“How to proceed in our relationship.”
What relationship? They had a relationship? If they did it was news to her. “We don’t have a relationship, Virgil. We have a business arrangement. You’ve made that pretty clear more than once.”
“And that’s what I need to talk to you about.”
She gazed at him thoughtfully for a minute and then said, “Fine, we’ll talk but only because you have me curious.” She then took the key from her purse.
When she found it, he took it from her hand. And the moment their fingers touched, a jolt of sexual desire rocked her to the bone. She glanced up at him and a tight smile touched the corners of his lips.
“I felt it, too,” he said, his eyes flaring with the same intense desire that she felt. “I’ve been feeling it all day and that’s why we need to talk.”
If he thought talking would solve their problem, then he was not thinking realistically. But instead of saying anything, she nodded.
He unlocked the door and then stood aside for her to enter.
* * *
Virgil followed Kara inside, and the moment he stepped into the foyer, he couldn’t help remembering what had happened the last time he was here. He had given Kara a kiss in a way that should be outlawed. And nothing would satisfy him more than to do it again. But like he’d told her, they needed to talk. While in Orlando he’d come up with a plan, one he hoped she would go along with.
“Would you like something to drink?” she asked him.
He reined his thoughts in and noticed she had paused to remove the high heels from her feet. “That would be nice.”
“You know where the refrigerator is. Help yourself. I need to grab my flats.”
He watched her walk off toward her bedroom and his gaze was fixed on her backside with every step she took. She damn sure looked good in that purple dress. He hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off her most of the day. And he’d wanted to touch her every chance he got, which was why he’d taken hold of her hand a lot. Spending time at his parents’ place had reminded him of other times they’d joined the folks for movie night. When she went into her bedroom and closed the door behind her, he rubbed a hand down his face and quickly walked to the kitchen. He definitely needed a drink.
Moving through her living room, he glanced around and noticed a number of changes she’d made. Several new pieces of furniture, more artwork on her walls. When he stepped into the kitchen, he immediately noticed new stainless-steel appliances. She had talked about getting rid of her old appliances but had kept putting it off. He was glad she’d gotten around to replacing them.
Grabbing a beer out of her fridge, he quickly popped the tab and took a huge swig. Today had been one hell of a day and spending a lot of time around Kara hadn’t been easy. His parents had to know that, yet it seemed they’d intentionally prolonged the day.
“Virgil?”
“I’m still in the kitchen,” he called out. “Want anything?”
“A cold bottle of water would be nice.”
“A cold bottle of water coming up,” he said, reopening her refrigerator and grabbing a bottle of water. He walked out of the kitchen, stepped into the living room and suddenly stopped. Not only had she changed shoes, she’d also changed clothes.
“Is anything wrong?”
“You changed clothes.”
She smiled, glancing down at herself. “Yes, I decided to get comfortable. Anything wrong with what I have on?”
The fact that it wasn’t purple was the first thing he noticed, although she did look good in the silky black shirt dress. What he liked most was how it was showing off her legs as well as how the outfit buttoned up the front with a shirttail hem that fanned across her backside. She wasn’t wearing a bra, he was sure of it, and for some reason he had a feeling she wasn’t wearing panties, either. She was taking “comfortable” to a level he definitely liked.
“No, nothing is wrong with what you’re wearing. Here’s the water,” he said, handing the bottle to her in a way that ensured their hands wouldn’t touch. He wasn’t sure how much control he would have if they did.
“Thanks.”
He watched her uncap the top and tilt the bottle up to her lips. Immediately his gut clenched. It was almost too much temptation. Renewed desire throbbed all through him, nearly overtaking his senses. Knowing he needed to get a grip, he glanced around the room and then said, “I like the changes you made in here.”
“Thanks. My next project is removing all this carpet and replacing it with wood floors.”
“That will be nice.”
“Yes, I think so.”
She placed the half-empty water bottle on the coffee table and eased down on the sofa, tucking her feet beneath her. Doing so gave him more than a flash of bare thigh. He could feel the pounding of his heart in his chest.
“You said we needed to talk.”
Yes, he had. He settled into the chair across from her, wondering about the best way to approach what he had to say. He figured the best thing to do was to come right out and not beat around the bush. “I want you, Kara. And you want me.”
She raised a brow. “You think so? About me wanting you?”
“Yes.” He paused a moment and held her gaze. “Are you going to deny it?”
She didn’t say anything for a minute, and then she said, “At some point in our lives, Virgil, we all want things we can’t have. Things we don’t need. Things that can cause us more harm than good. Things that—”
“Don’t get all philosophical on me, Kara,” he interrupted in a tense voice.
He drew in a deep, shaky breath when his gaze left her face and scanned down her body before returning to her face again. She had a way of stirring up his emotions and passions that could do him in if he wasn’t careful. “Just answer the question.”
She broke eye contact with him to glance around the room, deliberately looking at everything but him. When she returned her gaze to his, she began nibbling at her lips before she finally spoke. “And if I do want you, Virgil, then what?”
He swallowed against the massive lump in his throat. He could tell her about a lot of ideas he had in mind. And all of them hot, raw and sexual. Instead he said, “Then it’s time to present my own action plan.”
* * *
Kara arched a brow. Virgil was sitting across from her taking another swig of his beer as if giving her time to digest what he’d said. She was doing more than digesting it. Her imagination was going wild with ways she could use whatever action plan he’d come up with to her advantage.
When he had walked out of her kitchen minutes ago, he had stood tall, broad shouldered and sexy. She could remember his muscular chest very well. Remember all the times that naked chest had rubbed against her breasts, causing her nipples to tighten.
“And what if I said I’m not interested?” she asked, studying him intently.
He stretched his long legs out in front of him and his mouth slanted into a sexy and seductive smile. “You haven’t heard it yet.”
“Don’t have to, Virgil. I know how your mind works.”
His smile widened and it made her pulse race. “You probably do, but I still want you to hear me out. I think I have a plan where we can both benefit.”
She didn’t say anything for a long moment. Instead she sat there and continued to hold his gaze. They were looking at each other with unflinching directness, even while she felt waves of sensual heat rippling between them. She could even feel the tightening of her nipples beneath the silk of her dress. And from his position in the chair, she could see the huge bulge pressing hard against the zipper of his pants. He wasn’t even trying to hide his erection. Rather he seemed to be intentionally letting her see the proof of what he’d said earlier. He wanted her.
Kara knew Virgil was fully aware of what he was do
ing to her with his gaze. It was deliberately warming her, caressing her and sending throbbing need shooting through her. She’d discovered long ago that, when it came to seduction, Virgil’s gaze was a mesmerizing force to contend with. It had the ability to break down her defenses. But for her it was about more than rolling in the sack a few times. She wanted to be back in his life. Totally and completely. She knew he couldn’t fathom such a thing happening, but she had to believe she could pull it off. She was putting her heart on the line. But the big question was, would he ever feel secure enough to put his on the line again?
“Kara?”
“Fine, let’s hear it,” she said in a tone that made it seem as if she’d gotten annoyed, when in truth she’d gotten aroused just thinking about what he might have in mind. Like she told him, she knew how his mind worked.
He placed his beer can on the table. “I propose we become lovers.”
“Why?”
He chuckled and the sound sent sensuous shivers down her spine. “Do you really have to ask me that?”
No, she didn’t, but she wanted him to spell it out to her anyway. Every single detail. She needed to hear it. Feel it. Imagine it. “Yes, I think I have to ask. I want to make sure I fully understand what you’re proposing, exactly what I’ll be getting myself into.”
Virgil nodded. “Fair enough.” He paused a minute before he continued. “What you’ll be getting yourself into, Kara, is me. And I will be getting myself into you. Your action plan requires us to spend a lot of time together for the next several weeks. I see no reason why we can’t make it worth our while. We’re still attracted to each other so we might as well do something about it. Enjoy each other, both in and out of bed. Mix business with pleasure. Stir up mind-blowing passion the way we used to do.”
He paused for a moment and Kara knew what his next words would be even before he spoke them. “But be forewarned, Kara. What we share will be sex and nothing else. There will never be anything of substance between us ever again.”
“Don’t you think I know that, Virgil?”
“Just making sure that you do. I need to be sure you understand that sex is all we can ever share. I have to know you can be satisfied with that.”
“Yes, I’d be satisfied because that’s the way I’d want it, as well.” She could tell he was surprised by her words.
“I’m curious why you feel that way.”
She shifted in her seat and watched his gaze move from her face to the glimpse of bare skin on her thighs, just like she had wanted it to do. When his gaze had slid back to her face, she said, “You make it clear how things stand between us every chance you get. I’ve decided I wouldn’t want to get back with you even if the possibility was there.”
She forced back her smile from the glare that came into his eyes. “And why is that?”
“Because I could never love a man with such an unforgiving nature. A man who expects me to be perfect, thinks he makes no mistakes, when I know he’s certainly made a few of his own.”
“You think I want a perfect woman?”
“Doesn’t matter what I think. And to be honest I no longer care, Virgil.” She eased off the sofa. “Now if you don’t mind, it’s getting late and I plan to go to early-morning church service tomorrow.”
He eased up out of his chair, as well. “So you’re in agreement that we should be lovers?”
“I’ll think about it and let you know,” she said, heading for the door to let him out. She knew he thought he would be staying a little longer, but she would do things on her time and not his.
“When will you let me know?” he asked when he stood across from her in the foyer.
“Soon.”
“How soon, Kara?”
She thought he sounded pretty anxious. “Before the end of the week.”
He was silent for a minute before saying, “Then maybe I need to leave you with a little persuasion.”
“You can try.” She knew Virgil Bougard didn’t like to be dared.
He reached out and placed his arms around her waist to bring her closer to the fit of him. “I presented you with my action plan, Kara. Now for a sample of that action.” And then he lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her with a desperation that made her toes curl and shot arrows of pleasure throughout her body.
When she parted her lips on a breathless sigh, he took advantage of the opportunity and swept his tongue inside her mouth in a smooth delicious stroke. She settled into his kiss, pressing the lower part of her body against him. And when he deepened the kiss, she could feel her heart stir in the pit of her stomach as their tongues tangled, mated voraciously, ravenously and urgently.
He was doing more than giving her a sample. Virgil was trying to erode her senses while kissing her with pure, unadulterated possession. Hadn’t he said that any affair between them would be nothing more than sex? Then why was he kissing her as if he intended for her to be a keeper?
He finally broke off the kiss, and then as if he needed to catch his breath, he pressed his forehead against hers. That was good because she definitely needed to catch her breath. But then, before she realized what he was about to do, he eased back and reached out a hand to open the first few buttons of her dress, exposing her breasts. He stood quietly for a moment, not saying anything as his eyes simply feasted on her bare breasts. She felt her nipples harden even more before his gaze.
He reached out and cupped her breasts in his hands, running his fingers across the budded tips. When he lowered his head and sucked a nipple in his mouth, Kara’s breathing escalated and she got weak in the knees. Reaching up she grabbed hold of his shoulders for support. And when he licked the nipple he was holding hostage, she forced back a moan.
To her detriment he didn’t stop there. Reaching down he finished unbuttoning her dress all the way to the hem to find her naked. Without breaking from his torment of her breasts, he slid his hand between her legs.
* * *
Perfect, Virgil thought, when Kara parted her legs for him. When it came to multitasking, he was a pro. With his mouth on her breasts and his hands stroking her between the legs, he was proving just how much of an expert he was. He’d always enjoyed this, priming her with foreplay before getting down to the real business of easing inside her. He would stroke her back and forth, over and over again, while enjoying the sounds of the moans she would make, the way her breathing escalated and her body trembled.
His mouth moved to her other breast, and without letting up, his fingers continued to stroke her below. He loved the sounds of her purrs. It had been a while since he’d heard them and hearing them now made him realize what he’d missed. To be honest, he had missed her. He would admit that. They had been good together and could be good together again. At least this way, which was the only way he wanted. Sex, sex and more sex.
When he heard her groan his name, he knew his fingers were about to push her over the edge and he wanted his tongue to join his fingers when she toppled. He quickly released her breast and dropped to his knees, widening her legs in the process. She screamed the moment his tongue replaced his fingers and he gripped tightly to her thighs while his mouth locked down on her. He greedily began lapping her.
“Virgil!”
And then it happened for her and nothing, not even the feel of her fingernails digging into his shoulders, could make him stop and pull back. He needed her taste like he needed to breathe. It was only when he felt the last spasm pass through her body that he slowly released her thighs and reluctantly pulled his mouth away. But not before getting in one final intense lick. And he couldn’t pass up the chance to place several nips around her womanly folds.
Leaning back on his haunches he looked up at her. Holding her gaze, he licked his lips, wanting her to know just how much he’d enjoyed her taste. Her face glowed from the effects of her orgasms and he thought she looked utterly beauti
ful.
Virgil recalled a time when seeing such a look on her face would make him crazier in love with her, so crazy he couldn’t think straight. He blinked and quickly pushed that particular memory from his mind.
Slowly easing up from the floor, he didn’t say anything but proceeded to button up her dress, ignoring the way his fingers trembled while doing so. More than once he had to rework a button when it kept coming back open.
When he had refastened all ten buttons he met her gaze and said, “Let me know your decision soon, Kara,” in a voice that sounded husky to his own ears. “What we just shared was merely an appetizer. Let me know when you’re ready for the full-course meal.”
And then, after giving her lips one final lick , he leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “Sleep well tonight.”
And then he opened the door and left.
Chapter 14
Kara woke up the next morning and for the longest time she just lay there and stared up at the ceiling. Last night had been round one and of course Virgil hadn’t played fair. In fact she was convinced he hadn’t been playing at all. He was deadly serious in his conquest of her, and all in the name of sex. But then, it didn’t take much to recall that’s how things had been the last time. He’d started out wanting nothing more than sex from her, but in the end they had fallen in love.
A part of her wanted to believe, had to believe, that it could be that way for them again. Virgil might think he wanted just sex, but it was up to her to show him she wasn’t a just-sex kind of woman. Never was and never would be. He had his guard up and would continue to keep it up, but a part of her felt she’d been able to jump the first hurdle.
That meant she had to be on top of her A game because he was definitely on top of his. Even now her body was still stirring in passionate bliss from last night. While standing in the middle of her foyer, he’d taken her breasts, drawing them into his mouth, tugging, laving and sucking on them, torturing them with his tongue. He had pleasured her and made her remember things she had tried to forget. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he’d used his mouth between her legs and made her come not once but twice. The man’s mouth was definitely a weapon of deadly seduction.
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