Rush: A Second Chance Romance

by Ellen Lane

  She came apart instantly.

  With a loud cry, Cece arched from the cushions, her fingers almost painfully tight against my scalp as her body bowed and she trembled powerfully. I slowed the intensity of my mouth against her to watch the way she reacted - how her eyes slid shut and her mouth parted in a wide, desirous O of shock, disbelief and pleasure.

  She was absolutely breathtaking.

  For a good ten seconds, she was consumed by her orgasm, her body straining tautly in the firelight until she finally went limp. The only sound above the storm outside was her harried breathing as she clenched and unclenched her fingers in my hair, almost catlike. “Oh God…” The words left her on a reverent whisper that stroked my male pride gratuitously. “Oh God.”

  I placed a feather soft kiss against her lower folds, making her jump, before beginning to work my way upward back over her sternum. Her stomach muscles were tense - taut as her body slowly cooled - and I drew my mouth across them, back and forth, until Cece finally relaxed. By the time I shifted to loom over her and stare down at her face, she was looking up at me, her eyes half-lidded, expression so profoundly satisfied that my cock pulsed painfully. “You ok, sweetheart?” I kissed her brow, her nose, and then, finally, her mouth, letting her taste herself on my lips.

  “Mmm. Rhett...that…” She couldn’t seem to find the word and I couldn’t help the way my lips quirked in a strange mixture of amusement and affection. “...You’re really good at that.”

  I chuckled darkly. “Oh honey, we’re just getting started.”

  When I lifted her into my arms, she made a low sound of surprise as I carried her over to the bed. By now, the combined heat from the fire and our bodies had more than warmed us through, and I groaned when Cece lowered her head to lap at the salty sheen of sweat on my shoulder. “Stop that. You’re not distracting me from my goal.” I tossed her onto the bed before quickly mounting it and her, pinning her wrists on either side of her head.

  “But you already met your goal.” Her reply came on a breathless moan as my tongue flicked at her nipple.

  “Not even.” I growled lowly against her skin, nipping at her ribcage as my thighs nestled between hers. They were still weak from the powerful orgasm she’d experienced, so, when I parted them, there was little resistance. “I could never be selfish enough to stop at one.”

  Her hazel eyes blew wide as she opened her mouth to protest. Unfortunately, whatever she might have said was drowned out by a low moan as I pressed the aching ridge of my erection against the slickness between her legs. By now, my sweatpants were covered in her leavings, and a perverse part of me wanted to frame them as a reminder that I had been the one to give her this pleasure.

  Cece raised her head to press her mouth against mine, muffling her soft whimper of need as she struggled to free her wrists. I was reluctant to let her go. If her hands started roving, I couldn’t guarantee my composure would last for very long. While there was no part of me that was against her touching me, I’d have to save the indulgence for next time. This time was all about her.

  When her teeth tugged at my lower lip, however, a low groan escaped me. It seemed that after a single orgasm, Cece had regained the wherewithal to give as good as she got. Her hungry mouth trailed over my jaw and down my neck to bite at the juncture of my shoulder and a low, shuddering groan escaped me. I released her hands reflexively and they immediately rose to my shoulders to grip tightly as she arched against me.

  She was so close. So close that all it would take was a little aggressive grinding and I’d be all but inside her.

  When her fingers curled around waistband of my sweatpants, my breath caught. “Cece-”

  “Rhett, I need you.”

  She had no idea what that voice of hers did to me. The prim, proper and distant Cecily Warner was gone and in her place was a gorgeous, sensual creature of need. Younger Rhett could never, even in his wildest dreams, have imagined this. Hell, even adult Rhett was salivating...reaching the end of his rope. “Cece, I want-”

  “I want you.” Her breathless demand was almost enough to end it for me. I swallowed thickly, one of my hands threading through her hair. “Please, Rhett. I need you. Now.”

  Fuck.

  I might regret it later, but in that moment, I had no choice but to comply. Those large hazel eyes were so entreating, so goddamned lost that she turned my wherewithal to absolute mush. Within seconds, my hands were curling over hers, yanking my sweatpants down to toss onto the floor.

  My cock sprang eagerly upward against my belly, and that contact alone was enough to make my thighs tighten as I tried to regain my composure. Cece was going to be the death of me - this I knew. I had always known.

  She was so slick between the thighs that I was tempted to linger there and taste her again - but before I could, Cece’s lithe fingers wrapped around my throbbing erection and I bit back an unadulterated moan of sublime pleasure. Dear God, it felt better than I had ever dreamed. She squeezed, stroking once over the length of my cock in a long, languid motion that stole my breath - and that was about all I could take.

  I yanked her hand away with a low curse. “Next time, honey.” The promise came out a low growl as I settled between her thighs a moment before sliding home into her hot, heavenly tightness.

  Almost immediately, Cece’s long legs came around my waist as her head fell back against the pillow as a low, drawn out sound of pleasure fell from her lips. She shuddered and I felt her toes curl at the small of my back as her inner muscles clenched around me.

  It took every iota of self-control I had not to come right then and there. She felt like nirvana around me and the urge to simply plow into her was so powerful it almost overwhelmed me. I pressed my face against the softness of her neck, biting down firmly as I came back to myself. Cecily uttered not a word of complaint, only holding me more tightly.

  When I pressed even deeper inside her, she cried out, arching her hips against mine - and just like that, something inside me snapped.

  I hadn’t planned to be so rough - I wanted to make things slow and sensual for her. To have her come another handful of times before everything was said and done. But I wasn’t a saint - even I had my limits. I withdrew slightly before slamming back into Cece’s plaint form and her fingers scrabbled at my shoulders for purchase as she moaned my name.

  The rhythm I set was mindless, fucking her slow and deep, then alternating to frenzied, shallow strokes that had her keening for mercy. She came apart around me relatively quickly, clamping down like a vice as she gasped, her entire body trembling.

  I had never seen a woman swept away by an orgasm as completely as Cecily. She was utterly lost in her pleasure, her eyelids fluttering shut as her pleasure stole her away from the corporeal world. Her muscles strained, her lips parted and she was, without a doubt, the most breathtaking creature in all existence.

  I managed to slow, my rhythm going almost lethargic as I watched her come down from her high. I was pretty sure I was going to become addicted to the feel of Cece coming on my cock - once would never ever be enough.

  So, I started again. When I pressed my hips against hers, cleaving deeper among her still spasming muscles, she groaned my name, clutching me against her as if we were the only two people that existed. I pressed my mouth to hers drinking in her breathless sighs and moans, wanting to be inside her until I forgot where I ended and she began.

  If only that was the way the fucking world worked.

  Her hands were everywhere - my shoulders, my back - through my hair and cupping my face. I let those hands ground me as I worked myself into her over and over - until her breath was hitching and I felt her body tense in anticipation of another orgasm. This time, when the heated, inviting muscles inside her begin to tighten, I couldn’t hold out.

  I got in maybe four or five more jarring, aggressive thrusts before I was coming harder than I ever had in my life. The searing pleasure was enough to steal my breath and all I could do was shout Cecily’s name into the overheate
d interior of the cabin before my weight bore down on her and we both sagged to the mattress, utterly spent.

  I was pretty sure that if the apocalypse had come in that moment, I wouldn’t have been able to move a muscle. It wouldn’t have been the worst way to go, really - wrapped in the embrace of a woman who had haunted your memories for the better part of your life, lost in the nirvana that was her body against yours.

  Christ, just being near Cece had turned me into a bleeding heart romantic. Who knew what might happen in a few weeks.

  Slowly, our bodies cooled. I gradually came back to the real world to the sound of Cece’s even breathing against my shoulder. It took me a minute to regain my senses, but once I did, I realized that I must be crushing her. I shifted, making to roll from her smaller form, only to have her clutch me closer to her.

  “Wait.” Her plea came out on a low whisper. “Just a minute longer.”

  I could hardly deny her that.

  I did my best to make her comfortable, putting my weight on my elbows as I lowered my head to kiss up and down the damp length of her neck. Outside, the storm still raged, unmoved by our shenanigans inside the cabin. I don’t think I’d ever been more grateful for a sour turn of the weather.

  If it were up to me, the damned storm would last a week - perhaps that might be enough for me to get my fill of Cecily.

  Slowly, I raised my head to look down at her. Her lashes lay, dark and full, against her flushed cheeks, and her mouth was still swollen from my kisses. If it weren’t for her still-slightly-labored breathing, she might have been asleep.

  I gave her her first orgasms. Not some random guy she met in college, an ex-boyfriend or a one-night stand. Me. You’d think that might be enough to satisfy me. Instead, I could already feel my body rousing for a second round.

  Cecily - my Cece - had never had an orgasm until today…. I could only wonder what else she had never done….and what I might teach her.

  Chapter Seven

  ~ Cece

  I could never leave the guest house again.

  Even a full twenty-four hours after we returned to the manor from the mountains, my head was still reeling from the events of the previous day.

  Though my stomach was growling, I couldn’t bring myself to head up to the main house for breakfast. Rhett would be there...and my memories of our little outing were flagrant enough when I was on my own.

  Dear God.

  I pulled the covers over my head, shutting out the sunlight that streamed in through my window as my body and mind went at one another.

  How many years had I spent under the impression that my body just wasn’t built for sex? I must have read at least a hundred articles on how some women just couldn’t orgasm. It wasn’t in their genetic makeup and they were simply destined to be sexually frustrated for the rest of their existence.

  There was a period where I was desperate - going to sex therapists secretly and doing my best to try and learn my body better, but nothing had worked. No amount of experimentation or suggestion with any of my exes led to any startling revelations - and ultimately, I believed that I was the one to blame.

  Rhett had blown that particular preconception out of the water so fast that my head was still spinning. It was strange - even after all the romance novels and smutty fiction I’d read, I never really believed men did half of that stuff to women. Finding a man that wanted to stay between your legs all night was like trying to find a fucking unicorn - impossible and frustrating.

  But then this opportunity with Rhett had fallen into my lap and... well...Jesus, the man had gone to town on me. I couldn’t think - could barely move. It was all I could do to remember how to breathe.

  I had never known pleasure could be like that. Of course, I had never had a man pay attention to my body the way that Rhett had. Though I was sure some of my exes has actual affection for me, it didn’t extend to treating my body as if it were a garden of succulent delights.

  Which was exactly what Rhett had done.

  I shuddered, squeezing my eyes shut as I tried to block out the images. How Rhett had loomed over me, completely naked, that sublime body of his glistening in the low light of the fire. The way his mouth had felt on mine...and on my body.

  The sensation had been so goddamned mind-blowing that it was almost like I could still feel it. I suspected if I got up to look in a mirror, I would see marks where he had licked and kissed me into a puddle of mush on the cabin floor.

  And speaking of licking.

  I could feel my cheeks heat as I remembered the way the man had eagerly molded his mouth to the most intimate parts of me. It was if he was actually hungry for me - for the taste, smell, and feel of me. As if he craved me more than he craved his next breath.

  But that was ridiculous.

  I had to remind myself that I was obviously naive when it came to the ways of pleasure. While not a virgin, I clearly had a lot to learn. The way Rhett had treated me meant nothing unduly special about his feelings - the man was merely a god in bed.

  And I couldn’t help but want more.

  With a low groan, I shook my head, burrowing even deeper under the covers. What the hell was I going to do now? I had committed the ultimate taboo. I’d come out here promising myself that I’d stick to my guns - get the story I needed and leave with my pride intact. It looked like that plan had flown out the window.

  Tugging my lower lip between my teeth, I wrapped my arms around myself, taking a deep breath. I should try to shut it out - to pretend that nothing at all had happened between us. The only way I was going to be able to finish this job was if I acted with the utmost professionalism. But how the hell was I supposed to do that when all I could think about was how divine Rhett felt inside me?

  “Shit.” The epithet left me on a low whisper, as if I were afraid the man himself might hear me from all the way up at the main house.

  Reluctantly, I sat up, finally letting the coverlet slide from me so I could see the light of day. Almost immediately, I was met with the reflection of myself in the mirror across from the bed.

  I didn’t look any different. The bed-headed Cecily who faced me every morning was still there - bleary-eyed and grumpy.

  So why the hell did I feel so different?

  It was just sex, wasn’t it? I was no blushing, wide-eyed virgin.

  Wrong. A wicked voice in the back of my head piped up almost immediately, almost cackling with glee. Not just sex, but the best goddamned sex you’ve ever had, by far. The man played your body like a fucking fiddle and you loved it.

  My scowl only deepened as I tossed the covers off, reluctantly climbing out of bed. The longer I lingered, the longer I was going to be alone with my own thoughts - and they weren’t currently being overly kind to me.

  When my cellphone went off on the bedside table, I leapt for it, glad to have something to distract me. The moment I saw Rhett’s name on the screen, however, I fought the urge to drop the damned thing. It was seven thirty in the fucking morning. Why the hell would the man be texting me so early. For all he knew, I wasn’t even awake.

  Before I could lose my nerve, I opened the text message. The moment I read it, my cheeks flamed.

  Can’t wait for our next in-depth interview.

  It might not have been an insinuation. The self-preserving part of me wanted to think that Rhett was just reminding me that there was still work to be done - but I knew better. If the man had said those words to me I might have sank through the floor in embarrassment.

  In depth.

  Groaning, I tossed my phone onto the bed before raking my hands through my messy hair. At that particular moment, I wanted nothing more than to flee to Atlanta - back to the safety of my office and my normal, boring life. I wasn’t sure I could look Rhett in the face again after the previous day.

  The trip home had been bad enough. The storm hadn’t cleared until almost eight o’clock, and I was ashamed to admit that I’d spent most of that time in bed with Rhett. Where the hell had I learned such shamele
ssness? Once he’d given me a taste of what he could offer, I found myself greedy for more. I made excuses - we were miles away from anyone who might see or judge us. I had to take advantage of the opportunity while it lasted.... afterward, it would be like nothing ever happened.

  I didn’t think there’d ever been a more naive woman in history.

  When the storm finally let up, Rhett was more attentive than I’d expected. For two adults that should have accepted the moment of weakness for what it was, we certainly hadn’t acted like what we did was a mistake. I let Rhett help me over the slippery path back to where the car was parked. I even relished the feel of his hands on me, remembering how deftly he’d mastered my body all afternoon.

  I feigned sleep on the plane ride back home to avoid speaking with him. The last thing I wanted to discuss with the man that had been ravaging me all evening was where we were supposed to go next. I had, selfishly, hoped that a good night’s sleep would help me clear my mind. That I’d wake up the following morning with everything neatly in perspective.

  Instead, I was hiding in the guest house.

  With a sigh, I dropped back onto the bed, grabbing a pillow to bury my face in it. How had I gotten so tangled up in Rhett so quickly? I’d broken all my promises to myself in a moment of weakness and now I’d put the promotion I so desperately wanted in jeopardy. If I couldn’t face Rhett, I couldn’t very well finish the interviews; and if I didn’t finish the interviews, I might very well be writing gossip columns for the rest of my life.

  No.

  I’d come this far and done this much. There was no way I could give up so easily. I had to straighten my spine and behave like a responsible adult. Whatever happened in the mountains would stay there. Even if the sex between Rhett and I had been mind-blowing - even if he’d shown me things I hadn’t even known my body was capable of - it was a one-time thing. I’d need to make sure that he understood that, and stick to my guns.