Between The Sheets (11 page)

The steady beating of his heart. The feel of his strong muscles draped luxuriously over her. Her every breath became his as his mouth prowled hers hungrily, coaxing her lips wide, thrusting his tongue inside, devouring, demanding a reply.

She replied with the only answer that made any sense. Curling her hands around his neck, she kissed him back.

He tasted of appreciation and boldness and she threaded her fingers into his hair, unable to entertain thoughts of resistance, or common sense, or conscience. At this moment, with nothing but the night and a few scraps of clothing between them, with their mouths exploring and their hands discovering and their bodies pressed close, Rex Holt was much more than a job. He was the only man who'd ever made her feel like this before.

He traced her lips with his and then trailed along the curve of her jaw, featherlight kisses he must have known she'd welcome because she lifted her chin to offer her throat. She wove her fingers through his hair, not hindering, not encouraging, just leaving him to make his way where he chose.

He chose to nibble on her earlobe so ribbons of pleasure unfurled low in her tummy and made her squirm.

He chose to wedge his erection between her thighs so only sheer panty hose and soft cotton separated them.

He chose to prove that he wasn't the only one wanting here by stroking that hot length against her and making her ride him to feed this growing ache inside.

To a woman who'd never quite fit in, this was such a singular sensation. She felt right, as though finally,
finally,
the pieces all fit together and she was exactly where she was supposed to be. In this man's bed. In his arms.

And he must have understood the power he wielded over her, because he kissed his way down the length of her neck. He licked the fluttering pulsebeat below her jaw. He explored every sensitive inch of skin between her ear and shoulder.

And he kept trailing his mouth down.

April recognized that another opportunity to stop him approached as he nibbled his way along her shoulder, down her bare arm, hot moist kisses that sent goose bumps spraying over her skin, fed that ache between her legs a little more.

Even if she could have found the word
no
someplace deep inside, April wouldn't have spoken the word aloud. She didn't want to stop Rex from his sexy exploration, didn't want to do anything but hold her breath as he skimmed those light kisses along her ribs. She wanted nothing more than to savor this anticipation of wondering where he would nibble next….

Darting his tongue over a nipple, he dragged at the silk with that delicious stroke, fired heat right through her blouse, and the bra below. April gasped, a sound lost somewhere in his hair, but he must have heard because suddenly
he was molding her breasts through her shell, cupping their weight in his hands as if he'd waited forever to touch her.

April
had
waited forever. She'd never felt such a powerful longing, had never known her breasts to be a touch-stone for every nerve ending inside her. She'd never been able to lie still long enough to find out. But as Rex flicked his thumbs across her nipples, drawing them to peaks through the silk, she knew a need that made her ache.

Suddenly, he rolled off her to lie on his side, propped up on an elbow; for a breathless moment all she registered was the absence of his body, the cool emptiness where his erection had pressed so enticingly against her.

But when he leaned over her, April understood. He never slowed his trail of hot kisses as he pushed up her blouse to make way for his mouth on her skin.

Here was another opportunity where she could have said no.

She arched into his touch instead.

And he obliged her by freeing her breasts from the tangle of silk shell and sheer bra, baring her skin to his view. Her nipples puckered, but it was the expression on Rex's face and the sound of his throaty growl that pleased her most of all.

She'd always thought her breasts were a waste as they were just big enough to make shopping for anything but separates a chore. True, she'd never be mistaken for a boy, which prior to adolescence had been a problem, but given that she could never lie still long enough to let a man appreciate them, April never quite saw the point.

But finally her breasts seemed to be serving a purpose besides making her clothing hang awkwardly.

Rex skimmed his hand across both peaks then caught a hard tip between his thumb and forefinger. April gasped. He
met her gaze and smiled, then lowered his face to lavish the very same attention with his mouth.

He explored with his tongue. He nibbled with his teeth. He sucked her deep inside his mouth until she squirmed. And then his other hand broke free to trail down her stomach, down, down…he brushed up her skirt, and his strong fingers zeroed in on that sensitive bundle between her thighs.

Here was the perfect opportunity to say no.

But with the pressure of his thumb right
there,
the only sound to slip from her lips was a moan. Closing her eyes, she abandoned herself to the feeling….

She recognized this sensation, so much more intense than when she pleasured herself in her bed, the only place she'd ever been relaxed enough to experience the phenomenon firsthand.

Until Rex. She needed him to keep touching her, wanted to tell him how important it was that he didn't stop working this magic with his mouth and hands. So she simply pressed her breast to his mouth, encouraging him, wanting him to feed this feeling inside her more than she wanted anything.

She wanted to experience
real
pleasure. She wanted to know what it felt like to want.

And right now she did.

It didn't matter that she was so aroused disaster should have stuck. Or that she should feel too nerved out and antsy to lie still. Or that the alarm in her head should be shrieking. Right now she felt drowsy and excited and good.

And then April came apart, just burst inside, a swell of sensation that had sneaked up on her, dragging a breathless moan from her lips, a moan that sounded just like a sob.

A
real
orgasm. Her first.

Rex propped himself up on an elbow, his smile telling her how much he enjoyed the sight of her, nearly naked and
spread beneath him as he watched her come back to earth. And while she struggled to catch her breath, she took in the satisfaction on his face, the dark, heavy-lidded eyes, the chiseled features that had softened around the edges.

“I promised you a kiss to see if you liked it,” he finally said, his voice a husky whisper between them. “Did you?”

She lay panting beneath him, her skin flushed, her breasts tight, her sex pulsing with the remnants of that wild explosion. A
real
orgasm. Beneath this man's kisses and his skilled hands she'd actually reached the finish line.

Had she liked it?

Her blouse was tangled beneath her armpits. Her skirt was bunched around her waist. Her panty hose had grown damp with the moisture of her pleasure and she could only blink in amazement, struck by the realization that he'd kept his word. That had been only
one
kiss, one long, unbroken kiss that had started at her lips and ended in a climax.

Had she liked it?

Like
seemed too inadequate a word to describe what she felt right now. Had she ever even imagined she could feel this way?

Not once. Not ever.

He'd offered to help her relax and had given her a gift instead. Reaching up to stroke his handsome face, to run her fingers along the jaw, she was awed by the man who'd done exactly what he'd promised, and then some.

“I want to make love to you, but I'm a gentleman. Say no, April, and we'll stop. Just say no.”

“Yes.”

“N
O
!” A
PRIL SAT
bolt upright, shooting from zero to sixty so fast that Rex could only stare. “I mean, I wasn't expecting…I don't have any protection.”

He might have laughed, but she was so close to panic on the nervous meter that he knew his amusement would push her right over the edge. Losing her to hysteria now wasn't part of his plan, not after he'd kissed those sweet lips, tasted her satin-soft skin and experienced her passion.

She was a vision against the backdrop of the moonlit suite with her wide eyes, her hair tousled around her beautiful face. Her body gleamed in the darkness, her breasts pale and quivering, her long, long legs curled beneath her. She was so utterly exquisite that he could only marvel that she was real.

And how lucky he was to get her into his bed.

He wasn't stopping to ask questions. He was running until his luck ran out.

“April, we're sitting in the middle of the Fetish Collection.” Sweeping a hand around them, he motioned to the shiny black sheets, knowing that as soon as she calmed down she'd realize protection wasn't an issue.

Understanding dawned quickly and she darted her gaze to an oval pillow wedged between the sofa back and the mattress, a pillow made from water-resistant black fabric that appeared to be nothing more than a decoration to match the bedding.

The Hidden Secrets Pillow.

Opportunity knocked and Rex was never one to let an opportunity pass. “Go ahead and open it. Let's take a look.”

He already knew what was inside, and assumed April did, too, but that pillow would occupy her while he stripped, tossing aside his sweats and peeling off his socks quicker than he'd ever stripped in his life.

“Oh my.”

He glanced up to find her watching him with wide eyes. He wasn't sure whether she referred to the contents of the pillow or the sight of him, so he dropped down on the edge of the bed, cutting off an avenue of escape.

“So what have we got?”

A compartment had been designed inside the padding of the pillow to conceal the sexual accoutrements necessary to enjoy the Fetish Collection—lubricants,
protection
and a variety of other items designed to enhance an excursion out of the world of mainstream sex.

April held up a tube to make out the words in the faint glow of moonlight shining through the window. “We've got Happy Penis Lotion.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“I'll bet,” she said saucily, but she didn't look at him.

Scooting closer, he brushed aside the hair from her shoulders to assess the fastening on her blouse. One button. No sweat. “Although my penis is already happy without any lotion.”

Her gaze dropped straight to his lap, where his happy penis performed a dance for his audience.

Rex used the distraction to unfasten her button. “What else?”

“Bawdy Body Butter, another edible treat.”

“Now that had some possibilities,” he said. “Maybe I'll eat you for breakfast.”

“Or maybe I should eat you.”

“My happy penis is getting happier by the second.”

She laughed, or at least he thought it was a laugh. Not giving her a chance to digress, he started working the blouse over her head. She needed to get comfortable. And naked.

“Lift your arms,” he said and she dropped the Bawdy Body Butter onto the bed.

Had her skin not been so fair, Rex might never have noticed her blush in the darkness. But she was both pale and exquisite with her translucent skin.

“God, you're beautiful.” The words just popped out of his mouth and he wasn't sorry. He wanted her to know how much she impacted him, how fascinating he found her.

Everything about her touched him in a way he'd never been touched before. His hunger was about more than satisfying a craving. He wanted her to be comfortable, so comfortable that she would joke about sex toys and let him touch her without nervousness getting in the way.

And he hadn't realized just how much until they sat here nearly naked in the moonlight.

After tossing her blouse and bra onto the floor, he reached out to stroke one of her breasts.

“You were made to be touched.” He flicked his thumb across her nipple, felt the tip peak. “And kissed.” Lowering his face to the tempting morsel, he ran his tongue across the tip.

April shivered, so he drew on her again, smiled when she braced back on her hands and thrust her luscious breasts out with a moan. Despite her blush, despite the bravado that belied her delightful inexperience, this woman was passion.

I don't do the sex thing very well.

Right.

Maybe she hadn't done the sex thing very well before him, but she was doing it just fine right now. He gazed at her above the swell of her breasts, found her eyes closed and her lips parted. He needed to keep her distracted with arousal, not give her a chance to think about what they were doing.

“Did you know on average it takes most women four minutes to have orgasms with manual stimulation compared to nearly twenty minutes with intercourse?”

She gave a laugh but didn't open her eyes.

He dragged his tongue across her nipple again while reaching over the side of the bed. Of course he'd placed the item he wanted in the one pocket out of easy reach. “We need to test you out against the average.”

“You think?”

“I do.” He ferreted out what he was looking for and the sound of metal mingled with her excited breaths as he withdrew a stainless steel chain.

“What's that?” she asked.

Giving a final flick of his tongue, Rex held up a shiny silver chain for her perusal. “Something to keep you on the edge while I move on.”

“On the edge, hmm?”

“I don't want to ignore anything that gives you pleasure and I sense you get a great deal of pleasure when I pay attention to your breasts.” He dangled the chain suggestively. “Am I right?”

She replied by running a hand through his hair, an unexpected touch that struck him with its tenderness.

“You're a very responsive woman. I want to help you explore this side of yourself.”

Her expression melted before his very eyes. Maybe her anxiety about relaxing had stopped her from acknowledging
her passion. Rex didn't know, but he was inspired to similar tenderness, an unfamiliar need to reassure.

Reaching up to caress her cheek, he ran his fingertips along her soft skin, was rewarded when she pressed a kiss into his palm, just the approval he needed. “Allow me.”

He inspected the clamps, adjusted the tension. Her nipples were ripe from his attention, easy to coax into the padded ends. He let the first close, so turned on by the sight he ached.

She gasped.

“Too tight?” He searched her expression, wanted to stimulate her, and yes, distract her, but not hurt her.

“No.” She shifted her hips in a way that suggested she was feeling the effects of that clamp everywhere. “Not too tight. Intense.”

“Good.” He applied the second, tugged lightly on the chain to gauge the effect.

Tossing her head back, graceful throat arched, fine hair sweeping back over her shoulders, she let out a sound that was a half gasp, half moan. “Oh my, my, my, my.”

When she'd managed the sensation, she faced him with a gleam in her beautiful eyes and he felt a surge of satisfaction that was unlike anything he'd ever known.

This woman had the most amazing effect on him.

Rex dragged her closer to divest her of her skirt and hose. He wanted to feel skin. He wanted to explore her sleek curves and discover all the places that would make her sigh that needy sound again. That sound turned him on more than he'd ever been turned on before, made him feel as if he controlled all the secrets to pleasing her.

It was a heady feeling, one that inspired him to take particular care when he worked the skirt over her hips and down long, long legs, exposing her gorgeous body. He peeled away her hose, pressed kisses to her skin to mark
the trail as they slipped down sleek thighs, over shapely calves, past slim ankles and delicate feet with pink toenails.

And then she lay before him, finally bared to his gaze, all pale curves and creamy skin, all loveliness and vulnerability that she didn't try to hide. His hunger was never more real than in that moment, when she grazed her smooth hands over his shoulders and down his back, exploring him with the same liberty he'd explored her, but with a tentative eagerness that was all April.

Capturing her mouth with his, he chased away all remnants of her hesitation, determined to prove that he wanted her more than he'd wanted any woman in his life. That she touched him in places he hadn't realized were there to be touched.

He'd had sex on the brain, a combined result of not making enough time to date and the Sensuous Collection. But this need to make love to her, to feel her body open around him was so far beyond sex that it literally sandbagged him.

With a groan, he pressed against her, wanted to ease this unfamiliar ache, could barely restrain himself when her moist heat scorched his erection, tormented him. She thrust back, one sleek stroke that promised everything. But everything wasn't an offer he could take her up on just yet. He still had enough grasp on his reason to remember protection.

Dragging his lips from hers, he reached for the Hidden Secrets Pillow, tipped the whole thing upside down until the contents spilled over the mattress. Tubes, jars and small foil packages scattered, such a variety that he needed more than moonlight to see what was what.

“We need light,” he said.

“Here, I'll help.” April propped up on an elbow and though he didn't want to let her go, she seemed so comfortable to be lying naked that he didn't stop her. She was
caught up in the moment and he could ask for no greater accomplishment than that.

“Well, look at what we have here,” she said. “Colors to appeal to every sense of style and flavors, too. Hmm. We have extra large, extra long and even ribbed for extra pleasure. Do you have a preference?”

“Not one that's extra large
and
long? Damn, we may have a problem.” His delivery was so on that she burst out laughing.

“I'm sure we'll manage. But it does seem a shame to bundle him up without giving him a chance to play, don't you think?”

“He can play with his wetsuit on.”

She grinned at him with a mischievous expression that lit up her eyes and made his heart beat hard.

“With all these goodies? Are you sure? One good turn and all.” She reached for a jar. “Want to try some Happy Penis Lotion?”

“If he gets any happier he might never recover.”

“Can't have that.” Placing the tube aside, she lifted a jar and held it close to see. “Here's Coochie Coo Shaving Gel.”

“What's that?” He pointed to a large jar.

“Pleasure and Sizzle, a naughty nipple cream.”

He tugged the chain again, smiled when she trembled. “Looks like we have that base covered. What else do we have?”

“We're back to Happy Penis Lotion.” She surveyed the jar. “An edible penis sensitizer.”

“If he gets any more
sensitive,
he won't recover and neither will I.” But Rex knew as he spoke the words that he was game for whatever she was. That chain dangling between her breasts prompted him to play fair. “Let me see.”

He struggled to read the print of the jar that claimed to
increase pleasure, a claim he didn't doubt if April considered the stuff edible. “All right, go for it. But let's get the rest of this stuff off the bed. Except for a condom. Lady's choice.”

Her hair swung forward to cover her face, in what he considered a very sexy look, as she glanced down at their paraphernalia. “We'll go with the Blueberry Blue. It's my favorite color.”

“Blue it is, then. I aim to please.”

“You do, don't you?”

Yes, and he'd be trying even harder now that she'd noticed.

Rex shrugged then passed her items to place on the coffee table. Once the bed was cleared, they had a bright blue condom and a jar of penis sensitizing lotion and sat facing each other ready to play.

“Sit back and make yourself comfortable,” she said, motioning him back into the pillows, into the position she'd just previously enjoyed.

Reaching for the jar, she spun open the lid and gathered a dollop. She eyed his erection so purposefully that Rex laughed.

Her breasts swayed and the chain jingled as she wedged herself between his spread legs, so delightfully uninhibited, he marveled at her claim not to do the sex thing very well. Says who? He wanted to know.

Just the heat of her curves against his thighs forced him to grit his teeth to control himself. He wanted this woman. Enough to agree to wear a bright blue condom and have his penis stimulated, for Christ's sake.

The feel of her cream-slick fingers around his erection rocked him from head to toe. Closing his eyes, Rex ground out a sound that made her chuckle. And he was glad that
April found something amusing because his smile was fading fast. He opened his eyes, glanced at the jar in her hand.

Sensitizing lotion? More like
scalding
lotion.

He sucked in a breath as heat curled through him, so hot, he knew something wasn't right. This lotion was doing a whole lot more than sensitizing.

He breathed deeply to manage the sensation.

No good.

Maybe he was having an allergic reaction? He wasn't sure about anything except that winding up in the emergency room was not on tonight's itinerary.

I don't do the sex thing very well.

He couldn't handle laying that on April, and he couldn't handle explaining to a triage nurse how he'd wound up with third-degree burns on this particular body part.

“Let me see that stuff.” He sounded reasonably composed, which was a miracle considering he was fighting the urge to head for the shower.