He lifted his head and looked down at her. His eyes were hazy with desire. “We should undress. I want to see you naked. Feel your skin on mine.”
Tahlia didn’t blush at his words. Instead, she untangled herself and began wiggling her way out of her dress.
“Here, let me help.” Maximus’s hands lightly brushed her skin as he lifted the silky fabric over her shoulders and head and dropped it to the floor. Tahlia wasn’t wearing anything other than a strapless bra and bikini panties, and the look of unadulterated lust on Maximus’s face made her feel desirable.
“God, you’re beautiful...”
She smiled and reached behind her to unfasten her bra, but Maximus stopped her. “Let me...” He unclasped the unwanted garment and tossed it aside. His eyes feasted on her bare breasts.
Maximus reached out and cupped them in his palms. “I can’t wait to taste you,” he said, stroking her chocolate nipples. They puckered in response to his touch. “But you still have too many clothes on.”
Tahlia leaned back on her forearms so Maximus could hook his fingers into the band of her panties and glide them down her trembling thighs. When she was completely naked, he peered down at her. His gaze riveted on her sex. Then he began stripping off his clothes.
Tahlia sucked in a deep breath as she watched him remove piece after piece of clothing. Maximus wasn’t overly muscular like some men; his body was all lean muscle and sinew. And when he removed his pants and she got to see the most intimate part of him, she stared unabashedly at his big and powerful shaft. He was more beautiful than she could have ever imagined. She reveled in the knowledge that tonight he was hers. And vice versa.
When he joined her again on the bed, Tahlia couldn’t wait to get her hands on him and began touching him everywhere she could, from the rippled muscles of his arms to his taut nipples to his flat, lean stomach, to his firm behind. She wanted all of it, all of him. He allowed her to explore him, barely touching her with only the slightest caress of his fingers. It didn’t matter. He’d already lit a fire inside her from the moment they’d officially met.
And when his hands cupped her face and he kissed her slow and deep, Tahlia nearly whimpered with hunger. She was feeling so much. Having Maximus’s lips, tongue and hands on her was everything. They were finally naked, their bodies touching, her breasts against his hard chest, hips and thighs tangled together. Tahlia laced her fingers through his curls, and as his kiss became more intense, her response became feverish to his searching tongue.
Maximus worked her mouth while his hands moved downward to tease her breasts with his fingertips. Her already sensitive nipples were aching for him, and he read her mind, his mouth leaving hers to find its way to where she needed him. He took her breasts in his hands, and his mouth closed over her nipple. He licked and teased her with featherlight flicks of his wet tongue before sucking on the hardened tip.
After leaving one breast, he moved to tease and coax a response from the other. His mouth continued its exploration as he made his way down her body, kissing and caressing her every nook and crevice. His hot mouth and searching fingers were blazing a trail of fire everywhere he went, striking a match to her need. All she could do was lie back, propped on her elbows, and watch him. Hunger was etched across his face as he skimmed his way down her entire body before stopping at her center.
“I can finally taste you properly,” Maximus murmured as he hovered over her, and Tahlia held her breath in anticipation of what was to come. She was unprepared for the openmouthed kiss he placed there, and her hips jerked involuntary.
“Easy, baby,” Maximus whispered, grasping her hips in his hands. “I’ve got you.”
Tahlia was in disbelief that this handsome man’s head was spread between her open thighs and was poised to give her more pleasure than she’d ever known. Tahlia arched her back, baring herself to him, so he could take all of her. But she wanted even more. “Please...”
He bent his head again, and the sensation of having his mouth on her caused Tahlia to tip her head back and moan. And when he slid a finger inside her to stroke her walls, she shuddered. His mouth and fingers didn’t stop their exploration of her wet heat. It was such a delicious torment that Tahlia gave herself over to him.
“Oh, yes. Yes!” She let go, her hips rising to meet his searching tongue and fingers. And when she could take no more her, her muscles contracted, her body tensed and she climaxed.
Maximus slowed his actions as Tahlia’s entire body felt sated. “I’m not done with you yet,” he said as his hands slid up her torso to toy with her breasts again. “This was just the beginning.”
* * *
As he looked down at her, Maximus had to admit he was enjoying every moment of Tahlia’s first climax with him. He’d known she’d be this way, this responsive to him, his kisses, his touch, but she’d been completely uninhibited with him, and he wanted more. It surprised him that in a short amount of time, he’d come to care for her, want her. It had taken a supreme amount of patience for him not to beg her to let him come up last Saturday night, but he was glad he had. Because this was so much better. The buildup of their first time together had made him even more excited of what was to come.
He wasn’t the only one ready for more. Now that she’d recovered, Tahlia was pushing his chest down until he was flat on the bed. She ran her hands across his chest. She bent her head and trailed a path of hot kisses all over his chest. He acknowledged her taking control by running his fingers through her hair. But when she came to his nipples and brushed her lips against one, he tensed.
He was going to be in trouble.
She teased his nipples with gentle flicks of her tongue, and every cell in his body came on fire. She stoked the flames. Her hot tongue moved from one nipple to the other, paying each equal homage. But she wasn’t done with him yet. She continued worshipping his body, kissing his abdomen and stomach before going straight to the source of his inferno.
As she crouched on her knees, her long hair brushed his abdomen, and Maximus let out a long sigh of appreciation from deep within him. And when her small hands grasped his burgeoning shaft, Maximus nearly leaped off the bed. This fiery vixen had him quivering. His erection pulsed in her delicate hands, but she didn’t shy away from him. Instead, she licked him.
Again and again, she licked the sides and bulbous head of his shaft, teasing him with light flicks of her tongue and then with bold strokes. His body responded, and he swelled even more in her hands, and that was when she took the crown into her mouth and sucked.
Sweet Jesus!
Maximus wasn’t sure he could take it, but take it he did. In fact, he groaned, “More...”
And she gave him more, bobbing her head up and down his shaft, taking him even deeper into her mouth. Maximus was just a man, and she brought him to his knees as he came inside her mouth. Tahlia licked every bit of him up with her tongue, and when she raised her head and stared up at him, she asked, “Did you like that?”
Maximus’s heart was pounding loudly in his chest and his heartbeat had yet to return to normal. “You—you know I did.”
She grinned mischievously. “Turnabout is fair play.”
Maximus reached for her and pushed her back into the pillows. “Well, then, let’s see who comes first next time.”
* * *
Tahlia felt even more excited by Maximus’s playful and provocative words. She’d taken charge, and he’d come undone just as he’d made her. It was powerful knowing the effect she could have on this man and that he was finally willing to be vulnerable with her, but she suspected they’d only just touched the surface on how deep their connection went. She watched as Maximus reached inside his nightstand for a foil packet and put on a condom.
Then he returned to her, and she parted her legs to make room for him so his mouth could plunder hers once more. He stilled and looked into her face, into
her soul. Then he reached between them to ensure she was still wet and ready for the moment. She was and lifted her hips and felt him position himself, and then he kissed her just as he eased inside her.
Tahlia cried out, closing her eyes from the intensity—the feel of him. Her fingers caught in his hair at the unbearable pleasure of having him inside her. He paused while her body got used to his. She was trembling. So his arms encircled her, and he thrust in again, this time deeper, filling her.
Talia wanted him to lose control as he’d done a moment ago, so she began working her muscles around him. His eyes widened. So she worked them harder—it pleased her when he let out a hiss of air. She was getting to him. She grasped his butt cheeks, pressing him closer. The move ratcheted up the level of passion inside him, and she could sense he was rallying to the challenge.
A low, husky laugh escaped his lips. And he began moving faster inside her, demanding she keep up the rhythm he was setting. He was in charge, his hands cupping her bottom as he surged in and out of her again with deliberate strokes. All thought of who was in control left Tahlia’s mind. She could only feel the heat of his body, the heavy rasp of his breathing, the slapping of their bellies as he drove harder inside her. She wrapped her legs around his middle, sweeping her fingers down his back.
And when rapture finally hit her, she screamed, and he shouted a purely animalistic cry as their control broke and they came tumbling back down to earth.
Chapter 9
Bare-chested and wearing only his pajama bottoms, Maximus stared out at the Los Angeles skyline. He was bowled over by the lovemaking Tahlia and he shared last night. They’d transcended any other experience he’d ever had. He’d never felt so close, so in tune to another human being. Tahlia had fulfilled every one of his fantasies, and then some. She was so open and honest with her feelings and how much she enjoyed everything he’d done—they’d done. Maximus smiled because he had the scratches on his back to prove it.
And she’d been insatiable for him. They hadn’t stopped at one time. They’d made love several times through the wee hours of the morning. He’d particularly enjoyed Tahlia on top as she’d straddled him, easing up and down his shaft. He’d encouraged her, holding her hips to find a rhythm. She’d ridden him until he’d flipped her over and taken her from behind. Images of them together throughout the night flooded his mind.
Maximus wasn’t sure he could continue with his seduction scheme. He’d known it was wrong from the start to use another person. But more important, he liked Tahlia a lot, much more than he’d ever imagined he would. He liked her openness, her kindness and her giving spirit. She was a truly unique person, and he considered himself lucky to have met her.
Tahlia emerged from his bedroom sleepy-eyed and wearing the tuxedo shirt he’d carelessly thrown on the floor in his haste to be with her. She looked sexy as hell with her hair mussed and lips swollen and wearing his shirt.
“Good morning, beautiful.” He held out his arms to her, but she shook her head and walked toward the overnight bag in the foyer that the driver had to have brought up last night.
“Let me brush my teeth first,” she said. She grasped her bag and quickly headed back to his bedroom.
He smiled. He loved the air of innocence about Tahlia. It was appealing given the sophisticated women he’d been with in the past. They wouldn’t have dared walk out of his bedroom without their hair in order and face fully made up. Tahlia, on the other hand, looked appropriately bedded. She was down-to-earth, and that was what he liked.
She reemerged five minutes later, and this time her hair had been brushed until it gleamed, and when she came toward him, she smelled clean and minty, like toothpaste and peppermint mouthwash. “Good morning.” She kissed him full on the mouth.
He stroked her hair, and she glanced up at him with her big brown eyes, and Maximus’s heart turned over in his chest. He couldn’t describe the feeling that came over him, only that he didn’t want to let her go. He patted his pajama bottoms, making sure he’d thrown in a condom. Then he hauled her closer to him and kissed her again.
She parted her lips and let him devour her mouth. He deepened the kiss, cupping her bottom against his erection because as soon as he’d seen her, he’d come to life. Maximus began walking Tahlia backward toward the couch. They fell on it a mass of limbs, but Maximus recovered long enough to start unbuttoning the shirt she wore. When her breasts were bare to him, he caught one in his mouth and teased it a little with his tongue and then moved to the other one.
Tahlia began writhing on the couch as he trailed hot kisses down her body. He was happy to find she hadn’t put on any panties, and he wasted no time easing her thighs apart and burying his face in her womanhood. He dipped his head to taste her, and Tahlia cried out. “Ah...”
He knew how to please her, and she gave herself over to him as he slipped her legs over his shoulders and opened herself up to him. She trusted him now and closed her eyes, allowing him to bring her through the storm as he toyed with her clitoris. She cried out wildly as she rode the wave, allowing him enough time to push down his bottoms, put on a condom and slide inside her as little aftershocks tore through her. He loved how her body clenched around him and would do so again with him inside her.
“Please, Max, please...” She gripped at his shoulders, desperate for him to move.
He took her hands in his and lifted them over her head, then he fixed her with a penetrating gaze. She stared at him for several long moments as she took in the intense look on his face. Then he surged forward—thrusting in and out.
She gasped, working her hips underneath him in tandem with him, and his hold loosened and she laced her fingers with his. Their eyes remained locked as they moved as one flesh. Maximus couldn’t break the gaze. As the intensity grew between them, she didn’t look away, either. Instead he sank deeper and deeper until finally their bodies shook and her name passed from his lips again and again.
“Tahlia. Tahlia.”
* * *
After running home to change, Tahlia made it over to her mother’s for Sunday dinner with her sister, Kaitlynn. She’d stayed most of the day at Maximus’s penthouse, laughing, talking and, of course, making love. The pleasure and satisfaction she’d found in his arms was immeasurable, and she could attest to it thanks to the soreness between her thighs.
Maximus was not only a skilled lover, but a voracious one. She’d never been made love to with such authority and intensity. It was as if he owned her body and she’d been powerless to do anything but be as honest as she could be and hide nothing from him. She’d shown him exactly how much she’d desired him when he’d asked if he was pleasing her or if she wanted more of whatever delicious activity they were engaged in at that moment.
She was in so deep with Maximus. She was falling for him, and it terrified her. The emotions she felt for him were much stronger than what she’d felt for Paul.
“Tahlia,” her mother, Sophia, greeted her in the hall after Tahlia used her key to come inside.
“Hey, Mama,” Tahlia said. Then she sniffed with her nose. “What are you cooking?”
Her mother shrugged. “Just your favorite homemade chicken potpie.”
Tahlia smiled. “You spoil me.”
“But she made my favorite dessert,” Kaitlynn said, rising from the sofa in the living room where she was watching television.
“Hey, sis.” Tahlia gave her sister a one-armed hug.
“I like spoiling both my girls,” Sophia replied. Then she inclined her head to the bottle of wine in Tahlia’s hand. “You want to open that up while the potpie finishes? Shouldn’t be much longer now.”
“Sure thing.” They all filed into her mother’s small kitchen, which had only enough room for a four-seater table.
Tahlia looked around. “Mama, we need to get you a bigger place.”
“Why?” her
mother asked as she fished a wine opener out of one of the drawers and began opening the bottle. “This is just fine for me. No need in spending money just because you have some.”
“I know, but you’ve been here since we were little,” Tahlia replied. “You deserve something nicer. Doesn’t she, Kaitlynn?” She turned to her sister for confirmation.
“I agree with Tahlia, Mom. You could do better than this place.”
“Why would I want to leave?” She pulled three wineglasses from above her head in the cabinet, poured the wine and handed both of them a glass. “This place has all my memories of you girls growing up.” She went over to the doorway and lightly touched the markings that held their growth spurts through the years.
“I know,” Tahlia said, sipping her wine. “I just want the best for you.”
“And now that you’re dating a wealthy boyfriend, it’s probably hard to come back down to earth, huh?” Kaitlynn teased, eyeing her.
Tahlia glared at her. “Don’t hate just because Max and I are in a relationship.”
Kaitlynn’s brow rose. “So you’re admitting he’s your boyfriend?”
“He called me his girlfriend the other day when he introduced me. So yes, I guess I am.”
A smile formed on her sister’s lips. “Then I’m glad to see I was wrong. The only reason I’d cautioned you to be careful around him was because I thought Maximus was using you for your vote.”
“Her vote?” her mother inquired.
“Don’t forget, Mama, Tahlia is the deciding vote at Knight Shipping if Maximus and his brother should butt heads.”
Tahlia was silent. She hadn’t yet been put to the test on what Max’s expectation of her was where her vote was concerned. They’d never really discussed it. Did he see it as a foregone conclusion that she would automatically side with him?
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