Part 19 (1/2)

She felt the tension in his body, the involuntary pumping of his hips and knew Jesse was right there...so close.

And with a swirl of her tongue and the lightest sc.r.a.pe of her teeth along his head, she sent him moaning over the edge. She swallowed deep, taking in his essence.

With barely enough energy to grin at her triumph, Audra focused on the feelings surging through her body. The sensations reached that painful edge between pleasure and pain, winding tighter and tighter. Then, like an overwound spring, the desire suddenly snapped.

The o.r.g.a.s.m ripped through her in a wild torrent. Like free-falling over a cliff, Audra could only feel. She lost herself in the incredible power of her climax, vaguely aware of Jesse's hand smoothing the small of her back. Grounding her body to reality while the rest of her floated somewhere in a wild never-never land of pleasure.

Audra wasn't aware of whether Jesse moved or if she did. But when she finally became conscious of anything other than the aftershocks of pleasure surging through her, she realized Jesse was holding her against him, her head tucked against his shoulder.

Audra sighed and cuddled in the warmth of his arms. This was good. The best s.e.x of her life, and the greatest guy she'd ever met. Love didn't suck as bad as she'd thought it would.

With a start, Audra's eyes flew open and she replayed the discovery. Her body was too worn out from a long night of deliciously decadent s.e.x, but her mind was suddenly wide-awake.

And totally freaked-out.

This couldn't be love. Could it?

Unlike the guy she'd thought she loved when she was seventeen, Jesse appreciated her. He'd never ask her to drop out of school to join him on a cross-country trip, only to leave her stranded in Nebraska.

Instead, Jesse seemed to accept every aspect of Audra's personality, including her odd little quirks and weird habits. He had more faith in her designs that even she did. And that was saying a lot. He made her feel good inside. A kind of good she'd never experienced before. The kind that lasted through fights, s.e.xual dry spells, old age.

The scary kind.

She wasn't ready for love. h.e.l.l, she didn't know who she was anymore. How could she share her heart with another person when she was in the middle of an ident.i.ty crisis? The last thing she needed was a guy-even a guy as hot, s.e.xy and sweet as Jesse-confusing the issues even more.

Besides, it was too soon. They'd only just had s.e.x. There was no way to know if a physical relations.h.i.+p this intense had any shot at lasting more than a few o.r.g.a.s.ms.

Audra ignored the little voice in the back of her head mocking her fancy steps around the issue. She had enough to deal with already. She'd worry about finding an acceptable definition for what she felt for Jesse later.

After a few more of those o.r.g.a.s.ms.

She groaned as he moved against her. He had to be kidding. She'd just had a mind-blowing o.r.g.a.s.m, followed by several very sweet smaller trips over pleasure hill. He couldn't want to do it again?

”Shower?” he murmured against her hair.

”That way,” she said, half-heartedly pointing toward the bathroom.

”Join me?”

Audra pulled back to see his face.

A night's growth covered his cheeks, giving him a tousled pirate look. His eyes gleamed with satisfaction and something else she was afraid to try to identify. She was too tired and worn out to even worry, though. The man had just experienced the best s.e.x of his life. He had a right to look a little smug.

”As many times as you rose to the occasion, so to speak,” Audra teased, ”I doubt you'd be able to do justice to a dual shower.”

”Wanna bet?” he challenged.

She wasn't sure if she had enough energy to actually walk to the bathroom, let alone go another round of s.e.xual gymnastics.

But she'd be d.a.m.ned if she'd back down.

So Audra winked and reached around to pat his a.s.s.

”Babe, I'm all yours. Let's see what you've got.”

THERE WAS NOTHING like good chocolate to top off a night of excellent s.e.x. Audra popped an M&M into her mouth and savored the delicious taste. She hummed a little as she slid her leg into the silky welcome of her stocking. With a practiced move, she hooked the garter and stood, shaking out her skirt. like good chocolate to top off a night of excellent s.e.x. Audra popped an M&M into her mouth and savored the delicious taste. She hummed a little as she slid her leg into the silky welcome of her stocking. With a practiced move, she hooked the garter and stood, shaking out her skirt.

Music pounded through the living room speakers, giving a nice downbeat for her impromptu dance of joy. She felt great. s.e.xy, satisfied and unstoppable.

With a shudder of remembered delight, Audra glanced at the bed. Nine and a half. Jesse was definitely a keeper.

One last look in the mirror a.s.sured her she was ready for her date, even though Jesse wasn't due for another fifteen minutes.

Which was a testament to her feelings for him, since Audra's policy was never to hurry date preparation. But she couldn't wait to see him. And not just for the s.e.x, although the thought of that had kept her juices stirred all day long.

Just as her thoughts were heating up, her cell phone rang. ”When You Wish Upon a Star” chimed out.

”Speaking of good s.e.x,” Audra said with a grin as she answered her phone. ”Hey, Isabel.”

The only thing more satisfying than a night of the best s.e.x of your life was knowing your friends were getting their own. It made gloating so much easier. Audra bit her lip, hoping Isabel hurried with her greeting so she could share the awesomeness of her nine-and-a-half night.

”Don't mention s.e.x to me,” her friend growled.

”What?”

”Live a little, you said. Go ahead and let loose, enjoy. Great advice, Audra.”

With a frown for the hurt beneath the snippy words, Audra sank to her bed. ”What happened?”

Isabel hiccuped, then sniffed. Audra's heart dropped. d.a.m.n. It was bad. d.a.m.n. It was bad.

Her mind raced. Kinky s.e.x? That'd freak Isabel out for sure. Even years of Audra's influence hadn't prepared the woman for fur-lined handcuffs. Bad grooming? That wasn't so bad, but Isabel wouldn't have gone for the guy if he were a slob. How bad could it be?

”Randy's married.”

s.h.i.+t. That was was bad. bad.

”You're sure?” Audra asked quietly.

A rare sense of guilt felt like a lead weight in her belly as Audra listened to Isabel.

”He says he's separated. That's why he has his own apartment. He claims they're getting divorced, but have to work out the details first.”

Audra grimaced. Those excuses wouldn't matter to Isabel. h.e.l.l, they wouldn't matter to Audra, either. Separated meant still married. While that might be a fine distinction, it was an important one. It put him off-limits until he'd dealt with his issues. The only thing worse than a man who cheated on his wife was a man who was still tied up in a marriage he claimed was over. Those strings were usually ugly and painful.