by Krista Gold
Then why is your heart pounding like it is? my subconscious asks sweetly. And why are your panties wet?
From the rain, I bite back, trying to ignore the fact that my clit has been throbbing since the moment Nate walked into the elevator. I refuse to be attracted to a man who is so conceited. I refuse.
“I always quite liked Heathcliff actually,” says a thoughtful voice to my left. Nate.
I turn to him, my eyes narrowed. “You’ve read Wuthering Heights?”
His face darkens. “Now it’s my turn to be offended,” he says in a soft, dangerous voice. “What’s that saying about not judging a book by its cover?”
“Yes. Well. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
“Then it seems like we’re both capable of being misunderstood, doesn’t it, Allie? Just like our friend Heathcliff.” His eyes glitter.
I can’t decide whether I want to slap him or fuck him. Instead, I stand and glare down at him, my arms folded. Nate looks up at me, amused, and I can’t help but feel a surge of desire. Those blue eyes…that chiselled jaw line…
I push it down. The last thing you need is another man who thinks he’s God’s gift to women, I tell myself angrily. So get. A. Grip.
I take a deep breath, and am further irritated when my nose fills with the smell of him; that delicious woodsy fragrance that makes my stomach flip.
Oh, no. I need out of this jacket. And fast. Before I prove myself wrong about being able to resist his charms.
Chapter Fourteen
Nate
Allie stands glaring down at me, and I find myself grinning. As maddening as she is, I can’t help but appreciate her fire. It seems I’ve gotten so used to women eating out of the palm of my hand, I’d forgotten how it feels to be challenged. To work for what I want. Because I do want her, even if I can only admit that to myself. Even if I can’t act on it. And the fact that she’s standing her ground only excites me more.
Fuck, I bet she’s dynamite in bed.
As if she’s read my mind, Allie’s blush deepens, and her glare turns into a full-on glower.
“Right!” she says. “That’s it.”
I watch open-mouthed as she starts to unbutton my jacket.
Holy fuck. My mouth goes instantly dry.
“What are you doing?” My voice is sharper than I intended. Partly because I’m trying to pretend that I’m in control here, when I’m anything but. My cock is twitching with excitement, and if she takes off that jacket, I’m fucked.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m putting my own clothes back on.”
“Allie. Please don’t do that.”
She pauses for a second when I say her name, but then she’s back to fiddling with the buttons.
“Allie! Stop being so fucking stubborn!” That last bit comes out as a yell, which I hadn’t intended. Instantly she goes still. My breathing sounds heavy in the dense air of the elevator, and I rake my hands through my hair in dismay.
“Sorry,” I say at last. “I didn’t mean to shout. But you’re going to put your wet clothes back on just to spite me, and that’s just stupid. We don’t know how long the Fire Department is going to take – they’re probably dealing with emergencies all over town. You’ll freeze before they get here. I’m sorry if I’ve offended you, ok? But for god’s sake, just keep the jacket on until help arrives.” She shoots a look at me, and I hide a grin. “Please,” I add.
Allie hesitates for a long moment. I suspect she realizes the sense in what I’ve said but doesn’t want to be the one to back down. I watch her warring with herself, and am relieved when she meets my eyes and nods.
Which is why I’m shocked dumb when she opens that last button, eyes fixed on mine, and lets the jacket fall.
Chapter Fifteen
Allie
For a second, I’d almost been convinced; I’d been ready to button the jacket back up and sit down again like a good little girl. But then I’d seen that little grin quirk at the corner of Nate’s mouth, and I was suddenly boiling with anger.
Fuck him for thinking he was going to get his own way, which is clearly what he’s used to. Fuck him for being so smug.
Almost before I know what I’m doing, I’m unfastening the last button on the jacket and shrugging out of it. It falls to the floor with a soft whomp, and I stand defiantly looking down at Nate – who, I notice, isn’t smirking now – in nothing but my bra, panties and heels.
If I stopped to think about it, I’d be mortified, so it’s simple: I don’t. Instead I let my righteous anger blaze, filling me with the confidence to stare Nate down, my feet apart and my hands on my hips, as powerful and proud as an Amazon.
For at least ten seconds, anyway. Until I come to my senses and realize that I’m standing in nothing but my underwear in front of a male stranger – a hot male stranger – in a broken-down elevator, and my fury fizzles out.
I turn away from where Nate is gazing at me open-mouthed, shocked, and bend to hurriedly gather my wet clothes.
What was I thinking? I’m never usually this impulsive; I’m never such a hot-head. And no man has ever, ever made me so confused, lusting after him one moment and furious with him the next.
Still facing the wall, I start to pull on my wet blouse, wincing as the silk chills my flesh and sticks to my arms as I try to pull on the sleeves.
A husky voice sounds behind me, a single word that makes me freeze, my whole body thrilling with gooseflesh, my nipples swelling to stiff peaks that strain against the thin lace of my bra.
“Don’t.”
Chapter Sixteen
Nate
When Allie dropped my jacket to the floor and stood looking defiantly down at me, all the breath rushed out of my body so fast it made me dizzy. All I could do was gape at the beautiful woman standing in front of me. Her gorgeous face flushed with fury, hands on her hips, her full breasts heaving as she breathed.
I swallowed hard as my eyes travelled down over her flat stomach, over the white lace panties that barely hid her cleft from me – my cock leapt at the thought – and the long, slender legs that tapered gradually down to those fuck-me heels.
It was all I could do not to come in my trousers right then and there.
Then, as I watched, the anger seemed to flame out of Allie’s face and was replaced by something more like embarrassment. She turned and picked up her clothes, and then began wrestling into her blouse – a pointless exercise, really, given that the rain had rendered it transparent.
All of a sudden, I can’t bear it. I can’t bear wanting her from a distance; I can’t bear the Ground Rules that render her off limits and most of all, I can’t bear the sight of her lovely milky skin disappearing under her wet clothing.
Before I know it, I am standing right behind her, my cock swollen, my breathing ragged.
“Don’t,” I manage in a husky voice, and Allie freezes immediately.
It takes an eternity for her to turn around, and by the time she is facing me, those gorgeous cat-like eyes gazing into mine, her hands frozen mid-buttoning, I am almost panting with desire.
Fuck the rules, I think dreamily. Fuck it all.
And then I do what I’ve wanted to do from the minute I stepped into this elevator.
I kiss her.
Chapter Seventeen
Allie
As soon as I turn to face Nate, I know that I’m in trouble.
He is staring at me rapt, a look of wonder filling those piercing blue eyes, his breathing heavy. All my protestations die on my lips; any ideas I’d had about being able to resist this man rise into the air and drift away like smoke.
Whatever he wants to take, I will give him.
For what feels like an eternity, nobody moves. I stand still as stone while Nate’s eyes travel slowly down from my face to my breasts to my belly to my sex, all the way down to my heels and back again. By the time his eyes return to meet mine, I’m trembling all over, my legs as wobbly as a newborn fawn’s.
And then he’s kissi
ng me, and holy fuck, it’s like the first time I’ve ever been kissed. He crushes his lips to mine, wrapping my curls in his fists. I moan softly into his mouth and feel a quickening between my thighs as his erection presses against me, long, and thick, and rock-hard. His tongue slips past my lips to find mine, and they meet in a tangle of exploration and delight.
When at last we break apart, we are both panting, and staring at each other in mutual fascination. I don’t know about Nate, but I’ve never been so undone by a kiss before.
As I watch, Nate reaches out his hand and draws a gentle line with his finger from the dip of my throat down to my breasts. I let out a gasp, and his blue eyes darken as he begins to circle my left nipple with his forefinger, his eyes never leaving mine.
Fuck. That feels so good.
Silvery tingles pool out from my breasts, travelling out in shivery ripples through my whole body. Both nipples ache as he continues to tease first one, then the other, their stiff peaks making small tents of the cups of my bra.
I swallow thickly, and Nate’s face breaks open in a slow smile.
God, he’s hot. He’s barely touched me, and I’m wet. I can feel my panties, damp between my thighs, my stomach lurching with desire. I want nothing more than for him to peel me out of those panties and fuck me right here against the elevator wall; my whole body shivers at the thought, and I moan again, soft, helpless.
Nate has other ideas.
He backs me up slowly until I’m right up against the wall. Then he kneels in front of me and, as I watch, begins dropping kisses, light as butterflies, up the inside of my right leg, all the way up my thigh. My body fizzes and flutters in response, and I’m shaking so hard, I’m scared I’ll fall off my heels. When he reaches the top of my thigh he looks up at me and grins wickedly before planting a slow kiss on the lace covering my wet cleft.
I jump as if electrified and he groans as he breathes me in. Then, he moves across to my left thigh and repeats the line of kisses, down my ankle this time, leaving me quivering, panting, writhing against the wall.
Already I can feel waves of pleasure building in my sex, the first layers of what I already know will be a mind-blowing orgasm.
Nate’s eyes are filled with hunger. He reaches out for my panties, and I know he’s going to fuck me like I wanted, but instead of letting him, I grab his wrist and wrap it tightly in my fingers.
“No,” I tell him breathlessly. “I want you to stop.”
Chapter Eighteen
Nate
Holy fuck. This woman is incredible. I can’t remember the last time I wanted to take my time with someone like this, eke out the pleasure for both of us. I’m no slouch in the bedroom department, but I usually look at foreplay as an investment on my part: the more I put in, the more I get back in return.
With Allie, it’s different. Allie, I want to take slowly, inch by inch. Allie, I want to undo completely. I want to be responsible for making her come and I want her to cry out my name when she does it.
I kiss my way slowly up her left leg, all the way to her thigh, gratified to notice how much she’s trembling. Her soft little moans are almost enough to make me explode right there; my cock is straining urgently against my trousers.
Finally, I reach her sex, and I grin up at her darkly before landing a kiss on the strip of lace directly over her cleft. She bucks under my lips, and a lance of pure lust runs through me.
God, I can taste her; salt and sweet on my lips. I long to sweep her panties aside and plunge my tongue into her wet, waiting sex, but I control myself. Instead, I force myself over to her left thigh, this time kissing all the way down to her ankle, my cock pulsing so hard I fear it’s going to go off, and this will all be over before it’s really even begun.
I stand, my own legs shaking almost as much as Allie’s. God, I want her. And knowing that she wants me is the most incredible turn-on.
I don’t want to wait any longer. My cock is pulsing as I imagine thrusting into her, and I reach out to pull down her panties…which is when she grabs my wrist and tells me she wants me to stop.
Instantly I drop my hand and take a step back. Have I misread this completely? It seemed as though Allie was completely up for this, or I’d never have initiated anything sexual. I curse internally as I take a step back, my heart sinking at the thought that I might just have assumed Allie’s attraction to me given my stellar track record with women; that I may just have taken advantage of a woman in a state of semi-undress.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her immediately, raising my hands in appeasement. “I thought you were...”
Allie’s lovely face furrows in a frown, then clears as she breaks into an understanding smile. “I was,” she says quietly. “I am. I just…need a minute.” Her cheeks flush. “I was, um. You know. Getting close. I just didn’t want it to be over so soon.”
Relief settles over me like a blanket, closely followed by a wave of sheer lust. My god. I know I shouldn’t be acting on my urges, but there’s no way I can deny myself this woman. Not only is she stunning, she’s also so fucking receptive to my attentions. I’ve barely touched her, and she was ready to come for me. My cock twitches again and a smirk lifts my lips as I think about how I’m going to take my time with her; make her come in as many different ways as I can before the Fire Department arrive.
I close the distance between us in a single step.
“I guess I probably shouldn’t do this, then,” I say softly, slowly circling her left nipple with my thumb before pinching it lightly between thumb and forefinger. Allie gasps and closes her eyes briefly, her tongue darting out to lick at her lips.
“Or this.” I repeat the movement with her right nipple, and she lets out a low moan.
“And I definitely, absolutely positively, shouldn’t do this.”
I sweep aside her panties, and lightly, very lightly, stroke the pad of my thumb the length of her slick sex.
Allie cries out, her body arching as she rises onto her toes, her eyes flying open in shock. Her breathing is fast and heavy now, and my cock is throbbing. God, I want to be inside her so badly. I allow myself a brief second of imagining how it will feel to finally plunge into her silky darkness, and it takes every ounce of self-control to stop myself lowering her to the ground and taking her.
Allie is looking at me now, wide-eyed, panting, waiting for my next move. She is trembling, and her breasts are rising and falling with her rapid breathing. I want to see them. I need to see them.
Without taking my eyes from her face, I reach around her back and deftly unhook her bra. She lets out a shaky breath. Still not taking my eyes from hers, I slide the bra straps down her arms and discard it on the floor. Allie catches her full lower lip between her teeth, and the simple movement excites me beyond imagining.
I make a low growl in my throat and see her eyes widen. The sight makes me want her even more. The beast in me – the man that uses beautiful women for his own amusement, not caring for their own pleasure – wants to throw her down on the elevator floor and bury myself in her, driving myself harder and harder until I explode. The other part reins me in, tells me to savour the delights this woman is offering.
I rarely hear that second, cautionary voice. And I never heed it.
But for the first time I find myself listening.
Chapter Nineteen
Allie
I’ve been reduced to pure sensation. My whole body is trembling as though in shock, and a single word is running through my mind on an endless loop, my brain unable to process anything other than JesusJesusJesusJesusJesus....
Nate’s gaze penetrates me so deeply that I feel like he’s seeing into my soul. He’s looking at me like I’m the only woman in the world – which I guess I am right now, at least for him, trapped as he is in the confines of this elevator.
My breasts ache for his touch, but he only drills me with that piercing gaze, my sex throbbing in time with my hummingbird-heart.
After what feels like an eternity, Nate reaches out a fi
nger and brushes a stray curl from my face. My whole body breaks out into gooseflesh, and a shiver ripples through my body.
“You have no idea how fucking beautiful you are, do you?” Nate says softly, and the thrumming in my sex increases. I’ve lost the ability to form words, and all I can do is stare back into his piercing blue eyes, completely mute, completely under his spell.
I feel rather than see his fingers trace a line down from my breasts to my belly, and I gasp. Without breaking our gaze, Nate lightly cups my sex, tracing the lace of my panties with his thumb. My breathing, already uneven, becomes ragged with desire. He’s barely touched me, and I’m completely undone. I’ve always been a fairly receptive lover, but never has anyone managed to reduce me to quaking want like this, and never have I felt so close to orgasm without significant foreplay. It’s like Nate knows instinctively where and how to touch me to light me up, to raise my body from a simmer to a boil.
He lightly traces the waistband of my panties, and then I gasp as his hand slides under the lace.
Nate leans in so that I can feels his lips by my ear; his warm breath on my cheek.
“I’m going to make you come now, Allie,” he murmurs, and my stomach clenches with desire.
That heartbeat between my thighs kicks up a notch – even more so when Nate finds my swollen clit and rolls it between thumb and forefinger.
“Ahh!” I cry out, throwing my head back and squeezing my eyes tightly closed. Waves of pure pleasure crawl upwards from my sex to my belly, and I am literally weak at the knees – until now, I never knew the truth in that cliché. My legs are jelly as Nate again stimulates my clit, and again I cry out.