Chapter Thirteen
Loud suited Nate. He’d shuffled through his DVD collection until he’d found the noisiest disaster/explode-the-bad-guys movies he had. Then he’d cranked the volume up and sat watching with a beer warming in his hand. No chick flicks. Nothing where anyone fell in love or so much as kissed. And nothing that involved sex. Once his libido got out of hand again, he’d worry about his sex life. Right now, the mere thought of a roll in the hay brought Rae back into memory. The way she moved when they fucked. The sounds she made. The flush of her skin when she became aroused.
No, he didn’t need any cinematic reminders of what he’d lost. Better to watch a bunch of beefed-up men beat the shit out of each other.
Tomorrow he’d get his ass in gear and figure out how he could either get his company back or start a new one and run his father-in-law’s firm into the ground with competition. Nate giveth, and Nate taketh away. It had a nice ring to it. No more leisurely mornings in coffee shops. Look where they’d gotten him.
He should have known better than to get involved with her other than playing her stupid game. His dick had gotten him into it, but he should have seen trouble the moment he’d been able to think clearly. Unfortunately, she’d been more than a body. She’d been a challenge. You never knew what she’d do from moment to moment. Like when she’d put on the clothes he’d bought her to try to intimidate her. And how she’d worn the pearl all the time and fingered it absent-mindedly while she was writing.
Maybe he’d misunderstood her from the start. He’d been so intent on getting her to be herself with him, he hadn’t realized Désirée was a part of her, not just a persona she slipped on and off for convenience. And maybe he had tried to control her…a little bit…for her own good. Or what he’d though was her own good. He’d only wanted the best for her, but maybe he’d miscalculated. Maybe, maybe, maybe. One way or another, he’d screwed up bad.
So here he was without her. Watching computer-generated violence. No more real than their fake relationship. He’d lost another woman he thought he could have a future with. At least, he’d been fool enough to try again. She was going to spend the rest of her life alone if she didn’t screw her head on straight.
His apartment door buzzed. Then it buzzed again, and whoever was on the other side leaned on it. He got up from the sofa. “All right, all right. I’m coming.”
That didn’t stop the buzzing, but it became more staccato. Short and very annoying bursts.
He got there and jerked it open. “What the fuck do…”
The rest of the words flew right out of his head. Rae was standing on the other side. She wasn’t made-up to be Désirée, but she was wearing a pair of wicked, pointy-heeled shoes and a trench coat. And that appeared to be it. In fact, the shoes looked familiar. Just like the ones he’d bought at the resort gift shop.
She raised a hand in greeting. “Hi.”
“What are you doing standing in the hallway of my apartment building looking like that?” He grabbed her hand and tugged her inside.
She held her hands out to her sides. “I’m covered.”
“Have you been drinking?”
“No.”
He sniffed the air around her. No smell of alcohol. Her eyes weren’t bleary, and she was balancing on those shoes. “Would you like to be?”
“Be what?”
“Drinking. I have beer…and, uh…beer.”
“Beer would be fine.”
Once again, she had him off-balance. But at least, he understood beer. He went into the kitchen and opened the door to the fridge. The clacking of heels told him she’d followed him. He pulled out a bottle, opened it, and then lifted a glass from the dish drainer. It looked clean enough, but he held it up to the light to make sure.
“Just give me the bottle, Nate.” She held out her hand, and he complied.
So now he was staring at her standing in the middle of his kitchen drinking beer out of a bottle and wearing…
He gestured toward the trench coat. “Do you have anything on under there?”
She thought for a moment. “Ye…ah.”
“What sort of answer was that?”
“Yes, I’m definitely wearing something under the coat.”
“But you’re not going to tell me what.”
She gave him an evil smile and went back into the living room. Helpless male he was, he followed.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
She didn’t answer but circled the couch, set her beer on the coffee table, and began to open her coat. Slowly. Lingering on each button as if caressing it. A striptease.
He held out his hands. “I don’t think you should be doing that.”
“Wrong. I should have done it days ago.” With the last button undone, she let the coat slither to the floor. Sure enough, she wasn’t wearing much. Just the bustier he’d bought for her at the resort gift shop. And no panties.
She was, however, wearing the pearl pendant he’d bought her, and her face was natural, not made-up. Who was this, Rae or Désirée?
“Stop it, Rae,” he said.
She gave him a seductive pout. “Why?”
“Because…” Damn but she looked good in that thing. Plump in all the right places, the cinched waist emphasizing the curves of her breasts and hips. And her pussy was exposed.
In a flash, his mind was back in the resort room. How they’d been in too much of a rush to get to the bed, and he’d fucked her while she lay on the table. His cock engorged immediately. His mind might tell him sex with this woman wasn’t a good idea, but his body would overrule his brain if he didn’t stop her now. If he touched her, he’d be lost.
“I’m not going to have sex with you,” he said.
“That isn’t what I came for…exactly.”
He swallowed. The temperature in the room seemed to have gone up several degrees since she arrived. “What…exactly…do you want?”
She stared him straight in the eyes. “I want you to spank me.”
“What the fuck?” Okay, this had gone way too far. He went to her, put his beer next to hers, and bent to pick up her coat. He didn’t get her arms in the sleeves, but he draped it over her shoulders, hiding much of her body. “You are out of your mind, lady.”
“It was my darkest desire, remember?”
“I’m not likely to forget,” he answered. “I thought you made that up on the spot.”
“I did, but the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced it’s a good idea.”
He sat and patted the cushion next to him. “Would Désirée go play somewhere and let Rae come out for a few minutes?”
She sat next to him. No, nearly on top of him, and despite his best intentions, he couldn’t help but stare at her bust.
“This is me, Nate,” she said. “And I really do want you to spank me.”
“First, I don’t hit women. Ever.”
“I know that.”
“Second, with your mom’s history, the last thing you need is some man swatting your behind.” Suddenly, having his hand on her ass seemed the absolute best way to spend his time. Not in violence, though.
She took his hands in hers. “I was wrong not to trust you before, but I do now. You would never hurt me.”
“Then what’s this bullshit about me hitting you?”
“Not hitting. Just patting my ass a few times,” she said. “You must admit I’ve been very bad.”
“I will never understand you.”
“If I ask you to do this, I prove my complete trust in you.” She hesitated, staring up at him with complete honesty in her smile. “I used to think Désirée was someone I made up for a sex column. Fake and definitely not me. You showed me she was real.”
“I did?”
“I never had a real relationship with a man out of fear I was my mother. But I’m not my mother. I’m Désirée Knight, intrepid reporter.”
“I see.” And he did see…sort of.
“So,” she said, her lips pursed like the perfect seductress she was. “Désirée’s darkest desire is to be spanked, and so I want to be spanked. Simple, see?”
That was logical, more or less. At least in the upside-down world she lived in.
“And you’ll do it right,” she went on. “I know you will.”
And then, they’d make love. The two of them together made some kind of dynamite, and she’d already lit the fuse.
She moved to sit directly in his lap. Her pussy rested on his thigh, only inches from his erection. The outline showed beneath the fabric of his pants. She had him, and she knew it.
“Condoms in the bedroom,” he said.
“Too far.” She bent, reached into the pocket of her coat, and pulled out a square package. She followed that with two others and tossed them on the coffee table. “I came prepared.”
He might be an idiot, and he might regret this in the next hours, but he was going to make love with her. After he spanked her.
“Should we have a safe word?” he said.
“How about ‘rhubarb’?”
He laughed. “Rhubarb?”
“I can’t think of anything else right now,” she said. “Work with me here.”
“Rhubarb it is.” And spanking. Wild and wacky and totally Rae.
She rose to remove her coat and then positioned herself over his knees, her ass up in the air and her face down. “Discipline me, Nate. For my own sake, teach me to be good.”
“You’ve been bad.” He patted her bottom with his palm. More of a love tap than anything else. He let his hand linger, savoring the fullness of her butt—the soft skin over muscle.
“You can do better than that,” she said.
He swatted her again, this time harder. The sound barely registered over the noisy movie. He should have turned it off, but no way was he going to stop now to do it.
“Again,” she said, her voice husky. This was turning her on. She really did want it. He continued slapping her butt until the skin turned a pretty pink, and she let out a low moan. Spreading her legs, she exposed her pussy lips. So close to his fingers. He stroked their velvet, just parting the seam.
In answer, she moaned again, and her hips moved. She wanted more contact, and he’d give it to her. In a bit.
“You’re trying to tempt me, aren’t you?” he said as he hit her again.
“Is it working?”
“You are wicked.”
“Make me be good, please,” she said.
Now that he’d started, spanking her wasn’t all that hard, after all. He clearly wasn’t hurting her. Quite the opposite. The more he slapped her, the hotter she became. In a minute, he’d put one of those condoms on, and they’d make love. Then they’d have a serious discussion, because he wasn’t going to do without her again.
After a few more swipes at her ass, her breath became shallow and erratic. She was seriously aroused, and the knowledge made his cock throb. The spanking would end soon, and the fucking would begin.
This time, he used more pressure when he caressed her pussy, rubbing back and forth. When he landed on her clit, she shivered, and let out a squeal of surprise.
“You want more of that, don’t you?” he said.
“Please.”
“We’ll see.” He slapped her one more time and then returned to her hot button. In a moment, she was squirming. He’d give her what she wanted soon, but he hadn’t finished his explorations. He slid a finger into her and moved inside her. Her muscles gripped him, and moisture collected on his palm. With his own arousal building, he needed to make her ready, so he added a second finger and stretched her.
“Oh, God, Nate!” she cried. “Inside me now.”
While she got up to open one of the condom packets, he struggled to get his zipper undone and push his pants down to his knees. He watched her role the latex down over his erection and had to remember to breathe. This was really going to happen. He’d really have Rae again. How had he managed so long without?
When she straddled him, he caught her hips. “The other way. Your back to my front.”
All the better to play with her clit while he thrust. She followed his instructions, lowering herself and using her hand to guide his cock to the entrance to her pussy.
With a soft, “ahhh,” she sank onto him slowly. Then she groaned. A really nice groan. “Did you get bigger?”
“Flatterer.”
“You feel so good.” She began to move in a rocking motion, her inner walls squeezing down on him. So quickly, she had him near the breaking point.
Reaching around her, he eased her breast out of the bustier. She always loved a gentle tug on a nipple, so he did that as she rode him. His other hand went to her pussy and found her distended clit. Using the circular motion that drove her wild, he pressed and rolled the tiny organ.
“Oh, sweet Jesus,” she crooned. “Don’t stop, please.”
He thrust into her, creating a rolling, up/down, back and forth. Incredible feeling. He’d come in a minute if he didn’t stop, but no power on Earth could halt the movements of his hips. He could make her come, fast and hard. But who would want to end this heaven? Soon, he wouldn’t have any choice in the matter, so he continued with the pressure against her clitoris.
“Nate, oh, Nate,” she cried.
“Yeah, baby. Let go. Let me feel you come.”
She released a cry with every thrust now, rising in pitch and volume. He bit his lip to distract himself from the impending orgasm. No other woman could move him so powerfully, could make him lose himself completely while his cock was inside her. Every orgasm was different—each sweet and forceful at the same time. He couldn’t hold out much longer, but he’d never finish before her. Never.
She let out one more cry, this one the signal that she was coming. He kept up the pressure on her clit while her muscles grasped at him and then broke into spasms. His own orgasm followed hard on hers, rendering him blind. He emptied his lust into her as his voice drowned out hers. They had climaxed together, each feeding off the other’s excitement. When she slumped against him, he lowered them both onto the couch as peace settled over him. Still with her back to his front, he cradled her on his chest and breathed in the scent of her hair.
Across the room, more of the computer-generated violence went on, accompanied by garish music. He managed to snag the remote from the coffee table without disturbing Rae and turned the TV off. Then he dropped the remote and cuddled her closer. He’d merge their bodies into one if he could. But then, he just had.
“You’re amazing,” she whispered.
“No, you.”
His cock had already shrunk out of her, and she rolled over and gazed into his eyes. “You were perfect.”
“Didn’t hurt you?”
“You couldn’t.”
“I’m glad you finally realize that.”
She squirmed a bit, which felt pretty good, even after the sex. She wasn’t getting cute with him, though. Instead, she sat up, grabbed her beer, and had a drink. So Nate got back into his pants so he wouldn’t fall on his face when he got up. Then he waited for her to speak.
“I didn’t know if you’d want me after the way I rejected you,” she said after several seconds.
“I think we just put that worry to rest.”
“I don’t mean want me. I mean want me.”
“For a writer, you don’t make things very clear.”
She took a deep breath. “I’ve decided I’m ready to do the relationship thing.”
“Oh.” He wasn’t going to let her off the hook on this. If she wanted to be with him, she had a lot to confess.
“I think…” She stared at the dark television screen, and her cheeks turned pink. “No, I know. You mean a lot to me.”
“Do tell.”
She gave him a look that said she wasn’t pleased with his answers, and he simply stared back.
She huffed. “Phil says that without you my writing doesn’t sparkle.”
“Good old Phil.”
“I’m trying to say something here.”
“Then say it,” he said.
“Without you my life doesn’t sparkle. I miss you. I love you.”
“Aww, baby. I love you, too.” He put his arms around her and held her close. She’d had to take a big leap of faith to allow herself to say those words, and they were the most precious in the universe. Heaven help him, he was going to make this crazy woman his and keep her forever. “And I’m sorry I tried to control you. I only wanted you to be happy.”
“I know.”
“I had to learn you need to be happy in your own way, not mine.” Maybe he had learned something in the time they’d been apart. That he needed her for his own happiness.
“So, we’re okay?” she whispered.
“We’re more than okay. We’re exactly the way we should be.” He kissed her. She said she’d missed him. He hadn’t had her sweetness for days and weeks. So he took his time memorizing the feel of her mouth, even though he’d never have to do without again.
“Oh, that’s better,” she said when they came up for air.
They still had one hurdle. “What about Single and Sexy?”
“Technically, I am still single.”
“That could change, Rae.”
She blushed again. “Yeah, I know.”
Glory hallelujah!
“I’m going to continue to write about Single and Sexy. Then I’ll follow it with Married and Sexy,” she said. “Phil thinks my readers will stay with me, and I think I agree.”
“I’ll follow you. Wherever you lead, baby.”