by Heidi Rice
‘Jesus, you’re so wet.’ He groaned.
‘I’m sorry …’ she began, not sure why she was apologising.
‘Don’t be. I want to taste you all over now.’
‘Then do …’ she murmured, past caring if she sounded needy. She wanted this to happen before he changed his mind. She didn’t know what had upset him today to make him so eager, so intense. Because something had definitely upset him – he seemed different. Urgent, reckless, on edge. Not the smart, stable, painfully pragmatic guy she’d come to know. But she liked the new Luke, a lot, when he groaned loudly, then found the zipper on the back of her dress and inched it down.
The bodice drooped to her waist revealing the red lace bra she’d worn that day – and his groan became a moan.
‘Holy shit …’ he murmured, as he traced a reverent thumb along the edge of the half-cup were her ample cleavage swelled against the lace.
Sensation prickled and glowed as her nipples gathered into tight peaks.
Thank goodness she’d upped her lingerie game ever since Luke had become a regular visitor to The Royale. She’d never expected him to see this stuff but it had made her feel confident to wear it around him.
She felt more than confident now, she felt invincible as he stripped off the dress. ‘You’ll have to turn around,’ he said. ‘I’m not one of those Bond-like guys who can unhook a bra one handed.’
‘I can do it.’ She reached behind her back, ready to do the honours.
But he touched her arm. ‘No, let me.’ The quiver of desperation in his voice pumped her already oversized ego. ‘I’ve been dreaming of unwrapping you since your boiler broke.’
All right, then. She dropped her arms, turned around and waited.
He fumbled for a few seconds, then the tight band under her breasts released. She sighed, the sigh of every well-endowed woman at the end of a long day. Her arms dropped, letting the bra slide down. Then the sigh guttered into a sob, when he covered her full breasts from behind, lifting and caressing them, tweaking the pebbled nipples.
She turned back to wrap her arms around his neck. She just wanted to hold him, for a moment. She threaded her fingers into his hair and their mouths fused again. More urgent, more desperate.
At last he pulled back, his breath coming in ragged pants. ‘I need to get naked,’ he said, his gaze devouring her quivering flesh. ‘Like, yesterday.’
‘Yes, you do.’ She grinned, so elated she thought she might burst.
She crossed her arms over her breasts, shivering despite the warm evening, as she watched him strip in the moonlight.
He hopped around on one foot then the other, tugging off his boots without undoing the laces. He wrestled off his shirt, then grappled with his T-shirt and flung it away.
As he bent his head to concentrate on unbuttoning his fly, the shudder of satisfaction echoed through her whole body.
Oh, my. His chest and shoulders were a work of art. The muscles defined, solid but not over pumped. He was tanned all over, a result of his Italian-American heritage she guessed, but the slight darkening on his arms where he wore his T-shirt on a sunny day made her heart lift. Of course, her Luke would have work muscles, not gym muscles.
Her Luke?
He’s not yours Rubes, this is probably just a one-time deal.
She dismissed the prickle of pragmatism – nothing was going to dampen her joy tonight, not even her common sense – and followed the happy trail of dark hair that spread across his nipples as it arrowed through his abs.
She watched transfixed and increasingly breathless as he lowered his jeans and kicked them off.
Straightening, he stood in front of her, and her avid gaze snagged on the thick outline of his erection, stretching his boxer briefs.
She choked out a sob as her lung function stalled.
Oh, my days. He’s packing some serious heft.
Even though she knew size wasn’t really important, because she’d had a boyfriend who was hung like a horse once before and he’d used his penis like a battering ram, the sight of Luke Devlin’s enormous erection encased in black cotton was so erotic every one of her pulse points rejoiced.
‘Is everything okay?’ he said, caressing her cheek, then cupping her chin to raise her gaze back to his, and study her reaction. Was that nerves, insecurity, she could see in his eyes? And hear in his voice? Why did that make him even more delicious?
‘Yes … I … I …’ she stammered.
Breathe, Ruby, breathe.
‘Yes … everything’s good.’ She managed at last past the lump of radioactive lust jammed into her throat. ‘Everything’s absolutely magnificent.’ Actually …
He let out a deep chuckle and the concern in his eyes disappeared. ‘Good.’ He leaned in for another kiss, trapping his magnificent erection against her belly.
She’d never had an orgasm through penetration, but the thought of having that long length inside her made her giddy and wet.
He lifted her into his arms and placed her on to the bed. The soft mattress gave way as he lay down next to her, then plucked her arms away from her chest and cradled one of her breasts.
‘Can I kiss them?’ he asked.
‘Absolutely,’ she said and braced herself for the usual mauling. But instead of sucking her nipples into his mouth, as her other boyfriends had always done. He cupped the hot flesh, stroked his thumb under the underside, then leaned over her to circle the nipple with his tongue.
Her breasts had never been particularly sensitive, or so she’d thought. But his attention was so thorough, so careful, so delicate and yet so decisive, as he licked and nibbled, she found herself gripping the coverlet, the darts of sensation hurtling down.
‘Oh … Oh, yes.’ She sighed as he finally licked across the rigid peak.
Capturing the nipple gently in his teeth he flicked his tongue over the now supremely sensitive flesh. She arched off the bed, the darts in her abdomen becoming flaming arrows of need.
And just when she thought she couldn’t bear the torture any longer, he reached under the waistband of her knickers and found the slick folds of her sex with his other hand.
She gripped his head, holding him to her breast, bucking against his devious fingers as he located her clitoris and stroked over the swollen nub.
The tight coil of sensation released, triggering an orgasm so strong it swelled for an eternity before releasing her from its grip in a shattering rush.
She lay panting and shaking, in a pool of her own sweat, as the last of it finally swept away.
He rose over her, his smug smile somehow sublime. ‘That was awesome to watch, Ruby.’
Her chuckle broke on a sob of surrender. ‘Believe me, it was even more awesome to experience.’
Who knew? Luke Devlin was even more delicious than he looked.
He laughed, but the sound was hoarse and strained. ‘Can I taste you now?’
Is he serious?
‘I don’t think I can come again,’ she said. Reaching down, she found the impressive ridge in his pants and caressed it. ‘Perhaps we should take care of you?’
His erection jerked against her palm, and he groaned as she tugged the waistband of his briefs down and freed him. She explored the magnificent length, her sex twitching and pulsing with renewed enthusiasm.
But then he covered her hand with his and pulled her questing fingers away. After buzzing a kiss into her palm, he adjusted their positions, shifting down on the bed and dragging off her knickers. Suddenly, he was kneeling between her spread legs, her yearning sex open for him.
‘We can take care of me later. Just answer this question: do you like oral sex? Because I really want to feast on you right now.’
He was serious.
‘I … I don’t know,’ she admitted.
His brows flattened. ‘How come?’
She wiggled against his hold, feeling a little awkward. ‘Um … Well, no man’s ever offered to go down on me before.’
‘Are you kidding? You’re a
BJ virgin?’
‘Not entirely, I’ve done it the other way around.’ She fidgeted some more feeling a lot awkward now. ‘Given guys blow jobs,’ she clarified, starting to feel like a bit of a ninny.
‘Dammit, Ruby. What kind of guys have you been dating?’
‘Selfish arseholes?’ she offered, feeling her heart punch her ribs at his outraged expression.
‘Dumb selfish assholes would be more like it,’ he said. ‘Do you want to lose your virginity, with me? Because I’d be honoured to be the first guy to taste you.’
‘Are you sure you don’t just want to get to the main event?’ she asked, not convinced now she’d be able to relax enough to enjoy it. The awkward was still there, not to mention that deep pulsing in her chest which was making his eagerness to give her pleasure feel like more than it should.
‘Ruby, I’m so turned on right now, I’m liable to shoot my load about two seconds after I get inside you,’ he said. ‘And I don’t want this to be over too soon.’
Well, all right, then.
The finality in his statement made her early worry, that this was just a one-time thing, ripple over her, but then she grasped what he was saying. He was right, if this was a one-time deal, they should make the most of it. Why miss out on having a single solitary second of Luke’s firm body, his clever lips, his devious fingers, his insatiable tongue, or his gorgeous cock at her disposal?
‘Go for it, then,’ she said, propping herself up on her elbows to watch.
‘That’s my girl.’ He smiled, his fingers flexing on her hips, caressing her thighs, and making the awkward lump in her chest loosen.
She was his girl for tonight. And he was her guy. And that was all that mattered.
One of Matty’s favourite bastardised quotes rippled across her consciousness and she smiled.
Forget about tomorrow, remember what Scarlet said, it’s another day.
But then Luke pressed his face into her sex and inhaled. And all thoughts of Matty and Scarlet, today and tomorrow, flew out of her head.
‘Mmm, you smell delicious, good enough to eat,’ he quipped.
She laughed. Surely the enthusiasm in his voice couldn’t be faked.
‘Now relax and tell me what works for you and what doesn’t.’
‘You want instructions?’ she asked, a little astonished.
His lips caressed the top of her mound. ‘Uh-huh. Generally, I work better with instructions …’
She tensed again. Hadn’t she just told him this was a new experience for her? And since when did men insist on directions?
‘Or, I could go freelance …’ He offered, stroking her thighs, clearly aware the suggestion wasn’t working. Her heart sighed, along with her. When had she ever slept with a guy so intuitive and responsive? But then she already knew about Luke’s dogged attention to detail from watching him caress wet plaster while repairing the cornicing. ‘If that works best for you?’ he added.
‘Yes, it definitely does,’ she said. But he’d already taken her cue.
Spreading her with his thumbs, he swirled his tongue over her clitoris.
She jerked off the bed, the tiny lick exquisite, and enlightening.
‘You like that?’ he asked.
‘I love that, clearly you work very well freelance,’ she breathed.
It was all the encouragement he needed. The heat flowed as he settled in to the task of feasting on her.
She wriggled and squirmed as the passion throbbed back to life with each long slow lick, each devious flick. Just when she was convinced she couldn’t take any more, one blunt finger entered her, probing, stroking. The passion crested, shoving her towards the precipice that had shattered her once before. She clung to the high, wide ledge, sobbing, begging, but he was relentless, tasting, tormenting, driving her insane.
She soared. Thrusting her fingers into his hair, caressing the thick mane.
Don’t stop. Don’t stop. Don’t stop.
‘No way,’ he murmured.
Good lord had she just screamed that out loud?
But before she could register the embarrassment, he got back to work. Licking, sucking, probing, stroking.
And sent her soaring again. Higher. And higher. And higher still. Until …
She shattered into a billion glittering shards of incandescent light.
As she drifted back down to earth, she heard his urgent plea. ‘Do you have condoms? I need to be inside you, ASAP.’
‘I … I don’t, but I’m on the pill.’
‘You’re sure?’ he said. Cradling her face, his erection pressed against her belly. Long, hard, wonderfully insistent. ‘I’m clean, I swear,’ he added. ‘I have a full medical exam each year for my company insurance and I never have unprotected sex …’ He paused. ‘Generally, speaking.’
He was making an exception for her, because he trusted her.
The pulsing in her heart spread up her chest, choking her a little. Why should she find that so romantic?
‘I’m clean, too,’ she said, stifling the rosy glow in practicalities. ‘I had a full STD test …’ Three years ago. She bit off the information. He didn’t need to know that Ed, her last boyfriend, had been a cheat. Especially as she could barely even remember what Ed looked like right now. ‘Fairly recently,’ she lied. ‘And I haven’t slept with anyone since.’ That much at least was true.
‘Thank fuck,’ he grunted. Then he gripped her hips, angled her pelvis and taking himself in hand, found her entrance.
She circled his neck, her fingers tangling in the hairs at his nape, as the heavy weight slid inside her, the slickness of her two orgasms easing the way. The penetration was immense when he was finally lodged deep, the stretched feeling full and thick.
She gripped his neck, his grunts matching her soft sobs, as the need began to prickle and hum again. Surely she wasn’t going to have her first vaginal orgasm, she thought vaguely. That would be too much. Too good.
But he hadn’t lied. He rocked his hips once, twice, three times, then collapsed on top of her with a loud grunt.
They lay like that, with his weight pushing her into the mattress, their sweaty limbs entangled. She stroked his nape, refusing to let the doubts in, relishing the feel of his erection still inside her as he softened.
At last, he lifted off her, then positioned himself by her side. Propped on an elbow, he leaned down to kiss her. The touch of his lips on hers was reverent, sweet, the musky taste impossibly erotic, but then the pulse of sadness intruded – because she could already sense him pulling away.
‘Sorry, I didn’t last,’ he said.
She covered his hand on her belly. And smiled back at him. ‘Not a problem, there’s always a next time …’ she said, then wished she hadn’t.
It wasn’t a suggestion, it was just a turn of phrase. She didn’t want to sound any more needy and insecure than was absolutely necessary.
He didn’t say anything, just stroked her cheek with his thumb.
‘Plus I got the two best orgasms of my life out of it,’ she said smoothly to fill the void. ‘So I’m not complaining.’
No other sexual experience had even come close to what Luke Devlin had just delivered – and she was including sessions with her trusty vibrator in the league table.
But then they’d both been on sexual tenterhooks for over a week, and she liked him. The circumstances had been right for an epic shag. This didn’t have to be about anything other than good timing. And excellent chemistry.
Luke was a man who clearly liked sex, and women, and knew how to please them. That said, his formula for success wasn’t that complex – he’d put her in charge of her own pleasure and then gotten creative when necessary. The problem with the five guys she’d dated previously, going back to Stan McCormack and the Skoda Octavia Debacle, was they’d not only been dumb selfish arseholes. They’d also been extremely unimaginative.
Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Luke murmured. ‘I should probably head back to my place.’
Was that
reluctance she could hear in his voice? Or was she projecting?
‘You don’t have to.’ Really you don’t.
Uncertainty flickered across his face, and she braced herself for the excuses, the polite denials. It wouldn’t be the first time a guy had hit on her and run. At least this time she had something to show for it. An afterglow from the two best orgasms of her life which would keep the black bottomless pit at bay till morning.
But to her surprise, he simply said. ‘Are you sure? This is kind of a small bed.’
It wasn’t that small, he was just a tall guy, but she was too elated at his reply and the willingness in his voice to think of the practicalities.
‘Then I guess we’ll just have to snuggle more,’ she said.
‘I can’t think of anything I’d rather do,’ he replied and the bounce of elation hit her tonsils.
He was going to stay the night? And snuggle? Even without the awesome orgasms, this would be the best date night of her entire life.
She didn’t even care that it would be over in the morning. Because tomorrow was a galaxy far far away.
Rolling on to his back, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She snuggled against his side, listening to his breathing and loving the feel of him. So warm, so solid, so steady, so sexy, so there, beside her.
She found her eyelids drooping, even though she didn’t want to miss a thing.
As he petted her hair, he said softly. ‘Thanks, Ruby. I needed you tonight.’
She gave him a squeeze, hearing the note of sadness and confusion in his voice again. And tried not to think about where it came from.
‘Ditto.’
Chapter 12
When Luke’s eyes opened the next morning, he saw the twinkle of green lights above his head, heard a melodic voice singing about lemon drops and chimney tops in the distance, felt the squishy softness of the mattress beneath him and breathed in a lungful of evocative aromas. Rose shampoo and sex and … was that coffee?
Had he been transported to a triple-X-rated Land of Oz?
He shifted, the twinge in his back from the too-soft mattress protesting. As Ruby’s bedroom came into focus, the memories from yesterday flowed back.
His mother’s ashen face, the shocking revelation about his father and Matty, the hours spent wandering the streets of West London, re-evaluating his whole childhood and adolescence and everything he’d known about his old man – or thought he’d known – ending up in Brynn’s Babes knocking back one too many spiced rums while the crowd went nuts for a queen called Tina Turn You On doing a dead-on rendition of ‘River Deep Mountain High’…