The Persuasion

by Iris Johansen

  She could feel him stiffening against her, and then his arms slid around her. “That’s very generous,” he said hoarsely. His hands were moving over her naked back. “In more ways than one. And how kind that you spare me the commitment. But then you know how selfish I can be.” His lips were hovering over the pulse in her throat. “Some would say that’s a lack of the trust you promised, but who am I to question?”

  “I told you that I wasn’t sure you’d believe me.” His mouth wasn’t touching her, but she could feel his breath and it was causing the blood to riot through every vein. Her nipples felt engorged, on fire…“I don’t care. I had to say it. Because when I was so terrified that Luca might kill you if you came after me, I realized that I might never get a chance to say those words.” She backed away from him, shedding the rest of her clothes. “Now undress and come here. I need you.”

  “So demanding…In a moment. I want to look at you. You’re all gold and flame in this light.” He touched her red hair. “I feel as if you could burn me.”

  “Caleb.”

  “Would you like to burn me?” He bent his head and his tongue touched her nipple. “Like this…”

  Sensation jagged through her! Heat that was not heat but pure eroticism.

  She arched upward with a cry.

  She was throbbing, and every nerve and muscle was suddenly erotically alive and aching. “What the hell?” she gasped when she could finally breathe.

  “You said you could hold your own and to go ahead. You thought it might be interesting.” His smile was almost teasing. “Is it interesting, Jane?” Then he was no longer smiling. “Never mind. Tell me later.” He was stripping with lightning speed. “I can’t wait to play any games. It’s been too long…”

  Then she was beneath him on the floor and he was moving her legs, his hand seeking, finding. “Everything. Give me everything. I want all of you.” He was staring down at her, his eyes wild. Then he plunged inside her.

  Deep.

  She cried out, her nails biting into his shoulders.

  She could feel the heaviness, the heat, the textures, the force that was taking her breath. But it wasn’t enough. “More. I want—”

  “Then that’s what I’ll give you.” He was lifting her legs, spreading them, rotating inside her. “Like this? Anything you want. I want you to feel everything.” His palms were lifting her buttocks as he pulled her into each thrust. “Is this what you want?” His chest was heaving with every breath. “Tell me.”

  “You know that—” She couldn’t speak; all she could do was feel.

  “Tell me.”

  Deeper.

  Stronger.

  The feel of him…

  His eyes staring into her own while he pounded into her body. “I want the words, Jane.”

  For some reason it was important to him. So give him what he wanted. “This is what I want. You’re what I want.”

  “Then take me.”

  His hips drew back, and he thrust still deeper.

  Wildness.

  Fast.

  Heat.

  Madness.

  Caleb…

  She was crying, screaming, trying to get closer when there was no closer.

  “Now?” Caleb asked thickly. “Now, Jane?”

  She couldn’t answer, all she could do was move, and move and move, while wave after wave of feeling was breaking over her.

  She still couldn’t speak for a moment even after Caleb shifted off her body and drew her into his arms. She finally managed to draw a deep breath. “I’d say that was as close to everything as I’ve ever felt.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “It was very—”

  “Shh.” His lips brushed her temple. “Just rest for a minute. We both know that was just the opening act. I was in too much of a hurry because it had been too long. I promise I’ll make it right for you if you’ll give me the chance.”

  She laughed. “Oh, I’ll give you the chance.” Even though she had just left him, she could feel her nipples hardening, breasts tautening. Incredible that it was happening so soon. No, not really. Sex had always been hot for them, but now it seemed even more intense. “And I don’t feel like resting right now.” She pushed him down and was moving on top of him. “So let’s see what I can do to encourage you to bring up the curtain on Act Two right now…”

  * * *

  He was lifting her, carrying her to the bed across the room…

  She buried her face against his chest. She loved the feel of her lips against his warm skin. She brushed them back and forth and then opened them to taste him. She could feel his heart leap and the familiar stiffening. Yes, that was what she wanted…

  “No.” His lips were brushing her temple. “Not now. Later. You’re too tired. I was too rough on you the last time.”

  “No, you weren’t,” she whispered. “It was…” She lost track of what she was going to say. It seemed too much effort to speak right now. “Maybe I was too rough on you.”

  He chuckled. “That definitely wasn’t the way it was. If you think so, then you do have to rest. I couldn’t get enough of you and I kept taking.”

  And she had kept giving. Every movement, every touch, had not been enough for her, either. All those times, every one different and passionate and only leading to the next coming together. Building until that last explosion had been almost too much to bear.

  How many times? she thought dazedly. She didn’t know. She only remembered reaching out to him again and again. She yawned as she cuddled closer to him while he slid into bed next to her. “That was…fantastic.”

  “Yes, it was fantastic, and so are you.” His hand was gently stroking her cheek. Then it moved down to stroke her breasts and belly. “I love the feel of you like this. It always filled me with a kind of wonder.” He’d moved her and was rubbing, massaging, stroking her from shoulders to her buttocks as if she were a cat. “Every muscle relaxed, your skin silky and warm and glowing, and knowing that what I did made it happen. Do you know how much I missed it?”

  Caleb seldom revealed any hint of vulnerability, and she was so touched that she had to treat it lightly. “Well, if you keep doing that I won’t remain relaxed for long. You’re much too good at it.”

  His hand paused, then moved back to her throat. “Perish the thought. Just when I was making an attempt to change my image by being considerate.” His tone was back to its usual mockery. “And I’m glad I pleased you. It must have been because I felt you’d freed all my inhibitions by saying that I had no commitments where you were concerned. What do you think?”

  She was thinking that she’d made a mistake and wanted to hear that gentle note in his voice again. “I think for some reason it bothered you a little.”

  “Maybe.”

  She chuckled. “I don’t know why. It was just important you didn’t feel bound to me. I’m not accustomed to making confessions like that, but I knew I had to be fair. You had to know it was my choice. I didn’t want you to owe me anything.”

  “You made that clear.”

  And for some reason he hadn’t liked it. She changed the subject. “I think I’m hungry.”

  “You’ve worked up an appetite.” He added lazily, “I could take you to Mantua for dinner. Just give me a couple hours to get rid of those men in the speedboat and we’ll be out of here.”

  She shook her head. “Nice try. But I told you why I wouldn’t risk it. Not until morning. As soon as I get my breath, I’ll go down and tackle that cheese. Or maybe we could take a nap first.”

  He was silent. “You do that.” He got out of bed and began dressing. “I’ll go out and take a look around and make sure Luca’s men don’t have anything more dangerous in mind than keeping an eye on the place.”

  She raised herself on one elbow to look at him. Even in the darkness she could see how charged the muscles of his body were. And he’d mentioned getting rid of those men only a moment before. “I don’t want you to leave.”

  “And I don’t want you to stay here and let Lu
ca dictate to you. It scares the shit out of me that he has that kind of power over you. Did you think I didn’t know I have to go after the kid?” His words came like bullets. “I would have left one of those men alive and forced him to take me back to Luca. It would have been over. But it seems you don’t trust me to even do what I do best.” He added harshly, “So neither of us is going to get what we want. I’ll see you later.”

  He was gone.

  And she sat up and immediately swung her feet to the floor. There had been so much emotion in those last words that they frightened her. At least he’d said that he knew he wasn’t going to get what he wanted, but that acceptance might be only temporary and there was no way she could relax while Caleb was in this reckless mood.

  The next moment she was throwing on her clothes and striding out of the room.

  Find him.

  The lake.

  He’d said Luca’s men were on the lake…

  * * *

  She saw the speedboat in the middle of the lake from the time that she left the castle and walked around the back toward the pier. Two men, dark jackets, and she couldn’t identify either one of them from this distance. Alberto? No, she doubted Luca would have trusted him to handle any dealings with Caleb. He was too willing to—

  “You shouldn’t be out here.” Caleb stepped out of the line of trees growing along the bank.

  “Neither should you.” She jammed her hands in her jacket pockets. “Luca might not like you wandering around the property instead of being held prisoner in the castle.”

  “Screw him.”

  “That’s what I thought you’d say.” She smiled. “So I decided to come and take a stroll with you, since you told me you weren’t going to launch an attack on those bastards in the speedboat.” She paused. “Unless you’ve changed your mind?”

  He didn’t answer for a moment. “It might have occurred to me I had nothing better to do.”

  “You could make sure I don’t starve to death. Do you think I like trekking after you when I could be eating?”

  He was silent. Then he smiled. “Nag. Nag. Nag. For a woman who forgets to eat most of the time when she’s working, you’re not coming off with any great degree of authenticity.”

  “Baby steps. I don’t have to make you believe me. All I have to do is get you out of this mood and on our way back to the castle. It beats having you go after those men and end up throwing one of them down at my feet as you’ve done in the past.”

  “Only it would be at Luca’s feet.”

  “Whatever.” She held out her hand to him. “If you want to act the caveman, provide me with food you’ve foraged in that super modern kitchen. I believe that would give you something better to do if you’re really looking.”

  “Oh, I was really looking.” He took her hand and started back toward the castle. “And being a caveman chef doesn’t nearly provide the impetus I need to replace my first plan of action.” He smiled. “But you did remind me of another one that would do it. Since I’ll have to spend a little time refining it, I might as well devote myself to feeding you while I’m doing it.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. “For instance, one of the most valuable things I learned in my caveman days is that the best way to turn stale bread into a delicacy is to butter and toast it.”

  * * *

  “You’re right, it smells wonderful.” Jane watched him take the grilled cheese sandwiches out of the skillet and set them on the kitchen bar. “You can’t call it a complicated process, but it works.” She grinned. “Not that I wouldn’t have thought of it myself. And preparation was a snap.”

  “True. But then you wouldn’t have been able to keep me busy cooking it for you.” He poured wine into her goblet. “And we both know that was the point of the exercise. Sit down and eat.”

  “I will.” She sat down on the stool and cut into her sandwich. “And it’s not as if I didn’t help. You had me trimming crusts, and you even sent me running to get you that wine.”

  “I like to see you move.” He poured his own wine and then leaned back against the cabinet. “I used to watch you and think how alive you were even when you were just sitting painting. Every tiny movement was tense and full of stored energy waiting to break free. I found it was much more gratifying being able to command it to happen.” He took a sip of wine. “Besides, I thought I deserved something to compensate for giving in so easily.”

  “I can see how being able to order me about would have pleased you.” She’d stopped in the middle of taking a bite to stare at him. “But I never knew you watched me.”

  “Why would you? You probably would have thought it was creepy.” He smiled. “And I wasn’t going to tell you. You’d already taken too much from me. I have very good survival skills.”

  “I don’t know what you mean. I didn’t take anything from you.”

  “Didn’t you? Remember when Luca told you that you were the center I was revolving around? He was right. I knew I had to have you, and I was very careful not to scare you away. From the beginning, I realized that I’d never be what you wanted. You wanted a man like Joe Quinn or your lover Trevor, who was one of the ultimate good guys. When I finally did get you to come to me, I gave you what you wanted from me and no more.”

  “You’re talking as if I was some kind of threat to you. How did you know what I wanted?” She put her fork down. “If you’d talked to me, you might have found out. And why are you telling me this now? Am I suddenly less of a threat?”

  “No, you’ll always be a threat, because I’ll always be waiting for the penny to drop and you to walk away.” He smiled. “But perhaps by that time I’ll have gotten to know all your secrets and I’ll be able to attack from another direction.”

  “Ridiculous. You didn’t listen to me. I’m not going to walk away.”

  “No, you won’t.” He finished his wine and set the glass on the bar. “As I said, I’ll find ways to make you want to stay.” He looked at her sandwich. “Are you going to finish that? You said you were hungry.”

  “I’ve had enough.”

  “Good.” He was around the bar and taking her hand. “Then let’s get out of here.” He was whisking her out of the kitchen and down the hall. “There was something I wanted to do before we left here, and I don’t know how long it will take.” They were in the foyer, and he suddenly stopped and turned to face her. His eyes were glinting with mischief. “But we’re not going back to that suite upstairs. In spite of your bleeding heart, that was never me. None of this house was me, but you thought this foyer came closer.” He was unbuttoning her blouse. “And it certainly suits you better. Persian carpets, glittering mirrors, and crystal chandeliers…Just the setting for you, Jane.”

  “You’re crazy.” She couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s not me at all. I’d hate to live in a place like this.” Then she stopped laughing and inhaled sharply as he touched her breast. “You know me better than that.”

  “You’ll find it suits you tonight.” His head bent and his tongue touched the hollow of her throat. “Tonight will be different. With your permission…”

  He was undressing her quickly, then she was down on the carpet and felt the soft wool beneath her body. “Look up at the chandelier,” he whispered. “While I look at you.”

  “Do you think I can wait? I don’t give a damn about that chandelier. I want you to—” She gasped and her eyes flew to meet his own. His hand was pressing gently on the bruise on her abdomen. “What are you—”

  “Shh. I won’t hurt you. I saw those damn bruises when we were upstairs. I just want to make sure there’s not going to be any more pain from them. Just be still and I’ll increase the blood flow. It will help to heal them.”

  “You don’t have to do this. I’d almost forgotten about them.”

  “I hadn’t.” His fingers were moving, finding another bruise, pressing gently—and all hint of pain disappeared. “Look up at the chandelier. All that glitter and shine.” His hands were moving swiftly and this time sh
e felt only warmth and tingling sensation. The crystal shards of the chandelier above her were blurring into a haze of beauty and yet she seemed to feel them on her body, in her body. No, that was Caleb’s hands, she realized dazedly. So deep, so fast. He was looking down at her. “See, I told you that I’d never hurt you. That’s over, now we come to the good part.”

  “And what is that?”

  He paused. “The part where you lose any lingering memory of how you got them.”

  She stared at him in shock. “No.”

  “I was afraid of that.” He moved his finger to trace the shape of her lips. “I was tempted just to do it. I don’t want you to remember the moment that son of a bitch hurt you.”

  “You can’t destroy any of my experiences just because they were bad. You don’t have the right.”

  He smiled. “Quite true. However, that’s seldom interfered with anything I’ve done in the past. But since it’s you, I guess I’ll just have to make do with trying to blast them into oblivion.” He bent down and kissed her lingeringly. “Would that be okay?”

  “It depends on what you mean by blast.” She could scarcely breathe. It was difficult to speak. Her body felt full, ready, and she was acutely conscious of everything around her. The crystal chandelier, the Persian carpet rubbing against her, the broken mirror reflecting their naked bodies.

  And Caleb…wonderful Caleb…

  “It has to be demonstrated, not explained,” he whispered.

  He plunged deep!

  Heat.

  Fullness.

  Her entire body alive and taking every bit of him.

  She arched, and her fingernails dug frantically into his shoulders.

  “Good.” He rubbed slowly, sensuously against her. “Much better than an explanation.” He started to move. “And it will go on and on and on. And then we’ll dream a little, and visit a few wonderful places, and you won’t remember what Luca did at all. It will fade away and all you’ll remember is what you felt tonight…”