by Opal Carew
“Two fingers,” he responded, holding them in front of her in a sort of salute. Then he pushed his hand down between them and claimed her pussy.
Chapter Six
Alle crooned as he thrust two fingers deep inside of her. She was slick with need and all too eager for his touch, her sheath tugging at his digits, begging for more. His fingers might not be quite what she wanted, but she couldn’t deny the pleasure he was giving with them.
Her hips jerked, and little mewl-like sobs rose from her throat as he brushed her stiff clit with his thumb in repetitive circles.
She hadn’t planned any of this. She’d wondered what the hell was going on when Xane had side-tracked her and she’d found herself in the limo all alone. Now she figured either Spook had said something about her, or Xane had worked it out for himself. If they ever reached the hotel, she’d have to thank Xane. That was assuming she still had any wits left and hadn’t been driven demented.
Some men liked to boast about their prowess. In her experience, they were usually the ones who weren’t actually up to the task. Spook, on the other hand, was wringing pleasure out of every cell in her body. She liked him like this, focused, determined, sexy as the devil. She only wished her hands were free so she could rip the shirt from his back and curl her fingers into the smooth, wiry torso she’d find beneath. She badly wanted to taste his skin, to lick the lines of ink adorning his back and shoulders, and squeeze the tight perfection of his arse, but even if he didn’t get off on pinning her down, she didn’t think he’d lie still and let her do any of those things. He might be in control and into her right now, but whatever war he was waging with himself over his involvement with her wasn’t won yet. This was just a skirmish.
“Spook. Oh, God!” His teeth nipped the side of her neck, robbing her of the power of movement.
How could she ache this badly for one man? And all right, he was cheating and using two fingers and a thumb, but fuck, that was good. So too was having him this close — close enough she was breathing in his scent, could hear his heartbeat drumming alongside hers, and feel his ragged breaths against her neck.
“Do you still think I can’t give you what you want?” he asked.
She shook her head, while she clung to him with her thighs. “I always believed you could, only that you refused to. I want you inside me so badly.”
“Not happening,” he claimed, though the way his words rasped made it obvious how much it cost him to say it. He wanted her. The way his hips lifted, causing his cock to rub against her hip, made it obvious. That, and no man dished out pleasure like this without a damn good reason… Without — dare she hope — loving the person he was giving all that pleasure too.
“You’re doing things to me I don’t like, Allegra Hutton. I can’t be this crazy.”
“No one’s forcing you to hold me down.” And no one was forcing him to dip his fingers in and out of her pussy either, or bring them to his lips and taste her.
“Do you have any idea what I want to do to you”
“Fuck me, perhaps?” Her pussy clenched tight on his fingers at the mere thought. “Stripe my arse with the belt you currently have wrapped around my wrists?”
“And worse.”
“Not worse,” she countered. “It’s not bad to want those things, or to like them.” Was this the source of his anxiety? No — she couldn’t believe his hang-ups were over a mistaken belief that a bit of consensual discipline was somehow wrong. He was far too liberal, and far too together for that.
Still, something had stopped him exploring his needs. She’d seen the quote from that recent late night interview. Seven and a half years without sex, she could hardly comprehend going that length of time without some sort of release. She prayed he wasn’t holding out on her now just so that he could reach eight years.
Eight years… She wasn’t going to manage another eight seconds, considering what he was doing with his thumb. But then what? What happened once he’d proved he didn’t need to use his cock to get her off? Suddenly, she didn’t want her climax to be approaching quite so quickly.
Alle gasped for breath as she willed her body not to respond and told herself over and over that she wasn’t going to climax yet. She was not almost there, and she was not about to come undone.
Only, she was. She very, very definitely was.
“Oh, fuck! Oh, hell!”
“That’s it sweetheart, give in to me.”
“Dammit!” It hit hard. Squeezed all her muscles tight while a sharp slice of heaven shook her from top to toe, leaving her so wiped out, all she could do was gasp with her mouth wide open.
Spook stole a kiss from her lips as he freed his fingers from her sheath. Her muscles didn’t want to let him go. Nor did she when he peeled their bodies apart. She couldn’t bear to see him retreat into himself just yet, not while she was still wrung out by what he’d done to her.
Turned out, he wasn’t quite done yet. Straddled across her hips, he set about finishing himself off.
The last time she’d seen him draw his hand up and down his cock, he’d done so without any semblance of shame or showmanship. The same was true now. His focus held tight to the task; a swift, steady, and repetitive jerk, while he watched her through half-closed eyes.
Had any man ever been so beautiful as he was to her in that moment? The strong muscles of his arms tightened and flexed. His long hair swished against his biceps in time with the movement. Every inch of him was tightly focussed, exactly as he appeared when he performed on stage.
Damn, she struggled against the restraints holding her wrists, desperate to touch him, to claim every inch of him. Freed, she’d shove her hands up under his shirt and stroke. However, the leather was unforgiving. She had no chance of getting her hands free. She could only watch and yearn. Although, seeing him reach orgasm almost made missing out on touching him worth it. Almost…
“Alle,” he sighed, mouth open, eyelids fluttering. He looked straight at her, though, as he spilled his pleasure onto her breasts.
Chapter Seven
In the quiet that followed, Alle held herself still, hardly daring to breathe. Spook had collapsed forward, hot and sticky after he’d come, so that now his ragged breathing scalded her neck and shoulder. His heart beat drummed hard against her chest, twice the speed of hers.
“Spook,” she whispered, craving some kind of response from him, but almost afraid to give the prompt for fear of what came next.
His long hair tickled her bare arms as he lifted his head. His eyes were still half-closed, lips slightly parted, and breathing uneven as he reached out with one hand to undo the seat belt and release her wrists. The leather belt had left red marks where she’d fought against its grip. Concern bled into his eyes the moment he opened them fully and saw her rubbing at the blotches, but he didn’t touch her or attempt to aid her in massaging away the discomfort. Instead, he rose awkwardly from the seat and set about straightening his clothing and restoring the belt to its rightful place around his waist. That done, he offered her a fast food wipe he found nestled by the ice pail to deal with the mess he’d made of the front of her dress.
“Thanks.”
Oh, fuck! He was shaking.
He didn’t respond, but she didn’t need him to speak to see that he wasn’t. “Spook.” She tried to embrace him. He looked as if he needed a hug, but he jerked away from her in much the same way he had when the waiter had found them writhing about on a table together.
“Fuck!” he swore softly, and began frantically shaking his head. “We shouldn’t have done that. We shouldn’t… What was I thinking?” He raised his hand to stop her approach. “Don’t. Please don’t touch me.”
In order to keep her at bay, he busied himself with the task of finding her another wipe. “Here, I’m sorry about the mess I’ve made of your dress.”
She took his offering, but didn’t attempt to fix the problem. So much sorrow in those blue eyes, it didn’t seem right. It was old pain he was carrying. Old enough that i
t’d had time to fester. “Sod the dress, Spook. I’m more concerned about the mess I’ve made of you.”
“I’m fine. I’m OK.”
Like hell he was.
“Really? Cuddles would be OK. Talking to me would be OK. Reconstructing the walls you shield yourself with is not OK.” She tried again to reach out to him. This time he shuffled backwards until he hit the rear seat and sat abruptly. Seemingly terrified by her advance, he leaned over and jerked the door handle.
They’d been idling at the front of the hotel for some time now, so the locks were no longer engaged. The limo door swung open, and Spook scuttled out. He hit the pavement, and was through the hotel entrance before Alle had even managed to exit the car.
Shitindamnation! What the hell was going on with him? One minute he was taking her to heaven, the next running from her like she was a demon from hell.
Alle reclaimed her purse, and then tore after him. She ran straight into Xane in the hotel lobby.
“Whoa! Why so fast?” He caught hold of her hand, bringing her to a jerky halt. “Where’s Spook? And what happened to your dress.” His smirk suggested he knew perfectly well what had happened to it.
“Something splashed on me. I’ll clean it in a minute. First I need to find Spook. He freaked on me.”
“I’ll help,” Xane announced.
Alle flapped her hands at him to ward him off. “No, let me. You’ve interfered enough already.”
“I thought you’d be grateful.”
“I am, but really, we need to sort this out between us. If you want to help, then keep Graham and Max happy until I can make an appearance. I suppose they’re wondering where we’ve got to.”
Xane shook his head. “They’re fine. They’re hashing out the details over drinks. As long as you don’t suddenly announce you have a cat that you have to arrange boarding for, everything should be fine, but I’ll make sure you’re paid the industry rate.”
“Great. Thanks.” Worrying about her cat or how much they were going to pay her to do a job she’d happily have done for free wasn’t her biggest concern right now. Besides, if she didn’t figure things out with Spook the whole deal would fall through anyway.
* * *
Alle found Spook standing alone in the dark, on the hotel terrace overlooking the river. He rested against a stone pillar, his eyes closed and his breathing still rapid. As Alle wound her way through the tubs of variegated flowers to reach him, she wondered if he had any idea how hot he looked standing there in his worn leather jacket that fitted like a second skin, with his long blond hair tickling his arms. Probably not, but when did anyone truly realise how beautiful they were?
It became obvious he’d heard her approach, when he shifted uneasily and planted both feet firmly on the ground. Alle stopped directly in front of him.
“We need to talk, Spook. I know you don’t want to, but Max and Graham are in the bar negotiating the recording contract. I don’t want to have to go in and tell them to screw it up.”
Blond hair covered his face as he shook his head. “It won’t work. I can’t work with you near me. They’ll have to be told. Where’s Xane. I’ll get him to stop them.”
“Spook, don’t,” she implored. “We worked plenty well together the last time.”
“Yes, and other things happened last time that shouldn’t have happened. Hell, things happened five minutes ago that shouldn’t have happened.” Raw emotion made his voice sound reedy. “It’ll be a disaster.”
“Don’t take this opportunity away from me.” She dug her teeth into her lower lip. “Spook, why shouldn’t they happen? What’s so intrinsically wrong with us being turned on by one another and giving in to that?”
He brushed his hair away from his face and looked at her, his soulful eyes riddled with desperation.
“I don’t understand. I wish you’d explain to me. You’re hot one minute, cold the next. Sorry in one breath, then ravishing me. You just made me come so hard my toes are still curled.” He actually looked down, presumably to see if she was telling the truth. “Yet you’re pushing me away again and saying we can’t even work together. What the hell is going on with you? What do you want?”
“Nothing.” He shook his head. “I don’t want anything. I just need you to stay away from me.” He pushed away from the wall and began to walk.
“Why?” she demanded, jogging along behind him. She was not letting this go. God help her, why would anyone who had any chance with him ever let him go? The man oozed sex, and yes, the fact he was so bloody unattainable made her want to fight all the harder. The job part was a mere side issue. Important, but nothing compared to the developing personal relationship between them. “For Christ’s sake, Spook, will you just give me a straight answer? Why do I need to stay away? Give me it in black and white. Something I can understand.” Because so far nothing made any sense. It wasn’t as if he was saying, “I don’t want you,” or “I don’t fancy you.” On the contrary, bodily, she knew he wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him. She hadn’t imagined the heat rising off him when he’d pinned her against that table, nor the soft, desperate groans he’d made in the back of his throat as he’d ravished her lips. And she definitely hadn’t imagined him thrusting two fingers into her until she died a little death in his arms.
“Look, I’m not going to turn down the job of the century without a bloody good reason. So, tell me why it is I need to stay away, or you’re stuck with me.”
“Because I like you too much!” He folded his arms defensively. “I want you too much. Do you understand that, Alle? You need to stay away because I can’t fucking control myself around you. You smash through every shield I have.”
“How can you want somebody too much?”
“You can if you know it’ll hurt them.”
He hadn’t hurt her, well, other than by not calling, and with what he was doing now. Yeah, that hurt.
“Alle, I get off on the idea of pain… of your pain. I’ll hurt you.” His gaze dropped to her wrists, but the red marks had already faded.
“Seriously?” She rocked on her heels as realisation hit. “Is that what this is about? Spook, I get off on the idea of my pain. What happened between us last time in the studio, and afterwards at your hotel, that was one of the best nights of my life. You crawled under my skin and slid into the deepest recesses of my soul. You didn’t hurt me.” She tilted her head to one side. “OK, I’ll admit my nipples were bruised for days afterwards, but every time I felt that ache, I thought of you and it turned me on all over again. I nipped them again myself just so that I could prolong the memory.”
Dear God, was he really concerned about the hurt he’d caused her, or was it just a line? Past boyfriends had expressed similar sentiments, but in those cases, they’d been dubious about the whole thing from the outset. Spook had never been that. He’d got off on what he’d done every bit as much as she had. Then again, wasn’t that exactly what he was saying?
“You didn’t hurt me just now in the limo either. See?” She raised her arms so he could see her wrists, just in case he remained in any doubt.
The panic in his eyes didn’t lessen any. Figuring she needed to make the point more firmly, Alle reached up and smoothed her palm across one breast. Spook’s gaze fastened upon her hand as she caught the nipple between fingertip and thumb, then pinched hard and twisted. The thick fabric of her dress blocked out most of the sensation, but a thread of fire still shot down towards her pussy, making her shiver. “I like it, Spook. I like it a lot.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“It makes me think about…”
“Doing it,” she finished for him.
He shook his head in denial, but they both knew he was simply trying to repress the urge.
“Shall I tell you what I’d like you to do?”
“No,” he said, but his gaze was fever-hot. “You’ve said enough already.”
“But I haven’t told you everything. I want you to strip
me naked and hold me on all fours. Then I want you to twist my hair into a long rope and pull it hard while you fuck me even harder with that very, very pretty cock of yours.”
A faint smile played over his lips. She’d known it would, because she’d presented a safe scenario, over one which he had absolute control, because penetration was completely off the agenda. He’d just proved that. No matter what he claimed about his defences, there were still a few in place. Any other man would have fucked her. Still, that didn’t mean she couldn’t imagine or plead for it. Hell, she envisaged doing a lot of pleading for it. Maybe one day he might even surprise her.
“Wouldn’t you like to fuck me hard, Spook?”
He groaned through his gritted teeth. The word ‘no’ sat on his lips. She could see it. But they both knew that saying it would make him an outright liar.
“Maybe spank me first, for getting you so worked up.” She reached up and grasped the lapel of his jacket while looking up into his handsome face.
“Don’t touch me.” He tried to step back, away from her, but she held on to the leather and moved with him.
“I’d like to touch you all over, Spook, and not just with my fingers, but with my lips too. I want to worship you with my whole body. I want you to paint my skin with your seed and spank my arse. I want you to roll me on the floor and use me as your plaything; tie me up, take whatever you need, while I beg for release. We’re a match, Spook.”
“We are not a match.”
“Yin and Yang, Mars and Venus, perfect opposites. We fit together.”
“Alle.” He pushed her hand way. “You don’t know a goddamned thing about me.”
“I know enough that I’m willing to take a chance on learning more.”
“And when you learn things that aren’t so nice?”
She took hold of his lapels again, this time grasping them tight with both hands. She used them to tug him closer.
“Stop making excuses.”
Their mouths were mere inches apart. She could feel his hot breath on her skin.
“Let’s go somewhere right now.” Preferably his room. “You’re too uptight. I know how to help you calm down.” She slid one hand around the back of his neck and urged him forward a little. She wanted his kisses again, his dominance and possessiveness, not this. “Please.” Tenderly, she brushed her lips against his and felt the sharp intake of his breath. “I want you, Spook.” She kept on gently kissing him, praying for some give on his part too. “I don’t understand why you won’t let me love you. Why is that so hard for you? I know it’s not really about the pain, not wholly, anyway. Please…”