Part 20 (1/2)
”Soon, Annie.”
Soon wasn't soon enough as far as she was concerned. She clutched his golden hair in her fists, her body taut with mingled antic.i.p.ation and pleasure, as he slowly slid a finger into her.
”Yes,” she murmured. ”Yes, James.”
His finger slipped inside her wet, hot body, filling her the way she desperately longed to be filled, and she cried out, her hips arching right off the mattress. He let his finger slide into her as far as it would go, then slowly withdrew it, and she sobbed with the loss.
His thumb brushed across her sensitive flesh again, and electricity crackled through her body as he thrust his forefinger inside her again, harder this time. Moisture gathered inside her, making his finger slick, and he slid it easily in and out in a slow, insistent rhythm that drove her inexorably toward heights she'd never imagined. And then he slipped a second finger inside her. And a third.
Her aroused body stretched easily to accommodate his broad, solid fingers. As he drove them deeply into her, faster and faster, a surge of incredible pleasure exploded within the depths of her body, rippling through her womb in wave after wave, making her shudder and tremble under the relentless onslaught of ecstasy. A strangled scream was ripped from her throat as scalding heat burst within her, as the violent convulsions of her wet sheath gripped his fingers over and over again.
At last he withdrew his fingers, stretched out next to her, and gathered her tenderly against his chest. She nestled against him, utterly spent. For a long moment there was only the sound of her harsh breathing in the room. Then she lifted her head and smiled wanly.
”You're wonderful, James.”
Warmth flickered in his eyes. ”I am glad you think so.”
She let her hands trail slowly over the warm, smooth contours of his chest again, then slid her fingers across the taut muscles of his abdomen and began to unb.u.t.ton the fly of his jeans. James leaned his head back, closing his eyes, and a lazily contented smile tipped up the corners of his mouth.
”You do like to be touched,” she said, pleased by his reaction.
”Yes,” he murmured, sighing. ”I never really realized it before I met you.”
She unb.u.t.toned his jeans and tossed them and his briefs to the floor, freeing his swelling erection. Slowly she swung a leg over him and straddled him, cradling his hot, engorged flesh in the warm, wet valley between her thighs. For a long while they remained utterly motionless, and Annie felt him growing harder beneath her, felt her own body respond with a surge of renewed heat and dampness.
At last, unable to be still any longer, she began to move against him in a slow, provocative rhythm, until his shaft grew slick and hot with her moisture, until his breath began to hiss between his teeth. He captured her hips with his splayed hands, digging his fingers into her b.u.t.tocks in a gesture that was gentle but demanding. ”Annie,” he rasped.
She continued to move, slowly, tantalizing him with the promise of more to come but never quite letting him have it. She watched as he tilted back his head, listened as guttural groans were torn from his throat. She felt him throbbing against her in a relentless, ever-increasing tempo, and she knew he was about to lose control.
And so was she.
At last he rolled her over and pinned her beneath his weight. ”Please,” he muttered harshly, his eyes glittering.
She reached down, encircling his ma.s.sive, powerful erection in her hand, and guided him into her body. She heard his wordless moan as he slipped into her, inch by hot inch, and her arms slid around his waist, pulling him closer. She wrapped her legs around him, and he plunged into her incredibly deeply, thrusting to the hilt. A constricted knot of pleasure twisted inside her, tight and agonizing. He withdrew, then thrust again, and she exploded, crying out as she was flooded with white-hot sensation.
He paused and pressed his face against her shoulder, shuddering, and as she became aware of his responses again she realized he was trying to regain control of himself. For the first time she could fully appreciate how dangerous s.e.x must seem to him. To him, losing control didn't mean the joyful sharing of pleasure, but rather pain and torment. He'd been mistreated and hurt so badly that it was nothing short of amazing he'd trusted her enough to become intimate with her.
She drew his head down and brushed his lips with her own, and he lost the battle, his body pulsing helplessly inside her. He groaned an inarticulate sound of ecstasy against her mouth as he s.h.i.+vered and trembled with the force of his climax.
Afterward he lay on top of her a few moments, running his fingers through her hair. Finally he brushed his lips against hers drowsily, then rolled to the side. Within moments his eyes drifted shut, and he appeared contentedly asleep.
Annie watched him for a long time. At last she leaned over and kissed him tenderly on his cheek, then turned off the light.
Chapter 16.
The hotel phone rang at precisely eight a.m., waking Annie out of a sound sleep. She groped blindly for the phone and finally found it, five rings later. ”h.e.l.lo'”
”h.e.l.lo. Annie Simpson, isn't it' This is Susan Takahas.h.i.+.”
The name woke Annie up in a heartbeat, much more effectively than four cups of coffee could have. d.a.m.n. She'd hoped James' polite refusal to do an interview last night had been sufficient to get rid of Susan, but obviously it hadn't been. Susan Takahas.h.i.+ on the trail of a story was more persistent than a bloodhound on steroids.
She managed to infuse her voice with a degree of courtesy. ”h.e.l.lo, Susan. How can I help you'”
”I was wondering if I could speak with James.”
Annie glanced over at James. He was sprawled next to her, his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling in what appeared to be a very human way. ”He's not here right now,” she lied smoothly. ”He's in the shower. Is there anything I can help you with'”
Susan sounded a little annoyed at this confirmation that they were sleeping together. ”I just wanted to find out a little more about him,” she said tartly. ”That segment I taped last night ran on the early news this morning, and since then we've been getting a lot of calls about him.”
”How'd you find us, anyway'”
”There are only so many hotels in the area,” Susan said. ”Would you have him call me back, please'”
”I don't think he's interested,” Annie said.
”He's very modest, isn't he'”
”He likes his privacy.”
”I can understand that. Nevertheless, I'd be grateful if you'd have him call me back.”
Annie realized she wasn't going to get rid of Susan so easily. She managed to stifle an irritated sigh as she grabbed the pencil and paper that sat next to the phone. ”Fine. I will.”
She wrote down the number Susan gave her and hung up the phone, then propped herself up on an elbow and looked at James. Susan was just interested in the human-interest angle of the story, she told herself firmly. The l.u.s.t she thought she'd seen in the reporter's eyes had to be a product of her own jealous imagination.
Or maybe not. She stared at James a long moment, seeing the smooth contours of his chest, the incredibly high cheekbones, the generous curves of his mouth. There was definitely a lot there to make a woman feel l.u.s.t.
l.u.s.t, she thought, had to be what she felt for him. He was a strong, admirable man, a man who had begun to fill her every waking thought, but she wasn't ready to fall in love again. Not only a year after she'd lost Steve. The mere idea was enough to fill her with oppressive guilt.
And she still wasn't sure she could give her heart to James, anyway. He looked and acted like a human, but she couldn't help but remember that beneath it all, he was a machine.
She reached out and ran a finger along the strong line of his square jaw. His eyelids flickered open almost instantly. ”Good morning.”
”I'm sorry,” she said softly. ”I didn't mean to wake you up.”
”It is all right. I have had sufficient rest.”
He did not stir, only regarded her as if she were the only thing in the room. The intensity of his gaze made her vaguely uncomfortable. ”Well,” she said at last. ”Maybe we'd better get up and have breakfast.”
James sat up slowly and looked at her. ”Annie,” he said gently, ”are you feeling awkward about what happened last night'”
”No.”