He traced his fingertip over her, along the soft material until her wetness soaked through. He kept up the gentle torture, using his finger to caress her while her hands locked on his shoulders.
“Use your mouth.” Her knees bent slightly, as if she was trying to bring his body against hers.
Nice try. “Prove how much you want it.” He shoved her skirt up. She wiggled her hips to make the process easier.
He nearly shredded her underwear in his need to get them off. Tugging, he stripped them down and let them fall to the floor beside him. All he had to do was lean back and bring her down on his lap. He could end this by plunging deep inside her. But he wanted the anticipation to last, to feel her body convulse around his cock.
He shifted forward, pressing his mouth against the soft rectangle of hair covering her. For a second he didn’t go deeper, and it took almost all his fight not to. Then he opened her legs wider and slipped his tongue inside her.
Her body jerked at the intimate contact. A groan filled the air as she settled some of her weight on him. Dug her fingernails into his skin right through his T-shirt.
“Please,” she groaned.
His tongue flicked over her. He kept darting and circling until her hips angled forward.
“Jasper…”
He lifted his head and slid two fingers into her, thrusting them in and out as he watched her head fall back. “I should make you wait.”
Her hand tightened on his shoulder. “I can’t…”
So hot. “Tell me how much you need this.”
One of her hands moved to his head. She pushed, forcing his mouth even closer to her body. “Please.”
“Miss Sullivan?”
“I’m begging.”
He would have smiled if he weren’t so close to losing control. He skimmed the edge, ready to plunge into her. A churning need pummeled him as he gave in.
Dropping his hands, he moved back. Not much, just enough to put a little air between them.
She nearly ripped his shirt at the neck. “Don’t stop.”
As if that were possible. He sat on his heels. “Kneel on the bed. I want to get the full view of that firm ass.” When she didn’t immediately get in position, he upped the game. “I won’t tell you again, Miss Sullivan.”
“What if I don’t obey?” Her hands shook as she swept her straight brown hair off her shoulder.
“Don’t disappoint me, Miss Sullivan.”
A full minute ticked by in silence. Tension and need mixed, building and expanding until they choked the room. The air thickened and her chest rose and fell on heavy breaths.
Then she kicked off her shoes. He watched, spellbound, as she walked over to the mattress and sat down with her legs together and back straight.
Every move, deliberate and so feminine, intrigued him. He couldn’t look away, but he needed more. “If you just sit there I’m going to assume you want me to use your mouth.”
Those long, lean legs shifted. She stared at him as she turned, not breaking eye contact until her knees balanced on the edge of the bed. She lifted her head and her hair fanned out over her back and down her shoulders. Her skirt had shifted, exposing her ass.
That did it.
His hands went to his zipper as he stood. A ripping sound tore through the room as he lowered his jeans. They didn’t usually bother with a condom. Not with her on the pill, and they’d been monogamous and had been tested. But she had to get back to work and the condom fit with the game, so he slipped the packet out of his pocket.
He pressed his palm in the space between her shoulder blades. Without another word from him, her elbows slid along the comforter and her arms stretched above her head.
When her chest touched the mattress, she turned her head to the side and stared at him.
Perfect. He didn’t say anything. Not when he pushed the material up and over that fine ass. Not when his fingers traced the shape of her and explored her bare skin. Not when she trembled under his touch.
He slipped the condom on as he pressed his other hand to the delicious spot at the base of her spine. If she were naked and they had more time, he’d explore it with his mouth. But right now he just needed to be inside her.
Finding one last burst of control, he glided his tip over her, before he slipped just inside her wetness. Then he plunged in and felt her inner muscles grab on to him.
As the rhythm took over, his breathing kicked up. The headboard knocked against the wall, but he didn’t stop. Back and forth he moved as their bodies shifted on the mattress. Her fingers dug into the comforter.
As he watched her and felt her tighten around him, a pounding started in his gut. Every muscle pulled taut as his hips started to buck. He knew he was almost gone. He slipped his finger over her so he could watch her while need engulfed him. Back and forth, matching the steady beat of the plunge inside her.
But he wanted one more thing. Before the orgasm hit him, he pulled out and heard her gasp. The sound echoed off the walls as he turned her over.
“Now.” He flipped her over and pushed back inside her, feeling those tiny muscles close around him again. Pulling him in deeper.
“You’re changing the rules.” She groaned and her cheeks flushed with a pink glow as he pulled out then slid back in.
“I want to see you come.” And it wasn’t a lie. He loved to watch her mouth drop open and her breath escape, like a staccato note.
She put a hand on his chest, but didn’t push him away. No, she gathered his tee in her fist and tugged his upper body down to hers. Need exploded through him as he thrust inside her one last time. He came in a hard rush as he rubbed his finger over her. He kept going until she stiffened and an orgasm ripped through her.
It took another few minutes for their breathing to settle and their bodies to cool. His muscles had turned to mush, and it was torture to slip off her. He knew he should be careful of her clothes, but she’d wiped him out.
“Jasper.” Her voice sounded dreamy, almost breathy. “I wanted the sex-from-behind-with-a-stranger game.”
He hated to kill the mood so quickly. Hell, he was still inside her. But…“Well, I’m still waiting for an answer, so I guess neither of us is getting exactly what we wanted.”
The fact that she didn’t answer told him that she knew exactly what he was talking about. He lifted his head and stared her down.
She frowned at him. “You’re bringing this up now?”
Damn right, he was.
“Yes or no?”
Chapter 3
Jasper wouldn’t let this go. Annie knew it and tried to ignore the words, the note of demand in his voice…all of it.
But he would not be deterred. He pushed up to balance on his elbows and hovered over her. Those intelligent eyes focused, without blinking, on her. “I asked you to marry me yesterday.”
She wanted to get up and pretend this conversation hadn’t started—again. When hit with confrontation her instinct was to bolt. She understood she needed to stay and deal with her issues, but understanding that what she should do to make the revving sensation inside of her stop still didn’t make her want to do it.
With a deep inhale, she forced her body to relax and tried to ease the tension in her muscles. “Now isn’t the right time for this.”
“Just tell me why.”
“I have to get to work and this discussion—”
He exhaled long and loud. “Why you aren’t saying yes?”
He was a stubborn man. That practical say-what-he-meant thing usually turned her on. Not right now. “The timing is wrong. My work is—”
“Damn it, Annie. Don’t blame the office.” He groaned and fell back onto the mattress, one arm stretched above his head. He didn’t touch her. Not anywhere. In one swift move, despite the mere inches between them, he’d created miles of emotional distance.
Her stomach churned with panic. She couldn’t lose him.
No matter how much he protested, she’d seen what happened when relationships changed,
when they switched from love to hate. She’d lived through the anguish and vicious battles of her parents. The same ones that ended with shattered dishes and shredded memories. With the police being called. All the ugly allegations and the lawyers.
That was her experience with family. At first, she’d tried to do things differently by picking someone safe and dispassionate, but instead she’d gotten boredom and guilt.
Things weren’t that way with Jasper. But the idea of watching him walk away once he realized those were the two options—agonizing hatred or the slow death of any fire that had ever existed between them—ripped a hole inside her.
This should be easier. If only she hadn’t fallen for him. If only she’d stuck to her personal vow and kept sex as something that happened on the side rather than linking it to one guy, she wouldn’t be torn and he wouldn’t be confused.
She turned on her side and let her gaze travel over him. Over every hard line of his body, all that strength. She put a hand on his stomach. “We have time to decide about marriage later, don’t we?”
“It’s not about having a sell-by date.” He slipped his fingers through hers. “It’s about loving you.”
That sounded so good, yet so terrifying.
“We can love each other without getting married.”
“I want it all. The rings, our friends there. You looking so beautiful in your dress that I have no choice but to lock you in a bathroom and put my head under the skirt.”
Some of the tension escaped her body on a long exhale. She loved how he mixed sexy talk with romantic talk. Every now and then they’d be out and she’d see a certain wariness fall over people when they noticed his tattoos. Idiots. Little did they know there was an adorable loving softie lurking underneath all those muscles.
She leaned down and pressed a kiss on his bare arm. “That’s quite an image.”
“One you want to re-create in real life?”
There was an underlying thread of hope in his voice, and it nearly killed her.
Desperate to get through to him, she tried again. “You paint this happy, perfect scene, but I know what happens after. The slow death of that couple you see in your head. Add in job stress and financial troubles and we’ll sink.”
His gaze searched hers. “It doesn’t have to be that way. Not every marriage ends.”
“Can you promise me ours won’t?”
She knew the answer. She’d lived through the loss of a marriage twice, once from the sidelines and once right in the middle of it. The last time, her world imploded and she lost her job, her house, and her husband. The sad thing is, she only mourned the loss of one of those things, and it hadn’t been her ex, Gavin.
“Just because your parents had a terrible divorce doesn’t mean we will.”
“I’ve been divorced, too, remember?”
“That’s because you married a guy you thought would be safe.”
“And look how that turned out.”
No sex. Barely any talking. A lot of resentment, all of it aimed at her for not being who he wanted her to be…who she’d pretended to be.
Jasper moved in closer. His breath mixed with hers and the heat from his body wrapped around them. “I’m not your ex.”
“I get that.”
“And I get you. Flaws, strengths, needs, insecurities, and all.”
He did, right now, but…“I know.”
In so many ways Jasper was the anti-Gavin. Jasper grew up in North Carolina and still had a trace of that sexy Southern drawl in his voice. He had a fancy architecture degree but he loved working with his hands and never acted like he was more important than anyone else.
He’d been kicked out of his parents’ house long ago for not following the rules, for not being the person they wanted him to be—a well-behaved preacher’s son. And yet, he found his way. He came out the other side as one of the healthier people she knew.
“Gavin wanted a pretty wife and no stress.” Jasper snorted. “The guy was a dick.”
“He also hated sex.” That wasn’t quite fair. She liked to play and he didn’t. He thought she liked sex too much. It wasn’t until she met Jasper that she realized her owning her sexuality had threatened Gavin. It was his issue. There wasn’t anything wrong with her.
“I will never understand that, but I do understand you.” Jasper trailed a finger down her cheek. “I know what you need.”
“It’s not that simple.”
He slipped an arm around her waist and let it rest there loosely. Kissed her forehead. “Do you trust me?”
“With every part of me.” She snuggled in closer, inhaling and letting his scent waft through her.
“Then say yes.”
She pulled back and stared at him, willing him to understand. “If I say yes, this stops. The sex goes flat and the need fizzles out. Or worse, we enter a battlefield. Maybe not tomorrow or next year, but it will happen.”
“No way.”
“Jasper—”
“We are not them. Any of them you’re thinking about in that brilliant mind of yours.”
They’d started verbally circling. Every time this topic popped up her brain cells scattered. Old wounds opened and guilt slammed into her because she couldn’t find the right argument to spare him this pain. “We need to table this discussion.”
“So you can run away?”
“Nothing so dramatic. I need to get to work. I’ve been talking with a potential buyer, trying to get him to sign the paperwork to let me find him a place. It could be lucrative but I need to wow him in person.”
“That should be easy.”
She laughed. “Not everyone finds me irresistible.”
He toyed with her hair. “Idiots.”
“Could be, but since I have an actual buyer who needs an actual house, I’ve got to go.”
“You have a boyfriend who wants an answer but will settle for more sex.”
Before she could say anything, he pushed her onto her back and slid his body over hers. His weight held her in place as her arms slipped around his neck.
The world stopped rocking around her, but she knew she’d only dodged the issue for now. Never mind her own fears, and the part of him that he tried to ignore—that time years ago when being with a man excited him as much as being with her. She didn’t care if he was attracted to both. His bisexuality didn’t threaten her. But his steadfast refusal to talk about those days and deal with how that relationship ended added to her worries about their future.
Time to check back into reality. “My appointment is in thirty minutes.”
“I can make you come in twenty.”
She glanced down into the bit of space between their bodies. Not that she needed to look. She could feel his cock twitch against her hip. “You’re ready now?”
“Honey, I’ve got skills.”
She laughed, letting his charm overwhelm her as it always did. “Tell me more.”
“I’m going to use my mouth.” He nuzzled the side of her neck. “Just my mouth.”
The words were barely out of his mouth before he started moving. The friction as his body slid over hers proved almost unbearable. Her skin tingled, still sensitive from the last time. His nose brushed over her. He didn’t stop to kiss or caress her. Not until he settled between her legs.
His palms flattened against the inside of her bare upper thighs and spread her legs wide. “That’s better.”
“You said mouth only.”
His body skimming over hers reduced her to a shaking mess. The words came out between pants as her fingers grabbed the comforter to keep from shifting all around.
“Yes, ma’am.”
His tongue swept over her, through her wetness. With long licks he drew out every intimate touch. Back and forth, over her. When her hips moved in time with the steady rhythm, he changed the tempo and had her panting again.
In a matter of minutes, her shoulders pressed into the mattress. “Jasper.”
“You can still speak.” He blew a warm breath over
her. “That means I need to work harder.”
Her muscles trembled from the strain. Every time he lifted his head, she pushed her lower body closer to his mouth. He played and teased until she grabbed the back of his neck and held him to her.
A laugh rumbled up from his chest and vibrated against her. His tongue found that spot and flicked over it. Round and round. Her hips bucked but he didn’t stop the sensual torture. No hands, no fingers. Just his mouth and that expert tongue. Licking and kissing. Bringing her to the edge before blowing a gentle breath over her and starting the whole process over again.
She tried to call out his name but her breath caught in her throat. Every muscle tightened as need spiraled inside her. Control abandoned her as she threw her arms out to her sides, seeking balance.
His tongue swept over her again. “Come for me, baby.”
“Yes.” Forgetting everything but the spinning deep inside her, she closed her eyes and obeyed. “God, yes.”
Chapter 4
Annie showered and made it to the lounge at the Jefferson, a luxury hotel located just blocks from the White House, with five minutes to spare. The place had the feel of a gentlemen’s club, complete with dark paneling and framed antique maps on the walls. The décor screamed old Washington, DC, except for the sleek amber lit-glass bar. She sat across from it now as she waited for her appointment to arrive.
A congressman sat a few tables away, barking out orders to a group of yes-men. She wasn’t sure if he possessed as much power as he pretended, but he put on an interesting show.
She heard footsteps and the hostess’s voice, and guessed her newest client had arrived.
Before she could put down her glass of ice water and look up, a deep voice rang out above her. “Miss Sullivan?”
She stood up. “Hello, it’s nice to…”
“Yes?” A smile lit up his face. Not with the fake say-anything-to-impress vibe she’d grown used to from the wealthy men in this town. No, the welcome in his voice and eyes spoke to genuine warmth.
The guy stood well over six feet tall. Fit and lean with the broad shoulders a swimmer might possess. But that wasn’t the only part of him holding her brain in lockdown. He had black hair, near-black eyes, and the most gorgeous face she’d ever seen, one that hinted at Asian ancestry somewhere in his family tree.
The Experiment Page 2