Chapter Three
ONE minute Cameron was contemplating having sex with Mia, and the next he had her pushed up against the nearest wall with his mouth on hers like a man starved for the taste of her. And that's exactly how he felt… ravenous, greedy, demanding.
There was nothing gentle or sweet about this first, long overdue kiss, or the way the deep stroke of their tongues dueled for supremacy. She clenched her fingers in his hair and returned the sensual assault with abandon and equal hunger-not that he'd expect anything less from this woman who'd worn a shirt proclaiming she was too wild to tame.
Her heady, feminine scent seemed to be everywhere and infused every breath he managed to inhale. He could feel her breasts, warm and yielding, against his chest, and he had the overwhelming urge to touch her everywhere at once, to drown every one of his five senses with her essence and sensuality.
Keeping his mouth on hers, he slid his hands around to her ass and pulled her closer, fitting the hard ridge of his cock between her thighs. The soft, needy sound she made in the back of her throat, combined with the provocative way she rolled her hips against his, had his blood roaring in his ears and pure, unadulterated lust surging through his body.
That easily, she'd pushed him to this madness. And now that he'd let go, he'd lost the ability to slow down or stop. He couldn't stop, not even if his life depended on it. And at the moment, his life depended on kissing her, touching her, and feeling her hot and wet around him.
But Mia seemed to have other ideas, and true to her nature she took charge, becoming the aggressor. Breaking their kiss, she skimmed his shirt up and over his head, tossed it to the floor, and then pushed him toward the bed. He fell back onto the mattress, and she gave him only a handful of seconds to move upward before she crawled on top of him, hiked up the hem of her leopard print mini-skirt, and straddled his waist like the pagan she was. She stripped off her own damp top, leaving her clad in a see-through lace bra that was sexy as hell.
His fierce erection was nestled against her bottom, and he groaned when she leaned over him, braced her hands on either side of his head, and rocked sinuously against his thick, aching shaft. An inviting, wholly female smile played at the corners of mouth, and she closed her eyes, tossed her head back, and moaned her own enjoyment as she arched into him all over again.
Watching Mia in the throes of pleasure was an incredibly arousing sight, but Cameron wasn't about to let her be the only dominant one in this sexual encounter-as she no doubt expected to be. Reaching up, he dragged her bra straps down her arms and peeled away the flimsy fabric covering those twin mounds of flesh. Her breasts spilled out, full and firm and crowned with dark pink aureoles. He cupped the heavy, delicious weight of her breasts in his palms and scraped his thumbs across her rigid nipples, reveling in the soft warmth of her bare skin, the catch of her breath in the back of her throat, and how amazingly responsive she was to his touch.
He wanted to take her in his mouth. Wanted to circle her nipples with his tongue and suck on her breasts until she pleaded for him to stop. Oh, yeah, he'd enjoy hearing Mia beg for mercy for a change. He would love watching her ultimate surrender to him.
Before he could make that gratifying image a reality, she stole back the reins of control once again, distracting him with the soft press of her lips to his chest and the hot, damp trek of her lush mouth skimming its way down to his stomach as she moved lower and then lower still. Her slender, nimble fingers followed, stroking along his taut abs until she reached the waistband of his jeans.
She nuzzled his belly, and he felt a distinct tug as she deftly unfastened the top button on his pants. Then he heard the growl of his zipper as she drew it down over his huge, rock-hard erection. Before he could inhale his next ragged breath, she'd released his cock from the confines of his briefs and had her fingers wrapped tight around the straining length.
His entire body shuddered, and he clenched his fists into the bedcovers, realizing just how much power this woman actually had over him. Especially when she held him in the palm of her hand the way he'd fantasized for what had seemed like a lifetime.
He glanced down to where she was kneeling between his thighs and found her looking up at him with a come-hither smile on her lips and a sly, seductive I've got you right where I want you twinkle in her quicksilver eyes. The woman was a minx, and he realized she was keeping score on who had the upper hand. He was extremely pleased it was her at the moment.
She stroked his shaft, teasing him with light caresses and tormenting him with the promise of more. He closed his eyes and grit his teeth as she skimmed her thumb up over the tip of his penis and spread the slick drop of pre-come over the sensitive head. And if that wasn't enough for him to bear, he nearly died when she took every single hard inch of him into the silky, wet heat of her mouth. He groaned at the delicious friction she created with her lips and tongue and fingers as she slid up and down his throbbing shaft. She added suction, and his body tensed as he fought against the overwhelming urge to come.
Not like this.
He needed to get inside of her, now, and it was that urgent, desperate thought that drove him to reach for Mia and pull her back up. In a quick, lithe move, he had her flat on her back. Her eyes widened in startled surprise, and before her shock had a chance to dissipate, he shoved her skirt up and removed her wispy, barely there, G-string panties. Then he slipped off both of her high-heeled shoes so there was no chance she'd accidentally injure him with the sharp spikes when he wrapped her legs high around his waist.
Pushing her knees apart, he spread her wide and swept his hands down her smooth, supple thighs. His thumbs grazed the neatly trimmed thatch of dark hair on her mound; slid along her slick, glistening folds of her sex; and dipped into the moist, giving entrance of her body. She sucked in a sharp gasp as his fingers filled her and moaned loud and low when his thumb rubbed against her clit.
He was satisfied to discover that she was already incredibly wet and aroused. Unable to wait a moment longer to fuck her, he moved up and over her body and felt the head of his cock glide along her sex as he pinned her beneath him. Their eyes met and held, hers filled with dark desire, and he watched as she gasped and arched into him when he abruptly thrust into her, a seemingly endless journey as he drove himself to the hilt. She was snug around him, like slick, wet satin gripping his shaft, and the intensely erotic sensation made his head spin.
Her bare breasts were crushed against his chest, her knees bracketed his hips, and the urge to possess her in the most elemental way possible overwhelmed him. Tangling his fingers in Mia's soft, thick hair, he held her head in his hands and slanted his mouth across hers in a hot, deep, tongue-tangling kiss.
Then he began to move.
Her hands slid to his shoulders, and her fingers dug into his muscles as he surged into her, again and again, tearing a moan from the back of her throat. His strokes became faster, longer, ruthlessly demanding, and a whole lot primal. With each thrust he felt himself grow harder, thicker, until lust and need collided into white-hot heat and an all-consuming pleasure that threatened to engulf him.
Lost in the rush of sensation, lost in her, he wrenched his mouth from hers, tossed his head back in pure ecstasy, and arched into her one last time, high and hard and infinitely deep. A guttural growl tore from his chest, and his entire body shuddered as he came, harder and stronger than he could ever remember.
His scorching release seemed to go on and on, wringing him dry and leaving him weak and devastated, until he could do nothing else except collapse on top of Mia. He buried his face against her neck, and as he gradually recovered and his mind cleared, he became intimately aware of the woman beneath him-especially the fact that her body wasn't nearly as slack and relaxed as his own. Although he'd just experienced the most explosive orgasm of his life, Mia had not.
Swearing beneath his breath, he moved off her so he was laying by her side and no longer crushing her with his weight. Normally, he enjoyed foreplay. Loved every aspect of it, act
ually. Making a woman come was just as exciting and pleasurable to him as his own release. Except tonight, with Mia, he hadn't even given her the opportunity to reach her own orgasm. Hadn't even taken the time to make it good for her. He'd been so hot for her, so eager to finally end the sexual tension that had been building for months between them, that he hadn't been able to think beyond his own satisfaction.
Disgusted with himself, he zipped up his jeans and reluctantly glanced over at Mia, expecting to find her glaring at him for being such an insensitive, selfish cad-which was no less than he deserved. Instead, what he saw made him feel as though someone had just sucker punched him in the stomach.
She was lying next to him on her back, just the way he'd left her, with her head turned slightly away from him, eyes closed. If he didn't know better, he would have thought she was sleeping, but he instinctively knew she was giving herself a few private moments to recover from what had just happened between them. Her face was flushed, her breathing still choppy, and she'd draped one arm over her exposed breasts in a belated show of modesty-which was very telling considering she was half-dressed, with her bra bunched beneath her breasts and her skirt hiked around her hips.
It struck him as a pose of self-preservation, a way to protect herself-without even realizing she was doing so.
Finally, her lashes fluttered open and she slowly glanced his way. Her gaze was guarded and her expression was tentative, even a bit uncertain. She looked so damn vulnerable, and that was a term he never would have equated to this woman beside him. No, the sassy, impudent Mia he was familiar with would have shattered the silence with a smartass remark and brushed off the encounter as just another casual, one-night-stand affair.
But this Mia staring at him… oh, Lord, she had the ability to cripple his emotions and make him care. At the moment he had the strong urge to reach out and touch her, gently this time. To smooth away the silky strands of hair that had fallen across her soft cheek. To lean down and kiss her slowly, leisurely, and make love to her with only her needs in mind this time.
That thought reminded him once again of what a self-absorbed lover he'd been, fueling the need to make amends for being so thoughtless with her.
"Mia… I'm sorry," he said, his tone low and rough, though the words alone seemed inadequate.
She stiffened, her gaze suddenly flaring with rebellion. Abruptly, she sat up and tugged the hem of her skirt down her thighs and readjusted her bra so her breasts were covered again. That quickly, her entire demeanor shifted and changed. Gone was that glimpse of insecurity he'd witnessed, and in its place was a spark of defiance that put a wall between them and shut him out.
"You don't owe me an apology, or anything else for that matter," she said, her tone infused with a thread of sarcasm he immediately recognized as a defense tactic. "I'm a big girl, and what we just did was completely consensual."
She thought he was apologizing because he was feeling guilty about what just happened. Oddly enough, he had no regrets-and that was something he refused to analyze too closely at the moment, although he knew he'd eventually have to face that issue at some point. She'd also made it very clear in her comment that she wasn't the type of woman to develop expectations about them, or him, just because they'd slept together.
Now this was the Mia he'd come to know. He found it ironic that he was beginning to realize that her stubborn, too-confident attitude was an act of some kind-a possible way to protect herself and emotions when a situation became too intimate or personal.
As it just had with them.
Exhaling a deep, frustrating breath, he stood up, went to his dresser, and pulled out a clean T-shirt, which he handed to Mia so she didn't have to put her wet top back on. She slipped the shirt over her head and let it fall to her thighs, dwarfing her petite frame. He was just damn grateful it covered her adequately so he didn't have to look at her bare skin and lush curves, which had the potential to distract him from the conversation they needed to have.
She glanced up at him in silent thanks, and as soon as she met his gaze and he had her attention, he spoke what was on his mind. "I'm not apologizing because we had sex," he said, wanting to be sure she understood his stand on that score.
Her expression turned wary and confused. "Then what are you sorry for?"
There was no sugar-coating what he had to say, so he didn't even try. "I didn't exactly give you the chance to come."
Her brows rose in surprise and then the corner of her kiss-swollen mouth quirked in amusement. "I'll spare you your male pride," she said as she stepped around him to the other side of the bed. "I'm not one of those orgasmic kind of women, so don't let it keep you up tonight worrying and wondering. The fact that I didn't have an orgasm wasn't something you did or didn't do."
Stunned by her admission, he turned to stare at her as she picked up The Electric Blue T-shirt she'd worn earlier. "You mean to tell me you've never had an orgasm?"
"Oh, I've had plenty of orgasms, sugar," she drawled, resorting back to the sassy woman he was all too familiar with. "Just not with a guy or during sex."
That made him think of how she did achieve sexual satisfaction-all on her own. It wasn't difficult to imagine Mia pleasuring herself, with intimate caresses, the slow, sweeping strokes of her fingers and her soft, sweet moans. In fact, that particular fantasy dancing in his mind was downright erotic and made him hard all over again.
He shook his head, still trying to comprehend the fact that all her sexual encounters had lacked one crucial element. "I can't believe you've never climaxed during sex."
Her shoulders lifted in a nonchalant shrug as she slipped on her skimpy panties, as if she'd come to accept the way things were for her. "It just doesn't happen for me that way, and I'm not into faking an orgasm for the sake of a guy's ego, so don't give it a whole lot of thought."
How could he not? He wanted to be that guy who gave her an amazing sexual experience, complete with an earth-shattering orgasm while he was buried deep, deep inside her. He wanted to be the one who took the time to make it so good for her, she'd never settle for less than the ultimate pleasure her body was capable of feeling-pure, unadulterated ecstasy. And if he was lucky, she'd scream his name when she came.
Oh, yeah. Now mat was a fantasy he'd love to make a reality. Except he was certain his erotic daydream would never come to fruition, considering he had no intention of repeating what had happened between them tonight. To do so would be emotional suicide for him, not to mention all the other complications of having an affair with Mia. Mostly, having to explain to her brothers or cousin and his business partner, Steve, that he was having a hot, but temporary, affair with her.
That announcement would certainly go over like a lead balloon, and he'd probably end up castrated by the protective bunch for daring to touch Mia-the baby of the family. It didn't matter that she'd instigated tonight's sexual encounter-they'd expect him to show some restraint, to be the strong one, to resist the temptation Mia had been tossing his way for months. And if that control happened to slip, as it had tonight, they'd expect more out of him than a one-night stand with Mia. Except he didn't see a future with Mia and himself, not when she was so completely opposite of the kind of woman he was looking to spend his life with.
She was reckless, defiant, and trouble just waiting to happen. However, what Cameron couldn't erase from his mind was that unguarded, unplanned glimpse of a more vulnerable side to Mia he'd seen earlier. But he understood this woman well enough to know that she'd never admit to such a weakness.
He watched as she sat down on the edge of the bed to put her shoes back on, and an important thought struck him, one he couldn't dismiss. "Mia… there's something else we need to talk about."
She glanced at him hesitantly, and he couldn't blame her for being cautious after the discussion they'd just had about orgasms.
He pushed his hands into his front jeans pockets, calling himself a hundred kinds of fools for being so careless, but he'd completely lost his head with her and hadn
't given a single thought to using a condom. No, that had been the very last thing on his mind. "We didn't use any protection."
She looked away and finished sliding her foot into her heeled shoe. "I appreciate the concern, but we're fine. I'm on the pill."
"Great." He was definitely relieved. The last thing he needed was to worry for the next few weeks about the possibility of Mia being pregnant. He couldn't imagine her settling down into domestic bliss and devoting her time to a husband and a baby, and he was certain such a fate would put a major crimp in her carefree lifestyle. That was obviously why she took her own precautions.
She stood and approached him. Her gaze met his steadily, her features giving nothing away as to what she was really thinking or feeling. "Since we've pretty much established that I'm not drunk, there's no reason for me to stay here and you can take me home."
With that, she walked out of the bedroom, head held high, leaving him to follow behind.
EARLY the next morning, Mia sat at the small drafting table she'd set up in the corner of her bedroom in the apartment she shared with Gina and absently sketched out a design for a new stained-glass project. After last night's escapade with Cameron, she'd woken up feeling tired, emotionally and physically, but mentally inspired, and she always followed her muse when it beckoned.
Besides, other than grocery shopping, she had nothing planned for the day, or the weekend for that matter, which gave her the perfect opportunity to develop the image in her mind on paper, then begin the creation process with stained glass.
During the week, she worked a normal nine-to-five grind as a secretary at the tile company her oldest brother, Scott, along with her other brother, Alex, now operated for their father. Her job at Nolan and Sons provided a steady and reliable paycheck, but this was her dream, and had been for years now.
Too Wilde to Tame Page 4