Was this emotionless man really all that perfect? Disgusted, I wadded the paper up and tossed it back in the drawer. I was certainly no better than Charlie. I’d been dating him because of that stupid list. A list I’d made one lonely night years ago when being so far from home had been too much for me.

  I stripped off my dress and panties and went into the bathroom for a shower. The middle of the night was not a good time to make life-altering decisions. I needed a clear head and some sleep. Both, I’m sure, were going to be in short supply by morning.

  “So, I get home and the damn machine is overflowing with messages from Charlie.” I glanced around the café and then looked toward her.

  Mercy wrinkled her nose and swished a cinnamon stick in her coffee. “How many?”

  “At least four, but I stopped listening to them when he started to talk crazy. My answering machine was full when I came home.” Shrugging, I tore my muffin apart and reached for a little packet of butter from the basket between us. “I called him, and he informed me that he hadn’t spent the last year training me to be a good, presentable society wife for nothing.”

  “Training you?” Mercy asked softly. “And he’s still breathing?”

  “Yeah, I’m trying to avoid racking up a body count this close to Christmas.” I sat back in the booth and silently munched on the muffin.

  “I hope you told him where to go and how to get there.”

  “I behaved in a civil manner.”

  “Bah, you’re no fun. Obviously he didn’t upset you enough to get your hackles up or you would have started to sound so country that he would’ve been glad to be free of you.”

  “Yeah, I thought about it.”

  “You broke off your relationship with him because of Mathias.”

  “No.”

  “Stop kidding yourself. You can say it was his mother or his sudden confession that he was grooming you for marriage all you want, but at least be honest with yourself.”

  Honest with myself. I haven’t been honest with myself in years it seemed. “Okay, so maybe Charlie just wasn’t all that attractive or entertaining compared to Mathias, but that doesn’t mean it’s got to be something serious.”

  “I’ve seen you go through men like shoes…at least four since I met you. Denis, the accountant, who met your every demand but was boring in bed. Jacob, the doctor, who certainly qualified—”

  “He was impotent.” I frowned at her. “You didn’t honestly expect me to date a man who couldn’t perform, did you?”

  “What about that stockbroker guy?”

  “He had a little dick.” I frowned as I thought about it. “I’ve never been so disappointed in my whole damn life.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? What about that jewelry designer guy?”

  “Yeah. How can a man who spends that much time with diamonds be a total asshole?” I wasn’t entirely sure that Simon was even human. Diamonds always put me in a superior mood, and as far as I know it worked that way for most normal people. “Anyways, Charlie met my criteria to a T. Except, of course, for his recent admission. If I’d thought for a second that he was planning to marry me I would have run so fast from his ass that I would have left a trail of flame behind me.”

  “Do you think he’ll come around?”

  “It would serve Charles Wallace III to keep his distance.” I frowned as I said it. “I’d really like to punch him in the face.”

  Milton Storey’s lawyers were the first meeting of the day. I’d put them off as long as possible, but they’d threatened to have me served if I didn’t meet with them willingly. I’d spent nearly four years in the gallery under the semidirect supervision of Milton Storey and I had nothing good to say about him. I didn’t imagine his lawyers were going to be too pleased with me.

  There were two. The man, Oliver Keener, was small boned and delicate in a way that was not attractive at all. The woman, Mara James, was matronly and her hair was one or two shades from blue. Both were from a law firm that had more names on their sign than actual employees.

  “Do you mind if we record this?”

  “No.”

  I crossed my legs, sat back in the chair, and cupped my coffee with both hands. “I only have an hour, so if you can just get to the point that would be great.”

  “You worked for Mr. Storey for four years.”

  “Yes, one year as a sales clerk and then three as the senior buyer for the gallery.”

  “At any time during your employment did Mr. Storey express a sexual interest in you?”

  “No.”

  “Did you feel that others were given opportunities within the gallery because of how attractive they are?”

  “No, Mr. Storey rarely gave anyone a chance unless he wanted them to fail. He takes great joy in making others uncomfortable.”

  “That isn’t what I asked,” the woman snipped through clenched teeth.

  “That’s my answer and that will be my answer if I’m called upon to testify.”

  “Ms. Tilwell, you do realize that the gallery is at risk with this lawsuit.”

  “Actually, Mr. Brooks has settled the suit against the gallery. So as you can see we have nothing to gain or lose by what happens with the civil suit against Milton Storey.”

  “Brooks admitted fault?” Mr. Keener’s face was flushed red with anger.

  “I’m not privy to the terms of the settlement.”

  “This is a violation of the agreement that Brooks made with our client.” She stood and snapped her fingers. Oliver leaped up, snagged his recorder, and grabbed his folders. “You’ll be seeing us again, Ms. Tilwell.”

  “Tell that troll client of yours I say, ‘hi’.”

  Now, if I could start every day like that it would make the world a better place. Getting someone else wound up like a two-dollar toy was enough to set anyone’s world to rights.

  “Don’t you love making lawyers mad?”

  I looked up and laughed. “Yes, I do.”

  Casey came all the way in and shut the door. “I’ve cleared your afternoon.”

  “Why?”

  “The maintenance contractor will be putting up the blinds and I’ve been informed that drilling into all of this metal is going to be something of a nightmare. The rest of the staff will work in the large conference room, unless you’d prefer something different.”

  “How are we coming on the list?”

  “We have a partial.” She flipped through the folders in her hand and offered me one. “We’ll have a better one once the computer guy comes to fix the network.”

  “It’s down?”

  “Not down, but we can’t access the secured server where the client information is stored. Something funky involving ‘shares’ and some other such nonsense that made my eyes cross.” She sat down in a chair in front of my desk and sighed. “Well, the walking mountains are gone, and in their place is the fine, unbelievable man with an accent. The sales staff has spent the morning falling all over themselves to make him feel at home. The women and the men.”

  “I see. Should I tell Mr. Montgomery he’ll have to go?”

  “Lord no, the whole staff would revolt. They’ll calm down once they realize he’s mine.” She grinned and looked down at her folder to the Post-It note she had stuck there. “I’ve booked the hotel suite for Mr. Castlemen, and as far as I know everything is going well on his end. His publicist calle
d three times this morning to confirm details. I get the feeling that he hasn’t left Alaska in some time.”

  “I wonder why.”

  “It’s strange, that’s for sure. There are like ten men to every one woman in Alaska.” She frowned and pursed her lips. “Do you think they’d let me pick out the ten I wanted?”