Love Letters Volume 5: Exposed

by Ginny Glass, Christina Thacher, Emily Cale, Maggie Wells

  Something in Alec McCarthy’s smirky smile told her the man appreciated a challenge, so she played a little feint and parry. She stood a bit closer on the platform, but never close enough for conversation. She added a little wiggle to her walk on the days when she could hear his footsteps behind her. On the mornings he was bold enough to grab the bar just above her seat on the train, she patently ignored the way he was pretending not to look at her. In the evenings, she cast one last glance over her shoulder to be sure he was looking. He usually was.

  And so was she.

  From the first time their eyes met, she knew he was different from most men she’d known. Unlike the boys from her old neighborhood, Alec wasn’t the kind of man to hold her back or try to keep her down. The blatant admiration in his gaze told her he only wanted to lift her up, a prospect that excited her almost as much as the desire she’d seen shining in his eyes.

  She could claim that it was a stroke of pure, dumb luck that she’d spotted him moving around the apartment across from hers not long after he moved in. In truth, it was difficult not to notice. The man never closed his shades. The nights he was home, he sat on his sofa drinking a beer and dividing his attention between the television screen and the trains that ran with lulling regularity. The previous morning, she caught him standing on the fire escape clad in nothing but loose pajama pants sipping his coffee.

  That was when she realized she’d been wrong about him. The man was anything but a ninety-eight-pound weakling. His shoulders were broad and angular but more well-developed than expected. They tapered to a chest that, while not pumped up, seemed intricately carved from marble. Long, lean, well-defined muscles stretched snug over taut skin the color of rich cream. And good lord, she wanted to lap him up.

  When the lights went out as she was walking home, she turned back to look at him and found him staring at her. This was her opportunity and there was no way she’d miss out on a chance to take it. Take him. Let him take her. Now that the power was on again, she found she wanted his eyes and hands on her even more.

  The flotilla of candles she’d lit as a beacon wavered when she rose from the sofa. Desirable Dr. McCarthy was looking at her now, and there was no disguising it. Nor was there any denying the fact that he was obviously aroused.

  A startled laugh broke from her throat when he came to his senses with a jolt and yanked his hand out of his pants. Scooping her cell from the end table, she approached the windows as he backed away. She held his gaze and tapped the screen to send the call. There was no suppressing her smile when he jumped like water on a hot skillet. He grabbed his phone and stared at it for a long moment before looking up again. Though they were too far apart for her to see his face clearly, Sofia could hear the puzzlement in his tone.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Dr. McCarthy.”

  He turned away from the window. “Who is this?”

  “You know who it is,” she chided gently. Holding her breath, she waited until he faced her again. “But do you know my name?”

  “Sofia.”

  She closed her eyes, a shiver racing down her spine. He spoke her name as if she were a wisp of a dream he wanted to chase. She knew just how he felt. The roll of those three syllables on his tongue sent a shot of pure desire streaking through her. She wanted to hear them again, up close and personal, whispered in her ear and shouted to the ceiling.

  “Do you like what you see, Doctor?”

  “Alec,” he corrected gruffly. “Aye. Very much.” She watched as he gave his head a sharp shake. He cleared his throat, and to her disappointment, the dregs of that sexy accent from his speech. “How did you get my number?”

  “I have my sources.” She wondered if he’d pumped Doreen at reception for information as hard as she had. Cocking her head, she peered at him through the panes of glass. “Do you mind?”

  “Christ, no.”

  And just like that, the burr was back. She smiled her delight, trailing her fingers along the lace-edged cup of her bra. She could feel the laser-hot line of his gaze following her every move. “Alec?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Are you going to come over here, or was there something more you wanted to see?”

  “Huh?”

  Sliding her finger under one strap, she slid it off her shoulder. “Would you like to touch, or are you going to stand there and watch?”

  He barked a laugh. She could see him wagging his head in helpless surrender. “Well, that’s a helluva choice, now, isn’t it?”

  A wicked rush of pleasure rippled through her. Without breaking eye contact, she reached behind her back and unhooked her bra. Satin straps slithered down her arms, but the modest cups stayed in place. “Maybe this will help you decide.”

  Taking a deep breath, she peeled the slippery fabric from her skin, exposing her bare breasts to his avid gaze. She circled one tight nipple with the tips of her fingers.

  “More.”

  The soft-spoken command sent a zing down her spine. “What?”

  “Let me see you.” He stood stock-still, his eyes locked on her. “Touch yourself.”

  “If I wanted to do all the work myself, I wouldn’t need you around, would I?”

  “But me watching you makes it so much better, doesn’t it?”

  His astute observation made her breath tangle in her throat. Unable to break his gaze, Sofia nodded. “Yes, but I want you to touch me.”

  The admission was all she needed to spur the good doctor into action. “What apartment number?”

  She exhaled in a whoosh. “Two-B.”

  “Or not to be,” he mumbled as he ducked his head, whirled in a tight circle, then stepped closer to the window. She heard the jingle of keys. “Give me two minutes, love.” He paused. She could almost feel the heat of his eyes across the yards of track that separated them “Whatever you do, do not change your mind before I get over there.”

  The call ended abruptly. Sofia laughed when he pitched the phone onto his couch and spun, obviously at a loss to find his next step. His bumbling pumped her adrenaline. He hopped on one foot while trying to shove the other into his sneaker. The fact that he fell over twice in the process shot her self-confidence into the stratosphere. Entranced by his manic mating dance, she stood at the window with only her palms covering her breasts, oblivious to all but the man beating a path for his apartment door.

  Noting that he pulled his shirt on as the door shut behind him, she grabbed hers and did the same. She gave her crumpled scrub bottoms a glance then kicked them under the sofa. The buzzer rang just as she pulled a chilled bottle of Chardonnay from the fridge. She pressed the button to release the latch, and within seconds heavy footfalls pounded the stairs.

  His knuckles rapped the door. Suddenly she became hyperaware of her partial nudity. Pressing her cool hand to her stomach, she tucked her chin to her chest and drew two deep breaths.

  “Sofia?” The sharp edge of panic in his tone sliced through the heavy wood panel separating her from the man she’d set out to seduce. Apparently, it took little more than a moment of hesitation to tweak his patience. “For the love of God, don’t do this to me.”

  The fleeting accent infused the plea with a growl of command. Gripping the neck of the wine bottle, she yielded. The snick of the lock ricocheted off the walls. The creak of the hinges singed the ends of her frayed nerves. Mustering the strength that had propelled her up and out of the cycle of hopelessness that snagged so many of her childhood friends, she tipped her chin up to meet his eyes.

  “Hello, Alec.”

  “Sofia.”

  He braced his hand on the doorframe as if it were his last-ditch effort to hold himself off. She looked into his clear blue eyes and took a deliberate step back. It wasn’t a move to escape, but rather to entice. “Won’t you come in?”

  He was across her threshold in a heartbeat. The door slammed shut behind him. He reached for her but she spun away, eluding the caress in a feeble attempt to maintain control.

  “Would you
like a glass of wine?” she asked, turning toward the kitchen area of the cramped studio apartment without a backward glance. She didn’t need to look. He followed so close his breath stirred her hair. Before she could reach the narrow bar that served as her dining area, he plucked the bottle from her grip.

  “No.” Alec placed the bottle carefully on the counter before claiming her hip with his other hand and prompting her to face him. “Thank you,” he added as an afterthought.

  “So polite for a man who was peeping in my window.”

  “So demure for a woman bold enough to tempt a saint.”

  “Are you a saint?”

  His husky chuckle rolled through her. “Not even close.”

  Smiling up at him, she pressed her hand to his chest. “Thank goodness.”

  He planted a hand in the center of her back and pulled her flush against him. The rasp of steel-packed denim against cotton panties made her toes curl. Thrusting her hands under his loose shirt, she pressed her chilled fingertips to his pecs. A shudder rippled through him. He gathered her closer, lowering his head with the kind of slow deliberation that left her no choice but to part her lips. But instead of claiming her mouth, the kiss glanced over her cheek and trailed off toward her ear.

  “I find goodness has little to do with it, Sofia.”

  Sofia let her head fall back, praying he’d purr her name in that sexy voice again. Preferably as he came. He trailed wispy little kisses down the side of her neck that made her squirm, and slid his hand up to her hair. She groaned a half-hearted protest when she felt the clip relinquish its hold. It clattered to the floor at her feet. She panted, her eyes fixed on the ceiling as his teeth scraped over her pulse. “It’s too hot,” she protested.

  “I’ve fantasized about taking your hair down.”

  One gruff confession and her weak resistance unraveled. Her hair tumbled, falling thick and heavy past her shoulders. The ends brushed the small of her back. Her heart sped up and her knees turned watery. She swayed into him as his warm palm closed around her nape. Her shirt caught on his. Taut nipples grew tighter still beneath crisp cotton. Hot breath tickled her ear. She shivered even as heat pooled between her legs. “Kiss me.”

  Warm, supple lips glided over her jaw. “I am.”

  “My mouth,” she whispered urgently. “Kiss me on the mouth.”

  Strong hands cinched her waist. She gasped and made a grab for his surprisingly muscular biceps as he lifted her off her feet. The backs of her bare thighs brushed cool laminate. Sofia squirmed when he dropped her onto the breakfast bar as if she weighed no more than a second thought. She scored his shoulders with her fingernails as she wriggled her way to the edge of the countertop.

  “You’re strong,” she said on a laugh.

  “You sound surprised.” One dark eyebrow rose in silent challenge as he pulled back to look at her. Before she could think of a suitable response, he grasped the hem of her shirt and yanked it up. “You know what they say about assuming, Sofia.”

  He tsked but she didn’t care. The way he said her name made her pant. Alec gave her shirt a meaningful tug and she glanced down, surprised to see her clothes hadn’t simply melted off her. She raised her arms and, before she managed her next breath, he stripped her to nothing but her panties once more.

  A devilish gleam lit his eyes. He pulled back and raked her with that hot blue gaze. “You probably think I don’t know you’ve been messing with me.”

  The lilt flitted in and out of his voice, making her so tingly she barely registered the import of his accusation. He filled his hands with her breasts, his palms scorching hot against her distended nipples, long, graceful fingers curving to fit her shape. She arched her back, welcoming the relief of his caress. “Messing with you?”

  “Standing a little closer. Walking a little slower. I see the looks you toss my way.”

  He circled her areola with the tip of one finger. She tucked her chin to her chest and joined him as he watched the pebbled flesh draw tighter still. His low hum of pure masculine satisfaction raised goose bumps on her skin. Desire pulsed through her veins. Moisture rushed to her pussy. Her breasts felt heavy and ripe.

  “You strike me as a woman who isn’t afraid to get her way. I was waiting for you to give me a sign.” He teased the sensitized tip with the whorls of his thumb, then trapped it with his forefinger. “Tell me this is what you want.”

  “This is what I want.”

  “You want me.”

  “I want you,” she confirmed. “And you want me too.”

  A wry smile twitched the corner of his mouth. “That was never a question, was it?”

  Then, looking her straight in the eye, he pinched her nipple. Hard.

  If he hadn’t planted himself between her legs, she would have slid off the counter and pooled at his feet. As it was, she steadied herself by sinking her fingers into his hair and pulling him down to her breast, all but shoving the throbbing tip into his mouth. She gasped his name when his lips closed around her. He consumed her with firm, eager pulls. Cupping the back of his head, she bowed into him, urging him to take more. Take it all. Take her.

  Sofia moved against him with shameless abandon as he kneaded her needy flesh. She rubbed her mound against his stomach, desperate for friction and not particularly choosy about where she found it. Just when she thought she might make it to the top with nothing more than his hands and mouth on her breasts and his torso pressed tight against her, he released her with a wet pop.

  Without a bat of his thick, dark eyelashes, he hooked his fingers into the waistband of her panties and pulled them down as far as her perch would allow. Startled by the abruptness of his actions, she pressed her hand to the cool countertop and lifted her hips. In the space of a blink, she was completely naked while the man standing in front of her remained frustratingly clothed.

  The blunt tips of his fingers pressed divots into the muscles of her thighs. She stared wide-eyed as he spread her legs wider and stepped back. “Where are you…oh!”

  His mouth homed in on the spot an inch or so below her navel. She blinked as he sucked her skin into his mouth, laving her with his tongue and turning that seemingly innocuous patch of epidermis into a previously undiscovered erogenous zone.

  Hot, wet and hungry, his mouth traveled over the curve of her belly. His breath stirred her pubic hair. His thumbs drew maddening circles on the insides of her thighs. Her blood rushed in her ears. She found herself marveling at the fact that not all of it had headed south the moment Alec had. The strumming pulse in her achingly empty pussy was now a life force. This man who was little more than a stranger rained an ever-changing shower of soft, sucking, openmouthed kisses over her abdomen, and the possibility that she might die if she didn’t have him became a soul-searing reality.

  “Alec, please.”

  “Isn’t this what you like? The slow, subtle tease?”

  She grunted in frustration, planting her hand atop his head and giving him a not-so-gentle nudge.

  “I could have sworn,” he murmured, brushing kisses to the thatch of dark curls that covered her pussy. “You’re so good at it.”

  “Please.” She squirmed, desperate to get close to him, so close to the edge that she barely managed to repeat the useless plea.

  His tongue brushed her swollen folds. Warm, wet velvet grazed the tip of her clit and almost sent her straight into orbit. She gripped his head, knotting her fingers in his hair and holding him right where she needed him. Her breath caught in her chest, tiny explosions of precious oxygen bursting from her lips in puffs of mortifying moans and mewls. She gave his thick locks a sharp tug. Those piercing eyes flicked up to meet hers, and in them she saw a sparkle of pure admiration.

  “Jaysus, you taste sweet.” He whispered the words against her cunt, setting off a frenzy of sensation she worried she might not survive. At least, not with her dignity intact. Or her brain functioning.

  “Are you really from Ireland?” Her breathless question seemed to amuse him. She, howe
ver, was not amused when he lifted his head. Hot breath proved to be a lame replacement for his talented tongue.

  One eyebrow rose as he straightened to his full height. “I was born in Cork and raised there until I was thirteen.” He let his gaze rove over her prone, naked, wantonly sprawled body. “Are we to play getting-to-know-you games now, Sofia?”

  “No,” she blurted.

  “I didn’t think so.”

  His big hand closed possessively over her breast. He gave it a squeeze, a sly smile playing at the corners of his mouth when she let her hand slide back on the countertop. She braced herself against the scattershot sensations he evoked. She caught a whiff of his shampoo mixed with her own arousal. His long surgeon’s fingers plumped her flesh. Neatly trimmed fingernails traced the furled peaks of her nipple, and his ragged breathing stirred her hair. She tipped her face up for a kiss, but he dodged the invitation by taking a step away.

  He planted his face in her lap again, nuzzling her damp curls and using the gentle insistence of his hand on her captive breast to ease her back onto the counter. Somewhere deep down inside—or way off in the distance—Sofia registered the fact that he’d practically laid her out on the cool, slick breakfast bar like a buffet. But it didn’t matter. Low growls of masculine approval rumbled from his throat, igniting her blood. He parted the swollen lips of her pussy with one long, languid stroke of his tongue. Then he started taking her apart one fleeting lick and greedy suck at a time.

  Alec claimed her clit first, swirling the sensitive flesh into his mouth, suckling ravenously, using the threat of his teeth to disarm her and the flat of his tongue to soothe her into submission. She cried out when he tongued her entrance, his lips and nose buried in her folds, his hands bracing her thighs wide. She trembled from head to toe, her body convulsing from each violent shock of pleasure. Panting and moaning as he sucked, she groaned her wholehearted approval when he thrust one finger into her. The single digit filled the aching void just enough to make her crazy but not nearly enough to satisfy.