by Jayne, Kris
“Not yet.”
“You smell like the tropics.”
“I showered.”
“Now I feel like a pig. Would it be presumptuous to ask if I can shower real quick?”
“You don’t have to take a shower.”
Alexa took the bag from him and dropped it by the couch. The need for proper refrigeration crossed her mind, but she didn’t care. Graham smelled of sweat and a day’s work, and her pulse revved like her BMW.
She spread her fingertips over his chest and leaned into him, lips parted in sure expectation. Still, the pressure of his mouth on hers gave her a thrill.
Tiny shocks of joy rolled through her, swirling into the pit of her stomach. She trembled, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her.
Had this been what he felt like on New Year’s? Alexa hated that the evening blurred every time she thought of it—especially now, experiencing him again.
His tongue rolled softly over hers. With her arms pinned between them, she longed to run her fingers through the gentle waves of his chestnut hair.
The sensations of his kisses threatened to knock her into oblivion, but she pulled it together to unbuckle his belt, then bring her hands back up to his chest. Warmth infused her, and the world around her dissolved. Only the sweetness of his mouth and the beating of his heart against her wrist anchored her in time and place.
Graham dropped his arms and pulled away from her mouth before recapturing it with a quick succession of kisses that tugged her lower lip between his teeth.
Alexa took advantage of her freedom and scraped her fingers down his abs and over his zipper. His solid flesh shifted under her finger tips as he pressed against her, his forehead on hers.
“Forget steak. I could eat you for dinner.”
His soft, whiskey-colored eyes sharpened on her. Then, he kissed her hard and found the hem of her T-shirt. In a flash, he exposed her laced cleavage to his ravenous eyes. Nips of his teeth traveled the swell of her breasts, slowing around each curve.
When his teeth found her nipple through the wet lace, Alexa fell into him as her left knee buckled.
“My bedroom is down the hall.” The direction rasped out of her desire-tightened throat.
“Lead the way.”
She plucked open the button on her jeans and slid the zipper down as they raced down the hallway. They reached her bedroom, and she stopped in front of the quilt-covered bed. Folding herself over, she pushed the denim down her smoothly muscled legs.
Graham moved beside her and traced the scalloped edge of the panties stretched across her ass. She looked up at him as he pinched the lacy fabric in one hand and a condom in the other.
“How much would you hate me if I tore these off?”
Alexa straightened and peered at him sideways.
“No panties need to die.”
She pulled them carefully down over her hips and legs and stepped out of them, hooking the lacy wisp of fabric on her fingertip. She turned and waved them in his face.
“Be kind to the lingerie.”
He snatched them and hurled them into the corner of Alexa’s dimly lit room. She cocked her head to the side.
“Come on. I’ll be kind to yours.”
Graham thrust his hips forward. “I’m not wearing lacy underpants.”
“Let’s see. You never know.” She snapped the waistband of his black boxer briefs. “Too boring. Those have to go.”
Graham pulled his pants and underwear down and kicked them to the side, then lifted off his shirt. Alexa took in the sharp line of his shoulders and the narrowing of his defined chest to firm abs.
The tiniest push and Graham fell back on the bed. She climbed on after him, legs folded underneath her at his side. Liquid infused her body—her limbs fluid, her mouth watering, her core clenched and wet.
Alexa’s trail of kisses started in the center of his chest. She drew her tongue across his pecs and stopped over his left nipple. Her teeth returned the biting favor while she grasped his erection in her hand and gave it a long, squeezing tug.
Graham tangled his fingers in her hair to lift her head, but she stayed fixed with his hard nipple in her mouth and the satin iron of his cock in her hand.
He pulled on the back of her head, and she turned. Her gaze traveled up his heaving chest to his eyes peering at her.
“Is there a problem?” The question came at her in a low grumble.
She tightened her hand and pulled, stopping to stroke his slick tip with her thumb. His belly rippled and hardened with a sharp intake of breath.
Graham pulled harder on her hair. “Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to put this on.” He waved the condom in his left hand. “And then, I’m going to flip you on your back.”
Alexa shook his fist from her head and stretched beside him. “You have to be on top, huh?”
She voluntarily rolled to her back, laughing as he nudged her legs apart. Then, he straightened up on his knees and tore the wrapper open with his teeth.
“This is better.”
“Sexist.”
“Probably.”
He unrolled the condom down his impressive length and dropped to one elbow, widening her knees with the weight of his hips.
“You’ll love it.” He thrust into her, hard and fast.
She did.
He pressed to the hilt again and ground against her before crushing her mouth with his. A ripple of his tongue accompanied each long thrust.
Rational thought and her resistance to this man evaporated. All she could taste, smell, or feel was him—the tug of his hands in her hair, his back rolling under her fingers in rhythm as he plunged, and the scratch of the hair on his legs against the smoothness of hers.
Each time he drew out of her, Alexa took a moment to catch a breath before he crashed into her again. Graham buried his face in her neck, punctuating his motion with a series of groans that grew deeper and deeper.
The friction of their bodies locked together in motion, first coiled sensation in her core, tighter and tighter, then it snapped, unraveling threads of pleasure in her blood. Her orgasm pulsed, heating her face and curling her toes.
“God, Graham!”
He let go. Forehead to forehead, he stared directly into her eyes and thrust longer and slower once, twice more. Every muscle in his body went rigid and then, he fell against her.
“Fuck, that was amazing.” He slapped the side of her thigh and grinned. “Tell me you didn’t love it.”
Shockwaves twitched from her clit up her belly even though he’d stopped moving. Alexa vowed not to return the satisfaction. “Not bad.”
Sweat beaded on his hairline, and he touched the tip of her nose with his. “You’re a liar.”
“Maybe.” A satiated sigh escaped her. “Probably.”
His lips played with hers until she opened to him and their tongues rolled together. Tiny shivers shot through her again. She ran his short, silky hair between her fingers.
Her mind began to coalesce again even with the new onslaught of awareness. She was a liar, and he spoke the truth. Amazing.
* * *
“I want to do this again with you. Again and again.”
Alexa remained silent and pulled the tie on her short robe tighter. Every time she reached forward to stab a piece of food on her plate, it gaped open. Graham raised his chin and kept his eyes on her.
“You’re not getting rid of me so easily.”
“I don’t want to get rid of you.” Her admission swelled his bare chest with victory.
“Good. I love a chase, but catching you is more fun.”
And keeping you.
The thought died as quickly as it rose in his mind. Keeping was out of the question. She didn’t want that, and he didn’t know what he wanted beyond another round with her in bed. Sleeping with her to get her out of his mind might take a little longer than anticipated, which was just fine with him.
“Yeah, it is.” She nibbled on her grilled zucchini, still staring at him until she must h
ave realized it and looked down at her plate.
She wanted him more than she’d admit to herself, which was crazy. Why not just go with it? However long this thing between them lasted, it was bound to be a hell of a lot of fun.
He took another bite of his flank steak. Its chewiness kept him from saying anything else, and she wasn’t in a talkative mood. They ate in near silence for another couple of minutes. Graham looked around her kitchen.
“I should find the rest of my clothes.” He’d only slipped on his boxers when hunger drove them from the bed.
“You should stay a little longer. The food is giving me more energy.” A lure in her voice hooked him, sending the blood rushing to his crotch.
Graham coughed to keep the meat from going down the wrong way. “Whatever you say.” He took a gulp of red wine.
“Good.” She stabbed another vegetable and popped it in her mouth.
They made small talk until she finished her dinner and downed the last of her wine. Then, she stood and slinked over to him, saying nothing.
Graham stood and took her hands in his, draping her arms over his shoulders. He thought she was going to kiss him on the lips and licked them in preparation
Instead, feathery kisses brushed from his chin to his ear. She suckled his neck, biting—no doubt leaving a hickey for him to explain in the morning.
Her touch covered him from neck to hip—fingertips, palms, and the occasional thumb strumming his nipples. The burn of wanting her intensified, pushing him to the edge.
“Let’s go.”
He pulled Alexa around the corner and back down the short hallway of her small house. Once in the bedroom, he grabbed her face and kissed her before guiding her backward on the bed.
She stretched her arms overhead slowly and extended her legs, pointing her toes. Graham yanked the sash of her robe, and it fell open.
Creamy mocha breasts tipped with brown mounded on her chest above a length of hard stomach and a generous expansion of hip.
He slid his hands between her knees and separated them. Their mutual desire thickened silence between them as Graham descended between her legs.
* * *
Graham buried his face between Alexa’s breasts and had just reached for the juncture between her legs when he started wide awake and pissed off. He always woke up in the best parts of his sex dreams.
The soft sighs of the woman sleeping next to him ruined his hope of a middle-of-the-night romp. He considered following through on the invitation to stay the night, but a half-hour later, he lay flat on his back, three cups of coffee and two energy drinks worth of awake. He needed his own bed.
Graham glanced again to his right. Half of the symmetrical lines and curves of her face, smashed into the pillow. Her eyelashes fluttered, and he held his breath, wondering if she would wake up. She stilled and stayed sleeping.
His mind tossed him back to the last time he saw her like this. He chuckled to himself and rose from the bed.
Alexa’s desk sat against the far wall, opposite the bed—a small mess of papers and unopened mail. Graham located a sticky note and a pen and scribbled. Turning back to the bed, he smoothed the paper onto the pillow.
He almost straightened up and hightailed it right then, but he couldn’t help himself. He took one last sniff of her hair and dropped a soft kiss on her brow, not wanting to wake her. She didn’t move.
God, she was beautiful.
He gathered his clothes and closed the door soundlessly behind him. Then, he dressed in her living room and walked away.
* * *
Playing the genie and granting your wish. Poof.
Then, he topped off his fucking note with a smiley face. Like that was cute.
Alexa crushed the lime green square in her hand and threw it across the room, directly into the trash can.
“Two points for me,” she growled.
Leaving in the middle of the night without speaking to her? After saying he wanted to see her again and again and talking about wanting to catch her? After she invited him to stay the night? She never did that. Ever.
“Asshole.” She punctuated the moniker with a swift pillow punch.
Did he think turning her careless words into a running joke would amuse her? Maybe it was funny.
Alexa flopped onto the bed, face in the sheets. It didn’t feel funny.
Chapter Fifteen
“Hey, Alexa. You have a delivery up at the front desk. Reee-ally nice.” Holly’s envy stretched her words.
Alexa dropped her office phone back into its cradle and plodded to the gym’s check-in desk. At reception sat a vase of roses so dark, they looked tinged with black.
Alexa grinned. Maybe Graham knew he’d been a pig and was sending apology flowers. Should she call him or make him sweat? She landed on making him sweat until at least the afternoon before calling him to thank him.
Alexa pulled the vase toward her, out of her receptionist’s grasp. “Thanks.”
“Do you need help? It’s a giant vase.”
“No. I got it,” Alexa replied and floated back to her desk.
She had to dig through the foliage and baby’s breath to locate the pearlescent envelope bearing her name. Flipping it over, she tore it open.
Can’t wait to see you in a few weeks. Thinking you every day until then.
Adam
Disappointment shot through her so fast, it made her dizzy. Alexa shoved the card back into its pronged plastic holder and moved the flowers to the low bookcase under the window behind her.
She spent the rest of the day trying to ignore them, but every time she turned, she caught them taunting her out of the corner of her eye.
Shit. She slapped her palms over her eyes and huffed, elbows planted uncomfortably on her desk. She had no reason to expect anything from him. She said she wanted to keep things light, and that’s what he was doing.
And that was okay. She had to get a handle on herself. They had an incredible night together. He’d likely call her again for a repeat. She knew she’d say yes. Let it go, she admonished herself.
After a couple of hours, her phone alarmed. Time for her to get ready to teach her mid-morning Saturday kickboxing class. Then, after lunch, she had a pilates-yoga class, then barre. The schedule reminded her that she needed to hire a new instructor.
An hour of roundhouse kicks and uppercuts helped exorcise her anger demons. Sweaty and less on edge, she headed to her office for a recovery drink and a sandwich. She swung through the double door and down the hallway. A familiar set of square shoulders faced her desk.
Graham must have heard her coming because he turned and grinned.
“I hope you don’t mind my stopping by. I remember you told me you had a break for lunch, so I took a chance.”
“I wasn’t sure I would get to see you today. You left quite a trail of smoke behind you early this morning.”
His welcoming smile slid into a grimace. “You didn’t think the note was funny. I should’ve known better. Maybe that wasn’t such a good joke.”
“So, you did intend it to be funny? I suppose I’m glad it wasn’t just some twisted revenge.”
“I drew a smiley face. Are you mad?”
Yes. Alexa still fumed though she couldn’t explain her raw nerves, so she lied. “No, it shocked me a little, but I knew you were joking. Maybe we should give up on waking up together and having it be anything other than strange.”
“Or… Maybe third time’s a charm.”
His suggestion wound desire into the tension in her gut.
Normally, she’d punish a guy for pulling a stunt like that and let him stew, but looking into Graham’s pale-bronze eyes, her fortitude for punishment dissipated.
“So, did you bring me lunch or what?” She drew her fingers across his shoulders as she walked around him and then the desk to sit down.
“I brought you an energy smoothie from next-door. Toby says this is the perfect thing to propel you for your afternoon classes.”
Great. No
w, Toby and Sarah would know Graham was buying her lunch and visiting her during the day. The questions would come at her fast and furious the next time she saw either one of them.
“I’ll take it. I mixed up a recovery drink, but I can drink it this afternoon.” Alexa grabbed the drink and took a long sip. “This can’t be the most exciting thing you have planned for Saturday. What else you have going on today?”
“Well, I ended up having to work a little bit this morning. A water tank burst at one of the other properties. Charlie needed my approval for additional expenses, and the tenant was furious that it took an hour for the plumber to get there. The place flooded and…never mind. You don’t need to hear about all that. Needless to say, it was a mess. Plus, I had a ten a.m. tee time and had to cancel.”
The call of the fairway had to be at least one reason why he bailed on her in the middle of the night. Disgruntlement ate at the edges of her mood again.
“You men and your golf.”
“It’s not just men who play golf. You’ve never played?”
“I have. I used to play pretty regularly, but I gave it up. Not my thing.”
Matthew had loved golf and insisted she learn. She took golf lessons for almost two years and managed to get her handicap down to an acceptable level from the ladies’ tees. Of course, she hadn’t played in years, and she knew regular play was the only way to keep from embarrassing yourself. Alexa said a silent prayer Graham wouldn’t ask her to go play golf.
“We should play some time.”
“Sure,” Alexa replied in the light tone she used to let men think they were getting their way. Like with Adam. His arrival loomed as did the flowers over her shoulder. She unconsciously took a gander at them, which was a mistake.
“Nice flowers. It’s not your birthday or something is it?”
“No, uh, those are from a friend. For Valentine’s Day, I guess.”
“That was a week ago.”
“I know.” She had no explanation to offer Graham for Adam’s behavior.
“A male friend?”
“Yes. I saw him briefly last November. We weren’t even really dating. He doesn’t live here, but he’s coming to town soon. He wanted to let me know.”