by Lilli Feisty
“You deserve a little pampering, too.” She glanced around the bathroom, and her gaze landed on some bath items his designer had strategically left near the tub. The bathtub was a huge, square minimalist piece that went with the Zen theme he’d gone for when he remodeled the flat a few years ago. He’d never thought to use any of the props the designer had left, but it looked like Joy had other plans.
She poured a small bottle of some sort of oil into a wooden bowl on the counter, and the scent of lavender wafted through the steam. Then Joy filled it with warm water, submerged a towel into the water, and placed the bowl on the rim of the bathtub.
“Come here, Ash,” she said as she climbed into the tub and settled back with a contented sigh.
Even if he’d wanted to deny her, there was no way he could have. Lust pounded through his veins; his cock was throbbing for her. And there was more…. He wanted her with more than his prick. The need came from somewhere else… somewhere in his chest. He didn’t stop to examine those feelings.
Sometimes when he looked at her, like now, she took his breath away and he couldn’t think about anything except her exceptional, feminine beauty.
Her hair was a brilliant mess, the ends swimming in the water around her shoulders. Her hazel eyes twinkled in the dim light, the candles flickering in their depths. Her skin glowed under the water, her breasts sticking out just enough so he could see her nipples, tight and pink.
“Joy, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
She opened her legs wide and swam her hand between her knees in the water in a gentle stroke. “Come here, baby.”
For some reason, the words sent a shudder through him. No woman had ever referred to him by anything other than his given name.
Joy did everything differently, didn’t she?
He climbed into the bathtub, let the warm water swallow him as he settled in front of her, between her legs. Carefully, he settled back against her. He felt the tight curls of her damp pubic hair at the base of his spine, felt the soft curve of her belly touch his lower back… her breasts, her nipples wet and slippery against his skin.
His balls were so tight, his cock so hard. But he wasn’t in a hurry. Thanks to Joy, the scent of lavender filled the room in a relaxing scent, and the steam rising from the water was like a calming whisper.
He felt her hands on his head as she placed a soft, warm kiss at his ear. “Just relax,” she whispered, and he nodded. With Joy he actually could relax and it felt…
Damn good.
Her hands were on his face, her fingertips gently grazing his skin. Then she began stroking him in slow, small circles, starting on his chin and around his mouth.
“How does it feel?” she asked in a low voice.
“Amazing.”
He sensed her smile. She continued the gentle massage, using those leisurely circles on his cheekbones, his temples, his forehead. He hadn’t realized how tight he was until he felt the tension drain out of his body under her touch.
He felt warm water sluice over his hair, and then she drizzled what he suspected was shampoo onto his scalp. Using her palms, she pressed and rubbed her hands over his head, thoroughly massaging his scalp from around his ears, the back of his head, his forehead.
“Oh, yeah… just like that, Joy.”
“You like it?”
“Fuck yeah,” he said.
“I want to please you.”
“Oh, sweetheart. You do.”
She continued to massage his scalp, working around his hairline. When she reached his ears, she gently kneaded his earlobes, and he was shocked when a fresh wave of arousal washed over him.
“Tilt your head back.”
With his eyes closed, he arched slightly and angled his neck so Joy could rinse the shampoo out of his hair. Careful not to get water or soap in his eyes, she used the water that had been in the bowl and poured the warm, lavender-scented liquid over his head in a slow trickle.
His arousal ratcheted up another notch; he was so fucking hard. He groaned out loud from pleasure.
But she wasn’t done yet. She wrung out the oil-infused towel and wrapped it around his head. The warmth and scent of the damp towel was like an unknown luxury, and he leaned back once more against Joy.
They stayed like that. Joy traced a lazy pattern around his chest, his nipples, and then her fingers dipped beneath the water to graze his stomach. Softly, she brushed her fingers against the tip of his erection, and he bit back a groan.
She took a washcloth and squeezed some lavender soap onto it. Then she dipped it in the bathwater and began to retrace her path, using the washcloth to rub over his chest, his abdomen, and lower. She wrapped the damp cloth around his penis and stroked him. She paid special attention to the underside, pressing right below the head, and all the muscles in his abs tensed as he gasped.
“Joy, I could get used to this.” The sensation of the cloth and warm water, feeling Joy’s body slick and wet behind him; add her relaxing treatment from moments ago, and he already wanted to come.
He placed a hand on hers, stopping her. As he turned in the tub to face her, the towel slid off him and into the water. Her eyes were big and dark, her skin slightly flushed. His heart started thumping. With all the women he’d been with, he’d always made sure it was about his partner. He’d never let his own pleasure come first; wasn’t that the nature of being dominant? He was the bondage master. He was supposed to be in charge. It went without saying.
But with Joy it was different. When it came to intimacy, things were equal. She asked for what she wanted and had no problem giving him what he wanted in return.
He couldn’t name one relationship he’d ever had in which that was the case. And he’d never felt for another woman anything near what he felt now.
Moving to the opposite side of the bathtub, he took one of Joy’s feet in his hand. She had beautiful feet, long and narrow, her arch curving as perfectly as Mary’s cheek in Michelangelo’s Pieta.
She shivered under his touch. “Feel good?” he asked.
“Heavenly.”
He continued to rub her foot, from her toes to her ankle, which he rotated a few times, and her eyes seemed to roll back in her head. “Mmmm.”
He moved to the graceful arch of her foot, using his fingers to rub out the last bits of tension. With slow, firm circles, he worked across the arch, her heel, back over to the ball of her foot. When she looked damn close to a state of ecstasy, he moved on to her other foot.
When he was done, he leaned forward and pulled her toward him. Yeah, judging by her expression, he’d done a good job; she looked ready to sleep, much like she did after they made love. Her nipples hardened once again as she wrapped her legs around his back and settled against him. He groaned; her pussy felt so good against his rock-hard cock. Even through the water he could feel how wet and slick she was.
He fisted her hair and brought her in for a kiss, feeling a shiver run over her when he tugged sharply. He kissed her leisurely, slowly, while tightening his fist in her hair.
He continued his treatment of tender kissing and sharp tugging until she moaned and started rubbing her pussy up and down his cock.
“Yeah… beautiful Joy,” he murmured, kissing her face, her lips, her nose. She continued to moan, to rub herself against him until it would be easy, too easy, to just slide right into her.
Breathing heavily, he broke away. “Let’s get out of here, sweetheart.”
Her eyes were wide and deep, and she nodded.
He unplugged the drain and helped her to her feet. Then he turned on the shower and rinsed both of them off quickly before wrapping Joy in a huge towel and taking her to his bed.
Chapter Twenty-five
As Ash returned from the bathroom, Joy watched him. He was naked and so beautiful he took her breath away. He was so thin and tight she could see the ridges of his abdomen, the muscles visible, and she wanted to touch him there, to taste him everywhere.
A streetlight was the room
’s only illumination, and it highlighted the blond streaks in his shaggy hair as he came for her. She was lost from the kissing session in the bathtub earlier. She didn’t think she’d ever been more relaxed in her life.
“Ash, come here. I want to taste you. I want to suck your cock.” She unwrapped the towel and threw it onto the floor.
His eyes bore into hers as he climbed onto the bed. “Jesus Christ, Joy.” He climbed on top of her, and she licked her lips, waiting for him to feed her his cock.
But he paused over her, looking at her breasts. “So beautiful… ,” he murmured, his breath soft on her skin.
He kneaded one breast while licking around her other nipple, swirling his tongue around and around until he finally sucked the tight, sensitive nub across his teeth.
“Oh…” She moaned, arching under his touch.
He released her nipple and blew gently onto her damp flesh. Her nipple tightened even further, and she whim-pered.
Drawing her into his mouth once more, he bit her sensitized nipple, softly at first and then harder and harder, until she clutched his head and opened her legs around him, inviting him.
But instead of slipping himself inside her, he flipped onto his back, taking her with him.
Straddling him, she looked at him in question.
His emerald eyes were nearly black now, and he said, “Do you want to fuck me, babe?”
A surge of power went through her, and she felt herself get even wetter. Her gaze swept over him, the hard ridges of his body, the dusting of hair below his navel. And his cock, so hard, so gorgeous; it was long and strong, just like the man himself.
She bent to his chest and circled one of his nipples with her tongue. Like he’d done to her, she swirled her tongue around the hard flesh, licking, sucking, tugging. She felt him inhale sharply, and she bit down.
“Joy…”
“Mmm.” Joy continued to lick his nipples, going back and forth between them. She felt his cock pressing hotly against her pelvis, and after a minute she made her way down, kissing his ribs, his stomach, and finally the head of his cock.
She licked around him, getting it nice and wet. The surface was smooth and rigid as she kissed and teased him, using her teeth, mouth, and lips to pleasure him. With her tongue, she flicked at the underside of his cock as she slid the head in and out of her mouth.
“Just like that… ,” he instructed.
She felt his abs clench as she gripped his cock. Sliding her hand down the base, she took him full into her mouth, deep, all the way down until she touched her own hand. She heard his breathing get heavy, and she continued to stroke him as she worked the head of his cock, then moved to the underside of his shaft, kissing and licking him there. She continued down, and then she went farther to curl her tongue around his balls.
“Joy… damn, girl. You make me feel so good.”
Her own body was responding, her pussy throbbing with want. She felt her own juice on the insides of her thighs. Her nerves were on fire; she wanted to feel something between her legs. As she continued to lick around his balls, she straddled his leg and pressed her aching pussy to his thigh.
“Mmmm,” she gasped as she made contact with his skin.
“Go ahead, Joy. Fuck my leg.”
She did. She rubbed her wet pussy around his thigh, felt her juices coating him as she pushed her swollen lips to his hard flesh.
Making her way back up to the top of his erection, she took him into her mouth once again. Relaxing her throat, she swallowed him as deep as she could. He groaned, and she looked up to see he was watching her, his eyes dark with desire.
She continued to make eye contact with him as she went down on him, again and again. As they stared at each other, something electric seemed to pulse between them, a connection pulling them deeper into each other.
And she wanted him to see how much she loved pleasing him, wanted him to see her getting off on his leg. She played it up, moaning and grinding against him.
He was breathing hard, his chest rising and falling in deep, rapid breaths. She was equally as turned on, and her pussy slid easily across the skin of his leg.
“Yeah, sweetheart. Suck me…”
“Mmmmm,” she said, and he groaned aloud.
Reaching lower, she took his balls in her hand. Using a fingernail, she gently scratched the soft skin until she felt his abs clench again. She drew his balls into her hand and pulled them down, away from the base of his shaft. He groaned aloud, and she saw him fist the sheets.
“You like it when I suck your cock?”
“You’re damn good at it, baby.”
She blew softly on the damp flesh, and he jerked. “Damn, woman… I’m so close…”
Smiling, she glanced up at him. “Not yet.”
Pleasuring him this way nearly sent her over the edge, and she ground herself even harder against his leg. Close, so close…
“I’m going to come, Joy,” he ground out.
“Do it.” She sucked him as deeply into her throat as she could, splaying her legs around his thigh, straddling him.
She felt him start to pulse, felt his ejaculation beating its way up his cock until it shot into her mouth in hot, wonderful bursts. She swallowed it down, loving the taste of Ash on her lips.
She followed, coming in a rush on his leg, clenching her thighs around his.
“Holy shit,” he said.
Smiling, she got up and went into the bathroom to wash up. As she walked across the room, she realized she didn’t even feel embarrassed to be prancing around buck-naked in front of him. Strange.
But she was too comfortable to worry about it. Instead she climbed into bed with Ash and nestled into her spot under his shoulder. He lightly brushed her hair off her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. At that moment, she was too exhausted, too satisfied to think anything except how good it felt to fall asleep in Ash’s arms.
The next morning as Ash ran in Golden Gate Park, adrenaline rushed through him, and he realized he was taking the course at a much faster pace than usual. But it felt good to run, to be outside. It was foggy but not cold, and the closer he got to the ocean, the heavier the scent of salt water became, pulling him toward it.
He couldn’t help but acknowledge the fact that he felt lighter today, like a weight had been lifted. Somehow he’d come to terms with his sister’s decision, and even realized it would be good for all of them.
And Joy. She was… getting to him. She seemed to be in the back of his head all the time, and now he wasn’t even trying to push her out of it.
But Joy wasn’t the reason he’d turned down the job in Iraq. She wasn’t the reason he felt calmer than he had in a long time. She wasn’t the reason that antsy feeling had ebbed somewhat.
Was she?
The thought both frightened and excited him. Joy certainly wasn’t the type of woman he’d ever thought he’d settle down with. Hell, he’d wondered if he would ever settle down at all. But, the thought of doing so with Joy wasn’t… horrible.
He tossed the idea around in his head, let it percolate in his mind. Yeah, the thought of being with Joy wasn’t horrible at all.
He rounded a corner and saw as he neared the ocean that the fog had begun to lift, lighting the foliage of the park in vivid hues of green. The damp scent of seawater became heavier, and he sucked in deep lungfuls of it. He wondered if Joy enjoyed the ocean like he did; would she want to go diving with him? He realized he didn’t know much about her, not as much as he wanted to know. He realized he wanted—needed—to know everything about Joy Montgomery.
“Well, someone got laid last night.”
Joy rolled her eyes at Andrew, but she couldn’t help the revealing grin that spread across her face. After they’d fallen asleep, she’d awoken to six foot of man between her thighs. She could wake up that way every morning for the rest of her life.
If the man was Ash.
She shook her head. Where had that thought come from?
You’re falling for
him, you nitwit!
Was she? Yeah, probably. She never thought a guy like Ash would be interested in her, but the more time she spent with him the less she doubted herself. And, she had to admit, that felt good.
“So who is he?” Andrew asked from his position at the reception desk. She could see today he was watching 1980s videos on YouTube. Currently Wham! was blaring through the tinny computer speakers.
“I never said I got laid,” she said.
Today Andrew wore a brown sweater that was supposed to look like it was made in the seventies, and his Mohawk was extra spikey. He raised a perfectly formed eyebrow. “Honey, I know that look. You had it the entire time Cartwright was here last year.”
At the mention of his name, Joy recoiled. Just the thought of that man made her feel nauseous. “Don’t remind me,” she muttered, doodling on a pad of paper.
It was past noon, and although the gallery had had a bit more traffic lately since the invitations for Ash’s show had gone out, overall things hadn’t picked up much.
She had a feeling that was about to change.
She’d seen most of the pieces Ash was going to include in the collection, and it was turning out better than she’d hoped. She still had some anxiety about having herself featured in the show, but it was too late to do anything about it now.
In fact, she needed to go to Ash’s later that afternoon to take some pictures for a client who was interested in a presale. She had expected a lot of interest in the show, but it was shocking just how many e-mails and calls she’d received from people wanting an early viewing. And with the gallery as dead as it was, she wasn’t going to make people wait until the night of the reception to make a sale.
But first she had a little errand to run. The museum was expecting her at eleven. All she had to do was take some pictures, do inventory, and slip a little stolen sculpture back into the collection.
Easy-peasy. So why were her palms damp with nerves?
She heard the door to the back office open, and a minute later Panos was standing before her. “How many RSVPs do we have so far, Joy?” he asked for the millionth time.